The Nation April 10, 2012

Nigeria’s widest circulating newspaper

News Monarchs, activists to Lagos doctors: shelve strike Sports I want to lift World Cup with Nigeria, says Moses Business CBN plans voter’s card for identification in banks

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TR UTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM TRUTH

VOL. 7, NO. 2089 TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2012

W: Some of the participants at the Lagos State carnival held at the Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos...yesterday •EK EKO SHOW EK O FOR SHO

N150.00

PHOTO: OMOSEHIN MOSES

Boko Haram strikes again as Kaduna counts losses

Seven killed in attacks Three sect members die in gun duel

K

ADUNA, the North’s political capital, recovered yesterday from the hangover of the Easter Sunday suicide bombing to start counting its losses.

Scores died and many others are hospitalised.

From Yusuf Alli, Abuja, Tony Akowe, Kaduna and Joseph Abiodun, Maiduguri

But the violence that dampened the Easter celebration continued yesterday, with the Islamist sect, Boko Haram launching attacks in Yobe and Borno states.

Seven people were confirmed dead in the attacks. The sect attaked Dikwa, a Borno

S •Gen. Azazi

town, setting ablaze a police station, a bank and a hotel.

An attempt to raze down the local government secretariat was repelled.

In Potiskum, Yobe State, a seven-year-old girl was shot dead during a failed attempt to kill her policeman father hours after the group’s members killed three in a separate raid, the army and the police

said.

They fired shots into the house of a police sergeant in the northeastern town of Potiskum late Sunday, police spokesman Toyin Gbadegesin said.

“They fired shots at him while sitting in the midst of his family. He managed to avoid the bullets and scaled over the fence,” Gbadegesin said.

“The gunmen shot dead his seven-year-old-daughter and seriously injured another 12year-old daughter and a 10year-old-son who are now in hospital.”

In a separate attack in the northeastern town of Dikwa around 1:30 am, Boko Haram gunmen killed a policeman, a civilian and a local politician in co-ordinated attacks, the army

said.

The attackers targeted a police station, a bank and a hotel but were repelled by army troops, according to Lt.-Col. Sagir Musa, spokesman of the Joint Task Force (JTF) in Borno State.

“Three Boko Haram terrorists were killed and many escaped with bullet wounds,” Continued on page 4

CAN calls for NSA Azazi’s sack

OUTHEAST Christians have an answer to the incessant bombings in the land: the National Security Adviser (NSA) should be fired.

To the Christian Association of Nigeria(CAN), Southeast Zone, Gen. Andrew Azazi, President Goodluck

From Chris Oji, Enugu

Jonathan’s NSA, is a “decoration” who is incapable of stopping the bombers. He should go, CAN said.

The association warned that the bombings could frustrate Dr Ngozi Okonjo- Iweala’s plan to become the

World Bank President.

The Chairman of CAN in the Zone and Bishop of Enugu Diocese of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), the Rt. Rev Dr Emmanuel Chukwuma, spoke yesterday in Enugu after an Easter rally.

He described Gen. Azazi as a “ deco-

ration”, who has failed to justify the confidence reposed in him.

Bishop Chukwuma insisted that the NSA to the President is incapable of containing the incessant bombings during festive periods.

“The National Security Adviser is a Continued on page 4

•CITYBEATS P6 •ENERGY P17 •SPORTS P23 •PROPERTY P25 •POLITICS P43

THE NATION TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2012

2

NEWS

Ajaokuta Steel After sinking billions of the tax payers’ money into it, the Ajaokuta Steel Company has refused to fly; no thanks to policy’s inconsistency, writes Assistant Editor (Investigation) LEKE SALAUDEEN

D

•Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi receiving the newly introduced National Tax Identification Certificate from President Goodluck Jonathan in Abuja.

• Governor Babatunde Fashola acknowledging cheers during the Lagos State Carnival held at the Tafawa Balewa Square... yesterday. With him is his wife Abimbola PHOTO: OMOSEHIN MOSES

•Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun (second left) and his wife Olufunsho at the Easter Picnic organised by the Spouses of Ogun State Government Functionaries Association, in Abeokuta...yesterday. With them are: Secretary to the State Government Taiwo Adeoluwa (left) and House of Assembly Speaker Suraj Adekunbi.

•Osun State Deputy Governor Mrs. Grace Titi Laoye-Tomori (second left); Commissioner for Youth, Sport and Special Needs, Mr. Stephen Kola-Balogun (left), Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Welfare Mrs. Adetoun Adegboyega and Special Adviser to the Governor on Women Affairs and Social Welfare Mrs Eso Williams at the Year 2012 Easter Carnival, Organised by the Office of the Wife of Osun State Governor at Osogbo Grammar School, Osogbo...yesterday

ESPITE the several billions of the tax payers, money sunk into the Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited (ASCL), the the multi-billion naira investment remains a white elephant project till date; no thanks to the inconsistency in government policies.

All efforts made at resuscitating the steel complex ended up breeding new problems. If there is anything working in the firm, it is corruption, either in the form of graft, or outright looting by individuals.

Any company and government officials that ever had anything to do with the mill have sour tales to tell.

Today, the complex is like a graveyard. Everything is at a standstill.

The premises of the company is a shadow of its old self as the few employees left behind render only skeletal administrative services.

The factory is at best moribund.

In 2008, an Interim Management Committee (IMC) was set up to oversee it. The panel came into being after a committee set up by the former President, the late Alhaji Umaru Yar'Adua indicted the technical partner - Messrs Global Infrastructure Limited of incompetence and withdrew the concession given to them by the former President Olusegun Obasanjo to operate was subsequently withdrawn.

But four years into its operations, the IMC remained a lame duck, with nothing to show since it was established.

It was learnt that an attempt by the IMC to stamp its authority was rebuffed when its request for N650 million to run the mill was allegedly turned down by the supervising Ministry of Miners and Steel Development, a move that dampened the morale and enthusiasm of committee members.

The ministry allegedly distanced itself from the committee because it did not have an input to its constitution.

A ministry source said: "Their function is not clear. At one time, the committee requested for grants to run the mill which never materialised."

It was alleged that the N650 million released by the presidency to resuscitate the refurbished units of both ASCL and National Iron Ore Mining Company (NIOCO) was never received by the IMC. But the management denied recieving such funds.

The source recalled the former minister of Mines and Steel Development, Mrs. Diezani AlisonMadueke was specific on how to disburse the fund, when she announced its release by the presidency in 2010.

Mrs.Alison-Madueke allegedly said the resuscitation exercise would cover a portion of the Thermal Power Plant, the Light Section rolling Mill, the Wire Rod Mill, the Engineering Workshops at ASCL and the Bergeud Plant as well as minmal mining operations and processing at the NIOMCO. At the receiving end of the bureaucracy, the employees have been crying foul, alleging the IMC of incompetence, misappropria-

tion and embezzlement of their salaries and allowances by using the old salary structure as against the Consolidated Research and Allied Institute Salary Structure (CONRAISS), approved by the Federal Government as the new salary structure for steel workers with effect from January 2010.

The National Vice President of the Steel and Engineering Workers Union (SEWU) Mr Salami Jimoh said despite the approval, the IMC continued to pay the workers with the old scale.

The source said: "The monthly salary of ASCL and NIOMCO workers are being computed and released on monthly basis from the Budget Office as approved by the government.

"But in defiance to this provision, the IMC insisted on paying with the old salary structure, leaving a monthly balance of N100 million in the kitty of the management in Ajaokuta alone, while NIOMCO is over N30 million monthly. This means that a total of over N2.5 billion has been diverted in the two companies from January 2010 till date.”

The workers also complained of non-payment of medical allowances, cancellation of five per cent leave grant, double deduction and non-remittance of contributory pension scheme and non-remittance of over N5 million cooperative deductions.

The bubble burst recently when some workers held hostage IMC Chairman Mr. Philip Umunakwe and the coordinator of administration for 12 hours.

But the management in turn accused the workers of trying to coerce it to pay the enhanced salary scale, noting the action was traumatic experience for the two IMC top shots.

Reacting to the allegation, Umunakwe dismissed the workers claims.

He told The Nationr "The allegations are baseless and made out of ignorance of the realities on ground".

The management in a statement explained its frustrations in its crusade for budgetary allocation for the mills.

It said: "In 2009, a proposal for the operation of the mills was submitted to the ministry by the IMC. The ministry after thorough examinations of the submission engaged the services of Messers Accenture who certified that with N650 million, the Wire Rod Mill, Light Section Mill, Engineering works and Metallurgical Training Centre could be put into operation.

"This position was an interim plan to engage the over 5,000 workforce in ASCL/NIOMCO pending the Federal Government's decision on the way forward.

"The then minister of Mines and Steel Development informed Nigerians that Mr. President had graciously approved N650 million to ASCL. Till date, no kobo has been released out of this sum to the IMC. "The IMC has struggled to reverse the zero budgetary allocations to

THE NATION TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2012

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NEWS

project: A victim of policy inconsistency ‘ Ajaokuta is not dead but there is no activity going on there right now. To put Ajaokuta on stream, the money is huge - close to N80 billion. A major part of the steel complex is completed.

Less than 20 per cent is yet to be fixed; most of the parts are obsolete •Dr. Jonathan the companies since 2008 except for personnel cost.

"It has prepared, submitted and defended budgetary proposals for ASCL/NIOMCO both at the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Steel for 2009, 2010 and 2011 financial years without success.

"It is important to state categorically that the IMC flatly refutes any allegation of fraud, misappropriation and misdemeanour as alleged."

Despite the government's refusal to provide the N650 million lifeline, it has allocated N4.6 billion in this year's budget for salaries of over 5,000 employees on the payroll of the comatose Ajaokuta Steel Company. Similarly, the National Iron Ore Mining Company was al-

‘

•Sada located N1.9 billion to be expended on payment of wincers’ salaries.

Minister of Mines and Steel Development Mohammed Sada explained why the company has not been reactivated. He said even if it was reactivated, it could not run without raw materials.

"If we are talking of reacting to Ajaokuta Steel Company, we have to start from the mines. This is why the iron ore mining by the Nigerian Iron Ore Mining Company, Itakpe is crucial, it is the starting point. We have to make sure that they are working and that the equipments are there to produce iron ore.

"But if you say every machine, every switch is fit and fiddle and ready to start production in Ajaokuta and

you don't have the raw materials to run it, then it won't work. Some of the major problems of the complex have to do with raw materials.

"If we are talking about steel production, mines department has an input to make and they must tell us the condition of the mines.

"Those are the issues we have to solve. I know that sometime this year, we made effort to see that at least the raw materials for the production of steel are acquired. We have started doing something to make sure we are not confronted with problems of importation and funding.”

According to the minister, the management has been directed to begin the process of developing a road map that would take the min-

ing sector to the next level.

Stressing government's determination to develop the mining sector, Sada said henceforth, there would be no discriminatory policies in the sector because regulations had been put in place to guide it.

A member of the House of Representatives Committee on Steel Development, Mr. Austin Ogbaburhon, said about N80 billion would be required to resuscitate the ailing steel complex if Nigeria is determined to emerge as one of the world's best economies by the year 2020.

Ogbaburhon said the issue was discussed exhaustively when the House Committee was considering appropriation for the steel sector.

He said: “It's quite good that we have a workable steel complex in

this country; any developing country like Nigeria that tries to be in the league of world's best economies by the year 2020 needs the steel industry to achieve such feat; the importance of steel development cannot be over-emphasised.

"Ajaokuta is not dead but there is no activity going on there right now.

To put Ajaokuta on stream, the money is huge-close to N80 billion.

A major part of the steel complex is completed. Less than 20 per cent is yet to be fixed; most of the parts are obsolete.

"Being the only surviving steel complex owned by the government in the country, Ajaokuta deserves all the attention and all hands should be on deck to bring it back on stream."

Our grouse about managers, by union leader Alhaji Salami Momoh Jimoh, the National Vice-President, Steel and Engineering Workers Union of Nigeria (SEWUN), spoke with our Correspondent, Mohammed Bashir in Lokoja on the lingering crises rocking the Ajaokuta Steel Company. He also spoke for the Iron and Steel Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ISSSAN)

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HE management has alleged the workers locked up both the chairman and the coordinator of administration for 12 hours on January 19 this year. What prompted this?

You know a goat cannot bite but when it is pushed to the wall it can turn back and bite. What has happened is that the management has been the shortchanging of the workers since July 2010 till date. Ajaoukuta Steel Company Limited and the National Iron Ore Mining company Itakpe, happen to be part of the steel parastatals under the ministry of mine and steel development. As at 2010, a Consolidated Research and Allied Institution Salary Structure CONRAISS was approved for the steel parastatal under the ministry.

And the CONRAISS circular came on December 14, 2010 showing the effective date of implementation on July 1, 2010.

It was this year (2010) that the sister- companies that were on the same salary structure started enjoying this CONRAISS, while our own management was collecting the money quietly without our knowledge since July 2010. Not until January 2011 that they made another proposal. It was at this time some of our union colleagues in the minis-

try hinted us of the new salary structure and furnished us with documents including the warrant.

We confronted the management that what they have been collecting on-behalf of the Ajaokuta workers is not what they are paying us. They requested for the evidence of our claim, we gave them including the warrant, since then, they began to dodge us, staying away from office.

When the workers got the information of the ongoing fraud in the management, and also lost confidence in us because the management had rendered us useless before them, the aggrieved workers on their own matched straight on the administrative building without our knowledge. Of course they believed we could no longer help them and therefore decided to take their destiny into their hands.

Although, they could not go up the stairs to meet the management, they went to protest the non-payment of the new salary structure. It was at that point the management invited the union for a meeting to resolve the lingering crises. The management during the meeting opened up in the presence of all the security agents in the territory, that the net pay that comes to the management monthly on-behalf of the workers was N312

million, while only N206m is been paid to us as monthly salary since January last year. But the management could not tell us what has happened to the monthly balance of over N100 million since January last year.

Based on this revelation the workers in the presence of the security agents, asked the management to sign an agreement on a new mode of payment, and the management complied and wrote in the agreement they were going to pay January salary on the new CONRAISS structure, while the February salary will be paid along with six months arrears on same CONRAISS structure after signing the agreement.

But after the cheques issued for the new salary structure were sent to the banks for payment, the IMC chair ran to Abuja and issued a counter directive to all the banks not to pay.

As I am talking to you now, I have just received an alert that the chairman has directed that the December 2011 Salary schedule be used in paying the January/February salary for the year, still on the old structure.

The management says the new salary scheme that the workers are demanding has not been approved by the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission.

What’s your comment?

I was part of the first delegation to the National Salaries Income and Wages Commission in Abuja to get approval for the new salary structure. The officer we met there, opened up and asked the management if the new salary structure has been coming in the budget, the management agreed and said ‘yes’, then the officer said there is no need of seeking any approval that the management should go ahead and pay the new salary structure since it is coming with the budget.

Since then the management has been collaborating with the salary and wage commission not to release the approval of the new salary structure and instead approved salary structure lower than our old salary.

We are currently complaining about it, despite the fact that the supervising ministry had directed that since there is provision for the CONRAISS in the budget, the management should go ahead and pay.

You workers have accused the management of fraud and mismanagement. Can you substantiate these allegations?

If the management cannot account for the balance of our monthly salary of over N100 million since January 2011 till date, what do you call

that? If they are not fraudsters let them prove it because we have documentary evidences to back what we are saying.

Is it true that the tenure of the Interim Management Committee was for only six months? Do you have evidence to back up this claim?

The word interim, means temporary, and what that implies is that the management, since they are here as interim, they should have stayed for either three or six months, but they are already spending their fourth years as interim. You don’t need any evidence on that. It is a clear case issue. We have the evidence of when they assumed as interim committee.

The management claims to have cleared salary arrears and ensure regular payment of salary till date.

Is it true?

I think the management is just telling you that to douse the tension they are currently undergoing, but for the record, the management is not only lying to you but also deceiving itself.

As far as we are concerned, we have not received payment for January and February this year. Remember I told you that the management signed an agreement that it would pay our January and February on CONRAISS and clear all the arrears, but till now nothing is done.

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THE NATION TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2012

NEWS

•Kaduna State acting Governor Mukhtar Yero (right) inspecting the scene of the bomb blasts on Junction Road in Kaduna…yesterday

•The Emir of Ningi, Alhaji Yunusa Danyaya (left) with Bauchi State Deputy Governor, Alhaji Sagir Saleh (right) during the latter’s condolence visit to the Emir over the death of the district head of Burra at the Ningi Emir’s palace…yesterday

Boko Haram strikes again as Kaduna counts losses Continued from page 1

Lt.-Col. Musa said.

Among those killed in the siege on the town that lasted for over an hour, were a former council boss, Alhaji Babagana Ali Karim; a police Sergeant and a civilian whose names were not revealed.

It was also gathered that the military had to be deployed from nearby military facilities before the siege could be smashed and three members of the sect were left dead and many others injured.

Confirming the attack in a statement in Maiduguri, Lt.Col. Musa said “between 01:35 and 02:45 hours of Monday, suspected Boko Haran terrorists attacked and burnt Dikwa police station, Unity Bank, Freedom Hotel and attempted to burn Dikwa Local Government Secretariat. The JTF Forward Operating bases in Dikwa and Gamboru, the 202 Battalion and the Nigeria Police personnel in the area were all called to action before the militants could be repelled.”

Lt.-Col. Musa confirmed the killing of the former council boss, a police sergeant and a civilian. He said three sect members were killed by the military with many others escaping with bullet wounds.

Musa said items recovered include an unregistered Isuzu pick up van (milk coloured), a pump action gun, an AK47 rifle, a double barrel gun, a box loaded with assorted ammunition, 19 empty magazines of AK47 rifle, a bullet proof jacket, a crash helmet and a DVD player. The JTF spokesman claimed that normalcy had returned to the area.

The Borno State Police Command yesterday gave a cash reward of N500,000 to a man who gave out information that

JTF discovers bomb-laden vehicle in Kano

A

N explosive-laden vehicle was intercepted in Kano yesterday.

It was parked at the ever-busy Zaria Road bypass in the metropolis before the Joint Task Force (JTF) men intercepted the vehicle and destroyed the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) loaded in it.

It was gathered that passers-by who saw the vehicle became apprehensive led to the smashing of a planned assassination of a clergyman.

Speaking during the presentation of cash to the man whose name was withheld for security reason, the Borno State Police Commissioner, Bala Hassan, said the informant gave the information that led to the arrest of two hoodlums and recovery of arms.

He urged the other residents of the town to borrow a leaf from the informant.

In another incident, two suspected Boko Haram members in a Peugeot 406 Saloon car with registration number AT 647 GWA shot sporadically into the air at about mid-day, scaring people off the streets of Maiduguri.

The shooting, which took place around Baga road and Hausari, caused pandemonium.

JTF spokesman Lt.-Col. Sagir Musa said the vehicle used by the sect members was stolen at gun point from a mechanic’s workshop.

He said the vehicle was ridden with bullets and that further information would be made available later.

There was confusion over the Kaduna casualty figure.

Commercial motorcyclists claimed they lost 100 members in the blast.

But the National Emergency

From Kolade Adeyemi, Kano

as people ran helter-skelter.

An eyewitness said the vehicle was noticed at about 10:30am.

The Kano JTF was notified and its men quickly rushed to the scene. They discovered that the vehicle was loaded with explosives. The motive for parking the vehicle at that spot is yet to be ascer-

Management Agency (NEMA) said yesterday that only nine people were killed.

This is contrary to the figure of 38 dead given on Sunday

by Abubakar Zakari Adamu, spokesman of the Kaduna State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA).

Commissioner of Police Mohammed Abubakar Jingiri disputed the figures, saying only five persons died while 16 were injured. “The bomb explosion was massive, which resulted from the death of the suicide bomber and five persons with 16 people injured who were passers-by.”

The suicide bomber struck at the ever-busy Junction Road/ Sardauna Crescent near the Ahmadu Bello Stadium.

NEMA said besides the nine dead, 38 people were injured and taken to hospitals.

It also claimed that eight buildings, including a bank and two hotels, were shattered by the explosion. About 23 motor-cycles were damaged during the incident.

The agency gave the statistics in a stock-taking statement in Abuja by its Head of Public Relations, Alhaji Yushau A . Shuaib.

The statement said: “For the quick intervention of security personnel and emergency rescuers, more lives were saved

tained.

JTF spokesman Lt. Ikedichi Iweha said: “This morning, the JTF discovered the vehicle laden with explosives. My men hurriedly rushed to the area and in the process, they were able to detonate the explosives. We thank God that nothing happened. The area has been cordoned off and the vehicle moved for safe keeping.”

from the suspected suicide explosion that occurred on Easter Sunday in Kaduna.

“The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) can authoritatively confirm nine deaths and 38 with varied degrees of injuries receiving treatment at various hospitals in Kaduna and Zaria.

“The figures were obtained after a joint rapid assessment by officials of the agency and the stakeholders which reveals that some of the injured persons that were initially presumed dead have since regained consciousness following their prompt evacuation and access to medical assistance.

“Alerts of the explosion had prompted the agency to immediately rally the stakeholders that deployed ambulances and para-medics in carrying out the quick intervention in the evacuation of the affected persons who were taken to the various medical facilities for necessary assistance. These included the Red Cross, Civil Defence, Kaduna SEMA, Police and the military. The medical facilities are: Barau Dikko Specialist Hospital, St Gerald Catholic Hospital, Rakiya Memorial, 44 Army Reference Hospital and ABUTH Zaria.

“The Director General NEMA, Alhaji Muhammad Sani Sidi, in prompt response

to the situation has visited some of the hospitals where the victims are receiving treatment and promised adequate assistance for their recovery.

“Among other immediate impacts caused by the explosion were eight buildings, including a bank, two hotels, an eatery and commercial shops that were affected and about 23 motor cycles which were also damaged.”

The Amalgamated Commercial Motorcycle Owners and Riders Association in Kaduna State yesterday claimed that over 100 of its members died in the Easter Sunday suicide bomb explosion.

The association blamed the government for the seeming unending suicide bombings in the country. It denied that its members were involved in most of the criminal activities and bombings in the country.

Amalgamated Commercial Motorcycle Owners and Riders Association of Nigeria (ACOMORAN) Secretary General Nasir Mamman, told reporters that over 100 members of the association died in the blast. He urged the government to take concrete measures aimed at safeguarding the lives and property of citizens.

Continued on page 10

Sect joins forces with Malian rebels THE Boko Haram sect has joined forces with the secessionist rebel forces battling the government of Mali from the Northern part of that country, it was gathered yesterday.

Among the rebels controlling Mali’s northern city of Gao are dozens of Nigeria’s Islamist Boko Haram group, a regional deputy told AFP yesterday. A security source confirmed the information.

“There are a good 100 Boko Haram fighters in Gao. They are Nigerians and from Niger,” said Abu Sidibe, a regional deputy. “They’re not hiding.

Some are even able to speak in the local tongue, explaining that they are Boko Haram.” The information was confirmed by a Malian security source.

At least 100 Nigerian Islamic Boko Haram guerillas crossed the frontier with Mali and took control of the town of Gao, in the north of the Country, according to Abu Sidibe, local deputy-governor.

CAN calls for Azazi’s sack Continued from page 1

decoration. He is incapable and should be removed immediately. He has not performed up to the required standard,” he said.

The Bishop advised Christians in the Northern part of the country not to be discouraged, assuring that Christians in the South would continue to pray for them.

He warned that the incessant bombings during festive periods were capable of causing crisis.

While expressing strong disapproval of the bombings, Rev. Chukwuma advised the Federal Government to step up efforts insecurity in the country.

5,000 policemen on the alert as Jonathan opens Almajiri school in Sokoto

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ECURITY has been tightened in Sokoto as President Goodluck Jonathan visits the state to inaugurate the Federal Government Model Almajiri School.

The Almajiri School project is part of the programmes initiated by the Federal Government to combat the poor education of youths in the North, which is believed to be one of the reasons for the security breach in that part of the country.

The police have mobilised about 5,000 men for today’s presidential visit.

The model boarding school with modern facilities is in

From Vincent Ikuomola, Abuja

Gagi in Sokoto metropolis.

The Federal Executive Council approved the construction of 400 Almajiri schools across the 19 Northern states.

Government is spending about N5b on the project.

The approval was in fulfillment of the promise by Jonathan to tackle the Almajiri syndrome in the Northern states by ensuring that millions of the street children get access to formal education.

The President insisted that the Almajiri syndrome was responsible for the high level of insecurity and other social menace in the North.

Minister of Education Prof.

Ruqqayat Rufai, said the schools would be equipped with basic facilities to promote the learning of Islamic religious knowledge and western education.

Minister of State for Education Nyesom Wike, who was directly supervising the project said 100 of the schools had been built and would be delivered before June.

The model school in Sokoto has among other facilities: language Laboratory, recitation hall, classrooms and dormitories.

Other facilities include: a clinic, vocational workshop,

dining hall and mallam quarters.

Speaking on the project yesterday in Sokoto, the Director of Media in the Governor’s Office, Alhaji Hassan Maccido, said the people were excited by the inauguration of the school.

He said Sokoto occupied a strategic position in the Northern region and in Islamic education in particular.

Maccido said the Almajiri system of education at its inception was like the western convent where a child is trained with religious ethics.

“The essence of Almajiri schooling is to take your child from you to a school environ-

ment where a Mallam takes care of him, gives him education and moulds his character.

“The foundation is for the child to have an independent mind of his own and to be able to fend for himself.

“Unfortunately, the system came to be abused as what we see now is that a father takes child to Almajiri school headed by a Mallam who does not do the job right.

“When a child is in need, the Mallam sends him out to engage in all sorts of things,” he said.

He said the state had earlier taken pro-active approach to reposition the Almajiri system and returned it to its original state of a formal set-up where a child is trained in islamic education before western education school system.

Continued on page 10

OUR ERROR In our editorial of yesterday with the headline: ‘Designed to fail’, we inadvertently mentioned “Tony Elumelu power contract scam”. The person connected with the power contract scam was Ndudi Elumelu. The error is regretted.

ADVERT HOTLINES: 01-280668, 08070591302, 08052592524 NEWSROOM: LAGOS – 01-8962807, ABUJA – 07028105302 COMPLAINTS: 01-8930678

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THE NATION TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2012

NEWS Nigeria passes satellite air navigation test

Youths urged to fight Boko Haram

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By Kelvin Osa-Okunbor

NIGERIA has passed a pilot test for migration from terrestrial air navigation to a satellite-based navigation, the Nigerian Airspace Management Authority (NAMA) said yesterday.

The Managing Director of NAMA, Mr Nnamdi Udoh, told journalists on Monday, in Ikeja, that the feat was a great one in view of the country’s quest for advancement.

He explained that the satellite-based navigation — Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) — was also known as Performance-Based Navigation (PBN).

“Nigeria’s bold attempt to migrate from terrestrial air navigation to a satellite-based navigation system received a boost at the weekend when two foreign airlines tested the new procedure with pilots landing successfully at the Lagos and Kano airports respectively.

“The Emirates airline was the first to carry out the approach test on Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) in Lagos while the KLM recorded same in Kano.

“With the success recorded in our quest for moving from terrestrial to a satellite-based air navigation system, Nigeria has joined the league of big countries that are already operating the ICAO-endorsed air navigation programme,’’ he said.

The NAMA boss said the PBN was cost effective, explaining that it required less fuel during aircraft takeoff and landing.

Okotie advises leaders on sacrifice CHAIRMAN of the Fresh Democratic Party (FDP) Revd. Chris Okotie has urged leaders to sacrifice for the betterment of the people.

Revd. Okotie, in an Easter message, said the ruling elite should emulate the sacrificial leadership of Jesus Christ.

He said the main message of Easter is the death and resurrection of Jesus to save mankind from eternal death.

Revd. Okotie said: “We must shun the pervading culture of greed and institutionised corruption that stifle development in our country. One of the core values of representative democracy is to engage in productive dialogue as a means of resolving differences. A resort to violent agitation and killing of innocent souls is alien to our culture.

“We, therefore, appeal to the Boko Haram fighters to sheath their sword and embrace dialogue in the interest of the nation. We cannot continue to waste innocent souls in an attempt to get redress for perceived injustice.”

•Speaker of the House of Representatives Aminu Tambuwal, Prime Minister of Niger Republic Brigi Raffini and Governor of Sokoto State Aliyu Wamakko at a function in Niamey…at the weekend

CNPP urges EFCC to probe Obasanjo's failed third term plot

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HE Conference Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) yesterday urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate how over N30 billion was ‘wasted’ on former President Olusegun Obasanjo alleged Third Term bid.

Obasanjo, in an interview with Channels , said he never "toyed with the idea of a third term" and that it was some members of the National Assembly that initiated the move to amend the constitution with a view to accommodating the plan.

But CNPP, in a statement by its Publicity Secretary Osita Okechukwu, said: "We want to know who authorised the opening of the Central Bank of Nigeria

• 'We want to know how N30 billion was wasted' From: Gbenga Omokhunu, Abuja

's vault where over N30 billion was withdrawn, the foot soldiers who distributed monies to lobby National Assembly members, Chiefs, Emirs, Obas and sundry characters, and who collected."

The group added: "Now that Senator Ibrahim Mantu, former Deputy Senate President (DSP) and Chairman Joint Constitutional Review Committee (JCRC) during the Third Term saga, has come out publicly to defend ex-president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo's revision of history and his infamous role in the failed bid

that cost the nation over N30 billion; Conference Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) calls on the EFCC to probe the failed exercise. The EFCC is in good stead to carry out this probe because the Chairman of EFCC Ibrahim Lamorde was the Operations man in the Commission during this sordid era.

"We dismiss Senator Mantu's statement in its entirety and are of the candid view that the Third Term is much ado about the depletion of our natural resources, the failure of Obasanjo regime to complete any project, especially of the federal roads he awarded since assumption of office, even

Ota-Agege-Abeokuta road and total criminal dislocation of our journey to true democracy.

"The probe of the Third Term is a matter of utmost national importance, not only to recover our looted funds, a bleeding which took place when the Oil price was hovering at its peak of between $140 to $145 per barrel; but also to locate how Chief Obasanjo's failure to extend his tenure led to his adoption of do-or-die tactics hence the 2007 sham elections and the emergence of the incompetent government in our clime today."

‘Nigerian woman could die if deported from UK’

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OCTORS have warned that a woman who is facing deportation to Nigeria could die within a month if the Home Office goes ahead with plans to deport her from the UK, where her life expectancy is good.

Roseline Akhalu, 48, a Nigerian university graduate, travelled to the UK in 2004 on a Ford Foundation scholarship to do a masters degree in development studies at Leeds University.

Soon after arriving she was diagnosed with renal failure and began treatment the following year. In 2009 she had a successful kidney transplant but needs regular hospital check-ups and immunosuppressant drugs for the rest of her life.

The Home Office tried to deport her last month but her solicitor, Hani Zubeidi, launched judicial review proceedings, which are ongoing. The removal was halted pending the outcome of the legal action. She is currently detained in Yarl’s Wood immigration removal centre in

Bedfordshire.

Reliance, the UK Border Agency subcontractor, has launched an investigation into the way Mrs. Akhalu was treated en route to Yarl’s Wood. She claims that she was refused permission to use the toilet despite her medical condition and despite the presence of a medic alongside the escorts in the van. Zubeidi has requested CCTV from the van but has not yet received it.

“If the Home Office send me back to Nigeria there is definitely no way I can survive,” said Akhalu. “I’m a widow, with no children. I have very few family members and even if treatment was available in Nigeria I would have no means to pay for it.

“One part of your country – the NHS – gave me my life back. But now another part – the Home Office – wants to take my life away. I’m feeling very low and know that I’m approaching my death bed if they send me back.”

Mrs. Akhalu is a prominent member of St Augustine’s

Catholic Church in Harehills, Leeds. She has the backing of both the Catholic and Anglican bishops of Leeds, as well as the city’s Lord Mayor, the Rev Alan Taylor, and her MP, Greg Mulholland.

Mulholland and the bishop of Leeds, the Right Rev John R Packer, have written to the immigration minister Damian Green urging him to intervene in Mrs. Akhlau’s case.

Her doctors have tried to make contact with renal specialists in Nigeria to ask what treatment would be available for their patient but according to Zubeidi they have received no response.

“Roseline’s consultants at St James’s Hospital in Leeds have warned that if she is sent back to Nigeria where she cannot get appropriate treatment she could lose her renal transplant within one month, leading to premature death,” said Zubeidi. “They say that if her transplant fails she will die.”

Akhalu said the way she was treated by Reliance es-

corts after her arrest was “humiliating and degrading”.

“Because of my medical condition I am not supposed to delay urinating. The Reliance escorts who were taking me to Yarl’s Wood stopped in Manchester. I begged them to take me to the toilet when we stopped but they refused. Instead I was given a small plastic bag and told to urinate in that in the van instead.”

A UKBA spokesperson said: “We do not routinely comment on individual cases.

The UK Border Agency expects the highest standards of integrity and professionalism from contractors and will take action if these expectations are not met. As the escort agency is investigating this matter we cannot comment further.”

In 2008, Ghanaian Ana Sumani, who had cancer, died after being forcibly deported to her home country by the Home Office. The medical journal the Lancet said of the case: “The UK has committed atrocious barbarism.”

HE Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF) yesterday urged youths to support the Federal Government’s effort to combat Boko Haram insurgent group.

At a news conference in Lagos, the AYCF President, Alhaji Yerima Shettima, said the future of the youth would be jeopardised if the bombings were not stopped.

He condemned the Easter Sunday bombing in Kaduna, which killed about 30 people.

“This is a dastardly act against humanity and must be seen as such,” Yerima said.

He said that the Boko Haram sect intended to destroy Nigeria, especially the North, adding that the group should be stopped through the collective efforts of all Nigerians.

“This is the most critical period in our history; we must not leave our fate in the hands of security agencies alone.

“Every youth, with the interest of humanity at heart, must rise up to this challenge.

“Emphasis must be on reporting suspicious persons and movements around us,” he said.

‘How to prevent lifestyle disease’

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PHYSICIAN at the National Hospital, Abuja, Dr Ogugua Osi-Ogbu, has advised people to check their cholesterol level regularly to avoid diseases attributable to lifestyle.

Osi-Ogbu told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Monday that the body produced Vitamin D and bile from cholesterol to aid digestion.

She noted, however, that while cholesterol played a key role in the functioning of a person’s heart, a high level of it in the bloodstream could cause heart disease.

She encouraged everyone to conduct cholesterol tests regularly and ensure that their fat level remained normal.

Cholesterol is a fat, which is produced by the liver and is crucial for normal body function and exists in the outer layer of every cell in the body as waxy substance that is transported in the blood plasma of all animals.

“High levels of low density lipoprotein is a risk of you clogging your arteries and developing things like strokes, heart-attacks, and low flow of blood to your extremities such as your legs, and could actually require amputation.

“Another fraction of cholesterol is triglyceride where we have levels above normal levels of triglyceride there is a risk of arterial clotting.

“We recommend every adult; everybody after the age of 30 should get a cholesterol check every three to five years.

“If you have no family history of high cholesterol and you are not obese; overweight; your lifestyle is not sedentary, you could do it every three years; but if you have other risk factors, it will be best to do it every year.’’

THE NATION TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2012

6

CITYBEATS Monarchs, rights groups move to stop Lagos doctors’ strike A

08033054340, 08034699757 E-mail:- ynotcitybeats@gmail.com

N appeal yesterday went out to resident doctors in Lagos State to shelve their proposed warning strike scheduled to begin tomorrow.

Monarchs, political leaders, clerics and rights groups pleaded with them to negotiate with the government instead of going on strike.

The rights groups said the planned strike is in bad faith, unpatriotic and unfortunate.

Humanity Services Project (HSP) led by Comrade Linus Okoroji, said the doctors were insensitive, wondering why they wanted to go on strike based on uncompleted agreement with the government.

Okoroji revisited the on-going debate on true federalism, claiming that it is illogical for the doctors to use the condition of service of their colleagues in the Federal Civil Service as a yardstick for measuring their welfare.

The Committee for the Protection

By Emmanuel Oladesu Deputy Political Editor

of Peoples Mandate (CPPM) asked the aggrieved doctors to embrace dialogue in the interest of industrial peace.

Its Executive Chairman, Mr. Nelson Ekujumi, said: "It is the grass that suffers. The common man cannot afford the services of private doctors. That is why we are calling on the doctors to shelve the strike and embrace dialogue".

In a statement, Okoroji said: "The Governing Board of HSP condemns the contemplated warning and incessant strike by Lagos State doctors. HSP is alarmed about the news that the Lagos State doctors are spoiling for a warning strike Wednesday, just two days after the Easter break. This is very insensitive, unfortunate and condemnable.”

He said the group is sad that "the contemplated action is an agitation

against an agreement out implemented by the Lagos State Government.”

Okoroji added: "We have restrained ourselves from issuing statements on previous strikes by Lagos State doctors. HSP is most disturbed that the agitations by doctors all the time are based on their selfish and personal interests, which are limited to conditions of service.

"HSP agrees that doctors, whose profession play a very vital role in saving human life, should be properly remunerated. But, it is unfair when doctors whose responsibilities revolve around saving of lives, take undue advantage of their most essential responsibility to impede government and society. Lagos State doctors are among the best remunerated among their contemporaries throughout Nigeria.

"HSP will like to draw the attention of Lagos State doctors to the real fact that, those who will be ad-

Businessman commits suicide

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BUSINESSMAN has committed suicide in Ajangbadi, on the outskirts of Lagos.

Ahmed Omobumbe hanged himself in his Orisan Street, Ajangbadi home last Saturday.

His neighbours said they woke up to see the body of the deceased, who hailed from Auchi, Edo State.

He reportedly killed himself af-

By Jude Isiguzo

ter his two children had gone to bed.

Police preliminary investigation showed that Omobumbe (40) may have become frustrated after a long illness.

CityBeats gathered that the deceased left no suicide note.

It was learnt that his body was

discovered by one of his children around 10am. The case was reported at Ilemba Hausa Police Division.

The Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Joseph Jaiyeoba, confirmed the incident.

He told CityBeats on phone: "At about 10:30am on April 7, 2012, one Ahmed Omobumbe, was found hanging in his apartment at

versely affected by any strike whatsoever are the poor Lagosians. Is it fair to punish the people who are already in agony?

"We condemn in its entirety the contemplated strike by the doctors.

It is important for the doctors to note that their services and responsibility to humanity are very essential, critical and anointed by God. They must not under any guise jeopardise people's access to their services. This must be against their professional ethics. They must look for other civilised means to resolve their differences with the government without jeopardising people's access to their services. It should not be heard that doctors, who essentially must save life after God, should go on strike".

Over the weekend, traditional rulers and political leaders embarked on a mission to stop the strike.

Orisan Street, Ajamgbadi.

"The deceased and his wife didn't live together but he lives with his two children and investigations revealed that he had been frustrated due to a certain illness.

"His corpse was initially taken to a mortuary but was subsequently taken to his home town where he'll be buried."

Jaiyeoba urged the public to seek counsel or share their problems with family members and friends as suicide is not an option.

Badagry Fitila: Echoing an era of slavery

THE Lagos State Government has raised a local emergency management committee to ensure prompt response in emergencies.

Commissioner for Special Duties Dr. Wale Ahmed said the panel would manage any likely disaster during the predicted heavy down pour this year.

He said committees will be chaired by council chairmen in their respective local government areas, adding that they are to put basic things in place whenever there is a distress situation within that locality, before the arrival of the state apparatus.

