Monday 30 November 2015

Soldiers nab 15 Delta youths allegedly on protest

UGHELLI—SOLDIERS have intercepted about 15 youths of Ndokwa ethnic nationality in Delta State who were going for a peaceful protest against an oil company at Ase Omoku community in Ndokwa East Local Government Area of the state.
Army
Army
They accused the youths accosted at Ashaka of planning to raze the Independent Power Plant, IPP, project in Okpai.
A source, however, said that the soldiers found no dangerous weapons on the youths when they searched them.
Among those arrested were Nnamdi Uwai, Onowoma Dickson, Nnamdi Community, Valentine Uyabeme, Ijeegbunem Obi, Kelvin Nwadele, Kanayo Kukagha, Agriga Ossai, Dinma Kukaya, Nelson Mabeme, Chidi and Uche Mabeme.
Leader of the Coalition of Ndokwa Youth Leaders, Mr Alex Agha, who confirmed the arrest of the youths said, “They explained to the soldiers that they had no business with IPP and their mission was to Ase Omoku, where they were going for a peaceful protest, yet they were arrested.”
He said other members of the coalition who were earlier stopped by soldiers from going to Ase Omoku proceeded to Umuseti community, the headquarters of the oil firm, Sterling Global, to lodge their grievances and were received by the Base Manager of the company, Mr Mohan.
A source at the 222 Battalion, Agbarha-Otor, in Ughelli North Local Government Area, confirmed the arrest of the youths, but alleged that a youth leader sponsored them to disrupt activities of oil companies in the area and extort money for personal benefit.
He told one of our reporters that the military handed over the youths to the Police Area Command, Ughelli

The apex Igbo organization, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, yesterday, rose from its Imeobi (highest decision organ) meeting in Enugu and called on the Federal Government to release Nnamdi Kanu, the detained Director of Radio Biafra and leader of IPOB, unconditionally. Nnamdi-Kanu in court Nnamdi-Kanu in court However, the meeting, which was billed to hold with representatives of MASSOB and IPOB was boycotted by the pro-Biafra groups. Ohanaeze‘s directive was contained in a communique jointly signed by the National President of Ohanaeze, Chief Gary Enwo-Igariwey and the Secretary General, Dr. Joe Nworgu. They said that agitations and public protests over Biafra had been exacerbated by the detention of Mr. Kanu, the director of Radio Biafra. At the meeting attended by representatives of both the Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, and the Independent People of Biafra, IPOB, in Enugu yesterday, Ohanaeze further expressed displeasure over the continued incarceration of Kanu, saying that it was gravely concerned over current wide-spread public Biafra agitations in states of the South-East and some other states of Nigeria for the actualization of Biafra. The communique read in part: “Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the apex socio-cultural organization of Ndigbo in Nigeria and the Diaspora, is gravely concerned by current wide-spread and public Biafra agitations in states of the South-East and some other states of Nigeria. “These agitations and public protests have become exacerbated by the detention of Mr. Nnamdi Kanu, the promoter/proprietor/director of Radio Biafra by Department of State Services, DSS.” It further stated that “Ohanaeze Ndigbo fears that these developments may threaten the security and peaceful co-existence of Nigerians wherever they may be domiciled, and consequently, decided to summon an emergency meeting of Imeobi Ohanaeze Ndigbo to discuss the situation. “This emergency meeting was held in Enugu at the National Secretariat of Ohanaeze Ndigbo on Sunday, (yesterday), November 29, 2015. Representatives of the various organizations and associations involved in the current public protest also attended the meeting. “The Imeobi Ohanaeze Ndigbo, after extensive candid discussions and analysis of the situation is of the view that the current agitations are the direct result of the excruciating pain of severe injustice, marginalization and exclusion of Ndigbo from decision making structures in Nigeria as currently configured. “The Imeobi Ohanaeze Ndigbo strongly avers that the exclusion of Ndigbo in decision making structure presents danger to the unity and well-being of the country, not only now, but also in future, and should be redressed urgently. Attacking Uwazuruike Meantime, the movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, and the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, also yesterday, lashed out on the leader of MASSOB, Chief Ralph Uwazurike, accusing him of hypocrisy and deceit over his call for the unconditional release of the incarcerated director of Radio Biafra, Mr. Nnamdi Kanu by the Federal Government. This came as the former Chairman of Police Service Commission, PSC, Chief Simon Okeke cautioned some Igbo elders to “stop making pronouncements that can be very infuriating and dishonourable to the agitating groups . He also urged them to speak out early when youths start derailing, instead of keeping what he called “criminal silence” and subsequently condemning them when things get out of hand. MASSOB and IPOB leaders after their joint meeting attended by other leaders of the two groups said: “Chief Uwazurike’s appeal was “an expression full of insincerity.” The groups’ statement made available to newsmen by Mr. Uchenna Madu, and spokesman of IPOB Mr. Emma Powerful on behalf of other leaders, also alleged that “Uwazurike has never liked Mr. Kanu because he (Kanu) is becoming more popular, consistent and trusted by Biafra agitators,” adding that “in Uwazurike’s mind, he is happy with Kanu’s ordeal in the hands of the Federal Government .” Chief Uwazurike while addressing loyalists and friends of MASSOB who stormed Owerri for the third anniversary of the exit of Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, which had Ojukwu’s wife, Chief Bianca Ojukwu, Dr. Fredrick Fasehun and Major Hamza Al- Mustapha in attendance had called for Nnamdi Kanu’s release. “We do not believe in Uwazuruike’s call for Mr. Kanu’s release, just as we condemn the speBiafra is dead and buried – Akinjide

