₦airaland Forum

The National Assembly in a democracy is the most appropriate organ of government to ensure fair and equitable creation of state to the mitigate some of the imbalaces created by the seemingly arbitrariness of the military. We are looking forward to to see the National Assembly breaking this jinz. The demand for the creation of Gurara State is an issue that is long over due. The proposed Gurara state is viable in terms of endowment of natural and human resources and even more viable than some of the existing states we have today. It will the best thing that will ever happen to all indigenes of kaduna state from both sides of the divide and will bring more economic development for this country. Ginger is the main stay of the economy of the proposed state and the specie in the world is found there and is a major commodity for international trade. This will bring foreign exchange to the country. We have the land mass and the people with the intellect who can make things happen.We look forward to that day the national assembly will look straight into our eyes and say good morning the inhabitants of the new Gurara state. I trust in the ability of the two Houses of the national assembly to do justice to this issue.

The House of Representatives, yesterday, began hearings for a proposed law that will scrap Nigeria’s current nuclear safety-centered legislation and allow a national development of nuclear energy.

The law, if passed, will equip the Nigeria Nuclear Regulatory Authority, which is currently focused on the nuclear safety and radiation protection, with the capacity to search for and develop a national capacity for nuclear energy production as adopted by the federal government in 2005.

The government reached the more technically and politically charged decision of nuclear energy in January 2005, beginning the cultivation for the acquisition of nuclear power plants for electricity generation.

Safety standards

The House of Representatives chairman on petroleum resources, Bassey Out, whose committee is saddled with the responsibility of fashioning the law, said nine years after the starting of the NNRA, the Act setting it up has turned up with openings that make it incapable to meet with international standards for such development.

“It has been tested and found not to satisfy and meet with international safety standards for the radiation protection, nuclear safety, security and safeguards,” he said.

The major challenge of the present Act, according to the committee, is to fashion adaptation to global rules on the proliferation and usage of nuclear materials for peaceful purposes.

The law will also accord the International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA) the right and obligation to ensure the safeguards are applied in accordance with the terms of the legislation.

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Senate President, David Mark, has declared that the present National Assembly is ready to make history by being the first legislature to create states outside the military regime.

He made this known today when he received a delegation agitating for the creation of Gurara State out of the present Kaduna State in Abuja. `

According to Mr. Mark, the Assembly would break the jinx that states could only be created by the military. He assured Nigerians that the committee on the review of the 1999 Constitution would be fair to all in the consideration of states to be created.

Describing the demand for Gurara State as genuine, the senate president noted that it was a clear demonstration of their desire to bring the people closer to the government, and urged them to unite and eschew religious or ethnic sentiments.

The leader of the delegation, Bawa Magaji, said the creation of the proposed Gurara State was approved by the Kaduna State House of Assembly in its resolution on Nov. 18, 2009. “The proposed Gurara State, with headquarters in Kachia, has a population of 3,383,207 and a land mass area of about 28,393 square kilometres,” he said.

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A Nigerian, Alache Ode, who is an aide to the Minister of National Planning, has been awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE), by Queen Elizabeth. The OBE is an equivalent of Nigeria’s Order of the Federal Republic (OFR).

Minister of State for Information and Communications, Labaran Maku, who spoke to pressmen at the presidential villa after the weekly federal executive council meeting, said Ms. Ode was honoured because of her humanitarian services to the UK communities. “She committed nearly 18 years building the capacity of over 50 organisations to become effective,” he said. “She also developed a programme that attracted three million pounds sterling to send to over 600 skilled UK Diaspora professionals to work in about 18 countries of Africa and Asia.” He also said Ms. Ode developed the capacity for “funding and building framework for an 18 million pounds (DFID) grant to small and Diaspora organisations, and that she has been advocating at over 30 international conferences perspective and approach to development to become mainstream.”

The minister said the federal government is touched by the woman’s passion for service and urged other Nigerians to emulate her spirit. He added that the intriguing thing about Ms. Ode’s work was that it was done for free as inspired by her passion for service for global inclusion of disadvantaged personsl; and that she dedicated it to all the unsung heroes of Nigeria, her native Benue State, the people of the Middle Belt, and to God Almighty.

Link:
http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/5594218-147/queen_honours_nigerian___.csp

The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Usman Nafada, on Wednesday, accused the officials of the Federal Ministry of Works of colluding with road contractors to do poor jobs, saying it is the major reason why roads fail in the country. Mr Nafada spoke in Abuja at a public hearing on a bill sponsored by a suspended member of the House, Austin Nwachukwu (PDP, Imo) alongside 10 others for unruly behaviour on the floor and accusing the leadership of corruption.

The bill is titled, “A bill for an Act to Construct, Build and Maintain Roads and Erosion Projects for Five Years before Handing Over and Other Matters connected therewith.” Mr Nafada, who represented the Speaker, Dimeji Bankole at the hearing, said the ministry officials do not carry out proper on contractors executing government’s job and in most cases compromise standard for pecuniary gains.

Urgent need for action

“We need to do something on the state of our roads,” he said. “I don’t want to blame the construction companies, there are people supervising them. For a certificate of no objection to be raised, there is someone either in the ministry or FERMA that would have said the project was satisfactory. Fraudulent practices by these officials cause roads to fail.” The deputy speaker regretted that Nigeria spends more money on road than other African countries but still has more bad roads than those countries.

“The problem of Nigeria is corruption,” he said. “Neighbouring countries spend less than half of what Nigeria pay per kilometre for road construction, yet they get better roads produced for them at the end of the day. Roads in better clime are constructed to last for at least 30 years but roads in Nigeria hardy last two years before collapse. Some are even washed away before they are commissioned. This is not good enough but those saddled with the task of monitoring the stages of the construction up to finishing are in most cases part of the problem.”

He did not spare the foreign construction companies operating in Nigeria either. Mr Nafada accused accusing them of building substandard roads for Nigerians. “Foreign companies operating in Nigeria, you know the condition of roads in your country,” he said. “It is criminal for you to come here and build sub-standard roads that will not stand the test of time.” However, Mr Nafada applauded the efforts of the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), stating that the agency has been trying to improve the quality of the roads they construct.


The works minister, Sanusi Daggash blamed the state of the roads across the country on untimely and late releases of funds. He noted that the level of deficits incurred by government on road construction is high. He called for the establishment of a contingency fund to be domiciled in the Ministry of Works to deal with emergency maintenance works that are no budgeted for. The minister added that the operations of FERMA could be enhanced if the agency is given a free hand in choosing the roads to be maintained just as he demanded that the agency should be put on first line charge. Olumuyiwa Ajibola, who stood in for the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) blamed the state of the roads in the country on inadequate time for planning and design, imperfect system of contract award, lack of quality supervision, inadequate funding and contract administration and inappropriate usage of roads all contribute to putting the roads in a deplorable condition.

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Former Federal Capital Territory minister, Nasir El-Rufai, has called for the postponement of the 2011 general elections and the May 29 handover date.

While speaking on ‘Credible voters register’ at a conference organised by Change Nigeria Project and the Save Nigeria Group (SNG) at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, yesterday, Mr. El-Rufai stated that the new chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Attahiru Jega, should be given all the resources necessary, including time, to achieve his aim of reforming the electoral body and preparing a credible voters register.

The campaign has started

“We may have to ask the people in the National Assembly to amend the constitution, to give him (Mr. Jega) the time he needs to reform INEC,” the former minister said.

He also warned Nigerians not to put all hope of a free and fair election on the INEC chairman and the new INEC board because of the short time and limited resources at their disposal.

“Let us not expect too much from one man. We are expecting too much from one man and a few people, and I think it is not possible,” he said.

Tunde Bakare, the convener of the SNG, advised Mr. Jega to be forthcoming on his new position. Mr. Bakare, who is also the spiritual leader of the Latter Rain Assembly, stated that Mr. Jega, being the eleventh Nigerian to supervise the nation’s electoral body since independence, should not disappoint Nigerians in 2011. He said that Nigeria was in its eleventh hour and the activities of Mr. Jega could make or mar the country in next year’s general elections.

Almami Cyllahi, the African director of the International Foundation of Electoral Systems, explained that INEC “should not be solely held responsible for the accuracy of the voters register.”

“Until we continue to look at elections as a cycle, rather than an event, we will be getting it wrong all the time,” said Mr. Cyllahi, the Sierra Leonean.

Don’t expect credible elections in January

Former Cross River State governor, Donald Duke, who spoke on ‘conducting free and fair elections in 2011,’ explained that Mr. Jega could not really influence the conduct of the 2011 elections.

“He has been handed mission impossible. The chairman of INEC has little or no bearing on the success of an election,” he said.