Ahmed said government has studied the topography of the local governments and appealed to residents living within flood prone areas to relocate from such area in order to avert major disaster.

He a blamed the impact of the flood in the state last year, on climate change and individual habit including indiscriminate dumping of refuse on drainage and canals, patronising cart pushers and building on drainage channels. He said it was important for residents to take seriously the prediction of heavy rainfall and ensure that they desist from habits that will endanger lives.

"The world is no longer the same because the influence of global warming is fast having a negative effect on our environment. This is why Nigerians and indeed Lagosians must be prepared for another season of downpour. Lagos being about five meters below sea level and surrounded by lakes, creeks and rivers, Lagos lands are prone to flood this is why Lagosians cannot afford to be complacent about their environment.”

By Yinka Aderibigbe

•Badagry High Chiefs and Mr Fadipe, PS Ministry of Tourism offering prayers to the spirit of the slaves at Badagry Slave Route Project during the Fitila Procession

By Ozolua Uhakheme

As the train moved towards the slave market at Vle-kete, there was a gun salute in the victims’ honour.

The Permanent Secretary Ministry of Tourism, Mr. Sewanu Fadipe, said the event was part of the week long Black Heritage Festival.

He said: "The state government is organising the Lagos Black Heritage Week with carnival, festival, boat regatta and beauty pageant.”

Chairman of Badagry Local Government Council Mr Husitode

Moses, who was represented by the Vice Chairman, Kappo Elizabeth said: "Fitila procession is held in honour of the repose of Badagry people who died during slavery.

Senior Special Adviser (SSA) to Badagry LGA Chairman on Tourism Mr. Nunayan Apata said the event was meant to celebrate the African spirit of freedom and those who lost their lives during the resistance to slavery.

"We are on procession to remember the ordeals of our forbears who were taken into slavery during the Trans-Atlantic slave trade between

1445 and 1888, when millions of slaves lost their lives," he said.

The procession train got to the Slave Port at Badagry Marina, while a detachment of the participants led by Fadipe, took-off in two boats for a journey to the Point of No Return at Gberefun.

On reaching Badagry Slave Route Project, High Chief Posuh Awarawuru poured libation and offered prayers for peace to reign in the ancient town. Artists such as Akere and Daddy Sax entertained the crowd that gathered at the Slave Port pavilion.

LAGOS EMERGENCY LINES STATE AGENCIES 4. KAI Brigade Phone Nos: 080-23036632; 0805-5284914 Head office Phone Nos: 3. LASTMA Emergency Numbers: 01-4703325; 01-7743026 080-75005411; 080-60152462 5. Rapid Response Squad (RRS) 080-23111742; 080-29728371 Phone Nos: 070-55350249; 080-23909364; 080-77551000 070-35068242 01-7904983 080-79279349; 080-63299264

1. Fire and Safety Services Control Room Phone Nos: 01-7944929; 080-33235892; 080-33235890; 080-23321770; 080-56374036.

2. Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Lagos Zonal Command Phone No:080-33706639; 01-7742771 Sector Commander Phone No: 080-34346168; 01-2881304

By Miriam Ndikanwu

‘Report safety impediments’

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LAVERY ended hundreds of years ago, but last Saturday, a procession was held in Badagry, Lagos, a major outpost of the illicit trade, in remembrance of the victims.

Thousands of Badagry indigenes trooped out for the Komiogban Fitila procession held as part of activities marking this year's Lagos Black Heritage Festival, Led by the Akran of Badagry, De Wheno Aholu Menu Toyi 1, the people marched from the Badagry Local Government Secretariat in Ajara, to the king's palace, singing and dancing.

The Fitila procession did not commence until the monarch put on the remembrance light in his palace.

Performing the ceremony, the Akran said: "We are here celebrating the Fitila procession in remembrance of those sold into slavery and were taken away from the coast of Badagry to Europe and America."

The procession is the only Lagos Black Heritage event held in Badagry.

The Akran, who thanked God for the exploits of blacks in the diaspora despite racial discrimination, congratulated his subjects for coming out en masse for the event.

Panel on disaster management raised

070-55462708; 080-65154338 767 or email: rapidresponsesquad@yahoo.com 6. Health Services – LASAMBUS Ambulance Services Phone Nos: 01-4979844; 01-4979866; 01-4979899; 01-4979888; 01-2637853-4; 080-33057916; 080-33051918-9; 080-29000003-5.

DIRECTOR-General Lagos State Safety Commission Mrs. Dominga Odebunmi has called on Lagosians to promptly report any safety impediment to the Commission.

She spoke at the launch of sensitisation campaign of the World Day of Safety (WDS),with the theme ‘safety na koko’ over the weekend. Odebunmi advised Lagosians not to take safety related issues in all domains with levity, as this could have grievous consequences on the home, works place and the society.

The ‘safety na koko’ road show campaign which kicked off at the Magodo office of the Lagos Safety Commission, en-route toll gate through Obafemi Awolowo way, Ikeja Local Government to Adeniyi Jones and back, with distribution of safety compliance card, highlighting the statutory responsibility of the commission.

The campaign is aimed at ensuring and maintaining proper safety standards in Lagos State while complying with section (9k) of the Safety Commission law.

Amongst the benefits of compliance to safety standards are achievements of Millennium Development Goals, (MDGs) a safer working environment, fewer accidents, more productive work force, less chance of litigation, greater profit, improved reputation and lower insurance premiums.

Also at the flag-off of the event was Mr. Akeem Liadi, Deputy Director LSC, Mrs. Aderonke Odeneye, Assistant Director LSC, Mr. Eugene Ituah, a safety consultant and the LSC team.

THE NATION TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2012 08033054340, 08034699757 E-mail:- ynotcitybeats@gmail.com

CITYBEATS

7

THE EKO FOR SHOW CARNIVAL

• Lagos Carnival held at TBS, Lagos... yesterday

PHOTOS: OMOSEHIN MOSES

THE NATION TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2012

8

NEWS Church holds convention Thursday

‘Lagos not owing corps members’

By Emmanuel Oladesu

T

G

HE Lagos State Government has said it is not owing the Na-

tional Youth Service Corps Scheme (NYSC) members serving in its ministries, corporations, parastatals and teaching service.

Commissioner for Special Duties Dr Wale Ahmed described a report about alleged non-payment of allowances to the corps members as a figment of the imagination of the writers.

Speaking with The Nation, Ahmed said: “I can confidently tell you that the Lagos State Government values the services of corps members in the public service. This government is not owing NYSC members. We have paid the March allowance and that of April is being processed. If there is any hitch, it is from the bank, perhaps due to the e-banking being used. The Lagos State Government is not owing Corps members.”

Doctor killed in Lagos

By Jude Isigzo

A

DOCTOR in a private hospital in Oko-Oba area of Lagos was killed yesterday by unknown gunmen.

Dr. Adegboyega Rufai was shot dead inside the hospital for a reason that is yet to be ascertained.

It was gathered that a baby was delivered on Friday morning at the hospital but the child’s mother died.

Sources said three men walked into the hospital on Monday and demanded to see the late Dr Rufai.

It was learnt that as they were ushered in to see him, one of them pulled out a gun and shot him several times. The gunmen fled immediately.

Policemen from Abattoir Police Station were invited to the scene and the nurses on duty were arrested for interrogation.

Police spokesman Jayieoba Joseph confirmed the killing.

According to him, the woman, who hailed from Imo State, was delivered of a baby girl last Friday and she died early Saturday.

“After her death, her husband came and requested for her body for burial, because he said he did not want to make any trouble.

The body was released to him.

“Around 6.30am yesterday, three men came into the clinic, pretending to be patients. They took the nurses on duty hostage, demanding to see the doctor. Immediately they saw him, they opened fire.

The three of them hurriedly left the scene before policemen could get there.

“The police suspect that the dead woman’s husband, who is said to be in Imo State, may have a hand in the killing,” Joseph said.

He said the nurse on duty were arrested for questioning and that the case had been transferred to the homicide section of the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti, Yaba.

•Travellers returning to Lagos at Ojota Motor Park after the Easter holiday...yesterday

PHOTO:RAHMAN SANUSI

Why Aregbesola provided 20,000 jobs in 100 days, by deputy governor

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SUN State Deputy Governor Grace Titi Laoye-Tomori yesterday explained why Governor Rauf Aregbesola provided jobs for 20,000 youths within the administration’s 100 days in office.

Describing Aregbesola as a father to Nigerian youths, the deputy governor noted that since assumption of office, the governor has shown a passion for the development of youths in all areas of life.

She delivered a goodwill message in Osogbo, the state capital, during the Easter Carnival organised by the governor’s wife, Alhaja Sherifat Aregbesola, in collaboration with the ministries of Women Affairs and Social Welfare and Youth, Sports and Special Needs.

According to her, the

From Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo

Aregbesola administration knows the importance of youths in nation-building as the government was the first in Nigeria to employ 20,000 youths within 100 days in office.

She said the employed youths have been working in the teaching service, Highway Guard, OYES-TECH, environmental sanitation and other professional assignments.

The deputy governor noted that the Aregbesola administration is committed to the yearnings and aspirations of youths for transformation and advancement.

Mrs Laoye-Tomori, who noted that the future of the state rests upon the youths, urged the residents to support the government’s re-

gional integration agenda.

She said this would extend the good virtues of the state to other states in the Southwest.

Mrs Aregbesola, who was represented by the Commissioner for Women’s Affairs and Social Affairs, Mrs. Mofolake Adegboyega, urged the youths to live in peace.

She said the Aregbesola administration has provided an environment devoid of contamination and exploitation for aspiring residents, particularly the youths.

The governor’s wife said the youths constitute a prime factor in sustainable nation-building and its development as well as being the leaders of tomorrow in all facets of life.

Mrs Aregbesola said: “I consider today’s event an important occasion and a

step in the right direction, because it is an occasion that has to do with the future of this nation. It is an event that concerns the participation of the youths to development, as youths of different socioeconomic backgrounds would interact with one another. We want to let the youths know that we have social interest in their development and they will also dine and wine with Her Excellency and other dignitaries in the state.

“Apart from bringing our youths together in the festive mood of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, it would also afford them the opportunity of positioning themselves to examine the salient issues pertaining to their rights as well as the observation of their rights by the adult society.”

RACEVILLE Chapel, a Lagosbased church, will hold a four-day annual convention of its Men’s Fellowship from Thursday, April 12 to April 15.

The event, with the theme: The Man of Good Success (Joshua 1 v 8), will hold in the church auditorium at 129 Awolowo Way, off Allen Roundabout, by De Plaza Ville Shopping Complex, Ikeja, Lagos.

The chapel’s Men’s Fellowship sets aside four days every year to celebrate God and make Him known for His divine blessings upon their lives.

The theme for this year’s celebration is taken from Moses admonition in Joshua 1:8, where he counsels: “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.”

The programme will feature ministrations by ministers of God, including Rev. (Mrs) Tope Ogunnoiki, the presiding minister of Graceville Chapel; Bishop Tayo Odunga of Christ Love Evangelical Mission (CLEM); Rev. Olugbenga Odusoga of Christ Heritage Assembly International Church, and Pastor Tope Popoola, founding overseer of The Business Church, Ibadan.

As part of the convention, men of the church will visit orphanages in Lagos to share with the children and bless them with gifts. The programme is expected to be rounded off with a thanksgiving service on Sunday, September 26 in the church auditorium.

Oyo police chief defends NLC secretariat closure

T

HE Oyo State Police Command yesterday said it occupied the state secretariat of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to prevent a breakdown of law and order.

This came as Labour accused the government of masterminding the closure.

Police Commissioner Mohammed Yabo said he sent his men to secure the secretariat in the interest of the public.

The police chief said the government should not be blamed because the command was performing its statutory function of ensuring the security of life and property at the NLC secretariat, following the alleged vandalism of some vehicles belonging to workers last week.

Describing the closure as a security measure, Mohammed said the command received a report that the workers were angry about their vandalised vehicles.

He said: “We cannot fold our arms and allow the situation to degenerate before we take action. That’s what

•Govt denies involvement From Oseheye Okwuofu, Ibadan

we have done. We owe the society the responsibility of maintaining peace and order and I want to assure you that as soon as we are sure that peace has returned into the Labour fold, my men will vacate the place.”

About 20 armed police-

men were still on the premises yesterday. They prevented workers and visitors from entering the building.

The government described Labour’s allegation as unfounded and unthinkable.

Addressing reporters in Ibadan, the state capital, Commissioner for Informa-

tion and Orientation Bosun Oladele said those linking the government with the closure were not sincere.

He noted that it would be unreasonable of the government to dabble into the matter, when the police were on it.

“The body is independent and non-governmental,” he said.

According to him, the government has nothing to ben-

efit from asking the police to seal off the NLC secretariat.

On the destruction of workers’ vehicles, the commissioner denied government involvement, saying: “It is unfortunate that our people are yet to shake off the hangover of the previous years. How can a government that is put in place to protect lives and property engage in the destruction of the same property? Is it logical?”

Leather makers urge Presidency to review EEG policy

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EMBERS of the Leather and Allied Product Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (LAPAN) have decried the negative impact of the Export Expansion Grant (EEG) policy on their business. They urged the Presidency to review the policy.

The body, which petitioned the House of Representatives Committee on Commerce, said the EEG policy, orchestrated by the Ministry of Finance, is not favourable to indigenous businesses.

From Kolade Adeyemi, Kano

The March 26 petition, entitled: Petition on Granting of EEG to the Leather Sector, noted that “a level-playing field is desired to ensure the revival of the leather and allied products industry”.

Copies of the petition were sent to the Minister of Trade and Investment, Mr Olusegun Aganga; Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Malam Lamido Sanusi Lamido; Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs

Service (NCS), Alhaji Abubakar Inde Dikko; and the House of Representatives Committee on Commerce and Industry.

LAPAN said the EEG policy posed grave consequences to the leather and allied products sector.

The petition, by the Chairman of its Board of Trustees (BOT), Malam Bashir Ibrahim Danyaro, said the continuous implementation of the EEG would be detrimental, not only to the leather industry but also to other local manu-

facturers.

The Kano-based association added that because of the policy implementation, only five outfits got undue advantage far ahead of hundreds of other leather manufacturing outfits that hitherto provided millions of jobs to Nigerians.

Faulting the claims that the EEG intervention in the leather industry has added value to the economy, LAPAN said there is no transparency in the implementation of the EEG policy.

THE NATION TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2012

9

NEWS

Ondo ACN governorship aspirants prepare for primaries

A

HEAD of the October governorship election in Ondo State, 20 aspirants are preparing for the primaries on the platform of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

Party sources told The Nation that ACN is planning “guided primaries” to avert a post-primary crisis.

The aspirants include former Minister of Power and Steel Minister, Dr. Olu Agunloye; Senator Robert Boroffice; former finance Commissioners Mr. Segun Ojo and Mr. Wale Akinterinwa; former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) President, Chief Rotimi

•Ilaje insists on slot

By Emmanuel Oladesu, Deputy Political Editor

Akeredolu (SAN); and Mr. Gbenga Abraham.

Others are: daughter of the late Ondo State Governor, Chief Michael Adekunle Ajasin - Mrs. Jumoke Anifowose; Comrade Sola Iji, Mr. Awodeyi Akinsehinwa Apata, Mr. Tayo Alasoadura, Senator Nimbe farunkanmi, Mr. Saka Lawal, Chief Jamiu Ekungba, Dr. Jayeola Ajatta, and Mr. Felix Rawa.

The aspirants have said they would abide by the party’s decision on who-

ever emerges its candidate, following a sensitisation programme on the party’s “guided primaries” policy.

At the weekend, ACN chieftains in Ilaje Local Government Area urged the party leadership to zone the slot to the council to ensure justice, fairness and equity.

They noted that since 1999, no indigene of the oil-rich zone has served as governor.

The Ilaje leaders endorsed Rawa as their choice candidate, urging other zones to support him.

At the meeting of the ACN

leaders from the 12 wards were the party’s chairman, Akin Esanmore; the Secretary, Chief Marokutimi Adeyemi; the Youth Leader, Deji Aganmoyomi; the Women’s Leader, Mrs. Dami Obele; and Coordinator of the 12 ward chairmen, Ijietimi Tomola.

On behalf of the others, Esanmore said: “We are calling on the national leadership of the ACN to take note that we have been marginalised. As the only local government producing crude oil in commercial quantity and which gave the state its status as an oil producing state, now is the

time for us to be given the opportunity to take a shot at the governorship.

“We don’t need the Ondo State Oil Producing Areas Commission (OSOPADEC), which is a conduit pipe for the present government that has connived with the commission’s chairman, who is now in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), to siphon developmental funds into private pockets. Neither do we need the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), which has continued to marginalise us in terms of developmental

projects.

“Let me state clearly and loudly that any Ilaje son or daughter angling for the deputy governorship slot is not representing the interest of Ilajes; he or she is on his or her own. I can tell you that we are fully in support of the aspiration of Felix Rawa, our own son, who is a governorship aspirant on the platform of our great party.”

He noted that despite being the economic pot of the state, Ilaje has not enjoyed any dividend of democracy since the advent of the present democratic administration.

Minimum wage: Oyo workers urged to shun confrontation YO State civil servants have been urged to use dialogue instead of confrontation to persuade the government for enhanced pay.

They were hailed for suspending the strike by the state’s Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) over the disagreement with the government on the minimum wage offer.

The Medical Officer of Health, Ibarapa North Local Government Area, Dr O. R. Omotajo, appealed to the workers in a statement at the weekend.

He said the wage dispute was unnecessary because the government has demonstrated enough sincerity

O

•Ekiti State Governor’s wife, Erelu Bisi Fayemi, flanked by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Bureau of Infrastructure and Public Utilitiies, Mr Kayode Jegede (left) and the Special Adviser on Tourism Development, Mr Segun Ologunleko, at the Easter Family Funfair organised by the state government in Ado-Ekiti...yesterday

Hoodlums, OPC clash in Ibadan

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HE Easter celebration turned bloody on Sunday at Ita-Faaji junction of Owode Apata, Ibadan, Ido Local Government Area of Oyo State, when members of Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) clashed with some hoodlums.

About 30 OPC members stormed the popular junction at 6pm with dangerous weapons.

The Divisional Police Officer (DPO) at Apata Police Station, Ali Ganiyu, a Superintendent of Police (SP), however, said only a case of assault was reported by an unnamed person from the

•Police launch manhunt for militant’s leader From Oseheye Okwuofu, Ibadan

area.

He said the matter was not linked to the OPC. According to him, those who reported the matter did not mention OPC. He said the matter would be investigated and the culprits punished.

It was learnt that when the OPC members arrived at the junction, they allegedly shot into the air, forcing the residents, including traders and commercial motorcyclists (okada riders),

to run.

Eyewitnesses said about 15 people were injured during the stampede that lasted about 20 minutes.

It was gathered that the OPC men injured 10 of the miscreants. Many shops were reportedly vandalised.

OPC Chairman in the area Comrade Muritala Adekola Ifawale (aka Muri Omi), could not be reached for his reaction.

The residents urged law enforcement agents to prevent a recurrence and tame the OPC boys from terror-

ising them.

Police spokesperson Olabisi Okuwobi told The Nation that the command has begun the manhunt for Muri and the others for breaching the peace.

She said: “It was not a clash but a fight between a man and some people.

What really happened was a case of fighting in a public place and, in the process, a man was injured. He is receiving treatment in a hospital. Every other person is a suspect, including Muri.

He may run but he cannot run faster than the law.”

Aspirant laments plight of jobless graduates GOVERNORSHIP aspirant on the platform of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Ondo State, Mr. Olayato Aribo, yesterday lamented the plight of the unemployed graduates whom he said have been roaming the streets.

He said the state has enough fund and resources to generate employment for them.

Aribo, a banker and industrialist, addressed some unemployed professionals in Akure, the state capital. He noted that the Olusegun Mimiko administration’s resolve to engage jobless graduates in the state’s farm settlements has rendered their professional certificates use-

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From Damisi Ojo, Akure

less.

He said: “It is disheartening to see graduates of Medicine, Pharmacy, Accountancy and others being dragged to the farm in the name of engaging them rather than placing them in their desired areas of specialisation.

“It is only graduates of Agriculture and other allied courses that are relevant on the farm. Others, who are sent there against their wish, will not make any impact.

The state can still afford to employ some of these graduates, if the present administration reorders its priorities.”

The governorship aspirant

urged the residents to work for the enthronement of an ACN government in the state in the October governorship poll, to make life meaningful for the people.

He noted that the state cannot afford to continue to be a lone ranger in Southwest mainstream politics.

Aribo said: “Ondo State is too important in the Southwest to be left in the hands of those currently playing politics of exclusion, contrary to the programme of their party. This is retarding the development of the Sunshine State.

“Ondo State has sufficient resources and manpower to develop and compare with Lagos State. The problem is

that those presently at the helm of affairs have lost focus. Their programme has no direct bearing on the lives of the citizenry, while they continue to loot the resources of the state.”

The aspirant said it was regrettable that youths do menial jobs to survive and competent local contractors lose big jobs to their foreign counterparts who are perceived to be the governor’s friends.

Aribo added that the cement factory at Okeluse in Ose Local Government Area has not become operational, despite claims by the present administration that it had taken off, while it allocates funds to the project in its annual budget.

By Eric Ikhilae

with the workers.

“Compassion rather than contempt should come the way of Governor Abiola Ajimobi from teachers in the state. Elsewhere, teachers’ professional allowances have been swallowed up by the minimum wages. But here, they continue to enjoy them side by side with the minimum wage,” he said.

Omotajo, who said he was convinced about the governor’s commitment to workers’ welfare, urged Labour leaders in the state “to allow conscience and good judgment to prevail in their handling of the current wage crisis by giving the governor the benefit of his words”.

Ekiti community’s monarch installed From Sulaiman Salawudeen, Ado-Ekiti

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NEW Oniye of Iye-Ekiti, the headquarters of Ilejemeje Local Government Area of Ekiti State, Oba Jonathan Agoola Adeleye Oni, has been installed.

The coronation ceremony, which held at the town’s market square, was attended by prominent indigenes of the town and dignitaries from across the state.

Oba Oni emerged the town’s choice following the demise of the erstwhile monarch, Oba Emanuel Olanrewaju Ffakunle, on May 18, 2010.

Born 60 years ago, Oba Adeleye attended St. John’s Anglican Primary School, Iye-Ekiti, and Ilejemeje Secondary Modern School, Iye. He also attended Methodist School, Yaba, and the Lagos State University (LASU), where he obtained a degree in Public Administration.

The new monarch emerged following the approval of the state Executive Council.

Oba Adeleye promised to be dedicated to the community’s development.

He said he has the support of the indigenes to ensure the infrastructural and industrial development in the town.

ACN hails council chair’s achievements

By Eric Ikhilae

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EMBERS of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Ibadan North East Local Government Area of Oyo State have said they were comfortable with the commitment of the council Chairman, Lukman Abodunrin Alatise, to the party’s ideal at ensuring development in the area.

In a statement by its Secretary, Akintola Agboola, the party said Alatise runs an all-inclusive and a purposeful administration for which he now enjoys the support and confidence of ACN leadership, party members and the residents.

ACN was reacting to a publication, entitled: Ajimobi, act on Ibadan North East Local Government, reportedly written

by Mrs. Olabisis Adepoju.

It highlighted the projects the Alatise administration executed, noting that these are spread across critical sectors, including health, education, agriculture, among others.

“In view of these modest achievements, we can categorically say that he has performed within the limit of the resources available to the council. There may be room for improvement; he is amenable to constructive criticisms and corrections.

“We wish to make it clear to all and sundry that the ACN in Ibarapa North East Local Government has no groups.

We are one closely knitted family under the able leadership of Alhaji Lam Adesina,” the statement said.

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THE NATION TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2012

NEWS

Boko Haram strikes again as Kaduna counts losses Continued from page 4

•Vice-Chancellor, Crawford University, Prof. S. A. Ayanlaja, addressing reporters at the convocation press briefing at Faith City, Igbesa, Ogun State. With him are Registrar Tunde Adekoya (middle) and Librarian Thomas Adigun PHOTO: JOHN EBHOTA

Mamman said an emergency meeting of all the officials of the association in the state had been called to take proper statistics of the dead.

He urged the government to look into the proposal submitted to it by the association aimed at sanitising the union, adding that most of the commercial cyclists engaged in crime were not their members.

He said: “Yesterday was a very dark day because we lost our members and other innocent Nigerians. It is, indeed, very unfortunate. We pray that God will give their families the fortitude to bear the irreparable loses.

“We urge the government to ensure the security of lives and property of citizens. We are not blaming anybody in particular.

“We submitted a proposal to sanitise the union. Part of the proposal is the need for screening before becoming a member. We don’t just want

anybody to come into the trade just like that. If the government had worked with our proposal, by now, we would have told you authoritatively the number of those members that died in yesterday’s unfortunate incident, but now we can’t.

“However, we have summoned an emergency meeting of all our chairmen across the five zones in the state and they are here already. On the average, our people are over 100 that lost their lives. We want to authenticate our membership, so we appeal to the state government to do something about our proposal to sanitize the trade.”

Chairman of the Kano Road branch of the association, Danjuma Issa, blamed the government for the incessant bombing in the state, saying the attention of security operatives had been on commercial cyclists while motorists carried explosives around.

Issa said they had been inundated with calls from fam-

ilies of their dead members over the whereabouts of their loved ones.

“It was an unfortunate incident and more so that it affected our members mostly. You see that we are few here today. We are still mourning as we are still taking stock of the dead among us.

“Some of our members could not work yesterday because of the unfortunate incident.

It’s most unfortunate. Some of our members are not here and we don’t know what must have happened to them.

“Families of some of our members have been trooping to various hospitals in search of their loved ones.

Some of the victims, you cannot even identify because they were burnt beyond recognition.

“I have been bombarded with calls from my family members. They are scared since they learnt of the incident.”

5,000 policemen on the alert as Jonathan opens Almajiri school in Sokoto

•Chairman, Coker-Aguda Local Council Development Area, Mrs. Omobolanle Akinyemi-Obe presenting a ticket to Jerusalem to Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Coker Aguda Branch, Bishop Folashade Alao at the Council Secretariat, Aguda, Lagos. With them are Captain Dele Shobayo (left) and Council Manager, Ige Onala.

PHOTO: TAJUDEEN ADEBANJO

Continued from page 4 Maccido said the state government had established a school which, at the moment, admitted about 1000 pupils from Sokoto and neighbouring States.

He said the state government is planning to build additional schools in all its senatorial districts to complement the Federal Government efforts.

Sokoto Police Commissioner, Alhaji Aliyu Musa, said yesterday that about 5,000

police personnel had been mobilised to provide security during President Jonathan’s official visit.

Musa told the News Agency of Nigeria ( NAN) in Sokoto that measures had been taken to provide adequate security.

He said that all the assistant commissioners of police had been assigned to each of the identified routes Mr President was expected to follow.

He said officers had been briefed on the security modalities they were expected to

adopt during and after the visit. “ All we expect from members of the general public is intelligence reports that will help us strategise our mode of operation in task of building a safe society, “ Musa said.

He called on the officers and men of the command to continue to put in their best as hard working ones would always be rewarded while the indolent ones ways be sanctioned.

One injured in Jos blast •Orji condemns Kaduna explosion

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•A cross-section of Catechumens, who received their first Holy Communion at the vigil mass PHOTO:NAN at the Church of Assumption, Asokoro, Abuja, on Easter Sunday

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HE Police in Plateau State yesterday said one person was injured in a bomb blast at New Abuja, Tudun Wada, Jos. Police spokesman Samuel Dabai told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the perpetrators planted the bomb on a motorcycle.

‘What we know is that only one person was injured and was rushed to the Plateau Specialist Hospital for

Four arrested for alleged drug possession

OUR suspects were arrested by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the weekend in Lagos.

NDLEA Commander at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Hamza Umar, said Ezeani Obinna (28) and Okoye Samuel Ozoemena (27) were arrested while allegedly bringing heroin from Tanzania.

Egbo Innocent Oluchukwu and Ejimbe Christian Chidi allegedly ingested liquid cocaine poured into male condoms.

Umar said: “They thought that the scanning machine will not detect liquid cocaine but they were wrong.

“Even those coming from Tanzania felt that there will

be no attention on them.

“We shall continue to do our best to prevent traffickers from using this airport.”

Obinna and Ozoemena were arrested during the screening of passengers on Kenyan Airways.

The other suspects arrived from Venezuela using an emergency travel certificate aboard a South Africa Airline flight.

This is the first case of liquid cocaine ingestion in the country.

Oluchukwu (43) excreted 70 wraps of the oily cocaine, weighing 2kg.

Ejimbe (32) swallowed 54 wraps of same oily cocaine, weighing 1.350kg.

Oluchukwu, who arrived with an emergency travel cer-

tificate number 00000600, claimed to have spent 10 years in Venezuela.

He said he was told the machine would not detect liquid cocaine in the stomach.

His words: “The Venezuelan who gave me the drug told me that it will be difficult for the machine to detect liquid cocaine when ingested.

“I ingested 70 wraps of the drug using water because I was desperate.

“It is not that drug trafficking is a good thing but I wanted to solve my problems. They promised to pay me $6,000.”

The Chairman/Chief Executive of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Ahmadu Giade, has called for regional bodies to

be more involved in counter narcotic operations in Africa.

According to him, the intervention of regional bodies has become imperative for a healthy and drug-free life.

“Heroin is usually smuggled from Pakistan, Iran and India but things are changing with the seizure of heroin coming from Tanzania.

“This is strange because they have turned drug trafficking into a relay race.

“The first set of traffickers will smuggle heroin from Pakistan to Tanzania while another set will take it from Tanzania to Nigeria.

“This is a new plan to evade arrest but we shall now beam our searchlight on African flights” Giade stated.

treatment.

“There was no serious damage to the area where the blast occurred but one car was slightly damaged.

It was an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) planted on the motor bike,” he said.

Dabai said no arrest has been made so far but that the police were investigating the matter.

He called on the public to always provide the police with information that would assist them in their work .

The spokesman said the police would unravel the perpetrators of the bomb blasts in the state.

The Chief Medical Director (CMD), Plateau Specialist Hospital , Dr. Bitrus Matawale, said only one person was brought to the hospital for treatment.

“The person who was brought to the hospital sustained only a minor injury and he was treated and discharged that evening.

“Nobody has been admitted as a result of the Tundun Wada bomb blast of Sunday evening,” Matawale said.

A source said the victim was close by when the blast occurred between 7. 30 .and 8. p.m. on Sunday.

He said:“When I heard

boom, I rushed to the scene and discovered that God took control of the situation as I saw only one man, who was injured.

Dabai, however, called on the public to go about their normal businesses, saying security operatives were on top of the situation.

He said the remains of the motorcycle has been picked up by the police.

Abia State Governor Theodore Orji has condemned the Sunday bomb blast that killed 40 people in Kaduna.

In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary Ugochukwu Emezue, Orji said it was unthinkable for anybody to choose a day that Christians were marking the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ to kill.

The governor, who described such act as barbaric, inhuman, and unwarranted, said those behind this dastardly act would not escape the wrath of God. The governor called on those responsible for “this show of shame” to change.

He commiserated with the family of the victims. He also sympathised with the Governor of Kaduna State and the President.

THE NATION TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2012

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BUSINESS THE NATION

E-mail:- bussiness@thenationonlineng.net

We emphatically want to state that the choice of the 12 airports under going remodelling and face-lift was not influenced by any political considerations.

-Mrs Stella Oduah, Minister of Aviation

Local content: Samsung spends $300,000 to train 20 youths

By Kelvin Osa-Okunbor

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N pursuit of the local con tent drive in the oil and gas sector, a group of 20 Nigerian youths have been sent to SAMSUNG Heavy Industries (SHI), for training at a cost to $300,000. The programme, which is to run for an unspecified time period, is an initiative of the firm.

The project would be executed in Samsung’s shipyard in Geoje, South Korea, under an extensive programme aimed at effecting technology transfer to the trainees. The company’s extensive commitment to train Nigerians was first announced on February 6, this year, with the ground breaking of its new world class training facility in LADOL Free Zone, called, ‘Samsung Nigeria Technology Academy,’ ( SaNTA). The training facility will cost about $10 million and will benefit from having Samsung’s world class training programs and equipment.

Speaking at the pre-departure ceremony for the youths at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, the General Manager, SAMSUNG Heavy Industries in Nigeria, Frank Ejuzi, told reporters that the company decided to key in to the training of the youths to meet the local content initiative of President Goodluck Jonathan He said: “ In order to recover the Nigerian local content initiative of Mr President, we felt it is important to support that initiative and my company is sending the first batch of youths in the oil and gas sector for training in Korea in order for them to transfer the technology to our other youths back home.”

DATA STREAM COMMODITY PRICES Oil -$123.6/barrel Cocoa -$2,686.35/metric ton Coffee - ¢132.70/pound Cotton - ¢95.17pound Gold -$1,800/troy ounce Rubber -¢159.21pound MARKET CAPITALISATIONS NSE -N6.503 trillion JSE -Z5.112trillion NYSE -$10.84 trillion LSE -£61.67 trillion RATES Inflation -12.6% Treasury Bills -7.08% Maximum lending22.42% Prime lending -15.87% Savings rate -2% 91-day NTB -14.18% Time Deposit -5.49% MPR -12% Foreign Reserve $34.6b FOREX CFA 0.2958 EUR 206.9 £ 245 $ 156.4 ¥ 1.9179 SDR 241 RIYAL 40.472

• Managing Director, Samsung Heavy Industries Nig. Ltd., Mr Jejin Jeon and Mr Ejizu, with the youth shortly before their departure at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos ...yesterday.

PHOTO: ISAAC JIMOH AYODELE

Stakeholders flay Customs autonomy Bill

CBN mulls voter’s card as means of identification in banks S

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HE Central Bank of Ni geria (CBN) is weigh ing the option of allowing the use of a voter’s card as additional means of identification in bank transactions. A policy to that effect would be released soon by the apex bank, The Nation has learnt.

CBN’s Deputy Director, Consumer Finance Department, CBN, Nwaoh Ifeanyi, said efforts are in top gear to release the policy as soon as possible to foster growth of the industry.

He said the development became necessary to avoid certain problems associated with opening of accounts, among other transactions in banks, adding that the apex bank would issue a policy to determine the acceptability

By Akinola Ajibade

of voter’s cards for transactions in banks.

In an interview with The Nation yesterday, he said the policy will resolve the issue of whether banks can accept voter’s card for transactions, as an alternative to drivers’ licence, National ID Card, and passports, which he said, are the three major means of identification approved for transactions, adding that voters card as alternate means of identification, has been generating controversy in recent times.

He explained that banks have been grappling with the problem of getting customers to submit genuine and commonly acceptable means of identification, say-

ing this has affected the Know Your Customer (KYC) initiatives, as well as making it difficult for banks to get curent information about their customers. He said allowing the policy would ensure that there is a common means of identification for transactions among banks’ customers.

He said: “I can’t tell you precisely when the CBN will release the policy, but all I know is that concrete efforts are being made to release the policy soon. We are examining that area in conjunction with the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU). Sooner or later, the policy on whether voters’ card will be used as a proof for conducting transactions in banks will be out.”

He said the CBN is putting in place measures to ensure that banks conduct customer’s due diligence well and further strengthen the industry. He said the measures include reducing problems between the banks and their customers as much as possible, providing accurate records of transactions and getting sufficient data on customers.

Also, a Director of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit,NormanWokoma, noted that there are problems in some of the papers which customers submit to banks. He observed that many Nigerians do not possess passports and drivers’ licence, stating that this has hindered them from accessing banking services.

NNPC assures on gas supply to power plants

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HE Nigerian National Petroleum Corpora tion (NNPC) has assured it will improve on gas supply to the power plants across the country in the next 48 weeks.

Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Group Executive Director, Gas and Power, Dr. David lge, gave the assurance while speaking with reporters after inspecting the Escravos to Lagos gas pipeline project at Chanomi creek in Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State being undertaken

by Fenog Nigeria Limited,

From Polycarp Orosevwotu, Warri

an indigenous company.

Ige said they have done a lot in laying the new gas pipeline, just like the one they have just inspected, expressing confidence that the contractor will complete the work on time. He said the combination of what they are doing on the supply side is what they are doing on the demand side.

He explained that they will significantly improve the supply of gas to the power plants over the next 48 weeks and are doing a lot of work already.

He said work at the Utorogun

and Ughelli gas plant to increase capacity from 320 million cubic to 510 capacities is in progress.

Ige disclosed that the new power plants at Olorunsogo in Ogun State could not be put into effective use for now because the existing pipeline was very small, but assured that Nigerians would in the next six weeks notice significant stabilisation of gas supply to the power plants.

“As you can see, the work is being delivered 100 percent by an indigenous company, Fenog Nigeria Limited. The company is doing very well and we will continue to en-

courage the Management and staff of the company as well as other indigenous companies”, he said.

The Executive Director, Fenog Nigeria Limited, Mr Mathew Tonlagha, said the company invested massively in acquiring the latest equipment in the world because of its belief in the local content agenda of the Federal Government.

Tonlagha assured that the project would be delivered on time to meet the expectations of Nigerians and also to prove to the world that “we can handle some of these projects ourselves.”

Creditors plead with Sambo over stalled payment

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REDITORS of the co matose mobile telecoms firmly (MTel) have pleaded with VicePresident Namadi Sambo to come to their aid in getting their debts settled.

The creditors have had their payments stalled since January as a result of what they described as covert attempts by the management of the Bureau of

From Nduka Chiejina, Asst.

Editor, Abuja

Public Enterprises (BPE) to tinker with the payment process.

A statement by representatives of the creditors yesterday blamed the BPE for the distortion in the payment process, saying the body is frustrating the efforts by the Vice-President to instill sanity in the exer-

cise.

The statement, jointly signed by Messrs Sylvester Onwuna and Kabiru Musa appealed to Sambo not to visit the sins of “a recalcitrant government agency” on the hapless and traumatised creditors.

“We are appealing to the Vice-President not to allow the intransigence of the BPE to stand in the way of eq-

uity and justice for the creditors, whose money had been trapped in M-tel for upward of six years” “A majority of our members desperately need the money to settle bank liabilities and to get their children back to school, while some need it for medical treatment for various trauma induced ailments”

OME stakeholders have condemned the proposed bill seeking to make the Customs Service independent of the Federal Ministry of Finance.

Citing the structures in countries, such as Australia, Bulgaria, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, the stakeholders noted that the Customs Service is responsible to the minister for finance or a supervising minister.

While supporting the need for Customs to establish an analytical laboratory, the stakeholders noted that examining other cargoes will require collaborating with other agencies such as National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to provide expert technical competence for the examination of special goods.

The stakeholders said the Customs service lack the capacity to perform and co-ordinate analytical activity for entering volume of samples that can cause serious delays in issuing results.

Govt urged to implement agreement

By Dupe Olaoye-Osinkolu

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HE Senior Staff Asso ciation of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) yesterday urged the Federal Government to implement the agreement it entered into with the union in 2009, to prevent a strike.

The Chairman of the Lagos State University chapter of SSANU, Mrs Funmi Sessi, said the implementation of that agreement would further demonstrate the government commitment to the development of education.

Part of the agreement is the extension of retirement age of SSANU members from 60 years to 65.

She said the ultimatum the union gave in December last year, expired on March 29.

