₦airaland Forum

That President Musa Umaru Yar’Adua has been away from public view since the 23rd of November 2009 is no longer news. That his absence and the subsequent power play and shenanigans almost led the country to a state of anarchy is also not a news story, what is however bizarre is the tragic-comedy we are being subjected to by handlers of the President, the more we try to move forward as a country, putting the Yar’Adua drama behind us, the more forces behind the presidents disappearance are also determined to keep the Yar’Adua memory on our table. It is done in such a way that they arrogantly want to tell us we can not move forward as a people without the President. If the President is sick we should be sick, if he coughs we must cough, how best can we describe the macabre dance?

Check out the rough time-line, 23rd November 2009 Yar’Adua was reported to have walked on to the Presidential Jet unassisted and jetted out to Saudi Arabia for a “routine medical check up”. The country was subjected to series of debate as to how “routine” the presidential check up was. The presidency spent weeks refuting speculations that he was smuggled out of Nigeria, then as tensions rose with online bloggers digging, the presidency was forced on the 26th of November 2009 to release a statement that he had pericarditis – inflammation of the heart lining, when it became obvious that the restlessness of a minority calling on the president to step down was becoming justified, a court case was filed on the 23rd December urging him to step down, followed suit by two more court cases by January 5, and then several protest in four continents followed, on the eve of a mass protest in Abuja Nigerian capital a man purportedly President Yar’Adua “granted few minutes interview with the BBC and at a time his country was being put on a terrorist list all Mr Yar’Adua could think of was to wish the Nigerian football team “good luck” in the African cup of Nations football tournament.

Under pressure from Nigerians and with its own survival in mind a docile national assembly circumvented the constitution and rather than impeach Yar’Adua went for a political compromise by invoking a forgotten “principle of necessity” to make Vice President Goodluck Jonathan acting president, Nigerians grudgingly accepted the faith accomplice so as to in the usual mantra “move the nation forward” but as determined as Nigerians are to move forward, those who appear to have hijacked Yar’Adua and making political advantage of his incapacitation are for ever determined to place Yar’Adua’s interest above the interest of 150 million Nigerians, it was first the Nollywood style drama of bringing what appears to be Yar’Adua into Nigeria in the wee of the night without the acting Presidents having a clue that a military operation was taking place, then news feeds about the president drinking the traditional tea with a long lost cousin who later disappeared after his Al-Jazera interview, then before the tea got cold, we were entertained with another news feed of the president taking walks around the beautiful gardens of Aso Villa and having syndicating whispers with birds and nature, all this while is closest next door neighbour who happens to be his Vice President even with powerful binoculars could not set eyes on Yar’Adua and then we were told the president was meant to resume work and shame his enemies.

When the usurpers ran out of lies and scripts, a nation not lacking in drama had to go for another round of expectations with Yar’Adua handlers telling the world he would appear at the Abuja Central mosque, Nigerians took it upon themselves to run live updates at the mosque and the closest of what they got was a Yar’Adua poster close to the entrance of the mosque, as the appearance failed to materialise, Islamic clerics where horridly arraigned to brief doubting Thomas’s that Yar’Adua was fit and healthy as he managed to raise his hands and that was it, our president is fit as a result of a medical certification of a local imam, whose diagnosis was the raise of a hand.


When you think the Yar’Adua handlers had ran out of script and that we would be allowed to face the many daunting challenges facing a sleeping giant of a Nation then from the Nollywwod script came a bombshell. Christian leaders had been arraigned to meet Yar’Adua and in case a doubting nation did not believe the raising of a hand story of a local Islamic cleric their was the need to enroll the service of respected men of God and who else than Bishop David Oyedepo who is described as the “flamboyant pastor and jet-set cleric of the prosperity winners chapel, accompanied by Reverend Emmanuel Kure, and Archbishop Onaiyekan and by the time the men of God left Yar’Adua the medical report they could come with was President Musa Umoru Yar’Adua being hail and healthy and managing to “grunt Amen” and then a denial by senior pastors in Oyedepo’s winners chapel, swearing to God that Bishop Oyedepo was busy tendering to his disciples in Ota during the time of the said Yar’Adua visit and that the on line media Sharareporters fabricated the story.

Before we could say Sahara our man of God was seen less than 24 hours after the Yar’Adua visit in the company of Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Ogun State governor Gbenga Daniel and the many Oluwos of Egba telling Nigerians to mind their business that his visit to Yar’Adua was a very private visit and like every soap opera in Nigeria, a visit by cleric to a President who refuse to see his deputy or any member of his ruling party is in the words of the Bishop “private” and then the denial swept under the carpet. We can not touch the anointed men of God but pretty soon God “grunt” will become a roar and then questions will be asked, what a sad ending to a badly written script, do we have to be reduced to this comedy?

Why cant Yar’Adua’s handlers get it and acknowledge that the power game is up, let the man rest, recover peacefully and if it is Allah’s wish that he his in last days give him the grace to reconcile with his creator and our nation the grace reconcile with the task of “moving forward” it is time to save Yar’Adua from Yar’Adua so that Nigerians can free Nigeria from some Nigerians.

Link:

http://www.saharareporters.com/articles/external-contrib/5738-the-imams-came-the-bishops-saw-the-president-grunt-and-he-said-amen.html

Lagos Pastor and leader of the pro-democracy Save Nigeria Group, Tunde Bakare, has criticised the recent visits of Muslim and Christian clerics to President Umaru Yar’Adua as “the theatre of the absurd.”

Mr. Bakare, who spoke in Lagos on Tuesday, on the heels of Monday’s visit of Christian leaders to Mr. Yar’Adua, said: “It doesn’t matter the number of clerics and ‘babalawo’ taken there. The simple truth is there is something to hide. You know those who operate in the light cannot be afraid to come out.”

He said it is not a crime to be sick, but that Nigerians deserve to know the state of health of their president.

“My good wishes and prayers to the president, if he is truly recovering,” he said. “If they are playing a dangerous political game with his health situation, then nobody should give support to the foolishness that is going on.”

Citing the example of Fidel Castrol of Cuba, the clergyman said powerful world leaders had also found themselves in such situation before, but have been open about it. He said the cohorts taking care of the president should be asked: “what is wrong with allowing the acting president to see him at the Aso Villa?

“I think you journalists should do a serious investigative journalism on this. To be honest with you, I think everything is just becoming the theatre of the absurd; that is all that I could say.”

Last Thursday, some Islamic leaders have visited the ailing president. On Monday, it was the turn of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), whose leadership claimed they sighted and prayed with Mr. Yar’Adua.



Link:

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5551153-146/bakare_faults_clergys__visit_to.csp

Authoritative sources have told Saharareporters that former Governor James Ibori of Delta State organized yesterday’s visit of four Christian leaders to see ailing Nigerian ruler Umaru Yar’adua in Aso Rock Villa.
Archbishop John Onaiyekan, the outspoken Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, Bishop David Oyedepo, the high-flying prosperity pastor who is general overseer of the Winners Chapel, Pastor Yusuf Obaje, who served as chaplain in Aso Rock during former President Obasanjo’s tenure, and Reverend Emmanuel Kure of the Throne Room Church in Kaduna made the trip to see Yar’adua.

Our sources said that Ibori, who remains in hiding after the EFCC chairperson, Farida Waziri, tipped him off on plans to arrest him for fresh money laundering offences, made contact with several Christian leaders to arrange a “Christian” visit to the gravely ill Yar’adua. Ibori, our sources said, acted at the request of Turai, Yar’adua’s wife, who felt that a visit by a Christian group would be a good move after an earlier visit by Islamic prelates backfired.

Besides, Ibori reportedly told her that a visit by Christian leaders would help calm a raging negative storm triggered by the visit by Muslim clerics. One of the Islamic clerics, Datti Ahmad, had issued widely reported threats that Nigeria would experience crisis if Yar’adua was removed from power.

“Hajia [Turai] convinced Chief Ibori to arrange some Christian leaders to see her husband, whatever his condition, to douse any lingering controversy – and also to enlist some Christian sympathy for her desire to secure her husband as a continuing relevant factor,” said one source.

After Saharareporters broke the news about the composition of the Christian delegation, some newspapers rushed to town with claims that Archbishop Onaiyekan and Bishop Oyedepo had denied being part of the delegation. But Oyedepo today broke his silence in Abeokuta where he had gone to preach at Governor Gbenga Daniels’ birthday event. Besieged by reporters, Oyedepo confessed that he was actually part of the delegation. However, he arrogantly told the newspapers that he does not owe the Nigerian public an explanation for his visit, which he described as private.

Our sources disclosed Turai Yar’adua was overwhelmed by the public outcry that greeted the visit to her husband by four imams. A close source to one of the imams revealed that the Islamic leaders had held several meetings with Turai to fine-tune strategies for frustrating “acting President” Goodluck Jonathan’s consolidation of power. Saharareporters has learnt from various political sources in Abuja that Mrs. Yar’adua had lost a lot of sleep over the possibility that her physically ravaged husband could be declared incapacitated by a new cabinet put in place by Jonathan. “She had hoped that the imams’ visit could help ignite some sort of demonstration after Friday prayers in mosques across the north,” said one security source. When that outcome failed to materialize, she asked Ibori to help reach out to credible Christian leaders who could help douse the criticisms trailing the visit by the imams.

One source said that Ibori first contacted Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor who declined the offer. He then invited Oyedepo, Onaiyekan and Obaje who agreed to pay a visit. Obaje, who had a falling out with Obasanjo towards the end of his tenure because the ex-president had failed to anoint him governor of Kogi State, was said to be “excited to be part of the delegation.”

