Showing posts with label FCT. Show all posts
Showing posts with label FCT. Show all posts

Supreme Court has sacked Governor of Kebbi state from office.

ABUJA – The Supreme Court has sacked Governor Usman Saidu Nasamu Dakingari of Kebbi state from office.

His removal was sequel to an appeal that was lodged before the apex court by the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, and its candidate in the April 26, 2011,governorship election in the state, Malam Abubakar Abubakar.

In their unanimous judgment this morning, a 5-man panel of Justices of the Supreme Court ordered the Independent National ElectoralCommission, INEC, to conduct fresh election in the state within 90 days (3 months).

Justice Walter Onnoghen who delivered the lead judgment nullified the verdict of the Sokoto Division of the Court of Appeal which ab-initio affirmed the ousted governor as the bona-fide winner of the gubernatorial election in the state.

While setting-aside the appellate court's verdict on the premise that it was legally defective, the Supreme Court noted that the lower court erred in law when it deferred the reasons behind its judgment till a date outside the 60 days stipulated in the constitution for the determination of governorship appeals.

Whereas the appellate court gave its judgment on December 29,2011, it was unable to justify the verdict with reasons until January 24, 2012.

Consequently, the apex court while setting-aside the decision of the appeal court went ahead and upheld the verdict of the Kebbi state Election Petition Tribunal which had earlier sacked the governor and ordered a fresh election in the state.
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N894m contract scam: Bankole gave contracts to ghost firms, says EFCC

ABUJA — Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, yesterday, accused the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Dimeji Bankole, of using fake companies to defraud the Federal Government of N894 million while in office.
EFCC told a Federal High Court in Abuja, yesterday, efforts to trace most of the companies awarded contracts by the erstwhile Speaker proved abortive as the benefiting companies were non-existent.
Testifying at the resumed trial yesterday, a prosecution witness, PW-1, A.S.P, Ibrahim Ahmed, told the court that the former Speaker awarded contracts to companies not registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC.
Ibrahim was part of the team that investigated allegation that Bankole inflated costs of items bought for members of the 6th session of the House.
The witness said efforts by the commission to trace the locations of the companies were futile as the addresses found on the contract award documents purported to belong to the companies were non-existent.
He said the investigation was prompted by a petition that was lodged before the agency by Bankole’s colleagues in the House of Representatives.
He said: “My Lord, after our thorough investigations with CAC, and close perusal of the documents used by the then leadership of the House of Representatives under the accused person in the award of the said contracts, we found out that the contract details of the beneficiary companies were non-existent.
“Letters sent to the purported addresses on the contract papers were returned two weeks later fbecause the addresses were non-existent.”
Meanwhile, trial Justice Donatus Okorowo, yesterday, adjourned further hearing on the matter till April 3.
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Senate summons Okonjo-Iweala, Diezani, others over fuel scarcity

ABUJA— Senate committee on Petroleum (Downstream), yesterday, summoned the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and her Petroleum Resources counterpart, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, to appear before it and explain the cause of the recent scarcity of fuel in the country.

Group Managing Direc-tor, Nigeria National Petro-leum Corporation, NNPC, Mr. Austin, has also been summoned by the Commi-ttee following spate of fuel scarcity across the country.

Chairman of the Committee, Senator Magnus Abe, who issued the summon in Abuja, said the Senate is worried about the increasing queues at filling stations, despite the reintroduction of fuel subsidy by the Federal Government.

He said: "The Senate is concerned by what is happening in the country today regarding the availability of petroleum products for our local consumption. We have asked the key players to come before us to explain why there is no fuel in our filling stations."

Those to also appear before the committee in relation to the scarcity includes: Managing Director of the Pipeline and Products Marketing Company, PPMC, Mr. Morrison Fiddi; Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, PPPRA, Mr. Reginald Stanley; Director of the Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, Mr. Austin Olorunshola.

The committee also summoned the President of Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, and the Executive Secretary of Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, MOMAN.

All those invited are scheduled to appear before the Senate tomorrow by noon.
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Failed subsidy promises: NLC, others blast Jonathan … ask government to revert petrol price to N65

THE stage appeared set for another round of showdown between President Goodluck Jonathan and labour unions on the issue of fuel subsidy with labour on Tuesday asking the Federal Government to revert the pump price of petrol to N65 per litre.
The Nigeria Labour Congress and the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria said the Jonathan administration had no option other than to reverse the price from its present N97 to the old N65 per litre since the President had said he was rethinking the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment programme.
Jonathan on Monday reportedly told chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party at their  58th National Executive Committee meeting in Abuja that implementation of the palliatives to cushion the effects of subsidy removal were no longer feasible.
The President said the palliatives had been based on the 100 per cent removal of subsidy on local consumption of fuel.
“This (SURE) is developed with the expectation that we were going to completely deregulate the Downstream sector of the oil industry, the 100 per cent removal of subsidy… we will still come up with a document based on what we get,” he told the PDP members and ordered them to withdraw the circulated SURE document.
The SURE programme had been hurriedly designed in January to douse the tension generated by the sudden removal of subsidy and consequent jump in the pump price of petrol.
The Senate has said it is backing the action of the President. Leader of the Senate, Victor Ndoma-Egba, said Jonathan made the plans based on zero-subsidy arrangement and for which the 2012 budget was prepared.
“The President said he wanted to remove subsidy, Nigerians said they don’t want it removed. Now that he was not able to realise his plan, where will he get the money to carry out that policy,” Ndoma-Egba said.
He, however, stated that the President would still need to work with the savings made from the partial removal of subsidy.
“The President will have to look at the proceeds from partial deregulation and work with what is saved. That is the reason why the document earlier produced should be revised to reflect the current realities,” he said.
Apart from the NLC and the ASCN, the House of Representatives also on Tuesday took a swipe at the President and said it was vindicated concerning its pessimism over the government palliatives.
The Acting General Secretary of the NLC, Mr. Owei Lakemfa, in a telephone interview with one of our correspondents on Tuesday said  the Federal Government  had no option but to revert the fuel pump price from the current N97 to the pre-2012 pump price of fuel.
He said that a recent advertisement in a national daily in which the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, claimed that the Federal Government realised N15b allocation from the proposed subsidy savings supported the claim that the Federal Government was making some money from the regime change in the pump price of fuel and that the funds realised from the fuel price increase should be adequately utilised to execute projects.
According to Lakemfa, the Federal Government is only trying to prepare the minds of Nigerians against expecting results from the increase in the pump price of petrol in the country by announcing the withdrawal of the programme.
He urged the government to fulfil its promise to use the proceeds of fuel price increase to construct roads, build a second Niger bridge, and other promises contained in the SURE document.
He said that the Nigerian citizenry was seriously interested in what the Federal Government could do with the proceeds from the increase in the pump price of petroleum products.
He called on the Federal Government to ensure that the Ministries of Petroleum and Finance were cleansed based on the serious discoveries made at the Subsidy Probe by the House of Representatives.
“Right from the onset, organised labour believed that the Federal Government was not sincere with this programme but the government claimed that we were going to get results in six months. What government is saying now is that we should not expect results,” the NLC scribe said.
Also, the House of Representatives said that it was not surprised that the President withdrew its promised fuel subsidy removal palliatives.
The House noted that the development vindicated its opposition to the SURE programme, particularly the “hurried manner” the executive introduced the document without consulting the National Assembly.
The Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Zakari Mohammed, explained that the legislature had consistently held the view that Nigerians needed to be consulted on the programme.
He added, “We have been vindicated because we had initially opposed the hurried manner the SURE document was put together.
“We were saying that the funds for this programme needed to be properly appropriated by the National Assembly and more so that we needed to have the details of the programme.”
Mohammed, however, commended Jonathan for realising that something went wrong and retracing his steps.
The Minority Leader of the House, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, who shared the same view, told THE PUNCH in Abuja that the palliatives were a “dummy right from the start.”
He argued that the President was merely attempting to “pull the wool” over the faces of  Nigerians by promising palliatives that were theirs by right.
Gbajabiamila stated, “Under Section 17 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), government is mandated to provide the same services it has promised as palliatives.
“The issues of health, transport and all that; these are the fundamental duties that government owes the citizenry.
“You cannot give me what rightly belongs to me in the guise of palliatives, while taking away the subsidy that I ought to enjoy.
“So, I am not surprised that they have decided to withdraw it; it was a dummy that I never ever bought.”
Criticising the President, the National Publicity Secretary of the CPC, Mr. Rotimi Fashakin, said the administration was not committed to responsible governance.
“All along, as a party,  we knew the idea of SURE was a knee-jerk response to the people’s protest and not a well thought-out intervention to stymie the dire impoverishment of the people,” Fashakin said.
President, Campaign for Democracy,  Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, said it was evident from the outset that  Jonathan was not committed to the implementation of the SURE programme.
“They never meant it (SURE). It was just propaganda to make people swallow poison. Corruption still persists so how can anyone trust the regime to implement SURE. Cosmetic palliatives can never cushion any effect,” she said.
The Secretary-General of ASCSN and founding Secretary-General of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, Mr. Solomon Onaghinon, in an interview with one of our correspondents said, “There is social crisis in Nigeria.”
He said, “There were no palliatives in the first place; I have always said that those palliatives do not make sense because government said they would be paying salaries on the 20th of every month but have they paid? There is no palliative.
“For those people who really listened carefully, they would have known that there was no palliative. If the President said the palliatives are no longer feasible, let him bring the fuel price back to N65 per litre.”
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Nigeria's human rights chief declares asset