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ENERGY THE NATION

E-mail:- energy@thenationonlineng.net

Fed Govt, electricity workers to resume T negotiation next week

HE Federal Government and the two labour unions of electricity workers, the Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies (SSAEAC) and the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) will resume another round of negotiation on amicable and peaceful privatisation of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN).

The electricity workers had previously met with the government to resolve issues on their benefits should the government continue with its decision to privatise the utility company but the meeting was inconclusive.

The negotiation, which begins on April 16, would be a continuation of where the previous meeting ended. The workers are opposed to privatisation but opted for liberalisation, which they said would be the best for the country.

President-General, SSAEAC, Comrade Bede Opara, told The Nation that electricity workers are not opposed to reforms in the power sector but have their reservation for privatisation.

Opara said: “We have our reservation for privatisation because privatisation will not solve the

By Emeka Ugwuanyi Assistant Editor

problem in the power sector. But there is need for reforms in the power sector. We have gone to the extent of telling the government that if it insists on privatisation, let us negotiate and know what belongs to workers and so that they (government) pay them. We are on that negotiation now.

“The next round of negotiation will come on the 16th of this month.

Irrespective of the fact that we have our reservations about privatisation because we believe it will not solve the problem of power in the system, we welcome reforms in the sector. We think privatisation will not solve the problem because we want the kind of thing that happened in the telecoms and media sectors to happen in the power sector and that is liberalisation.

He said in the telecoms sector, the MTN had no business buying NITEL before they raised their masts to generate signals for

people to make calls and so did Globacom and other telecoms companies. They installed their own infrastructure and there is competition among them. “Even as we are talking, NITEL has not been privatised, so what is happening in the telecoms sector has nothing to do with NITEL. If NITEL was not beheaded the way government beheaded it, the cost of making calls today would have been very low. In Uganda telecoms sector is privatised yet their national telecoms still exists and operates alongside the private companies.

“We want a situation whereby private sector will come, participate in power production and compete side by side with PHCN infrastructure. Once it is so, there will be healthy competition. If PHCN is not doing well, it will die a natural death and the private sector will take over but even at that, government still generates power in America as well as in other countries while the private sector operators also do their own.

Even if the injection of the private sector operators is not for competition, let it be for the purposes of complementing what exists in the system because what exists now is grossly insufficient. Even at 5000MW or 4000MW we are currently generating, it is grossly insufficient. Even if we generate 20,000MW now, there will be market for it, why not produce it since there is market for it. Besides, we have a regulator, let the regulator be effective in doing its work, that is what we feel that will make the power sector better.”

He said the workers had made several proposals to the government on how to make the power sector more effective and reliable.

He said they also suggested to the government that Kainji dam, which has provision for expansion that has been idle for nearly 40 years with civil structure already there be given out as concession if the government doesn’t have money yet nothing has been done about it. “We said if the government has

no money, let it concession the space to people. They will build a new power plant on the space on the build, operate and transfer (BOT) arrangement. This is ideal because what has been committed to the infrastructure is higher than what is to be put in. What it will cost to turnaround some of the machines will build a new structure there,” he added.

He also attributed the woes in the sector to lack of planning. According to him, good planning requires that during the rainy season, the hydro power plants should used optimally because their efficiency are water dependent and during dry season when the water level drops, the machines should be subjected to turnaround maintenance for optimal use next season. The same thing applies to thermal plants. Although he noted that thermal stations could be run anytime, during the rainy season when the hydro plants are at their best, some of the turbines and generators of the thermal plants should go for maintenance but what obtains is that both hydro and thermal plants run at their highest capacities at all times without routine maintenance.

Firm moves to consolidate power stability

By Biodun-Thomas Davids

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N integrated energy solutions provider in Nigeria, Hanel Power Limited, has indicated its interest to assist the Federal Government in the provision of uninterrupted power supply in the country.

Through what it called “Alternative Captive Uninterrupted Power Generation”, the firm is about to manufacture gas power plants with capacities of one to 10 mega watts.

To achieve this, the Director of the energy firm, Adeoye Ajayi, said they are collaborating with LEDA Greenpower Limited.

Other key partners are ZGPTMAN and Equipment Import and Export Corporation (CMEC), which he said, has installed over 30, 000mw of electricity worldwide including USA. On the choice of a gas plant, Ajayi argued: “We have it in abundance in Nigeria,” adding: “It is relatively cheaper, safer, neater and environmentfriendly.”

While in operation, Ajayi said each gas plant project would have its name such as, Yaba Power, Isolo Power and would be licensed.

He pointed out that excess energy supply from each project could be tied to the national grid or deployed to another community with similar projects.

While noting that the government alone could not cope with power supply for the tens of hundreds of Nigerians, he described the liberalisation of the sector as a welcome idea that would help the economy and eventually cause the multinational companies that have moved out of Nigeria to come back.

•From left: Chairman of the Session, Mr Olakunle Olaosebikun, President, Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE); Mr Mayowa Afe, Guest Speaker, Mr Adeoye Adeyemi and Executive Director, Corporate Geosciences and Business, Total, Dr. Kingsley Ojoh, at the NAPE’s Technical Forum, in Lagos.

Non-alignment of planning stalls power project, says NNPC

By Bidemi Bakare

•Austen Oniwon, Group Managing Director, NNPC

O

NE fundamental challenge that has hindered the successful implementation of power projects is the inability to follow through

planning by the project developers.

Group Executive Director, Gas and Power, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr David Ige, disclosed this during his working visit and inspection of the 31km by 24-inch gas pipeline project being constructed by the Nigeria Gas Company (NGC), a subsidiary of the corporation at Itoki in Ogun State.

He said because power projects are huge investment projects, every process needed

to underpin the investment must have to be followed if such project is to be successful. However, in the past, he said, planning was not properly done and that led to the failure of some of these projects.

He noted that the pipeline project is one of the major anchors of the power project, which should be given proper planning to get the desired results.

According to him, the planning should consider issues, such as gas supply arrangement and community relations, among others, if the mistakes of

the past are to be avoided and for gas to be available for feeding the power plants.

He said: “I think the fundamental challenge we have had in the gas and power projects is as a result of misalignment of the planning process. When you are making an investment the size of a power plant, you do not progress without a gas supply arrangement. Of course in the past, these things happen and we find ourselves playing catch up because the process to underpin the investment was not followed. We must also •Continued on page 18

THE NATION TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2012

18

ENERGY

Govt to electricity workers: Be critical in T your actions

HE Ministry of Power has advised the members of National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) to be critical of any action they take as that would bring out objectivity in their actions.

The NUEE members staged a protest in Abuja to condemn the sacking of three top officials of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), an action the government considered unreasonable considering reasons for their sack.

A statement issued by Special Adviser on Media to the Minister of Power, Mr Ogbuagu Anikwe, said the minister had before now publicly acknowledged the technical abilities of Uzoma Achinanya andAkinwumi Bada, the two officers that were asked to proceed on retirement. He would have wished that Joe Ajaero, Secretary-General of NUEE, allowed them to enjoy their peaceful retirement. This is because protesting on their behalf would only go to expose issues and circumstances that would have the effect of tinting their hitherto sterling technical contributions to the nation.

The statement said: “Unfortunately, it is a fact that, sometimes, technical ability does not translate to managerial ability. It is ironic to note that the rabblerousing antics of Joe Ajaero and his cohorts in NUEE was one of the issues that worked against the person that Ajaero is today shedding crocodile tears over his re-

By Emeka Ugwuanyi Assistant Editor

tirement. Or is it possible that Ajaero and the NUEE leadership have forgotten how they ceaselessly dragged this officer to various fora, complaining that he was discriminating against the distribution companies by releasing salaries that failed to harmonise the unprecedented 50 per cent salary increase that the unions extracted from the government as one of the conditions to allow privatisation to go on?

“The Union’s incessant complaints about discriminatory payment of the 50 per cent salary increase, ultimately, led to the officer’s poor management rating. As for the other officer, Nigerians are witnesses to two successive explosions, which led to system collapse that plunged the nation into darkness in late March. The fact that the second explosion occurred within a week of the first, at the same place and time and under the same circumstances, exposes a lack of attention to detail for which someone in charge ought to be called to account.

“As for the ex-Human Resources Director, members of the public who have ever complained about PHCN staff abuses - including extortion, embezzlement and

corruption - are in the best position to judge the fidelity of the culture of staff discipline that this officer superintended. What is disheartening is that it was also not beyond this officer to keep on the payroll for 18 months, someone who was supposed to have retired - while senior staff of PHCN lamented their stagnation at one grade level for years because of ‘no vacancy.’ ” Anikwe said the ministry has no intention of engaging Ajaero in a street fight which he clearly relishes. “It is laughable that Ajaero would suggest that majority of the officers affected by government’s retirement have nothing to do with power generation, transmission and distribution. PHCN’s sole business is power generation, transmission and distribution; any staff working for the company is engaged in any of the three, either as a core or as a support staff. Only someone like Ajaero would display this sort of ignorance about an organisation whose members he serves. It exposes why Ajaero has so far not allowed the union members to see that the privatisation of the public power supply organisation is for the good of everyone - the 160million Nigerians and the 30,000+ workers of the PHCN successor companies. It also exposes why

Ajaero is unable to see that privatisation is akin to baking a bigger cake that would help this nation overcome its development challenge and at the same time increase the earning power and welfare package of PHCN workers.”

He said Ajaero is misleading power sector workers. “Ajaero will not tell the story that the Goodluck’s administration has bent over backwards to ensure excellent welfare packages for PHCN staff. He claimed, for instance, that he (Ajaero) was instrumental to the payment of monetisation benefits - which Nnaji requested and got from the government. The healthy superannuation fund for PHCN workers, administered by the unions and management, has been depleted, forcing the government to activate the Pensions Reform Act in the PHCN and equally source for funds to continue to pay PHCN retirees. He will not disclose that it was the Goodluck administration that approved monetisation benefits denied PHCN workers. He has not thanked the government for agreeing to pay an unprecedented 50 per cent salary increase for PHCN workers across the board, and for picking up the bill for the first three months. Ajaero ignores the fact that the government had budgeted and continues to annually budget a jumbo package for retirements, pensions, benefits and severances that may result from the privatisation of the companies.

‘’Government is doing all of this to ensure that no worker suffers a disadvantage arising from the privatisation of public power companies. Rather than acknowledge what the government has done, Ajaero and his union cohorts have stood solidly against the privatisation of the power sector, thereby putting the interest of some 30,000+ Nigerians against the economic interest of Nigeria, and against the comfort of 160 million people. This attitude has, has among other tragedies, led to the direct closure of industries and the displacement of millions of Nigerians from work, just to satisfy 30,000+workers who see the PHCN as their birthright - after begging government to employ them in the same organisation. ‘’At the Lagos meeting between the Unions and the Ministry of Power officials, one of the agreements reached was that no party should thenceforth go to the press to disparage and discredit the other. The Minister promptly issued a gag order on his lietenants not to say or do anything that would put the Union in bad light.

It beggars belief that Ajaero would launch out less than a week after this meeting to disparage, malign, and castigate Prof.

Nnaji, whose only crime is that he accepted to serve the nation in order to implement the law of the land that was made long before he decided to leave his United States base to settle and do a meaningfully work for Nigeria as a private investor in the same sector.

‘Local production of gas cylinders not viable’

T

•From left: Mr Marcel Hochet, Country President, Schneider Electric Nigeria; Augustine Wokocha, Commissioner for Power, Rivers State and Mr Guillaume Schoebel, Senior Vice-President, Africa, Schneider Electric, during the press conference to announce the signing of a 20m euro power project in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

Non-alignment of planning stalls power project, •Continued from page 17

would not happen again.”

He said the NNPC,NGC and the project contractor, Jaihind Morpol were able to put all these into perspective especially the issue of cost and community relations before developing the strategic mechanism that would help make the project a huge success.

He said: “One thing we must understand is that the pipeline project is massive project. It is not a project that you wake up one day in the morning and see that the pipelines have been buried in the afternoon.

One has to cross tens of kilometres of rivers, roads and settlements.

The project also costs a lot of money and time to do. In every kilometre transversed, there are

going to be issues with communities as they make numerous demand and stop work. So it would appear there seems to be no limit to the amount of planning that can actually face this kind of challenges. But in NNPC and NGC we keep developing strategic mechanism to manage this kind of interaction on a sustainable basis.”

He further stated that the corporation has also adopted other responsive strategies including a 24 hour operations and a dynamic contractual strategy to help change the status quo for project implementation.

“We, in NNPC and NGC, have endeavoured to adopt different responsive strategies aimed at im-

proving the complexion of project execution. We have considered options such as airlifting or air freighting equipment to fast track their delivery. Of course we have also been performing 24-hour operations even in remote locations and in some cases we have had to adopt a contractual strategy where we stop contractors that are not performing and employ other contractors. All of these things are the dynamic activities that we have had to put in place in NGC and NNPC to respond to the challenges. In looking forward we are bold to say that the roadmap for developing gas in this country is being developed step by step. That roadmap is not only for power but for industrialisation and export.

HE Nigeria Liquefied and Petroleum Gas Association (NLPGA) has said the local production of cylinders at the moment is not economically viable.

There have been calls for the local manufacture of gas cylinders by stakeholders to prevent capital flight caused by importation and also to bring down the cost of cooking gas in the country.

Currently, a 12.5kg of cooking gas sells for between N3,100 and N3, 500.

The association added that what makes local production of cylinders not feasible includes lack of power and the non- availability of large sheets used for the cylinder production.

These factors, among others, according to the association, are responsible for the high cost in production and the consequent high cost in price of the gas cylinders made locally as compared to those imported.

Chairman of the association Alhaji Auwalu Ilu said in the promotion of LPG in the country, volume of gas cylinders available in the market is always a critical factor to put into consideration.

He said: “In trying to promote LPG, we must understand it is important we are able to get cheap and quality cylinders. We should be able to get cheap cylinders to encourage new entrants into the LPG business. Meanwhile making these cylinders locally is quite expensive. This is because it requires a lot of welding and power, and as today, we don’t have enough power in the country. Besides, the country imports the large sheet used for producing these cylinders as they are not available in the country and there is also heavy duty on large sheet that makes it impossible to make the cylinders available in large quantities.”

He said these factors and the fact that there has been no ready market for LPG makes it necessary to largely depend on importation so as to pump more gas cylinders into the market to deepen LPG growth in the country He said: “Considering the fact that we are trying to push for LPG growth in Nigeria, there is always going to be the need to pump more cylinders into the market. Before now, very small quantity of cylinders had been pumped into the market. This time

By Bidemi Bakare

around we are trying to see if we can pump close to about five million cylinders into the market annually to be able to attain the one million metric tonnes consumption per annum targeted at this year.

“The one million cylinders if one must admit, is not enough for the cylinder manufacturing company in Ibadan for instance to operate profitably. The company will need five times of this volume to come up on stream.

“So, one has to look at the issue critically to ascertain at what volume or cost that these cylinders can be produced locally by this moribund plant.

So it is a chicken and egg situation.

One must decide if what is important is to make these plants come back on stream or to get the cylinders at affordable price to boost the market.

From the nationalistic point of view it is good to have cheaper cylinders abroad because of the cheaper cost of production to help the new entrants especially at the lower cadre of the society to buy cylinders at affordable price.”

He explained that local production can be promoted gradually alongside importation until when the market stabilises and becomes profitable to solely produce cylinders locally adding that all bottlenecks must be removed and adequate incentives given to those in the cylinder manufacturing arm of the LPG business if this is to be possible.

On the proposed plan to seek for special fund for LPG from the government through the Bank of Industry (BoI), the NLPGA boss said this has become imperative in view of the abundant investment opportunities in LPG sector.

He said:“Honestly, we just mooted this idea. We are going to make a presentation on this so that we can have a special fund for LPG just as we have for aviation, agriculture, among others. Even though the interest rate on this fund from BoI may not be one digit but at least it is going to be lower than what you get from the commercial banks.We believe there are opportunities for huge investments in the LPG sector to warrant this fund.

THE NATION TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2012

19

EDITORIAL/OPINION EDITORIAL FROM OTHER LAND

COMMENT

Their princess, their queen •Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is good for World Bank, but not so good for Nigeria

T

HERE is no doubt: Nigerian Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, former managing director of the World Bank and Nigeria’s current minister of finance and coordinating minister for the economy, is the best candidate for the job of World Bank president.

She not only rose to the rank of managing director of the Bank, even the most dyed-in-the-wool Western media are testifying that she is a better candidate for the job than her two rivals, Colombia’s Jose Anthonio Ocampo and President Barack Obama’s American nominee, Jim Yong Kim, a professor of public health.

Would Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala’s appointment be good for her country? Not any more than her personal merit, not her country’s weight, is pushing her for the job. In a supposed merit-driven international order, the merit that might drive her to the job would be the same factor that would count against her country.

So, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala’s appointment would confer no benefit whatsoever on Nigeria – except, of course, the country’s shambolic ways of doing things are a sudden thing of the past. That might be tantamount to the sun suddenly drying up the sea!

So, those who are pushing her candidacy on patriotic, fellow Nigerian sentiments miss the point. Such sentiments would not fetch her the job, any more than they would make her do the work.

But pound for pound, there appears no better candidate than Mrs. OkonjoIweala. She has the right academic qualifications.She has even better cognate experience, having been a World

Bank princess all her working life.

For starters, she has worked in every World Bank region of the world: Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Middle East, Africa and of course, Breton Woods headquarters itself, Washington. Besides, she has all the crucial mix to be a good fit: a good and rounded understanding of development through fiscal issues related to micro and macro-economics, sectoral issues like education, manufacturing, health and development agenda issues like gender, women and children, not to mention enterprise, business development and infrastructure.

No matter from what prism it is viewed, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala is a World Bank princess. Let them crown her as their queen.

But what happens to her Nigerian finance portfolio and the claptrap about coordinating minister for the economy?

Despite all the hype, it is clear Dr. Okonjo-Iweala is ideologically crippled in handling developmental issues in a developing country. Despite all the hype about cleaning up the Nigerian books and ensuring growth, the federal account is still a cesspool of corruption; and Nigeria’s vaunted growth has not translated into development.

All of these are, of course, no accident.

No matter how hard Dr. Okonjo-Iweala tries, Breton-Woods was designed to keep the economies of the global South as perpetual appendages to the rich global North. That would explain the poverty-inducing structural adjustment policies that the West celebrates as orthodox “growth”.

Indeed, it is an African too far gone in Western economic orthodoxy that could advocate with gusto, as Dr. Okonjo-

Iweala did, the cruel removal of the socalled fuel subsidy, which brought so much angst in January, without first formulating and implementing policies for local refining of crude in record time.

Such artificial “balance of books” while de-industralisation continues apace and poverty spreads with alacrity, is the stuff of which a local agent of the West is made.

Let Dr Okonjo-Iweala take up the World Bank diadem and return to BretonWoods in glory. But let also the Nigerian authorities pick someone that has affinity with the local economy to tackle the structural imbalances that result in growth without development.

That is the only way Dr. OkonjoIweala’s appointment as president of the World Bank could be good for her country.

‘But pound for pound, there appears no better candidate than Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala. She has the right academic qualifications.She has even better cognate experience, having been a World Bank princess all her working life ... Let Dr Okonjo-Iweala take up the World Bank diadem and return to Breton-Woods in glory. But let also the Nigerian authorities pick someone that has affinity with the local economy to tackle the structural imbalances that result in growth without development’

Scrambling SANs •Law and morality stand toe-to-toe as senior lawyers jostle to defend armed robbers, others

T

HE other day in a High Court in Ekiti, the capital of Ekiti State, two senior lawyers were almost at the point of fisticuffs in the presence of the court over who would represent a gang of suspected armed robbers facing trial for shelling a bank and carting away loads of cash. It had taken the intervention of the judge who had asked the suspects to identify who they had engaged to defend them, and which of the men in wig was the interloper. The docked men had pointed out their lawyer, whereupon the other fellow had shamefacedly muttered that he had been contacted by a family member of one of the accused.

If perchance this was a happenstance, the lightning must have struck twice last week at the Federal Capital Territory

‘What impact would it have on the moral fibre of our society if we keep getting frequent reports of lawyers, senior ones at that, jostling in the court room all the time for the worst kind of accused persons? Why is the scramble always for the accused docked for embezzling huge sums or those being tried for such heinous crimes as high stakes armed robbery?’

(FCT) High Court in Abuja when three Senior Advocates of Nigeria, (SANs) lined up to defend a permanent secretary and five others. They were standing trial for allegedly embezzlingN32.8 billion Police Pension Fund. A courtroom drama ensued when the six accused were docked and their counsel announced appearance. But two SANs had countered that they were also in court to represent some of the accused. Again, it had taken the intervention of the judge to break the deadlock by asking the accused to identify their counsel.

Yes, in law every accused remains that until found guilty by a competent court and he is entitled to the best defence he can get. However, there are underlying issues of morality and code of practice in this seemingly emerging trend of clientshopping and courtroom ambushing of ‘high net worth’ accused persons. First, what impact would it have on the moral fibre of our society if we keep getting frequent reports of lawyers, senior ones at that, jostling in the court room all the time for the worst kind of accused persons?

Why is the scramble always for the accused docked for embezzling huge sums or those being tried for such heinous crimes as high stakes armed robbery?

On the other hand, it is a sad irony of our times that impecunious litigants are daily denied justice while poor and hapless accused persons suffer endless detention and peril for lack of legal representation that is easily available to the less privileged in other countries. It is

common knowledge that the country’s prisons are bursting at the seams with persons awaiting trial than convicted ones. This is due largely to the fact that they lack competent legal representation.

A recent visit to three prisons in Anambra State by the wife of the governor revealed that about 1,400 inmates, mainly youths, are languishing therein.

But more worrisome is the fact that less than 200 of this number were tried and convicted. In the particular case of Onitsha Prison, Mrs Obi found 900 inmates in a facility built to accommodate only about 326. Worse, only 59 are convicted while 889 are awaiting trial. She also noticed that so many of the inmates have suffered dereliction and have become deranged as a result of years of unremitting dehumanisation. A sober community of SANs can ensure that this debasement of our humanity; the magnitude of which we have in our prisons today, is minimised.

Surely the disgraceful show in the FCT High Court is a mirror of the level of the rot in the society and the miring of our institutions and codes of behaviour, not to mention practice. There must be proper procedures of seeking and obtaining a client’s brief under every circumstance.

It is not a palatable sight watching our men in silken wigs, the very epitome of the profession, tussling openly to represent renegades and social misfits for no loftier motive than pecuniary. It does the Bar no good and it diminishes the society.

Saving lives in Syria

B

ASHAR Assad has reneged on similar commitments. The Western and Arab nations that have pushed for political change in Syria can continue to pursue that objective, but the urgent imperative is an end to the killing.

A day after representatives of 83 nations promised “additional appropriate measures” to shore up the Syrian opposition, a special United Nations envoy said Monday that the Bashar Assad regime will withdraw troops from populated areas by April 10, with a mutual cease-fire to begin within 48 hours. To put it mildly, skepticism is in order. Assad has reneged on similar commitments in the past, and Russia, one of his two supporters on the U.N. Security Council, shows no signs of abandoning its ally. On Monday the Russian foreign minister criticized “ultimatums and artificial deadlines” for ending the violence, which has cost 9,000 lives so far.

That said, there is reason for Assad to comply with the six-point peace plan proposed by former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Unlike an earlier Arab League proposal and a Security Council resolution unsuccessfully pressed by the West, the Annan plan does not call for Assad to step down, though it does commit him to an “inclusive Syrian-led political process.” The plan also calls for release of detainees, access for journalists, respect for freedom of association and the right to demonstrate peacefully.

If both the regime and the opposition forces agreed to a cease-fire, there is no guarantee that Assad wouldn’t stall on implementation of the political components of the plan. But countless lives might be saved. The “Friends of Syria” that met over the weekend in Istanbul rightly made their priority an end to the “atrocities committed by the regime,” even as they called for “a Syrian-led political transition leading to a civil, democratic, pluralistic, independent and free state.” The Western and Arab nations that have pushed for political change in Syria can continue to pursue that objective, but the urgent imperative is an end to the killing.

If Assad again breaks his word, the “Friends of Syria” will “continue to work on additional appropriate measures with a view to the protection of the Syrian people.” Some assistance is already in the works. Arab nations, for instance, will pay resistance fighters and perhaps provide arms. The United States will provide satellite communications equipment that, in the words of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, “will help activists organize, evade attacks by the regime and connect to the outside world.” More generally, Clinton warned that there would be “serious consequences” if violence by the regime continued.

If by serious consequences, she means progressively punitive sanctions and continued diplomatic isolation, her warning is appropriate. But the U.S. should not threaten, let alone carry out, military intervention in Syria, nor should it aid Syrian rebels. We worry that the provision even of satellite technology might be the first step down that path. This country can be a friend to Syria without taking up — or providing — arms. The United States has learned in recent years that military intervention can have unforeseen and undesirable consequences.

– Los Angeles Times

TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief Victor Ifijeh • Editor Gbenga Omotoso •Chairman, Editorial Board Sam Omatseye •General Editor Kunle Fagbemi •Editor, Online Lekan Otufodunrin •Managing Editor Northern Operation Yusuf Alli •Managing Editor Waheed Odusile

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THE NATION TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2012

20

EDITORIAL/OPINION

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IR: At 70, Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey is already an accomplished person. What characterised a good life more than that a person is able to serve God and humanity in whatever little ways s/ he knows? We have had politicians, civil servants, business people, lawyers and clerics in Nigeria who have all contributed their own quota to the advancement of humanity.

Ebenezer Obey has done more. And his success derives chiefly from the fact that he has invaded the homes and minds of Nigerians with music that entertains the bodies and agitates the minds. He did this with music, and this began at a period in our social history when musicians and other artistes were relegated to the lowest rung of the social ladder. You can’t dare aspire to be a musician!

Obey dared and conquered. At 70, he could sit back and hear the reverberation of musical and non-

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Tribute to Ebenezer Obey at 70 musical accolades.

One could say that his success is a function of a powerful combination of a gentle deportment and a deep experience of the ways of the world.

He knew right from the start what he wanted his music to do. He knew what he wanted to say. The persona of Chief Ebenezer Obey is far from being commercial. This is not to say that the commercial intent was absent in his career. In the days when he started singing, it was really a hard going.

And only very few made any significant impact on the society, and

for that matter on their own pockets.

Yet, his music gives you more than you pay for. We could even stretch the claim that in those days, there were serious things to say with music than now. Obey stands out in this regard. And after the album has gone the ways of old albums, your mind takes up the refrain until you can reproduce the entire songs without pause. Such was the power that Obey commanded through his juju brand.

The word “miliki” signals enjoyment that is not boisterous; an enjoyment within the limit of

economic and social reason. This is exactly where some other music brands fail. You are constantly cajoled to “spray” the hard earned money budgeted for something else. Your ego is rubbed and your pockets emptied. And you are not the better for it.

And when it was time, Ebenezer Obey switched musical content and genre while retaining the Miliki rhythm. This move in favour of the gospel of Christ was a painful but unsurprising move for most admirers and Nigerians. It was painful because

Disturbing tales from the judiciary

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IR: The judiciary of any nation is supposed to be an independent arm of government charged with the duty of interpreting laws to regulate human affairs, dispense justice and to serve as lever of checks and balances. However, several high profile judgements emanating from this institution has confirmed the views of critics that the people saddled with responsibility of dispensing justice are compromised and corrupt.

From the dismissal of over 175 charges against ex Governor James Ibori, the Halliburton bribery scandal, the payment of three million fine by ex-Governor Lucky Igbinedion for looting several billions of naira of state funds and many other high profile criminal cases littering the judicial landscape, it is very clear that our judiciary is not living up to it responsibility as the bastion of hope for the already deprived and depressed citizens.

The rule of law is a bi-polar issue.

It either serves as last resort of hope to vulnerable citizens or an instrument to promote criminality and massage the ego of deviants.

Unfortunately, Nigeria’s judicial system is promoting the latter.

Now deviants in our society resort to crude way of committing crimes

in broad day light with brazen audacity and bravado because they know justice doesn’t exist in our clime. Citizens now take laws into their hands to dispense jungle justice by taking arms against the state because they are oppressed, deprived and depressed by our deficient system.

Our judiciary has completely rubbished the concept of the rule of law as catalyst for societal good and progress. Its action or inaction is encouraging strange elements that are completely unpatriotic, criminal, mischievous and oblivious of reality to control our socio-economic and

political terrain.

The recent acquittal of ExManaging Director/Chief Executive Officer of the defunct Intercontinental Bank Plc by the judiciary is another scandalous judgement. Because in any organization, the buck must stop on somebody table. If the MD/CEO is not liable to the offence as charged, then who approved frivolous loans to companies owned by Akingbola and his cronies?

Who laundered several million of dollars from Intercontinental bank to offshore accounts? Maybe it was a ghost!

The claim that EFCC and it lawyers

(SANs) erred in legal procedures is a ruse. Obviously, they are rehearsing circus to deceive and confuse us! Let them say that to the Eskimos.

Our Judicial system has further strengthened the notion that culture of impunity, recklessness and deviant behaviours are highly rewarded in society.

No nation can make progress if its leadership has no single sense of accountability and sound judgement.

Nigeria’s backwardness is a premeditated effort by its elites.

• Akinola Muiz A. Verona-Italy

people see in it the impoverishment of the Nigerian music scene. The questions started flowing: How do we now get the good kind of music Obey is known for? Who get to replace him?

Why did he stop? Is there any viable replacement? Can the replacement be like the original? The elders of Israel who wept bitterly when a new temple was built to replace the Solomon Temple destroyed by the Babylonians would understand this dilemma of Nigerians. No copy is like the original.

If this is so, why then must he abandon what he knows how to do best?

Well, if we can’t always have the man and the entire package of Miliki, we can still collect the entire music corpus that still retains their power to speak after decades of continual playing. That is another test of the genius of Obey’s music. It is still communicating to us. It infuses us with nostalgic longing.

And we will be wise to listen and continue learning. The reason is that much have not changed in the Nigerian society that could make his music irrelevant to us. What he sang about then are still with us—the social rot; personal profligacy; spiritual hypocrisy; political stagnancy; and the likes.

For all his achievements, I dip into my bag of personal awards and honour this illustrious Nigerian with a septuagenarian order of merit (SOM) for a job well done. I hope others will join me in applauding this young old man for a life of service to God and mankind. Life begins at 70. May you live long to reap more fruits from the trees you have spent the past 70 years of your life watering!

• Dr. Tunji Olaopa Abuja

Thank you, Governor Obi

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IR: I wish to use this medium to express to Gov. Peter Obi of Anambra State, my hearty congratulations, as well as my immense gratitude for his wise and bold educational and academic revolution in Anambra State by returning the schools to the Missions.

Words are not enough to express the immensity of my joy at listening to the radio announcement and newspaper reports of this educational revolution.

All your achievements in Anambra State have been crowned by this particular event.

There is another revolution I will advise you to launch in our state, and that is the agricultural revolution, the type which Doctor. Mike Okpara, the Premier of Former Eastern Nigeria launched in 1962 in the then Eastern Nigeria. Premier Mike Okpara launched what he described as his “Quinquennial Agrarian Revolution” (1962-1967).

In this Agricultural Revolution, the Government of Eastern Nigeria fully and successfully utilized farmers, Multipurpose Cooperative Societies, Cooperative Community Farms and Cooperative Farm Settlements to

increase the production of food crops and also cash crops. He achieved massive, accelerated, tremendous and unprecedented production of food crops, as well as cash crops, flooding Eastern Nigeria and its environs, with abundance of foodstuffs, livestock and eggs, thus turning Eastern Nigeria into a land flowing with milk and honey.

I participated in drafting the memo, with which the then Eastern Nigeria Government launched the Cooperative Farm Settlement Scheme in 1963. I was the First Cooperative Officer to supervise Igbariam Cooperative Farm Settlement in1963.

This is my third letter to you on your praiseworthy performances in our Anambra State. The first was when you got elected for the first term of office.

The second is when you scaled through the impeachment imbroglio, and the third is this letter of congratulation and gratitude for your widely acclaimed educational/ academic revolution, which is wellspoken of in the highest terms.

Keep the flag flying and do not be distracted by detractors.

• John. N.P. Okonkwo Awka, Anambra State.

THE NATION TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2012

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EDITORIAL/OPINION

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playing happy catharsis to IVE it to Reuben Abati – the distressed citizens. But these plucky way he defended his boss, blues won’t last forever. It is President Goodluck Jonathan, in then the Church would find the latest scandal over a church building itself in the dock like Nadab gift to Otuoke, the president’s village. and Abihu. Would it be conJonathan may be Goodluck. But he sumed like the duo? Only time suffers excessive ill luck in a loose and Jehovah will tell! tongue; that seems to move first beBut if the three estates of fore presidential thinking. The Otuoke Olakunle government are lost to sundry “church affair” is the latest in a chain lordbeek@yahoo.com, 08054504169 (Sms only, please) Abimbola racketeering, with the Church of verbal indiscretions that, were it to in merry cohabitation, what of be tennis, would pass for “unforced erthe much vaunted Fourth Esror” – that all too common blunder that tate of the Realm, the media? makes a player wilfully throw away That brings the discourse right vital points, even if he is under no apparent pressure. pliments, pulling all stops to do so! It was political quid pro back to Dr. Abati, presidential chief spokesperson and his Or how else would a president go to the dedication of a quo at its nastiest and most deadly! Ironically however, after spirited defence of his principal. new church building in his village, only to start yakking Pa Edwin Kiagbodo Clark’s initial fireworks, it was Sylva, at In the heat of January’s fuel price hike and the consequent that he indeed complained that the old church building Sam Omatseye’s book launch at the Nigerian Institute of In- national meltdown, Abati’s professional colleagues dug up was unbefitting of a presidential village? ternational Affairs (NIIA) in Lagos, that started the campaign a previous article in which the then Guardian Editorial Board And when he did, who came to the rescue? Not the rich for “Niger Delta to be given its due”, a coded euphemism for chair, editorial page editor and star columnist in whom many of Otuoke, gifting their hearth a church that befits a presiJonathan to run for president. But apparently, that gesture Nigerians were well pleased, thundering with all the moral dential village. Not even the president himself, glowing was too little, too late! indignation at his disposal. with pride at the village of his nativity.

This brief background is necessary to underscore that the “It must be a joke, right?” the opening sentence of the Instead, it was Gitto Contsruzioni Generalli Nigeria Ltd allegations and counter-allegations might just be partisan March 2009 anti-fuel price hike piece he titled, “Soon, we (GCG), an Italian contracting firm doing business in Nipunches and counter-punches. Still, the Yoruba saying comes shall all be trekking”, peremptorily queried! But all that geria! And the president, with Dr. Abati, his chief spokesechoing: the witch cried yesterday, the child died today. Who counted for nothing, as the same Abati defended his principerson, expects the opposition not to take him to the cleandoes not know that it was the witch that killed the child! pal’s even stiffer pump price hike with patriotic fervour! A ers? Talk of one they would merrily roast dousing himOf course, the Church of Nigeria’s (Anglican Communion) credibility suicide never appeared merrier! self with petrol! reaction to the brewing scandal is symptomatic of a Nigerian Now, another quarter in an eventful leap year is just barely But what does the Gitto gift remind you of? An Olusegun church that has lost its social conscience. So, because the Angli- a third of its first month and Abati has yet again been pressed Obasanjo, president of the Federal Republic, in full public can Church is the beneficiary, the gift cannot be morally wrong? into service to defend the indefensible – and, as usual, he has glare, suborning the cream of Nigerian business to “doIt is amazing how, when loaded with freebies, Nigeria’s done that just as brilliantly, without even being troubled by nate” to his Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, and Christendom easily forgets the tragic fate of Nadab and Abihu, the president’s seeming foot-in-the-mouth disease that, in thereafter invoking some blind trust in the blind hope two rascally sons of the Biblical Aaron, who burnt strange the first instance, triggered a latent scandal! But how would that the glaring misconduct would be blinded from the offerings to the no-nonsense Jehovah. Pronto, the fire of Abati have reacted to this new scandal were he still a popusight of a furious citizenry?

Jehovah consumed them! lar columnist, with a fiery moral temper?

Or if that is too far in history – Nigerians after all have As the Nigerian state has resigned itself to secular racketAh, his claim that a contractor built Abuja’s Millennium Park exceedingly short public memory! – does that remind you of eering, so has the Church in Nigeria made its peace with spir- was a sure no-brainer, a veritable example of logical impunity! the allegation by Timipre Sylva, embattled former governor itual racketeering. That would explain the Anglican Church’s So, if a contractor built the park, whoever was president then of Bayelsa State? As President Jonathan and his henchmen spirited defence of a controversial gift, a scandal at best; mind- was a native of Abuja, as Goodluck Jonathan is a native of were smoking him out like an executive rat from the Bayelsa less corruption at worst.

Otuoke? Another case of happy credibility suicide?

Government House, the rattled governor made it be known The Church assures itself it is in good company, with the Well, Dr. Abati has made his peace with his job, credibility to all that a certain contractor was allegedly building the level of stress and privation in the land; and with the Church be hanged! But he appears only a symbol of a seeming strucpresident structures, as alleged kickback. Now, is the “church” tural conspiracy by government to suborn the distressed the alleged real deal? Or are there others to emerge?

Fourth Estate: pluck the media’s brightest minds, to put a ‘As the Nigerian state has resigned itself To be sure, between Goodluck and Timipre, there was no spin to endless government rackets. to secular racketeering, so has the Church love lost. When a helpless looking Jonathan was to be dePhilosophers would call it the logic of economic determinin Nigeria made its peace with spiritual nied his right to act as president in the dying days of Presiism! Truth is: since the great Awo spoke of the media jetsam dent Umaru Musa Yar’adua, Sylva, governor of Jonathan’s and flotsam of his day, the media has not moved any nearer racketeering. That would explain the Anhome state, was among the James Ibori-led southern “conpaying to retain its best minds. Abati is only the latest promiglican Church’s spirited defence of a conspirators”, aside from Yar’adua’s self-chosen northern cabal, nent example of this brain drain, which is not about stopping. troversial gift, a scandal at best; mindless that attempted to block the then vice president and humble Still, take a good look at Abati. He is the perfect living the Constitution. That was 2010. example of how to slay a columnist! corruption at worst.’

But 2012 was payback time. Jonathan returned the com-

epublican ipples

Abati: how to kill a columnist

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`T is no accident that the structure of government and its institutions are wearing a new look in Bayelsa State.

The vision of the new leadership is shaping the core values of what governance should be and the basic modalities. Thus in line with his administration’s resolve and determination to deliver on its restoration agenda, Bayelsa State Governor, Hon. Henry Seriake Dickson has undertaken a fundamental restructuring and reform of the state’s bureaucracy in the bid to restore and enhance professionalism, promote integrity as well as ensure discipline in the civil service.

Governor Dickson recently gave a detailed rundown of the newly created ministries and spelt out their long term strategic perspectives to the new order in the state. Some ministries were merged, others split just as some new ones were created. Most of the ministries also have their roles and functions reconfigured in order to strengthen their capacity to deliver as well as to fast-track the rapid implementation of government policies and programmes.

The newly created ministries include the Ministry of State Capital Development, modeled after the FCDA in Abuja with a mandate to co-ordinate and fast-track the development of the state capital, Yenagoa. The Governor had during the campaign leading up to the election that brought him into office promised to create a new Yenagoa worthy of being called the capital of the state. The Ministry of State Capital Development is saddled with the responsibility of achieving this objective.

