llIE GUARDlAN,Monday March 7, 20n
lq NEWS
AAUA gets N4 billion in two years From NIyI Belo, Akure
'THE Ondo State government .lhas released about N4 billion to the Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko (MUA) in the past two years, the
institution's
Vice-
Chancellor (Ve), Prof. Olufemi Mimiko, has disclosed. The VC, who assumed the headship of the institution two years ago, spoke at a pre-<:onvocation press conference at the weekend. He disclosed that N2.2 billion was released for capital projects while N1.8 billion was for recurrent expenditures during the period. Mimiko, who also disclosed that the university had embarked on the construction of a five-storey senate building at the cost of N2 billion, commended the state government for meeting its financial obligations to the institution. He stressed that this had assisted the university in creating a conducive learning environment on campus, which had engendered improved aca-
NIS queries airline over expatriate quota By Wol. Shadar.
'THE Nigeria Immigration .1 Service fNIS) officials from AJagbon C ose Ikoyi, Lagos, at the weekend stormed the headquarters of Arik Airline at the Murtala Muhammed Airport over alleged expatriate quota violation.
A top Immigration official told journalists yesterday that his team met initial resistance
at the ga te of the airline before finally gaining access into the administrative block. He said they demanded for the files of all the foreign employees, which he alleged, Arik failed to provide, claiming that the officer who had the expatriate files was out of town.
The team left with a warning that if the airline failed to supply the files of the entire expatriate in their employ "by today, they would be com"elled to apply the law to aeport the foreigners. The airline's spokesman,
Banji ala, admitted that the
~:~~s&~vemment pronounce-
with expatriates in their
employ to make sure they complied with country's expatriate quota. His words: "It is not peculiar
to Arik, just a normal compliance check_ They requested all the documents and they were given. Arik is a law-abiding corporate citizen and
does not go against the law. We have done this over the years". The Guardian had exclusively
reported the quizzing by Nigerian Immigration Service
(NIS) of Arik Air's Senior Vice President (Commercial), Kelvin Steele, over immigration issues.
The airline chief was alleged to have denied that he works for the carrier in a bid to evade arrest at the Murtala
Mohammed Airport (MMA) Lagos. Steele was unveiled to the media in January along with two other expatriates as the
He said they demanded for the files of all the foreign employees, which he alleged, Arik failed to provide, claiming that the officer who had the expatriate files was out of town airline's
vice
president,
CommerCial, Planning and Alliances by Arik's management. An Immigrations source
told journalists that Steele, who has been flying in and out of the country frequently since he took the appointment apparently to familiarise himself with the vari-
ous routes Arik Air operates,
caught the attention of the prying eyes of the NIS officials who accosted him at the airport on arrival from
Dubai lastruesday. The Arik commercial director, who was said to have come into the country with multiple business visas,
allegedly told an NIS official who questioned him that he
was just visiting the country for a week. He was, however, released
since the NIS did not find anything on him to show that he
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was made to write a statement to indicate that he was actually on a visit to the coun-
try and would go back in a week's time.
Recently, aviation experts under the aegis of Aviation Round Table (ART) accused airlines of abusing the country's expatriate quota policy. They alleged that several positions, which ought to have been occupied by Nigerians, had been ceded to foreigners by the airlines.
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demic performances among
students. But Mimiko faulted the process of establishing new universities by the Federal Government across the sixgeopolitical zones, saying "there are procedures to be followed instead of doing it through mere pronouncements". According to him, a proper procedure would entail setting up committees and conducting studies on the type of institution, the location and sources of funding before such universities are established. Mimiko said: "Universities are unique institutions that should not be established with
Immigration officials visited
the company but'noted that it was a routine check on firms
'Climate change threatens food production' I..IEAD of the Civil Service of fithe Federation, Prof. Oladapo Afolabi, has predicted that there would be a sharp drop in food production in Nigeria if the recent change in the climate remained. Raising another alarm on food security, Afolabi said the existing projections indicated that future population and economic growth would require a doubling of current food production, induding an increase from two billion to about four billion tons of grains yearly.
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Delivering the 14th Annual Lecture of Agricultural and Rural Management Training Institute (ARMTI) in 1I0rin, Kwara State capital yesterday, the Head of Service said more than 850 million people worldwide were currently under-nourished, just as a further drop in agricultural productivity was anticipated worldwide. He added: 'This trend will be substantially reinforced by desertification, soil degradation or water scarcity drought and soil degradation will result in a drop in agricultural yields. This may trigger regional food crisis and further undermine the economic performance of weak and unstable countries. "According to the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAa) of the United Nations, one in three people living in
sub-Saharan !\frica, induding Nigeria, was chronically hungry in 2007. The region is also hardest hit by extreme poverty harbouring 75 per cent of people worldwide that live on less than a dollar a day". Afolabi spoke on the topic, "Climate Change: Its Implication for the Attainment of Food Security in Nigeria".
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo delivered the first lecture of the institution 30 years ago. According to Afolabi, climate change would likely result in further sea level rise, more intensive storms and heavy precipitation as it would greatly increase the risk of natural disasters occurring in many cities and industrial regions in costal zones. He put Nigeria among nations of the world
described as more vulnerable to the impacts of dimate change due to its total area of 923, 800sq kilometres, with diverse ecological zones and about 853 kilometres stretch of coastline. Describing Nigeria's agricultural practice as dependent on rainfall, Afolabi warned that a sudden change in climate could, therefore, lead to food inseCUrity in the country. Noting that abealthy population was key to high agricultural productivity and food security, the Head of Service, said any negative change in the health status of the community due to climate change would affect food security. Speaking at the event, Acting Director, ARMTI, Dr. Oladele Windapo, said the choice of topicaf lecture for discussion was one of the cardinal mandates of the institution. He added that the yearly ARMTI lecture provided an opportunity for the institute to bring together stakeholders in the alliricultural and rural sectors to discuss vital and topical issues that can greatly impact on the sector.
Monarch, others petition NJC over chieftaincy suit From I.. AbduIsaIamI, Jos
ISTRICT Head of Langtang, His Royal D Highness, Nicholas Musa and eight others have petitioned the National Judicial Council (NJC) to inform it that they had lost confidence in Judge Pius Damulak of the Platea u State High Court over the way he is handling their chieftaincy case in his court.
The petitioners have demanded that the case be transferred to another court.
The plaintiffs had sued Chairman, Plateau State Traditional Council of Chiefs and Gbang Gwam Jos, Da Jacob Gyang Buba and seven others, over the selection of Gen. Domkat Bali as the new Panzhi Tarah of Langtang Chiefdom. The plaintiffs were dissatisfied over what they referred to as improper selection
without following due process and sought a stay of Bali's installation. A c0P,y of the petition, titled: Loss of Confidence in Hon. Justice Pius Damulak: An Appeal for Transfer of Our Case, PLD/Jl590/201O: HRH Nicholas Musa and Eight Others against Da Gyan~ Buba and Seven Others', was sent to the Chief Judge of the state, Justice Lazarus Dakyen. In a statement yesterday in Jos, the plaintiffs expressed the worry that the cou rt was about to vacate an
injunction granted against installation on Bali's January 6 to pave way for the General taking the title. The plaintiffs posited that they were not comfortable with the behavior of the judge, adding that they found it extremely difficult to appear before him again. "We humbly request your lordship to cause an investigation into this case for transfer to another judge who will handle the matter with fairness and allow justice to prevail", they wrote in the petition_