The human rights chief has five bank accounts, two houses, two cars, two generators and 10,000 books

The Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Chidi Odinkalu, yesterday declared his asset publicly.
Mr. Odinkalu, whose appointment by President Goodluck Jonathan was confirmed by the Nigerian Senate late last year, declared that he has four bank accounts. Two of the accounts are with Standard Chartered Bank in Nigeria. The first has N94, 000 in it while the other has $11,700 in it.
The other two accounts are in Barclays Bank of the United Kingdom. While one contains £7,752, the other has £4,562. Mr. Odinkalu also has an overdrawn account at the Royal Bank of Scotland.
The assets declared also showed that Mr. Odinkalu has a mortgaged 3-bedroom mid-terrace house in Edmonton, and another 4-bedroom semi-detached house in Lekki, Lagos.
The human rights boss owns two cars, a Toyota RAV 4 which he purchased in 2004, and a Kia Rio purchased in 2005. He also has a personal pension plan, and shares and stocks worth about N3million. A 27kva generator and a 7.5KVA inverter complete Mr. Odinkalu’s asset.
Mr. Odinkalu, who described the over 10,000 books he has in his library as “invaluable,” is the first public official appointed by Mr. Jonathan to publicly declare his assets.
Upon assuming office as President, Mr. Jonathan refused to declare his asset publicly.
The Code of Conduct Bureau which is saddled with the responsibility of collecting asset declarations of public officials also refused to release copies of Mr. Jonathan’s asset declaration.
A non-governmental organisation, the African Centre for Media and Information Literacy has pledged to challenge the Code of Conduct’s decision in court.
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President Jonathan Heads For UK Meeting on Somalia, His Delegation Over-50

President Jonathan will on Wednesday morning begin a two-day trip to London to participate in Thursday's International Conference on Somalia being hosted by Prime Minister David Cameron. 

The conference will be attended by heads of governments and representatives from 40 countries, multilateral organizations and Somali authorities to agree on how the international community could step-up efforts to tackle the root causes and effects of the problems in Somalia.

According to Mr. Reuben Abati, the president's spokesman, Mr. Jonathan will be accompanied on the visit by the First Lady, Mrs. Patience Jonathan; the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Olugbenga Ashiru; and the National Security Adviser, Gen. Andrew Azazi.

Mr. Jonathan, who will return to Nigeria on Friday morning, will also hold bilateral talks with Mr. Cameron before his return.

Nigerians who may be pleased about what appears to be Jonathan's considerably slimmed-down entourage may be interested to know that he and 47 other Nigerians obtained United Kingdom visas late last week. 

Quoting State House Abuja sources, Japhet Omojuwa of Omojuwa.com, said that 43 of the visa applications were filed on February 16.  The following day, State House sent yet another five passports to the High Commission at about noon.  Those five visa requests were supposedly for pilots, but the forms accompanying them contained no details whatsoever.

It is unclear why the visas were being rushed at the last minute last week, as the applicants listed their trip as starting on Saturday.  While the President's form indicated he would be away for five days, the other applicants specified two weeks as their length of stay.

Presidential spokesman Reuben Abati was not on the the visa request lists last week as he was said to possess a current visa, as does several other regular State House travelers. This would mean that the President's entourage for this trip would in no way be under 50, particularly as the First Lady is involved.

Only last month, Mrs. Jonathan had 23 people apply for visas to travel with her to the United Kingdom on a tour of Europe. She had the same number of hangers-on when she applied for and got a 10 year UK visa for herself just a week after last year's Inauguration in May.

Late in January, when Mr. Jonathan travelled to Ethiopia for the 18th African Union Summit, his 25-person delegation was smaller than his wife's, which contained 32 people.  Although our report was contested by Mr. Abati, who promised to supply the official list to demonstrate we were wrong, he has yet to do so.  

It was only two weeks before that trip that Mr. Jonathan, facing mass national rallies in response to his abrupt hiking of the price of petrol, pledged to substantially reduce the large size of his travel parties.  At the Commonwealth Summit in Australia in December 2011, his entourage was 200. 

Nigerians are worried that Mr. Jonathan's travel patterns have continued to be the same despite his promises, while his behavior has followed the old patterns. 

"What if he was not desperate to cut waste?" one angry writer asked today. 

"Would this list be as large as the Australian over-200 delegation? And since the President did not travel as stated on Saturday to the UK, could it be that the visas had simply been [obtained] just for the 47 people to make their visa request easier for them?"

Another analyst told SaharaReporters, "We all know that the leopard does not change his spots.  The crowd of entrenched estacode hunters and feasters on the national treasury from the PDP has already gathered and there is no sign that Jonathan is man enough to disperse them."

As we prepared this story, it was learned that 12 senior government officials were already airborne on a flight to the UK for the visit, most of them in First Class and a few others in Business Class aboard British Airways.  A First Class Abuja-London return ticket on BA, according to its website, costs nearly $10,000 per person.

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Presidency: Jonathan warns politicians against 2015 meetings

ABUJA — PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday, warned politicians interested in 2015 presidency to stop holding political meetings to that effect forthwith.
Jonathan spoke at the 58th emergency meeting of the National Executive Committee, NEC of the ruling People’s Democratic Party, PDP, yesterday, saying he would sack any of his political appointees seen to be engaged in such meetings henceforth, stressing that such meetings were totally uncalled for. He said such moves were not only too early, but distract those in government from governance.