The Ministry of Youths and Sports will operate as two separate ministries. The Governor, in his wisdom, deemed it fit to have a full- fledged ministry that will focus on and address all the issues as they affect the youths. With the huge army of unemployed youths, it is only proper to have a ministry solely dedicated and committed to address the myriad of problems associated with the teeming youth population in Bayelsa State.

Similarly, the Ministry of Sports Development is expected to tap into the vast pool of raw talents in the state, especially among teeming youths whose energy, vibrant disposition, raw talents and sporting gifts can be properly harnessed and channeled to bring sporting glory to the state. The ministry will also be saddled with the responsibility of ensuring the establishment of a world class sports academy for the state.

In the new policy thrust, the Ministry of Special Duties is a key ministry with a novel structure and a clearly prescribed mandate. From this ministry , we will have four commissioners appointed viz; Commissioner of Special Duties (West Senatorial Zone), Commissioner of Special Duties (East Senatorial Zone), Commissioner of Special Duties (Central Senatorial Zone), including a Commissioner in-charge of federal programmes. The idea of this zonal structure is to further localize governance, bringing government closer to the people and ensuring

New regime of service in Bayelsa

By Daniel Iworiso-Markson greater level of implementation and supervision of government programmes and policies in these zones.

With Bayelsa State being still relatively far from the anticipated development level compared with other well established states, the need for broad and concerted efforts to jumpstart development, particularly infrastructure is even now more paramount. Whereas, the commissioner in-charge of federal projects is expected to oversee and closely monitor the implementation of all federal government programmes such as MDGs, NDDC, Local Content and other key programmes of the federal government in order to ensure that the real purpose and benefits of these programmes are fully derived to enhance the well-being the people of the state.

There is also the newly created Ministry of Science and Technology which emphasizes this administration’s determination to give priority attention to science and technology. While the Ministry of Lands and Survey will formulate clear policies on issues relating to land administration, its acquisition and the need to effectively manage issues pertaining to titles and other related land matters in the state.

The Ministry of Labour, Employment Generation and Empowerment is another key ministry that has been restructured to undertake the herculean task of addressing issues of massive unemployment in the state. The ministry is expected to collect data of all unemployed persons in the state, provide the requisite training to make them employable as well as put in place the required framework to empower willing youths to be able to make the transition from being job seekers to become entrepreneurs through a deliberate policy of government on youth empowerment. This is clearly designed to unleash the creative capabilities of the youths in particular to enhance their entrepreneurial drive.

The Ministry of Culture and Ijaw National Affairs is charged with the promotion of Ijaw culture, values, history, language as well as the need to clearly define the Ijaw national interest within the context of a united, democratic and peaceful Nigeria.

The new Ministry of Tourism Development also defines the new thinking and focus of government to make Bayelsa a foremost tourism and investment haven. Government’s conviction to develop and exploit the vast tourism potentials in the state is clearly hinged on the need to depend less and less on revenue derived from oil, given the volatile nature of this precious resource. This fact is even more germane since

we do not have direct control or say on how the market value of this commodity is determined. Hence, the need to look inwards and tourism has been identified as a major source of revenue, if well harnessed. This administration strongly believes that tourism is one key area that needs to be developed and indeed, it is what the state needs to transform itself in order to achieve a better life for its people.

Oil, according to Governor Dickson, is only a tool that can be used to reach this goal.

These are fresh developments in the state bureaucracy, such as the reorganization of the civil service to cope effectively with the challenges of development in Bayelsa State. The traditional ministries of Justice, Agriculture and Natural Resources, Trade, Industry and Investments, Education, Energy, Environment, Budget and Planning, Finance, Women and Social Development, Information and Orientation etc are expected to key into the new vision, to propel the lever of government to deliver on promises to the good people of Bayelsa State.

A critical issue in this regard is the N5.4 billion wage bill described by Governor Dickson as not only unsustainable, but detrimental to the quest for rapid development of the state. The governor is aware of the problem of ghost workers but he is not relenting on the mission to make a difference with clear directives on accountability and integrity in governance.

No doubt, the challenges are there but there are also great opportunities ahead. Strengthening the bureaucracy will certainly enhance productivity and governance; it would have direct impact on policies and programmes, enhance economic security, political stability, help empower families by creating opportunities and finally, restoring trust in government.

• Iworiso-Markson is an aide to the Governor of Bayelsa State.

‘The ministry is expected to collect data of all unemployed persons in the state, provide the requisite training to make them employable as well as put in place the required framework to empower willing youths to be able to make the transition from being job seekers to become entrepreneurs through a deliberate policy of government on youth empowerment’

THE NATION TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2012

22

EDITORIAL/OPINION GROUP of people have recently preoccupied themselves with attacking the programmes and policies of the Senator Ibikunle Amosun-led administration in Ogun State. The voice of this set of people can easily be recognized and it is that of those who benefited from the injustices and defective selfish policies of the past.

The reforms of the Governor Amosun administration have resulted in some cases, to the total reversal of a number of actions and policies of the erstwhile Governor of the state, Otunba Gbenga Daniel. They were considered anti-people and not in the interest of the state.

Most of the policies and plans of the immediate past government, even some personal actions, were discovered to be in outright disregard for the constitutional and moral rights of the people of the state as well as tilting more in favour of the initiators than the professed beneficiary, which is the state.

One of such personal actions of Otunba Daniel had provoked loud protest from some residents of Sagamu, the town which houses his private residence and the building of the Regeneration Church of God (Abraham Tabernacle) which the erstwhile governor founded in honour of his late father, Most Rev. Abraham Adebola Daniel.

Petitions received by the Judicial Commission of Inquiry set up by Governor Amosun on assumption of office to look into land matters, included those from some neighbors of the church. While some of the complaints bothered round illegal and forceful acquisition of land, others were by those aggrieved that the owners of the church prevented them access to their properties as they were shut out by the three gates mounted round their premises.

The agency saddled with land administration had also accused Otunba Daniel of practically abusing his office to wave the fees due the agency.

Government will be seen to be insensitive to the plight of these petitioners if it ignored such allegations and subsequent recommendation of the commission. To address the issue and live up to its responsibility, the committee had recommended prompt action by government in the interest of the complainants. This resulted in the decision by government to pull down the gates

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T is now crystal clear that there is more to current agitation for the new minimum wage in Oyo State than meets the eye. Judging by the confrontational posture of labour, any discerning mind will easily infer that workers and their leaders are dancing to the tune of their discredited paymasters who have refused to come to terms with their ouster from the corridors of power.

Since the issue of minimum wage came up, no fewer than three splinter groups have been formed after the purported sack of the authentic labour leaders. All the attempts by Governor Abiola Ajimobi, well-meaning individuals and respected former labour leaders in the state to engage in meaningful dialogue have been rebuffed by labour, while a group of disgruntled elements masquerading as workers are up in arms against the government.

Unfortunately, these groups of people who are politicians within the civil service have succeeded in misleading innocent and unsuspecting civil servants by beclouding their senses of reasoning, all in an attempt to pull down the government and destabilize the state.

It is still fresh in our memory the disdain with which the immediate past administration treated the workers for over five years. The administration trampled on the rights of the civil servants and treated them as absolutely non-existent. As far as it was concerned, the welfare of workers was a non-issue.

Conversely, the Ajimobi administration, which sees the civil servants as the engine room of development, has, in the last 10 months, done for the workers what they could not get in the eight-year misrule of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). For instance, the governor has reviewed upward the salaries of workers twice within his short stay in office. The first was the increase from N9,400 minimum wage which he met on assumption of office to N13,000, and now to N19,113.

The payment of 13th month salary to civil servants in December 2011 by the governor, which is unprecedented in the history of the

Hypocrites and Amosun’s reforms in Ogun

By Yemisi Fadairo erected round the plots of land acquired by the erstwhile governor, an action which surprisingly sparked off what can be regarded as blatant misrepresentation and total falsehood by those who condemned the action. Immediately the gates were pulled down, news went out that the whole church building had been demolished and the body of the late Pa Daniel buried in the premises exhumed.

They had forgotten that the ICT revolution has made it possible for such claims to be promptly and easily verified.

That was how the lies pumped up to make people believe that government had desecrated a place of worship and demonstrated disrespect to a dead man were punctured. The media’s unbiased report of the true position of government’s action put paid to the mischief.

Those who rose in defense of what is an illegal deprivation of the rights of people did not remember that government is obliged to protect the complainants.

Cases of brazen denial of the rights, privileges and entitlements of the people by the government that was supposed to defend and cater for them abound in the eight years of the last administration. Recalling them will be prejudicial as some of them are already before the law courts. It will also amount to opening old wounds and recounting atrocious scenes, the gravity of which are better imagined.

It is surprising that for taking steps to redress what a Judicial Commission of Inquiry described as “not just outright illegalities but products of gross and blatant abuse of office, and breach of public trust” the Senator Amosun government is being described an “adversary” and also said to be “hostile and extreme to the policies, actions and legacies of Otunba Daniel and his government”.

Commissioner for Information and Orientation to Otunba Daniel, Sina Kawonise, who made the claims, had in a newspaper publication also said allegations

leveled against his boss are “bare-faced lies, obscurantism, revisionism and reactionary disposition”. He has also not stopped to rubbish the ongoing reforms of the Senator Amosun government in series of sponsored media appearances.

By now, Kawonise would have realized that the people of Ogun State who only tolerated the ludicrousness of their regime amid the “forces” which extinguished dissenting views and opposition are now liberated and have their senses of reasoning restored.

One will however readily agree with Kawonise that Otunba Daniel’s land administration was indeed a “strategy” and “innovative policy”, but it is regrettable that it was a clever conception that made the schemes more beneficial to his boss and his associates than to the people who gave him their mandate in trust. This was why the Amosun administration was duty-bound to evolve a master plan that will ensure even distribution of infrastructural facilities, including land, devoid of indiscriminate waiver, inconsistent land pricing and double allocation, which applied during the last regime.

Kawonise has been showering encomium on his principal for his exploits, but it is surprising that these supposed achievements were not raised during the campaigns in the last governorship election in the state. Of course, the people knew what was on ground and they were quick to grab the broom to sweep out the ruling party from government and also thwarted Daniel’s bid to install his anointed candidate as his successor.

The workers in Ogun State remember how that administration deducted over N3 billion from their salaries but failed to remit same to the Pension Fund Administration, thus saddling the Amosun government with the responsibility of repaying these deductions which run into millions of Naira, as well as backlog of gratuity and other debts owed the workers.

If the retired civil servants have forgotten

Oyo workers’ strike: in whose interest?

By Tunde Oladimeji state, has marked him out as a governor who meant well for the workers. I also learnt that, for the first time in a very long while, civil servants are now beginning to go on foreign training exercises. It is apparent that the Ajimobi government believes in the dignity of labour and the dignity of the labourers. In this line can one also view government’s epayment exercise in the state. Before now, civil servants suffered the indignity of having their salaries paid to them by hand.

The Ajimobi government eliminated that indignity and civil servants now receive their pay via banks. A government that pays workers by hand devalues their humanity and treats them like mere casual workers.

It is also on record that Governor Ajimobi has held no fewer than three interactive sessions with the civil servants since his assumption of office to rub minds with them on the affairs of the state. All of the sessions were no-holds-barred, with the workers freely expressing their opinions under a convivial atmosphere, a clear departure from the past.

The interactive session of Monday, March 26, was quite distinct, as the innocent civil servants whose minds had been poisoned had become so restive before the arrival of the governor. However, Governor Ajimobi, in his characteristic witty manner and out of sincerity of purpose, succeeded in pulling down the wall of misconception deliberately erected before them and told them in plain language that his administration was not ready to impoverish them. At the end of the meeting, it was songs of praises for the governor.

Now, at what point did things go wrong again? Even if the minimum wage table was not satisfactory to the workers, why didn’t

they explore other avenues for negotiation with the governor who had indeed told them that his doors were wide open for constant dialogue with the civil servants? Why the hasty declaration of strike? From what we gathered, the workers were mere flies hovering on the river and their sponsors are disgraced politicians. Their grouses were that the Ajimobi government was witnessing too much peace and there was the need to ‘shake him up’. Causing labour disquiet for the governor is thus an avenue for them to continue to have a comparative advantage.

A clear example of the symbiotic relationship between the splinter group of labour and the disgraced political party was in a recent release signed by the PDP Southwest alleging that the Ajimobi government has 1000 aides. This bears the same imprimatur of the splinter labour group’s earlier release on the same matter. Indeed, in word-ordering, syntax and the totality of language usage, there was no difference between both. One can safely conclude that the two releases emanated from the same discredited table and mind.

With N4.1 billion, representing 92 per cent of the state’s total monthly income of N4.6 billion committed to the payment of salaries of workers who constitute less than one per cent of the entire population, where does the government go? What happens to the provision of social services for the remaining 99 per cent of the population? It certainly calls for serious caution on the part of labour and the entire civil servants if they don’t want to be unnecessarily selfish.

The present power tussle and supremacy contest between government and labour will lead to nowhere. The cul-de-sac which

how they were owed their pension for months, candidates of the public schools who sat for the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) but could not gain admission into higher institutions because their results were not released for two consecutive years due to the failure of the Daniel government to pay their fees cannot forget this insensitivity.

Non-payment of teachers’ salaries, failure to remit pension and cooperative deductions from their salaries to relevant agencies and the failure by government to meet the state’s obligation to counterpart funding had combined with other anomalies to cripple the education sector under the Daniel regime.

This is why the responsive and responsible government of Senator Amosun is set to expend over N40 billion to uplift education this year. The hypocrisy of these same critics who are challenging the on-going rationalisation of tertiary schools which is aimed at ensuring better funding and provision of affordable and qualitative rather than quantitative education is glaring here.

The Daniel government was not only insensitive to the welfare and well-being of the pupils, students and the entire workforce in the civil service, but also displayed a total disregard for the tenets of democratic values when in the true sense of the word, it exterminated the state House of Assembly and subsequently silenced the voice of the people when he caused the legislature to be closed for several months.

It remained under locks until Senator Amosun resumed office.

The recent accusation by Kawonise that Governor Amosun has waged an onslaught against him and even behind plots to put him “out of circulation” can simply be summed up in the fact that he is living in days between 2003 and 2011. Memories of the atrocities of the eight years before May 29, 2011 linger. Governor Amosun on the other hand has continued to restate his readiness to tolerate and even encourage constructive criticisms in the belief that that is the hallmark of democracy.

There is no doubt that these critics are just picking up Senator Amosun on a whim without rhyme with the reality of the past, the present and the future, reason why the people of the state are rallying round the rebuilding efforts of the governor.

• Fadairo is an aide to Ogun State governor appears to have been reached between the two parties can only be solved through negotiation and dialogue. The earlier the labour realizes this and stopped being unnecessarily political, the better for the state.

At the interactive session between labour and the governor, he made one fundamental statement. Government wants to increase the state Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) from N1.1 billion to N6 billion. Right now, there is a terrible corruption among the workers who collect this IGR. The workers must decide on their own to collaborate with government in the new IGR regime. Ajimobi demonstrated so much sincerity that had never been done by any government in the history of the state.

One thing is clear, Oyo State must move forward. There must be a clear departure from the status quo and established tradition of pilfering, wastages and gross underdevelopment. Whatever it will take to restore the pace setting status of Oyo State and set it on the path of development must be given to it. Enough of strike!

• Oladimeji, a Public Affairs Analyst, wrote from Eruwa, Oyo State.

‘It is still fresh in our memory the disdain with which the immediate past administration treated the workers for over five years.

The administration trampled on the rights of the civil servants and treated them as absolutely non-existent. As far as it was concerned, the welfare of workers was a non-issue’

Pg 41

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PROPERTY

Tuesday, APRIL 10, 2012

Website:- http://www.thenationonlineng.com

* The Environment * Mortgage * Apartments * Security * Homes * Real Estate

email:- property@thenationonlineng.net

•Abuja central district

Developing Abuja with property tax When it was created as Federal Capital over 30 years ago, not many envisaged an explosion in its population within a short time. Now Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), is virtually bursting at the seams because its infrastructure are not adequate for its population. The way out, experts say, is an investment in public infrastructure, using property tax. They say optimal utilisation of the tax can transform the society and shift attention from oil, reports OKWY IROEGBU-CHIKEZIE. •STORY ON PAGE 26 •FMBN’s N6b mortgage backed-bond’s •Fed Govt, NCF partner on private placement closes environmental challenges - PAGE 26

- PAGE 39

•Pepple, others canvass

participatory planning - PAGE 40

26

THE NATION TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2012

PROPERTY/ENVIRONMENT

Developing Abuja with property tax T HE supply and sustenance of public infrastructure is a challenge because of limited budgetary provisions. As governments’ revenues dwindle and infrastructure demand continues to rise, there’s the urgent need for governments to seek alternative sources of funding.

While some subscribe to Public-Private Partnerships(PPPs) to bridge the gap, in revenue and infrastructure, others prefer a reliable alternative source — Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) — which bulk basically comes from property tax.

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), faced with increasing population, has tried various models to raise funds to meet the demand for necessary infrastructure. It has received knocks from the National Assembly over poor budget implementation, growing slum locations, unplanned communities, absence of basic infrastructure and delay in paying compensation, after over 30 years, to the land owners.

Speaking at a forum organised by estate surveyors & valuers recently in Abuja, the duo of Ayodele Ibuoye and Abdullahi Hassan Ahmed in a paper, The Transformation of the Federal Capital City through internally-generated funds, a case for FCT Property Tax implementation, observed that land is a major source of revenue for states and local governments.

They said this could be attained through property taxes, such as land charges, stamp duties and

consents.

However, they regretted that, in recent times, land administration has been at the lowest ebb at area councils. They, therefore, called for institutional and legal framework for tapping the huge potential funds to finance infrastructure.

They advised that for property tax to be effective in delivering the needed infrastructure, the department charged with its collection should be replicated with units in the area councils, headed by professionals with good knowledge of property taxation and relevant experience. The surveyors also canvassed that though the tax interest rate for the amount is outstanding during period of default. They also criticised a section that provided market value of property as a basis of assessment for property tax, saying this is a misnomer, as traditionally, the root of property taxation is from annual income generated from such tenement.

Furthermore, they condemned the practice of variation in taxation wherby commercial properties bear a heavier tax. They said it is more convenient to use a uniform rate for commercial and noncommercial properties. Government, they said, has a social responsibility to the people by en-

•Abuja road network

couraging investment in real property which provides jobs.

Their words: “With the process of succession in real estate, uses within an environment changes over time, hence, the need to sustain a uniform rate, not to over or under assess a tenement”.

Property tax in the FCT, they said, remains unique, as it affects FCDA and the area councils. They called for the enactment of necessary bye laws by the National Assembly, which they suggested

must be seen to be fair and just to all stakeholders, as it concerns the process and optimisation of the resources therein.

They stated that since transformation of an economy involves the utilisation of huge resources which are not readily available, particularly in infrastructure financing, governments all over should tap into property tax which is internally generated and a relatively available resource.

‘With the process of succession in real estate, uses within an environment changes over time, hence, the need to sustain a uniform rate, not to over or under assess a tenement’

The duo observed that the characteristics of the Property Tax Bill currently proposed by the administration is similar to that of the FCT Tenement Rate Act, warning that care should be taken to forestall double taxation by taking steps to abolish the FCT Tenement rate Act in the new Bill.

Going further, they explained that properties have annual tax absorption capacity and taxation beyond such capacity, could lead to public discontent, resistance and ultimately very high default rate.

They objected to the current market value basis being proposed as conceptually and institutionally wrong, insisting that such tax should be based on annual rental basis.

FMBN’s N6b mortgage backed-bond’s private placement closes

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HE Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) has completed the private placement of N6 billion mortgage-backed bonds at a coupon rate of 17.25 per cent.

The Series 2 Fixed Rate Notes due on April 3, 2017, is the second tranche of the FMBN SPV Issuer Limited’s N100 billion Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities which the mortgage institution wants to use in re-financ-

By Okwy Iroegbu-Chikezie Asst. Editor

ing of Federal Government’s residential houses bought by civil servants.

The bonds have unconditional and irrevocable guarantee of the Federal Government, making investments in the securities virtually risk-free.

Investments in the securities issued by FMBN SPV Issuer Lim-

ited are due in five years’ time.

The Executive Director, Policy and Strategy/Loans Setup & Pay-off, Newman Ordia, said this transaction brings the total money raised under the FMBN N100 billion Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities to N32 billion, as the FMBN had in 2007, raised N26 billion in the first tranche of the bond issue.

Ordia explained that raising

the bonds became necessary in order to help civil servants purchase Federal Government residential houses sold under the monetisation policy of the government.

Among the professional parties in the transaction, are Dunn Loren Merrifield and ChapelHill Denham Advisory Partners, which acted as the lead arranger/book-runner and jointbook-runner respectively.

Others are G. Elias & Co. (transaction counsel), Segun Odumuyiwa & Co. (independent auditor to the issuer), J.K. Randle Professional Services (collateral auditor), Access Bank Plc (mortgage loan originators/servicers), Zenith Registrars Limited (registrars), Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc (cash manager) and Global Credit Ratings Company. (rating agency).

FCT Devt Control demolishes illegal structures in Idu, Karmo

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•The Granadines Estate 1

N its continuous effort to rid the Federal Capital Territory(FCT) of illegal developments, the Department of Development Control has removed about 18 illegal structures at Dape within Idu/Karmo District.

The removal came as a result of complaints registered by developers whose plots where encroached upon by the illegal developers.

The residents of such illegal structure have been served with quit notices since 2011 with subsequent demolition notices before the commencement of the removal exercise.

The Site Officer who led the exercise, Mrs Chidinma Ukpoji, said the allottees who had moved in to start development on their plots pleaded with occupants of illegal structures to move out but they refused, hence the official complaint to the office.

The team was also at Karmo on

From Bukola Amusan, Abuja

the same day to continue with the on-going removal exercise which started since last week. The exercise saw the removal of more shanties, containers and other illegal shops especially along the road.

The Site Officer who led the Team, Christopher Okonkwo, lamented that traders who display their wares along the road using make-shift shops, had developed deaf ear against all the warnings and even previous removal exercises, thus making Karmo very notorious for illegalities. He said the exercise continues until all illegal structures are cleared.

The Department, however, called on residents and developers within the FCT to always obtain necessary documents and approvals from relevant authorities before commencing any development to avoid loss of properties.

27

TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2012

‘

It is important to promote mutual respect among the interpreters and executors of our laws and the Fourth Estate of the Realm, which must not be viewed as touts and rascals by the ‘un-educated’ minds...

• SEE PAGE 29

E-mail:- law@thenationonlineng.net

’

The tenure of the Nigerian Bar Association President Joseph Daudu (SAN) will soon end. Who will succeed him? His successor will emerge at the NBA Delegates Conference where new officers are expected to be elected. NBA has issued guidelines for the election. Daudu warns that any group which seeks to influence the election will be “intermeddling’’.

Also, any candidate who flouts the guidelines will be disqualified. He also speaks on why he rates Chief Justice Dahiru Musdapher highly, functions of NBA’s General Council, the ruling of a Federal High Court judge, describing him and four other senior advocates as “inefficient” in handling EFCC’s cases, and why the Delegates’ Conference will hold in Kaduna. JOHN AUSTIN UNACHUKWU met him.

‘Lawyers must defy institutions of terror’

W

HY is the General Council of the Bar, inaugurated on April 5, needed?

I give thanks to God Almighty that this all-important council, the highest decision making body for legal practitioners on ethics and general matters not covered by the NBA Constitution, has come to stay. The meeting of the Bar Council last took place in 2007, under the Presidency of Olisa Agbakoba (SAN). Before then, there was a failed attempt to constitute the Council by Chief Bayo Ojo (SAN).

Again, the Council met during the administration of OCJ Okocha (SAN). Ideally, because of its Professional Ethics Rulemaking powers, the council ought to meet, at least, quarterly.

What are the functions of the council?

It is apt at this stage to deal with the statutory powers, duties and functions of the General Council of the Bar created by Section 1 of the Legal Practitioners Act and referred

Inside: How journalists were battered in court- P.29

to in the said Act as “the Bar Council”. It is charged in the main with the general management of the affairs of the Nigerian Bar Association (subject to any limitations for the time being provided by the Constitution of the Association) and with any functions conferred on the council by the Act i.e. the LPA or that Constitution.

Are there others?

Other functions of the Bar Council are specified in Section 20 of the Act as follows: make rules- (a) as to the opening and keeping by legal practitioners of accounts at banks for clients’ moneys; and (b) as to the keeping by legal practitioners of records containing particulars and information as to moneys received, held or paid by them for or on account of their clients; and (c) as to the opening and keeping by a legal practitioner who is the sole trustee, •See story on page 28

NBA inaugurates Badagry branch- P.34

THE NATION TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2012

28

LAW COVER CONT’D

‘Lawyers must defy institutions of terror’ • Continued from page 27 or who is a co-trustee only with one or more of his partners, clerks or servants, of an account at a bank for moneys of any trust of which he is the sole trustee or such a cotrustee as aforesaid; and (d) as to the keeping by such a practitioner as is mentioned in paragraph (c) of this subsection, of records containing particulars and information as to moneys received, held or paid by him for or on account of any such trust as is so mentioned; and (e) empowering the Bar Council to take such action as it thinks necessary to enable it to ascertain whether the rules are being complied with.

Does it also make rules?

Notwithstanding all that have been stated above, the main function of the Bar Council lies in its powers to make rules for the general management of the Bar on matters not specifically covered by the Act or by the NBA Constitution.

What is the rationale?

The rationale is obvious. Rule making on sensitive issues is not always possible at NEC or AGM. The atmosphere is not conducive or convenient for deep thinking on specialised matters. But the Bar Council is composed of tested men and women who can deal with specialised issues concerning the Bar at short notice. The Bar Council has at its inaugural meeting approved a new fee regime for the payment of practising fees by legal practitioners dated April 5, 2012.

Do you think the council will help enhance the administration of justice in any way?

The last time the Rules of Professional Ethics were reviewed was in 2007 under the then Attorney-General of the Federation, Bayo Ojo (SAN). Exhaustive as the Rules appear, the passage of time has made it imperative to subject those Rules to serious scrutiny and review, especially having regard to the upsurge of cases of professional misconduct among legal practitioners. The inauguration therefore will impact on the administration of justice considerably.

It was widely reported in the media that a Federal High Court Judge asked the Attorney-General of the Federation not to brief some SANS including you any longer. What is your reaction?

The judge is Hon. Achibong J of the Federal High Court, Lagos. He was assigned to try the criminal charge instituted on behalf of the Federal Republic of Nigeria against (former Intercontinental Bank Plc Managing Director) Dr Erastus Akingbola.

When the charge was filed, the accused had fled the shores of Nigeria and was seeking refuge in the UK. Pursuant to extradition proceedings sought to be commenced by the Attorney- General of the Federation,

he returned to the country and was promptly arraigned before Achibong J. He was granted bail.

Because the Federal High Court lacks jurisdiction to try stealing, fraud, etc i.e. crimes within the purview of the Criminal Code triable only by state High Courts, Akingbola and one of his confederates were arraigned before the Lagos State High Court, Ikeja Division. Naturally, he was not happy about this development and considered this trial an infringement on his fundamental rights.

He filed for enforcement of his fundamental rights before the Federal High Court and this civil matter was assigned to Hon. Achibong J. It was as it relates to the fundamental rights proceedings that Dr Konyinsola Ajayi (SAN) and I appeared before him. As the outcome of the said fundamental rights proceedings is before the Court of Appeal, I say no more on that.

Now on the matter FGN v Akingbola, the prosecution sought to amend the charges having regard to the antecedents stated above. It was granted.

However, when the court, on the same day it granted the amendment sought to know how the matter would proceed, M. Godwin Obla prosecuting told him that there was a pending application before the Court of Appeal seeking a transfer of the case from him on the grounds of bias. It was at this stage that his lordship ruled ex cathedra as he did. As I am yet to see the ruling, I do not want to repeat or quote newspaper publications so that I will not unwittingly publish an unjust, scurrilous libel against myself.

Where all the SANs actually involved?

What is important to note at this stage is that all the senior advocates – except E. C. Ukala (SAN), who was not in court on that date – said to have been the subject matter of his ruling, have never appeared in the criminal matter in issue. They have also not filed any processes or been named as counsel in the criminal charge before Achibong J. I wonder then how counsel who have no business with a court will be the subject matter of that court’s ruling on how the case was conducted. Suffice, however, to say that we are pressing on with all the remedies at our disposal within the ambit of the law.

What is your appraisal of the tenure of the incumbent Chief Justice, Justice Dahiru Musdapher?

His lordship has demonstrated that it is not how lon, but how well. This is the only Chief Justice that has dealt with reform issues at the heart of his agenda. It is premature at this stage to assess him. At the appropriate time we will comment on his unique but progressive tenure as Chief Justice of Nigeria.

How do you think we can sustain the

• Daudu

level of achievements he has recorded in his short stay as the CJN? As I said, this issue will be dealt with in due course.

Many lawyers have expressed reservations about the forthcoming delegates’ conference of the NBA in Kaduna, citing security and Boko Haram threats as their reasons. What is your reaction to this?

The main objective of terrorism is to instil terror in the heads and hearts of the citizenry. We, as lawyers, should not submit to institutions of terror by acting the script of those who wish to terrorise the citizenry.

The NBA has issued election guidelines to regulate the forthcoming election of new officers? How do you intend to enforce these and what is the sanction for violating any of them?

It has been the practice to issue guidelines for the conduct of elections by the NBA. My predecessor in office issued them, so did those before him. I find it utterly mischievous for people to seek to run elections without rules. At any rate, the NBA Constitution provides rules for

Monarch escapes prison sentence

A

TRADITIONAL ruler, Oba Sikiru Odukoya, the Omola of Odomola, missed spending the Easter holiday in prison as he narrowly escaped conviction for wilful damage of property belonging to one Mrs. Adeola Adebowale.

A Lagos Chief Magistrate Court sitting in Epe, Lagos ruled that he ought to have been a defendant in a suit brought before the court by the property owner.

Delievering judgment at the weekend in a suit filed by the applicant, Mrs. Adebowale for the demolition of the fence of her house in Odomola, the trial Chief Magistrate, Mrs. Kikelomo B. Ayeye, chided the police for their timidity and shoddy prosecution, pointing out that the traditional ruler who was brought before the court as a prosecution witness “should be in the dock and not a prosecution witness”.

However, two men, Tayo Adenuga and Tajudeen Sanni, were not so lucky as they were found culpable and guilty as charged in a two count charge of conspiracy to commit a felony and allegation of wilful damage of a fence on the property of the applicant by the trial magistrate, stated that the prosecution has proved the allegations of

By Adebisi Onanuga

conspiracy to commit a felony and wilful damage against the two defendants beyond reasonable doubt.

She ordered that the two defendants be remanded in prison custody where they spent the Easter until full judgment will be delivered in the matter in two weeks.

Chief Magistrate Ayeye, in her judgment, said: “All prosecution and defence witnesses agreed that Oba S.T.A. Odukoya, the Omola of Odomola, gave orders for the demolition of the newly constructed fence of the complainant in the matter”.

Making reference to the case of Adigunn versus AG Oyo State (1987), she said: “The standard of proof required to justify a conviction is one beyond reasonable doubt. This level of proof is attained when every ingredient, which constitute the alleged offences, has been proved”.

Citing the judgment in the case of Ojukwu versus Governor of Lagos State (1986), the Chief Magistrate also said: “No one including the Governor is entitled to take the law into their hands, adding that while the laws of Lagos State recognises the royal status of Oba Odukoya, it does not confer executive authority either to make, execute or enforce the laws of

the land.

“His utterances via testimony/evidence-in-chief in this court evinces total lawlessness.

Kabiyesi Alayeluwa, there is grace in your palace and out of your palace is disgrace”, she said.

The Chief Magistrate also said while she agreed that it is the duty of the Oba to arbitrate in disputes of the subjects within his kingdom, “however, I do not agree that an Oba by instrument of office can give royal orders capable of disrupting public peace or likely to cause breach of peace within the community. It is beneath the royal statuship of any monarch to give orders capable of breaching public peace”.

Chief Magistrate Ayeye also observed in her judgment that the Omola of Odomola admitted in his statement to the police that he gave order for the demolition of the fence and that he only visited the scene after his order had been carried out.

Chief Magistrate Ayeye said the sole issue for determination here is whether the prosecution has proved each of the two count offences alleged against the two defendants beyond reasonable doubts, adding that in every criminal matter, onus of proof is at all times on the pros-

the conduct of elections. NEC resolutions have also issued guidelines not inconsistent with the constitutional provisions.

Our rules of professional conduct also deprecate infamous and other conduct unbecoming of a time honoured and noble profession like ours.

Consequently, where conducts not consistent with our professional ethics manifest as a result of electioneering, rules must be made to stamp them out. The guidelines are a culmination of all variables taking its root from the NBA Constitution. What is important is that the guidelines are not inconsistent with the NBA Constitution and they are not.

It ought to be noted that the only recognised organs of the NBA are the branches, national officers and the National Executive Committee. As it relates to election you may add delegates. Any other group that seeks to manage or influence the outcome of elections in the NBA is intermeddling. Any candidate that brazenly disobeys or flouts the guidelines will be disqualified. It only takes an announcement to achieve this.

‘Standard of proof required to justify a conviction is one beyond reasonable doubt. This level of proof is attained when every ingredient, which constitute the alleged offences, has been proved’ ecution, which onus is discharged on the establishment of the essential elements of the offences.

“Having duly considered the case led by the prosecution, and the defence put forward by thwe two defendants, as earlier stated, the legal burden of proof in criminal matters is on the prosecution and never shifts. The burden can only be discharged by proven the guilt of the accused person beyond reasonable doubts as provided in section 138(1) of the Evidence Act”.

The complainant, Adeola Adebowale, had gone to court over the demolition of a fence erected round her house by the two defendants allegedly on the order of the Oba of Odomola.

Adebowale alleged that sometimes in October 2010, that the first defendant, Tayo Adenuga, drove into her compound with hooligans armed with cutlasses, bottles, iron, and charms and that on coming down from the vehicle, they went

straight to the fence and started destroying it whereupon, she promptly reported the matter at the police station.

She said prior to this incidence, there was crisis between her mother and the second defendant, Tajudeen Sanni, over the use of a footpath leading to his house and that the Oba intervened in the matter and pleaded with them to allow the second defendant access to his house through the frontage of their house as a temporary measure, adding that when eventually, the fence was erected round the house, it blocked the passage for Tajudeen, the second defendant.

Adebowale had told the court that though the house was built by her mother, she had always had the intention to build a fence round it and that she did that and completed the construction of the fence in September 2010, alleging that it was demolished five days after on the order of Omola of Odomola.

THE

2012

THE NATION TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2012

29

FROM THE COURT

How journalists were battered at court premises

D

ATELINE: Wednesday, April 4, 2012. Time was a little after noon, and venue was the premises of the Lagos High Court, Ikeja.

The day had been set aside by the Chief Coroner of Lagos State, Chief Magistrate Tajudeen Elias for the inquest on the death of Ademola Aderinto, the January 2012 victim of the fuel subsidy protest allegedly shot dead at Yaya Abatan Street, Ogba, Lagos by Olusegun Fabunmi, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Pen Cinema Police Station, Agege.

The Coroner was also to make public its verdict on the inquest it conducted on the last year’s multiple accidents on the LagosIbadan Expressway in which many lives were lost.

Because of the interest generated by the inquest, the number of journalists that turned up at the High Court, Ikeja on the fateful day was high and they moved together to the family court, which hitherto had served as the venue for inquests. But unknown to them, the coroner had moved to a more spacious court room in anticipation of a large crowd turn out.

Trouble started for the harmless journalists as they marched into the corridor of the building that housed the family court when an unidentified female prosecutor/ social worker raised her voice and asked the journalists who were gathering at the corridor of the court to vacate the premises.

The journalists in an attempt to explain their mission asked the social worker to be civil in her approach. At this point, Magistrate Mrs. A.A. Olaniyi came out of the court room, but instead of asking what was the matter chose to do the unexpected the moment she was told that the people in the corridor were journalists.

She ordered the arrest of the journalists, thundering, “arrest them! Arrest them all! Do you know where you are at all? Oya, arrest them all. Go and lock up all of them!”

Based on her order, some policemen attached to the court and some court officials available pounced on the journalists, harassed and beat them.

A female police officer with the name tag: Mariam Joseph, swooped on Wale Busari, a Judicial Correspondent with Silverbird Television, grabbed his

By Adebisi Onanuga

cloth and started dragging him away. His resistance to being arrested led other judicial staff in the area to clamp down on other journalists.

The Channels Television camera man, who was also covering the unfolding drama got his camera seized. When this happened, other journalists started recording the unfolding drama with their GSM phones.

The female prosecutor who started the whole incident later reappeared with seven uniformed police men who without asking any question, swooped on the journalists, beating them with gun butts and dragging them on the floor.

The armed policemen seized the phones of the journalists and started deleting all the recordings of the incident in their phones, in the course of which a BlackBerry belonging to Gbenga Soyele of Compass newspaper was damaged.

One of the police officers, Olakekan Ajayi, slapped Wahab Abdullah of Vanguard and that emboldened other policemen, who wasted no time in further assaulting and unleashing more beatings the journalists.

“Because you are journalists does not make you above the law.

I will deal with you mercilessly!” shouted Ajayi, who slapped Abdullah.

At the end of the melee, about 10 of the journalists were shuffled into a 14-seater police bus with number plate Lagos XJ 812 Epe and driven to the nearby Area F Zonal Command.

All the arrested journalists were later driven to Area F Police Command where they were accused of rough handling the policemen,who attempted to arrest them.

They included Wahab Abdulah of Vanguard, Francis Iwuchukwu of Peoples Daily, Nurudeen Oyewole of Daily Trust, Adebisi Onanuga of The Nation, Sola Soyele of Channels, Gbenga Soyele of Compass, Wale Busari of Silverbird, Yejide GbengaOgundare of Nigerian Tribune, Paul Dada of Leadership, Akinwale Akintunde of Thisday, and Henry Ojeluh of PM News.

At Area F, all senior Police officers at the station declined intervening in the matter on realising that they were going to

• Chief Judge of Lagos, Justice Inumidun Akande

deal with journalists, especially with the presence of the calibre of lawyers that immediately swarmed the station to secure the journalists’ release.

The lawyers included two Senior Advocates of Nigeria, Deacon Dele Adesina and Mr Sebastine Hon, the the Chairman, Secretary and first Vice-Chairman of the Nigeria Bar Association, Ikeja, Adebamigbe Omole, Adesina Ogunlana and Yinka Farounbi and the Lagos High Court’s Registrar, Mr Ganiyu Safari.

Their presence saved the journalists from the usual police brutality, as the policemen had threatened to deal ruthlessly with them.

It was when the younger policemen saw that their seniors were avoiding the matter that it dawned on them that they might be in for trouble if the journalists were not left alone.

The Area Commander, Area F, Mr Noah Adesanye, who exhibited a lot of maturity, intervened in the matter. And after listening to the story of the journalists, ordered their immediate release and sought amicable settlement of the matter.

He chided the court prosecutor and social worker, who claimed to have worked in the court for three years and yet did not know how journalists go about their duty in the court. He also gave his words to deal with his men who carried out the arrest of the journalists at the appropriate time.