Mr. Duke noted that based on his experience as a governor, it was the presiding officers at the over 120,000 polling booths in Nigeria that could manipulate elections most. He called for a more technologically driven electioneering process and voter registration.

While calling for support and more time to be given to Mr. Jega to do his job, Mr. Duke noted that “we cannot have credible elections in January. We can have elections, but they may not be credible.”

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The former minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, Mallam Nasir Ahmed el-Rufai on Wednesday took a swipe at his former godfather, ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo’s conduct of the 2007 general elections describing it as a sham.

el-Rufai, while describing his role during the elections as that of Arsenal player, cese Fabregas, who worked the winning goal for his country (Spain) in the just concluded 2010 world cup in South Africa said, “in 2007, virtually every member of the National Assembly from the Senate president to the Speaker, every one, down the line had to go to tribunal to defend his purported elections.

“I said purported elections because most of them were not elected at all because there were no elections. The results were just written and declared. I wish we would push this envelope to a point that Nigerians would no longer accept again what happened in 2007 elections and I think everyone knows this.

“This is why we have to look back, learn from our experiences, our mistakes and be honest enough to admit that as public leaders, we have failed to live up to our expectations, both personal and at national level. There is no need to talk about the link between politics and governance. Elections constitute the only link between politics and governance. If a person knows that he does not need to face the electorate every few years to defend his mandate, and if he knows that there is so much chance that he would not get re-elected then, the incentive for him to actually fulfil his promises is gone.”

Presenting a paper at a conference on the Imperatives of Free and Fair Elections in Nigeria in 2011 in Abuja, eL-Rufai said most of the people that claimed to have won election at that time owed their election to political godfathers, adding that “so, long as they paid the godfathers, they don’t really care what you speak.”

The conference, which was organized by the Change Nigeria Project (CNP) and Save Nigeria Group (SNG), had also the immediate past governor of Cross River State, Donald Duke, who also narrated his experiences as former state chief executive, pointing out the major problem in the conduct of elections in the country was the entire system.

According to Duke, putting Professor Attahiru Jega as Independent National Electoral Commission chairman was not enough, unless the government of the day also expressed willingness and sincerity by putting inplace credible measures and machinery to allow the process work.

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2010/july/15/national-01-15-2010-002.htm

The former governor of Akwa Ibom State, Victor Attah, on Wednesday, appeared before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over alleged money laundering charges.

The head of media and publicity, EFCC, Femi Babafemi, confirmed that Mr. Attah had been questioned by the EFCC. In a telephone interview with NEXT, Mr. Babafemi said Mr. Attah was questioned in relation to the ongoing investigation on allegetions against him on laundering proceeds from the sale of Akwa Ibom state’s shares in Vmobile networks in 2006.

However, when asked what the commission’s investigation has so far yielded and if the case will be going to court, Mr. Babafemi said, “It is all about asking him questions on some of the information we have against him, and it is now our responsibility to cross check the things he has written down against the available information, and if there is need to investigate further, we will go ahead,” adding “If we then have an established infraction against him, then we will file charges. But, as the case is, we are still at the level of investigation.”

Attah’s surprise

In the commission’s letter of invitation, dated July 9, 2010, and sent to Mr. Attah, he had been requested to appear on Monday, July 12, at EFCC Abuja headquarters.

But, Mr. Attah, who served as state governor from May 1999 to May 2007, had denied the EFCC invitation exists, saying that he does not know why the EFCC would bring up an issue it had already cleared him on. Speaking to the media, Mr. Attah said, ”this is an old issue that had been investigated by EFCC and I was cleared of any criminal wrongdoing. The sale of V-Mobile shares was not only transparent and genuine, but also profitable, as Akwa Ibom has emerged from it more than N20 billion richer.”

However, information available to NEXT shows that the case has been under investigation since 2007. The commission is investigating allegations that N45 billion belonging to Akwa Ibom State was diverted to private accounts in the United Kingdom. The former governor and others allegedly laundered about $300 million, which was the proceeds of the state’s shares in the telecommunication company, V-Mobile Nigeria Limited (now Bharti).

Between EFCC and Aondoakaa

Last year, a war of words broke out, over Mr. Attah’s case, between the then Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Michael Andoakaa, and that of two other governors, James Ibori and Bola Tinubu, who are also involved in the V- Mobile shares money laundering allegations.

Mr. Aondoakaa had issued a statement saying the governors were cleared by the EFFC on charges relating to the sale of V- Mobile shares. The EFCC immedietly refuted the claim, at which point the attorney general tried to clarify the matter. According to him, the governors were cleared by the EFCC on charges that fees from the sale of the V-Mobile shares didn’t find their way back to government coffers.

“What I believed the EFCC chairman could have said was that the fact that they have been cleared on this issue of the professional fees paid to the ADFI does not mean that other investigations on other issues are not ongoing,” he said.

Despite Mr. Aondoakaa’s explanation, the EFCC insisted it was still investigating the three governors. This recent development makes it clear the case is not over.

Not over for Tinubu’s involvement

Now that Mr. Attah has been questioned, what is the fate of the two other governors fingered in this case? That was the question NEXT put to Mr. Babafemi, who refused to give a concise answer. “These are individual transactions. These are transactions by individual states, and we will take them one after the other, depending on the level of information that is available on each of them,” he said.

According to him, “We are interrogating Mr. Attah based on the level of information at our command. So, you can’t rule out anything, please. Don’t forget that at the time Aondoakaa made the statement, a carpeting statement that they’ve all been cleared, we did come out to say categorically that we have not cleared anybody.”

The EFCC investigation is based on an report received in 2007, which revealed that, “On or about the 19th of March 2007, the commission received an intelligence report on the acquisition of V-Mobile Network shares by Delta, Lagos, and Akwa Ibom States.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/Metro/Crime/5594241-146/story.csp

I will take Both, for they are both very important to me. Which my family will always come first.

See the man

Peoples Democratic Party [PDP] National Working Committee’s (NWC) trouble- shooting efforts in Oyo State suffered a setback yesterday as Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala stormed out of a meeting with the national leadership.

After a rigorous session which lasted for over three hours, the governor left the meeting in annoyance, while his aides and party faithful scampered after him.
A Daily Sun source revealed that the NWC summoned the governor to express its disaffection over the crisis in the state chapter of the party.

A 19- member committee set up by the immediate past National Chairman, Prince Vincent Ogbulafor on the recommendation of the General Ike Nwachukwu-led Reconciliation Committee report had constituted an all-inclusive implementation committee to serve as an interim executive of the party.

While the Nwachukwu committee had given five slots in the new arrangement to the former governor of the state, Senator Rashidi Ladoja, it also gave same number to Governor Alao-Akala, leaving nine slots to be shared among members of the opposition group, the Patriotic Elders Forum, which has former Special Duties Minister, Wole Oyelese, Alhaji Yekeen Adeojo and Senator Lekan Balogun as leading members.

The Nwachukwu committee equally recommended that the Alhaji Dejo Afolabi-led state executive of the party should be dissolved for the implementation committee to function. Alhaji Yunus Akintunde has since emerged as Chairman of the implementation committee. Daily Sun findings revealed that the the state government had not allowed the Akintude executive to function, as a case instituted to challenge the Nwachukwu report by the state government is before a High Court in the state. The NWC under Prince Ogbulafor was joined as a defendant.

A PDP source disclosed to Daily Sun that the NWC impressed it on Alao-Akala the need for fresh congress to put in place a new state executive of the party that would be acceptable to all the factions particularly the Wolu group, led by Senator, Ladoja and the Patriotic Elders Forum .

“The party leadership is worried that the crisis could cost the party victory in 2011 to the advantage of the Action Congress (AC) and has insisted on an inclusive executive. Nwodo’s option didn’t go down well with Alao-Akala and he stormed out of the meeting,” the source revealed. The National Chairman has restated his determination to restore internal democracy in the party and had been advocating separation of the PDP state executive from the stranglehold of the PDP governors.
On Alao-Akala’s entourage were former Oyo governor, Chief Kolapo Ishola, the factional chairman, Chief Dejo Afolabi, among others.

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2010/july/09/national-02-09-2010-001.htm

Private businessmen within the Developing Eight Countries (D8) should take advantage of the liberal investment regimes, skilled manpower, and low cost of doing business in member countries to foster trade within the group, Nigeria’s president, Goodluck Jonathan, said yesterday in Abuja, at the formal handing over of the chairmanship of the Developing 8 countries (D8) to Nigeria by Malaysia.

Mr. Jonathan, who said Nigeria will fast-track the ratification of the Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) and others reached at the 6th Summit in Kuala Lumpur, also said for the D8 countries to achieve the intra-trade target of $1.7 trillion by 2012, the development of the maritime sector is vital, adding that it will support the growing trade volumes and targets set by member states.