Akinjide served as minister of education in the Tafawa Balewa’s cabinet in the First Republic and as minister of Justice and Attorney General in the Second Republic government of President Shagari. Akinjide was a frontline member of the defunct National Party of Nigeria, NPN and served as the party’s legal adviser prior to his appointment as attorney general.
He is presently, a member of the Board of Trustees, BoT of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. In this interview, he reviews the actions and inactions of the Buhari government, the prospects of the PDP following its recent electoral loss among other national issues.
You have not been so visible in politics in recent times.
Is it age or you are just playing it cool?
I am a prominent member of the Board of Trustees of the PDP and I play very active role in Ibadan, Oyo State and in other parts of the country. So I am very active in the PDP.
Apart from the former Minister of State for FCT, Oloye Jumoke Akinjide, is there any of your other children who is also in politics?
All of them.    Abayomi who also is a lawyer is very active in politics, Mobola, my daughter is very active in politics and if you count Jumoke that makes them three, so my family is very active in politics.
What is your assessment of the assignment of portfolios to the ministers?
He nominated very good people, I have no doubt about that. But my concern is with Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory. When we were in Lagos as Federal Capital, Yar Adua was a Minister for Lagos and he came from the North. When Obasanjo was in office before the Capital Territory was created, a Yoruba person was in charge. But since the Capital Territory has been created, Northerners have been ministers throughout. I don’t think that is the best for the country.
I will like to see an Igbo, Yoruba, Middle-Belt man be a minister in charge of the Capital Territory. To consistently pick someone from the North as Minister for the Capital Territory is not in our national interest and is not good. I am not saying the people that have been picked are bad but I am talking about geographical spread. We should not give the impression that the capital territory belongs to a particular part of the country.    It should be something that belongs to the whole country. That is the objection I have and I hope that will be corrected very soon.
Since President Buhari assumed office six months ago, how can you rate his performance in the fight against terrorism?
He has been trying his best. I mean there are areas in which I might have done things differently but overall, I will give him a good pass mark as president of the country.
So Nigerians did not make mistake voting him as the President?
I would not say Nigerians have made mistake although I would have preferred Goodluck Jonathan to win the election. But since he has been elected, I accept the election and all of us will support him to succeed.
In your wealth of wisdom, what do you think the president should do to make this country better?
Economically, Nigeria is the greatest in Africa. There is no doubt about that. But, we have a committee of 20 of which South Africa is a member and Nigeria is not, I don’t think that can be supported at all. Nigeria should be one of the people in the committee of 20, why Nigeria is excluded, I don’t understand at all. It cannot be defended, it cannot be justified. We should not be looked upon as if we are the colony of Europe or somebody who should be playing third or fourth role in that regard. Europe and America, Japan are wrong.
What is your candid advice to both the Federal Government and the Pro Biafran protesters on the Biafran agitation?
Anybody supporting Biafra must be very, very wrong. I don’t know their reason but whatever their reason, they are wrong. We fought a war for three years over Biafra and Biafra was defeated and the whole country united with the belief that Nigeria should remain one country and the Igbo joined the country and since then they have been governors in the country, they have been ministers both at the state and federal levels. They have been ambassadors abroad. I don’t see why anybody should now be asking for Biafra again, I think it should be rejected.
I think they should call them to a meeting and talk to them as father to son and ask them to stop because there is no reason for them to do what they are doing. In the last government, we had an Igbo as Minister of Finance (Dr. Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala) and also, we had an Igbo as Secretary to the government, we also had Igbo as ambassadors in many parts of the world. So, there is no excuse for anybody to say he wants to break up the country again after we fought a bloody war of about three years. We don’t want to go back to that. We want peace everywhere and we want a fair share whether you are from the North, East, West, South, Middle-Belt everything should be evenly and fairly distributed.
While you say you are still active in politics but the likes of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, and Edwin Clark have chosen to opt out of politics. Do you think it is good for the polity when men of your stature are opting out one by one?
Those people you have mentioned have positions and are statesmen. There is no way they can get out of politics. It is in our blood; it is part of our life and it is in the national interest for us to be actively involved in politics and in governance. I will forever be in politics throughout my life, I will not opt out of it at all either as an adviser or as a statesman. In whatever form that is appropriate, I will definitely    play some role in the national interest.
What do you think actually led to the defeat of PDP in the last general election?
I don’t want to talk on the defeat of PDP. In all elections, somebody has to win somebody has to lose. Nobody should talk of defeat as if it is a disease. When they do elections in America, one has to win one has to lose. The same in England, even in Germany, Israel, Australia and Japan. Defeat in election is not a disease; it is a normal process. One party cannot be in power forever and one party cannot be in opposition forever. I don’t see defeat as a disease; I see it as a normal political process.
But the fact is that with the reputed numerical superiority and influence that PDP wielded years back, nobody thought it could lose election quickly?
I don’t use the word quick. What happened was normal; sometimes, a party rules the country and in another election it is defeated and after another election that party finds its way back. Don’t look at winning or defeat as a disease it is a normal process. It happened recently in Canada whereby the son of a former prime minister is now a prime minister in Canada.
Looking at our electoral system, what do you think should be done to make it more attractive to people outside to stop complaints of rigging?
It is culture. This type of election is not in our blood.    We copied it from Europe and America and other countries, and over in the generations and years to come it will become part and parcel of our culture. Look at India. India is the second largest country in the world following China and yet in my view the greatest democracy in the world is India. I will rate India better than America and that is very good and that is what Nigeria should copy.
So, do you see any role for the BOT of the PDP to return the party to winning ways?
Leadership is very important, leadership of the party with the right person. Then, two, we should nominate the right candidate, once we have the right leadership and candidates who have credibility. I am sure the country will vote for PDP again.
The issue of internal democracy was very loud in the PDP in Oyo State and some other states prior to the last general elections. So, what is really the way out?
That is subjective whether there is internal democracy or not. What I know is that in any election, one will win one will lose.
Whether this is the reason for winning or losing is a different matter. But I have no problem that what happened has happened and I have no doubt that PDP will come back to power again, PDP will win elections.
In 2019?
As soon as possible.
Can you say precisely that PDP did well in the last 16years?
Very well in many respects.
Very well?
That comment is subjective. It is not objective and other people may hold opposite views. Politics is argument and I listen to anybody whether it is right or wrong. But in my view, PDP has done well. Once we pick the right leadership to run the party and we pick the right candidates to contest elections for us at all levels we will be winning.
Do you agree with Raymond Dokpesi when he said that the party made a mistake on the issue of zoning?
He said the party ought to have allowed the North to complete its term and also to allow the North to go for a 2nd term instead of choosing the former President Goodluck Jonathan.
You may be right you may be wrong. I respect his opinion that is what is called democracy. You may see something as white, I may see it as black and you may see it as green.
Ok sir, do you believe in Zoning?
Oh yes. Certainly, we cannot be monolithic.    One country cannot be run by a set of people all the time. We can have a Yoruba running it this time next time it could be Igbo after that it may be Kanuri, Hausa or Fulani. I believe that we should be moving the offices from place to place.
Given the recent kidnap of Chief Olu Falae by some Fulani herdsmen and the agitation of some Yoruba leaders on the issue, what suggestions would you proffer to solve the issue of Fulani herdsmen in the Southwest?
What they did to Falae was very bad and we all support Falae. But, I don’t believe we should break up the country. We should be objective; we should be nationalistic. We should warn those people and if they don’t stop they should be called to order.
What is your advice to the APC government, at least on how it can do things better?
We should offer very strong opposition at the federal level and make sure the government is run properly and in those states where we won elections, we should provide good government and run the government properly. In those areas where we are opposition, we should be good opposition, we should not make it as a matter of life and death.
How has the judicial system fared in the last 55 years after independence?
Oh Nigeria we’ve got the best democracy and judiciary in the whole of Africa. I have no doubt about that at all. If you look at our judgments and law reports it is as good as anything in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, England and we will continue to do better. I am proud of this country. I am a member of the English Bar, Nigeria Bar and African Bar. I practise in three jurisdictions and I enjoy it very much.
Is there any of your children practising law?
Oh yes.    I have about nine or ten of my children who read law and wife and grandchildren who are studying law and I have about three of my grandchildren who are in banking and I also have in business and I am very proud of my children and grandchildren. I have been lucky the boys have married very well likewise the girls and we will do our best to continue to contribute to the well being of this country.