Jonathan spoke against the backdrop of reports that although the president and  governors were yet to spend one year in office, some people had started positioning themseves for their offices. He, however, said such meetings should be discouraged as Nigerians wanted to see the dividends of democracy rather than endless electioneering campaigns.
He also said as the party prepared for its ward, local government, zonal and state congresses that would culminate into a national convention, the PDP must move away from the culture of imposition of candidates by electing their officers democratically.
The President, who stressed the need for unity in the party if the president, governors, members of the National Assembly as well as members of the state Houses of Assembly must deliver dividends of democracy, said the people want to see roads, hospitals, infrastructure, water and not a situation where party members engage themselves in shadow boxing.
He then urged members irrespective of their positions, to respect the party or face being sacked using the African National Congress, ANC, of South Africa example .
“Let me also plead with us that those who are interested in the general elections in 2015, I have noticed that some people have started some meetings. It is too early to hold meetings. You people can see that from the electoral laws and the constitution, INEC normally declares (such contests) open. The idea is that people who were elected into offices as governors and President must be given time to work.
“A situation whereby a governor has not even stayed for a year, the President has not stayed for a year, you start harassing people for 2015 is another way of saying everything is election. There must be time to work.
“At the federal level, if you are holding a political office and I notice that you are involved in meetings for the  2015 election, I will ask you to leave and go and hold your meetings, because that meeting is too early and government must not be distracted. Nigerians are interested on what we put on ground for them, not how many elections we conduct and win.”
Party’s unity
On unity and discipline among members, Jonathan said: “Let me use this unique opportunity to charge all of us, at all levels, whether you are operating at the federal legislative council level as a president, vice president and ministers or at the National Assembly or at the states, at the governors or at the state Assemblies and indeed the party, that all of us belong to one party— one PDP family.
“We are supposed to have one manifesto, one pledge, irrespective of the positions we hold. Ours is to make sure that the PDP succeeds; the governors succeed, the President succeeds, that is the only way we can say that the PDP, as a party, has succeeded.
PDP NEC fixes congresses,  convention dates
Meanwhile, the PDP NEC, yesterday, approved dates for the congresses and the National Convention, with ward congresses taking place March 3, local government congress, March 5; state congresses March 12 while the zonal congress takes place March 21 with the National Convention on March 24 just as the present National Working Committee, NWC members who had their tenure in office slightly extended will hand over between March 26 and 31, even as the next NEC meeting was fixed for February 29.
On the forthcoming congresses and National Convention, the President said,‘’I will also use this opportunity to plead, being at the centre with the party chairman, we are privileged to hear more and we know that we are just going in for election now to elect our party officials and I plead that from the ward congress to the National Convention, let us insist that people are elected democratically.
’’Let us begin to move from the culture of imposition, because if we let our party elect officers of the party, then of course we are sure that primaries or general elections in 2015 will also be democratic and of course the general elections will also be free and fair.
’’As a party we have been able to develop that culture, the presidential election is the election that is number one election in the whole country- every party will want to produce a president first and foremost, because of the status that goes with the ruling party, because it is the party that produced the president.

’’We exposed ourselves to free and fair elections and because of that the world is happy with us; so we have to develop that culture even in our own local elections, at the ward, local government,states,zonal and of course, the national levels.”

While congratulating the governors who won recent governorship elections in their respective states, the President said, ‘’Let me join the acting Chairman to congratulate the governors of Kogi, Adamawa, Bayelsa states  and also the members of the party from these states and indeed the leadership of the party. Of course,the governor of Sokoto state will join us during our next meeting.
Among those who attended the meeting included President Goodluck Jonathan, Vice President Namadi Sambo, Senate President David Mark, Speaker, House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu.
They also included Deputy Speaker Emeka Ihedioha,  Chief Tony Anenih,Dr. Amadu Ali, Senator Barnabas Gemade, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo, Senator Ken Nnamani, Dr. Bello Haliru Mohammed, Chief Ebenezer Babatope, Chris Uba and Hassan Adamu,
Governors of Delta, Kaduna, Akwa Ibom, Kogi, Bayelsa State, Rivers; Plateau; Gombe and Sokoto states  among others also attended.
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Presidency, N/Assembly yet to agree on state creation

Despite fresh agitation for new states, the Presidency is yet to agree with the National Assembly it was learnt at the weekend.
The presidency is insisting that  new states cannot be viable and it maintains that it could only favour a new state from the Southeast if the National Assembly is adamant.
The House of Representatives prefers creation of new local government Areas to bring government closer to the people than unviable  new states.
A former House Deputy Speaker, Bayero Nafada, had on April 29, 2010 claimed that the National Assembly would create 10 new states with five each from the North and the South.
Although the Sixth National Assembly could not create states, some present set of Senators and House members have renewed the agitation.
There are about 26 requests before the National Assembly as at the close of sitting by the Sixth session.
The National Assembly is said to have opened up discussion with the Presidency on its plan to create states but the executive arm was not forthcoming.
It was learnt that the Senate President David Mark is a key force driving it but the Presidency felt the new states might not be viable as being contemplated.
It was  gathered that the Presidency said if the pressure is too much, it might only concede to the creation of a new state only from the Southeast that is marginalised.
According to records made available by a source in the National Assembly, the distribution of states among the six geopolitical zones is as follows: Southeast (five); Southwest (six); Southsouth (six); Northcentral (seven including the FCT); North-West(seven); and Northeast (six).
It was, however, learnt that the brick wall response from the Presidency has created a setback for the National Assembly.
A source said: “Well, the legislature is trying its best to put the government into confidence but the Presidency  does not see  any viability in creating new states now.
“We have more serious economic challenges to cope with than state creation which may still cause more political problems for the country.
“The indices have been made available to the National Assembly that the economy cannot support new states at all.
“At worst, if the National Assembly is adamant, there can only be an additional state from the Southeast because that is the only zone with five states. It is the zone that has been shortchanged in the scheme of things.”
A Senator said: “I think the economy can still cater for new states because they will still be maintained with the same budget being frittered away by the 36 states and the FCT.
“We need to bring government closer to the masses as the case in India . Some states are just too big for their citizens to feel the impact of the government.
A principal officer of the House of Representatives, who spoke in confidence, said: “I am aware that the Chairman of the National Assembly, Chief David Mark, who is the Senate President, is interested in the creation of new states. I think he wants his people(Idoma) liberated from the majority Tiv in Benue State .
“But he might not get the support of the House because the issue at stake is beyond personal challenge. This state of the economy cannot sustain new states.
“We also believe that embarking  on state creation  exercise now will be diversionary and  it will create more political problems than we think.
“The general opinion in the House is that it is better not to go into that at all and keep our peace.
“But members of the House might favour the creation of new local government areas which can be accommodated within the present revenue allocation formula.
“Some states have Local Council Development Areas which have been in dispute. But these LCDAs are still being managed by the votes from the Federation Account.”
Contacted, the Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Alhaji Zakari Mohammed was not forthcoming.
“We want Nigerians to benefit more from the government at closer level. That is why local governments will be more
He simply said: “As far as we are concerned, we will stand where Nigerians stand on state creation.”
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'Jonathan lacks capacity to handle Boko Haram’

President Goodluck Jonathan does not have the capacity to tackle the Boko Haram insurgency, a Kenyan presidential aspirant, Prof George Wajackoyah, has said.

The Kenyan noted that for Nigeria to avoid a break up and overcome the activities of the sect, the President must seek the assistance of former Heads of State. He said seeking foreign help should be the last resort for the Nigerian government.

Addressing reporters at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, the presidential aspirant said if the Boko Haram debacle is not properly handled, it could reduce Nigeria from the toast of investors to that of apprehension. 

According to him, former Heads of State, such as Olusegun Obasanjo, Ibrahim Babangida and Muhammadu Buhari, will assist Jonathan to resolve the lingering insecurity in the country.

Wajackoyah said: "I feel so bad that Nigeria, which used to be the beacon of security and prosperity in Africa, is slipping into chaos and anarchy, because of the challenge of insecurity, terror threat and religious extremism.

"Nigeria used to be the hope of economic prosperity and political stability… My prayer is that God will intervene to solve this problem. God will help President Goodluck Jonathan to call for advice from former Heads of States. Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, General Ibrahim Babangida and General Muhammadu Buhari should go into a room and dialogue, to assist the President on how to resolve this problem of Boko Haram and find out how they can fight the situation. This is because this one is beyond Goodluck Jonathan.