“In a world which has truly become global, in which our fate as individuals and countries has now become completely interconnected and interdependent, individualism or going it alone has become obsolete and counter-productive.

“Our recognition of the power of cooperation in maximising outcomes explains why we have chosen the theme of the 7th Summit of our organisation as ‘Enhancing cooperation among D8 member states.’ This theme seeks to remind member states of the constitutive pledge we collectively made in 1997 to strengthen cooperation and coordination in the priority sectors of our economies,” Mr. Jonathan said.

He said his vision is to see the D8 focus on practical and achievable means of enhancing private participation.

“I have directed the relevant organs of my government to fast-track the ratification of the Preferential Trade Agreement, Customs Cooperation Agreement, and Visa Regulatory Regime, as agreed at the 12 session of the Council in Kuala Lumpur. I expect this process to be completed very soon and our assent to these agreements duly formalised.

“I believe the early adoption of these agreements, which truly reflects the vision and spirit of our organisation, would set the stage for mutually beneficial trade and business engagements among our various countries,” he said.

He expressed his support for the proposal for the establishment of the D8 Joint Investment Fund as a vehicle for expanding the scope, volume, and value of trade and investment among member countries. He also called for the resuscitation of the D8 Shipping Business Forum Meetings, saying Nigeria would be pleased to host such workshop as soon as it could be planned.

The deputy prime minister of Malaysia, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, pledged Malaysia’s full support for Nigeria’s chairmanship of the group and for the efforts it will be undertaking in ensuring the successful realisation of its goals.

Foster economic development

He stressed that the D-8 was established to prove to the world that Islamic nations were capable of enhancing economic co-operations effectively and the small number of member states was to facilitate and expedite the decision making process amongst member countries.

After the closed door session of the heads of states and government, the body expressed support for the proposal of the 12th session of the council of ministers to enhance greater socio-cultural contacts through training programme for young diplomats from member countries.

“We acknowledge the instrumental role of energy in economic growth and development, and while reaffirming our commitment to broaden and deepen cooperation in that sector, stress the importance of collaborative efforts of capacity-building, transfer of technology, exploration of new energy sources, development of alternative fuels, including renewable sources of energy,” the communiqué said.

“We welcome the ratification of the Agreement on Simplification of visa procedures for the Businessmen of the D8 member states; we believe that this agreement will give further impetus to increasing and diversifying intra D8 trade,” Mr. Yassin said.

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The former governor of Zamfara State and serving member of the Nigerian Senate, Ahmed Sani Yerima, is to face prosecution for allegedly committing an "act of child marriage", Simon Egede, the Executive Secretary of NAPTIP has said.

According to Mr. Egede the speculation that the agency is reluctant to prosecute the senator is not true. He said the agency does not have the right to prosecute such cases, but has concluded its investigation and forwarded its findings to the office of the Attorney general of the federation.

"Let me use this opportunity to clear the issue on senator Yerima. As you know, we investigated the case and at the end of the investigation, the report was shown to me," Mr. Egede said.

"The report shows clearly that he committed an offence; the offence shown or disclosed is the act of child marriage. It is not true that NAPTIP found him not guilty of any offence or NAPTIP did not find him liable of no primer face.

"The truth of the matter is that we found that there were evidence of investigation but not that he trafficked the young lady or that there is any abuse or other offence under the NAPTIP act, but there was a discovery of an offence under the child right act.

NAPTIP is not the legal authority to prosecute offence under the child right act, in the same way that NAPTIP does not prosecute armed robbery, does not prosecute rape, does not prosecute kidnapping. So we are not saying that there is no evidence that he has committed an offence, we are saying offence he committed is not an offence under the NAPTIP Act."


However, Mr. Egede said that "the rightful authority which is the Attorney-General of the federation, has received the report of the investigation" and that "the report has been forwarded to him for prosecution or he can give NAPTIP the charge to prosecute."

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5591749-146/agency_to_prosecute_yerima_for_violation.csp

Following criticism of the federal government’s plan to spend N16.4 billion on the celebrations of Nigeria’s golden independent jubilee, President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday slashed the anniversary budget to N9.5 billion.

The adjustments are included in the latest amended supplementary budget, which the president presented to the National Assembly for consideration and passage.

In a letter to the National Assembly conveying his intentions, the president listed the areas which the cuts affected, and said it was a “slight amendment.”

Contrary to widely circulated reports that the president,earlier presented a budget of N10 billion for approval by the National Assembly for its Nigeria @ 50 celebrations, the figures from the former supplementary budget shows that the actual figure that was budgeted for the event was N16.37 billion.

Notwithstanding the heavy criticism the misconstrued N10 billion budgets for the golden jubilee got, the new budget is just N500 million less; totalling just a little above N9.5 billion.

What changed?

The recurrent expenditure subhead, which was formerly supposed to gulp N9.3 billion for different one-off expenses distributed across the office of the secretary to the federation, ministry of foreign affairs, information and communications ministry, and the women affairs ministry, was cut down to N6.804 billion.

One major area affected by the cut was the office of the secretary to the government of the federation, whose earlier budget of N6.396 billion was slashed to N3.324 billion.

The publication of compendium on the executives, legislature, and the judiciary, and the organisation of international friendly football match, which was initially meant to guzzle N800 million, was dropped entirely.

However, designing and hosting of the Nigeria @ 50 website for 2 years will still cost N6 million, anniversary logo - N30 million, and anniversary parade, including march past, fleet review, aerial display - N950 million.

Other subheads under the office of the secretary to the government of the federation that were dropped include: memory tone at Tafawa Balewa Square - N40 million, support to Nigerian Village in South Africa during the 2010 World Cup - N100 million, and cultural, historical, and military exhibitions - N310 million.

The plans by the ministry of foreign affairs to use N600 million to organise celebrations for Nigerian missions abroad were retained, while the information and communication ministry’s plan to use N1.2 billion to insert special reports on Nigeria in local and international media was cut down to N1 million.

The women affairs ministry retained its budget of N105 million for seminars for women and children, and 50th anniversary party for 1000 children. The children’s party will cost N20 million - N20 000 for each child. Meanwhile, the National Assembly got N100 million as support for the third ordinary session of the pan-African parliament.

The standalone N1 billion put down for the provision of uniforms for uniformed services like Army, Air Force, Police, Customs, Immigration, Prisons, in the former budget was dropped too.

The capital budget subhead, which was formerly supposed to guzzle up to N7.069 billion, was slashed to N2.682 billion.

Construction of a Golden Jubilee plaza at N2.65 billion was dropped totally, while the carpets at the International Conference Centre will still be replaced with N100 million. The ministry of aviation will still use N2.25 billion for the celebration; N1 billion for the renovation of the Abuja airport, N1 billion for the provision of additional parking, and N250 million equipment for safe aircraft parking at five airports.

The national stadium and velodrome, which was initially supposed to cost N197 million, now has a budget of N120 million.

Nothing to celebrate

Even the incorrect perception that only N10 billion was budgeted for the celebration was heavily criticised by both civil society organisations and politicians - including senators of the ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP).

“This is just appropriating money for some people to siphon,” Andrew Babalola (PDP, Oyo State) had argued before the Senate last week. Osita Izunaso (PDP, Imo State) also argued that since Nigeria gained independence, the country has not achieved any meaningful progress that will justify such ostentatious celebrations.

“Nigeria at 50, to me, has not achieved anything worthy of celebration,” he said.

Although the difference between the former budget for the celebration with the latest is about N7 billion, the difference between the new budget and the erstwhile perception is half a billion naira, which analysts say will make it difficult for the lawmakers to understand and assent.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5591679-146/jonathan_slashes_n16.4_billion_nigeria_.csp

Ibime:
The Lord will send chariot of angels to save him. . . .

Are you sure of that?

MAy her soul rest in perfect peace.

The federal government has ordered a comprehensive review of the 376 bilateral agreements that Nigeria has entered into with other foreign countries and agencies, following its dissatisfaction of the outcome so far.


Nigeria has in the past forged a total of 376 bilateral ties, which the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting said the country has nothing positive to show for it.

Addressing journalists yesterday after the meeting, presided over by the vice president, Namadi Sambo, in the absence of the president, Goodluck Jonathan, who was attending to the D8 heads of state, the minister of information and communication, Dora Akunyili, said the government is worried that so far, there is nothing to show for all the international agreements.

She said the review has become very essential so as to re-strategise and reposition the nation's focus towards more fruitful and rewarding international engagements.

"Council has approved the comprehensive review and negotiation of many of the agreements as well as the need to develop a well-articulated national policy on joint commissions," she said.

"Joint/Bilateral commissions are convenient legal framework for the negotiation, elaboration and implementation of instruments covering various sectors of activities for the benefit of the nationals of contracting parties.