• Inspector-General of Police, Muhammed Abubakar

Meanwhile, Journalists for Democratic Rights (JODER), has called on the Inspector-General of Police, (IG) to punish those police men responsible for the assault on the eight journalists.

The group, in a statement, condemned in strong terms the treatment meted on the journalists.

The statement signed by Mr Kehinde Adegbuyi, the JODER Programme Officer, stated that the brutalisation of the journalists is barbaric and a slap on the growing democratic culture in the country.

“We call on the Inspector-General of Police (IG) to arrest and prosecute all the police ratings involved.”

JODER also called on the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to investigate the magistrate, who ordered the brutalisation of the journalists and recommend possible punishment to the appropriate authorities.

According to JODER, “the temperament of the magistrate is suspect, her competence to administer justice without her emotional involvement is doubtful.

“We are worried that a magistrate decided to order the brutalisation of the media practitioners. This is against the right of the media people to freedom of movement and a grievous attempt to bring back the awful culture of media repression which was common in the days of military rule.”

Also, Lagos lawyer Odiana A.

Eriata has condemned the arrest of the journalists, saying that the action of the magistrate was least expected of a person who is supposed to be a custodian of law.

In a statement at the weekend, Eriata said the magistrate, the police and the journalists ought to be partners in progress.

He also said the rights and exercise of powers by the court, the police and the journalists are wellspelt out in the constitution and different enactments made there from with specific rights, limitations, exceptions, exemptions and privileges of the exercise of such rights, which “is known” to these class of stakeholders in our democratic setting.

“I believe the court and the prosecutor ought to have observe some restraint in dealing with their ‘counterparts’ in the media who perhaps also know their limit in covering or publicising matters with respect to ‘corona inquest’or when cases are to be tried in camera if it involves minor who is not charged with adults in line with our criminal jurisprudence.

“It is, therefore, important to promote mutual respect among the interpreters and executors of our laws and the Fourth Estate of the Realm, who must not be viewed as touts and rascals by the ‘un-educated’ minds who acts for himself or on behalf of any establishment of government because we are all good neighbours and stakeholders in the Nigeria project,” he said.

LEGAL DIARY

Lawyers for Commonwealth conference

Agbakoba organises business expo

O

T

HE Commonwealth Lawyers Association (CLA) is set for its conference in Sydney, Australia.

It will hold from April 19 to April to 22.

A statement from its President, Mrs Boma Ozobia, said adequate and easy visa processing arrangements have been put in place to enable lawyers who wish to attend to obtain visa with ease.

“We have made adequate arrangements. The Australian High Commission is fully aware of the fact that we are participating.

“They have in turn informed their Foreign Affairs Office of this.

“From the Secretariat of the

• CLA President, Mrs Ozobia

CLA, we are sending updated lists of the delegates to them.

“This is so that once delegates have registered and paid up, and once we send applications in for their visas, they will be dealt with expeditiously,” she said.

LISA Agbakoba and Asso ciates in collaboration with Do-Sumthing Positive for Africa and Beverly & Sam Properties organises “Creative Business EXPO”on April 19 and 20 at Njoku Street, Ikoyi, Lagos.

The programme shall draw experts from all field of life to give career talk on exciting business opportunities for the emerging creative entrepreneur. It will also afford them opportunities to network, market their products and services and learn rudiments of business from lead-

ing experts on the new generation of entrepreneurs as they unleash their experiences within their respective field of works.

The expo shall also feature exhibition show as companies such as Suchille Clothing, The style Boutique, Mona Matthews, Oge Coutre and many more shall exhibit their products. The programme is sponsored by Olisa Agbakoba & Associates, Morsi PR, Onobello.com and the host of others

Institute holds conference on oil and gas

T

HE Nigerian Institute of Ad vanced Legal Studies will hold a three-day international conference on oil and gas explorations,

contracts, and disputes resolution.

Date: May 2-4, 2012.

Venue: Benezia Hotel Asaba.

Time: 9. am daily.

Federal High Court, Institute hold aviation seminar

T

HE Federal High Court in col laboration with the McGill In stitute of Aviation Law Canada, is organising an aviation law seminar for judges of the Federal High Court April 16-17.

Venue:Sheraton Hotel, Lagos.

Time:9 am.

The objective of the seminar is to assist judges with the handling and management of aviation disputes and matters in order to enhance compliance and enforcement of aviation laws and regulation in order to ensure safety in the aviation sector of the economy.

Those targeted at the seminar include:Judges of the Federal High Court, regulatory officers, aviation in- house counsel, lawyers and stakeholders in the aviation sector.

THE NATION TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2012

30

FROM THE COURT

Iganmu land tussle: Ojora family objects to Supreme Court’s interpretation

T

HE Ojora Chieftaincy Fam ily, Lagos, has urged the Su preme Court not to entertain an application by 13 persons and 384 “interveners”, seeking further interpretation of its judgment, which declared the family as title owners of land in Iganmu and adjourning villages.

It said the court does not have the jurisdiction to entertain the February 14 application because it is “incompetent” and amounts to an abuse of court process.

The family, in a notice of preliminary objection filed by their lawyer, Chief Bolaji Ayorinde (SAN), said the application therefore ought to be dismissed “outrightly.”

Its objection is on the ground that the Supreme Court, not being a court of first instance, does not have the original jurisdiction to entertain the appellant’s motion.

Besides, it said the court had already decided the issue in its judgment delivered on April 3, 2009 in the family’s favour.

The Supreme Court had upheld the judgments of the Lagos State High Court and the Court of Appeal, which both granted the reliefs

By Joseph Jibueze

sought by the family, which is represented by the Ojora of Lagos, Chief Abdul Fatai Aromire (second respondent) and Chief Isreal Esurombi-Aro. The family had sought “a declaration of title under native law and custom to all that parcel of land being part of Ojora Chieftaincy Family situate at Iganmu, Lagos, comprising inter alia Orile Iganmu, Aloko Sarage, Sari, OffaOffin, Oso-Olodi, Tokosi, Coker, Ajabe, Laniyonu, Tapa Bankole, Imoro and adjourning villages shown on Plan No. AL641/1974.”

It also prayed for “forfeiture of the customary tenancy and occupational right of all the defendants and each of them in the land in dispute,” as well as “possession of the said land.”

It told the Supreme Court that applicants have failed to obey the judgments of the High Court and the Court of Appeal, and that they “are some of the wrongful and illegal occupiers of the properties” on the land.

But the applicants – led by Chief Adesina Jinadu– are urging the

Supreme Court to “make clarifications”, “determine issues” and “make necessary declarations” regarding the extent and execution of the judgment.

They want to know whether the land “extends, covers and include” the entire Orile Iganmu and landed properties on it, Sari Iganmu, Amukoko, Coker, Suru-Alaba, Mile 2, Abebe Village comprising Nigerian Breweries Plc, First Bank Plc and the National Theatre.

They also want clarification on whether adjourning land, Aguda, Surulere, Ajegunle, Apapa, Ijora Causeway are covered by the judgment; and asked to know “the exact area of land…”

The further asked “whether the respondents are entitled in law and equity to make use of a judgment over an unknown area of land as shield and sword to wander on any area of land, banish into exile the bale of OrileIganmu, set up armed persons to terrorise the interveners/applicants, destroy, intimidate, harass, threaten and render them homeless and at the same time extort monies from them all in the name of levying execution.”

NBA Ikeja gets Electoral Committee

T

HE Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ikeja Branch has con stituted a three-man Electoral Committee to conduct the election of new executive members of the branch.

The branch has already scheduled its elections for Monday, May 7, 2012 in line with the Bye-Laws of the association.

The Election Committee has as its Chairman Mr Dosu Ogunniyi, who is a past chairman of the branch, while others are Mr Reginald Ugomadu and a female member, Mrs. Funmi Falana, to ensure gender equation.

The committee members were nominated by members of the branch at their monthly general meeting of Monday, March 26, 2012 and has since been inaugurated by the Chairman of the branch, Mr Adebamigbe Omole.

Omole said the committee members were acceptable to members of the NBA Ikeja moreso that they

By Adebisi Onanuga

are the result nominations made by the members on the floor of their monthly general meeting of last month.

Ogunniyi is an elderly member of the bar, who is seen by other members as a perfect gentleman, a man of impeachable character and thorough in everything that he does. He is well-lettered and cerebral. He is an authority in law and has many publications in industrial law to his credit.

Ogunniyi is well-respected not just in the branch, but also at the national NBA. In those dark years that there was crisis in the NBA, Ogunniyi was the chairman of the committee put in place and which resuscitated the NBA in 1998 in Port Harcourt. Such were his contributions to the NBA that he was given a merit award at the national level.

Omole also told The Nation that the committee‘s main assignment was to screen all application received and conduct elections in line with the Terms of Reference contained in the Bye Laws of the branch.

According to section 18(4) (B) of the bye law, the Electoral committee shall control, conduct and manage the election for which they are appointed and decide on any petition from any member.

Sub-section c of the electoral law stipulated that the Electoral committee shall decide on the report received in (3) (C) above and publish a final list of candidates qualified to contest and exhibit same at the Ikeja Bar secretariat and any other place deem fit on or before April 30.

Sub-section E, on the other hand stipulated that “to the extent of their functions, the decisions of the Electoral Committee shall be final”

• From left: Chief Judge, Federal High Court, Ibrahim Auta; A. Aribisala (standing) and Mike Igbokwe (SAN) at a dinner during the Lagos reunion 2012 organised by the UNILAG Faculty of Law class of 1980 to 83, at Four Points Ikeja, Lagos.

LAW AND PUBLIC POWER

with gabriel AMALU email:gabrielamalu1@yahoo.com

Turkey’s trials and Nigeria’s ancien regime

H

OW does one situate the dismantling of the historical redoubts, albeit yet tokenistic, taking place in Turkey? Last Wednesday, two retired top military leaders of that country, General Kenan Evren (94) and Commander Tahsin Sahinkaya (87), who participated in a coup in Turkey in 1980, went on trial for their role in the coup. Unbelievably, the coup the retired Generals organised was ‘successful’ and one of them even became a President of Turkey for seven years. The action took place 30 years ago, and for all intent and purpose, the old men had grown to be regarded as statesmen; before this sudden change in fortune.

Interestingly, a few weeks ago, some misguided junior officers seized power from the democratically elected President of Mali, abrogated the country’s constitution and other democratic institutions and declared themselves the new leaders of the country. While the people of Mali appear helpless, leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have imposed sanctions on the junta to force them to return the country to democracy. Leading the pack of activists to force a retreat by the Coupists in Mali is the Nigerian senate, lead by a retired General in the Nigerian Army, and now Senate President David Mark.

The Senate President as an army officer was among the top military officers that were close to former military President and retired General, Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida; reputed to have had a hand in several of the successful coup d’états that happened in the past in Nigeria. The distinguished Senate President currently serving his fourth term in the Senate was a brilliant officer in the signal corps of the Nigerian army; and when the ultimate Babaginda’s coup became successful he benefited as a Minister of Communications and also as a Governor of the General’s home state, Niger. All this recall would have been mere history except for this disturbing signal from Turkey.

General Yakubu Gowon, elder statesman, who upon his ouster from power in 1975 coup, led by the late General Murtala Muhammed of which General Olusegun Obasanjo was the second in command; went to obtain a PhD in England. This statesman participated and benefitted from the coup that ousted and killed General Aguiyi Ironsi in 1966. Indeed, General Gowon after that successful coup, also successfully prosecuted the Nigerian civil war, and ruled Nigeria for nine years. General Obasanjo, who ruled for three years after the death of General Muhammed in 1976, later also ruled Nigeria for eight years as civilian President.

The coup that aborted the Second Republic led by former President Shehu Shagari was led by General Muhammed Buhari in 1983. Buhari has since turned a democratic disciple, trying unsuccessfully to be President in the past three Presidential elections. At present, commanding a large democratic followership, his involvement in coup would obviously be in the recess of our minds, but for this revisionism in Turkey. General Buhari was head of state when General Babangida decided to put his alleged skills to his own benefit for the first time, as he became the military President in 1985. General Babangida was in power for eight years and when the wahala became too much he organised a coup for a civilian regime.

Now would it be right to say that Chief Ernest Shonekan benefited from a coup, if he cannot be called a participant? The argument in support I guess would be that he was made a head of state by fiat, instead of through election. He was serving instead of Chief Moshood Abiola, whom Nigerians elected in the famous 1993 presidential election. The Nigerian intrigue further expands as many would argue, though these are mere allegations, since many believe the allegation that Abiola was reputed to have sponsored at least a coup in the past, and if that is true, his name may turn up if the Turkey menu were to be served here.

General Abdulsalami Abubakar became a beneficiary of coup making as he moved up the ladder, when General Sani Abacha successfully overthrew the interim head of state, Shonekan, in 1995. General Abacha before he died was prominent in the 1983 coup, the 1985 coup and the 1995 coup when he became the head of state. When he suddenly died, General Abubakar became the head of state in 1998, and by 1999, he handed over power to President Obasanjo. While those mentioned are the key figures, there are several others. But, as I said, participating in ‘a successful coup’ was a rested matter, except for this recent Turkish maneuvre.

Again, the Turkish redoubt took 30 years of democracy to cook, and in few decades God enabling, many of the distinguished Nigerians I mentioned would become interred elder statesmen. While I wish them many more years of service to their fatherland, the recent development in Turkey should surely be worrying the recent coupists in Mali or any young active participant in those Nigerian coups, as such key participant may leave to see Turkey come home to roost in Nigeria. Not that I wish the current Nigerian statesmen such comeuppance, but when you see the flux in world history you can not but wonder what has the world turned to.

The mistake in Mali and the turnaround in Turkey surely should worry Nigerians. First, there is no doubt that coup making has gone out of fashion, but despite that, the young men in Mali sought to stir the waters; and now the whole country is messed up. Second, as the sour grapes of the past are served for the present, they may be unsettling consequences for the old kingdom of Turkey; that historical child of the famous Ottoman Empire.

THE NATION TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2012

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FROM THE COURT

Lawyer threatens to sue WAEC over applicant’s death

Court restrains Dangote over reconstruction of Okotie-Eboh’s house

A

• Demands N1b for deceased client

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IGHTS activists, Bamidele Aturu, has threatened to sue the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) for negligence if it failed to pay N1 billion as compensation for the death of one of its applicants, Mr AbdulFatayi Olalekan Odeniyi, a father of three, who fell off a faulty elevator from the eighth floor of the council‘s multi-storey building 16 days ago or face litigation.

In their petition to the Registrar of the council dated April 3, 2012 entitled “Re:Liability of the Council for the Negligence,” which led to the death of Odeniyi at the WAEC’s Office in Yaba, Lagos” and signed by Bamidele Aturu, WAEC was given 14 days, which expires in one week, within which to meet their demand or be sued for murder in a competent court.

Aturu, who said he has instructions of the Nigeria Union Of Local Government Employees (NULGE) to initiate litigation against the council, also disclosed that the members of the union are also demanding for automatic employment for the wife of the deceased and scholarship for the three children of the deceased up to tertiary level, two of whom are due to sit for the council‘s examination shortly and an apology to the family for the conduct of WAEC officials who invited the police to in-

By Adebisi Onanuga

timidate them at the wake of the incident.

He said the since the death of Odeniyi, his immediate family members have suffered untold hardship as a consequence of the avoidable death of their sole bread winner.

The deceased, who was a staff member of Odi Olowo Local Council Development Area, had on March 28, 2012 gone to the council‘s office at Yaba to collect his school certificate and decided to use the elevator on his way out.

“He pressed the elevator button and when the door of the elevator opened, he stepped into what turned out to be a void and fatally crashed to the ground floor.

Our client`s members were informed that he was taken to the council`s clinic, the Orthopaedic Hospital at Igbobi and the Lagos University Teaching Hospital where he was pronounced dead.”

Aturu said the failure and wilful refusal of the council, the owner occupier of the premises housing the council’s office, to warn visitors that the elevator was faulty constitutes an egregious act of negligence and a doubtless breach of the duty of care which the council owed its visitors and all who have cause

• Aturu

to use its facilities including the faulty elevator.

He said when the members of the union of the deceased visited the council to confirm the incident, officials of the council invited the police on the allegation that they have come to attack the council office adding that it took the wisdom and astuteness of the Divisional Police Officer, Mr Tony Haruna, who insisted on giving the family a fair hearing that prevented a mindless arrest and detention.

The counsel to NULGE remarked that it was unbelievable and unacceptable that a transnational organisation such as the council could display such blatant disregard for the safety of members of the public who daily throng its office.

He said he would do everything possible and lawfully permissible to ensure that justice is swiftly dome in the matter.

Man sues SSS chief for alleged unlawful detention A MIDDLE-aged man, Clem ent Olashola Adeoye, has sued the Director of the State Security Services (SSS) for alleged unlawful detention.

Adeoye, in the suit filed by his counsel, Mr Udoma Robinson, at a Federal High Court presided over by Justice Steven Adah, is asking the court to declare his detention without trial in the SSS, Shangisha on allegation of fraud since March 22, 2012 as a breach of his fundamental right as contained in the Nigerian Constitution and African Charter on People’s right.

The applicant accused the SSS of unlawful detention and refusal to grant him bail, or provide anyone who has accused him of fraud since March 22, 2012.

Olaoye is praying the court to grant his immediate release from

By Precious Igbonwelundu

SSS custody, or alternatively be handed over to the Police for prosecution since the SSS lacks the power to do so.

Counsel to the applicant, Mr Udoma Robinson, told the court that the respondent was served the motion on notice by the Court Bailiff but they rejected the it on the grounds that the applicant has been transferred to Akwa Ibom State where the matter generated from, as such they cannot entertain the case.

He prayed the court for an adjournment to enable them to regularise the issue, as the wife of the applicant disclosed that her husband is still in Lagos.

Trial Judge, Justice Stephen

Adah, adjourning the matter to April 25, this year for mention, said since the arrest was executed in Lagos, it is out of place for the SSS to say that it would not receive copies of the suit served on it.

Olaoye, a resident of Ipaja, Lagos State, was said to have been arrested on complaints at the Agege branch of FirstBank Nigeria PLC, as he went to make transactions not knowing he was being trailed by security operatives.

According to a source in the bank, ‘that account was on alert because it was suspected to be used by fraudsters to collect money from their victims. So, when the man could not use his ATM card, he came into the bank to complain and was asked to try again. When he eventually tried, it alerted the bank and that was how he was arrested’.

• From left: National officers of NBA: Welfare Secretary NBA, Sule Usman; 2nd Vice-President, NBA, O.J. Erhabor; Assistant National Financial Secretary, Chinwe Nwadike; General Secretary Olumuyiwa Akinboro, Governor Adams Oshiomohole of Edo State; NBA President, J.B. Daudu (SAN) and National Financial Secretary NBA, Prince Adekunle Ajasa at the last conference on the performance of election petition tribunals in Benin, Edo State.

LAGOS High Court has re strained Dangote Nigeria Limited from proceeding with its reconstruction on one of the houses owned by the late Finance Minister, Chief Festus Okotie-Eboh.

Justice Ayotunde Phillips, who was displeased with reports that the company has persisted in redeveloping the property despite an earlier restraining order, directed a halt to further reconstruction on the house, failing which she will visit the wrath of the law on those behind the company.

Dangote Nigeria Ltd, believed to be owned by businessman, Aliko Dangote, is sued with Mrs Alero Jadesimi and five others, in a suit challenging the purported sale of the property at 15 Kingsway Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, to the company by Mrs Jadesimi (one of the late Minister’s daughters).

The suit numbered: LD/1995/ 2009 was instituted in 2009 by the late Minister’s company, Festus Okotie-Eboh and Sons Limited, six of the deceased’s children – Dr Clara Akele, Mrs. Grace Oduro, Bawo, Emmanuel, Adolo and Lawrence (who are directors in the company) and a firm, Maidaville Properties Limited.

At a pre-trail session on Thursday, Justice Phillips ordered all construction on the premises to stop. She directed Dangote’s lawyer, Obiora Ejike, to impress it on his client to halt further reconstruction out of respect for the court.

“You should tell your client to stop building. The court directed that you maintain status quo . Your client proceeded to demolish the property. Now you are going ahead to rebuild. If the court has showed you respect, you should also show respect. Respect begets respect.

“They should stop. Why are you in haste? The land is not running away. It will appreciate and not depreciate. We are in democracy and no longer under military rule.

When you need the court, you run to it for succour. But now the court has ordered you to maintain status quo, you have refused.

“Are you not aware that the court can give an order and all you have built will be demolished? This is my court. I will visit the wrath of the law on anybody, no matter who you are. I have the power to deal with the issue and I know what to do. Mr Ejike, you should advise your client to stop construction works,” the judge said.

Earlier, lawyers to the parties had argued on which, among the applications for contempt proceedings and that challenging the plaintiffs’locus standi (right to sue), should be heard first.

Lawyer to Mrs Jadesimi, Prof Taiwo Osipitan (SAN), insisted that his application, challenging the plaintiffs’ locus standi should take precedence over the contempt proceedings just instituted against the Dangote Nigeria Ltd and Aliko Dangote.

He contended that his application which will decide the fate of the substantive suit should be first determined. He argued that it was necessary for the court to first determine whether the suit was brought by the right person before proceeding to determine whether its order for maintenance of status quo was actually flouted.

Ejike also urged the court to stay proceedings on the ground that his client has appealed an earlier order by the court. He also complained that copies of the processes in respect of the contempt proceed-

By Eric Ikhilae

ings were not yet served on his client.

Plaintiffs’ lawyer, Mathew Burkaa, insisted that the court must protect its dignity and honour, despite the nature of any pending applications, by giving preference to contempt application arising from allegation of disobedience to its orders.

Burkaa, who insisted that by filing Form 48, his client has started contempt proceedings, relied on an appellate court’s decision in the case of Ebhodaghe vs Okoye (2004) 18 NWLR Part 905 at page 472 to support his argument that the court must give priority to the contempt application against other applications filed by the other parties.

Ruling, Justice Phillips elected to first examine all pending applications before deciding on which should be heard first. She consequently adjourned to May 17 for hearing of all pending applications.

Named as defendants in the suit are Dangote Ltd, Mrs. Jadesimi (also a director in Festus OkotieEboh and Sons), the Governor of Lagos State, the state’s AttorneyGeneral, its Registrar of Titles, the state Police Commissioner and the Inspector-General of Police.

The plaintiffs argued that Mrs. Jedesimi, being one of the company’s seven directors, lacked the powers to unilaterally sell property without the approval of the other directors.

They also stated in their statement of claims that they only learnt about the sale of the property being inhabited by some of the deceased’s children, after the process was concluded; a deed of assignment executed and the state governor’s consent obtained.

The plaintiffs alleged that the said deed of assignment was signed by a person other than the deceased’s company’s Secretary, Mr Jude Ngobili. They also denied agreeing to the sale of the property, and authorising Mrs. Jadesimi to sell same. They prayed the court to reverse the purported sale.

The defendants have denied the plaintiff’s allegation, claiming to have acted legitimately. They queried the right of the plaintiffs to sue and the claim of the former minister’s six children to being directors in the company.

They argued that the sale was legitimately done and urged the court to dismiss the suit.

‘You should tell your client to stop building. The court directed that you maintain status quo . Your client proceeded to demolish the property. Now you are going ahead to rebuild. If the court has showed you respect, you should also show respect.

Respect begets respect’

THE NATION TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2012

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LAW & SOCIETY AT THE THREE DAY CAPACITY BUILD WORKSHOP ORGANISED BY THE NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION (NHRC) AT ITS HEADQUARTERS IN ABUJA PENULTIMATE MONDAY

• Chairman Governing Council NHRC, Prof Chidi Odinkalu

• Mrs Y. Haastrup, First Asst. Secretary, NBA, Mr Steve Abba and Idris Bawa

• From left: Akinwumi Patrick, D.S. Bobbo and Sani Mamod

• Prince Afolabi Joachim and E.U. Doughdouga

• Mrs Mildrid Manga (left) and Zonal Co-ordinator, Southwest NHRC, Mrs Mausi Segun

• From left: Ngozi O. Okore, David Adzenda and Akaa Emmanuel

• Blessing Usie (left) and Ledum Bhule

• From left: Nduka Ezenwugi, Olumide Dosunmu and Gordian Ubikang

• Mrs Oluchi Adeze (left) and Mrs Owole Bello

•Director, Research, Statistics and Documentaries NHRC, Mrs Oti Ovrah and Mr Maxwell Kadiri.

PHOTOS: JOHN AUSTIN UNACHUKWU

THE

, 2012

THE NATION TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2012

33

LAW & SOCIETY AT THE INAUGURATION OF THE GENERAL COUNCIL OF THE BAR BY THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL OF THE FEDERATION AND MINISTER OF JUSTICE, MOHAMMED BELLO ADOKE (SAN) AT CHELSEA HOTEL, ABUJA

• From left: NBA President, Joseph Daudu (SAN), Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN) and NBA 1st Vice President, Blessing Ukiri.

•NBA General Secretary, Olumuyiwa Akinboro and NBA Executive Director, Osita Okoro.

•Emmanuel Ukala (SAN) and Okey Wali (SAN).

• Usman Shehu, NBA Zaria Branch and Adebanjo Kazeem, NBA Ikorodu branch.

• Yemi Candide-Johnson (SAN) and Mrs Funke Adekoya (SAN).

•M.B Audie NBA Birnin Kebbi and Victor Grant NBA Warri.

•Ade Ipaye, Lagos Attorney-General

• Marem Salu

•Assistant Director, Ministry of Justice, Victoria Ojogbane and Attorney-General Gombe State, Abdullmalik Ibrahim.

• M.K. Umar and Rasheed Yusuf.

PHOTOS: AKINOLA OLADOKUN

THE NATION TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2012

34

NATIONAL BAR

NBA inaugurates Badagry branch T THE Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has inaugurated the Badagry Branch, bringing to 91 the number of the association’s branches nationwide.

Its President Joseph Daudu the new branch met the criteria set out in its constitution, including existence of genuine demand by 25 or more lawyers, a High Court within the location, and active participation in NBA’s activities.

According to him, in creating new branches, the association ensures no part of the country gains an advantage over others.

“Badagry branch has met these criteria. I congratulate you for being among the few branches out of the over 40 applications that have met these requirements.

“It is not a mean feat to be made a branch considering that the last branches were created about 12 years ago.

By Joseph Jibueze

“I trust that with zeal that you have shown so far, you will quickly integrate yourselves into the legal family that the NBA represents,” Daudu said.

He added that lawyers need to regularly update their knowledge and invest at least 25 per cent of their income in their firm.

Daudu described the menace of fake lawyers as an affront to legal practice, saying one way to eradicate it is for the Supreme Court to update the roll of lawyers till this year and make it mandatory.

He called for support in the effort to amend the Legal Practitioners Act, which will provide for stamp and seal as a prerequisite for filing legal documents anywhere.

Chairman of the branch, Mr Bode Amuyungesin, said

the branch would work to promote the principles of rule of law, and respect for and enforcement of human rights.

“This is more germane to us in Badagry area to stem the spate of flagrant abuse of people’s rights and unprovoked callous killings and maimings of innocent Nigerians on the Mile II/Seme/ Owode Apa International Border routes by our triggerhappy security agents,” he said.

He added: “Let me assure the whole world today that this executive council of NBA, Badagry Branch, shall lay a veritable, solid foundation for others coming after us to follow.

“It shall pursue the maintenance of the honour and independence of the bar and the judiciary and the defence of the bar in its relationship with the judiciary and the executive, particularly in Lagos State.”

• NBA 2nd Vice-President, Osas Erhabor and 3rd Vice-President, Dr Ogugua Ikpeze

Chairman, Badagry Branch, Bode Oyeyemi and Auditor, Onyenweuzo Joseph • Emeka Ngige (SAN)

• Lagos Attorney-General Ade Ipaye

• Deputy Speaker, Ekiti State House of Assembly, Hon. Orisalade Adetunji and Presiding Judge, Lagos State High Court, Badagry Division, Justice Olatunde Oshodi

• Former Secretary, NBA, Ikeja Branch, Isa Buhari; Director of Socials, NBA Badagry, Dike Chinedu and Secretary, NBA, Ikeja Branch, Yinka Farunbi

‘Court case is stalling our election’

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• From left: Chairman NBA Ikorodu branch, Kazeem Adebanjo; Roti Ajileti, Vice-President, NBA, Dr Ogugua Ikpeze and Chairman NBA, Abuja branch, Afam Osigwe, at the last National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the NBA, in Akure, Ondo State.

EADER of the Traders Associa tion of Aguiyi Ironsi Market, Ladipo, Lagos, Mr Jonathan Okoli, has urged aggrieved members to withdraw their suit so that an election can hold.

He said new members have not been elected because of the case, which meant the status quo had to be maintained until the case is decided.

Okoli said: “Some people went to the court to stop the union from organising the second election. They made some allegations of embezzlement. I went to the court and joined issues with them.

“The matter is still there at the High Court, Igbosere. Towards the end of my three years, I told the general house that my tenure would expire around February/March, so that election will be held after Christmas.

“I was nearly sent to Kirikiri. The judge said since the matter is in court, that I couldn’t talk of election holding. That’s why election has not been held.

“The best thing is, if they want the

election to go, let them withdraw the suit they filed against the President and the executive. If they do it today, let the election go on today,” he said.

Okoli said the association got a retraining order against Mushin Local Government it allegedly dissolved the union set up a care-taker committee.

“We went back to court and got an interim injunction against the council and Paramo Development Ventures. We’re saying they cannot take over the functions of the executives who are defendants in the pending suit,” Okoli said.

Some traders had protested at the state House of Assembly, accusing Okoli of high-handedness.

They accused him of demanding N30,000 from each trader, with no explanation of what the money was meant for.

But Okoli denied the allegations, saying the protest was sponsored.

He said the N30,000 levy was agreed on by members to offset expenses incurred on police and court cases.

THE NATION TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2012

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LAW REPORT

Rules governing the interpretation of statute In The Supreme Court of Nigeria On Friday, January 27, 2012 Suit No: SC.141/2011 (CON) Before Their Lordships Dahiru Musdapher ...JSC Mahmud Mohammed ...JSC Walter Samuel Nkanu Onnoghen ...JSC Christopher Mitchell Chukwuma-Eneh JSC Muhammad Saifullahi Muntaka-Coomassie ...JSC Olufunlola Oyelola Adekeye ...JSC Mary Ukaego Peter-Odili ...JSC Between 1. Brig.-Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa 2. Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) - SC.141/2011 AND Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) - SC.266/2011 AND Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) - SC.267/2011 AND Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) - SC.282/2011 AND Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) - SC.356/2011 AND Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) - SC.357/2011 (CONSOLIDATED) ....APPELLANTS And 1. Admiral Murtala Nyako 2. Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) - SC.141/2011 3. Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) AND Senator Liyel Imoke - SC.266/2011 And 1. Chief Timipre Sylva 2. The Hon. Attorney-general Of Bayelsa State 3. Mienyoibofo Fafa Stephen-GOW - SC.267/2011 4. The Hon. Attorney-General of the Federation 5. Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) And 1. Alh. Aliyu Magatakarda Wamako - SC.282/2011 2. The Poeples Democratic Party And 1. Admiral Murtala Nyako (Governor Adamawa State) - SC.356/2011 2. Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) And 1. Alh. Ibrahim Idris (Governor Kogi State) - SC.357/2011 2. Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) (CONSOLIDATED) ....RESPONDENTS CLARA BATA OGUNBIYI, J.C.A. (Delivered the Leading Judgment):

S

ECONDLY, it is settled principle of law that where a court is faced with alternatives in the course of interpreting the constitution or statute, the alternative construction that is consistent with smooth running of the system shall prevail as held in Tukur vs Government of Gongola State (1989) 4 NWLR (Pt.117) 517 at 579; I must remember that this court has said it several times that the provisions of the constitution ought to be read and interpreted as a whole in that related sections must be construed together....

Finally, I must approach from the view point that since the decision of this Court in Rabiu vs Ogun State (1981) 2 NCLR 293. this Court has opted for the principle of construction often expressed in the maxim: ut res magis valeat quam pereat. This means that even if alternative construction are equally open, I shall opt for that alternative which is to be consistent with the constitution read as a whole as set out to regulate, and so the alternative which will disrupt the smooth development of the system is to be rejected." Per ONNOGHEN, J.S.C (Pp. 46-47, paras. C-E) read in context 6.INTERPRETATION OF STATUTE - INTERPRETATION OF THE CONSTITUTION: Guiding principles the court must follow in the interpretation of the constitution “I am, in addition, persuaded by the principles of interpretation stated by the then Federal Court of Appeal in Arch. Bishop Okojie vs A-G Lagos State (1981) 2 NCLR 332 at 340 - 350 and which I hereby adopt as mine: "When interpreting the constitution the Court must bear in mind that it is dealing with an instrument which controls and regulates the powers and functions of government, controls the rights and obligations of the citizen and controls the peace and order of the society upon which the constitution is supposed to operate.

While in an ordinary statute the normal rule is that the terms used must be given the meaning they bore at the passing of the statute (see Trustees of Clyde Navigation vs Laird 8 App. Cases 673) a constitution is intended to be permanent and must be interpreted by looking at the past and according to present conditions in order to fulfil the object and true intent of the constitution. A constitution must therefore be interpreted and applied liberally. A constitution must always be con-

sidered in such a way that it protects what it sets out to protect or guides what if set out to guide. By its very nature and by necessity a constitution document must be interpreted broadly in order not to defeat the clear intention of its framers."Per ONNOGHEN, J.S.C (Pp. 47-48, paras. F-D) - read in context • 7 INTERPRETATION OF STATUTE RULES OF INTERPRETATION: Rules governing the interpretation of statute “Over the years the Supreme Court has deviced guidelines to the interpretation of not only statutes but most importantly our constitutional provisions, including the now famous 12 point rule of constitutional interpretation propounded by OBASEKI, JSC in the case of Attorney-General of Bendel State vs Attorney-General of the Federation (1981) 10 SC. 1; (1981) 1 FNLR 179 as follows:“(1) Effect should be given to every word used in the constitution. (2) A constitution nullifying a specific clause in the constitution shall not be tolerated, unless where absolutely necessary. (3) A constitutional power should not be used to attain an unconstitutional result. (4) The language of the constitution, where clear and unambiguous must be given ifs plain and evident meaning.

(5) The constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is an organic scheme of government to be dealt with as an entirety hence a particular provision should not he severed from the rest of the constitution. (6) White the language of the constitution does not change the changing-circumstances of a progressive society for which it was designed, it can yield new and further import of its meaning.

(7) A constitutional provision should not be construed in such a way as to defeat its evident purpose. (8) Under the constitution granting specific powers, a particular power must be granted before it can be exercised.

(9) Declaration by the National Assembly of its essential legislative functions is precluded by the constitution.

(10) Words are the common signs that men make use of to declare their intentions one to another, and when the words of a man express his intentions plainly, there is no need to have recourse to other means of interpretation of such words.

(11) The principles upon which the constitution was established rather than the direct

operation or literal meaning of the words used should measure the purpose and scope of its provisions. (12) Words of the constitution are, therefore, not to be read with "stultifying narrowness". However, in Ishola v.

Ajiboye (1994) 7 - 8 SC NJ (Pt.1) 1 at 35.

OGUNDARE, JSC after adopting the twelve (12) point rule supra gave his own four point rule as follows: 1. Constitutional language is to be given a reasonable construction, and absurd consequences are to be avoided; 2. Constitutional provisions dealing with the same subject matter are to be construed together; 3. Seemingly conflicting parts are to be harmonised, if possible, so that effect can be given to all parts of the constitution. 4. The position of an article or clause in the constitution influences ifs construction."Per ONNOGHEN, J.S.C (Pp. 42-44, paras. F-E) - read in context • 8 INTERPRETATION OF STATUTE RULES OF INTERPRETATION: Rules guiding the court in the interpretation of statute "It is settled law that the object of interpreting statute or the constitution is to discover the intention of the legislature, which intention is usually deduced from the language used. The golden rule of interpretation of constitutional provisions is therefore that words of the constitution must, prima facie, be given their ordinary meaning which means I must look closely at the words used in the provisions and assign them their ordinary meanings if the words are not ambiguous.

I must also give the words a liberal interpretation as stated in Nafiu Rabiu vs Kano State (1980) 8 - 11 SC 130 at 149; Senate of the National Assembly vs Momoh (1983) 4 NCLR 269 at 236. In Rabiu vs Kano State supra at 149, SIR UDO UDOMA, JSC stated, inter alia thus:- "My Lords, it is my view that the approach of this Court to the construction of the constitution should be, and so it has been, one of liberalism probably a variation on the theme of the general maxim ut re magis valeat quam pereat.

I do not conceive it to be the duty of this Court so to construe any of the provisions of the constitution as to defeat the obvious ends the constitution was designed to serve where another construction equally in accord and consistent with the words sense of such provisions will serve to enforce and protect such ends."Per ONNOGHEN, J.S.C (Pp. 44-45, paras. F-E) - read in context • 9 INTERPRETATION OF STATUTE - SECTION 180 (1) (2)&(3) OF THE 1999 CONSTITUTION: Interpretation of Section 180(1)(2)&(3) of the 1999 Constitution. "Section 180(1)(2)&(3) of the 1999 Constitution deal with the tenure of office of governors and relevant to the issue under consideration.

They provide as follows:“180 (1) Subject to the provisions of the constitution a person shall hold the office of Governor of a State until. (a) when his successor in office takes the oath of that office; or (b) He dies whilst holding such office; or (c) The date when his resignation from office takes effect; or (d) He otherwise ceases to hold office in accordance with the provisions of this constitution.

(2) Subject to the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, the governor shall vacate his office at the expiration of a period of four years commencing from the date when:- (a)

in the case of a person first elected as governor under this constitution, he took the Oath of Allegiance and Oath of Office, and (b) the person last elected to that office took the Oath of Allegiance and Oath of Office or would, but for his death, have taken that oaths.

(3) If the Federation is at war in which the territory of Nigeria is physically involved and the President considers it is not practicable to hold elections, the National Assembly may by resolution extend the period of four years mentioned in subsection (2) of this section from time to time, but no such extension shall exceed a period of six months at any one time".

The above provisions are similar to those relating to the Office of President under Sections 135(1) and (2) of the 1999 Constitution.

However, section 180(2) of the 1999 Constitution simply provides that subject to the provisions of Section 180(1) of the 1999 Constitution the tenure of a Governor of a State shall be for four years calculated from the date: (a) In the case of a person first elected as governor under this constitution, he took the Oath of Allegiance and Oath of Office; and (b) The person last elected to that office took the Oath of Allegiance and Oath of Office or would have done so but for his death.

It is clear from the provisions that in the case of commencement of tenure of a person first elected, it starts with the taking of the Oath of Allegiance and Oath of Office, in this case, May 29 , 2007 when the 1st respondents took their first Oaths of Allegiance and Oaths of Office.

It is also important to note that the provisions of paragraph (a) of Section 180(2) is clearly an alternative to paragraph (b) of Section 180(2) irrespective of the use of the word "and" which, in reality is disjunctive and means "or" in the context in which it appears, and that both Sections 180(1) and (2) are subject to the whole of the 1999 Constitution."Per ONNOGHEN, J.S.C (Pp. 36-38, paras. E-D) - read in context 10 INTERPRETATION OF STATUTE - SECTION 180(2)OF THE 1999 CONSTITUTION: Interpretation of Section 180 (2)of the 1999 Constitution on the term of office of a governor.