Saharareporters could not establish why Onaiyekan, who has a reputation for being outspoken about political corruption, and Oyedepo agreed to be part of the delegation. However, our source indicated that Ibori specifically recruited Reverend Kure to “help the Yar’adua group out with some propaganda.”

“Perhaps unknown to the other three, Reverend Kure was specially hired to do the same job for Turai Yar’adua that Dr. Datti did after the Muslim clerics’ visit,” said one source. “That job was to present to the public an impression that Yar’adua was making steady improvement and should be expected to return to office.”

However, after being grilled by foreign correspondents and local journalists after the encounter with Yar’adua, Kure was forced to admit that Yar’adua could only manage to grunt “Amen” during their prayer session with him. In yet another interview he said that he had closed his eyes to pray and could not tell if Yar’adua actually said Amen.

A source told Saharareporters that Onaiyekan was keeping silent for now because he was reportedly too shocked at the condition of Yar’adua.


Link:

http://www.saharareporters.com/real-news/sr-headlines/5735-how-james-ibori-recruited-christian-leaders-to-visit-yaradua.html

Acting President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday announced Shehu Ladan as the new group managing director (GMD) for the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation. Mr. Ladan takes over the job from Mohammed Barkindo.

Spokesman of the acting president, Ima Niboro, who announced the change in the nation’s oil company, said Mr. Ladan is expected to execute the administration’s vision of transforming the NNPC into a global brand and player.

Mr. Jonathan thanked Mr. Barkindo for his stewardship and wished him well in his future endeavours.

Caught unawares

Mr. Barkindo was at the State House for the inauguration of the new cabinet and the sack obviously caught him unawares. Many sources have said he has been uncomfortable since Deziani Allison-Madueke was announced as the minister of petroleum. Mr. Ladan retired from the NNPC on April 6, 2009, as group executive director, commercial and investment.

He was also deputy managing director of the Nigeria LNG, executive director of NETCo as well as NPDC, both subsidiaries of NNPC.

There are also indications that the acting president will be overseeing the ministry of power. This explains why no substantive minister was announced for the ministry. It only has a minister of state, Nuhu Wya.

This will also not be the first time a president will be presiding over a ministry. The former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, also presided over ministry of petroleum for a short period.

Taking charge of power

While announcing the new order in the power ministry, which until the dissolution of the last cabinet in March 17, was presided over by Lanre Babalola, Mr. Niboro said the acting president will take charge of power for a certain period.

“The acting president will take charge of power for a certain period,” he said. “There is a new concept about power. It is going to run as a body that will be chaired by the acting president as chairman and he will take responsibility as minister for a certain period of time and the minister of state will be deputy chairman. This body will work in close harmony with the power subcommittee of the presidential advisory council and Barth Nnaji heads this committee. He is an experienced power consultant.”

Mr. Niboro also added that the body to take charge of the new power initiative will be unveiled in a matter of days.

He further explained that the “new concept”, which is aimed at actualising government power generation target, is responsible for the vacant position of the substantive minister for the ministry of power.



Link:

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5551141-146/ladan_replaces_barkindo_at_nnpc_.csp

Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka has demanded audience with the ailing President Umaru Yar’Adua as a worshipper of Orisa, following recent visits to the presidency by leaders from the nation’s two main religions - Islam and Christianity.

Orisa is a generic name for traditional Yoruba religion.

Mr. Soyinka made this demand yesterday at the Civic Centre, where he delivered a lecture titled ‘Leadership and Followership as shared responsibility’ at an event organised by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG).

Proper examination

Reacting to the reported visit of religious leaders to Mr. Yar’Adua over the weekend, Mr. Soyinka said “the clerics that have visited him have been very modest in their report. One said he couldn’t speak while another said he heard him grumble, but both agreed he could not use his hand. It is time a committee of Nigerian doctors actually see Yar’Adua and examine that his hand was truly raised and as well examine if the hand can be used properly.”

Mr. Soyinka said there should be no limit to the group of people allowed to see the ailing president.

“There is a kind of insolence going on around the precincts of Aso Rock and, as privileged groups are now allowed to see him, I am going to send an application as a follower of Orisa demanding that Sango worshippers also want to see him now,” he said.

He then alleged that the president is a victim of spousal abuse and referred to him as President “Yar I do or die”.

Leadership with a sign

In his lecture, Mr. Soyinka, defined the leadership in Nigeria in two ways: governmental leadership and civil leadership and he decried both level of leaderships in Nigeria, saying “government leadership in Nigeria is generally with a sigh.”

He also criticised the previously active civil society in the country. He said that, due to lack of leadership, “civil society became unbelievably comatose, and it took a lot too much of slapping just because each of them was looking for leadership.”

He therefore said Nigerians need to boost civil leadership so as to balance the zones of leadership; stating that “it is the civil leadership that has authority, what government leadership has is just power, and only the civil society can hold the government accountable. We need to make that power ludicrous.”

He commended renewed effort, as seen with the campaigns of the Save Nigeria Group (SNG) and Enough is Enough coalitions.

“The SNG is an ecumenical, non-partisan and very-very focused group, which is why I joined them,” he said. “This momentum must not be lost or else we return back to the treachery. People must develop the spirit of inconvenience and boycotting. NEPA would not have reached this deplorable state if the civil society was active. This kind of situation is intolerable. Nigerians are amazing people to have taken this much.”

He urged Nigerians to rally around the new movements, which seem to have found the required leadership. Using a Yoruba adage that says “debating if it is the man or woman that killed the snake is irrelevant, what wants matters is that the snake must be killed,” Mr. Soyinka said “that snake of corrupt or manipulative leadership must be killed.”

Iwu must go

The literary icon again reiterated his call for the removal of the chairperson of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Maurice Iwu, calling the INEC boss “a human obstacle to reforming the system.”

Then, reacting to a member of the audience who wondered about the point of voting if one knows that “in an election, my vote will not count”, Mr. Soyinka condemned the level of indolence of the Nigerian citizen, whom he described as “people always blaming the system.”

He called on Nigerians to come out of their shells and fight for the redemption of the country.

“Even when you know that your vote will not count, protecting that vote is part of the shared responsibility otherwise we get into the negative cycle where the other half makes sure you won’t have what you ever want,” he said. “If you rob me, I think it is my responsibility to go after you. It is a simple logical attitude.”

Sam Ohuabunwa, the NESG’s chairperson, affirmed that, with the small population of corrupt leaders, “the massive size of the civil society will swamp the government.”

He identified the problem of civil society as a lack of civil leadership. According to Mr. Ohabunwa, “the challenge today is that the civil society needs to improve their leadership because the more vibrant the civil society, the more accountable the governmental leadership.”

Link:

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5551095-146/soyinka_wants_orisa_worshippers_to_visit.csp

Almost a week after they were cleared by the Senate, the 38 ministerial nominees selected by the Acting President, Goodluck Jonathan, will be inaugurated today at the presidential villa.

A statement released by the presidency yesterday, stated that the inauguration will take place at the Council Chambers of the presidential villa,at noon.

The nominees were screened in specially organised sittings of the Senate, which held back to conclude the job before it proceeded on a two-week recess. David Mark, the Senate President, said his colleagues rushed the screening of the nominees in the interest of the country. Mr. Mark also advised the Acting President to sack any of the ministers who fails to perform.

The ministers were picked from all the states of the federation, except Taraba, whose nominee was rejected, and Ebonyi State.

"We have spent several hours to be able to screen and confirm the ministers. It is our wish and hope that once these ministers are allocated their portfolios and when they resume, they will earnestly do what they promised us here," Mr. Mark said.

The ministers will be assigned portfolios during the ceremony.

Lobbying intensified

Meanwhile, NEXT gathered that the ministers, their supporters, and different interest groups, have intensified lobbying to make sure their nominees get choice ministries.

A source at the presidency said this was the reason for the shifting of the inauguration from last week Thursday to today.

The cabinet was dissolved on March 17, 2010 by Mr. Jonathan, who has had a testy relation with the cabinet he inherited from his boss, Umaru Yar'Adua.


Link:

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/Metro/Politics/5550602-147/jonathan_inaugurates_cabinet_today__.csp

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Yayale Ahmed will lead the formal signing of a new bilateral agreement between Nigeria and the United States of America to take place this week in Washington DC.

Mr. Ahmed will sign the agreement on behalf of the Acting President, Goodluck Jonathan, who had originally planned to make the trip. He is also scheduled to meet senior policy makers in the American capital.

Before leaving the country on Monday night, Mr. Ahmed spoke to key officials about the objectives set by the Acting President before his journey. High on the agenda was the increasingly tensed relations between Nigeria and America following the attempted plane bombing last Christmas by Umar Abdulmutallab.

He said that although the Federal Government respects the concerns brought by the America administration, Nigeria has proved its ability to stabilise its governance and displayed loyalty to its constitutional legacy and foundation.

The SGF spoke with gratitude towards the long lasting efforts made by the US to support Nigeria and its people.


Link:

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5550640-146/yayale_jets_off_to_america_in.csp

The special adviser to the president on petroleum matters, Emmanuel Egbogah, has urged members of staff of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to brace up for the eventual transformation of the corporation, which is the major component of the proposed Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).

In a statement on Tuesday, the NNPC said that Mr. Egbogah gave this admonishment while delivering a keynote address in Abuja to senior staff of the corporation to kick start the zonal NNPC town hall meeting/road shows on transformation.