"Nigeria has concluded a total of 376 bilateral joint agreements in various sectors of the economy and concerns have been generally expressed about the unsatisfactory level of implementation and Nigeria's ability to derive maximum benefit from those agreements, memoranda of Understanding (MOU), and related instruments concluded under the joint commissions' framework," she further said.

Based on the above, she said, council considered and approved a comprehensive review and possible re-negotiation of the non-performing agreements to ensure that Nigeria derives maximum benefits from them.

The minister added that the council also approved the creation of an inter-ministerial committee, under the leadership of the ministry of foreign affairs, to develop a well-articulated national policy on joint commissions, that would be monitored by the National Planning Commission. All existing agreements are to be reviewed and submitted to the council in the next eight weeks.

New kits for schools

The minister of education also brought a memo before council, seeking approval for the award of contract for the procurement and distribution of 2,544 science kits for selected public junior secondary schools (JSS) nationwide by the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC).

Council had, at its meeting of 5th May 2010, approved the contract for the procurement and distribution of 2,331 science kits, but directed the ministries of education and science and technology to re-examine the procurement process, with a view to allowing the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) to execute it through sole sourcing method.

The project will be financed by the UBEC, from the balance of the funds for the school feeding programme approved for the utilization of instructional materials for the basic education sub-sector.

The minister of state for power also presented a memorandum seeking approval for the award of contract for the construction of 2X60MVA, 132/33KV substation at Igangan and 132KV switching station at Igbo-Ora.

She added that the project is one of the initiatives aimed at facilitating the anticipated increase in the nation's electricity generation capacity. When completed, the project will strengthen and improve the transmission system reliability.

"Council, therefore, considered and approved the award of contract for the construction of 2X60MVA, 132/33KV substation at Igangan and 132KV switching station at Igbo-Ora, in the sum of £7,3million, plus N885.6million."

Completion period is 18 months.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/Metro/Politics/5591224-147/fg_to_review_376_bilateral_ties.csp

The Action Congress will not select its presidential candidate based on any zoning arrangement, the National Publicity Secretary of the Party , Lai Mohammed has said.


Mr Mohammed said this yesterday in Ado Ekiti during a visit by the leadership of the party to the state. He informed members that the party has pegged the age limit for its presidential candidate to 50.

"AC is not interested in zoning where the candidate would emerge from, but on ability," he said. "[The] Action Congress will not field any politician older than 50 years old as its presidential candidate in the next general election in 2011."

Mr Mohammed added the party's arrangement will throw the ruling Peoples Democratic Party into confusion, as it moves to draw in more youth into politics.

"We have a policy in place which will ensure that youth leaders are not older than 30 years. We need to move forward in this country.

"We need a president who is agile, a president who will be able to move quickly. People are able to give their best in their prime," he said.

"We want to take over the Presidency by 2011. We have been holding talks with other political parties because we know that those who we are dealing with are dishonest and are ready to hold on to power by all illegal means."

Similarly, Tajudeen Olusi, the National Vice Chairman of the AC in South West, said young people should be encouraged to participate in politics.

"People like Chief Obafemi Awolowo was not up to 50 years of age when he became the premier of Western Region," he said.

Building coalitions

Mr Mohammed explained that the party has had held discussions with Muhammadu Buhari, Atiku Abubakar, Athahiru Bafarawa and some aggrieved members of the PDP and that this informs its decision to change its name ‘from Action Congress to Action Congress of Nigeria'. The change, he said, will be effected by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/Metro/Politics/5591106-147/action_congress_rules_out_zoning_for.csp

The Federal Government has sent a formal request to the government of the United Kingdom for the arrest and extradition to Nigeria of Erastus Akingbola, former managing director and chief executive officer of Intercontinental Bank. He is to face trial for fraud allegedly committed by him during his tenure as chief executive of the bank.


The letter, dated July 1, and signed by the Attorney General of the federation, Mohammed Adoke, was addressed to the British Home Secretary, the Home Office, and the United Kingdom Central Authority, London.

The request by the government was consequent upon a request from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for Mr. Akingbola to be extradited to face trial for 28 charges preferred against him for fraud-related offences at the bank.

List of offences

The charges cover allegations of financial misappropriation, money laundering, financial malpractices, corrupt practices, and other related offences pending against him at the Federal High Court (FHC), Lagos.

The Attorney General, who prayed the Home Secretary to grant the request in the interest of justice, said government's action was pursuant to the Extradition Act (Designation of Part 2 Territories) Order 2003 (SI2003 No.3334) of the United Kingdom, for the purpose of his being brought home to stand trial for the offences he is being charged.

The request was supported with an affidavit deposed to by Ibeakaku Nkechi Rita, a deputy superintendent of the EFCC, as well as a certification signed by Ahmed T. Almakura, senior state counsel of the Federal Ministry of Justice.

History

In the wake of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) intervention in the nation's banking sector, which resulted in the sack of the chief executives of five banks last year, Mr. Akingbola, who was abroad when he was sacked along with others, decided to stay away from the country.

This led to his being declared wanted by the anti-graft agency. He was declared wanted in connection with alleged fraudulent abuse of credit process, insider trading, capital market manipulation, and money laundering running into billions of naira.

Though several requests were reportedly sent to various international security agencies around the world, including the INTERPOL to help facilitate Mr. Akingbola's arrest and extradition, these appear to have been to no avail.

Property sealed off

Early this year, the EFCC sealed off his Lagos home, located at 12, Ruxton Road in Ikoyi, in line with the order of the Federal High Court, Lagos, presided over by Justice Tijuana Abubakar, that his assets be seized and his bank accounts frozen to help recover depositors' fund, allegedly misappropriated under his stewardship in the bank.

The court also granted an order of Mareva Injunction restraining Mr. Akingbola, his wife, Anthonia Tolulope Akingbola, his children, relatives, solicitors, servants, associates, trustees, agents, privies and companies from removing, alienating, disposing of, or diminishing the value of assets whether held directly or indirectly, or for his benefit within the jurisdiction of the court up to the amount set out, pending his trial.

The arrest and extradition order, which was dispatched by DHL Courier Services for his service at his known abode at No. 26 Chester Terrace, London, England, NW 14 ND, also restrained him from giving directions for sale, transfer, alienation, disposal, dealing with stocks, or other forms of securities held or kept by the central securities clearing system in Nigeria, or any custodian, stock broker, registrar, held whether directly or indirectly by him.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/5591205-146/nigeria_asks_for_akingbolas_arrest_extradition.csp

Supo Sonibare is the Chairman of Lagos chapters of Afenifere and the Democratic Peoples' Alliance Party (DPA). He speaks on leadership problem in Nigeria and the expectations from President Goodluck Jonathan.

Below is an interview he had with NEXT's Segun Balogun:

We do not seem to have a system to replace leaders, what is the problem?

There has been a shortage of leadership materials participating in the polity from the second republic. In the first republic, no one nurtured the likes of Zik, Ahmadu, and Awolowo, and others we had then. They had this overriding interest and zest of wanting to improve their society to the benefit of the masses. Though, we still had charlatans who attempted to contest elections but we were fortunate that we had the participation of a larger portion of the professional class. The trend in subsequent republics have been the dwindling of the participation of the professional, artisans, and labour class and the increase in the number of charlatans wanting to hold political offices.

What is responsible for the dwindling participation?

We must understand that even if you are able to escape the poor economic hardship and build substantial wealth, you are likely to lose it all the day the unstable society you live in explode or implode. I think our selfishness and the notion that politics is dirty have also contributed to our leadership problems.

How did our politics come to be known as a dirty game?

It's simple. Most of us keep having a stereotype idea of who our governor or leader should be without actively supporting somebody that fits the bill. So, charlatans took over and for them, politics is not exchange of ideas that bring the best to the society, it is a life and death game because they have no other means of staking a gainful employment or livelihood.

This is what I hope we can change in the next election because we are at a precipice that will push us into a failed state and the consequences of that will affect those who are not even participating in the polity as well.

So what motivation is there for politically apathetic Nigerians?

We only need to look at those we considered as icons of leadership in this country called Nigeria - we are not yet a nation. All that Tafawa Balewa had to himself was a bungalow in his hometown. These are people who value education and want the best for the society. Awolowo, Zik, Ahmadu all had an unbridled passion for societal transformation. I don't think we can call politics a dirty game when we look at these icons.

May be for the temporary moments, the crooks have seized the Nigerian treasury but they are people we won't remember with any positive inclination in the next 40 to 50 years.

Do we need leadership institutes as we see in other developed nations?

I don't think having institutes that teach best practices in governance will change anything in Nigeria at the moment. We are probably more religious than any other country in the world and religion is supposed to nurture people to be God-fearing. So, if religion has been largely effective, we shouldn't have leadership problems because respected leaders like Martin Luther are religiously motivated people.