“From the language used in Section 180 of the 1999 Constitution, it is very clear that the constitution intended that a governor of a state shall have a tenure of four years from the date he took the Oaths of Allegiance and of Office and nothing more, though he may spend less where he dies, resigns or is even impeached.

In all, a governor has a maximum tenure of eight years under the 1999 Constitution.

From the language of Section 180(2) of the 1999 Constitution "the tenure of a governor shall be four years from the date..." When the person first elected under this constitution takes the Oaths of Allegiance and of Office which took place ons May 29, 2007. It has been argued that the tenure of four years envisaged in the 1999 Constitution is a single unbroken tenure, but that submission loses sight of the glaring fact that the provisions of Section 180(2) supra does not expect or envisage an indefinite occupier of the office of governor of a state that is why the tenure is very definite: four years." Per ONNOGHEN, J.S.C (Pp. 45-46, paras. E-C) read in context • To be continued

• From left: Chairman, Eastern Bar Forum, Kemasuode Wodu; former Chairman, NBA Ikorodu branch, Olowokure Muyiwa; Pioneer Chairman NBA Section in Business Law (SBL), George Etomi and former National Financial Secretary, NBA, Marc Enahme, at the last conference on the challenges of national security, organised by the Eastern Bar forum in Calabar, Cross River State.

THE NATION TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2012

36

LAW & SOCIETY How to write commercial agreements and banking documentation was the theme of a course organised by the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS), in Lagos. JOSEPH JIBUEZE, who was at the opening ceremony, reports.

How lawyers can succeed as business advisers, by expert S

OME lawyers lag behind their counterparts abroad because the latter add value to businesses, Company Secretary and Corporate Relations Director of Guinness Nigeria Plc, Mr Sesan Sobowale, has said.

He said lawyers cannot, therefore, afford to remain as ‘specialist’ in only the fine legal principles applicable to different situations.

To succeed, he said a lawyer must be a man of business, a psychologist, in some cases a ‘techie’, an economist and someone with a keen interest in public affairs.

“It is true that our legal education today may not adequately prepare us for this type of role.

“This is where I believe we need to earn the sobriquet ‘learned’ as we either self-tutor ourselves, or enrol for courses in these various areas,” Sobowale said.

He gave a keynote address at the 27th Course in Drafting Commercial Agreements and Banking Documentation of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS), in Lagos.

Sobowale, who practised law for 14 years before joining Guinness, said for a lawyer in business practice to succeed, he has to bring a due diligence mindset to every transaction.

“Lawyers, whether as external or in-house counsel, are concerned primarily with the management of risks in their organisations – be they legal, regulatory or as is becoming more frequent today, regulatory risks,” he began.

“The legal departments of our various organisations and our law firms or even in our various Ministries of Justice or government departments, ministries and agencies (MDAs) exist primarily to meet the various objectives of our clients.

“Clients can mean in this context those who come to our law firms seeking our services in respect of some legal issues or the other or the different departments in our businesses or organisations.

“Obviously, in order to add meaningful value to these various clients as they seek to realise their commercial objectives, it is important that we understand their business models, their markets, the risks and opportunities they are confronted with, their goals, ambitions and aspirations.

“Therefore, gaining knowledge and experience of how individuals, businesses and organisations might be impacted by these factors will help us appreciate how their objectives can either be accelerated or be impeded by good or bad commercial drafting.

“Good business insights and proper judgment are therefore essential skills for today’s lawyers who seek to be at the top of their game and become valued and trusted business advisers to their clients,” Sobowale said.

According to him, in addition to what he called ‘hard skills’ lawyers must have, they need to add other ancillary ‘soft’ skills.

Such include a solid knowledge of the Constitution and constitutional and Administrative Law principles for those whose clients are government agencies.

For lawyers outside the government, they must have a sound grasp of the nature of their client’s business, how it is organised and managed and its priorities, its business plans and the competitive landscape in which it operates.

“These soft skills can provide an

invaluable knowledge base from which to draw when supporting our clients to realise their objectives,” he said.

According to him, with increased investment in economies, such as Nigeria by global businesses or multinationals comes increased scrutiny of the quality of legal service being provided to the Nigerian subsidiaries of these businesses.

This, he said, is especially so as the businesses become increasingly significant parts of the global businesses, thereby applying the principle that ‘where a man’s treasure is, there his heart will be also.’

“Our output as legal service providers and the documentation that we put in place for some of the quite sophisticated transactions that are happening in the country today will continually be reviewed by lawyers and other business people in other jurisdictions and this audience will expect best in class standard in each and every piece of work we put forward.

“We will not be able to say, ‘this is how we do it in Nigeria’ as there is no ‘Nigerian standard of legal service’ any longer if it ever existed in the first place.

“Today’s lawyer cannot, therefore, afford to remain a ‘specialist’ in only the fine legal principles applicable to different situations.

“He must also be a man of business, a psychologist, in some cases a ‘techie’, an economist and someone with a keen interest in public affairs.

It is true that our legal education today may not adequately prepare us for this type of role.

“This is where I believe we need to earn the sobriquet ‘learned’ as we either self-tutor ourselves, or enroll for courses in these various areas.

“I have heard lawyers say to my irritation that they do not need to attend a training in compliance or corporate governance for instance since every lawyer should be expected to know this by instinct!

“My riposte has always been that if others are impressed by the fact that we referred to ourselves as ‘learned’, we should not get too carried away ourselves as the only way to remain ‘learned’ is to continue learning!”

Sobowale said one of a good lawyer’s key skills is a questing and a probing mind, which is always trying to work out a worse-case scenario and then make provisions for it while drafting.

It involves finding out a little bit of background information about the parties to a transaction, made easier by the Internet.

Also needed is a good network outside a lawyer’s immediate environment. Just asking discreetly around about the reputation of a particular business and its promoters can be invaluable, the lawyer said.

Value-adding lawyers, Sobowale further said, must keep abreast of changes in regulations and corporate governance principles.

“Those of us who work in companies’secretarial departments may have been unwitting visitors at the offices of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to explain how come we are co-signatories to documents that have transferred huge funds out of our institutions without due process or we may be living witnesses to such experience by some of our colleagues.

“The painful thing here is that in most cases – we were merely doing

• Mrs Ufoma Laminkaran, NIALS Director-General, Prof Epiphany Azinge (SAN) and Mr Sesan Sobowale

• NIALS Director of Research, Prof Bolaji Owasanoye

as were bidden and following superior orders.

“I remember the case of a Company Secretary, who was literally chased out of her office by her Managing Director one afternoon to go and hold an unscheduled meeting with me for the purpose of the purchase of a property valued at N4 billion by a company her boss was interested in using the bank’s funds.

“The transaction had to be consummated within a few days and left me wondering what the role of the Board Credit Committee was. In this case, the Managing Director was the Credit Committee, the Board and the bank rolled into one. And this bank was listed on the stock exchange!

“I wasn’t surprised a few weeks later when Mr Sanusi Lamido Sanusi came calling to find the bank among those taken over for various types of abuses.

“As lawyers, we add value many times and improve the governance environment when we are conversant with the corporate governance principles in the Code of Corporate Governance issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission and by the other industry regulators, and intervene appropriately in management, committee and board discussions by reminding our principals of the need to adhere to these requirements in their decisions.”

In a paper entitled: Public/Private Partnership (PPP) Contracts, Prof Paul Idornigie, said designing a PPP transaction, for instance, can be very complex.

In that case, it will require the input of specialists in economics, management, accounting, and engineering depending on the nature of the contract.

“Lawyers have a major role to play in terms of designing, drafting and negotiating such transaction,” he said.

It is the lawyer’s duty to ensure that risks must be properly allocated, and to realise that monitoring is key to success.

In a paper entitled: Interpretation of Contracts, Prof Animi Awah stated that proper interpretation of legal instruments would require knowledge of substantive case law on the subject.

“An experienced and motivated practitioner must, therefore, take an

• NIALS Secretary, James Barthnna

active role in initiation and negotiation leading to the drafting of the instrument.

“By proper application of current business realities, case law and substantive law on the subject, and proper and adequate distribution of risks in line with those realities, most problems arising from interpretation of contracts would be minimised,” Awaha said.

In a paper on Negotiating and drafting Joint Venture and production sharing contracts, Dr Dayo Ayoade, said there is the need for contract writers to insert what he called renegotiation clauses and avoid stabilisation clauses.

Care, he said, must be taken in inserting confidentiality clauses as the Constitution provides for open access to information and documents relating to royalties, taxes, revenues, among others.

He said there is the need for amendment of the laws so that “a reverse burden”can be imposed on a party claiming the protection of confidentiality.

For NIALS Director-General Prof Epiphany Azinge (SAN) drafting commercial agreements and banking documentations ideally should be for all lawyers, whether in the private sector or the public sector.

However, depending on the nature of the agreement, the skill may be tailored basically to those who are in the private sector, although the issue of banking documentations is solely the exclusive preserve of those in the banking sector.

“But the commercial agreements may take one or two dimensions – the lower dimensions if it is ordinary agreements such as land matters, banking transactions, loans mortgage and other forms of financial agreements. But at the higher level, you talk about bilateral agreement such as agreements between two entities or countries as the case may be.

“An agreement must be involved and it must holistic in all ramifications. We may want to bring people in to our power sector and they have to sign an agreement with either the ministry of power or an office that is charged with the responsibility, either PHCN or something of that nature.

“These are all commercial agree-

ments. But because they are dealing with public corporations or public institutions, the nature of such agreements or the financial implication of such agreements are more. Also the nature of such agreements must be much more formidable.

“So, looking at the nature of such transactions, it is not something one can go into without necessarily being well-trained to help them acquire the skill required to carry out such transactions. That is what the institute has been doing for a very long time and that is what the institute has decided to replicate today.”

Azinge spoke on why the course is important to lawyers in government’s employment. “This kind of course is very good for a government that has the mantra of shopping for foreign investment and engaging in bilateral trade agreement with other nations and other corporate institutions abroad.

“The frequency of commercial enterprise and agreement in this country is supposed to be very high. And we are courting foreign investors.

“So, if we are doing that, every other thing must be reduced in writing in the form of a commercial agreement.

People must know what and what clauses must be included in such agreement.

“In event of a breach, what obtains? How is the contract going to be terminated? Are you going to make provisions for the choice of law that will apply? Or where the arbitration will take place in event that there is a dispute, or whether there is going to be an arbitration or litigation which can be handled either in UK or Nigeria in the Federal High Court as the case may be.

“These are all the ingredients that are supposed to be contained in a well-rounded commercial agreement, but it is only given to those who are properly informed.

“Here we do not just give a textbook approach. We also give you some drafting exercises that will enable you practicalise whatever you are told so that everything will be bare for you such that if any such matter comes before you, you will know exactly what to do because you have experienced it.”

THE NATION TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2012

37

AVIATION

Hurdles to growth of airlines P identified AUCITY of operational funds, lack of consolidation among players as well as intensive consolidation and new regulatory framework have been identified as factors that would shape the structure of the airline sub sector in Nigeria.

Managing Director, Bristow Helicopter, Captain Akin Oni disclosed this in an interview with The Nation.

He said apart from the litany of reasons adduced, oscillating price of aviation fuel and its scarcity as well as the deployment of the wrong aircraft type on routes, also account for the rising collapse of domestic airlines.

Oni said until airline operators get the operational model right, with the appropriate route network, airline operations will continue to remain unprofitable in Nigeria.

Stories by Kelvin Osa-Okunbor Aviation Correspondent

He said the number of domestic airlines are reducing due to intense competition, improved regulatory framework, as well as the use of the right equipment on routes that are lucrative.

Oni explained that amid agitation for the consolidation of airlines to make them more viable, reliable and profitable, the proposal may not see the light of day, due to poor understanding of operators the industry, who are yet to understand that the industry has assumed new challenges.

The Bristow Helicopter boss also said if the aviation industry must be positioned as a necessary catalyst for socio- economic develop-

ment, it will require robust bilateral and multi lateral funding from the developed economies including China.

He said if the argument by operators that rising operations cost is anything to go by, it may not be adequate to argue that offshore aircraft maintenance is the contributory factor.

Oni said with the right economies of scale, adequate business model, appropriate training and right policy framework, the aviation sector could pull through its myriad of challenges.

He said if Nigeria must be positioned as the preferred hub for West Africa, issues of airlines safety integrity, operational infrastructure

must be improved to attract the desired multi lateral investment.

Oni explained that as much as Nigeria still remains a high risk zone for multi lateral investments, issues of peace and political stability remains key to foreign direct investment.

He said as much as foreign direct investment remains a high risk, confirmation of adequate returns on such investment will continue to attract investment given Nigeria’s favourable demographics.

According to Oni, the implementation of a safety road map for the growth and development of the airline sub sector could be hinged on stewardship of public funds injected into the industry for infrastructure upgrade as well as adherence to standards and recommended practices of the (ICAO).

IRS advocates stakeholder’s forum CHAIRMAN of IRS Airlines Alhaji Rabiu Ishaku Rabiu has called on President Goodluck Jonathan to convene a stakeholders’ conference to discuss the problems of the sector.

He listed the scarcity and oscilating price of aviation fuel, as well as how domestic operators could draw credit from the pool of the Intervention Fund packaged by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for the growth of the industry.

The stakeholders forum, he said should be patterned after the one organised by former president Olusegun Obasanjo in 2006, to arrest the drift in the aviation sector, when air disasters characterised the aviation industry. He said the forum will also consider how the government could reposition the strategic sector as a catalyst for development and job creation.

Speaking at a briefing to flag off the 10 years anniversary of IRS Airlines, Rabiu said the presidential intervention is coming on the heels of the mounting challenges operators are grappling with to keep the aviation sector afloat, as one of the cardinal sectors that could turn around the economy.

He said airlines were bogged down by huge infrastructure challenge, thereby causing passengers untold hardship.

Funding, he said remains the greatest challenge that is setting the aviation industry backwards, affirming that due to paucity of funds airlines cannot acquire the right kind of equipment that could guarrantee profitable operations He said with the funding pattern in the industry, which is limited, until government facilitates cheaper access to funding, the development of the aviation sector could be limited, thereby impinging on the overall development of the economy.

Demuren is ICAO regional boss THE Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Dr. Harold Demuren has been elected Chairman of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Africa-Indian Ocean Regional Aviation Safety Group (RASG – AFI/1).

He was elected at the first meeting of the Regional Aviation Safety Group. The meeting which started yesterday and is ongoing is taking place in Kampala, Uganda.

The office of the chairman has a subsisting tenure of two years.

The meeting is to entrench safety initiatives that will improve safety in the region.

In attendance at the meeting are representatives of all the civil aviation authorities in Africa and the Indian Ocean.

Air France rules out early capital increase

• Assistant Corps Marshal, Zonal Commanding Officer, Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Ademola Lawal (3rd left) being received by Managing Director, Arik Air, Mr Chris Ndulue (2nd left).With them are Deputy Corps Commander , Zonal Public Education Officer , RS2 Lagos, Mr Rufus Adewunmi (left) and Associate Vice President, Business Development , Arik Air , Mr Lanre Bamgbose during a visit to Arik Air at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.

PHOTO: ISAAC JIMOH AYODELE

Abuja airport gets ring road, car park

T

HE Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) is planning to construct a ring road and an additional car park at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, the general manager of the airport , Mr Chris Bature has said.

According to Bature, the construction of the two projects by FAAN is part of efforts to ease out vehicular traffic around the airport, as a follow up of the movement of all flight operations into the international wing of the airport.

Speaking in an interview in Lagos the Regional General Manager North Central of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, Mr Chris Bature, said, excavation work at the new car park already in progress.

According to Bature, is the construction of the ring road is also being carried out to address the challenge of the traffic congestion around the Abuja Airport .

He lamented the recklessness of some drivers who

park indiscriminately at the airport without recourse to other road users adding that very soon, sanctions will be applied on them.

Bature said a special unit of the Federal Road Safety Corps will soon be drafted to the airport to help contain excesses of drivers and restore sanity. “We want to ensure that discipline is brought to bare on operations in the airport because part of the problem is inpatiece, indiscipline, people park where they should not and the big man syndrome mentality. They come to the airport with 10

cars and would not want to park at the designated area.”

He said the remodelling of a airport will create opportunity for revenue generation from non aeronautical sources due to expansion and creation of more offices which will help reduce the burden on airlines.

The Regional General Manager also said all the power systems at the airport for the first time since it was inaugurated are undergoing repairs.

“It became imperative that for us to have the maximum benefit we have to

make a sacrifice and we chose the window that was going to benefit everybody and within this window much has been achieved.”

According to Bature, all necessary measures aimed at enhancing safety at the airport have been carried out.

On the level of work at the airport, Bature expressed delight over the impressive level of work in Kaduna, Jos and Abuja airport terminals adding the good thing about the remodeling is that passengers will not regret the sacrifice they have made while the construction is on going.

‘It became imperative that for us to have the maximum benefit we have to make a sacrifice and we chose the window that was going to benefit everybody and within this window much has been achieved’

AIR FRANCE has ruled out a capital increase any time soon as fresh union protests kept the focus on the airline’s plans to cut costs and restore a weak balance sheet.

The chief executive of the French arm of Europe’s largest airline by revenues dismissed a report that auditors had given the French carrier two years to gain a new injection of equity.

“A capital increase is not at all on the agenda,” Alexandre de Juniac said, saying the company was solely focused on a plan to overhaul its cost base called Transform 2015.

The former finance ministry official was speaking on the sidelines of a Paris airports news conference held behind a cordon of French riot police as ground staff staged sporadic strikes ahead of a meeting of the airline’s employee council.

There were no reports of significant disruption.

THE NATION TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2012

38

MARITIME FIRST QUARTER REVIEW

‘Why 24-hour port operation needs reformation’

T

HE first quarter of the year was a mixed bag for maritime operators. While it was a good quarter for some, it was not for others because of the oil subsidy removal and its attendant effects on their businesses.

Against this backdrop, stakeholders have urged the Federal Government to pay more attention to the sector for greater efficiency to attract private sector participation.

One of the critical challenges of the quarter was the cumbersome documentation associated with clearance of goods despite the reduction in the number of government agencies at the port and the introduction of 24hour port operation.

This is why importers, clearing agents, port users, investors and stakeholders are calling on the government to introduce e-system in port operations.

They said goods cannot be cleared from the port on time if the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) continues to perform physical examination on about 60 of every 100 containers coming into the country through the ports.

Stakeholders expressed concern over the low level of cargo clearance, saying the government should do more to achieve the 24-hour port operation.

The policy, they said, needs to be made attractive to importers and clearing agents.

Dearth of human capacity Stakeholders lamented the challenges of human capacity in the area of night pilotage scheme. They told The Nation that the situation is going from bad to worse because most of the experienced seamen, who worked for the former Nigerian National Shipping Line (NNSL), are ageing.

Cabotage Act The need for the implementation of the provisions of the Coastal and Inland Shipping (Cabotage) Act,

Stakeholders condemned FoB policy

• Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar Stories by Oluwakemi Dauda, Maritime Correspondent

2003 was brought to the front burner by the Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administrator and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Patrick Akpobolokemi.

However, the major drawback of Akpobolokemi’s new efforts is that the Cabotage Vessel Finance Fund (CVFF) meant to empower indigenous shipowners to meet the capital intensive and competitive needs of shipping sector, has not been disbursed to date by NIMASA because of bureaucracy.

It is hoped that the Federal Government would compel officials of the Ministry of Transport to support NIMASA to disburse the fund before the second quarter runs out.

Channel management The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) continues to improve on channel management. NPA has been able to remove 99 per cent of wrecks on Lagos channel, and is already working on the last wrecks to be evacuated.

NPA recorded successes in good investment by local and foreign investors in port concession, Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) and project funding through amortisation.

•Managing Director, NPA Omar Suleiman

•DG NIMASA, Akpobolokemi

The authority is working on a 25year-port development plan as a strategic policy for effective utilisation of resources and efficient service delivery in the industry.

Service (NCS) generated furore among importers and other stakeholders in the first quarter of the year.

Under the planned duty benchmarks regime, importers are to pay uniform duty on certain goods, regardless of the quantity declared.

At a town hall meeting with the management of NCS, chaired by the Comptroller-General Dikko Abdullahi, importers accused the Customs of planning to introduce the benchmarks to meet the N1 trillion target set by the Federal Government.

Importers said its introduction would further increase the cost of doing business at the ports and may lead to cargo diversion to neighbouring ports.

24-hour port operation Despite the euphoria that greeted its introduction, the attainment of a 24-hour port operation policy of President Goodluck Jonathan is still a far cry from reality.

The dearth of officials to carry out the night pilotage scheme remains a challenge. Poor infrastructure, lack of proper education of importers and clearing agents, high level of insecurity and inconsistency in government policies, are also cited as others contending issues.

Chairman/Managing Director eTSOL Cargo and Oil, Tolulope Ajayi, said since the 24-port operation entails working day and night, Customs and other security agents, such as the Police and State Security Service (SSS) operatives, have to respond to distress calls at night before the operation can be successful.

Duty benchmarks by Customs The planned introduction of duty benchmarks by the Nigeria Customs

Patrick

N10 billion power equipment rot away at ports Three years after they were imported, N10 billion worth of power generating equipment are rotting away at the APM Terminal, Apapa, Lagos during the months under review.

Speaking with The Nation, a senior government official at the Lagos port, who craves anonymity, said the equipment were abandoned at the ports after they discovered that some of them were fake and substandard.

In the review period, the country was said to be losing about $500 million yearly due to the use of Free on Board (FoB), a trade policy in the lifting of crude oil, that has been faulted by experts.

FoB specifies which party (buyer or seller) pays for the shipment and loading costs, and/or where responsibility for the goods is transferred.

Stakeholders stressed the need for the Federal Government to adopt Cost, Insurance and Freight (CIF) for the lifting of crude oil.

CIF is a trade term, which requires the seller to arrange for the carriage of goods by sea to a port of destination, and provide the buyer with the documents necessary to obtain the goods from the carrier.

Other stakeholders that back the CIP policy include the President, Indigenous Ship Owners Association (ISAN), Chief Isaac Jolapamo and maritime lawyer, Seye Adetowubo.

Wrecks and abandoned vessels on Lagos water The issue of abandoned vessels and wreck removal on the Lagos waters became serious after the Lagos State Government ordered the owners to remove them or forfeit them to the state government because of the problems they posed to Lagos communities, the environment and the eco-system.

Speaking during an interview with The Nation, Akpobolokemi said the agency is ready to partner the Lagos State Government to remove the abandoned vessels and wrecked ships.

Investigation conducted by The Nation, however, revealed that the state government has given approval for the removal of the wrecks and abandoned vessels because of the heavy rains predicted for this year, which can cause untold hardship to the people of the state

Tough time awaits wharf rats as NPA installs cameras

I

•One of the Circuit Television (CCTV) at the port.

N response to the recent allegation by some maritime lawyers that over 500 wharf rats are working for some government agencies at Apapa and Tin Can ports, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), has installed cameras to curb their activities at the Lagos seaports.

There were reports that the wharf rats were creating confusion and hindering the trade facilitation programme of the Federal Government.

Investigation conducted by The Nation revealed that at the Apapa port for instance, some security agents are monitoring vehicular and human movement.

More than 10 CCTV cameras have been installed to take photographs of every government official, Customs and police officers, drivers, importers, clearing agents and all unauthorised visitors coming close

MAN, community collaborate on institution

T

HE Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN), Oron and the Eyo Abasi Community of Oron in Akwa Ibom State have entered into a partnership for the promotion of peace beween them and securing the land on which the institution is situated from land speculators.

The agreement culminated in the inauguration of the 18-member Eyo Abasi, Oron Community Relations Committee with the academy at MAN, by the institution’s Acting Rector, Mr Joshua Okpo, and the

By Uyoatta Eshiet

management team.

The committee compromises community chiefs and elders, including women and youth leaders drawn from the 12 Eyo Abasi, Oron villages.

Okpo applauded the initiative of the community members for organising themselves into a committee to protect the Federalowned institution on their land.

Okpo said: “Growth and development cannot come without peace and security. I believe that the Fed-

eral Government is mindful of the fact that traditional government of this land, His Royal Highnesses, together with the village heads, women and youth leaders, have the capacity to positively engage their people to give peace a chance.

“I know that you have duties and responsibilities to carry out to ensure MAN is safe, secure and conducive for learning. It is for this reason I feel committed to the Eyo Abasi, Oron Community Relations Committee with MAN,” he stated.

to the port.

The Managing Director of NPA, Omar Suleiman, confirmed the development. He said the CCTV cameras can capture activities of up to 10 nautical miles during the day and five nautical miles at night.

He said NPA needs to mount strict surveillance at the sea to stop those who are responsible for damaging imported vehicles, stealing imported items, helping some government agencies at the port to collect illegal fees from importers and clearing agents and causing unnecessary delay for vehicles going and coming out of the port.

The equipment, the NPA boss, said, would also stop entry of dangerous goods into the country.

He identified the activities of the unwanted visitors as one of the key reasons some people are saying the Lagos port is not attractive for business.

If given the necessary support, Map Telecommunications Limited, the company in charge, would install more radars and Close Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras to monitor ships and smaller vessels coming and going out of the country.

Apart from security, the equipment, he said, would record all vessels in the nation’s territorial waters, the type of goods they are carrying, their location, what they are doing, as well as record their arrival and departure time from the ports.

Maritime workers urged to unite against piracy

T

HE Maritime Union Workers of Ghana Ports and Harbour Authority (GPHA) and their Nigerian counterparts,Maritime Union Workers of Nigeria have been urged to evolved way of tackling the escalating cases of piracy in its shores and high seas.

Mr Remi Britto of the Lagos State University (LASU), who was a guest lecturer, at a workshop in Lagos, told participants that African shores and harbours, were becoming unsafe for merchants, who were always attacked by sea pirates leaving in their wake losses that amount to several billions of naira yearly.

In the paper entitled: Contemporary issues in maritime industries in West

By Musa Odoshimokhe

Africa, Britto noted that aftermath of piracy gulped between $1 and $6 billion yearly with the Gulf of Aden in Somalia the most vulnerable.

He stressed that despite the United Nations convention on the law of the seas, there had not been sufficient legislation to prosecute pirates.

He said: “Once a state asserts its jurisdiction over pirates and their ship by arresting them, under the international piracy regime, that state is encouraged to try the pirates and disposed of the pirate ship and cargo in accordance with its own national legislation and judicial system.”

39

THE NATION TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2012

PROPERTY/ENVIRONMENT

Fed Govt, NCF partner on environmental challenges •Seek rehabilitation of Yankari Games Reserve

T

O ensure the integrity of the environment and achieving a sustainable development, the Federal Ministry of the Environment and the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) have agreed to work together to tackle various environmental challenges facing the country.

This was the resolution at the end of a meeting between the delegates of the NCF and the Minister of Environment,Mrs. Hadiza Ibrahim Mailafa in Abuja.

Addressing his visitors led by NCF Council members, Mrs Mailafa said her ministry will continue to encourage community – based and non-governmental organisations who engage in activities that ensure the conservation and sustainable use of our forest and biodiversity resources for climate change mitigation and adaptation, and the benefit of human well being.

“We have heard about your activities in maintaining a lead in the promotion of nature conservation and environmental protection. It is our wish to continue to partner with you to ensure the integrity of the environment.”

She said the issues and concerns of environmental sustainability have become enormous, that the government alone cannot bear hence, the need to dialogue with relevant and committed stakeholders such as NCF to ensure that our environment is safe and habitable.

Some of the likely areas the two bodies would work together on as presented by the Executive Director of Nigerian Conservation Foundation, Professor Emmanuel Obot included: Nigerian biodiversity and habitat restoration, biofuels development, membership of Nigeria in relevant conservation bodies, coastal management among others. A planning committee has been set up by the two bodies for planning, implementation and monitoring of all identified environmental concerns.

To boost tourism and return the Yankari Games Reserve to its lost glory, efforts are on to rehabilitate it by Mrs Mailafia, the Federal Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Bauchi State government.

Mrs. Mailafia disclosed this when she received Members of Trustees and the National Executive Council and Management of Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF), led

by Prince Adegoke Ademiluyi in her office in Abuja.

In the statement issued by the Ministry’s Press Unit and signed by Mr Adekunle Adeliyi, the Minister while expressing her unhappiness with the state of affairs at the games reserve and other ones in the country, said the issues of environmental

•From left: Ademiluyi; Mr Desmond Majekodunmi and the Executive Director, Prof Emmanuel Obot, during a visit to Mrs Mailafa in Abuja.

By Okwy Iroegbu-Chikezie Asst. Editor

sustainability have become enormous that the government cannot do it alone.

To this end, she said the need for dialogue with relevant stakeholders such as NCF is very paramount to ensure that the environment is safe and habitable.

According to her, the Ministry will continue to encourage and partner with communitybased and Non-Governmental Organisations(NGOs) that engage in conservation and sustainable use of forest and biodiversity resources.

Speaking earlier, the leader of the delegation, Prince Adegoke Ademiluyi appealed to the Minister to do all within her power to assist in bringing back the glory of Yankari Games Reserve which was formerly reputed to be a foremost tourist attraction in Africa.

While appealing to the Minister to take steps to enlist Nigeria in the International Union of Conservation Nations (IUCN), he called on the government to grow more food rather than growing jathropha plant.

In another development, the Minister inaugurated an inter-ministerial Committee for 2012 National Environmental Sanitation Day (NESD).

The Committee has as its terms of reference

Banks refusal in granting loans hinders access to housing scheme

T

HE Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN) has said Banks refusal to give loans for building projects or mortgage facilities has denied the poor from accessing loans under the Social Housing Scheme.

The President, REDAN, Chief Olabode Afolayan, disclosed this at the stakeholders forum organised by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) in partnership with REDAN in Abuja. He said the homelessness of the poor is swelling unabated every day.

He said: “Housing supply still ranks low compared to the number of those in dire need of them. The Nigeria deficit is still variously put at over 16 million units, adding that it would require an average cost of N3.3 million to build a unit of a flat.

“This has inevitably denied the poor who are the target in the social housing scheme access to such facilities hence the homelessness particularly at that cadre is swelling unabatedly before us all.

“The realities that confront us, both as individuals and organisation, whether private practitioners or government function-

From Franca Ochigbo, Abuja

aries, with respect to housing delivery in the country is no doubt daunting and call for a change of approach and strategies that will meet current realities if we must achieve a desirable target.

“This situation, as widely believed is increasingly manifesting in Abuja, our nation’s capital. This may not be uncommon with the geometric rise of influx of people to the city, adding that the chain of housing development beginning with the land acquisition up to final completion of project must be overhauled. We cannot continue to pretend that the modes of operations of government and developers, off takers as well as all other stakeholders in the built industry don’t require synergy,” he stressed.

Afolabi maintained that REDAN has the mandate to initiate projects to address inadequacies, expose operators and policy makers, and strengthen our commitment to housing delivery in the country and the FCT in particular, saying the body intends extend its services to other parts of the country.

among others things to choose an appropriate theme for the event, identify activities for the NESD and identify guest speaker for the occasion.

Others include putting in place monitoring teams to identify the best state and local government areas with indigenous and innovative best practices on sanitation, determine sources of funds for the activities and

also carry out other activities for the smooth commemoration of the National Environmental Sanitation Day. She urged the members to institu-tionalise an enduring framework for the annual National event and not just embark on jamboree.

Members of the Committee are from Ministries, Department and Agencies(MDAs) of government including the Armed Forces.

THE NATION TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2012

40

PROPERTY/ENVIRONMENT Building Issues

Pepple, others canvass participatory planning

A

FRICAN Ministers for Housing and Urban Development have acknowledged the assistance and role of other development agencies, such as UN Habitat in supporting African countries to address challenges posed by rapid urbanisation.

They said this in a communiqué released at the 4th session of the African Ministerial conference on Housing and Urban Development held in Nairobi, Kenya over the weekend.

They committed themselves to promoting territorial planning that goes beyond infrastructure provision, ensuring that all services are integrated in a coherent city-wide spatial framework to reduce urban poverty and inequality, fostering productivity and protecting the environment.

The communiqué also examined the key role that urban planning plays in guiding, coordinating and synergising and mobilising investment in basic services and its power through Plot Layouts to promote access to basic services.

They acknowledged the implications of climate change for territorial planning and access to basic services, and the need for integrating adaptation and mitigation measures in planning frameworks of African Cities in addition the present threat of floods,

Tips for building a country home

By Okwy Iroegbu-Chikezie Asst Editor

sea-level rise, landslides, coastal erosion, and increasing greenhouse gas emissions.

They commended the efforts made by their respective governments to address the impact of climate change by introducing innovative reforms for improving territorial planning and access to basic services for all.

They restated the need for them to intensify regional and national consultations and prepare common positions for the forthcoming Rio+20 in June 2012; the 6th World Urban Forum (WUF) in September 2012; and the Habitat III Conference in 2016. The communiqué reaffirmed their commitment to ensure that there is proper and effective coordination between and within all levels of government especially with government departments responsible for institutional planning and those responsible for basic services. This is based on the belief that the full potential of territorial planning as a major and indispensable tool to facilitate access to basic services will be achieved.

They also committed themselves to creating National Urban Forums as a means to strengthen partnerships between their various governments and all stakeholders and

W •Ms Pepple

to build a consensus for responding effectively to the challenges of rapid urbanisation. This is however, in addition to committing themselves in strengthening and developing transformative National Urban Policy and adopting strategies for realising smarter and more sustainable urban development through reconfiguration of space, infrastructure and flows in new urban development and retrofitting existing cities. Which they argue will result into compact, mixed use, high density development that is not only walkable and bicycle friendly but transit oriented.

The theme for the confab was Territorial Planning and Access to Basic Services for all, while the sub-themes were on Implications of climate change for Territorial Planning and Access to Basic Services in Africa.

•Haven Homes, Lekki, Lagos

WaterAid appoints country representative

W

ATERAID has announced the appointment of Dr. Michael Ojo as its Country Representative of the WaterAid Nigeria Country Programme.

Dr Michael Ojo was Head of Transport and Environment at London Councils in the United Kingdom and led a team delivering environmental policy and programmes covering sustainability, water resources, waste and recycling, climate change, environmental health and local environmental quality, as well as policy on sustainable transport, rail infrastructure investments and aviation on behalf of London boroughs.

Prior to joining London Councils, Michael worked for the London boroughs of Newham, Redbridge and Islington in a variety of public health and environment roles as an Environmental Health Professional over a period of 12 years.

Before leaving Nigeria to live and work in the UK, Dr Ojo qualified as a veterinary surgeon from the University of Ibadan. Michael has since worked across UK local and regional government with tangible impacts on London and national policy and brings significant international experience as well as a good understanding of the Nigerian context to this role.

Upon his resumption in Nigeria, Michael said: “I am particularly excited to be back in Nigeria.

WaterAid Nigeria has done some really excellent work over the years. However, the need is still massive. I look forward to the opportunity and the challenge of taking the Nigeria Country Programme to the next level, contributing to the significant change sweeping the country, and directly impacting the lives of the many Nigerians who still don’t have access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene facilities.”

Michael is a member of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH).

HEN we talk of country home in this clime, it actually means our village or town. To build in your village while you live in the city or overseas is not the easiest thing to do.

It takes tact, patience and insight to achieve.

The truth is that people tend to rip you off when you live abroad or even in the big city if you are not around to supervise your project.

While some people enthusiastically look forward to building in their villages, others dread the idea and may not even consider it because of the belief that it may unduly expose themselves to the natives.

Either way, there are basic things to consider achieving your expected goal at the end of the day. It must be noted that its not only in the cities that we have contentious land or ownership issues. One must, therefore, apply wisdom in conduct and application and also the highest sense of responsibility at least in the eyes of the villagers (uncles, aunties, brothers, sisters and neighbours).

Building a country home is one of the exclusive projects that you undertake that requires you carrying all stakeholders along. If you neglect a particular uncle against a brother or aunt it may spell doom or at least cause some upset in the process of construction. The beauty of it is that ‘successes they say in the local parlance has many children’. As soon as you indicate interest to build a house in the village many relations will spring up all desirous of profiting in one way or the other either by stealth or merit. They will appear as bricklayers, plumbers, electricians, carpenters and painters though you may prefer to just have them around and not engage them directly in the project because of their rustic skill but you must find a way to make it look nice.

It will be foolhardy on your part to insist that ‘it’s my money and I have the right to engage whoever I want’, if you do that you may not be able to achieve your aim. I will give you an example, a particular man in my village that resides outside the shores of this land planned to build a house but he committed a fundamental error by not incorporating his relations into the project but rather ‘imported’ his in-laws from another state to come and build for him. They took residence in the man’s old family home while the building was go-

By Okwy Iroegbu-Chikezie Asst Editor

ing on. It was so bad that this particular man didn’t think so much as even contracting the supply of sand or water to his people but entrusted his in-laws with everything to the detriment of his people.

Of course this, as you may have guessed, didn’t go well with his kinsmen. Several meetings were held and it was finally decided that the project should be frustrated.

Your guess is as good as mine.

What would have taken about two years to complete dragged for over five years. The man was brutally bruised to the extent that the main contractor who incidentally is his wife’s elder brother abandoned the project because of some personal experiences. Needless to say the cost of the project tripled and the man was made to reconsider his stand on his people.

The way to go about it is to pick and choose the ones you know can cause trouble for you though both sides of the divide may be aware that the competence needed is far beyond what is paraded. Another bad experience was also relayed by a victim who responded to one of our stories; he reported how his uncle’s master minded the looting of the building materials packed in a warehouse in the family compound.

He said he understood what hit him when his contractor called to report that he came back the same day to find out they had lost all the materials they packed in the store. Asked if he reported to the uncle , he answered in the affirmative that what surprised him was that his uncle that doubles as the village head didn’t show any sign of surprise or even offer any word of encouragement.

For all he can deduce from his action, he was privy to the theft and wanted to use it to send a message from the family that the theft is the least of what he can expect for despising the family in preference to outsiders.

The other angle to the story is that you may still engage your relations and they disappoint you. What some unfortunate ones get after sending so much cash to trusted relations back home is bushy sites with big gates or a fence but no house though they may have been receiving pictures of completed houses. Except one is lucky to get a trustworthy family member or a reliable friend there is no hard and fast rule for a quick fix.

‘Building a country home is one of the exclusive projects that you undertake that requires you carrying all stakeholders along. If you neglect a particular uncle against a brother or aunt it may spell doom or at least cause some upset in the process of construction’ •Contributions, questions? e-mail: quichi3cities@yahoo.com

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TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2012

POLITICS THE NATION

E-mail:- politics@thenationonlineng.net

• President Goodluck Jonathan (middle), Imoke and wife Obioma (right) and his running make Efiok Cobham and wife Glory at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) final governorship election campaign in Calabar in February.

Two weeks after he reconstituted the state executive council, Cross River State Governor Liyel Imoke, who was reelected for another term in February, is faced with mounting crisis of expectation. Correspondent NICHOLAS KALU reports new steps being taken to overcome the fresh challenges.

Imoke’s appointments unsettle PDP T

HREE days after his re-election as governor of Cross River State, Governor Liyel Imoke , in keeping with tradition, dissolved the state executive council. It opened the gate for intense lobbying and speculative. It took one month to reconstitute the government. That marked the beginning of a new era.

As he swore in new commissioners and special advisers, the governor laid out the blueprint for the administration.