BIAFRA: Ohanaeze seeks unconditional release of Radio Biafra boss

The apex Igbo organization, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, yesterday, rose from its Imeobi (highest decision organ) meeting in Enugu and called on the Federal Government to release Nnamdi Kanu, the detained Director of Radio Biafra and leader of IPOB, unconditionally.
Nnamdi-Kanu in court
Nnamdi-Kanu in court
However, the meeting, which was billed to hold with representatives of MASSOB and IPOB was boycotted by the pro-Biafra groups.
Ohanaeze‘s directive was contained in a communique jointly signed by the National President of Ohanaeze, Chief Gary Enwo-Igariwey and the Secretary General, Dr. Joe Nworgu.
They said that agitations and public protests over Biafra had been exacerbated by the detention of Mr. Kanu, the director of Radio Biafra. At the meeting attended by representatives of both the Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, and the Independent People of Biafra, IPOB, in Enugu yesterday, Ohanaeze further expressed displeasure over the continued incarceration of Kanu, saying that it was gravely concerned over current wide-spread public Biafra agitations in states of the South-East and some other states of Nigeria for the actualization of Biafra.
The communique read in part: “Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the apex socio-cultural organization of Ndigbo in Nigeria and the Diaspora, is gravely concerned by current wide-spread and public Biafra agitations in states of the South-East and some other states of Nigeria.
“These agitations and public protests have become exacerbated by the detention of Mr. Nnamdi Kanu, the promoter/proprietor/director of Radio Biafra by Department of State Services, DSS.”
It further stated that “Ohanaeze Ndigbo fears that these developments may threaten the security and peaceful co-existence of Nigerians wherever they may be domiciled, and consequently, decided to summon an emergency meeting of Imeobi Ohanaeze Ndigbo to discuss the situation.
“This emergency meeting was held in Enugu at the National Secretariat of Ohanaeze Ndigbo on Sunday, (yesterday), November 29, 2015. Representatives of the various organizations and associations involved in the current public protest also attended the meeting.
“The Imeobi Ohanaeze Ndigbo, after extensive candid discussions and analysis of the situation is of the view that the current agitations are the direct result of the excruciating pain of severe injustice, marginalization and exclusion of Ndigbo from decision making structures in Nigeria as currently configured.
“The Imeobi Ohanaeze Ndigbo strongly avers that the exclusion of Ndigbo in decision making structure presents danger to the unity and well-being of the country, not only now, but also in future, and should be redressed urgently.