If the Church has not been able to produce credible political leaders, despite the fact that we are more church-going and if Islam hasn't been able to do the same despite been the most literary based religion, I don't think any institute can do that in Nigeria.

Any elected leader who disappoints his constituency naturally gets booted out as we see recently in the UK. What we need most is active participation in politics and credible electoral system.

What does Nigeria needs now to move forward?

We need that somebody that will change things for better. Institutions don't just spring up; somebody must sacrifice to make the change. I saw President Goodluck's swearing-in ceremony and realised our oath-of-office has more undertakings than that of Ghana, South Africa, and US.

If a Nigerian president abides by the oath alone, he doesn't even need any 7-point agenda before he would have done credibly well.

What should be President Jonathan's agenda?

He must first combat corruption. Look at the amnesty programme, a good idea that does not lack funding but is failing to yield positive result because of corruption. The same thing will happen with the power project too.

What is DPA most critical about in the current Lagos State administration?

We've always taken the view that the current administration can be more prudent in managing public funds, though we always submitted that the incumbent governor has also done better than the previous one. We also believe this administration should fare better than Jakande's who did so much to affect the lives of the majority of Lagosians because the State has more financial and human resources than many other States in Nigeria.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/Metro/5568388-147/story.csp

Abuja faced a major security scare yesterday after hundreds of Niger Delta "ex-militants" arrived the federal capital for a scheduled protest over alleged unpaid amnesty allowances.



The youth covered hundreds of kilometres travelling through the night from the oil region, to reach the outskirts of Abuja in several cars and mini buses early Wednesday morning, setting up unusual tension within the security community and among residents.

Heavy police deployments halted the large convoy at Gwagwalada, about 40 kilometres from the city centre, and less than 15 kilometres from the city airport, after an earlier police attempt to stop the group was suppressed by the youth at the border town of Abaji, residents said.

The youth, who appeared normally dressed and unarmed, said they planned to protest at Abuja and hold talks with President Goodluck Jonathan, over their unpaid allowances approved as part of the amnesty programme, which had helped nip armed insurgence in the oil rich region of Niger Delta.

Residents said they were awoken around 3am by loud noise near a bridge in Gwagwalada, where heavily armed police personnel stretched their tanks and long buses across the expressway to bar the ex-fighters from the city over security fears.

The blockade, barring both lanes of the road, remained for hours halting traffic on the busy express road, while the youth set up high blaring music speakers atop their buses.

Panicky residents fled the area in the morning, as speculations mounted that the confrontation may result in armed conflict.

Concerns of a possible attack on the federal capital have remained in the years of heightened armed strikes on oil installations in the Niger Delta region, but lowered after the federal government successfully completed an amnesty programme last year.

One leader of the group, who gave his name as General Alex Obudu, in charge of Sumu-Okurugbolo camp in Bayelsa State, said his "boys" and others, reached a decision this week to lay their complaints at the FCT, after being repeatedly denied of the dues from the programme.

Not attacked by military

He said his camp produced 120 of the members of the trip that visited Abuja, and confirmed they were not armed or attacked by the police.

"We are grateful of what the federal government has done, but Timi Alaibe will not let us receive our money, so we brought our fighters to Abuja and they will not allow us in," he said at about 1pm yesterday.

Mr. Obudu said the different camps organised the vehicles they used from "borrowings" and were not stopped until they arrived at Abaji, the border town between Abuja and Kogi State.

The heavily numbered youth, easily pressed beyond a police checkpoint at Abaji which attempted to bar them from the FCT.

Major police deployments, led by the deputy Inspector General, in charge of operations, Israel Alao, lined key locations along the routes leading into the town, and successfully halted the convoy after six of the buses were allowed in for communications with the president.

"We have reached the three arms zone and we are satisfied with what the president said, and we are ready to go back," said Mr. Obudu.

The groups departed Abuja at about 1.36pm for Bayelsa State.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/Metro/Politics/5591212-146/ex-militants_cause_scare_in_abuja_trip.csp

Ex-militants in the Niger Delta region made good their threat by storming Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in the early hours of yesterday, to protest the alleged poor handling of the post-amnesty programme.

The militants took Abuja by surprise as they sneaked in by road through Gwagwalada via Lokoja. Their plan was, however, scuttled by officers and men of the Nigeria Police, as armed policemen took over all major roads and streets of Abuja as well as major highways, leading into the city.

As early as 4 o’clock in the morning, acting on security reports, the police hierarchy deployed officers to take charge to prevent the militants from entering Abuja.
It could not be confirmed when the rampaging youths numbering over 1000 departed their base in Bayelsa State. But reliable sources hinted that they arrived Abaji, a border town between Kogi State and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), at about 3.30am on Wednesday.

At Abaji, the youths ran into a blockade mounted by men of the police Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS), who were, however, reportedly overwhelmed by the numerical strength of the invaders. Even as the police, through wireless communication attempted to halt the ex-militants at a bridge a few kilometres after Abaji by using a patrol van to barricade the road, the youths, Daily Sun learnt, physically carried the vehicle off the road and proceeded on the journey.

The ex-militants, who gathered at student village, Gwagwalada, Abuja-Lokoja Road, were seen carrying placards with various inscriptions such as “Amnesty second is Here,” “Alaibe Must Go”, “We’ll go back to Creeks, Enough is enough”, among others.

The militants, whose strategies could hardly be predicted came in 66 buses and taxis. Their strategy worked as many of them were able to beat some security check points, mounted by the police and other security agencies and eventually found their way into Abaji, Kwali and Gwagwalada Area Councils of the FCT.
The police team, led by the Niger State Commissioner of Police, Mike Zuokumor, in a very calm and diplomatic manner told them that government was not comfortable with their invasion of Abuja, but that only their leaders would be allowed into the city.

The interaction that ensued between the police and the militants caused heavy traffic gridlock that lasted almost the whole day, forcing commuters to cancel their trips. Leader of the ex-militants, Aso Tambo, who spoke on behalf of his group said their mission was to see Mr. President Goodluck Jonathan, on the second phase of the amnesty programme that has not been documented.

The ex-militant leader also demanded the sack of the Senoir Special Adviser to the president on the Niger Delta, Mr. Timi Alaibe, for frustrating the efforts of government in considering the repentant militant, saying despite consulting him on three different occasions, there had been no fruitful result.
“Amnesty is a Presidential offer to all Niger Delta militants after we have surrendered our arms, it is for the government to mobilize us by rehabilitating our people. But Alaibe has been deceiving us from one office to the other,” he said.

Leader of the combined group of the repentant militants, Augustine Oges told Daily Sun in an interview “we are the ex-militants that have since dropped our arms nine months ago and embraced government’s amnesty programme but are yet to be documented for payment.
“We had been blocked not to enter Abuja by the police and the military. We understand President Goodluck Jonathan got some information that we are coming to protest in Abuja and had directed that we should be blocked. But we are only asking for our documentation and identity cards that will qualify us for payment of our allowances.”

According to Oges, they had deviced the peaceful approach because “we do not want to destroy the peace deal we had with government. We may decide to go back to the creeks and continue with what we know best to do but we have decided otherwise.” The ex-militants, however, blasted President Jonathan and his Adviser on Niger Delta Matters, Timi Alaibe, for not being sincere with the implementation of the amnesty programme since the late President Umaru Yar Adua who initiated the programme died.

“We regret with sorrow that Yar Adua is dead. We would have been better of by now. Our deal with government would have been perfected by now. The ex-militants claimed they had been dribbled by the Federal Government since they were asked to embrace its amnesty programme and surrender their arms for the sake of peace and development of their area but nothing had been done.

But Police Commissioner, Mike Zuokumor, explained that they had the directives not to allow them to enter Abuja. Though, he was quick to state that as Nigerians, they were free to move to any part of the country as citizens, but defended that government’s action was hinged on the fact that their gathering constituted security threat.

“We have been directed to get them off the road and get to take their leaders along with us for a meeting with the police and other top security hierarchy in Abuja. “We are here also to avoid the break down of law and violence,” he explained.

Commuters on the ever busy Abuja-Lokoja-Kaduna Expressway were stranded for several hours, just as residents of Gwagwalada, host town of the temporary site of the University of Abuja and neighbouring communities scampered for safety. In the ensuing melee, four of the buses conveying the ex-militants scaled the police barricade and zoomed straight to the Eagle Square in central Abuja, within the precincts of the Federal Secretariat and the Nigeria Police Force Headquarters.

Later, Chief of Staff to the President, Mr. Mike Oghiadome, arrived to address the ex-militants, who stated that they were excluded from the list of ex-militants registered by the Presidential Committee on Amnesty. They said they were also aggrieved by rumours that contracts awarded by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) were unilaterally cancelled by the Managing Director, Mr. Chibuzo Ugwuoha.
They also demanded for the payment of not less than N350,000 as their entitlements after passing out of the rehabilitation camp at Obubra, Cross Rivers State, where they are currently undergoing training for skill acquisition.