He pledged to continue with the aggressive rural development agenda of his first term which even his political adversaries concede he handled well, despite hiccups in his tenure, most times giving the impression of deriding the “cosmetic” development the Donald Duke administration was noted for.

While swearing in the new executive council consisting of 15 commissioners and 25 special advisers on March 29, Imoke did not mince words in driving home his point.

Various factors that came into play selecting a new executive council seem to range from compensation, of those who had extended political I.O.Us to him during the campaign, to punishment of recalcitrance to reconciliation within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The struggle to remain relevant in the new executive councils became apparent during the governor’s campaign to return to power in the February 25 elections.

In the build-up to activities leading to the gubernatorial elections in the state, two different groups, Legacy and Destiny Groups, from within ruling PDP seemed at each other’s throats for who spearheads the campaign of Governor Liyel Imoke.

The groups, it was learnt, intend to attract the governor’s attention so as to remain relevant if he returns for a second term after the April polls.

Legacy Group headed by Jarigbe Jarigbe

was made up of prominent members of the party across the state, while Destiny Group coordinated by the deputy chief of staff, Joe Edet, is driven by members of the old state executive council.

Co-ordinators of both groups have found relevance in the present administration.

While Joe Edet was retained as a Special Adviser, this time in charge of Inter Governmental Affairs, Mr Jarigbe Jarigbe, was compensated with a position in the executive council of the PDP in the state, a position it was gathered he does not feel too happy about.

Also it was gathered that Mr Legor Idagbor, who was the chairman of Bekwarra Local Government Area, and who is the present Commissioner for Works and Akin Ricketts, the present Commissioner for Information, played very significant roles in Imoke’s campaign for a second term. Mr Peter Ojie, who was pushed aside as the Deputy Chairman of the PDP in the state, ended up as the Commissioner for Local Government.

The governor at a time was believed not to have a firm grip on some members in his executive council, who most times flouted his orders at will and behaved as if they were above the law. The constitution of the present cabinet gives the impression that Imoke intends to emphasize who is charge of affairs in the state.

For instance, the former Commissioner for

Works, Mr Venatius Ikem, who it is widely believed is a force to be reckoned with in the politics of the northern senatorial district in the state, and who it was believed he is wise to be on the same page with, was sent packing. Recently, Mr Ikem was charged with the law into his hands by attacking a perceived political opponent, a situation which reportedly led to the hospitalization of the victim, Mr Boniface Ishmaeli, and the arrest of the former commissioner.

There is also the reconciliation angle which seems to explain bringing in some of former governor Donald Duke’s men on board. For instance, Mr James Aniyom’s, who was Duke’s chief of staff and very close confidant, got appointed as Commissioner for Agriculture. Having reconciled with Duke, at least as far as the eye can see, there was need for him to show that reconciliation by bringing some of his “boys” on board. Also, the Special Adviser on Mineral Resources, Mr Effiong Bassey, who is believed to be Duke’s man was reappointed, an indication of the governor’s intention to reconcile different groups within the party.

Some of those the governor retained, it was learnt was on the basis of performance. Some of these include the Commissioner for Education, Prof Offiong Offiong; Commissioner for Finance, Mr Takis Caiafas; and Mr Patrick Ugbe (though converted from Ministry of Information to Youths and Sports).

‘The governor at a time was believed not to have a firm grip on some members in his executive council, who most times flouted his orders at will and behaved as if they were above the law. The constitution of the present cabinet gives the impression that Imoke intends to demonstrate that he is incharge of affairs in the state’

New entrants into the cabinet seem to have satisfied the need to inject new blood the executive council.

Given that the governor is a politician, he tried to please as many people are possible which seems to explain why his cabinet is now larger than before, when he had less than 30 executive council members.

The governor has made it clear to his new executive council that his administration is working to – empower the people, especially those in the rural areas. Despite the various intrigues that have come into play in the appointments, he has driven home the point that what remains paramount is the development of the state.

While swearing them in, he said the appointments were not “jobs for the boys and girls.” He charged them to remain committed to serving the people of the state.

The governor did not waste time to warn that any member of the newly sworn in executive council whose performance is not up to expectations would be gotten rid of.

In a Facebook post, Imoke said, “they (executive council members) all know it’s not just a ‘job for the boys and girls’ because everyone’s performance will be reviewed after six months and the non-performing ones will definitely give way.”

He pleaded with friends and family members not to burden or distract the executive council members.

He said, “All said and done; it’s time to deliver on our promises. And I don’t intend to fail.”

Is the new executive council better placed to serve the people? What happens to those who lost out in the reshuffle of the party and state executives? What impact would be reconciliation with Duke have on the political scene of the state? In 180 days when the governor has served notice that he would review the performance of his men, answers to the possess may be available.

THE NATION TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2012

44

POLITICS Nationwide, there have been concerns over the state and performance of local government councils. In Lagos, the House of Assembly Committee on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs has visited the 57 councils to assess their output and review their operations. OZIEGBE OKOEKI who followed them on the tour, reports

How well have Lagos 57 local councils fared?

T

HE recent visit of the Commit tee on Local Government Ad ministration and Chieftaincy Affairs of the Lagos State House of Assembly to the 20 Local Government Areas (LGAs) and 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) in the state in the discharge of its constitutional oversight duties was a story of the good, the bad and the ugly. The Chairman of the committee, Hon. Moshood Oshun said the body decided to move round to check the books of the councils and projects they have either executed or have embarked on in the last two years; it was also to see how far they have gone in keeping their electoral promises to the people.

According to Oshun, “there is no doubt that Governor Babatunde Fashola is performing at the state level, so we want the councils, being the closest to the people to complement what Fashola is doing at the local level, because that is where the impact would be felt most. The essence is to put the chairmen and the councils on their feet so that the people will not think twice about voting for Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in the next elections. We also want to put the chairmen on their toes, to let them know that we are watching them to make sure that every kobo collected by them is judiciously spent”.

Oshun disclosed that before the committee commenced the oversight functions it had earlier collected a list of completed and on-going projects from the 57 councils and had sent out consultants to verify the projects and quality of work done.

However, despite the fact that the committee had earlier written to the Chairmen and in fact held a meeting with all of them at the Assembly complex to intimate them about the visitation, it was very glaring by the time the exercise started that some of them were not ready. Oshun had also assured them at that meeting that the exercise was not to witch-hunt anybody.

He told the chairmen at the meeting that, “the House is ready to give the councils total support, by way of some laws, to bring about major changes at the council level because you are the closest government to the people; but in doing that we need you to work hand-in-hand with us, because we are ready to do everything to make sure that we move the local governments to the next level”.

Either to cover up their inadequacies or lack of performance, some of the Chairmen displayed open hostility to the lawmakers when they got to their councils. For instance, the committee members practically walked out of Kosofe LGA, Ikorodu LGA and Iba LCDA because of the attitude of the chairmen.

However some chairmen gave a good account of themselves and their councils to the admiration of the lawmakers. For instance Chairmen of councils like Ibeju Lekki LCDA, Amuwo Odofin LGA, Oshodi/Isolo LCDA, Oshodi LGA, Yaba LCDA, Bariga LCDA and a host of others were given the thumbs-up by the lawmakers for exceptional performance.

Most outstanding however were Chairmen of Ibeju Lekki and Oshodi/ Isolo LCDA who within a hundred days of their first term in office had excelled in the provision of dividends of democracy to the people by way of road construction and maintenance,

•Ikoforiji

building and refurbishing of schools, decent office environment for workers and empowerment programmes for youths. Some, like Surulere LGA could not celebrate 100 days in office because there was nothing to celebrate, the council had been held to ransom by a Council Manager who appears to be more powerful than the chairmen and so things were not working.

It was the same pattern of engagement in all the councils. The lawmakers held four different kinds of meetings in each council. The first was with the community members, including all stakeholders like traditional rulers, Community Development Associations (CDAs) and Community Development Committees (CDCs), market men and women and youths. They were given opportunity to speak out their minds on the performance of the chairmen. Next was the meeting with the Councilors, Supervisors and lastly Council Management.

The councilors, Supervisors and Council Managements were told to work hand in hand with their chairmen to move the councils forward.

As should be expected the lawmakers were particularly interested in the welfare and wellbeing of their colleagues at the local level who seem to have been relegated by the various chairmen despite being an arm of the government. Apart from Ibeju Lekki LCDA and Bariga LCDA and the two councils at Agege where there are befitting chambers and well equipped offices for the councilors, other councils are yet to appreciate their councilors. The legislative chamber in some councils like Ikosi Isheri, mainland LGA, Eti Osa LCDA, Eredo LCDA, Ijede LCDA and some others were like cubicle while and some had no offices at all for councilors.

The committee members expressed their disappointment with the development and even blamed the councilors for not demanding for their rights as an arm of government. The committee members did not mince word in letting the chairmen and Management staff of the councils knows that the legislative arm must be strengthened and empowered.

However, most of the councils have problem of office space; these include Itire Ikate LCDA, Igbogbo Bayeku LCDA, Ijede LCDA, Eredo LCDA while some, like Onigbongbo LCDA, have devised means of tackling the problem

through, construction of a fivestorey shopping mall on its site others seem not to have answers to the problem. The councils also demanded for increased allocation to enable them meet up with some of their responsibilities to the people.

The message of the committee members to the 57 councils centered on the need for them to implement party manifesto so as to meet the expectations of the people. According to Oshun, though the chairmen have been making efforts to meet their campaign promises judging by the opinions of the people in their areas and the assessment of the lawmakers, they will not be allowed to rest until the committee is satisfied that they have met the yearnings of those who voted for them. The Committee, he stressed further, would not condone any practice that is considered antipeople or against good governance as he further challenged the Community Development Committees (CDCs) in the various council areas to put the chairmen and their councilors on their toes.

Oshun had harsh words for the chairmen who seem to have been slumbering, warning them to sit up or face the wrath of the Assembly.

Among the councils so admonished were, Iba LCDA, Ikorodu LGA, Igbogbo Bayeku LCDA, Ikorodu West LCDA, Eti Osa LCDA and a couple of others.

Though the exercise which lasted more than a month has been completed, Oshun said the committee would embark on another tour in about three months time to ensure that all their observations at the different councils have been addressed and also to keep abreast of what the chairmen are doing. “So it is not just one time thing, we want to be sure of our chances at the next election by keeping the chairmen perpetually at alert”, Oshun said.

One immediate fallout of the exercise is the massive transfer of Council Managers, as some, probably because they have stayed too long in particular councils, are believed to be undermining the authority of their chairmen.

One question that could not be answered through the visitation was, is the local government an effective third tier.

Quest for progressive leaders in Ondo

By Emmanuel Oladesu, Deputy Political Editor

Q

UESTIONS abound on the economic sustainability of Ondo State, despite its enormous human and material resources. Can the dead industries be revived? Can the moribund schools be revatalised? Can the construction of virgin roads be attempted? Can the vast human talents be harvested to fuel development in the Sunshine State?

Stakeholders believe that answers to these puzzles are simple, if the leadership question is effectively resolved. As indigenes of the state converge on Gboniji Hall, Ijapo, Akure, the state capital, on April 24, a new course may be charted for the state by them at the proposed Development Summit, which has been described by the organisers as “a family meeting for the good of the state”.

The meeting is being organised by a non-government organisation, Change Media, which has expressed concern over the political situation in the state, ahead of the critical governorship election. The chairman of the Planning Committee, Tunde Imolehin, told The Nation in Lagos that the “Independent Town Hall Meeting’ is not a government affair, although government officials are expected at the one-day brain storming session. Opposition figures are also expected to take their seats at the forum, where a searchlight may be beamed on the government activities in the last three years.

“We are not after anything, except the success and sustainability of Ondo State. The state is attractive in terms of human and material resources. But politicians are promoting thuggery in the state. Education has falling and some secondary schools lack products for university admission.

“We don’t also want Ondo to become another Ogoniland. We are of the opinion that any government in power should explore the resources to develop the state and there should be less of politics. People may want to make reference to 2013 elections. But whose agenda? Every zone has produced a governor before. Should it it turn by turn or merit? Stakeholders would decide”, he added.

However, Imolehin assured that the meeting would not be hijacked by politicians, stressing that the organisers have established their objectivity, credibility and integrity. He described the forum as “Ondo State Constitution, which would afford the people a veritable opportunity for stock-taking and auditing of socio-economic and political events”.

“The meeting is not designed for government or to promote any selfish agenda. If we look at the state today, there is depreciation of values. People think that Ondo is in a state of emergency. There is controversy surrounding the governor’s performance... there is uproar. “Is the state jinxed? Is Ondo State too difficult to govern?” he queried.

In Imolehin’s view, the loud sound of the drum of war in the State is alarming, adding that many people pour venom on the incumbent because, despite their perception of democracy as a representative government, they have a sense of exclusion from government.

“There is no internal democracy and efforts are not made to harvest talents.

There is mediocrity in project implementation. So people feel there is too much propaganda. Ondo is a complex situation. That is why we are going to assess situation at the town hall meeting”.

Lawmaker rejects call for Sovereign National Conference From Tayo Johnson, Ibadan

T

HE House Leader and representative of Ogbomosho North, South and Orire Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Honourable Mulikat Akande Adeola has frowned at the call for a sovereign conference by Nigerians.

Noting that it is the responsibility of the lawmakers to bring the yearnings and grief of the people to the floor of the House, Mrs Akande Adeola said this is a developing democracy and if the government is not progressing, there are opposition parties to put them on the right track.

She said this at the weekend at the press centre in Iyaganku, Ibadan.

The lawmaker explained that if the meeting is called there would be controversy and there may be no meaningful achievement because the people will make endless demand from the government.

The majority leader of the House of Representatives appealed to Nigerians and opposition parties to work together with the government to move the country forward.

On the issue of rampant corruption practices in the country, Honourable Mulikat noted that: ”The issue of corruption has eaten deep into Nigerians and not the government alone.”

• From right: Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha, Acting Project Manager of Hartland construction Company, Mr Marco Malinni and Personal Assistant on Media to the Deputy Speaker, Chibuike Oyneukwu during the inspection of the Okpualla-Igwuruta road that link Imo and Rivers States.

THE NATION TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2012

45

HEALTH THE NATION

E-mail:- health@thenationonlineng.net

Global Fund simplifies access to grant •Board members welcome changes

T

HE Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has promised to simplify its grant procedures for easier access to funds and facilities.

This move and others to strengthen risk management were welcomed by the board members from implementing and donor countries.

Its Vice Chairman, Mphu Ramatlapeng said: “We want a flexible Global Fund with simple procedures and not too much paperwork to ensure that grant money is being used well to save lives.”

He said further that the major changes under way would achieve this goal.

Global Fund General Manager, Gabriel Jaramillo, said at a one-day retreat attended by Board members last week, that significant changes to strengthen grant management and improve efficiency were reshaping the Global Fund as part of a broad transformation to raise overall effectiveness.

He added that the body was building a system that has impeccable grant management.

He said: “What we do best is invest the world’s money to save lives, and this transformation will enable us to do it even better. It will strengthen our partnership with the implementers who are on the front line of the fight against the diseases.”

The body said from April 1, a revitalised Global Fund made a 33 per cent increase in staff positions in the Grant Management Division, and a 38 per cent reduction in other departments, as part of a stronger emphasis on managing the grants that fund disease prevention and treatment.

He said the new organisation will

By Oyeyemi Gbenga-Mustapha and Wale Adepoju

make it simpler and speedier for countries to apply for grants. It will also improve on-the-ground oversight and management of grants so that implementation by partners is more efficient, he added.

A board member, representing Germany, Switzerland and Canada, Reinhard Tittel-Gronefeld, said: “We appreciate the speed with which the Global Fund is enacting reforms to achieve optimal quality in grant management and improved mechanisms to manage risks. We expect that the momentum of change will result in effective and sustainable impact at country level in the near future.”

France’s Board member, Mireille Guigaz, said the body needed to get back to allow countries to scale-up treatment and prevention programmes and should not wait until the next donor replenishment cycle begins in 2014 to do so. “The Global Fund is back and that is very important for us,” she said.

Meanwhile, Japan has announced that it would contribute US $340 million this year and pay a first instalment of US$ 216 million early this month.

The Board Chairman, Simon Bland, said Germany, which last year suspended contributions to the Global Fund, has made the first quarterly EUR 50 million payment out of a EUR 200 million contribution this year.

He said: “These reforms are putting the Global Fund on a firm footing to save more lives and to deliver on our new strategy of engaging more effectively with our partners at country level.”

•President, GE Healthcare Worldwide, John Dineen, Consultant Physician, Reddington Hospital, Dr Joseph Susi, Chief Radiologist, Dr Emmanuel Chukwura and Radiographer, Mr Gbenga Olulode, at the launch of 64-slice CT scan machine, in Lagos.

‘Funding bane of health care’

J

OINT Chief Medical Director, EKO Hospital, Dr Sonny Kuku, has lamented the poor funding in the health sector.

He has therefore called for policy formulation by the Federal Government to move forward.

According to him, health care needs adequate financing and infrastructure development.

Kuku, who addressed reporters during the presentation of the new Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the hospital, Dr Olusegun Odunkoya, to the public, said medical tourism should be discouraged to make room for the development of the country’s hospitals.

He advised Nigerians to buy into the sector to encourage indigenous business because the government cannot do it alone. “Our people have lost faith in the system. They

Fed Govt to review health institutions

T

HE Federal Government has scaled-up the review and assessment of health institu-

tions.

The efforts, according to an Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Ilorin, Prof Olurotimi Fakeye, will reposition the health care system.

Fakeye, who spoke on the yearly appraisal of health system, entitled: the Joint Annual Review meeting for 2011 with relevant stakeholders on health, in Abeokuta.

Fakeye, a Consultant to the Federal Government, said there was the need to collate data on the progress already made, opportunities and challenges of the health system in the country.

He said it would fast-track the process of achieving the National Health Strategic Development (NHSD) plan already in place.

He said this would go a long way in ensuring the overall development of the health sector, particularly in the attainment of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015.

Fakeye said: “The focus is to look at health in a holistic way to move the sector forward in a functional, respective and joint manner.”

While presenting findings on the state of health facilities, secondary and tertiary hospitals which are randomly picked across the states,

By Oyeyemi Gbenga-Mustapha

Fakeye said great improvement was established through the upgrading and refurbishing of primary health care (PHC) centres with necessary equipment and capable personnel in place.

The Representative of United Nations Fund Population Agency (UNFPA),Lagos Office, Dr Omolaso Omosehin, said the organisation will render necessary assistance to the states to achieve

its target goals on efficient health care delivery.

Responding, the state Commissioner for Health, Dr Olaokun Soyinka, praised the intervention of Federal Government on effective health care services, admitting that the indicators status presented by the findings was fair.

He said the state government was already deliberating on how to address identified negative issues with a view to drawing an effective workplace to tackle them.

By Wale Adepoju

should rekindle it in themselves,” he added.

He added that government support was necessary as the cost of treatment had gone up but the ability of people to pay for it had gone down. “Most kidney patients cannot afford the cost of dialysis. They require about N20, 000 for treatment weekly. They drop out when they can’t pay,” he said.

He also said the necessary mechanism to ensure people access treatment was lacking as such made people depend on treatment abroad. “In the developed countries it is the government and companies who pay for tertiary service. But in Nigeria individuals pay out-of-pocket,” he added.

He said the third party in the system in the country has not helped the sector as it failed to develop.

The surgeon said the appointment

of a new helmsman by his hospital was a pointer to its resolve to maintain gold standards.“The hospital is designed to provide the three tiers of treatment such as primary, secondary and tertiary. We are a teaching hospital engaging in service, training and research,” he added.

Kuku enjoined the people to embrace preventive health care rather than curative type. He said lifestyle changes are necessary to reduce disease burden. “If you don’t want diabetes you can start proper diet and exercise. Smoking is the worst thing that can happen to someone,” he added.

Chairman, EKO Hospital, Dr Augustine Obiora chided Nigerians for going abroad for treatment, saying some hospitals in the country have the capacity to treat most of the diseases being taken abroad. “Many travel abroad to die and they increase the cost of burial,” he lamented.

10,000 for free cervical cancer screening

N

O fewer than 10,000 women, especially those in the rural areas, are to be screened free for cervical cancer.

This gesture is courtesy of the wife of the Presiding Bishop of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM), Dr Peace Okonkwo, who will be 60 on June 10.

The programme will be unveiled through a concert scheduled to hold on June 3, at Expo Hall, Eko Hotel and Suits, Lagos.

The free screening will begin on June 9, at the premises of TREM Headquarters, Anthony Lagos.

The offer is expected to help in the detection and prevention of the disease.

Govt urged to subsidise health care

T

HE Chairman of the Lagos State chapter of the Medical Guild, Dr Olumuyiwa Odusote, has called on the Federal Government to subsidise health care services in the country to increase access to medical services.

Odusote, who spoke to reporters during the Ordinary General Meeting (OGM)/ Conference and Continued Medical Education in Lagos, said access to health care in the country was generally very low as most people could not afford to pay for health services.

He said access to health care delivery was the most important

By Wale Adepoju

yardstick used in measuring a functional health care system, liking health system in Nigeria to that of Somalia.

He said 70 per cent of health services in the country are being provided by the private sector as public hospitals grapple with the problem of understaffing and lack equipment.

He said most Nigerians could not afford to pay for medical services in private hospitals and as such, could not access health care thereby resulting in high mortality rate in the country.

He lamented the failure of National Health Insurance Scheme set up by the Federal Government to address the issue, saying it benefited only 10 per cent of the population.

“The NHIS, which was set up to address the issue of access to health care, has not been able to do that as only a small proportion of the population have access to it. The scheme should operate in a way that everybody can benefit and be provided with affordable health care services,” he said.

He said in most public hospitals, there are only about four doctors

attending to about 300 patients in the general patients department.

This means a doctor would have only about five minutes for a patient, he added.

He said the problem was not lack of trained manpower, but that of inadequate facilities, equipment and manpower.

“Adequate manpower, facilities and equipment are needed in the health sector to help improve health care delivery. If one doctor can attend to only 10 patients daily, he would be able to listen to the patients without being pressured and the patient would be satisfied and services would improve,” he added.

46

THE NATION TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2012

HEALTH

Insurance: Expectant mothers, under-five children to get free premium T

O boost access of expectant mothers and children under-five years to medical care in their areas, the Federal Government will soon start to pay their contributions under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).

The Acting Executive Secretary of which NHIS, Dr. Abdulraman Sambo, disclosed this while addressing reporters in Abuja.

Sambo, who took over from the immediate Executive Secretary, Dr. Dogo Muhamad, said the NHIS was developing new programmes that would ensure that every Nigerian is a beneficiary of

From Austine Ehikioya, Abuja

health insurance.

He said the NHIS will ensure the sustainability of the scheme’s existing programme to cover all Nigerians.

Sambo said NHIS will start a Community-based Social Health Insurance and would facilitate the institution of health insurance programmes for vulnerable groups.

He also said efforts are on top

gear to reposition the scheme as a world-class and globally recognised promoter and regulator of health insurance in Nigeria.

He said: “The NHIS will assist in paying for expectant mothers and children under five years.

There is no country that has been able to achieve universal coverage without a strong support from the government.

“There will be continuous consultation with stakeholders to ensure that utmost compliance to

the scheme’s operations and guidelines, especially by the key stakeholders, which include Health Maintenance Organisations, Health care Facilities and Enrolees.

“We will ensure qualitative, timely and efficient delivery of services to enrolees and others as provided for in the scheme’s operations.”

He added that the NHIS will fasttrack the review of the legal framework of its scheme to ensure

effective implementation of its programmes and policies.It will ensure the continuous consultations with governments on the need to institutionalise health insurance in the country.

According to him, the NHIS s processes will be re-engineered to ensure that its core mandates of easy, qualitative and affordable access to health care for all is sustained and effective in refocusing the scheme’s workforce to ensure competence, accountability and professionalism at all levels, through appropriate capacity building and motivation.

Lagos inaugurates new committee on blood transfusion

L

AGOS State has inaugurated a new blood transfusion committee.

This, according to Governor Babatunde Fashola, is necessary to ensure that only safe blood is transfused in the state.

Fashola, who was represented by the Commissioner for Health, Dr Jide Idris, said there was an urgent need for the committee to ensure the reduction of maternal and infant mortality.

He said the non-availability of blood was responsible for maternal death, saying most expectant mothers die as a result of haemorrhage and blood loss. The committee will ensure that there is blood to meet with the growing demand for blood especially by the expectant mothers,” he added.

He said non-remunerated donation and blood donor recruiting are two major strategies to prevent maternal deaths. “I have no doubt about your ability to educate the high population and the level of ignorance seen in the state regarding donation of blood,” he said.

On blood hawking, Agbe-Davies said it was a challenge that the committee would address. “No hospital can use any blood that is not certified by the committee. The committee must go round to ex-

By Wale Adepoju

pand update and develop its services to acceptable standards,” he added.

Responding, the Lagos State Blood Transfusion Committee (LSBTC), Chairman, Dr Adetoun Agbe-Davies, said the body will reach out to every sector of the community such as the young, old, school children, among others.

She said there was the need to make the people aware and confident to be voluntary donors. “We will look at what their fears are and address them, so that they can be more relaxed to donate blood freely,” she added.

Agbe-Davies said fears were responsible for why people don’t donate blood. This, she added, would be looked into by the committee.

She said everybody was a stakeholder in blood donation.

That way, she said, touts would be frustrated from their illegal businesses.

Other members of the committee are Executive Secretary, Dr Uwem Olusola-Oyekan, Dr Fausat Dabiri, Dr Vincent Osunkalu, Dr Adesoye Adu, Air Commodore Akinwale, Mrs Sherifat Lawal, Mr Solomon Eka and Mr Brian Gibbs.

•From left: Permanent secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr Femi Olugbile, Commissioner for Health, Dr Jide Idris and Special Adviser to Governor of Lagos on Public Health, Dr Yewande Adeshina, at the inauguration.

Hospital acquires a 64-slice CT scan machine

T

O boost health care in Nigeria, Reddington Multispecialist Hospital in Lagos has acquired a 64-slice CT Scan Machine.

According to a statement by

the hospital, the machine, which is a cutting-edge technology in computer tomography, will offer unparalleled and full-function capability in diagnostic digital imaging.

Agency tasks media on vaccine use

T

HE media has been urged to act as agent of change in the process of immunisation and proper use of vaccines to make Nigeria free of vaccine preventable deaths.

It was at a one-day Media Capacity Building Workshop for the National summit in Abuja.

The event, which was attended by health reporters and their colleagues in related beats from select media houses, was organised by the media committee of the National Vaccine Summit to sensitise media practitioners on the Summit holding on April 16 and 17 in Abuja.

The workshop was declared open by the Executive Director, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr.Ado J.G.

By Dupe Olaoye-Osinkolu

Muhammad, while goodwill messages were delivered by the Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Dr Paul Orhii and the Director-General, National Orientation Agency, Mr Mike Omeri.

He noted that improved routine immunisation is hampered by inadequate cold chain capacity, proximity to healthcare facilities, attitude of health workers, unskilled vaccinators, delay in release of budgeted funds, inadequate funding at all levels, poor accountability, poor performance management, and transportation challenges at all points, inconsistent health policies by governments.

Stakeholders, therefore, charged reporters to always do a proper monitoring of the use of vaccines and develop a passion for reporting issues that affect women and children, irrespective of challenges.

In the communiqué issued at the end of the workshop, and signed by the Media Committee of the National Vaccine, under the leadership of Mrs Moji Makanjuola (Chairperson), participants observed that vaccine-preventable diseases have continued to be major causes of morbidity and mortality in the developing countries, especially Nigeria.

They also noted that with the recent certification of India as a polio-free country, the list of polio endemic countries have been narrowed to three with Nigeria still recording cases in some parts of the

Lions Club offers 250 cataract patients free treatment

L

IONS Clubs International, District 404B, Nigeria has sponsored cataract surgery of 250 recipients in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital. So far, it has spent over N3million on its eye project this year.

The club’s District Governor, Prof AbdulFatah Adesokan, said the project is to cater for people with cataract.

He spoke through his Chief of Staff, Prince Adepegba Falola. He

From Adekunle Jimoh, Ilorin

said the final cataract surgery for 250 recipients was in partnership with the Sightsavers International, Kwara Eye Care programme and Ayo-Bello Memorial Eye Foundation adding that the exercise was smooth.

The District Governor said the free eye care project catered for the cataract surgery of the beneficiaries,as well as their

medication and glasses.

He added that during the beginning of year, it made flyers to all Lions all over Nigeria. “Anywhere we go, we distribute flyers, telling them about the core project. All the clubs in Nigeria had done screening where they got the patients for the free cataract surgical operation,” he said.

Adesokan said beneficiaries from Lagos, Osun, Oyo and Kwara State had earlier been screened.

Culled from www.ezinearticles.com

country.

Having resolved that childhood immunisation remains the most cost-effective public health strategy to reduce both the morbidity and mortality associated with infectious diseases; the workshop, therefore, resolved that the Nigerian government must step up actions on immunisation so as not to be left behind in the global efforts to eradicate vaccine preventable diseases.

The nation must also strive to improve routine immunisation.

The first of its kind in Western Nigeria, the machine was inaugurated by President, GE Healthcare Worldwide, Mr John Dineen, who is, on his first visit to Nigeria.

The hospital said further that although computer tomography has been around for years, the gold standard for this technology has being the 16-slice CT-Scanner until the 64-slice came. “All traditional CT studies can be performed on the 64-Slice CT Scanner, giving all our patients access to the latest in CT technology,” it added.

Reddington Hospital’s Corporate Affairs Manager, Mr Franklyn Ovbigbahon, said: “Our goal is to make this new technology easily accessible and affordable to all Nigerians.”

NAFDAC seeks N200b for pharmaceutical firms

T

O transform Nigeria from drugs- importing to drugsexporting country, the Director -General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Dr. Paul Orhii, is pushing for a N200 billion intervention for pharmaceutical companies in the country.

Orhii represented by the NAFDAC Deputy Director, Public Relations, Abubakar Jimoh, said the fund will assist to equip the factories of the pharmaceutical companies to meet up with World Health Organisation (WHO) requirements.

He spoke after receiving an award for excellence by the Medi-

From Augustine Ehikioya, Abuja

cal Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MHWUN) in Abuja.

He said three Nigerian pharmaceutical companies were on the verge of receiving WHO certification, stressing that NAFDAC’s goal was to increase the number of drug manufacturers that can meet the standard of the United Nations agency.

He said: “The DG knows that affordable and quality drugs are central to having qualitative health care. But for Nigerian pharmaceutical companies to produce quality drugs both for local consumption and export, they need funds which they usually can’t easily access in banks, due to high interest rates.”

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EQUITIES NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 5-4-12

Operators hail introduction of market makers

C

APITAL market operators have commended the take-off of market makers at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) as a major initiative that could boost liquidity and sustain recovery at the stock market.

The NSE had last week announced the appointment of 10 stockbroking firms to act as market makers in the secondary market. The firms selected from a list of 20 firms that applied included Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers, Renaissance Capital, Future View Securities, Vetiva Capital, ESS/DunnLoren Merrifield, WSTC Financial Services, Capital Bancorp, FBN Securities, Greenwich Securities and CSL Stockbrokers.

Operators said the marketmaker mechanism would enhance price discovery and boost liquidity in the market.

Managing Director, GTI Securities, Mr Tunde Oyekunle, said the market makers would assist the recovery of the market, noting that they could provide additional liquidity to ensure that stocks are priced appropriately.

He said the stock market

By Taofik Salako and Tonia Osundolire

needs efforts to stem the bearishness and jumpstart its recovery to win domestic and foreign investors’ confidence.

Investment advisor, Sterling Capital, Mr Sewa Wusu, also commended the introduction of market makers as they would increase competitiveness and efficiency of the stock market.

Market making is a technical term that refers to the system of providing liquidity to securities through the provision of bid and offer prices in the trading system of a stock exchange. A member of the exchange that undertakes the function of market making is called market maker.

Market makers can be categorised according to the level of liquidity supports they provide. A primary market maker is regarded as the foremost liquidity provider of a particular security while the supplemental market maker acts as a supplementary liquidity provider.

Generally, market makers ensure a fair and orderly

market in their securities and assist in the effective functioning of the market. A market maker is expected to ensure that trading for its account is reasonable under the circumstances, consistent with just and equitable principles of trading and, above all, it is not detrimental to the integrity of the market.

However, market making is susceptible to abuses and there must be a strong and efficient regulatory framework to forestall any abuse.

Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Mr Oscar Onyema, had described the appointment of market makers as a major landmark aimed at bringing back liquidity and depth into the market.

He noted that the selected brokers went through a rigorous process and met the minimum net capital requirement of N570 million while the NSE also examined their compliance history and their operational capabilities.

“The selected firms were taken through trainings, debated the appropriate market structure to be used and the Exchange further went through the approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the selection process,” Onyema said.

The Exchange also promised that some firms will be selected to perform a supplementary market making role in future.

NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 5-4-12

THE NATION TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2012

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MONEY LINK

‘IMF, World Bank resposible for Africa’s woes’

T

HE Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Sanusi Lamido Sanusi has blamed development gaps in African economies on defective economic ideologies being prescribed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and World Trade Organisations on the continent.

He therefore called for ‘radical refocussing on development strategies for African countries to be relevant in the global economy.

Sanusi, who spoke at the Eirenicon Africa Public Lecture Series (EAPLS), held at The Royal School of Medicine, London, said stark realities of extreme poverty in Africa confirms his views, adding that over the years, the share of Africa

By Collins Nweze

in global trade remained insignificant despite the implementation of the policies that were recommended by international financial and development institutions.

Speaking on the theme: ‘Neither the Washington nor Beijing Consensus: Developmental Models that fit African Realities and Cultures’, Sanusi said there is need for a paradigm shift in order to achieve sustainable development.

“Over the last quarter of a century, Africa has been at the receiving end of liberal orthodoxy from these institutions that have persistently advocated, amongst other things, privatisation of state-owned

enterprises, free trade, intellectual property rights protection and deregulation of foreign direct investment (FDI) as requirements for developing countries to grow and develop,” adding that this policy prescription was what John Williamson coined, the “Washington Consensus.”

He said the neo-liberal ideology is reflected in the policies of the Bretton Woods Institutions, pointing out that the IMF and the World Bank condition their offer of assistance to developing countries on the strict adherence to the Washington Consensus policies.

Sanusi, said the consensus had continued to be under severe criticism because the performances of

countries that adopted its doctrine, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the former Soviet bloc, showed that it had failed to deliver sustained growth as promised by its promoters.

The remarkable economic growth of China in the past 30 years, with the country having declined to adopt the original and extended framework of the Washington Consensus, has raised further doubt on the unassailability of its capabilities. The significant economic miracle of China which has been described as the “Beijing Consensus” by Joshua Cooper Ramo, represents a symbol of China’s success and a challenge to the Washington consensus normative power.

He said the Beijing consensus is enshrined in three principles of innovation, chaos management promotion and theory of self-determination. These tenets are embedded in the policies of China that features incremental reform, innovation and experimentation, export-led growth, state capitalism and authoritarianism.

Though the Beijing consensus has recorded remarkable success, it has, however, been argued, that it might not be sustainable in the long-run because it maintains large stateowned sectors and authoritarianism, which runs contrary to people’s aspirations, as the series of revolutions in the North African countries have shown, he said.

NEXIM’s boss charges northerners on credit facilities

T

HE Managing Director of NEXIM Bank, Roberts U Orya has urged northern business men to brace up to the economic challenges facing the region by cultivating the culture of cordial relationship with financial instructions.

This he argued, would enable them access facilities and subvention that abound in the banking and investment arena.

Orya, who spoke at the maiden Summit on Entrepreneurship Development organised by the Kano State’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry, said lack of sufficient knowledge and non-challant attitude of northern business men contributed to the failure of them accessing credit facilities from the bank.

He said Southern business entrepreneurs’ deploy every mechanism, including hiring professional bodies to help them access facilities

From Kolade Adeyemi, Kano

from banks, “whereas the northern business people don’t even know how to confront the bank and talk about obtaining any money.”

He explained that in most cases when a businessman from the north is asked about his papers and other vital documents that would serve

as collateral for him to access the bank’s facilities, he will simply refused to offer anything on the premise that he operates his business without such sensitive procedures and documents.

“That is why you will see somebody operating business for the last two decades, but whenever you talk to him about providing any vital

documents for him to approach banks for loan and other needed meaningful means of improving his business, he would simply ignore you.

He said one of the reasons the North is skeptical about the NEXIM Bank facilities is the issue of collateral, “which is acceptable globally and here in Nigeria,” adding that

Experts, finance chiefs to discourse cash-less banking

C

HIEF Finance Officers (CFOs) and experts in resource management are set to discuss the role of banks in the implementation of the cashless regime being driven by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Discussants at he event to be anchored at the Nigeria Development Forum (NDF 10), would have experts, examine, among other issues,

short term benefit and long term impacts of cashless regime on growth and job creation. The experts are pulled together by the African Center for Resource Studies (ACRS).

Chris Onwuka, President, African Center for Resource Studies, said the stakeholders forum would find the way forward, considering the challenge and lessons in building confi-

dence in public leadership, budgeting, public sector finance and fiscal governance.

Before now, the CBN had at various fora informed stakeholders from public and private sectors on the need to embrace the cashless regime already operational in Lagos State.

ACRS is a regional partnership of leaders from government, business, media and the academia committed

FGN BONDS Amount N

Rate %

M/Date

3-Year 5-Year 5-Year

35m 35m 35m

11.039 12.23 13.19

19-05-2014 18-05-2016 19-05-2016

WHOLESALE DUTCH AUCTION SYSTEM Amount Amount Offered ($) Demanded ($) 150m 150m 138m 138m

MANAGED FUNDS Initial Current Quotation Price Market N8250.00 5495.33 N1000.00 N552.20

Price Loss 2754.67 447.80

7.9-10% 10-11%

PRIMARY MARKET AUCTION (T-BILLS) Tenor 91-Day 182-Day 1-Year

Amount 30m 46.7m 50m

Rate % 10.96 9.62 12.34

Date 28-04-2011 “ 14-04-2011

GAINERS AS AT 5-4-12 SYMBOL

O/PRICE

PAINTCOM BERGER AGLEVENT UBN GTASSURE WAPIC FIDELITYBK OKOMUOIL ETI UNILEVER MOBIL DANGSUGAR

0.80 8.08 1.44 2.34 1.39 0.52 1.42 32.42 11.50 31.42 142.00 3.70

C/PRICE

0.84 8.48 1.51 2.45 1.45 0.54 1.47 33.50 11.88 32.39 146.00 3.80

113m

NGN USD NGN GBP NGN EUR NIGERIA INTER BANK (S/N) (S/N) Bureau de Change (S/N) Parallel Market

Current Before

O/PRICE 10.60 10.64 19.96 4.45 1.94 2.38 0.96 1.14 1.16 0.58 10.00 4.00

C/PRICE 10.07 10.11 18.97 4.23 1.85 2.27 0.92 1.10 1.12 0.56 9.72 3.90

CHANGE 0.53 0.53 0.99 0.22 0.09 0.11 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.02 0.28 0.10

29-2-12 27-2-12

113m

155.7

22-2-12

C u r r e n t CUV Start After %

147.6000 239.4810 212.4997

149.7100 244.0123 207.9023

150.7100 245.6422 209.2910

-2.11 -2.57 -1.51

149.7450

154.0000

154.3000

-3.04

152.0000

153.0000

155.5000

-2.30

153.0000

154.0000

156.0000

-1.96

DISCOUNT WINDOW Feb. ’11

July ’11

Dec ’11

MPR

6.50%

6.50%

12%

Standing Lending Rate ,, Deposit Rate ,, Liquidity Ratio Cash Return Rate Inflation Rate

8.50% 4.50% 25.00% 1.00% 12.10%

8.50% 4.50% 25.00% 2.00% 12.10%

9.50% 5.50% 30.00% 2.00% 12.6%

NIBOR Tenor 7 Days 30 Days 60 Days 150 Days

NSE CAP Index

27-10-11 N6.5236tr 20,607.37

Date

Rate (Previous) 4 Mar, 2012 9.0417 9.6667 11.2917 12.1250

Rate (Currency) 6, Mar, 2012 10.17% 11.46% 11.96% 12.54%

28-10-11 N6.617tr 20,903.16

% Change -1.44% -1.44%

MEMORANDUM QUOTATIONS Name

LOSERS AS AT 5-4-12

SYMBOL ASHAKACEM PRESCO GLAXOSMITH DANGFLOUR BAGCO REDSTAREX CONTINSURE RTBRISCOE STERLNBANK JAPAULOIL FIRSTBANK NASCON

Exchange Rate (N) 155.8 155.8

CAPITAL MARKET INDEX Year Start Offer

CHANGE

0.04 0.40 0.07 0.11 0.06 0.02 0.05 1.08 0.38 0.97 4.00 0.10

113m

Amount Sold ($) 150m 138m

EXHANGE RATE 6-03-12 Currency

INTERBANK RATES OBB Rate Call Rate

to the optimum development and use of resources; dedicated to the study of public governance, gender and public leadership.