Attacking Uwazuruike
Meantime, the movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, and the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, also yesterday, lashed out on the leader of MASSOB, Chief Ralph Uwazurike, accusing him of hypocrisy and deceit over his call for the unconditional release of the incarcerated director of Radio Biafra, Mr. Nnamdi Kanu by the Federal Government.
This came as the former Chairman of Police Service Commission, PSC, Chief Simon Okeke  cautioned some Igbo elders to “stop making  pronouncements that can be very infuriating and dishonourable   to the agitating groups . He also  urged them to speak out early when youths start derailing, instead of keeping what he called “criminal silence” and subsequently condemning them when things get out of hand.
MASSOB and IPOB leaders  after their joint meeting attended by other leaders of the two groups  said: “Chief Uwazurike’s appeal was “an expression full of insincerity.”
The groups’ statement made available to newsmen by Mr. Uchenna Madu, and spokesman of IPOB Mr. Emma Powerful on behalf of other leaders, also alleged that “Uwazurike has never liked Mr. Kanu because he (Kanu) is becoming more popular, consistent and trusted by Biafra agitators,” adding that “in  Uwazurike’s  mind, he is happy with Kanu’s ordeal in the hands of the Federal Government .”
Chief Uwazurike while addressing loyalists and friends of MASSOB  who stormed Owerri for the third anniversary of the exit of Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, which had Ojukwu’s wife, Chief Bianca Ojukwu, Dr. Fredrick Fasehun and Major Hamza Al- Mustapha  in attendance had called for Nnamdi Kanu’s release.
“We do not believe in Uwazuruike’s call for Mr. Kanu’s release, just as we condemn the speech at Ojukwu Memorial ceremony where he also said that some people claiming to be champions in their little knowledge, forget that Igboland is landlocked and the five states of South East contribute less than eight per cent of the economy of Nigeria. That is the height of his deceit that he is actually fighting for the actualization of Biafra. It is a statement of somebody that has been compromised, and should not be taken serious.
“That statement was indirectly encouraging the Nigeria government to continue their detention and persecution of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the current Biafra hero. If not, how can somebody like Uwazurike be making such comments and he wants people to take him serious?  We saw where he was going and we decided to leave him,” they said.

Discrediting agitators
Chief Simon Okeke, who was the former PSC chairman regretted that some Igbo leaders had been discrediting the youths agitating for the sovereign state of Biafra.
He said: “The war is over, we have all integrated into Nigerian, there was the doctrine of ‘no victor, no vanquished,’ so the Nigerian experiment has been going on. I have served as PSC chairman and even after that, I have been in pursuit of progress of Nigeria, starting with peace and progress in Igbo land. I think we should stay together as a country, but issues of Igbo marginalization and victimization are real. They are there and very glaring and must be addressed, but not with violence and incessant protests.
“Sometimes truth can be bitter, but it must be told. There are certain pronouncements from Igbo elders that can be very infuriating and dishonourable  of someone that calls himself an elder.
“I have always spoken aloud, I have always said that our Igbo elders should correct the youths early when they are going astray, but they seem to be keeping silent. Their silence is what I have always called ‘criminal silence.’
“If you see the young ones going astray and fail to speak out, your silence is criminal.,” he said.

Discussing with  Buhari
Meantime, Governor  David Umahi of Ebonyi State, weekend, revealed that the governors of the South East geo-political zone had taken a decision to discuss issues revolving around the recent agitation by  IPOB in the country.
Governor Umahi made this known when he received the leadership of the Abakpa Main Market Traders Association at the Government House in Abakaliki.
According to Umahi, the South-East governors had listened to the complaints of the agitators and had decided to discuss the issues with the President.
“We have listened to the complaints of the boys. There is no way anybody would say that what they are saying is completely outside the truth, but just like husband and wife, you must have a way of getting along through dialogue.
“The governors of the  South-East have taken up the matter with Mr. President and I believe that we don’t need another war in this country. I want to plead with you to encourage whoever is involved that we have taken up the matter and we will do everything possible to make sure that their feelings are addressed.
“We should not support secession. We should not  support demonstrations; we should not support the castigation of our leaders.”

British govt. offers to help Buhari develop Niger Delta region

Abuja – The British Government, weekend expressed readiness to collaborate with the present administration of President Muhammadu Buhari’s to urgently fast tract the development of the Niger Delta Region.
British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Ambassador Paul Arkwright gave the assurance when he visited the minister of Niger Delta Affairs Pastor Usani Usani in Abuja,
Arkwright said his government is more than ready to join hands with the Federal Government and other development partners with a view to placing the region on the global map of massive development.
The High Commissioner, who is barely two months in the country disclosed further that he was at the ministry to enquire about key priority in the region, adding, his country was gratified with recent successful and credible elections as well as the smooth transition of power in Nigeria.
The British Government he said on that note decided to partner with it in every possible areas of collaboration to actualise peace and development, particularly in the oil rich region of Nigeria.
The Ambassador who described Niger Delta Region as a critical Part of Nigeria , said, it is poised to achieving new targets set to boost uncommon opportunities that will close existing development gaps in the oil rich region.
Responding, the Minister , Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, Pastor Usani Usani expressed satisfaction with the offer and commended the British government for what he termed as massive support in the democratic process of Nigeria and in the fight against insurgency .
He pleaded with the British not to withdraw it support to the nation especially in the area of boosting Nigeria’s politics, product and industry as well as its assistance as it pertains to regulatory institutions.
He also stressed the need for government of British to help secure the nation’s badly polluted environment by aiding to upgrade the existing environmental standard and procedure that is already in
place.
Usani told the high Commissioner that while Nigeria is working tirelessly to diversify from Oil to Agriculture, it would be highly appreciated if the tender professional support in this regard as well as help in convincing the World Bank to key into the vision.
ENDS.