Oghiadome gave them assurance that the presidency would tackle their complaints within the next two weeks.
Key coordinators of the various militants groups in the Niger-Delta and their leaders including Ateke Tom, Fara Dagogo and some others, however, denied knowledge of the invasion of Abuja.

After hours of negotiations, the batch of ex-militants who had beaten the security network to the Eagle Square eventually agreed to retreat based on Oghiadome’s assurances. By 1:15pm, the convoy of the militants were eventually escorted out of the FCT by a team of policemen and other security agencies to Lokoja, the Kogi State capital, based on a mutual understanding that the promises of the Federal Government would be fulfilled in the next 14 days.

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/features/newsonthehour/2010/july/08/newsbreak-01-08-2010-001.htm

The Federal Capital Territory Authority (FCTA) has advised residents of Lugbe, a suburb in Abuja, to vacate the area, as the demolitions that took place there on Tuesday are a precursor of further government action.

Hamza Madaki, a deputy director in the Department of Development Control of the FCTA, yesterday, said that the airport road is a gateway to the city and that no shanties will be tolerated along this expressway.

Mr. Madaki said that the FCTA had long concluded plans to demolish the Lugbe suburb, but a court case had delayed the exercise.

“We have tried to remove Lugbe on a number of occasions. I addressed them in January this year, and before the end of February, I gave them a notice to pack out, that we are going to demolish the place.

“They are aware, and we would have finished everything by now if not for the court case that held us back. So, as soon as soon the judgment was read, we swung into action,” said Mr. Madaki.


Sudden destruction

Residents of the suburb were gripped with panic when, on Tuesday, bulldozers arrived at the area and began pulling down houses, shops, and churches located on the fringes of the town.

A faction of Lugbe residents had filed a suit asking the court to order FCT authorities to stay action on the demolition exercise, but the case was quashed. Within minutes of the court judgement, bulldozers arrived in the suburb, almost as if the FCTA had known the eventual outcome of the judgment.

But residents are not folding their arms. Mr. Mustapha, a prince and chairman of the Lugbe Residents Association, and three others filed a suit yesterday, appealing the judgment in court.

Mr. Mustapha said the initial court action, which ended in Tuesday’s demolitions, was an act of sabotage. He said there were ongoing talks with the government on how to resolve the matter amicably, before a faction led by John Okonkwo filed a suit against the government.

“They filed a suit without the mandate of the whole residents. We see them as saboteurs who have collected money from the government to betray us,” he said.

Residents described the destruction as insensitive. They accused the federal government of being oblivious to plight of the masses.

“We want them to allocate the plots to us and give us their plan,” said Mr. Mustapha. “We are ready to pay, but for them to evict us, demolish the place, and allocate it to other people is unfair on us.”


The fight continues

The bulldozers have since moved out of Lugbe, but there are indications that they will return soon.

Mr. Madaki said it was the notice of appeal that necessitated the temporary suspension of the exercise.

“Why we stayed action is because of the appeal. We are waiting for advice from our legal unit, and as soon as we get the final clearance, we will go back to Lugbe. My advice to them is to pack out before it is too late,” he warned.

Some residents who did not have the funds to transport their household items were selling them off at give-away prices, while some landlords were selling their buildings for as low as N5000 per unit.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/National/5588536-147/lugbe_residents_to_expect_more_demolitions.csp

This is money that can be used for better things like Education, Light,Road etc why just waste the money? mr J do review this.

Pillar of Sports in Nigeria and Abia State’s former governor, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, has advised the Alhaji Sani Lulu Abdullahi-led Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to resign with immediate effect to save Nigerian football.

Dr. Kalu, who was reacting to President Goodluck Jonathan’s directive withdrawing Nigeria from all international football competitions, said that he believes that Mr. President would have a change of mind if the board of the NFF resigns immediately.

“I heard the news on Wednesday and I feel that what President Jonathan did was quite in order and I must salute his courage to do what other leaders have failed to do in the past.

This idea to call FIFA’s bluff by sacking the NFF has been on the table long ago but nobody had really been able to act to save our football before now. “I am also appealing to the NFF board led by my very close friend, Sani Lulu, to quietly resign from the NFF and save the future of Nigerian football. If Sani Lulu loves this country with members of the board, they should resign today and give room for the youths of this country to grow in soccer.

“I must commend the Presidential Task Force set up by the Federal Government to ensure we qualified for the World Cup for doing a good job with the Super Eagles qualification and participating as well as for making good recommendation to the President on the way forward” he stated.

He said that he would be speaking with both the FIFA and CAF presidents, Issa Hayatou and Sepp Blatter respectively to see reason why Nigeria had to take the action she took, adding that he would appeal to them to be lenient with Nigeria because the decision was in the interest of the country.

The man, who steered Enyimba International FC as the Abia State chief executive to two consecutive CAF Champions League trophies, urged President Jonathan to start correcting the wrongs of the past by taking a roll call of the Enyimba’s squads of 2003 and 2004 for winning the trophies that had eluded the country for more than 30 years, back to back by giving national honours to the players who brought glory to the country

He said that he was ready to offer advice to Mr. President on how to restructure the administration of the game in the country ‘but our appeal is for the NFF executive to resign and perhaps the President may reconsider the withdrawal from international competitions’.

Dr Orji Kalu said that he had the belief that if the board resigns today, Mr President could have a rethink by allowing our the Falconets to go to the Under-20 World Cup in Germany, pointing out that he would personally appeal to Lulu to take the path of honour and resign today to start with.

“I believe that we have men and women who have passion for the game and who are ready to serve the country and take it to the next level. President Goodluck Jonathan should look out for such people and let them handle our sports”.



http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/sports/2010/july/02/sports-02-07-2010-001.htm

Two different Northern elders groups yesterday in Kaduna differed on whether President Goodluck Jonathan should contest the 2011 presidency.
While the group led by Mohammed Dikko, the former Inspector General of Police, insisted that Jonathan should not contest the 2011 presidential election, the group led by former national chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Solomon Lar was, however, democratic about the issue, saying:

“We have come to discuss the issues that are going on in Nigeria and we’re trying to find a solution to the problems that are trying to crop up in the polity of this country and we had a wonderful and useful discussion with the excellencies, and we believe that a solution to the problem will soon be found and Nigeria will take its rightful place among countries of the world.”
The two northern political leaders’ groups made their differences known before the Northern governor,s meeting yesterday in Kaduna.

The Mohammed Dikko group comprised notable politicians, including Professor Jerry Gana, the former governor of old Kaduna State, Lawal Kaita, former Senate president, Iyorcha Ayu, They said the turn of the North in 2011 elections should not be truncated, “simply because we lost our son, Umaru Musa Yar’ Adua.”
The Solomon Lar group, which comprised the former national chairman of PDP, Barnabas Germade, the former governor of Kogi State, Abubakar Audu, the newly appointed Special Adviser to the President on Special Duty, Senator Isaiah Balat insisted on political summit to discuss the 2o11 presidency.

According to the spokesperson of the Dikko group, Senator Iyorcha Ayu, “As you all know very well the Northern governors are our governors in the 19 Northern states and are meeting here to discuss the issues that are affecting the North as a whole and we are here as members of the northern political elders with the delegation led by former I G of police, Alhaji M. D. Yusuf. “He is the leader of the delegation and we are here to talk to our governors about the future development of the North and particularly the current political development in the country.

“We have expressed our views about the issue of the presidency in particular and we have come to intimate them on the argument and why we think that the president of the country for the next four years should still be in the north. Our arguments are simple and we had made this public when we met in Abuja few weeks ago.
“That it is only fair that after president Olusegun Obasanjo’s presidency which was facilitated by the north for eight years that the northern part of the country should not be truncated just like that because our son, the late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua died.

“And that the North should produce the next president after which it will still go back to the South. It is for the interest of unity and stability of the country. “That if the zoning of the presidency to the North is truncated it may affect the zoning arrangement even in the states where zoning does take place. We are not against our southern counterparts. In fact we believe that the rotation will serve our southern counterparts better and we believe that any key person in the southern part of the country, who is interested in running for the presidency should please wait till 2015.

“We believe that we will give that support, but if at the end of the day, our wish is not respected because it is a democracy and we cannot compel anybody and we have made it clear to the governors that this is actually our position. It is a position for unity and stability of the country.”

Meanwhile, the 19 northern governors rose from their meeting in Kaduna yesterday with a resolution to involve all stakeholders in the decision whether or not the North would support President Goodluck Jonathan for the 2011 presidential election. The governors, however, said the current debate on the matter across the country should continue, believing that it was healthy for the polity.

