Friday, June 3, 2011
4
DAILY TRUST
Faction asks NLC to reinstate Odah as Sec Gen By Francis OIteke AN amalgamation of nine affiliate unions of the Nigeria Labour Conr;ress (NLC) yesterday called for the reinstatement of Comrade John Odah as Secretary General of the congress. Comrade Odah, while on accumulated annual leave, after the conclusion ofNLC. national delegate conference in Februarywas recently tI,rown out in what President of the NLC Conu..de Abdulw<thed Omar said was a reorganisation of the labour centre. Spealting on behalf of the nine wtions, President of the Hotel services union Comrade Leke Success said that ti,e disengagement ofOdah waspre-plannedbytheNLCandhad nothing to do with reorganisation. Comrade Success said "our stand as industrial unions is that ti,e socalled removal ofthe General Secretary be rescinded. We have foUowed the correspondence behveen the president and ti,e general. "We equally demand that all sacked employees of congress since March ffild aU those whose salaries were stopped for \vhatever reason be restored llntil all issues at stake are ironed out, tllrough an independent committee before recommendations to the organs of congress:' "Staff deployed from departments who were trained with congress funds be aUowed back to tlmse departmen ts. It does not add up to transfer post-production and protocol staff to security unif' Butwhencontacted,ActingGeneral Secretary of the NLC Comrade Owei LaI,emfa said the decision to remove Comrade Odah was taleen by the national ex..:ulive council of the NLC and can be only rescinded by ti,e same arm of congress, adding tile NEC is made up by 36 states congresses and Abuja. He advised anybody who is aggrieved to fuUow proper traditional d,amrels of ti,e NLC instead ofgoing to ti,e media "which will not help tI,eir case:'
FG to build 6fertilizer blending plants By Mohammed 5. Shehu
VICE President Mohammed Namadi Samba has disclosed plans by the Federal Government to build six fertilizer blending plants across the COWl try. He said this when the United States Ambassador to'Nigeria Mr. Terrence McCulley led two US Congressional members on a (ongratulatoryvisit to the State House, Abuja. Sambo stated tl13t ti,e six plants would be distributed along the six geo-political zones across the COWItry. He tllanked the United States for its support and appealed to ti,e congressmen to use their visit and explore areas of collaboration. He said that ti,e administration foc路uses on power supply whicll will be pursued through the "Power Sector Refurm Roadmap~
By Abdulk~~ir Badsha Mukhtar
THE National Emergency Manag~mentAgency (NEMA) has conflf.med that a tOtal of 18 people died and 31 others hospitalised in the bomb blasts tI,at occurred on ti,e day of President Goodluck Jonathan's inauguration. The blasts occurred on Sunday at ti,e Mammy Market in Shadawanka Barracl<s jJt Bauchi, Bauchi State; at a popular drinkingjoiiii: in Zuba, near Abuja; at the Iyan Tuma area of Zaria city in Kaduna State; and on Baga Road which also leads"lo the Maimalari Barracl<s in Maidugun, Borno State. Victims of May 29 Explosions Receive Reliefs:. 18 Deaths, 31 on Admission as Victims Receive
Reliefs NEMAS Director General Muhammad San iSidi who disclosed this in Bauchi yesterdayduring on the spot-assessment of the situation said tI,at m""y lives were actually saved as results of proactive approaches, preventive measures as well as prompt response of relevant agencies before and during the incidents. Sani- Sidi said NEMA has continued to deploy relief assistance and rallied medical supports for speedy recovery of victims of bomb blasts in the country. He said: "The agency has established contacts with the medical facilities in most flash-spots throughout the federation in anticipation of any untoward event where victims could receive
prompt attention and treatment. Our operational offices have commenced compilation of lists of the victims and damages for the required assistance~' . While malting cash donation and provision of relief materials, the NEMA boss further disclosed that the federal government is taking the responsibility for the treatment and feeding of victims tI,at are still admitted in various public hospitals in Bauchi and Federal Capital Territory. He also commended ti,e stal<eholders, particularly the State Emergency Management Agencies (SEMAs), military, the police, civil defence corps and the Red Cross for the prompt assist-. ance rendered to those affected by the blast.
Senate Presidency: Mark may stand unopposed By Abdul-Rahman Abubakar
FOUR-TIME Senator David Mark (PDP, Benue South) may emerge as the only candidate for the office of Senate President at the inauguration of ti,e Seventh Senate scheduled for Monday. Briefing newsmen yesterday on the race for the Senate PreSidency, Coordinato?'ofthe Mark Campaign Team,Senator A1lffied Ibrahim Lawan (ANPP, Yobe North) said so fur only Mark has expressed readiness to contest for ti,e position. He said "there is no otl1er candidate tl1at has come out to contest for ti,e position. We have read jn the media ofthe candidature of a former gover-
nor from the North East, but I can tell you that as a senator from that zone, nobody has approached me in respect of contesting fur the Senate Presidency." Lawan said the Senate is working towards a formality during the inauguration "whereby all . senators cast their votes for Senator Mark so that tile Senate cortinue to build on ti,e wtity tI,at the sixth Senate has been able to enjoy.' Also briefing newsmen on the matter, the North East caucus in the Senate endorsed the aindidacy ofMark. Spealcing on behalf of returning and senators elect from the wne;Senator Maina Maaji Lawan
said "sixteen out of the eighteen senators from the wne have endorsed Mark. We have been wlable to malee contact with Senators elect Danjuma Goje and Aisha Alhassan. "We are not aware that any senator from the North East is contesting for the office of Senate President because if there is anyone, we should be the fIrst to know. I can tell you that even the two that we have not contacted, perhaps they would have endorsed Mark if we get them:' At anothe( press briefing, Senator Smart Adeyemi zonal disclosed that so fur 91 senators elect from all the six geo-political zones have endorsed Mark
Goje: Why I won't contest Senate presidency By Nasir Imam
FORMERGovemorofGombeState andSenator-electDanjuma Goje yesterday gave reasons why it would not be possible for him to contest for the position of the next Senate President Spealcing to newsmen yesterday in Abuja, Goje said his zone,
the Nortil-East, bas been ofljcially excluded from Ule race by d,e People's 'Democratic Party (PDP). He said d,at as a new Senator, he has been officially excluded from the race by the outgoing Senate through the recentarnendment on the standing order on the ranking ofsenators. The former governor said that
since the conclusion of the last general elections, there has been persistent national discourse on who becomes the next senate preSident . He said even though he has not officially or publically declared his intention to contest, there have been calls, discussions and analysis across all the zones either through
the media, personal contacts, telephones for him to contest. He expressed appreciation to all those who thinkhe is suitable for tile job. He however said that as a loyal party man he has decided to publicly announce his decision not to contest next Monday when the National Assembly will be inaugurated