The presidential adviser said that for the proposed change to produce the desired effect, workers in the corporation must be ready to make themselves agents of change through their day-to-day official responsibilities and behaviour. “Transformation of the NNPC will enable the company to meet the aspirations of the key stakeholders and the generality of Nigerians,” he said.

Commitment is essential

Mr. Egbogah said, “Effective transformation in any society or organisation does not happen by accident or through directives and instructions handed down from management or the leaders. It can only be achieved through the collaboration and commitment of management and staff at all levels to implement a pre-planned set of activities and initiatives.”

He urged the management and staff of the NNPC to embrace the new entrepreneurial culture that would enable it to compete with other jurisdictions with huge hydrocarbon resources, saying that the transformation is capable of promoting social and economic development of the country.

According to Mr. Egbogah, the development of the NNPC is imperative, considering the significant role that the oil and gas sector plays in Nigeria’s economy. He revealed that the sector accounts for about 30-40 per cent of Gross Domestic Product, 85 per cent of government revenue, and about 95 per cent of foreign exchange earnings.

“The transformation of PETRONAS of Malaysia has significant poignancy for Nigeria as both countries share similar development challenges, as well as similar aspirations of economic and national development,” the special adviser said.

Urgent reform

Meanwhile, Mohammed Sanusi Barkindo, the group managing director of the NNPC, said that in recent years the corporation has recorded series of negative postings in cash flow, hence the need for urgent reform to save the corporation from insolvency.

Mr. Barkindo said, “The management of the corporation has adopted five key strategies, namely: set up NNPC for growth, turn around maintenance of refineries, build retail and integrated trading business, build gas and power plan, and develop new partnership model in order to put the corporation on the path of profit.”

Meanwhile, Elizabeth Emuren, the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, is optimistic that that the transformation of the NNPC would reposition the company for good and put it on the right frame, where the majority of Nigerians would benefit from the oil and gas resources of the country.

The petroleum bill

While briefing members of the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream) on the state of the refineries in the country, last week, Mr. Barkindo said the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company Ltd., a subsidiary of the NNPC, currently produces an average of 1.5 million litres of fuel daily after its “turnaround maintenance which was executed within budget.”

Mr. Barkindo urged the National Assembly to pass the Petroleum Bill into law, saying that its passage would create an enabling environment for the deregulation of the downstream sector of the petroleum industry, which would ease the present fuel supply and distribution burden on the corporation.

“We at the NNPC would continue to do the best we can to ensure that fuel supply and distribution reaches every nook and cranny of this country until the passage of the PIB; but I must confess to you that the current situation is not sustainable, considering the huge cost borne by the corporation,” he said.


Link:

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Money/Business/5548504-146/presidential_adviser_appeals_to_nnpc_.csp

Acting president, Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday in Abuja warned African leaders to be diplomatic when making statements about other nations.

He said this while receiving the Liberian President, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf who was visiting to broker peace between Nigeria and Libya over statements by the Libyan leader, Muammar Ghaddafi that Nigeria should break up.

Mrs. Johnson-Sirleaf was received at the presidential villa at about 5pm yesterday by Mr. Jonathan and his protocol team, aides as well the National Security Adviser, Aliyu Gusau and the Secretary to the government of the Federation, Yayale Ahmed. She came with a special envoy from the Libyan government which was led by Muhammed Sherif, Secretary General of World Islamic Call Society based in Tripoli. Others present were Rafa Al-Madani, the executive secretary of Forum for Arab-African Non Governmental Organisation and three Embassy staff in Nigeria.

Speaking to journalists after the closed door meeting between both presidents and their aides, Ima Niboro, the special adviser to the acting president on media, said the meeting was to create a rapport between the two countries and to mend fences.

"It is actually an initiative on her part to broker rapprochement between Nigeria and Libya; so she came with two special envoys from the president of Libya, President Ghadaffi and the purpose of the meeting basically is to establish the level of rapport so that the two nations can put behind them the recent statement that has been made and move forward. So it is a process that has been initiated and it is continuing and, God willing, we will see it to the end," he said.

When asked if Nigeria is actually ready to mend fences, Mr. Niboro said: "the acting president made it clear that all leaders should be diplomatic in their comments about other nations, that there are certain kinds of statement that you can make that can substantially ruffle feathers in other nations. So he actually said that there should be an effort from all other leaders to be a little circumspect over the affairs of other nations."

The peace process, he said, is brokered by the president of Liberia ‘to reinstate African unity, and to move ahead.' "The Liberian president is worried about the statements that the Libyan president made and their potential effect on African unity and that is why she came and has made this commendable effort to broker this peace," he said.


Link:

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/National/5548574-146/jonathan_warns_ghadaffi_over_comments_on.csp

Anyaoku, Olusola advocate enthronement of social justice
A few months shy of her fiftieth anniversary, the consensus is that Nigeria as a country is yet to find her depth. Just this year alone, the country has suffered fresh violence, twice, ethnic and religious crisis erupted in Plateau State, there was a brief resurgence of militants attacking oil installations and also linked to the detonation of a car bomb in Delta State, the very first occurrence of the use of such a device in our clime, and of course the now accepted cases of kidnaps and political motivated killings. Also pertinent is the outfall of the prolong ill-health of President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua and the attendant power struggle that is yet to be fully resolved.

These developments and the anticipation of an enviable and egalitarian future for the country informed the lecture theme of the National Daily Awards Ceremony, which held last Friday, 26 in Lagos, entitled: 'Strategies for Conflict Resolution in Nigeria', delivered by one time Minister of Information, Professor Jerry Gana and presided over by former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku.

Setting the tone for the discuss and the evening, the Chairman, Chief Anyaoku Emeka Anyaoku noted that, “Our country at the moment is at a threshold, we are struggling to entrench our democracy, and we struggling to manage series of conflicts that have occurred and still occurring in the country, the challenge of entrenching our democracy is there for all to see.”

Equally expressing his dismay at the conduct of the National Assembly concerning the ongoing constitution amendment, he said, “We are currently watching our National Assembly seeking to amend our constitution, I must say that the signs are not in my view extremely good. That as I read in one of the newspapers this morning that at least one half of our National Assembly is thinking of making it legal for elected representative to cross carpet, I think that would be a disaster for our democracy also that some section of our National Assembly is contemplating in removing the barring of people indicted from contesting election for public office, which would be another disaster for our democracy because one of our main preoccupation should be how to entrench good governance, good governance in widest sense of having a government that adhere to the principle of good ethic, I believe that if adopted, the two methods will set us back.”

Commenting on the theme of the lecture, Anyaoku stated that, “The topic: Strategies for Conflict Resolution in Nigeria, given to Professor Jerry Gana, is coming at time that we have occurrences in Niger Delta region and in Plateau State, I think that this theme is timely.”

In his presentation, Gana was quick to establish the potentials imbued in the country. “Nigeria”, he acknowledged, “is truly a great nation. A rising democracy, a country of over 140 million people, intelligent, educated, mature, educated, civilised, and very highly mobile because one can find Nigerians on every continent of the globe, doing well confidently, so am not one of those discouraged about Nigeria.”

Gana further stressed that, “Nigeria has a great future, and that Nigeria has a role of leading not only Africa but leading the world.” He emphasised the fact that, “Nigeria will rise, Nigeria will develop, Nigeria will get there, Nigeria will be admired.”

And that in addressing one of the issues facing great nations, one should bear in mind that Nigeria is not a simple nation. “Some of the challenges, tensions and difficulties we are going through may not be facing us.”

He then cautioned as well as sent out an appeal to Nigerians that, “No matter what we are going through presently, I do not want us to consider the option other people are considering wrongly, because if anything were to go wrong in Nigeria, which other neighbouring country will contain us.”
Thus, “Nigeria must remain Nigeria”, he emphasised.

Digging into the theme of the lecture, Gana subdivided his paper into three areas, Relationship between the Government and the People, Conflict Resolution and Sustenance of Peace.

He noted that the 1999 Constitution in part stated that, “Nigeria shall be a state based on the principles of democracy and social justice.” Adding that the constitution expressly predicated these principles on the fact that sovereignty belongs to the people from whom government derives all its power and authority and that the security and welfare of the people is the primary purpose of government.

Right to life is fundamental, and the government exists for the people to be secured, and that there cannot be development without security.
Gana pointed out that for the country to gain the desired peace, stability and security that would engender dynamic growth, the principle of free and fair election must be embraced. One of the problems he identified as facing the country presently is that voters are being refused their primary power of exchanging those governing them.

Another is open debate, democracy, he said, does not provide means of governance but also a veritable tool of resolving conflicts at all levels. Gana, also cited, the need to educate voters, stating that only enlightened voters can sustain a good democracy through which good leaders can emerge.

Gana again hammered on the need for the upholding of the principle of social justice, which he said is important of the resolution of social justice. He added that years of neglect of social justice and good leadership have been the cause of conflicts in the country.

A survey of conflicts in Nigeria, according to Gana, showed that most of the nagging issues borders on, Power struggle as in politics; Control of scarce resources as in the Niger Delta; Conflict over land as in Plateu, Nasarawa, Taraba and Niger States, between farmers and graziers; Development inequalities; Ethnicity and minority issues; and Religious intolerance.

Under the second phase of his paper entitled, Conflict resolution, Gana advised that it is logical for mediators to determine the nature and root cause of a conflict in order to arrive at a meaningful and lasting resolution.