"Jonathan cannot fight it alone. He needs former Heads of State to assist him in resolving the national anxiety; to find out the cause of the Boko Haram conflict, which I am convinced can be resolved. I feel so bad seeing brothers killing brothers. These are all Nigerians killing one another. I think some people are showing bitterness by saying: 'Let us go and bomb them' Who will be destroyed at the end of the day? The economy of Nigeria and the country's name go down. The people themselves go down. Foreign investors go away.

"Well, external assistance can only come in as a last resort, because it is wrong to go outside to call people as a country to come and solve your problem. They will have a different agenda. They might come in with troops to kill the terrorists but it is not right."

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Uba, Tinubu, NNPC, PPPRA, 86 others appear before Senate

ABUJA — Senate has summoned the Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Mr. Austin Oniwo; Executive Secretary, Petroleum Product Pricing and Regulatory Agency, PPPRA; Chairman, Capital Oil and Gas Industries Ltd, Mr. Ifeanyi Uba, to appear before it today.

They will appear before the Senate Joint Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream), Appropriation and Finance to explain how much was spent and who collected what from the N1.7 trillion oil subsidy. Chairman of the committee is Senator Magnus Abe, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Rivers South-East.

An invitation signed by Senator Abe, explained that the public hearing was "in continuation of investigations into the operations of the fuel subsidy scheme."

Also summoned to appear as oil marketers for the two-day public hearing in Abuja are Prince Frederick Akinruntan, Chairman, Obat Oil and Petroleum; Dr. Oba Otudeko of Honey Well and Gas; Group Chief Executive Officer of Oando Nig Plc, Mr. Adewale Tinubu; Mobil Oil Nig Plc; African Petroleum Plc; Heyden Petroleum; and MRS Oil and Gas Plc.

Also to appear among the 88 oil companies involved are Rahamaniyya Oil and Gas; Sea Petroleum and Gas Co. Ltd; Ryden; Sahara Energy; Sifax Oil Gas Company Ltd and Total Nig. Plc.

Also members of the ad-hoc committee of the House of Representatives investigating the management of subsidy regime have come under intense pressure from some beneficiaries who want favourable reports.

A member of the committee told Vanguard, yesterday, in Abuja that "beneficiaries of the subsidy had been bringing intense pressure on members to water down the report when it is finally presented to the entire House."

The member, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: "We are being told to name our price and they are ready to pay. It is unfortunate what corruption has turned the country into. Very obscene amount of money is being touted for the settlement. It is a shame."

Vanguard gathered that some of the marketers have resorted to employing former members of the House of Representatives to lobby on their behalf before the Faruk Lawan-led committee.

Meanwhile, Chairman of Association of Mega Filling Stations Owners of Nigeria, AMSON, Mr. Wada Ashiga, told the House of Representatives ad-hoc committee investigating the management of the subsidy regime that NNPC retail unit was to blame for the scarcity of kerosene

He said: "Our 500 affiliate stations account for about 85 per cent of the total performance of the NNPC retail. But they engage in discriminatory supply of AGO and DPK to the 37 NNPC mega stations which account for only 15 per cent.

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Pension Probe: Senate Threatens To arrest HOS, Others

The Senate yesterday threatened to issue a warrant of arrest on the Head of Services (HOS) and Accountant Generals (AG) of Abia, Anambra, Imo and Ebonyi states over their failure to appear and make presentations on how the state governments have managed the Pension scheme in their states.
This is as revelations emerged that the Enugu State government owes N1.4bn gratuity to pensioners who retired 10 months ago N1.4bn, even as the state has not paid gratuities to pensioners in the past six years.
The joint Committee of the senate on Establishment, State and Local Government Affairs, issued the threat yesterday while investigating the irregularities and maladministration plaguing the pension scheme in the country.
Miffed at the refusal of the HOS(s) and AG(s) to make presentations, the chairman of the joint committee Sen. Aloysius Akpan Etok,  pointed out that no person would be allowed to sabotage the probes, adding that if they failed to appear within seven days in Abuja, they would be arrested.
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At Last, Senate Endorses Post-UTME

The Senate yesterday finally endorsed the legality of post University and Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) thus ending the row between university authorities and the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, JAMB.
Approving the report of its Senate Committee on Education, the senators urged the board to consider shifting the UME and post-UME examination from Saturday or any weekend to a week day; (Monday or Tuesday) in order to prevent impersonators during the examination.
However, expectations by public universities to generate more funds through Post UME was dashed as the Senate report barred universities from collecting more than N2000 for the exam while JAMB was asked not to collect more than N4000 per candidate.
Similarly, the Senate outlawed the operation of the so-called “Miracle Centers or JAMB Special Centers.”
The lawmakers however implored JAMB to increase penalties stipulated in existing laws for malpractices and irregularities in the conduct of admission examinations and screening, especially by staff.
The Senate meanwhile, approved the suspension or termination of appointment of any head of tertiary Institution that failed to comply with the prescribed fee of N2000 for post UME in public universities.
The lawmakers also advised that admission in a tertiary institution should not exceed the carrying capacity of the institution or its officially allocated quota in order not to over-stretch the facilities and resources.
Furthermore, the senators through the report urged the Federal Government to increase budgetary allocation to educational sector in the country and called for modification of the time table of examinations, with the aim of achieving express release of results to enable unsuccessful candidates apply to JAMB and other tertiary institutions within the same year.
Due to recent controversies that have trailed the JAMB, and universities on Post-UME, the Minister of Education, Prof. Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufa’i had said that JAMB and universities have legal backing to conduct exams and give admissions to suitable candidates and conduct post-JAMB exams, screen results and give admissions respectively.
She said the ministry recognises the roles played by both institutions in their zeal to give the best to the nation in which there is no contradiction and compromise as to which of the institutions does what; and thus assured that parents would not be exploited through any means.
She eulogised the qualities of JAMB, saying that it had become a benchmark for the many exam bodies as it had lived up to expectations and was one of the parastatals that the ministry was highly proud of.
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‘Abuja Prone To Terrorist Attack’

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Senator Bala Mohammed, has described Abuja as an area prone to terror attacks by its design.
This is just as he said the Abuja Master Plan did not anticipate terror attacks as such facilities provided in the city, such as roads, were not designed with that in mind, saying, “The master plan was not conceptualise to terrorism when it was being built so our facilities are prone to attacks.”
The minister who stated this yesterday, in Abuja, while receiving members of Course 5 of the Institute of Security Affairs who were on a study visit of the FCT administration further lamented that to secure life and property in the FCT, certain measures had been taken, such as blocking some routes, which was in itself another problem.
“By doing this we are creating traffic gridlocks so it is one problem to the other,” he said.
Mohammed, however, said the administration was not resting on its oars to ensure that Abuja remained safe, despite the daunting challenges.
He said one of the measures currently being explored by the administration was to lay fibre optic cables within the CCTV network, to connect every residence in the territory to a telephone network through which they can reach security agencies, rather than employing security guards to guard their premises, a move which may be counter-productive, considering that the security guards mat themselves be security risks.
The minister commended the security agencies for their efforts in safeguarding life and property in the city and urged them to continue to do more.
Earlier, the Director of the institute, Dr. O.A Odugbemi, said the institute had commenced its fifth course last week, tagged, ‘National Security and the Transformation Agenda’.
He explained that the participants visit several places as part of the course; and that they had chosen the FCT to get first hand information on how its developmental programmes were impacting on national security.
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Showing posts with label FCT. Show all posts
Showing posts with label FCT. Show all posts

Friday, 24 February 2012

Supreme Court has sacked Governor of Kebbi state from office.