My boyfriend walked away when I started acting – Funmi Awelewa

awelewaUp and rising Yoruba actress, Funmi Awelewa is so beautiful that it is almost impossible to think a man in his right senses would walk away from her – for any reason. But the Ibadan-based producer of Ife O Dogba and Aromimawe will tell you this is something that nearly tore her apart when she was starting out on her acting path.
“Yes, I have been heartbroken before” she told Potpourri when asked if her heart has ever been broken.
“My ex boyfriend broke up with me because of my profession – acting. I don’t know what really happened, he just walked away, probably intimidated by the profession”
“In life, we encounter the good and the bad side of love. All I know is that I am grateful that I am still capable of love” she said, but added that not every man gets intimidated by an actress.
Funmi’s beauty is not the type that sends electric wave at you at first instance, it is the type that envelopes you in its embrace and cuddle you to sleep,without you even having any knowledge of it. She could very well be the most gorgeous Yoruba actress around but Funmi wouldn’t take that.
“Why would I say I am the most beautiful actress in the Yoruba sector when the beautiful ones are not yet born. I am not the most beautiful but one of the most beautiful actresses. We have got many beautiful actresses in the Yoruba sector.” she retorted
When asked to name at least five Yoruba actresses she thinks are more beautiful than her, she named ‘Mercy Aigbe, Bidemi Kosoko, Liz Da’silva, Olaitan Ogungbile, Joke Jikan and many more’.

Buhari and the Biafrans

Dr. Chu S. P. Okongwu in his 2004 tributes to Ukpabi Asika, took an aside in his eulogies to emphasize the following: “The generation born after the civil war will not know that the former Eastern region, comprising East-Central State, South-Eastern state, and Rivers state, enjoyed a highly developed road network, with probably the highest quality road density in sub-Saharan Africa. These had been damaged or neglected during the war. Ukpabi Asika planned to reconstruct and modernize these.
BiafraAction was also taken to upgrade and transfer to central government responsibility some trunk ‘B’ roads (1, 240 kilometers) and introduce some new federal highways and alignments… .” Dr. Okongwu was East Central State’s Commissioner forEconomic Planning from 1970-1975, and presumably has the data. But that’s besides the point. The real point is that assertion that the East had the “highest quality road density in Sub-sahara Africa” before the damages of war and neglect ruined it all.
The terrible state of roads and interchanges in the old Eastern region, particularly in the current areas now known as the South East zone, remain even now, a sore point; and hard evidence of the neglect of the East by the Federal government since the end of the civil war in 1970. Those who have challenged the current agitation for Biafra, talk of equal opportunity misrule of the federation. But Biafrans present evidence of a specially targeted form of neglect.
There was no reason for agitation for a Biafra from 1970-1983, because in those intermediary years, the East was in recovery mode, and its key intellectual and political leadership, and its highly trained bureaucracy was still intact, and they had the requisite institutional memory to mediate some of the more difficult and challenging obstacles placed on the Eastern states, through both strategic negotiation and initiative. I do recommend Dr. Okongwu’s tributes to Asika to readers of the “Orbit” for a really good context, and a closer understanding of “where the rain began to beat us.” From 1983, a strategic neglect of the East became more pronounced.
Every effort of the past made to rebuild it; including investments in new industry, new skills, and so on, were stripped deliberately, almost as if to stifle the resurgence of its people by Federal authorities. Two marked examples for me includes Dr. Okongwu’s claim that the East Central State’s Data Processing Center, the first of its kind presumably in the continent, long before the current IT craze, was stripped and moved to Kaduna following the 1975 military coup.
Here are Chu Okongwu’s words: “Immediately there was dispatched to East-Central State a mandatory pro-consul in the person of the late Colonel Anthony Aboki Ochefu. His assignment: the dismantling of the East-Central state. Colonel Ochefu dismantled the public service of East Central state.
For good measure he declared that the mainframe computer of the Eastern Data Processing Center was unnecessary madness, beyond the needs and interests of the state. It was summarily dismantled and relocated to the Ahmadu Bello University where it found a necessary sane and needful home. Everybody in East Central state, except Col Ochefu, elements of the army of occupation and their touts, was a thief; the hounding campaign was underway. Cheer leaders and Coryphaei were not wanting in East-Central State.” Buhari was a member of the Supreme Military Council of that regime in 1975.
The same scenario played out following the December 31, 1983 coup at which Buhari was head. A little drama played out in Owerri when, according to close associates of the late Governor Sam Mbakwe, he held out at the Governor’s lodge, Owerri, prepared to call out a mass demonstration starting with street protests from Aba to resist the coup, until he was finally persuaded to give up that move. Buhari appointed his own proconsul, in the person of the then Brigadier Ike Nwachuwku. Again, his assignment: dismantle the gains made in Imo under Mbakwe. Ike Nwachukwu’s first declaration, under what he called the “Imo Formula”  was to dismantle all the 42 industrial installations embarked upon by Sam Mbakwe, which were at various stages of development, and to which financial commitments had been entered.
Nwachukwu’s “achievement” was to consolidate the Imo state university under a single campus at Uturu, near his ancestral home, from the five-campus design which had been envisioned on a model of the State of New York University system, by Mbakwe and his team, to evolve into beautifully designed network of university campuses to stimulate strategic development, and carter to a wider range of students and skills development in the long run.
The effect of these was to stultify development in the East and drive a growing population of highly educated and skilled youth out of the East, into the wilderness. Kids who grew up in Government Reserved Areas in the East, for instance, suddenly found themselves living with rats in the ghettoes of Lagos because all the systems created to afford them the opportunity of living productive lives in the East on equal terms with their peerselsewhere in the world were strategically dismantled.
It is called diminution. Divestments, and lack of investments in both industry and infrastructure in the East, especially by the federal government has led to this moment. What these examples suggest is that Nigeria’s postwar domestic policies have, it has always seemed obvious to Easterners, especially the Igbo, been directed towards subduing, rather than reconstructing the East. Even now, Buhari is talking about billions of naira to be earmarked for the “reconstruction of the North-East.”
What about the East that has suffered from a devastating civil war levied against it, and from the mindless exploitation of oil that has rendered what was the entire Eastern region, one of the world’s great ecological disasters, with incidents of new cancers, the result of massive pollution, possibly the highest currently in the world? Easterners consider themselves victims of state-terror. There must be both reconstruction of the East and reparation for the years of discrimination.
These facts will continue to drive the agitation for Biafra. And this is the point that Ohaneze and the South East governors meeting last week in Enugu failed to acknowledge, and which continues to make them irrelevant to the solutions for these agitations.
The governors in the East and Ohaneze may make ex-cathedra claims, but they do not yet speak for these young people, who have clearly defied them in staging their protests. Again, whoever is advising this president must be plain in telling him that this generation considers him a great part of the Igbo problem, because under his watch as military head, progress in the East was stifled; and the East was isolated in his administrationfrom 1983-85; and as a member of the SMC in 1975, the first postwar moves to “dismantle” the East was set in motion. The onus is on him to show good faith, and dissuade the agitators, or he could show further proof, as some have suggested, that Buhari is rigid and does not listen.