Discussing the third phase of the lecture, Sustaining resolutions, Gana opined that proper implementation of agreed terms of settlements should be pursued to logical end. He cited the slow pace in which the recent Niger Delta Amnesty was handled and expressed satisfaction on the renewed vigour introduced by Acting President Goodluck Jonathan.

Buttressing Prof. Gana's submissions, the Founder and Chairman of the African Refugees Foundation (AREF), Chief (Ambassador) Segun Olusola, mni.OFR, warned that once Nigerians continue to distinguish between, 'strangers and indigenes' then conflicts would continue to surface. He advised State Governors to set up structures that will make various states habitable to all Nigerians without any distinction.

In is welcome address, the Managing Director and Chief Executive of the National Daily Newspapers, Mr. Sylvester Ebhodaghe noted that the paper is, “proud to say that every alumnus at the National Daily Awards has continue to break the trail in making us proud in their various fields and making us proud that every choice we made were not wrong after all.”
He also disclosed that National Daily has over the years been guided by the advice of Joseph Pulitzer, one of the greatest journalists of all time to “Put it before them briefly, so they will read it, clearly, so they will appreciate it, picturesquely, so they will remember it and, above all, accurately so they will be guided by its light”.

“National Daily”, he explained, “has maintained the lead in investigative journalism and our reports are founded on the sanctity of facts, which in today's Nigeria has become a moral burden. But as Marguerite Duras said 'Journalism without a moral position is impossible. Every journalist is a moralist. It's absolutely unavoidable'. We have singled ourselves out with every sense of duty, vigour and an unwavering spirit to the enthronement of good governance in Nigeria.”



Link:

http://www.nationaldailyngr.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=785:i-see-hope-for-nigeria-jerry-gana&catid=99:current-cover&Itemid=489

THERE is no love lost between former President Olusegun Obasanjo and the First Lady, Hajia Turai Umaru Yar'Adua. The gulf between the two preeminence citizens keeps widening every other day.
The once-upon a time chummy relationship between the former President and wife of the incumbent substantive president worsened as a result of the controversy surrounding Yar'Adua's ailment and Obasanjo's alleged Janus faced comments.

However, the most recent cause of friction is Obasanjo's alleged role in the nomination of Alhaji Murtala Yar'Adua for ministerial appointment in acting President Goodluck Jonathan's new cabinet. This perceived meddlesomeness is the threatening to tear entire Yar'Adua's family apart.
Murtala is the eldest son of President Umaru Yar'Adua's late elder brother, General Shehu Yar'Adua.

National Daily sources said that Turai and Murtala's section of the family have been quarreling over Turai's alleged maltreatment of Shehu's wife, Hajia Binta and her offsprings including Murtala, the ministerial nominee.

Turai was said to have hit the roof when she heard that Murtala has been nominated for ministerial appointment and that it was Obasanjo who recommended him to acting President Jonathan. Turai according to sources immediately set out to thwart Murtala's chances of scaling through the National Assembly and security hurdle.

“She contacted some influential politicians and northern leaders to pressurize Murtala to reject the offer” an informed source said.
Turai and pro-Yar'Adua group believe that the choice of Murtala was intended to further divide the Yar'Adua family and discourage any concerted agitation against alleged systematic dismantling of Umaru Yar'Adua's presidency.

“Turai also believe that Obasanjo and his allies wanted to spite her for perceived obstinate role in protecting her husband's presidency when he was on admission in a Saudi Arabian Hospital. She said that some people were not happy that she brought her husband back to Aso Rock.” Our source said.
It was learned that at the behest of Turai, certain Nigerians mounted pressure on Murtala to reject his nomination in the interest of family unity and his uncle, Umaru Yar'Adua's image.

But he was said to have remained recalcitrant saying instead that he cannot shirk his responsibility to his fatherland.
However, sources said Binta and her children were undaunted in their support for Murtala and have allegedly warned him not to capitulate to Turai and her cohort.

When Turai could not persuade Murtala to shun his nomination, she allegedly reached out to her mother in-law Hajia Habib Dada to call the “audacious young man to order”.

However Hajia Habib Dada was not swayed by the emotional issues that were raised by Turai through her emissary. She was said to have rather accused the First Lady of being the cause of the raging feud in the family. The old woman, our sources said, reasoned that Murtala is old enough to decide his preferences in life.

Another member of the Yar'Adua family, Alhaji Yusuf, allegedly advised Turai to calm down and allow the will of God to be done.
“However, the ministerial nominee (Murtala) shunned a pressure group led by a former minister, known to be very close to President Yar'Adua and some members of the family when they visited him to deliver the message from her sister-in-law to decline the offer of appointment by Jonathan.
“The ministerial nominee said he was not persuaded by the line of argument of the team that his appointment into Jonathan's government could create a wrong impression in the public that the Yar'Adua family had abandoned their son (President) and that the family had endorsed Jonathan presidency”, reports said.

The eldest son of the late Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters, late Maj.-Gen. Shehu Musa Yar'Adua, told the team that he had accepted the offer and he had pledged his loyalty and support for the Acting President.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo reportedly influenced the nomination of Murtala, son of the late Gen. Shehu Musa Yar'Adua, as minister.
Gen. Shehu Yar'Adua, who died in detention in 1997, was Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters, when Obasanjo was military Head of State between 1976 and 1979.

The late general was the elder brother of President Umaru Yar'Adua. Sources said that Murtala Yar'Adua was nominated by the Presidency based on Obasanjo's recommendation, perhaps to weaken the Yar'Adua camp in the struggle for power.

His nomination allegedly caught the Yar'Adua family, Katsina Governor Ibrahim Shema and many political players in the state unawares.
The Presidency allegedly shopped for Murtala directly as part of its move to "divide the Yar'Adua group".

"Murtala Yar'Adua wasn't the choice of the state government at all. But it is evident that the Presidency opted for him for strategic reasons.
So, he is a product of high-wire politics and intrigues in the Presidency. Obasanjo, T.Y Danjuma, some members of the Presidential Advisory Committee (PAC) and a few associates of the late Shehu Musa Yar'Adua designed the strategy to prove a point that Jonathan has nothing against the family.

"But the message is clear that the Presidency has adopted a divide-and-rule policy for the Yar'Adua family. It is like breaking the back of the camel.

Murtala is said to have a strained relationship with the President. I think it is a tactical strategy.

"The Acting President has fully taken charge of the reins of government and he is living up to the billing of a politician now."

The source, however, added: "I think Murtala Yar'Adua was not consulted by the Presidency before the appointment was made."
Apart from Murtala Yar'Adua, the Presidency went for some nominees who have an axe to grind with the President.
The Presidency went for Senator Bala Mohammed who is leading the National Interest Group in the Senate which worked for the actualisation of Jonathan's acting presidency.

Muhammed does not enjoy cordial relationship with Governor Isa Yuguda of Bauchi State, the President's son-in-law.
Others dropped in the past by President Yar'Adua and re-nominated by Jonathan are Senator Sanusi Daggash and Adamu Maina Waziri.
A member of the Yar'Adua family, who spoke in confidence, said: "You can see that there is mischief in the cabinet list. The choice of Murtala Yar'Adua is meant to cause rift in this family.

"Some of us are not happy with the choice of Murtala Yar'Adua because there is more to it than meet the eye." A member of the pro-Yar'Adua group said.

Murtala's paternal grand-father, Musa Yar'Adua, was the first of the Yar'Adua family of Katsina to embrace political limelight. Mallam Musa Yar'Adua served as a member of the House of Representatives, in the first Republic Federal Minister for Establishment, Nigerianisation and Training and later Minister for Lagos Affairs. He was a very influential member of the Tafawa Balewa administration. He held the title of Mutawallin Katsina, which made him a member of the Katsina Emirate Council. His eldest son, Shehu, was born in Katsina on March 5, 1943. The young Shehu was said to have been influenced by his father's strength of character and leadership. He was educated at Katsina Provincial Secondary School and a strategic decision was taken that he should join the military. So, he proceeded to the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, U.K. He returned from Sandhurst in 1964 as a Second Lieutenant. Three years after he returned to Nigeria, the Nigerian Civil War broke out. By then, he had become a Major in the Nigerian Army. He is credited with the capture of Onitsha in 1967, a development said to have been central to ending the bloody conflict that consumed millions of lives.

He served as Federal Commissioner of Transport as a Colonel in 1976. The assassination of the then Head of State, Murtala Mohammed, in 1977, saw Shehu being named Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters. He was also promoted Major-General. He was just 36 years of age.
The Obasanjo/ Yar'Adua administration handed over power to the civilians. Thereafter, Shehu embraced business. He veered into publishing, farming, manufacturing, oil servicing, shipping and banking.

But the military soon staged a come-back and uprooted the civilian government put in place by the military regime. This made Shehu, who was in April 1978 made the Tafidan Katsina (custodian of the treasury), a traditional title he inherited from his father, embrace politics.
Under the transition programme of the military administration of Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, Shehu aspired to be president under the platform of the Social Democratic Party (SDP). At that same time, his younger brother, Umaru, now Nigeria's ailing president, also wanted to be governor of Katsina State. But Shehu was said to have opposed this move. He was said to have told a team, which went to appeal to him to support his younger brother: "Who do you want me to put in Government House? Is it Turai or Umaru?'' Without his brother's support, Umaru did not win the party's primaries. He lost to Saidu Barda, the candidate of the National Republican Convention, NRC, who was an ally of Babangida. Shehu too was disqualified when it was almost clear that the ticket was his for picking. And later events threw up the late M.K.O Abiola as the presidential candidate of SDP.