04:08    No comments

ABUJA – The Supreme Court has sacked Governor Usman Saidu Nasamu Dakingari of Kebbi state from office.

His removal was sequel to an appeal that was lodged before the apex court by the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, and its candidate in the April 26, 2011,governorship election in the state, Malam Abubakar Abubakar.

In their unanimous judgment this morning, a 5-man panel of Justices of the Supreme Court ordered the Independent National ElectoralCommission, INEC, to conduct fresh election in the state within 90 days (3 months).

Justice Walter Onnoghen who delivered the lead judgment nullified the verdict of the Sokoto Division of the Court of Appeal which ab-initio affirmed the ousted governor as the bona-fide winner of the gubernatorial election in the state.

While setting-aside the appellate court's verdict on the premise that it was legally defective, the Supreme Court noted that the lower court erred in law when it deferred the reasons behind its judgment till a date outside the 60 days stipulated in the constitution for the determination of governorship appeals.

Whereas the appellate court gave its judgment on December 29,2011, it was unable to justify the verdict with reasons until January 24, 2012.

Consequently, the apex court while setting-aside the decision of the appeal court went ahead and upheld the verdict of the Kebbi state Election Petition Tribunal which had earlier sacked the governor and ordered a fresh election in the state.

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Thursday, 23 February 2012

N894m contract scam: Bankole gave contracts to ghost firms, says EFCC

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ABUJA — Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, yesterday, accused the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Dimeji Bankole, of using fake companies to defraud the Federal Government of N894 million while in office.
EFCC told a Federal High Court in Abuja, yesterday, efforts to trace most of the companies awarded contracts by the erstwhile Speaker proved abortive as the benefiting companies were non-existent.
Testifying at the resumed trial yesterday, a prosecution witness, PW-1, A.S.P, Ibrahim Ahmed, told the court that the former Speaker awarded contracts to companies not registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC.
Ibrahim was part of the team that investigated allegation that Bankole inflated costs of items bought for members of the 6th session of the House.
The witness said efforts by the commission to trace the locations of the companies were futile as the addresses found on the contract award documents purported to belong to the companies were non-existent.
He said the investigation was prompted by a petition that was lodged before the agency by Bankole’s colleagues in the House of Representatives.
He said: “My Lord, after our thorough investigations with CAC, and close perusal of the documents used by the then leadership of the House of Representatives under the accused person in the award of the said contracts, we found out that the contract details of the beneficiary companies were non-existent.
“Letters sent to the purported addresses on the contract papers were returned two weeks later fbecause the addresses were non-existent.”
Meanwhile, trial Justice Donatus Okorowo, yesterday, adjourned further hearing on the matter till April 3.

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Wednesday, 22 February 2012

Senate summons Okonjo-Iweala, Diezani, others over fuel scarcity

23:10    No comments

ABUJA— Senate committee on Petroleum (Downstream), yesterday, summoned the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and her Petroleum Resources counterpart, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, to appear before it and explain the cause of the recent scarcity of fuel in the country.

Group Managing Direc-tor, Nigeria National Petro-leum Corporation, NNPC, Mr. Austin, has also been summoned by the Commi-ttee following spate of fuel scarcity across the country.

Chairman of the Committee, Senator Magnus Abe, who issued the summon in Abuja, said the Senate is worried about the increasing queues at filling stations, despite the reintroduction of fuel subsidy by the Federal Government.

He said: "The Senate is concerned by what is happening in the country today regarding the availability of petroleum products for our local consumption. We have asked the key players to come before us to explain why there is no fuel in our filling stations."

Those to also appear before the committee in relation to the scarcity includes: Managing Director of the Pipeline and Products Marketing Company, PPMC, Mr. Morrison Fiddi; Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, PPPRA, Mr. Reginald Stanley; Director of the Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, Mr. Austin Olorunshola.

The committee also summoned the President of Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, and the Executive Secretary of Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, MOMAN.

All those invited are scheduled to appear before the Senate tomorrow by noon.

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Failed subsidy promises: NLC, others blast Jonathan … ask government to revert petrol price to N65

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THE stage appeared set for another round of showdown between President Goodluck Jonathan and labour unions on the issue of fuel subsidy with labour on Tuesday asking the Federal Government to revert the pump price of petrol to N65 per litre.
The Nigeria Labour Congress and the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria said the Jonathan administration had no option other than to reverse the price from its present N97 to the old N65 per litre since the President had said he was rethinking the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment programme.
Jonathan on Monday reportedly told chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party at their  58th National Executive Committee meeting in Abuja that implementation of the palliatives to cushion the effects of subsidy removal were no longer feasible.
The President said the palliatives had been based on the 100 per cent removal of subsidy on local consumption of fuel.
“This (SURE) is developed with the expectation that we were going to completely deregulate the Downstream sector of the oil industry, the 100 per cent removal of subsidy… we will still come up with a document based on what we get,” he told the PDP members and ordered them to withdraw the circulated SURE document.
The SURE programme had been hurriedly designed in January to douse the tension generated by the sudden removal of subsidy and consequent jump in the pump price of petrol.
The Senate has said it is backing the action of the President. Leader of the Senate, Victor Ndoma-Egba, said Jonathan made the plans based on zero-subsidy arrangement and for which the 2012 budget was prepared.
“The President said he wanted to remove subsidy, Nigerians said they don’t want it removed. Now that he was not able to realise his plan, where will he get the money to carry out that policy,” Ndoma-Egba said.
He, however, stated that the President would still need to work with the savings made from the partial removal of subsidy.
“The President will have to look at the proceeds from partial deregulation and work with what is saved. That is the reason why the document earlier produced should be revised to reflect the current realities,” he said.
Apart from the NLC and the ASCN, the House of Representatives also on Tuesday took a swipe at the President and said it was vindicated concerning its pessimism over the government palliatives.
The Acting General Secretary of the NLC, Mr. Owei Lakemfa, in a telephone interview with one of our correspondents on Tuesday said  the Federal Government  had no option but to revert the fuel pump price from the current N97 to the pre-2012 pump price of fuel.
He said that a recent advertisement in a national daily in which the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, claimed that the Federal Government realised N15b allocation from the proposed subsidy savings supported the claim that the Federal Government was making some money from the regime change in the pump price of fuel and that the funds realised from the fuel price increase should be adequately utilised to execute projects.
According to Lakemfa, the Federal Government is only trying to prepare the minds of Nigerians against expecting results from the increase in the pump price of petrol in the country by announcing the withdrawal of the programme.
He urged the government to fulfil its promise to use the proceeds of fuel price increase to construct roads, build a second Niger bridge, and other promises contained in the SURE document.
He said that the Nigerian citizenry was seriously interested in what the Federal Government could do with the proceeds from the increase in the pump price of petroleum products.
He called on the Federal Government to ensure that the Ministries of Petroleum and Finance were cleansed based on the serious discoveries made at the Subsidy Probe by the House of Representatives.
“Right from the onset, organised labour believed that the Federal Government was not sincere with this programme but the government claimed that we were going to get results in six months. What government is saying now is that we should not expect results,” the NLC scribe said.
Also, the House of Representatives said that it was not surprised that the President withdrew its promised fuel subsidy removal palliatives.
The House noted that the development vindicated its opposition to the SURE programme, particularly the “hurried manner” the executive introduced the document without consulting the National Assembly.
The Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Zakari Mohammed, explained that the legislature had consistently held the view that Nigerians needed to be consulted on the programme.
He added, “We have been vindicated because we had initially opposed the hurried manner the SURE document was put together.
“We were saying that the funds for this programme needed to be properly appropriated by the National Assembly and more so that we needed to have the details of the programme.”
Mohammed, however, commended Jonathan for realising that something went wrong and retracing his steps.
The Minority Leader of the House, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, who shared the same view, told THE PUNCH in Abuja that the palliatives were a “dummy right from the start.”
He argued that the President was merely attempting to “pull the wool” over the faces of  Nigerians by promising palliatives that were theirs by right.
Gbajabiamila stated, “Under Section 17 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), government is mandated to provide the same services it has promised as palliatives.
“The issues of health, transport and all that; these are the fundamental duties that government owes the citizenry.
“You cannot give me what rightly belongs to me in the guise of palliatives, while taking away the subsidy that I ought to enjoy.
“So, I am not surprised that they have decided to withdraw it; it was a dummy that I never ever bought.”
Criticising the President, the National Publicity Secretary of the CPC, Mr. Rotimi Fashakin, said the administration was not committed to responsible governance.
“All along, as a party,  we knew the idea of SURE was a knee-jerk response to the people’s protest and not a well thought-out intervention to stymie the dire impoverishment of the people,” Fashakin said.
President, Campaign for Democracy,  Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, said it was evident from the outset that  Jonathan was not committed to the implementation of the SURE programme.
“They never meant it (SURE). It was just propaganda to make people swallow poison. Corruption still persists so how can anyone trust the regime to implement SURE. Cosmetic palliatives can never cushion any effect,” she said.
The Secretary-General of ASCSN and founding Secretary-General of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, Mr. Solomon Onaghinon, in an interview with one of our correspondents said, “There is social crisis in Nigeria.”
He said, “There were no palliatives in the first place; I have always said that those palliatives do not make sense because government said they would be paying salaries on the 20th of every month but have they paid? There is no palliative.
“For those people who really listened carefully, they would have known that there was no palliative. If the President said the palliatives are no longer feasible, let him bring the fuel price back to N65 per litre.”