NDF 10 would also be looking at the fiscal policy and public expenditure management in the post oil subsidy crisis targeting specifically on the short term impacts and long term implications on the Nigeria economy.

DATA BANK

Tenor

NIDF NESF

there should not be any difference from what is being practiced across the globe.”

He, however, noted that NEXIM has embarked on serious enlightenment campaign in the region to make people aware of the whole operations of the bank, saying it is important to their economic development.

Offer Price

Bid Price

ARM AGGRESSIVE 9.17 KAKAWA GUARANTEED 1.00 STANBIC IBTC GUARANTE 122.59 AFRINVEST W.A. EQUITY FUND 99.23 THE LOTUS CAPITAL HALAL 0.75 BGL SAPPHIRE FUND 1.08 BGL NUBIAN FUND 0.89 NIGERIA INTERNATIONAL DEB. 1,691.82 PARAMOUNT EQUITY FUND 8.13 CONTINENTAL UNIT TRUST 1.39 CENTRE-POINT UNIT TRUST 1.87 STANBIC IBTC NIG EQUITY 7,259.48 THE DISCOVERY FUND 193.00 FIDELITY NIGFUND 1.67 • ARM AGGRESSIVE • KAKAWA GUARANTEED • STANBIC IBTC GUARANTE • AFRINVEST W.A. EQUITY FUND

9.08 1.00 122.48 98.79 0.72 1.08 0.88 1,686.98 7.74 1.33 1.80 7,071.36 191.08 1.62

Movement

OPEN BUY BACK Previous 04 July, 2011

Current 07, Aug, 2011

Bank

8.5000

8.5000

P/Court

8.0833

8.0833

Movement

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NEWS Baby, five others abducted in Delta

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IX members of a family, including a threemonth-old baby and three other children, were at the weekend kidnapped at Effurun, Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta State.

It was gathered that the victims were abducted while leaving their home near Oru Standard Hotel on Jakpa Road in a Honda CRV Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV).

Sources said three children ( two, four and 14 years) were later abandoned in a nearby bush at Ughelli.

They said the abductors panicked, following persistent cries by the two-year-old.

The whereabout of the baby, her mother and another relative remains unknown.

It was gathered that the incident assumed a dramatic twist on Sunday after the family reported the incident at the Ekpan Police Station.

The kidnappers had warned against going to the police.

“Immediately the matter was reported at the police station, the kidnappers called to tell us (family) that we have gone to the station, how many persons went to the station and what tran-

Police foil robbery in Rivers From Bisi Olaniyi, Port Harcourt

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HE police in Rivers State have foiled a robbery in Eleme, Eleme Local Government.

It was learnt that there was a distress call from a victim, Roseline, to the Eleme Police Division, that robbers were attacking her.

Police spokesman Ben Ugwuegbulam said policemen confronted the hoodlums.

He said: “Anti-robbery patrol team was swiftly mobilised and on arrival on the scene, the robbers engaged the patrol team in a gun duel.

“The fierce response of the police team forced the hoodlums into a hasty escape to a nearby bush with bullet wounds, as evidenced by the trail of blood stains on their path.”

Ugwuegbulam added that efforts are on to track the fleeing hoodlums.

From Shola O’Neil, Warri

spired there.

“Thereafter they refused to negotiate with us and even increased the ransom from N5million to N11million.

“What is surprising to us now is how the kidnappers knew everything that transpired at the police station,” a family source said.

Police spokesman Charles Muka confirmed the incident. He said the police are on top of the situation.

The mystery of how the kidnappers got information of what transpired at the police station has raised concerns that there may be either an insider collaboration or complicity of some policeman at the Ekpan Police Station.

The Acting Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, last week ordered the arrest of the head of the anti-kidnap special force and some other officers for alleged involvement in kidnappings in the state.

Quit politics for youths, group advises Anenih

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HE former chairman, Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Tony Anenih, has been advised to quit the political scene for youths.

The Coordinator, Ekpen Voice of Truth, Samuel Odigie, gave the advice while reacting to a statement credited to Anenih that Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole cannot handle insecurity in the state.

Odigie urged Anenih to imitate former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who resigned his position as BoT chair.

He said Anenih had been a strong political figure in the state who should know when to leave the political stage.

From John Ofikhenua, Abuja

Odigie said the statement “is like begging for the truth because it is not only in Edo State that you have security crisis, all over the country there are security crises.”

He added that if Anenih wants to market his candidate, Charles Airhiavbere, the PDP chieftain should not use security to sell him because kidnapping, armed robbery and other crimes have been there even before Oshiomhole was sworn in.

“I believe that Oshiomhole is doing his best in Edo State. I believe that the traditional heads are with him talking to their subjects to stay away from crime. I believe that kidnapping is not only car-

•Anenih

ried out in Edo State. It has been happening even in the East. Despite kidnapping in Anambra, Peter Obi won a second term.

“So, when has insecurity become a criterion for casting vote for candidates?”

On Oshiomhole’s performance, Odigie noted that Oshiomhole has transformed the state beyond the voters’ expectation.

He urged Airhiavbereto save his money for another election.

Edo Labour Party gets leaders

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HE Labour Party in Edo State has elected new executive mem-

bers.

The new leadership is headed by Sam Omede, who was returned unopposed.

Others who were unanimous adopted were Mrs Aino Adedeji as Deputy Chairman, Abure Julius as Secretary, Mrs Rabi Aigbojie as Women’s Leader and Austin Obaze as Publicity Secretary.

Patrick Eholor, Dan Aiziegbemi and Nasir

From Osagie Otabor, Benin

Momoh emerged as Edo South, Edo Central and Edo North Senatorial districts Chairmen.

Omede promised to make the LP an independent party that is not an appendage of the ruling Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

He said the party would field candidates for future elections in the state and vowed that the party will win the July 14 governorship election.

“Today, Labour Party can perform. As from now, we will not take the crumbs from the master’s table anymore.

We have made a name in the history of Edo State. We are on ground’.

A total of 360 delegates were accredited for the convention.

Also, the National Conscience Party (NCP) has picked Imaguomwanrhuo Erhunmwunse as its candidate for the July 14 governorship election.

CPP candidate’s aides escape murder

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HE Citizen’s Popular Party (CPP) governorship candidate in Delta State, the late Ogbe Onokpite’s Personal Assistant and a relative at the weekend escaped assassination in Ugolo, Okpe Local Government Area of Delta.

The Personal Assistant, Wilson Akpos, and Edafe Onokpite were allegedly attacked by unknown gunmen while inspecting the site where the late Onokpite will be buried.

Akpos said they were at the site when they

From Polycarp Orosevwotu, Warri

heard a loud voice, saying, “they have come, they have come, we can strike now and don’t miss the target”.

He said the driver’s alertness saved their lives. “The driver drove off but the car was riddled with bullets.”

Akpos said the incident has been reported at the Orerokpe Divisional Police Station.

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NEWS Benue to bury church collapse HE Benue State Govvictims ernment has said it

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would pay the medical bills of those injured in the collapse of St. Roberts Catholic Mission Church and bury the 22 worshippers that were killed.

Acting Governor Steven Lawani announced this yesterday when he visited the church with members of the State Executive Council to commiserate with the families of the victims.

From Uja Emmanuel, Makurdi

Lawani described the incident as “a tragedy” and urged the Catholic community to remain steadfast in God. He said the government would build the road leading to the church and construct a clinic in the community.

The priest in charge thanked Lawani for his concern.

Cleric urges Jonathan to seek God’s guidance RESIDENT Goodluck

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Jonathan has been urged to seek God’s guidance in administering the nation’s affairs.

A cleric and founder of the Celica Church of Christ, Ibadan, Oyo State, Prophet Emmanuel Adetunji Adeonigbagbe, gave the advice at the weekend while speaking at the church’s headquarters during the Easter celebrations.

He said President Jonathan should put his trust in God, rather than in human beings.

Adeonigbagbe said only God can help the President discharge his duties well.

He advised Jonathan to

By Eric Ikhilae

always seek divine guidance before taking decisions.

Adeonigbagbe also urged President Jonathan to be prayerful.

He said he should constitute a spiritual council to guide him in line with the dictates of God. The council, he added, must be made up of Islamic and Christian clerics willing to tell him the truth.

Adeonigbagbe said the formation of the spiritual council would assist the nation “in this troubled period, particularly in confronting socio-political problems.”

Obi orders contractors back to site

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NAMBRA State Governor Peter Obi has directed all contractors in the state to go back to work.

Obi said the Easter holidays ended yesterday and the contractors must resume work on time, so that the projects would be completed before the rains begin.

He spoke yesterday while inspecting ongoing works on the Obibia Bridge in EnuguAgidi.

Obi expressed satisfaction with the progress of work on the bridge and many others.

He said: “The other day, I inspected the Ebenebe Bridge.

I am happy that vehicles have started using it. The Ogbonabo Bridge, which connects Okpuno and Isuanocha, is nearly completed.

“The Osungwu Bridge at Okija is completed and so are many other bridges. We will

•Obi From Odogwu Emeka Odogwu, Nnewi

soon begin work on the three bridges that would connect Ogbaru to Nnewi.

“My mission is to bring unprecedented development to the state. I have series of projects for execution, but I will not name them because some people, in their characteristic manner, would move against them.”

PUBLIC NOTICE Owners of abandoned vehicles at the premises of Mushin Magistrate Court behind Area “D” Police Command are called upon to immediately claim them without any further delay.

Anybody that fails to claim his/her vehicle within the next 7 days should consider it forfeited to Mushin Local Government because they are constituting a nuisance.

For futher enquiries, please contact:

The Council Manager Mushin Local Government Area, 82/84 Palm Avenue, Mushin Secretariat, Mushin.

Signed: MANAGEMENT

•Children riding on a horse at the Amusement Park in Bodija, Ibadan, the Oyo State capital...yesterday.

PHOTO BY FEMI ILESANMI

Elechi to mark victory at election tribunal

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BONYI State Governor Martin Elechi has declared tomorrow a public holiday.

This is to enable civil servants attend the thanksgiving service in celebration of the governor’s victory at the Supreme Court.

Commissioner for Information Chike Onwe announced this yesterday in Abakaliki, the state capital.

The interdenominational church service will hold at the Abakaliki Township Stadium by 11am.

It will be presided over by the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Abakaliki, Rev. Michael Okoro.

Onwe said: “When we recollect the travails we passed through during the elections, the long battle and the chains of litigation, we have every reason to thank God for his mercies and steadfast love.

•Govt declares tomorrow holiday •APGA: N50m thanksgiving budget outrageous From Ogbonnaya Obinna, Abakaliki

“Such recollections prompted the governor to declare a solemn assembly, where all Ebonyi people would assemble in prayer and thanksgiving.

We are celebrating the people’s victory.”

He said the government would be prudent in its spending.

Onwe said: “The government is going to spend prudently in this thanksgiving service and it would not affect our projects and programmes.

We are not given to wasteful spending.”

But the State Chairman of the All Progressives

Grand Alliance (APGA), Mr. Jerry Obasi, alleged that the governor budgeted N50 million for the thanksgiving service and described it as “outrageous and wasteful”.

Obasi said: “If the governor wants to thank God for his victories, he should quietly take his family and members of his government to a church and thank God, rather than imposing it on the people, including those who are not his followers.

“This is simply crippling the state’s economy for a day against the wishes of the people. How can a government which is unable to pay the minimum wage; alleviate the sufferings of the people; and ensure in-

frastructural development earmark over N50 million for a thanksgiving service?

“This is another way of empowering his aides and benefactors. The way they are going about the thanksgiving service tells you that the government did not win at the polls, but rigged its way into power.

“Why the flamboyant celebration? Why re-paint roads? They should use the money for something meaningful and beneficial to the people. The government knows the people would not attend the thanksgiving service; that is why it imposed the public holiday to force civil servants to attend.”

Oko Poly remains closed till further notice

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TUDENTS who returned to the Federal Polytechnic, Oko, Anambra State, yesterday were asked to go back home until further notice.

The school was closed following a clash between the students and the community’s masquerade group, but it was supposed to reopen today.

From Odogwu Emeka Odogwu, Nnewi

The students said they were not aware of the management’s announcement on the Network Radio asking them to remain at home.

They lamented that they had no place to spend the night and could not return home yesterday, having

come from distant places.

A student, who did not want to be named, said: “We want the management and the community to come up with an idea on the way forward, because Oko is our host community and we cannot have a conducive reading and learning environment without their support.

This is not the time to apportion blames, but to discover the way forward.”

It was learnt that the resumption was postponed because the community said it cannot guaranty the students’ safety, unless the Polytechnic reconstitutes a panel of enquiry that would include representatives of the community.

Abduction of Anambra monarchs: Police yet to unravel mystery

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HE police are yet to unravel the mystery behind the disappearance of two prominent traditional rulers in Anambra State almost a year ago.

The monarchs are Igwe Jerome Udechukwu Okolie of Ihembosi in Ekwusigo Local Government Area and Igwe Lawrence Oragwu of Adazi Nnukwu in Anaocha Council.

Okolie was abducted by gunmen on May 26, 2011,

From Nwanosike Onu, Awka

at his Ihembosi country home, while Oragwu was kidnapped last July on Nimo/Neni Road.

Speaking with The Nation, Police spokesman Emeka Chukwuemeka said: “We have raided identified hideouts in the state and beyond and we are calling on the public to volunteer information that could lead to the rescue of these monarchs.”

There is a rumour that Oragwu’s handset was found on a small girl in Abakiliki, Ebonyi State, but it cannot be proved.

Before now, the people of Adazi Nnukwu organised a nine-day interdenominational prayer session for the monarch.

The member representing Anaocha I Constituency, Mr. Ebele Ejiofor, said the community has become frustrated by the

monarch’s disappearance.

He said even if Oragwu is dead, they would like to see his body.

There are speculations that Okolie was a victim of unhealthy politics.

Sources alleged that there are prominent people behind his disappearance.

A source said the community would soon organise a rally to protest his abduction.

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NEWS

Why crime is increasing, by NASFAT

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HE Women’s Affairs Secretary of the Nasrul-Lahi-L-Fatih Society of Nigeria (NASFAT), Alhaja Nofisat Arogundade, has said women have failed in their responsibilities, leading to raising of children that are vulnerable to crime.

She urged wives of top public officers to support their husbands and ensure that good decisions and policies are made to realise result-oriented governance.

Arogundade, who spoke yesterday at the closing cer-

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HE crisis between the Kaduna State chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and its 19 northern states chapter deepened yesterday as the Kaduna chapter said its northern counterpart is illegal and unconstitutional.

Chairman of the Kaduna chapter, Rev. Sam Kujiyat, said in Kaduna that the CAN constitution only recognises state chapters of the association, alleging that the chapter in the 19 northern states and the FCT has, over the years, worked against the interest of state chapters.

Rev. Kujiyat, who stressed that the constitution of the body only recognised the six geopolitical zones in the country, said the Kaduna CAN would

From: Olugbenga Adanikin, Abuja

emony of the Third Biennial NASFAT National Women Conference in Abuja, said women ought to be mentors and role models to their children.

“We mothers should be alive to our responsibilities.

Many of us have failed in our duties. This is why we are having miscreant-children, kids that are vulnerable to crimes. Let’s rise up to our responsibilities.

“There should be a tie be-

tween mothers and children.

It’s not about people giving birth and abandoning their children. Let us enjoy peace in our homes. When there is peace at home, there will be peace in the nation,” she added.

The Chairman, Local Organising Committee (LOC), Hajiya Wulemat Alabi, said women are change agents and they should promote peace.

She added that it is women’s responsibility to take care of children and prevent them from becoming a

nuisance.

Alhaja Arogundade restated the commitment of NASFAT women to peace building, saying Islam is a religion of peace.

She said: “If you are part of a family that is inflicting terror on others, definitely on the day of Al-Kiyyauma (Judgment), you will be one of those that will be questioned. Help your husband to rule us well. Guide your children to behave well in the society. Religious leaders should preach peaceful co-existence.”

F

Kano to generate N3.5b From Sanni Onogu, Abuja

K

ANO State Governor Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso has resolved to increase the internally-generated revenue (IGR) by over 100 per cent from the second quarter of this year.

The Secretary to the Kano State Government (SSG) Rabi’u Suleiman Bichi, who spoke during an interview with The Nation, said the state hopes to pay the salaries of civil servants, which currently stand at N3.4billion monthly from its IGR. He said the present administration inherited a debt of N77billion and $230 from the Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau administration.

He added that the IGR at May last year stood at N350million to N400million monthly.

According to him, the Kwankwaso administration was able to sanitise the system, resulting in the state realising about N1.5billion IGR monthly from May to December last year.

He said the state government has reversed the trend where recurrent expenditure takes a lion’s share of the budget.

He said the capital expenditure in this year’s budget is 66 per cent, while recurrent expenditure is 33 per cent.

•Acting IGP Abubakar

Northern CAN illegal, says Kaduna CAN From Tony Akowe, Kaduna

soon send the northern chapter out of its premises on Ibrahim Taiwo Road, Kaduna.

He accused northern CAN of collaborating with the national secretariat of the body to make his election look illegal, saying this was one of the antics of the northern body to bring the state CAN down.

According to Kujiyat, “the constitution of the national CAN recognises only six geopolitical zones- South-South, Southeast, Southwest, North Central, Northeast and Northwest. There is no provision for northern states CAN or southern states CAN. “The northern states CAN

•Kujiyat

has been staying with us for the past seven years and it has

not been working for our interest. CAN Kaduna State chapter dissociates itself from the utterances, views and activities of the northern states CAN. “Northern states CAN does not represent Kaduna State CAN. Constitutionally it is illegal to continue to harbour northern states CAN on our premises. It is also security unwise because right under our eyes they have worked against us for over seven years.

“We once said that we would give them quit notice, but our spiritual fathers told us to calm down, and they stopped us.

“We are just letting you know that constitutionally

‘Address dearth of Nigerian CEOs in multinationals’ OREMOST management expert Dr. Michael Omolayole has urged the Federal Government and stakeholders to address the systematic disappearance of Nigerians as Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of multinational companies.

He spoke in Lagos at the launch of the biography of a

Ahmed commiserates with church

former Chairman of Nigerian Breweries Plc, Dr. Felix Ohiwerei.

Omolayole said he and others have formed a group to champion the reversal of the “unacceptable trend” and called on the relevant federal ministries to join in the crusade.

He said he wondered if “the current globalised multinationals in Nigeria have conspired to reverse the progress of ‘Nigerianisation’ in their enterprises at the topmost level and if they have reduced Nigeria, once again, to a colonial-occupiedterritory, whose natural resources must be carted away and its mar-

kets and purchasing power sucked dry as the East Indian Company founded in 1600 did to India for almost 300 years.”

Omolayole noted that “multinationals have suddenly become deserts where the trees of human capacity development can no longer thrive, let alone flourish to the level of Nigerian CEOs.” He said he and his colleagues, including Ohiwerei, believed “any multinational that is lacking in serious management succession plans for Nigerians to reach the level of the CEO has become something close to an exploiter.”

“I hope the ministers in the

various relevant ministries such as Trade and Investment, Labour, Finance, Internal Affairs and so on are listening. Our group is passionate about reinventing the supremacy of the virtuous Nigerians at the pinnacle of executive management of multinationals in Nigeria and beyond. We are willing to act in concert with anybody interested in promoting the crusade and finding solution to any problem, real or imagined. We are not against multinationals or the free market system. We are products of the system. All we want is to see more virtuous Nigerian CEOs at the top of multinationals in Nigeria,” Omolayole added.

speaking, there are things that have happened that are unconstitutional. We have youths that are boiling, we are trying to calm them, but it can get to a certain limit that things may not work well.

“After my election as the Kaduna State CAN chairman, groups of northern states CAN were on the opposing side, they were with my opponents. They championed that cause with serious campaign, it was like saying that, let’s go and test our popularity. They believed that they were going to win, they were so sure. When the votes were finally counted, I emerged the winner. They didn’t congratulate me.

“They moved to Abuja to announce to the national CAN that the election was fraudulent, and from there, every move has been made not to swear me in.

“It was a campaign promise made to them by the present CAN president that if he came on board, he would nullify the election, and of course last November 29, at a meeting in Abuja, I was there, I was described as an illegality by the current national president of CAN. I was refused every opportunity to speak. They also decided to dissolve the Kaduna State CAN.” The Public Relations Officer of the northern states CAN, Sunday Oibe, said the body is not illegal because it has been in existence since 1964.

KWARA State Governor AbdulFatah Ahmed has commiserated with the leadership and members of the Deeper Life Church over the loss of eight members during the Easter retreat at Eyenkorin, near Ilorin.

Ahmed, in a statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary, Abdulwahab Oba, described the incident as unfortunate and noted that the victims died while worshipping God and shall be granted eternal rest.

He prayed to God to give the church and families of the deceased the fortitude to bear the loss.

The governor promised to strengthen government machinery to ensure adequate compliance with town planning regulations.

He directed the Town Planning Authority to commence immediate assessment of ongoing building projects to ensure compliance with the specifications and town planning rules and regulations.

Firm hails JAMB registrar’s reappointment A LAGOS-BASED marketing communications firm, Sapiens & Unus Associates (SA&U Associates), has hailed the reappointment of the Registrar/Chief Executive of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Dibu Ojerinde.

In a statement issued yesterday in Lagos by its Executive Director, Client Services, Ms. Nkem Jibunoh, the firm described Ojerinde’s reappointment by President Goodluck Jonathan for another five-year term as “a clear endorsement of the innovative and dynamic leadership that Prof.

Ojerinde has brought to bear on his board since his assumption of office five years ago.”

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THE NATION TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2012

FOREIGN NEWS Malawi leader sacks police chief

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ALAWI’S new President Joyce Banda has sacked the country’s police chief Peter Mukhito, state media has reported.

Ms Banda was sworn into office on Saturday following the death last week of President Bingu wa Mutharika.

She had been vice-president since 2009, but had fallen out with Mutharika and left his ruling party.

No reason was given for Mukhito’s removal, but a BBC reporter says he had been accused of mishandling antigovernment riots last year.

Mutharika, 78, went into cardiac arrest on Thursday, although his death was not confirmed until Saturday.

He governed Malawi for eight years, but was recently accused of mismanaging the economy and becoming increasingly autocratic.

Last year Mutharika fell out with the UK, the former colonial power, which withdrew its direct aid, accusing the Malawian government of

mishandling the economy and of failing to uphold human rights.

The BBC’s Raphael Tenthani in Blantyre say the former Inspector General of Police first gained notoriety last year when he questioned a lecturer over comparisons he made between the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt and the fuel crisis in Malawi.

The row eventually led to the closure of the University of Malawi’s Chancellor College.

Last July, nineteen people were shot dead by police during anti-government protests over the worsening economy.

Following the president’s death, there was speculation that Mutharika’s inner circle was trying to circumvent Malawi’s constitution to prevent Ms Banda from taking over and instead install his brother, Foreign Minister Peter Mutharika.

Officials say preparations are being made to bring President Mutharika’s body back from South Africa, where he was taken after his cardiac arrest.

44 killed in al- Qaeda attacks on Yemen’s army base

A •Mrs. Banda

Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world, with an estimated 75% of the population living on less than $1 (60p) a day.

N al-Qaeda attack on a Yemeni army post in the south set off clashes that left 44 people dead and prompted local civilians to take up arms alongside the military to beat back the militants, army officials and residents said.

The dawn attack demonstrates how al-Qaeda’s branch in Yemen has exploited the political and security turmoil following the country’s yearlong uprising, managing to take control of large swathes of land in the south and staging increasingly bold attacks on the military.

The officials said the militants attacked an army position in the town of Lawder in Abyan province, where al Qaeda fighters are active. The town is some 155 miles southeast of the capital of Sanaa.

Residents and military officials said 24 militants were killed in the clashes. Additionally, 14 soldiers, including a colonel, were killed battling the militants, officials said.

Jihad Hafeez, a member of a local anti-al Qaeda group in Lawder, said six of his men were killed and eight wounded as they tried to push

11 killed in Somalia explosion

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LEVEN people have been killed by a bomb in the market area of the central Somali town of Baidoa.

The governor of the region, Abdifitah Mohamed Gesey, told the BBC that more than 30 other people had been badly injured mostly women and chil-

dren.

In February Ethiopian troops seized Baidoa from the Islamist militia al-Shabab.

Witnesses said the bomb exploded shortly after Somali government troops entered the market.

Mr Gesey blamed alShabab for the attack, but so far no organisation has said it

was behind the attack.

African Union peacekeepers for the first time recently deployed to the town, which is on a strategically important route.

It is one of the biggest attacks in the area since Ethiopian and Somali forces took control.

the militants out of their city.

The group comprised of civilians, mainly from anti-alQaeda tribes, who oppose the group. Mr Hafeez said locals have set up check points in and around Lawder to keep the militants out.

Al-Qaida was once present in Lawder, but in July residents drove them out. A few months later al-Qaeda was blamed for planting a roadside bomb that killed two civilians there, and, as yesterday’s attack demonstrates, they continue to try to regain their foothold.

For the militants, Lawder is a strategic city. It lies along a major highway that links Abyan’s provincial capital of Zinjibar, an al Qaeda stronghold, to the provinces of Hadramawt, Bayda and Shabwa where the group is active.

A member of one of the committees, Abdullah Amer, said fighting raged for hours before the militants were forced to retreat.

Fayemi’s wife hails woman president in Malawi

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KITI State Governor’s wife, Erelu Bisi Fayemi, has said the inauguration of Malawian President Joyce Banda was a triumph for constitutionalism and evidence of growth of democracy in Africa.

Ms Banda was the Vice-President of Malawi until Saturday when she succeeded President Bingu wa Mutharika, who died of heart attack.

Although the late president had allegedly insisted the woman could not be president, preferring his younger brother to succeed him, Mrs Fayemi said the emergence of Banda was an attestation to the supremacy of God. A statement by the Special Assistant on Media to the governor’s wife, Mr. Akin Oyedele, aid Mrs Fayemi spoke on Sunday at the Easter mass at the St. Patrick’s Catholic Cathedral Church, Ado-Ekiti, in a message to the residents.

She noted that the inauguration of 61-year-old Ms Banda was a reward for her resilience, consistence and commitment to the cause of the people of her country.

Though loved by her people, the governor’s wife she said Banda was ostracised by the hawks and sexists in Mutharika’s administration, following her insistence that due process and rule of law must prevail.

Mrs Fayemi said: “My joy knows no bound when she mounted the podium and was inaugurated as President, because of my knowledge of all the sexism-induced impediments put on her way.”

“The late president had insisted that his younger brother must succeed him in office. But, Banda had protested on the grounds that her experience stood her in good stead to become the next president.

Rescue operation delayed as ship owners inaccessible

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NDIAN agencies are facing problems negotiating with Somali pirates who are holding 22 crewmembers — including 17 Indians — onboard a hijacked Nigeria-bound oil tanker.

The tanker, MT Royal Grace, was hijacked after it set off on its maiden voyage from a Sharjah port on March 2. But the Dubaibased owners, Oyster Cargo and Shipping Company, are yet to get in touch with Indian authorities on the issue.

“The ship is owned by a Nigerian national based in Dubai, who is not responding to any talks of negotiation. All we know at the moment is that the Indian sailors are safe,” said a senior DG shipping official, requesting anonymity.

Three Nigerians, a Pakistani and a Bangladeshi are also on board the Royal Grace. But all the crew’s families were told about the hijacking only a few days ago.

The pirates had reportedly sent an e-mail to the ship owners on March 4. According to their latest communiqué, the ship is heading towards the Somali coast and is positioned at Bargal district on the Somalian coast, sources told HT. In a statement, the ministry of external affairs said, “We are aware of this situation. We are pursuing this through our various missions. But the pirate issue is handled by an inter-ministerial group headed by the shipping ministry.”

The hijackers are reportedly a small group of pirates from the Majeerteen clan, which was responsible for hijacking MV Asphalt Venture in 2010. The crewmembers of Asphalt Venture were released in May 2011.

According to the International Maritime Bureau, Somali pirates continue to account for approximately 54% of the attempted piracies. The number of incidents increased from 219 in 2010 to 237 in 2011, but the number of successful hijackings decreased from 49 to 28

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www.thenationonlineng.net

TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2012 TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

TOMORROW IN THE NATION

VOL. 7

NO.2,091

The students are victims, being forced to relocate and become second class students for the failures of their teachers and administrators to meet accreditation criteria’

COMMENT & DEB ATE EBA

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HEN the history of the Goodluck Ebele (Azikiwe) Jonathan presidency comes to be written, it is likely to be one long narrative of distractions, of which the controversy over a refurbished village church is only the latest.

In the beginning, all he ever wanted was to serve as a back-bencher in the Bayelsa State Assembly, vote on issues as enjoined by the party whip and, with some luck, wangle a constituency project or two for the folks back home in Otuoke.

Such a schedule would leave him ample time to catch up on the latest developments in marine biology through such recondite publications as the “Aquatic Times”, “Bulletin of Ichthyology”, and the “Journal Comparative Delta Studies”, and perhaps even make a learned submission to them once in a while.

Distractions set in the moment they dragooned him to run for deputy governor.

Before he could recover from this unsettling distraction, they proclaimed him state governor, following the impeachment of his principal. While he was still trying to figure out why he should be visited with such distractions, they made him vice president of the Republic.

Consider what Dr Jonathan went through when his principal, Umaru Yar’Adua, was spirited away to a Saudi hospital. He had not the faintest idea about Yar’Adua’s condition. He could not reach him. Yet, for months he had to maintain the impression that he was in daily contact with the incapacitated president, say the right things, make the right gestures, and generally keep up appearances.

That was distraction enough from the ribbon-cutting and the social rounds and other pseudo-events that constituted his remit as vice president. But Dr Jonathan also had to fend off the Cabal that had taken over the Villa and pick his way delicately through the booby traps with which the precincts were strewn.

Nor did the distraction end when the National Assembly invoked the “doctrine of necessity” to proclaim Jonathan acting president. On the contrary, it intensified. The Cabal and its enablers treated him as if he was a usurper and undermined him in every conceivable.

They smuggled a comatose Yar’Adua back in the dead of night, and served Dr Jonathan notice that he should revert to his substantive position of vice president now that the lord of the manor was back For weeks, he waited and waited for a sign from the Villa that it was okay to visit to welcome his principal back. The sign could come any time of day or night. If it came and he was not ready, he might not get another chance. That meant putting aside everything else while waiting for the signal, including sleep.

OLATUNJI DARE

AT HOME ABROAD olatunji.dare@thenationonlineng.net

GEJ: Distractions, distractions everywhere

•Dr. Jonathan

He couldn’t put off eating, however. But he had to rush his meals, much to the discomfiture, it was said, of Herself Dame Patience, who had personally prepared the meals with tender loving care, fully expecting her husband to do justice to them with his accustomed gusto.

The signal never came.

Dr Jonathan’s accession to president after Yar’Adua died should have ended all that distraction. But it didn’t. Instead, speculation about his future mounted. Would he merely complete what was left of Yar’Adua’s term and then fade away so that the “North” could resume its interrupted turn, or would he seek a substantive term for himself and the PDP’s so-called zoning formula be damned?

But this was a minor distraction compared with the battle to secure the PDP’s presidential ticket, the electioneering campaign that followed, and the bombing campaign for which the Movement for the Emancipation of the Delta claimed responsibility, only for Dr

HARDBALL

RIPPLES WHY WE INCREASED THE PRICE OF SACHET WATER–PRODUCERS

No reason other than GREED and ‘LONG THROAT’

Jonathan to exculpate the group on the ground that he knows “his people.”

Months of distraction had obviously taken their toll.

Dr Jonathan’s election victory predictably set off another round of distractions – allegations, not entirely unsubstantiated, that the vote was heavily rigged, violent rejection of the results in some northern cities and towns, and titanic court battles challenging same.

An assortment of influence peddlers, lobbyists, elders of the ruling PDP and all manner of careerists determined to foist their candidates on Dr Jonathan for cabinet-level positions would deepen the distractions. These desperadoes even carried their importuning to Herself the Dame, distracting her from taking care of the home front and setting up the office of the First Lady of the Republic.

Amidst this litany of distractions, who can blame Dr Jonathan that Vision 2020/20, for which he had been an eloquent spokesman and salesman, disappeared from his purview, supplanted by the Transformative Agenda?

But before he could spell out the details, Boko Haram launched its campaign of indiscriminate murder, its object being to destabilise the Administration as a first step to setting up an Islamic Republic in Nigeria.

When the Transformation Agenda finally got under way, it quickly fell victim to the distraction worked up by misguided protests across the nation, following termination of gasoline subsidies that had virtually paralysed the economy. The protesters and their manipulators could not see that only a few privileged persons were profiting from the pernicious subsidy, and that ending it was in the public’s best interest.

For the nine days the protests lasted, Dr Jonathan was so distracted that he lost track of the Transformation Agenda altogether. The

TONY MARINHO

project he conjured up for the moment, and for which some bureaucratic hack coined the term SURE, soon became an object of distraction in its own right. Right now, its status is anything but sure.

To sustain the momentum of the Transformation Agenda while the usual suspects were carping about SURE, Dr Jonathan hit upon the brilliant idea of shifting the focus to a culinary issue to which rich and poor and young and old alike can relate. He adopted cassava bread as the official breakfast item of the Presidential Villa and vowed to eat no other kind of bread until the end of his regular or elongated term.

His hope was that this instance of leadership by example would move Nigerians to abandon wheat flour bread and thus save the zillions of dollars in import bills. But Boko Haram refused to give up its distracting ways.

Nor did the PDP itself help matters when it could not choose a new national chairman, forcing Dr Jonathan to produce one for them.

This was no mean task. In the process, Dr Jonathan was needlessly distracted from more pressing national issues crying out for his attention.

Nothing daunted, Dr Jonathan shifted gears, hoping thereby to seize the commanding heights of the policy agenda. Forget Vision 2020/20. Forget the Transformation Agenda. The new goal, he proclaimed on his recent visit to Korea, is to use the strategy of the Hun River to transform Nigeria into an Equatorial Tiger.

Would the latest distraction – I did not anticipate the Easter carnage in Kaduna that bears Boko Haram’s grisly stamp — would the latest distraction stemming from his village, of all places, allow Dr Jonathan pursue that laudable project with all due diligence?

The Italian contractor Gitto Construziani, I gather, had refurbished the old village church in Otuoke from its own abundance and in the finest tradition of social responsibility and corporate good citizenship.

But Dr Jonathan’s political adversaries are claiming that he had knowingly solicited a gift from a contractor doing business with the Federal Government, and that at the very least, the whole thing what shot through and through with conflict of interest, if not actual sleaze. Some have even gone so far as to demand his impeachment or resignation, or both.

This has got to be the ultimate distraction.

What makes it all so distressing is that the very people confecting these distractions are the same people complaining that Dr Jonathan is not performing.

How can he perform when he is so endlessly distracted?

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•Hardball is not the opinion of the columnist featured above

Nigeria as black hole for fallen African stars

N

IGERIA is reportedly considering asylum for leaders of the coup in Mali as part of efforts to end the crisis triggered by a military uprising in March and to help the region focus on the more threatening Tuareg declaration of independence in the breakaway region of Azawad. If granted and if taken, the asylum will be the latest in a line of quaint conflict resolution methods advanced by Nigeria. In effect, Nigeria is fast becoming a graveyard of stars, a black hole sucking in failed or maladjusted leaders. The concentric circle of Nigerian foreign policy is fairly easy to understand, with West Africa at the innermost ring. So, too, are the underpinnings and driving force of our foreign relations. It is, therefore, not difficult to appreciate why we are concerned with the problems of West Africa in particular and the continent in general. Indeed, over the years, especially with ECOMOG, we have shown an admirable resolve in facing daunting foreign policy challenges. The problem, however, is that our judgement has sometimes been questionable. Was ECOMOG, for instance, inescapable in the Liberian crisis?

It is uncertain. Some analysts believe that the motive for deploying ECOMOG in Liberia

was dubious, and the objectives we hoped to achieve equally amorphous. More questionable is the fact that offering asylum to fallen or disgraced African leaders has become the leitmotif of our foreign policy conflict resolution.Considering its intervention in the Malian imbroglio, Nigeria is criticised for being unnecessarily eager to use the asylum tool. As Somalia collapsed under maladministration, its failed leader, Siad Barre, found a ready friend in Nigeria, which, as it still does, believes that getting a head of state out of the way would reduce bloodshed and pave the way for a quick resolution. Barre lived and died in Nigeria a broken man who nonetheless saved his own skin while his country fragmented into clans and unremitting instability. Nigeria also lured Charles Taylor away from Monrovia when he should have been punished for his atrocities in the most effective way Liberians would have been trusted to administer. It is doubtful whether he would get from the International Criminal Court (ICC) the kind of justice the scale of his atrocious behaviour demanded. Then we lured Yormie Johnson into exile, a man so consumed by sanguinary passion that no political concession was capable of mollifying

his rage. And now, almost instinctively, we are offering Captain Amadou Sanogo, Mali’s coup leader, shelter from the madding storm he stirred up in a moment of adventurous fantasy.The Mali case should afford us the opportunity of re-examining our international conflict resolution style and doing a major rethink of our approach to international politics. Our first instinct should not be to extricate failed leaders from their destabilised polities and from the retributive claws of angry citizens. It is also important to undergird our foreign policy with a major consideration for fairness and justice.

What really did Nigeria gain by giving shelter to Barre, Taylor, and Johnson? International philanthropy? Rather than becoming a black hole for failed and misguided African leaders, should we not rather be known for advancing the cause of international justice, fairness and good governance? When leaders commit crimes against their people, should we not be at the vanguard of bringing them to book? It is time we became known for our commitment to the immutable principles by which individuals and states have long been ennobled. This is the only way to give character to our foreign policy and indeed the country itself.

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