The June 12 election won by Abiola was annulled by Babangida, who put in place an Interim National Government (ING) led by Chief Ernest Shonekan. The ING was later overthrown by the late Gen. Sani Abacha, who clamped Shehu into detention for allegedly plotting to overthrow his administration. Shehu died in Abakaliki prison where he was imprisoned.

The return to democratic rule in 1999 saw Umaru realising his ambition to rule Katsina, which Shehu was allegedly against in 1991. It also saw Obasanjo returning as civilian Head of State and President. For eight years, Umaru ruled the state, spending several months abroad treating kidney disease.

As his tenure was rounding up, Obasanjo, who his brother served as second-in-command, beckoned on him to come and be president. Stronger candidates were made to quit the race and support him. At the time of his nomination, he was an obscure figure on the national stage. He eventually emerged president, amid controversy over his health status, especially regarding whether or not he was strong enough to face the rigours of the office of president.

Umaru is the first ever university graduate to lead the country. He started his education at Rafukka Primary School in 1958, and moved to Dutsinma Boarding Primary School in 1962. He attended the Government College at Keffi from 1965 until 1969. By 1971, he had earned a Higher School Certificate from Barewa College and subsequently proceeded to the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria where he was from 1972 to 1975. He obtained a BSc in Education and Chemistry. In 1978, he returned to ABU to bag an M.Sc Degree in Analytical Chemistry.

Umaru Yar'Adua was flown to Germany for medical treatment on March 6, 2007. This was during the presidential election campaigns. He returned and was sworn in. But not long after assuming office, he travelled overseas for treatment again. But the last straw that broke the camel's back was when he travelled to Saudi Arabia last November and stayed for 93 days. Even when he was reported to have returned to the country, he has not been seen in public.

A lot of water has passed under the bridge since then. His deputy, Goodluck Jonathan, who was also taken away from his dream of running as Bayelsa State governor, has been pronounced Acting President by the National Assembly, which had to rely on the Doctrine of Necessity in the face of a constitutional confusion. Jonathan has gone ahead to make changes, which included disbanding Yar'Adua's ministers and in the process of constituting a new one.

In the making of the new cabinet, the intriguing Yar'Adua clan has featured again. This time also, Obasanjo, who in the height the Yar'Adua Presidency crisis advised him to resign, is also playing a major part. By his grace, Murtala, Shehu's first son who inherited Tafidan Katsina from his father, is set to become a minister. This has thrown the President Yar'Adua clan into confusion. A report indicated that Yar'Adua's nephew has been under pressure to reject his nomination as minister. Hawks loyal to the ailing President were said to have made attempts to persuade Murtala Yar'Adua, not to accept the offer of ministerial appointment from the Acting President.

Yar'Adua's wife, Hajia Turai, and some former ministers in the kitchen cabinet of the ailing president, said a source tried frantically to prevail on Murtala not to take up the appointment. They were said to have told Murtala that his nomination was aimed at causing disaffection within the Yar'Adua family and create the impression that the President had been abandoned by his kinsmen. But Murtala was said to have insisted there was no going back.

Murtala was not the choice of the state government. But it is evident that The Presidency opted for him for strategic reasons.
Really, these are not the best of times for the Yar'Adua clan. Umaru's illness has opened its flanks, with Hajia Turai accused of keeping him to herself. His mother, Dada, at one point, claimed not to have seen him. Recently, some siblings of the President also complained that they were not allowed to see their brother. The siblings came to Abuja in company of the President's mother, Hajia Dada and were unable to see the ailing President.

Link:

http://www.nationaldailyngr.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=789:obasanjo-tears-yaraduas-family-apart&catid=98:nationwide&Itemid=484

The consumer electronics world thrives on the latest new thing. And this year that would be 3-D. It was once considered a quirky technology gone nowhere, but, because of the popularity of "Avatar," television makers now are racing to bring multidimensional viewing to the living room.

Samsung Electronics is introducing 15 3-D television models with a live-action three-dimensional commercial created by the same technical production company that made James Cameron's popular film.

And just like the 1950s when the technology was popular in the country's theaters, special spectacles - which look nothing like the paper versions but come at an additional price - are required for the full visual experience.

But for all the razzle-dazzle, Samsung knows that, with hefty price tags, consumers need to feel they are not buying into a one-off phenomenon. So the company has partnered with Dreamworks Animation and the pop band Black Eyed Peas and is talking to Hollywood studios and other companies about creating and providing 3-D content for home viewing.

TV manufacturers are betting on 3-D. There are forecasts that consumers will buy 3.5 to 4 million such sets, or about 10 percent of all United States television sales, this year. But that may be optimistic. Different and incompatible technologies mean that one maker's glasses, for example, cannot be used on another's television model.

"The glasses go for a premium - around $150 - which means it's costly, for example, to have a few people over for a Super Bowl party, unless it's ‘bring your own compatible spectacles,'" said Ross Rubin, an analyst for NPD Group, a market research firm.

Selling a third dimension

Tim Baxter, president of Samsung Electronics America, said that electronics companies were working to come up with a single standard, but he conceded that it would not happen immediately. Even so, he said that Samsung executives believed that 3-D technology was ushering in an era where "there will be less passive sitting back and watching television, and a more immersive, interactive experience."

He said that the high-definition televisions, which can be switched from 2-D to 3-D with the push of a button, built on Samsung's previous experience with such technology. Its research found that more than 90 percent of United States consumers were aware of the technology, but fewer than a third had experienced it.

"We've already sold a couple of thousand units in less than two weeks," Baxter said. The first two models - the 46-inch and 55-inch - are now in stores, and the remaining sets will be available in the next 60 days, he said. The best seller is the wider model, he said, because "early adopters gravitate toward the bigger screen."

Panasonic also has introduced its 3-D products and sent a fleet of tractor trailers on a tour to acquaint consumers with the technology. This month, LG Electronics began promoting its new Infinia series of televisions, which feature 3-D. The 30-second spots, created by Young & Rubicam, part of WPP, are appearing during the NCAA basketball tournament on CBS.

LG's 3-D televisions will be in stores in May or June, the company said. Sony's 3-D products will be available in June.

Samsung is spending about $100 million this year on marketing and advertising its 3-D products. That included promoting its 3-D line with a Black Eyed Peas concert in Times Square on March 10.

For its signature advertising spot, Samsung hired the Oscar-winning cinematographer Mauro Fiore, who used the fusion 3-D camera technology that was employed to make "Avatar." The 30-second commercial, called "Dedicated to Wonder," was created by Chicago's Leo Burnett agency, part of the Publicis Groupe.

The commercial shows a family at the wall of a huge aquarium. The father reaches over and, using his finger, carves out a block of the water - manta rays, fish and all - then transports it home and places it inside the Samsung 3-D television. As the family settles in on the sofa, a manta ray swims out of the television.

"It's so real that the family's little boy reaches out to touch it," said Bob Price, Leo Burnett's creative director. A 15-second snippet of the commercial was shown during this year's Academy Awards telecast. The full campaign began on March 21, with ads scheduled to run in a number of primetime programs. The ads will also appear on cable, and a print version will run in Architectural Digest, Entertainment Weekly and ESPN magazines, among other titles.

Waiting for content to catch up

Peggy Ang, Samsung's marketing director, said the company would advertise online at entertainment and sports sites and was looking at gaming sites. Samsung is on Facebook also and had 130,000 page views immediately after its Academy Awards spot, she said. Samsung also plans to advertise in Imax theaters and in conventional theaters before 3-D movies.

Samsung is pursuing partnerships with film studios, cable networks and others to supply content, Ang said, but she predicted that "3-D content will proliferate because industry sees the potential for it."

Anthony Chukumba, an analyst for BB&T Capital Markets, said the increased offerings, like ESPN's 3-D broadcast of World Cup soccer in June, DirectTV and Discovery's planned channels, as well as more 3-D movies and video games, would increase consumer awareness.

"The fact that these are also 2-D televisions also means that if you are looking to buy a television, you may want to future-proof by purchasing 3-D and wait for the content to catch up," he said.

Last Sunday Samsung introduced a second commercial that showcases the Dreamworks animated film "Monsters vs. Aliens." Under the arrangement, Samsung can include a 3-D copy of the space-invaders-meet-weird-earthlings movie along with a Blu-ray player and set of 3-D glasses that are bundled in a separate "starter-kit" package.

The studio also will convert its "Shrek" movies to 3-D, including the fourth installment that is scheduled to be released in May. Dreamworks has agreed to let Samsung include 3-D "Shrek" versions as part of its promotional bundle.

The offers will be part of a national in-store marketing program, with 5,000 kiosks available for prospective buyers to sample 3-D. The 3-D line includes LED, plasma and LCD models, with the 46-inch model selling for $2,600, and 55-inch model for $3,300. The bundle, which includes two pairs of active-shutter glasses and a 3-D DVD, costs an additional $350.

Link:

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5548406-146/tv_makers_sell_3-d_to_homes.csp

Two ministerial nominees — Prof. Dora Akunyili and Ms Josephine Tapgun — narrowly escaped being rejected by the Senate as members of the new Federal Executive Council.



Akunyili, whose name was the third read by the President of the Senate, Mr. David Mark, almost lost out when the voice vote appeared to show that the senators who supported or opposed her nomination were equal in number.



Loud murmurs followed and Mark had to hit his gavel repeatedly to call the Senate to order. But Akunyili’s later triumphed as the President of the Senate proceeded to say that her nomination had been accepted.