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Nigeria's human rights chief declares asset

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The human rights chief has five bank accounts, two houses, two cars, two generators and 10,000 books

The Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Chidi Odinkalu, yesterday declared his asset publicly.
Mr. Odinkalu, whose appointment by President Goodluck Jonathan was confirmed by the Nigerian Senate late last year, declared that he has four bank accounts. Two of the accounts are with Standard Chartered Bank in Nigeria. The first has N94, 000 in it while the other has $11,700 in it.
The other two accounts are in Barclays Bank of the United Kingdom. While one contains £7,752, the other has £4,562. Mr. Odinkalu also has an overdrawn account at the Royal Bank of Scotland.
The assets declared also showed that Mr. Odinkalu has a mortgaged 3-bedroom mid-terrace house in Edmonton, and another 4-bedroom semi-detached house in Lekki, Lagos.
The human rights boss owns two cars, a Toyota RAV 4 which he purchased in 2004, and a Kia Rio purchased in 2005. He also has a personal pension plan, and shares and stocks worth about N3million. A 27kva generator and a 7.5KVA inverter complete Mr. Odinkalu’s asset.
Mr. Odinkalu, who described the over 10,000 books he has in his library as “invaluable,” is the first public official appointed by Mr. Jonathan to publicly declare his assets.
Upon assuming office as President, Mr. Jonathan refused to declare his asset publicly.
The Code of Conduct Bureau which is saddled with the responsibility of collecting asset declarations of public officials also refused to release copies of Mr. Jonathan’s asset declaration.
A non-governmental organisation, the African Centre for Media and Information Literacy has pledged to challenge the Code of Conduct’s decision in court.

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President Jonathan Heads For UK Meeting on Somalia, His Delegation Over-50

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President Jonathan will on Wednesday morning begin a two-day trip to London to participate in Thursday's International Conference on Somalia being hosted by Prime Minister David Cameron. 

The conference will be attended by heads of governments and representatives from 40 countries, multilateral organizations and Somali authorities to agree on how the international community could step-up efforts to tackle the root causes and effects of the problems in Somalia.

According to Mr. Reuben Abati, the president's spokesman, Mr. Jonathan will be accompanied on the visit by the First Lady, Mrs. Patience Jonathan; the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Olugbenga Ashiru; and the National Security Adviser, Gen. Andrew Azazi.

Mr. Jonathan, who will return to Nigeria on Friday morning, will also hold bilateral talks with Mr. Cameron before his return.

Nigerians who may be pleased about what appears to be Jonathan's considerably slimmed-down entourage may be interested to know that he and 47 other Nigerians obtained United Kingdom visas late last week. 

Quoting State House Abuja sources, Japhet Omojuwa of Omojuwa.com, said that 43 of the visa applications were filed on February 16.  The following day, State House sent yet another five passports to the High Commission at about noon.  Those five visa requests were supposedly for pilots, but the forms accompanying them contained no details whatsoever.

It is unclear why the visas were being rushed at the last minute last week, as the applicants listed their trip as starting on Saturday.  While the President's form indicated he would be away for five days, the other applicants specified two weeks as their length of stay.

Presidential spokesman Reuben Abati was not on the the visa request lists last week as he was said to possess a current visa, as does several other regular State House travelers. This would mean that the President's entourage for this trip would in no way be under 50, particularly as the First Lady is involved.

Only last month, Mrs. Jonathan had 23 people apply for visas to travel with her to the United Kingdom on a tour of Europe. She had the same number of hangers-on when she applied for and got a 10 year UK visa for herself just a week after last year's Inauguration in May.

Late in January, when Mr. Jonathan travelled to Ethiopia for the 18th African Union Summit, his 25-person delegation was smaller than his wife's, which contained 32 people.  Although our report was contested by Mr. Abati, who promised to supply the official list to demonstrate we were wrong, he has yet to do so.  

It was only two weeks before that trip that Mr. Jonathan, facing mass national rallies in response to his abrupt hiking of the price of petrol, pledged to substantially reduce the large size of his travel parties.  At the Commonwealth Summit in Australia in December 2011, his entourage was 200. 

Nigerians are worried that Mr. Jonathan's travel patterns have continued to be the same despite his promises, while his behavior has followed the old patterns. 

"What if he was not desperate to cut waste?" one angry writer asked today. 

"Would this list be as large as the Australian over-200 delegation? And since the President did not travel as stated on Saturday to the UK, could it be that the visas had simply been [obtained] just for the 47 people to make their visa request easier for them?"

Another analyst told SaharaReporters, "We all know that the leopard does not change his spots.  The crowd of entrenched estacode hunters and feasters on the national treasury from the PDP has already gathered and there is no sign that Jonathan is man enough to disperse them."

As we prepared this story, it was learned that 12 senior government officials were already airborne on a flight to the UK for the visit, most of them in First Class and a few others in Business Class aboard British Airways.  A First Class Abuja-London return ticket on BA, according to its website, costs nearly $10,000 per person.

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Monday, 20 February 2012

Presidency: Jonathan warns politicians against 2015 meetings

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ABUJA — PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday, warned politicians interested in 2015 presidency to stop holding political meetings to that effect forthwith.
Jonathan spoke at the 58th emergency meeting of the National Executive Committee, NEC of the ruling People’s Democratic Party, PDP, yesterday, saying he would sack any of his political appointees seen to be engaged in such meetings henceforth, stressing that such meetings were totally uncalled for. He said such moves were not only too early, but distract those in government from governance.