Saturday 28 November 2015

Nearly 1,000 ‘security risks’ denied entry to France since Paris attacks

Nearly 1,000 people thought to pose security risks have been denied entry into France since stepped-up border controls were imposed ahead of the COP21 climate talks on November 13, just hours before the Paris attacks, the interior minister said Saturday.
They were prevented from entering France “because of the risk these people could represent for public order and security in our country,” Bernard Cazeneuve said during a visit to the northeastern city of Strasbourg.
He said nearly 15,000 police, gendarmes and customs agents have been deployed to the borders.
The aim of the boosted controls is to enable the authorities to reinforce security as the COP21 climate talks officially get under way in Paris on Monday and also to confront the high terrorist threat level facing the country, Cazeneuve said, adding that they would make any necessary arrests.
A few hours after the tougher border controls ahead of the climate talks took effect on November 13, extremists carried a series of attacks at several sites in Paris, killing 130 people.
The French government, which has declared a state of emergency, said it would continue the increased border security as long as the terrorist threat remains high.

Court of Appeal sacks Sen. David Mark

The Court of Appeal, Makurdi Division, has annulled the election of the immediate past Senate President, Senator David Mark.
The Court also ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to conduct fresh elections in the Benue South senatorial district within 90 days.
Mark’s victory at the March 28th., 2015 National Assembly elections, was challenged by Daniel Onjeh of the All Progressives Congress, APC, who petitioned the Benue state Legislative Houses elections tribunal asking for the cancellation of the election and an order detailing INEC to conduct fresh election in the district.
The Justice Mosunmola Dipeolu led trial panel had on October 7th., 2015 dismissed Onjeh’s petition on the ground that evidences tendered before the tribunal were documentary hearsay evidences.
However, in a unanimous judgement read by Justice Peter Ige, the appellate court dismissed the judgement of the tribunal and upheld the plea of the appellant that Mark’s election failed substantially to meet with the provisions of paragraphs 39 and 40 of the INEC approved electoral guidelines and sections 73 and 74 of the Electoral Act 2010 as amended.
The panel of jurists also questioned the failure of the trial court to admit evidences tendered by the appellant to canvass his case and in another instance refer to the same evidence to arrive at its decision.
Justice Ige thus held that, “the lower tribunal cannot be seen to blow hot and cold at the same time. The appellant has established his case on the balance of probability. It is our considered view that the appellant’s appeal is meritorious.
“The appellant showed by oral evidence that collation of results was still ongoing a day after the declaration of results of the election in seven local government areas of the district.
“The judgement of Justice Mosunmola Dipeolu led tribunal of October 7th., 2015 dismissing the petition is nullified. Therefore the election of Senator David Mark is hereby set aside.
“INEC is by this judgement to conduct fresh senatorial election in the Benue South district within 90 days.

Plateau bye-election: INEC seizes 7 PVCs, 5 fake agent cards

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Jos says it has seized seven Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) from under aged voters and five party agent cards during the Qua’an Pan North House of Assembly bye-election.

Prof. Anthonia Simbini, INEC National Commissioner, North Central, made the disclosure to newsmen in Kwa, Qua’an Pan on Saturday.
“We discovered in some polling units three major problems during the accreditation in this bye-election; under aged, fake party agent cards and low turnout of voters,’’ she said.
The commissioner expressed happiness with the presiding officers, who she said had turned away most of the under aged voters that came for accreditation.
“We have seen with our eyes and seized seven PVCs from the under aged and five fake party agent cards in some few polling units visited.
Simbini said it was totally unacceptable to see g under aged carrying PVCs to participate in elections.
“The children should not take the law into their hands but should wait until they reach the age of 18.
Commenting on the election, Dr Godwin Kwanga, the state Resident Electoral Commissioner, described the accreditation as “peaceful and orderly.’’
He appealed to the people of Qua’an Pan to give the INEC officials the necessary cooperation for a successful and credible election

World leaders make Queen wait at Malta party

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles were made to wait for world leaders at a drinks reception in Malta on Friday after the high-level guests got stuck in traffic on the Mediterranean island.
The queen and her eldest son were hosting a drinks party at the presidential San Anton Palace after the opening ceremony of the 2015 Commonwealth summit.
But the pair were left waiting for five minutes for some of the 10 new Commonwealth leaders attending, after most of them fell foul of heavy security measures which closed many roads.
“Are you sure they’re here?” quipped Charles as the queen, dressed in an aqua-green coat and hat with pink flowers on it, peered around the entrance to the Grand Master’s Hall where the reception was to be held.
Relief came in the form of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari — the first to arrive at the reception, where pomegranate and orange juice and Australian sparkling wine were served with a selection of canapes.
Queen Elizabeth, who is the head of the 53-country strong Commonwealth, was in Malta along with her husband Prince Philip, Charles and his wife Camilla.