In their communiqué read by the Chairman of the Forum and Niger State Governor, Dr. Muazu Babangida Aliyu, the governors said having listened to various political views on the matter, they resolved to go back to their various states and consult with the people on the matter. The communiqué read in part: “We looked at one very important issue that has become a national concern and we noted that zoning was conceptualized with the best interest of Nigeria at heart whereby the presidential candidate for the presidency will move from North to South and we know that it is an excellent way to resolve many problems and ensure the unity and progress of our people.

“We note that this issue has been generating a lot of problems and many people have been discussing it. We encourage this discussion to continue so that an amicable solution can be arrived at. However, beyond zoning, we know the importance of producing competent and performing leadership for the country. “We also appreciated a democratic balance, the need for discussion and dialogue on all matters concerning the unity and progress of northern states within the context of a united Nigeria. As a result, we resolved to provide leadership on these matters and all matters concerning the unity and progress of our states.

“The forum had the opportunity to listen to various groups of elders and we looked at all their concerns and these are the issues that have been bothering us and we advised them to dialogue among themselves so that we can get a consensus as to the actual position on the matter.

“We also said we will go back to our various states and meet with stakeholders so that we can resolve this matter once and for all. We have given ourselves a deadline but that is not for public consumption at the moment.
“All discussions should continue at the various levels, but we do believe that this is an issue we can surmount without any difficulty. So, people should not be apprehensive. We resolved to provide that leadership as we have been doing and we will do it in consultation with all the stakeholders.”

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2010/july/02/national-02-07-2010-001.htm

The federal government is ready to go the full trot to sanitize our country’s football house and even though it is liaising with the world football organising body FIFA over its decision to suspend the Super Eagles, it is ready to damn the consequences of its action, the minister of Sports, Ibrahim Bio, said yesterday in Abuja.

Following the poor outing of the Super Eagles, our country’s football team, in the on-going World Cup in South Africa, Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday directed that Nigeria be withdrawn from all international football competitions for the next two years.

Mr Bio, who met with the press at the presidential villa yesterday, said the government can no longer live with the rot in the football house simply because it wants to avoid FIFA sanctions.

“My friend, you cannot have cancer and continue to live with it because you don’t want to spill blood; we are ready to spill blood to remove the cancer,” he said.

The minister added that the government is more concerned about the interest and sovereignty of the country and people who are so passionate about football on this issue than what FIFA might say.

“As you are all aware, Nigeria is so passionate about sports and we are trying to have a deliberate policy whereby we can encourage our local league to be very attractive so that not every time we have to be looking to foreign-based players and when they are not available we continue to wait,” he said.

The minister also said that the government is trying to liaise with FIFA in order to get things done without necessarily violating FIFA rules. He also said that the country cannot continue with the old order, where the needed synergy between the ministry and the Nigeria Football federation (NFF) is lacking.

“Nigeria will do everything possible to take the interest and sovereignty of Nigeria first and foremost, and if that is in conformity with FIFA rules, so be it, but if it is not in conformity with FIFA rules, I think the sovereignty of Nigeria and interests of the people is most paramount,” he said.

“Again, a situation whereby we have competitions and there seems to be no proper coordination between the supervisory ministry and NFF does not augur well for our football. Nobody is taking anybody’s job but in the interest of this country, people should be able to talk and do things better. What we presented at the World Cup, was a shame.”

Lack of commitment

Mr Bio identified lack of commitment on the part of the players as a problem that must be addressed, saying some of the misses by our players showed complete lack of commitment on their part.

“I cannot imagine an international player misses a goal that is almost two to three metres to the net and he is laughing or smiling; there is no sign of regret,” he said. “That is the level of patriotism that gets Nigerian government concerned. They should show some sense of remorse and regret so that the people will not say that it was an intended action.

“Invariably, what we want to do is to get people who by their experience will restructure and reorganise our football and start right from the grass roots, invigorate the clubs and encourage more football academy where we can get young men to replace the present ones. That takes time and experience.” Former minister of interior, Demola Seriki, who was at the presidential villa, said the federal government’s action is the best for us given the way the way football is going in our country. He, however, said once the issue of football administration is tackled, he does not see the country staying away for that long from the international football scene.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/5588755-147/minister_says_fear_of_fifa_wont.csp

Senators yesterday lambasted the presidency’s plan to spend about ₦10 billion on the celebration of Nigeria’s 50th anniversary as an unnecessary extravagance.

The lawmakers who were debating the supplementary budget bill submitted by President Goodluck Jonathan, which included the sum of ₦10 billion for the celebration, described the plan as bogus and out of place. “This is just appropriating money for some people to siphon,” Andrew Babalola (PDP Oyo State) said. “It should be removed completely and budgeted for employment generation”.

Mr Babalola added that it was misplaced priority for the nation to spend that much on celebrations when most able-bodied Nigerians are without jobs.

His argument was taken up by other senators who said there was nothing to celebrate.

Osita Izunaso (PDP Imo State) said that since Nigeria gained independence, the country has not achieved any meaningful progress that will justify such ostentatious celebrations.

“What are we celebrating?” Mr Izunaso said. “Nigeria at 50, to me, have not achieved anything worthy of celebration.” Arguing in the same line, Joseph Akaagerger (PDP Benue state) said: “I do not think there is something to celebrate after 50 years, I support the bill (supplementary budget) but nothing should be reserved for the celebration.” Others argued that even though the nation hitting the golden age in unity calls for celebration, the celebration is not worth the N10 billion proposed for it.

“My idea is that the money voted for the Nigeria at 50 celebrations should be slashed to the barest minimum and we think of appropriating it for job creation and reduction in unemployment,” Dahiru Kuta said.

Since the presidency made the decision to spend N10 billion on the celebration of the nation’s 5oth independence anniversary, it has come under heavy criticism from the general public, setting up a cue for the senators.

Progress on budget

The supplementary budget, which is worth ₦639 billion, however passed through for second reading despite the oppositions to some of its contents.

Teslim Folarin, the senate leader who led debate on the bill, said the additions being sought after by the president will also be applied to settle the negotiated civil service wage increase and the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) arreas of monetisation.

“This bill becomes necessary due to the desire of the federal government to provide funds to accommodate certain critical items such as statutory transfers, debt servicing, the service-wide vote and other critical expenditure heads that were either inadvertently omitted or under-provisioned for in the 2010 appropriation act,” the senate leader said.

The senate also passed the request of the president to slash the 2010 budget by 40 per cent for second reading.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5588714-146/senators_slam_presidency_over_n10b_anniversary.csp

Goveror Theodore Orji of Abia State has resigned his membership of the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) with the intention to join another political party which he will soon make public. In a Government special announcement signed by the Chief Press Secretary, Mr Kingsley Emeruwa, and read on Broadcasting Corporation Of Abia State (BCA), the governor in a formal notice entitled: “Withdrawal of Membership”, dated June 28, 2010, and addressed to his former Ward Chairman in Urban Ward 1, Umuahia North LGA, and copied to the National Chairman, Orji disclosed that his decision to quit PPA was irrevocable.

According to him, it is in response to the yearning of a vast majority of Abians over whom he superintends as governor, and who no longer consider their interest protected within the confines of the party.
He said that the governor had of late been inundated by calls and appeals from thousands of his supporters, urging him to quit the PPA that has been bedeviled with crisis.
This , Emeruwa said, would give him time to continue delivering the promises of his campaign as well as chart a peaceful political course for the people.

A source from the Government House said in the next few days that the governor will make public his new political party which he will stand to contest for his second term bid.
Our source said further that the Chief of Staff to the governor, Mascot Uzor Kalu, had written his letter of resignation to the governor, to intimate him about his intention to leave his government for personal reasons.
It was gathered that Mascot, who is the younger brother to the former governor Orji Uzor Kalu , had concluded plans to return to America from where he came to pick the job of the chief aide to the governor in 2007.

Addressing journalists in Umuahia, the Special Adviser to the governor on Electronic Media, Ugochukwu Emezue, said that the PPA national office erred when it asked the governor to pay all arrears of workers salaries and mend fences with the party’s Board of Trustees (BOT) Chairman, Orji Uzor Kalu.
Emezue said: “The PPA called the governor for a meeting in Abuja, but the governor told them that he was indisposed and will answer them when his health improves. But the governor in his wisdom wrote to them, answering all the issues they raised”.

He said that since they have taken their decision without taking the governor’s written submission into consideration, “the governor is now asking them to release his response to the National Working Committee of the party to the public without delay.”
The governor’s aide noted that his boss had repaired most of the roads in Aba, contrary to what the PPA are saying, while security net work in the commercial city had also improved with compliments from the Federal Government.