Jonathan spoke against the backdrop of reports that although the president and  governors were yet to spend one year in office, some people had started positioning themseves for their offices. He, however, said such meetings should be discouraged as Nigerians wanted to see the dividends of democracy rather than endless electioneering campaigns.
He also said as the party prepared for its ward, local government, zonal and state congresses that would culminate into a national convention, the PDP must move away from the culture of imposition of candidates by electing their officers democratically.
The President, who stressed the need for unity in the party if the president, governors, members of the National Assembly as well as members of the state Houses of Assembly must deliver dividends of democracy, said the people want to see roads, hospitals, infrastructure, water and not a situation where party members engage themselves in shadow boxing.
He then urged members irrespective of their positions, to respect the party or face being sacked using the African National Congress, ANC, of South Africa example .
“Let me also plead with us that those who are interested in the general elections in 2015, I have noticed that some people have started some meetings. It is too early to hold meetings. You people can see that from the electoral laws and the constitution, INEC normally declares (such contests) open. The idea is that people who were elected into offices as governors and President must be given time to work.
“A situation whereby a governor has not even stayed for a year, the President has not stayed for a year, you start harassing people for 2015 is another way of saying everything is election. There must be time to work.
“At the federal level, if you are holding a political office and I notice that you are involved in meetings for the  2015 election, I will ask you to leave and go and hold your meetings, because that meeting is too early and government must not be distracted. Nigerians are interested on what we put on ground for them, not how many elections we conduct and win.”
Party’s unity
On unity and discipline among members, Jonathan said: “Let me use this unique opportunity to charge all of us, at all levels, whether you are operating at the federal legislative council level as a president, vice president and ministers or at the National Assembly or at the states, at the governors or at the state Assemblies and indeed the party, that all of us belong to one party— one PDP family.
“We are supposed to have one manifesto, one pledge, irrespective of the positions we hold. Ours is to make sure that the PDP succeeds; the governors succeed, the President succeeds, that is the only way we can say that the PDP, as a party, has succeeded.
PDP NEC fixes congresses,  convention dates
Meanwhile, the PDP NEC, yesterday, approved dates for the congresses and the National Convention, with ward congresses taking place March 3, local government congress, March 5; state congresses March 12 while the zonal congress takes place March 21 with the National Convention on March 24 just as the present National Working Committee, NWC members who had their tenure in office slightly extended will hand over between March 26 and 31, even as the next NEC meeting was fixed for February 29.
On the forthcoming congresses and National Convention, the President said,‘’I will also use this opportunity to plead, being at the centre with the party chairman, we are privileged to hear more and we know that we are just going in for election now to elect our party officials and I plead that from the ward congress to the National Convention, let us insist that people are elected democratically.
’’Let us begin to move from the culture of imposition, because if we let our party elect officers of the party, then of course we are sure that primaries or general elections in 2015 will also be democratic and of course the general elections will also be free and fair.
’’As a party we have been able to develop that culture, the presidential election is the election that is number one election in the whole country- every party will want to produce a president first and foremost, because of the status that goes with the ruling party, because it is the party that produced the president.

’’We exposed ourselves to free and fair elections and because of that the world is happy with us; so we have to develop that culture even in our own local elections, at the ward, local government,states,zonal and of course, the national levels.”

While congratulating the governors who won recent governorship elections in their respective states, the President said, ‘’Let me join the acting Chairman to congratulate the governors of Kogi, Adamawa, Bayelsa states  and also the members of the party from these states and indeed the leadership of the party. Of course,the governor of Sokoto state will join us during our next meeting.
Among those who attended the meeting included President Goodluck Jonathan, Vice President Namadi Sambo, Senate President David Mark, Speaker, House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu.
They also included Deputy Speaker Emeka Ihedioha,  Chief Tony Anenih,Dr. Amadu Ali, Senator Barnabas Gemade, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo, Senator Ken Nnamani, Dr. Bello Haliru Mohammed, Chief Ebenezer Babatope, Chris Uba and Hassan Adamu,
Governors of Delta, Kaduna, Akwa Ibom, Kogi, Bayelsa State, Rivers; Plateau; Gombe and Sokoto states  among others also attended.

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Presidency, N/Assembly yet to agree on state creation

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Despite fresh agitation for new states, the Presidency is yet to agree with the National Assembly it was learnt at the weekend.
The presidency is insisting that  new states cannot be viable and it maintains that it could only favour a new state from the Southeast if the National Assembly is adamant.
The House of Representatives prefers creation of new local government Areas to bring government closer to the people than unviable  new states.
A former House Deputy Speaker, Bayero Nafada, had on April 29, 2010 claimed that the National Assembly would create 10 new states with five each from the North and the South.
Although the Sixth National Assembly could not create states, some present set of Senators and House members have renewed the agitation.
There are about 26 requests before the National Assembly as at the close of sitting by the Sixth session.
The National Assembly is said to have opened up discussion with the Presidency on its plan to create states but the executive arm was not forthcoming.
It was learnt that the Senate President David Mark is a key force driving it but the Presidency felt the new states might not be viable as being contemplated.
It was  gathered that the Presidency said if the pressure is too much, it might only concede to the creation of a new state only from the Southeast that is marginalised.
According to records made available by a source in the National Assembly, the distribution of states among the six geopolitical zones is as follows: Southeast (five); Southwest (six); Southsouth (six); Northcentral (seven including the FCT); North-West(seven); and Northeast (six).
It was, however, learnt that the brick wall response from the Presidency has created a setback for the National Assembly.
A source said: “Well, the legislature is trying its best to put the government into confidence but the Presidency  does not see  any viability in creating new states now.
“We have more serious economic challenges to cope with than state creation which may still cause more political problems for the country.
“The indices have been made available to the National Assembly that the economy cannot support new states at all.
“At worst, if the National Assembly is adamant, there can only be an additional state from the Southeast because that is the only zone with five states. It is the zone that has been shortchanged in the scheme of things.”
A Senator said: “I think the economy can still cater for new states because they will still be maintained with the same budget being frittered away by the 36 states and the FCT.
“We need to bring government closer to the masses as the case in India . Some states are just too big for their citizens to feel the impact of the government.
A principal officer of the House of Representatives, who spoke in confidence, said: “I am aware that the Chairman of the National Assembly, Chief David Mark, who is the Senate President, is interested in the creation of new states. I think he wants his people(Idoma) liberated from the majority Tiv in Benue State .
“But he might not get the support of the House because the issue at stake is beyond personal challenge. This state of the economy cannot sustain new states.
“We also believe that embarking  on state creation  exercise now will be diversionary and  it will create more political problems than we think.
“The general opinion in the House is that it is better not to go into that at all and keep our peace.
“But members of the House might favour the creation of new local government areas which can be accommodated within the present revenue allocation formula.
“Some states have Local Council Development Areas which have been in dispute. But these LCDAs are still being managed by the votes from the Federation Account.”
Contacted, the Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Alhaji Zakari Mohammed was not forthcoming.
“We want Nigerians to benefit more from the government at closer level. That is why local governments will be more
He simply said: “As far as we are concerned, we will stand where Nigerians stand on state creation.”

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Monday, 13 February 2012

'Jonathan lacks capacity to handle Boko Haram’

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President Goodluck Jonathan does not have the capacity to tackle the Boko Haram insurgency, a Kenyan presidential aspirant, Prof George Wajackoyah, has said.

The Kenyan noted that for Nigeria to avoid a break up and overcome the activities of the sect, the President must seek the assistance of former Heads of State. He said seeking foreign help should be the last resort for the Nigerian government.

Addressing reporters at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, the presidential aspirant said if the Boko Haram debacle is not properly handled, it could reduce Nigeria from the toast of investors to that of apprehension. 

According to him, former Heads of State, such as Olusegun Obasanjo, Ibrahim Babangida and Muhammadu Buhari, will assist Jonathan to resolve the lingering insecurity in the country.

Wajackoyah said: "I feel so bad that Nigeria, which used to be the beacon of security and prosperity in Africa, is slipping into chaos and anarchy, because of the challenge of insecurity, terror threat and religious extremism.