Boko Haram claims suicide attack on Muslim procession

Boko Haram on Saturday claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing on a Shiite Muslim procession near the northern Nigerian city of Kano that killed 22 people.
The hardline Islamist group said in a statement in Arabic on social media its bomber “detonated his explosives which led to the death” of the victims on Friday.
“And by the permission of Allah these attacks of ours against Shi’a polytheists will continue ‎until we cleanse the earth of their filth,” it warned.
At least 21 people were initially reported killed but the toll rose after one more person was confirmed dead.
“For now, we have 22 deaths following the death of one more person yesterday. Thirty-eight people have also been injured, two of whom have been discharged from the hospital,” one of the organisers of the march Ali Kakaki told AFP Saturday.
He said that, despite the attack on Friday, the Islamic Movement of Nigeria members had continued their march from Kano to Zaria in neighbouring Kaduna state, where their leader Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky is based.
The march is to mark Ashura, which commemorates the death of Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Mohammed.
“Following the attack, many more of our members have joined the procession,” Kakaki said, adding that they aimed to arrive at their destination next week.
Friday’s attack took place in the village of Dakasoye, some 20 kilometres (13 miles) south of the city of Kano.
One of the procession’s organisers said a bomber clad in black ran into the crowd and detonated his explosives.
Boko Haram, the radical Sunni jihadists who want to create a hardline Islamic state in northeast Nigeria, has previously been blamed for attacks on Shia Muslims in the region.
Boko Haram, whose six-year insurgency has left at least 17,000 people dead and made more than 2.6 million homeless, condemns Shias as heretics who should be killed.
The group has increasingly used suicide bombers against “soft” civilian targets since the start of a military offensive earlier this year that pushed them out of territory they controlled.
Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has given his military commanders until next month to end the conflict but there are fears that suicide and bomb attacks may persist.

Monday 23 November 2015

FIFA court opens case against Blatter, Platini, decision in December

The judgement arm of FIFA’s ethics committee on Monday opened a case against the body’s suspended president Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini, with a verdict in the corruption allegations surrounding both men due next month.
“The adjudicatory chamber of the independent Ethics Committee … has today opened formal adjudicatory proceedings against Joseph S.
Blatter and Michel Platini based on the final reports submitted by the investigatory chamber,” a statement said, adding that the “chamber intends to come to a decision in both cases during the month of December.

Photos of burial of Abubakar Audu

Audu death1

Monday 16 November 2015

Nigeria must move from patriarchy to gender equity

Wife of former US Ambassador to Nigeria, Dr. Arese Carrington, has called for sustained emancipation of Nigerian women in the drive to attain a developed status for the country.
Nigeria-mapCarrington, an International Public Health Consultant and Vice President, Africana Consultants, USA, noted that Nigeria would only attain a developed status if it adopted and maintained the culture of gender equity like is the situation in developed countries.
Speaking recently during the Eminent series lectures of the University of Benin, Uniben, with the theme “Nigeria and the future of the Black World”, held in collaboration with  Pfizer Nigeria, she urged Nigerian women to get better educated and enlightened because education gives ability to think and analyse things critically.
Noting that there is a patriarchal mindset ruling Nigeria, she avowed that Nigeria must move from patriarchal society to a gender – equal one.
Her words: “An uneducated population is a population in bondage. Education is the passport to freedom. Hence, we must speak the truth to ourselves. With education, no one can pull the wool over our eyes.
“Education, health and income generation form the axis of development. So, it is essential for more Nigerian women to have access to these. They need to be given the opportunity to advance in science and technology.’’
Further, she noted that a lot of women are gifted in Mathematics and Science but lamented that some can’t harness this potential to halt the problems that have stunted growth in Africa.
A UK study on gender issues in Nigeria shows that 49 percent of the Nigerian population is female (80.2 million) and nearly one out of every four females in sub-Saharan Africa is a Nigerian.
Carrington argued that if given opportunity, Nigerian women are great potential for development, urging that Nigeria must, thus, lead the change in stopping education disparity, dehumanization and control of women.
“Nigeria and Africa’s future is dependent on not discarding the role of females in the society nor their potentials to contribute economically and politically. Rwanda has harnessed this opportunity. After the genocide, the women were in the forefront in the reconstruction and the emotional healing of the nation. Realizing this, President Paul Kagame made the extra effort to empower women. Half the Supreme Court population is female,” She said.
She emphasised that the 2015 data from the Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU) shows that in Rwanda 63.8 percent of the lower chamber of parliament and 38.5 percent of the upper chamber are women.’But in Nigeria, only 5.6 percent and 6.5 percent are women in the lower and upper chambers respectively.
A 2012 UK study data ranks Nigeria 118 out of 134 countries in the Gender Equality Index. It showed that women make up only 21 percent of the non-agricultural paid labour force, the majority occupied in casual, low-skilled, low-paid informal sector employment.
She regretted that each day, 144 Nigerian women die in childbirth, equivalent to one death every 10 minutes.  “Women don’t have to die because they want to give birth. Birth should be a thing of joy. It is essential for women to have access to education.”