When Mark read out Tapgun’s name, Senator Satti Gogwin, raised a Point of Order, saying the Senate should not, in the exercise of its powers to confirm ministers, abuse the Federal Character principle.



Gogwim, who argued that the zoning arrangement in Plateau State had been altered by Tapgun’s nomination, reeled out Sections 147 and 14 of the 1999 Constitution to buttress his argument



Section 147 reads, “(1) There shall be such offices of Ministers of the Government of the Federation as may be established by the President.



(2) Any appointment to the office of Minister of the Government of the Federation shall, if the nomination of any person to such office is confirmed by the Senate, be made by the President.



(3) Any appointment under subsection (2) of this section by the President shall be in conformity with the provisions of section 14(3) of this Constitution:-



provided that in giving effect to the provisions aforesaid the President shall appoint at least one Minister from each State, who shall be an indigene of such state.”



Section 14 (3) talks about the federal character principle.



Gogwin was, however, ruled out of Order by Mark, who pointed out that the problem was not peculiar to Plateau State. He told the senator that it would not be proper for the Senate to treat the issue on its floor.



The screening and confirmation of Dr. Shamsudeen Usman(Kano), a former Minister of Finance, came as a surprise to many Nigerians. The media had reported on Wednesday that the Presidency requested the Senate on Tuesday night to put his clearance and that of another nominee, Alhaji Umar Aliyu (Taraba), on hold.



Our correspondents gathered that Usman got off the hook following last minute horse-trading between political gladiators from Kano State and power interests within the Presidency who brokered a truce in time for his screening and subsequent clearance.



However, Aliyu may not have been so lucky as it was not clear as at press time whether he had been replaced or slated to be screened at a date to be announced later .



In all, 13 nominees, including Usman were screened on Wednesday. These 13 nominees were later cleared alongside Akunyili, Tapgun and 23 others.



As at Wednesday night, it was not clear when the ministers designate will be inaugurated, although sources in the Presidency said it could be today or mid next week.



The ministers-designate are Mrs. Fidelia Njeze; Mr. Adetokunbo Kayode (SAN); Mr. Godsday Orubebe; Alhaji Nuhu Wya; Mr. Odein Ajumogobia (SAN); Senator Akinlade Olasunkanmi; Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke and Mr. John Odeh.



Alhaji Isa Ibrahim; Mr. Remi Babalola; Mr. Humphrey Abah; Mr. Chukwuemeka Wogu; Senator Sanusi Daggash; Mrs. Josephine Anenih; Mr. Labaran Maku; Alhaji Bala Mohammed; Alhaji Suleiman Bello; Alhaji Murtala Yar’Adua; and Mr. Nduese Essien are also new ministers.



The others are Alhaji Mohammed Adoki (SAN); Navy Capt. Earnest Olubolade (rtd.); Senator Jubril Martins-Kuye; Mr. Chris Ogunmoye; Dr. Emmanuel Ihenacho; Dr. Idi Hong; Prof. M. K. Abubakar; Alhaji Adamu Waziri; Alhaji Abubakar Mohammed; Mr. Ayodele Alao; Mallam Yusu Suleiman and Prof. Rekia Rufai.



Earlier, Usman had answered questions on a wide range of issues from the banking reforms to Nigeria’s shortcomings in the area of national planning.



On banking reforms, he said there were “ certain issues” that needed some adjustment. But Usman, who is also a former Minister of National Planning, did not mention the issues.



He said, “As somebody who has served in the Central Bank of Nigeria for eight years, I will say it is very much on course.



“What is being addressed is the issue of risk. That is a very critical factor in bank . You will notice that every country is reviewing its banking regulations to ensure that the kind of recklessness and financial problems that were created for the whole world are avoided. It is happening in the United States and it is happening in Europe.



“In fact, we are probably ahead of the curve. But I think there may be certain issues that need some adjustment, but overall I will say it is very much on course.”



On planning, Usman said, “We are taking Nigeria back to a culture of planning. Vision 2020 is a long-term plan. The Central Working Group chaired by Chief Philip C. Asiodu will produce a four-year implementation plan which is a medium term plan for the country.



“The annual budget is the short-term plan. What is needed now is to find a way of integrating these plans. From 2011 hopefully, our budget must be derived from the medium term plans and from the Vision 2020.”



Usman also cleared the air on what he called a misconception about his relationship with the National Assembly.



He said, “I will like to use this opportunity to correct a terribly wrong impression that was created when I was a Minister of Finance.



“The public perception was that the National Assembly was my enemy or I was the enemy of the National Assembly. Far from that, Mr. President (of the Senate). I will be the last person that anybody would expect not to understand that a budget is both an economic document as well as a political document.



“To say that I do not recognise the primacy of the National Assembly given by the 1999 Constitution to be the one that decides appropriation, I mean if anybody accuses me of that, it will be completely out of order.”



Usman further explained that his fight against the “mafia” in several sectors in the nation’s financial sector created a lot of enemies for him.



He accused these enemies of being the brains behind the misinformation about his actions while in office.



According to him, “I had taken on so many mafia; I had taken on the Customs mafia, I had taken on the tax concession mafia who are draining this country of its revenues.



“Everybody knows the committee I set up under Senator Udo Udoma saved this country billions of naira. I took on the oil importation mafia and I took on the ports system mafia because I was trying to achieve 48 hours clearance.”



He said a lot of capacity building especially on the part of the Executive arm of government was required to achieve better budget implementation.



Meanwhile, the Presidency has described the conclusion of the screening of the new ministers as one of “the good works” the Senate has done to save the nation.



The Senior Special Assistant to the Acting President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Ima Niboro, made the Presidency’s sense of gratitude to the lawmakers known while addressing journalists in Abuja.



He said “We must commend the Senate for the speed with which they have worked. It showed their level of commitment to moving the nation forward.



“We commend them and I must tell you that the Acting President is grateful to the Nigerian Senate.”



Link:

http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201004016462845

The Senate on Wednesday said the media should not be blamed for reports that the Presidency ordered that the screening of a former Minister of Finance, Dr. Shamsudeen Usman, and a nominee from Taraba State, Alhaji Umar Aliyu, be put on hold.



The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Information and Media, Senator Ayogu Eze, made this known shortly after the President of the Senate, David Mark, advised Acting President Goodluck Jonathan not to spare any minister found incapable of delivering on his or her mandate.



Eze, who spoke with journalists in Abuja, said that the Senate screened and cleared Usman based on a list of nominees before it.



Responding to a question about why Usman was cleared, he said,“I won’t be able to answer specifically because I am not in the Executive branch. The signals of appointment or withholding of appointment is the prerogative of the Executive. When the list is before us, we will clear or refuse to clear based on the list before us.



“ I want to say on behalf of the media that that was a genuine error on the part of everybody; maybe the signal was wrong.



“I think that whatever happens, we are happy that Usman, a very distinguished Nigerian, highly intellectual, given the breath of his vision, the level of his commitment and given his understanding of the job we have at hand, I am very sure that his nomination was not a controversial one.”



But our correspondents learnt that Usman made it following last minute horse trading between political actors from Kano State and powerful interests in the Presidency.



Eze added that the Senate did not have the names of nominees from Ebonyi and Taraba States before it.



This, he said, was probably due to the fact that consensus was still being built among stakeholders in the two states on their choices.



He also revealed that the Senate would be going on recess for one week for the Easter break after which it reconvene to continue the business of legislation.



Meanwhile, Mark has said that the Senate took time off to carry out the screening and confirmation of the new ministers as part of its efforts to get the machinery of government running again.



This, he said, was in continuation of the doctrine of necessity which prompted the Senate to act to save the situation.



He said, “We have spent several hours to be able to screen and and confirm the ministers.



“It is our wish and hope that once these ministers are allocated their portfolios and they resume, they will earnestly do what they promised us here.



“I think we will ensure that true to our oversight functions, they do precisely what they told us here.”



To Jonathan, he said, “I would like to use this opportunity to ask Mr. Acting President, Commander-in- Chief that any minister who does not live to expectation should not be spared.



“He should immediately be removed from office so that he or she doesn’t become a cog in the wheel of progress.



“We have done this in the interest of this country. We have done this because we want to move the nation forward as quickly as possible in accordance with our doctrine of necessity.



Link:

http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201004014215185

The centre failed to hold on Wednesday among major political parties trying to form a major political platform as they could not agree on merger agreement.



The meeting of leaders and representatives of the parties was called specifically to adopt reports and positions of different political parties whose leaders had been meeting for months under the aegis of the National Democratic Movement.



Those at the meeting, which was held at the Sheraton Hotels and Towers, Abuja, included former head of state and presidential candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party in the 2007 election, Gen. Mohammadu Buhari; former Lagos State governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu; and former Sokoto State governor and presidential candidate of the Democratic Peoples Party, Mallam Ibrahim Bafarawa.



A source at the meeting, which lasted for more than five hours, told our correspondent that the rigid positions adopted by leaders of the parties scuttled the initial plans by the parties to come up with a stronger political paltform.



The parties involved in the talks are the Congress for Progressive Change, Action Congress and the DPP.



The CPC, which was unveiled in Kaduna two weeks ago, is the new platform by Buhari, who left the All Nigeria Peoples Party recently.



The source, who pleaded anonymity, said signs that the groups would fail to agree on a common ground emerged when Buhari‘s CPC inisisted it was not ready to fuse into or merge with any party.



The AC, whose position was said to have been presented by its National Publicity Secretary Alhaji Lai Mohammed, was to have declared that it was open to negotiations on its name.