"Nigeria used to be the hope of economic prosperity and political stability… My prayer is that God will intervene to solve this problem. God will help President Goodluck Jonathan to call for advice from former Heads of States. Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, General Ibrahim Babangida and General Muhammadu Buhari should go into a room and dialogue, to assist the President on how to resolve this problem of Boko Haram and find out how they can fight the situation. This is because this one is beyond Goodluck Jonathan.

"Jonathan cannot fight it alone. He needs former Heads of State to assist him in resolving the national anxiety; to find out the cause of the Boko Haram conflict, which I am convinced can be resolved. I feel so bad seeing brothers killing brothers. These are all Nigerians killing one another. I think some people are showing bitterness by saying: 'Let us go and bomb them' Who will be destroyed at the end of the day? The economy of Nigeria and the country's name go down. The people themselves go down. Foreign investors go away.

"Well, external assistance can only come in as a last resort, because it is wrong to go outside to call people as a country to come and solve your problem. They will have a different agenda. They might come in with troops to kill the terrorists but it is not right."

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Uba, Tinubu, NNPC, PPPRA, 86 others appear before Senate

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ABUJA — Senate has summoned the Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Mr. Austin Oniwo; Executive Secretary, Petroleum Product Pricing and Regulatory Agency, PPPRA; Chairman, Capital Oil and Gas Industries Ltd, Mr. Ifeanyi Uba, to appear before it today.

They will appear before the Senate Joint Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream), Appropriation and Finance to explain how much was spent and who collected what from the N1.7 trillion oil subsidy. Chairman of the committee is Senator Magnus Abe, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Rivers South-East.

An invitation signed by Senator Abe, explained that the public hearing was "in continuation of investigations into the operations of the fuel subsidy scheme."

Also summoned to appear as oil marketers for the two-day public hearing in Abuja are Prince Frederick Akinruntan, Chairman, Obat Oil and Petroleum; Dr. Oba Otudeko of Honey Well and Gas; Group Chief Executive Officer of Oando Nig Plc, Mr. Adewale Tinubu; Mobil Oil Nig Plc; African Petroleum Plc; Heyden Petroleum; and MRS Oil and Gas Plc.

Also to appear among the 88 oil companies involved are Rahamaniyya Oil and Gas; Sea Petroleum and Gas Co. Ltd; Ryden; Sahara Energy; Sifax Oil Gas Company Ltd and Total Nig. Plc.

Also members of the ad-hoc committee of the House of Representatives investigating the management of subsidy regime have come under intense pressure from some beneficiaries who want favourable reports.

A member of the committee told Vanguard, yesterday, in Abuja that "beneficiaries of the subsidy had been bringing intense pressure on members to water down the report when it is finally presented to the entire House."

The member, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: "We are being told to name our price and they are ready to pay. It is unfortunate what corruption has turned the country into. Very obscene amount of money is being touted for the settlement. It is a shame."

Vanguard gathered that some of the marketers have resorted to employing former members of the House of Representatives to lobby on their behalf before the Faruk Lawan-led committee.

Meanwhile, Chairman of Association of Mega Filling Stations Owners of Nigeria, AMSON, Mr. Wada Ashiga, told the House of Representatives ad-hoc committee investigating the management of the subsidy regime that NNPC retail unit was to blame for the scarcity of kerosene

He said: "Our 500 affiliate stations account for about 85 per cent of the total performance of the NNPC retail. But they engage in discriminatory supply of AGO and DPK to the 37 NNPC mega stations which account for only 15 per cent.

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Friday, 10 February 2012

Pension Probe: Senate Threatens To arrest HOS, Others

03:01    No comments

The Senate yesterday threatened to issue a warrant of arrest on the Head of Services (HOS) and Accountant Generals (AG) of Abia, Anambra, Imo and Ebonyi states over their failure to appear and make presentations on how the state governments have managed the Pension scheme in their states.
This is as revelations emerged that the Enugu State government owes N1.4bn gratuity to pensioners who retired 10 months ago N1.4bn, even as the state has not paid gratuities to pensioners in the past six years.
The joint Committee of the senate on Establishment, State and Local Government Affairs, issued the threat yesterday while investigating the irregularities and maladministration plaguing the pension scheme in the country.
Miffed at the refusal of the HOS(s) and AG(s) to make presentations, the chairman of the joint committee Sen. Aloysius Akpan Etok,  pointed out that no person would be allowed to sabotage the probes, adding that if they failed to appear within seven days in Abuja, they would be arrested.

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At Last, Senate Endorses Post-UTME

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The Senate yesterday finally endorsed the legality of post University and Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) thus ending the row between university authorities and the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, JAMB.
Approving the report of its Senate Committee on Education, the senators urged the board to consider shifting the UME and post-UME examination from Saturday or any weekend to a week day; (Monday or Tuesday) in order to prevent impersonators during the examination.
However, expectations by public universities to generate more funds through Post UME was dashed as the Senate report barred universities from collecting more than N2000 for the exam while JAMB was asked not to collect more than N4000 per candidate.
Similarly, the Senate outlawed the operation of the so-called “Miracle Centers or JAMB Special Centers.”
The lawmakers however implored JAMB to increase penalties stipulated in existing laws for malpractices and irregularities in the conduct of admission examinations and screening, especially by staff.
The Senate meanwhile, approved the suspension or termination of appointment of any head of tertiary Institution that failed to comply with the prescribed fee of N2000 for post UME in public universities.
The lawmakers also advised that admission in a tertiary institution should not exceed the carrying capacity of the institution or its officially allocated quota in order not to over-stretch the facilities and resources.
Furthermore, the senators through the report urged the Federal Government to increase budgetary allocation to educational sector in the country and called for modification of the time table of examinations, with the aim of achieving express release of results to enable unsuccessful candidates apply to JAMB and other tertiary institutions within the same year.
Due to recent controversies that have trailed the JAMB, and universities on Post-UME, the Minister of Education, Prof. Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufa’i had said that JAMB and universities have legal backing to conduct exams and give admissions to suitable candidates and conduct post-JAMB exams, screen results and give admissions respectively.
She said the ministry recognises the roles played by both institutions in their zeal to give the best to the nation in which there is no contradiction and compromise as to which of the institutions does what; and thus assured that parents would not be exploited through any means.
She eulogised the qualities of JAMB, saying that it had become a benchmark for the many exam bodies as it had lived up to expectations and was one of the parastatals that the ministry was highly proud of.

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‘Abuja Prone To Terrorist Attack’

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The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Senator Bala Mohammed, has described Abuja as an area prone to terror attacks by its design.
This is just as he said the Abuja Master Plan did not anticipate terror attacks as such facilities provided in the city, such as roads, were not designed with that in mind, saying, “The master plan was not conceptualise to terrorism when it was being built so our facilities are prone to attacks.”
The minister who stated this yesterday, in Abuja, while receiving members of Course 5 of the Institute of Security Affairs who were on a study visit of the FCT administration further lamented that to secure life and property in the FCT, certain measures had been taken, such as blocking some routes, which was in itself another problem.
“By doing this we are creating traffic gridlocks so it is one problem to the other,” he said.
Mohammed, however, said the administration was not resting on its oars to ensure that Abuja remained safe, despite the daunting challenges.
He said one of the measures currently being explored by the administration was to lay fibre optic cables within the CCTV network, to connect every residence in the territory to a telephone network through which they can reach security agencies, rather than employing security guards to guard their premises, a move which may be counter-productive, considering that the security guards mat themselves be security risks.
The minister commended the security agencies for their efforts in safeguarding life and property in the city and urged them to continue to do more.
Earlier, the Director of the institute, Dr. O.A Odugbemi, said the institute had commenced its fifth course last week, tagged, ‘National Security and the Transformation Agenda’.
He explained that the participants visit several places as part of the course; and that they had chosen the FCT to get first hand information on how its developmental programmes were impacting on national security.

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