Link: http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2010/june/30/national-30-06-2010-04.htm

Founder of the Household of God Church and chairman of the Fresh Democratic Party, Chris Okotie, yesterday declared his plan to contest the 2010 presidential election, his third attempt to govern Nigeria. Mr Okotie, former pop artist turned evangelist, made this known at the secretariat of the Fresh Party (FDP) in Lagos.


"I will run again in 2011," stated Mr Okotie. "It was a divine call to duty to salvage our beloved country from the inept, corrupt and purposeless leadership of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP)." Addressing journalists, the 52-year-old preacher claimed he is motivated by a patriotic zeal and love for Nigeria, to be at the vanguard of the needed change to transform the country. According to him, "the emergence of a credible, visionary and progressive government can usher in a new Nigeria of our dreams" claiming that his "fresh agenda" can "create a new nation which will take its rightful place in the comity of nations." Reacting to a question about the truthfulness of his proclamation in 2003 that "God has ascertained that I will win the election", Mr Okotie responded by making a comparison between himself and the biblical Moses, saying "When God wanted to use Moses to lead Israel out of Egypt, he did not tell him when he was going to succeed but he assured him that he was going to succeed." He also added that only those who do not understand the difference between the exothermic and the endothermic level will doubt what God can do with him.

Flanked by two children (a boy and a girl) during the address, Mr Okotie explained that the kids represent "a new generation and a new nation where everything will work for the good of all." "We cannot afford to disappoint them" he said.

Disappointing PDP

The presidential aspirant was full of condemnation for the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) stating that since the government came to power, no solution has being proffered to the "multifarious problems" that confront the nation, but rather the socioeconomic and political situation in every sector of the country has collapsed, going from bad to worse.

"The PDP cannot continue to run on this record," he said, claiming that the party's reliance on rigging of elections explains why "they refuse to consider the Uwais report on electoral reform" . He joined calls for the immediate adoption of the Uwais report and also decried the zoning system, which he called a PDP aberration.

With his alleged failure of the PDP to Nigerians, Mr Okotie claims he is ready to restore the nation to a path of growth, stability and security. He, however, declined to outline the blueprint for achieving his vision.

Link: http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5587480-146/okotie_launches_fresh_presidency_bid_.csp

It wasn’t exactly the Armageddon; but for those who witnessed it firsthand, no other word could have aptly described the fiery scenario. At the corporate headquarters of The Sun Publishing Limited, publishers of Daily Sun, Saturday Sun, Sunday Sun, Soccer Star and The Spectator, Tuesday, June 29, 2010 was an unusual day. It was the day an unwanted guest visited, devouring items worth hundreds of millions of naira.

It was the day a mysterious fire came calling at the complex housing the offices of Nigeria’s highest selling newspapers, spreading unmitigated gloom among the workers.

By the time the air cleared, several offices had been greedily consumed by the mystery inferno even as millions of naira worth of equipment and, especially, newsprint, lay in ruins.
As Monday night dissolved into dawn on Tuesday, several weary staff stood with mouths agape, as they stared at the disaster caused by the early morning conflagration.

What they had on their lips were questions: “How did it happen? What brought about the fire that almost turned this beautiful dream into a nightmare?”
Israel Akiode is a panel beater as well as a staff of the circulation department. Having finished his job on Monday night, the young man had packed a few chairs with which he made a bed in the Sports Desk located beside the Press hall. Not too long after, he woke up with a start and discovered that he was almost choking. He was the first person to notice the smoke.

“It was a few minutes before three O’clock,” he told the reporter. “Everybody was sleeping. I was also sleeping inside the office of the Sports Desk with a few other people, including Femi Eseku, the graphic artist. All of a sudden, I noticed a thick smoke. So, I woke Femi up and we both ran out. We went straight to inform the head of security. By the time we came back, we discovered that the smoke had covered everywhere. We discovered that the fire started from the clinic.


“We then went to wake everybody sleeping in Sports and Soccer Star offices. We also wanted to force the door to the clinic open, but the security man, Emma, told us that there was nobody inside. When we opened the door, we discovered that the entire place was on fire. We tried to put out the fire with the fire extinguishers, but we couldn’t do much. At this time, people had started gathering. Everybody was trying to quench the fire, using buckets to fetch water and everything. But by that time, the fire was becoming uncontrollable. Then it burst into the Sports desk. That was when we knew that things had got out of hand.
“Then I collected the keys of some cars parked in the premises from the security and I started driving them out. Ndubuisi, the driver of the staff bus, also joined me in moving the vehicles out.”

Femi Eseku also relayed his experience. Corroborating Israel’s account, he said by the time he rushed out, he was already blinded by the smoke and couldn’t see anything. As such, neither him nor Israel was able to retrieve their personal belongings from the fire.
“We lost everything,” he recalled. “I mean everything. Our phones, shoes, bags and everything that belonged to us were consumed by the fire. By the time the fire fighters came and battled the inferno, we had lost everything.”

He also recalled the moments after he was rudely roused from his early morning slumber. “By the time Israel tapped me, I was already choking. By the time we woke everybody up, the whole place was in darkness. We ran out and the alarm that we raised woke everybody in the press hall and in the other offices.”
The senior security man on duty, Mr. Emmanuel Igwe, was one of those who helped contain the fire before the fire fighters came. “We began to fight the fire with all available tools,” he said. “I called the fire service first before I called my security manager, Mr. David Ugbudian. Eventually, the fire people came and helped us put out the fire.”

Editor of The Spectator, Mr. Shola Oshunkeye, was in his office when the unwanted guest called. He told Daily Sun that he had just concluded producing his paper for the week and was about nestling down on a couch in his office when he got an unusual call.
“I was in my office on the second floor when I got a call from the Night Editor, Mr. Oluwole Ogunbameru. He said I should come out, that the place was on fire. I rushed out. When I got to the floor, the fire was actually belching out ferociously. I was alarmed. But the staff on night duty did a tremendous job curtailing the fire. People grabbed whatever they could and started fighting the fire. I quickly called the MD and the DMD to inform them about the incident.

I tried the numbers of some senior police officers in the state, but they were not going through. I then drove to Julius Berger and was given the numbers of their fire department. I called and called, but they did not go through. I started coming back in frustration. At Mazamaza, my car just packed up in the middle of the road, but miraculously, I saw a police patrol vehicle. I went to meet them and they now took me to the Festac fire station. Another patrol team soon joined us, and that was how the fire people started coming. Eventually, about six or seven fire trucks came and battled the fire.”

Mr. Rasak Fadipe, assistant director, Lagos State Fire and Safety Services led the team of fire fighters to the scene. He said that the outfit, knowing the importance of The Sun in Nigeria, had to deploy no fewer than five fire-fighting trucks to the scene.
“We want to commend the workers,” he noted, “especially the security men and the drivers of forklifts who helped us. We also commend the federal fire service for providing one vehicle, and we commend the Nigeria Navy for providing their fire-fighting vehicle.”
Very early that morning, top management staff of The Sun gathered at the company’s headquarters in Apapa. The managing director and editor-in-chief, Mr. Tony Onyima, his deputy, Mr. Femi Adesina, as well as other directors, editors, their deputies and other management staff, all watched as the fire was brought under control.

In an address to the staff, Onyima expressed appreciation to God that no lives were lost in the inferno. He said the fire was not enough to kill the spirit of The Sun and vowed that the newspaper would continue to attain greater heights. He assured that the newspaper would not be daunted by the inferno.
Former managing director/ editor-in-chief, Mr. Mike Awoyinfa and his erstwhile deputy, Mr. Dimgba Igwe were also at the company to express their solidarity with the management and staff. In a short address to the staff, Mr. Igwe said:

“Looking at what happened, it could have been worse. We thank God for His divine intervention.
“The Bible says that in whatever circumstance, we should give thanks to God. The latter rain shall be greater than the former rain and by the time this whole place is rebuilt, it would be better than what it was before. Let no man’s heart fail him. I want you people to encourage yourselves, be loyal and committed and support your management.

Awoyinfa, the former MD, added: “The Sun must not die. It will continue to shine, and grow from strength to strength.”
Principal Manager, Human Resource, Pastor Patrick Enilama, said it was cause for thanks that no lives were lost to the inferno.
“We thank God for His mercies,” he said. “We are grateful to him that no life was lost in what happened. This is no time to apportion blames on anybody.”
And for Mrs. Ify Anyalechi, the Procurement and General Services Manager, the incident actually provided an avenue to be grateful to God.
“We have every cause to bless the name of the Lord,” she said. “Whatever has been lost would be restored. The Lord’s hand is upon us; no life was lost. We are grateful to Him for He has done great things for us.”

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/features/newsonthehour/2010/june/30/newsbreak-30-06-2010-001.htm

Had fun with a girl in the bush around 11:30pm.