But, the NDM said it would not begrudge former vice-president, Atiku Abubakar, if he decided to return to his former political party, the Peoples Democratic Party.



The movement said this was because Atiku was more compatible with the PDP in terms of ideology than any other political party in the country.



Head of NDM’s national secretariat, Alhaji Sule Hamman, a Buhari loyalist and member of the CPC, disclosed this to journalists after the meeting.



Atiku was, however, absent from the meeting, but Obi said that the former vice-president called him while it was on to say that he was indisposed. Hamman called for caution in Atiku’s rumoured impending move to the PDP, saying that Nigerians should discountenance such until he (Atiku) speaks on the matter.



‘‘AC said they were ready to change their name by adding either an ‘N‘ to make CAN or a ‘P‘ to make ACP. But the position of the party was that it would like to maintain the logo and colour of AC as it is now,‘‘ the source said. The AC was also said to have argued at the meeting that going by the alphabetical order which the electoral commission used in listing parties participating in elections, it would be an advantage to retain the name and just add another letter from any other parties.



AC was also said to have declared its readiness to dissolve all its executive committees at all levels to give way for congresses that would produce executive committees comprising members of all cooperating parties.



Link:

http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201004014232926

One in town,

I'm very very thirsty,

The governor of Bayelsa State, Timipre Sylva, yesterday, paid an unexpected visit to some officials of the state's treasury department, currently held at the Medium Security Prison, Kuje, Abuja, over a fraud case.

The state's Accountant General, Francis Okokuro; Director of Treasury, Abott Clinton and his predecessor, Anthony Ikhoboh, were arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on March 16 and are currently standing trial for alleged financial misconduct.

The officials are being tried for money laundering and diversion of public funds to the tune of about N100 billion.

Mr. Sylva expressed his displeasure with the anti-graft agency over its handling of the matter and accused the EFCC of trying to compromise laws which are clear that an accused must be presumed innocent until proven guilty.

"The EFCC has continued to treat these officers as if they are already guilty when the allegations against them have not been tested in a court of competent jurisdiction", Mr Sylva said.

Insisting the accusation was politically motivated, Mr. Sylva said he was worried that the EFCC, rather than play the role of an umpire, is getting involved in a political game.

"The allegations against the Bayelsa State officials are steeped in politics. As far our laws go, the EFCC is not a political party. This is a commission that was established for the purpose of fighting corruption. Regrettably, it has chosen to dabble into politics. Why should the umpire descend into the arena?"

Political plots

Mr. Sylva also claimed that the state government has also uncovered plots by some politicians, to stage protests in Yenagoa, the state's capital, against his government and warned the politicians in and out of the state "not to set in motion a chain of events, whose end, they are not in a position to determine."

The defendants were charged to court by the EFCC on March 23, despite a court order from the Federal High Court, Yenagoa, that the arrested officials should be released.

The Federal High Court, Abuja, while hearing the case, however, ordered that the arrested officials be kept at Kuje Prisons until the case comes up on April 13.



Link:

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/National/5548568-146/sylva_visits_detained_officials__.csp

ajokeakin:
April fool

This is no April fool.

Shock gripped the about 95 Abuja-bound Arik Air’s passengers yesterday when a taxi emerged from the blues and rammed into a B737-700 aircraft that was steaming on the tarmac, awaiting takeoff.
The incident, Daily Sun gathered, happened in the afternoon at the Margaret Ekpo International Airport, Calabar.

An eyewitness told Daily Sun that the Arik aircraft with registration number 5N-MJJ just arrived from Lagos and was loading passengers for Abuja at about 2:35pm when suddenly a taxi cab emerged from the Air Force gate within the airport and rammed into the belly of the aircraft.
The witness further said some of the passengers who were still trying to board thought the cab in Cross River state blue-white-blue commercial colours was carrying one of those late travellers rushing to catch the flight but were shocked at the speed with which the driver turned quickly behind the aircraft and crashed into its belly where the fuel tank is situated.

At that point, palpable tension and pandemonium took over as passengers scampered for safety.
When Daily Sun visited the airport at about 3:15pm the Audi 80 cab marked Cross River XA 254 KAM was seen lying under the belly of the aircraft with the bonnet badly damaged. It was speculated that the suspected terrorist was targeting the fuel tank of the aircraft.

Investigations by Daily Sun revealed that the driver of the taxi, which is not registered to operate within the airport, broke through the Airforce station’s two gates at top speed and in the process pulled down the gates and sped straight to the tarmac where the plane was getting set for takeoff.

The suspected terrorist, said to be in his 40’s who hails from Akwa Ibom State, is now at the Zone 6 Police Headquarters undergoing interrogations. As he was being led away from the airport by security operatives, the suspected terrorist was said to have displayed a rare courage that baffled onlookers as he shouted in pidgin. “Even if they kill me today, no problem, after all, that is how Jesus Christ was killed and he went to heaven. So I no care. I de launch war against ungodly people in our country and until we change the war go continue.”

Confirming the incident, the Airport Manager, Mahmud Sani, said, “it is true that the taxi driver came through the Airforce Base gates to carry out his dastardly act, but we thank God he failed in the process. For now, we are investigating the matter as the security operatives have taken over the whole airport for now.”
In a chat with newsmen at the airport shortly after the incident, one of the passengers, Mr. Odiga Odiga, said, “ I was already inside the plane about to take off when the alarm came and we were told to disembark. Initially, we thought it was fire, and everybody scampered down but it was when we got down that we discovered that it was a cab right under the belly of the aircraft.”

Pilot of the aircraft, Simon Robinson, expressed shock like everyone else over the incident. He was in the cockpit when he heard the bump. Odiga, who is the chairman of Cross River State Forestry Commission, described the attack “as one of the security lapses at our airports.” He wondered how a commercial car broke through two gates of the Airforce station and got to the aircraft that was about to take off.

As at the time of going to press, Arik Air engineers numbering about four were seen battling to remove the car from underneath the plane while the company provided another aircraft that flew passengers to their destination.
When contacted, the security operatives at the airport declined comment on the matter, saying ‘we are waiting for the order from above and we cannot talk to you now.”

However, Media Officer of Arik Air, Banji Ola, who confirmed the incident, said it was shocking that a taxi that is a non-ramp vehicle can gain access to the tarmac and hit a stationary plane.
Also speaking on the development, the General Manager, Public Affairs of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, Akin Olukunle said the incident was most unexpected.

According to him, the taxi, an Audi 80, apparently was on speed and surprisingly broke through the two gates of the Airforce security before running into the airplane. “The taxi broke through the first gate of the Airforce, broke through the second gate and then ran into the aircraft,” he said.
Olukunle said FAAN immediately dispatched a team of policemen from the Bomb Squad Unit to immediately look into the car and ascertain if it was carrying a bomb or not. He also said the matter was still being investigated to know the motive of the taxi driver in order to know the next line of action.
Arik Air, it was learnt, dispatched another airplane from Lagos to Calabar to fly the passengers to Abuja.


Link:

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2010/apr/01/national-01-04-2010-003.htm

In a move that is unprecedented in modern history of the papacy, Pope Benedict (XVI) has resigned his position as the leader of the over one billion Catholics worldwide. In a letter he sent to the College of Cardinals, the Pope acknowledged that the recent wave of scandals involving Catholic priests has made it impossible for him to do the job he was elected to do. “I feel personally responsible for letting pedophilic priests who molested young boys to go free,” the Pope wrote. “Instead of being punished for the atrocities they committed, they got protection from Bishops and other church leaders like me.”

In the last few weeks, Pope Benedict has been accused of doing nothing about the molestation of kids by priests while serving as the Archbishop of Munich and Freising in his home country, Germany. Memos to the then Cardinal from Fr. Gerhard Gruber have recently been published in the media to the embarrassment of the Vatican. Also as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, he received complaints from American Bishops and other church leaders round the world but was too busy enforcing church doctrines that he failed to take action.

Last month, several news organizations revealed documents on how Rev. Lawrence C. Murphy molested over a 200 deaf boys from Wisconsin. The scandal was reported to the then Cardinal Ratzinger by the archbishop of Wisconsin asking the Vatican to defrock the priest. But Cardinal Ratzinger ignored the plea.

What is more shocking in Pope Benedict’s resignation letter was his decision to spend the rest of his life fighting to reform the Catholic Church.

“For the rest of my life,” the Pope wrote, “I will work to ensure that priests can marry, if they want; that women are allowed to be priest in the church; and to make sure that our great church softens its stance on social issues like gay marriage, condom use and abortion.”

Just last month, at the heat of the child abuse controversies, the Pope sent a Pastoral Letter to the Catholic Church in Ireland addressing abuse of minors by Catholic priests in the country. That letter and other push backs by the Vatican did little to steam the rash of anger towards the church by Catholics around the globe.

The news of the Pope’s resignation has spurred an immediate campaign by Italians cardinals to retake the position of the Pope. The campaign is going on despite Pope Benedict’s suggestion in his resignation letter that the College of Cardinals might be well served if it looks outside Europe for his replacement.

Speaking to Zero News Network (ZNN), the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend Rowan Williams said, “This is a sad day for the whole church of Christ.” He added that he hoped that the Catholic Church would survive this and come out stronger than ever.

In his reaction, the General Overseers of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Rev. Enoch Adebayo said to ZNN, “Please, tell me this is April fool.”


Link:

http://www.saharareporters.com/news/5677-pope-benedict-xvi-resigns.html

Less than half of the federal executive council members sacked last week will return in the new cabinet, it was confirmed yesterday. A presidential source close to the selection process disclosed that many of the key ministries would be helmed by completely new faces.

Some of the notable returnees include Sam Egwu, former minister of education, Diezani Allison Madueke; Adetokunbo Kayode; Shamsudeen Usman and Shettima Mustapha.

The source also revealed that there is no place in the new cabinet for Mansur Muhtar, Michael Aondoakaa, Adamu Aliero, Dora Akunyili and Godwin Abbe. Abba Ruma, former agriculture minister, has an outside chance of making the final list, according to the source. Crucially, the ministers of key ministries like power, defence, works and power will not be returning to their jobs.

Security screening

It was also learnt yesterday that a number of the returning cabinet members have already undergone a security screening ahead of the list being passed on to the Senate.

The acting president’s list of nominations is expected to officially reach the National Assembly today. Sources in the National Assembly said the final list was been prepared last night.

As of last night, the list was still being expected by the leadership of the National Assembly, while the Presidency was making last minute modifications.

A presidency source confirmed that four state governors have still not sent their nominations as of yesterday afternoon and may not be considered in the final exercise.

“The list is almost complete apart from some states, four in number, that have not yet sent all their nominees,” the source said.

Letter from the Acting President

When delivered, the list of nominees is expected to be read on the floor of the Senate as a “letter from the Acting President” before the day’s plenary starts.

Thereafter, probably the next day, the Senate will go ahead to act on the letter by commencing the screening of the nominees.

During the screening, each nominee is expected to mount a podium, give a brief account of the nominee’s background and expertise. The senators present are then given the opportunity to ask the nominee various questions. It usually takes a minimum of 10 minutes to screen ministerial nominees.

In some instances, where the nominees are old hands, the nominees are merely asked to bow and leave without facing any questions.


Link:

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/National/5544575-146/familiar_names_miss_final_ministerial_cut.csp

Goodluck Jonathan, the Acting President, yesterday got a huge boost from the Senate which approved all but one of his 39 ministerial nominees, after three days of screening.

Shortly after the list was approved, the Senate told the acting president that in order for his administration to succeed, he must be willing to sack any minister who performs poorly.

Senate President, David Mark, who gave the advice said, "We use this opportunity to urge the acting president that any minister who does not perform must be removed so that he or she will not be a clog in the wheel of progress of this nation."

In a swift reaction to the passage of the list of ministers, the acting president, through his Special Adviser, Ima Niboro, praised the National Assembly for the speedy completion of the screening process.

He said, "We must commend the senate for the speed with which they have worked.

It showed their level of commitment to moving the nation forward. It is a continuation of all the good works they have been doing to save the nation and get the nation moving again. We commend them and I must tell you that the acting president is grateful to the Senate".

Sack the indolent

He said the Senate has again applied the doctrine of necessity to hasten the screening process which would normally have taken at least two weeks. The Senate postponed its Easter holiday by one week and, unconventionally, held plenary on a Monday to hasten the screening of the ministerial nominees.

"It is our wish that once these ministers are posted to their respective portfolios and that when they resume, they will do what they have promised us here." Mr. Mark said at the end of the three day screening and confirmation exercise.

Mr. Jonathan had last week forwarded a list of 33 names for confirmation as ministers for a new cabinet after he sacked the previous cabinet a fortnight ago. Later, six other names were added to the list.

Those confirmed include 14 former ministers from the immediate past cabinet, and one from President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua's first cabinet.

The nominations were made based on the principle of federal character. However, Umar Aliyu who was nominated to fill the Taraba State quota was not screened by the Senate and observers say his nomination may have been opposed by his state governor. Also, no one was screened and confirmed from Ebonyi State.

According to the spokesman of the Senate, Ayogu Eze, the people of Taraba and Ebonyi states, "are still interacting with each other and I believe that when we come back from the Easter break, they will present nominees because the principle of federal character demands that every zone be represented in the council."

Blind screening

The confirmed ministers were all hastily screened. They were asked general questions rather than specific ones, to determine their capability for the positions they were nominated for.

The nominees were as usual sent to the Senate in a blanket grouping, without matching their names to portfolios and the Acting President is expected to assign them portfolios after administering the oath of office on them.

According to Mr. Eze, if the nominees had come with portfolios, the Senate would have grilled them better. He said the position of the Constitution now did not provide that the ministers must be sent to the Senate with portfolios neither "did it provide for that not to happen." He said that subsequently, the Senate will strongly insist that nominees be given tentative portfolios before their names are sent.

"It is germane that the ministers being screened are screened with portfolios. The reason we didn't insist this time is because of the short time." Some of the nominees were asked simple, inane questions.

Mr. Eze however said the Senate was thorough in the interviews. "You don't need to ask one million questions to be thorough," he said.

The process was also without the drama witnessed on the initial day of the screening when a senator of the People's Democratic Party, Kanti Bello, was aggressive to the former minister of information, Dora Akunyili.

However, outside the screening chamber, hangers-on of some of the nominees, especially the politicians, amused passersby and National Assembly staff by displaying all manner of solidarity for their patrons as they exited the screening chamber of the senate.

Supporters of Diezani Alison-Madueke chanted and danced in the lobby and some of them tried to get handshakes or photo shots with the nominees.

Wild jubilations erupted amongst many groups at various spots in Abuja on Wednesday as they watched the Senate chorus ‘yes', on TV, to indicate their confirmation of the nominees that will form the next executive council of the federation.


The new ministers

The re-appointed ministers include: Fidelia Akuabata Njeze, Peter Godsday Orubebe, Nuhu Somo Wya, Adetokunbo Kayode, Henry Odein Ajumogobia, Akinlabi Olasunkanmi, Diezani Alison-Madueke, Shamsudeen Usman, and Dora Akunyili.

Others are: Isa Bio Ibrahim, John Ogar Odey, Aderemi Waheed Babalola, Humphrey Enemakwu Abbah, and Aliyu Idi Hong.

The newly appointed ministers are: Chukwuemeka Ngozichineke Wogu, Iyom Josephine Anenih, Labaran Maku, Chris Ogiemwonyi, Suleiman Bello, Murtala Yar'Adua, Sanusi M.Dagash, Bala Mohammed, Nduese Essien, Josephine Tapgun,

Mohammed Bello Adoke, and Ernest Olubolade Others are: Olusegun Olutoyin Aganga, Mohammed Kaoje Abubakar, Adamu Waziri, Awodele Najeem Adewale Alao, Abubakar Sadiq Mohammed, Yusuf Suleiman, Ruquiya Rufai, Musa Sada, Sheik Abdallah, Emmanuel Iheanacho, Samuel Ode, and Jibril Martins Kuye.


Link:

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/National/5548580-146/jonathan_gets_his_cabinet__.csp

The N750 million polymer bank note bribery scandal involving the Central Bank of Nigeria, has claimed two casualties in Australia even as Nigerian law enforcement agencies struggle to reveal clues on the Nigerian beneficiaries of the alleged bribes.

In Australia yesterday, the Reserve Bank of Australia(RBA) fired two top executives of Securency International Pty Ltd., a bank note company which is co-owned by the RBA. The officials, Myles Curtis, the former Managing Director of Securency, and John Ellery, the former Director of Commercial Services, made a final exit from the company yesterday. The duo were suspended in November 2009, following an onslaught of investigations against them by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) in connection with their role in the bribery scandal.

In a media statement yesterday, the RBA said the decision was taken after an audit report prepared from a seven-month long investigation by a private company, KPMG Forensics, showed impropriety on the part of Securency’s officials, especially as concerns dealings in foreign territory.

The report stated that Securency had made a total payment of about $50 million in non-commission and commission expenses to agents in foreign territories. It is believed that the payments may have been used as bribes to gain access into the market in these areas.

Last year, NEXT led media reports that brought to public notice the fact that Securency had engaged in series of bribery schemes in order to promote the sale of their copyrighted plastic bank notes.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), under its former governor, Chukwuma Soludo, led the reforms that brought about the adoption of polymer notes for all of Nigeria’s lower denomination bank notes. NEXT investigations also revealed that the Nigerian contract was awarded to Securency by the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Plc, based on instructions from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The deal led to the purchase of at least 1.9 billion pieces of polymer substrates on which bank notes were printed from Securency.

Shortly after the launch of the new notes last year, the news broke that Nigerian officials may have taken bribes directly or indirectly from Securency in order to facilitate the deal.

Nigerian Investigations

The Nigerian Police said investigations into the bribery allegations are ongoing and that it will make the report public as soon as the investigations are wrapped up.

In Abuja, yesterday, the spokesman for the Nigerian Police, Emmanuel Ojukwu, said the police could not offer a time limit within which the report would be made ready.He added that Nigerians had no cause to worry about the investigations. “It is a high profile investigation and we are doing a lot of work on it. There is no time frame to it but we will let you know as soon as we are ready.”

Although the Head of Corporate Affairs of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mohammed Abdullahi, denied any knowledge of investigations into the bribery scandal, which allegedly involved CBN officials, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) claimed that the anti-graft agency is working hand-in-hand with the CBN on the investigations.

The Securency bribery scandal makes up one of the many bribery scandals involving top government officials and multi-national corporations; the most popular being the Halliburton and the Siemens bribery scandals. So far, no security agency in the country has prosecuted any Nigerian in connection with any of the scandals.


Link:

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/Metro/Politics/5548068-146/australia_sacks_two_in_polymer_note.csp