Prison officers brutalize Vanguard reporter in court premises

ABUJA—The harassment and assault on journalists by law enforcement officers one again came to the fore as officers of Nigerian Prison Service from Kuje Prison, Abuja, numbering about 10, openly brutalized a Vanguard reporter, Mr. Emmanuel Elebeke.
The incident occurred at about 2p.m. at the premises of Court 2 of the FCT High Court, Maitama, Abuja, when the reporter took the photograph of the six accused persons from Kuje prison, who were standing trial for a murder case.
The officials demanded for his camera and, together with family members of the accused, descended on him.
The picture was taken outside the courtroom.
The incident drew the attention of court officials, who came to the journalist’s rescue, but were overwhelmed. While one prison official was hitting the reporter his gun butt, the others kicked with their boots.
Meanwhile, one of the officials, Rita, ordered that one of the handcuffs be removed from the accused persons and used on the reporter.
The beating stopped when they got hold of the camera and made away with it in an official bus with number plates PS635A01.
When the report of the attack got to the judge, he was quoted as wondering why prison officials should take laws into their hands.
NUJ reacts
In a swift reaction, the Chairman of the Federal Capital Territory council of Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, Mr. Paul Ella, condemned the attack and insisted that the prison officers must be brought to justice.
He said: “It is totally unacceptable to us as a union and the profession of journalism. Such an act cannot be tolerated in a society where we all call for social justice.
“We, as a union, will investigate the case in full and make sure that the perpetrators are brought to justice. We will do everything within our power to ensure that this does not repeat itself.”

FG’s order threatens Treasury Single Account

LAGOS —  Indications emerged weekend, that the Single Treasury Account, TSA, may be grounded, following the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, order suspending payment of fees and charges to parties operating the system.
Vanguard  learned that as a result of  CBN’s, recent directive, banks and other stakeholders operating the system may abandon the project in protest over the suspension of their one per cent  agreed fees and charges. Stakeholders have been directed to refund fees and charges they collected as a result of the operation of the TSA.Corruption
The CBN had caused a letter dated October 27, 2015 to be written to Systemspecs asking for refund of all debits/charges into MDAs account.
The letter signed by Dipo Fatokun read in part: “I have been directed to inform you that you should refund all charges, 1% cost of collection made into MDAs account as a result of the implementation of the TSA. The total amount should be credited into the account – FGN Revenue e-Collection Pool Account at the Central Bank of Nigeria Account No 0020054161043.
“Since the cost of collection must have been shared by all the stakeholders, you are hereby required to also provide a schedule of the total amount collected and the portion that was shared to each of the three participants.
The schedule should be prepared on month by month basis, from the commencement of the TSA implementation in March, 2015, to date. We will recover the share to CBN and DMBs. Please note that you are required to comply with the above directive, latest by Wednesday October 28, 2015”.
N836.721 billion in TSA
Documents sighted by Vanguard indicate that a total of N836.721 billion has been the inflow into the federal government coffer through the Single Treasury Account for which a fee of N7.628 billion was charged by both the banks and the facilitator of the TSA project, SystemSpecs. From documents sighted by Vanguard, the CBN is asking the banks to refund N3.053 billion into government treasury while the Central Bank of Nigeria is to refund the sum of N760 million. Systemspecs is also requested to refund  N3.812 billion they collected as fees and charges.
According to the official figures sighted by Vanguard, as at September 15, 2015, N152. 225 billion stood as the cumulative amount that was collected into the TSA account while N797. 717million was the fees due to Systemspecs. The figures also showed that as at October 27, the sum of N836.721 billion was the cumulative collection into the TSA and a total fee of N3.812 billion was due to Systemspecs.
Systemspecs reacts
Systemspecs in reaction to the CBN letter wrote to the CBN Governor on  October 28 saying:  “Let me, however, thank you sir, for your call of Friday, October 23, 2015 in which you ordered that Systemspecs should return all charges earned on the use of our Remita Collection platform. This was followed by your letter of October 27 delivered today. We have opted to obey your instructions for the following reasons: We defer to the high office of the Governor of the Central Bank. We have invested the last four years to prepare for the takeoff of the TSA project and would do all within our power to bring the project to full term despite this demoralising setback for us.  We understand very well the strategic importance of the TSA project in the life of this Administration and would not want any avoidable distractions to becloud the bigger potentials of this project for our country.
“Having returned the money sir, please permit me to explain why you should return this money to us. You may want to recall Sir, that before Remita was engaged to implement the TSA project in 2011, CBN had written to Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, OAGF, that the project was not feasible for at least another two years.
The initial thinking then was to use the RTGS to support TSA transactions before it was observed that the system is not built for retail and high volume transactions. When we signified our intention to provide a solution for TSA, we were told that  Nigeria Inter-bank Settlement System, NIBSS, had also shown interest and the decision of which platform to use was left to a joint evaluation committee comprising of CBN, OAGF and external Consultants. Three times, we and N1BSS made competitive presentations to the joint evaluation committee. It was clear to the panel that the wholly Nigerian developed Remita effectively addressed all the requirements expected by OAGF and its external consultants to support TSA e-payment and e-collection of government receipts.
“Upon engagement, our team worked tirelessly with CBN officials to make the solution ready within a very strict timeline in order to meet the planned January 2012 launch date of TSA.  It may further interest you to know sir, that in January 2012 when the foreign developed  Government Integrated Financial Management Information System, GIFMIS, platform was not ready as scheduled, we were called upon by  CBN management to deploy Remita directly to 108 Pilot MDAs in order to ensure commencement of TSA as planned.
“Accordingly Remita was the platform that provided end- to-end solution between January and April 2012 when GIFMIS became ready for roll out to take care of the accounting end. On the specific issue of the Collection Fees of 1 % which has become a topical issue and has assumed a life of its own please permit me to recall the context and some background milestones.
Systemspecs in another letter to President Muhammadu Buhari on the November 6 seeking a resolution of the matter said: “Our letter of June 26, 2015 and your kind response of August 31, 2015 on “Effective monitoring of Government Funds – The Treasury Single Account (TSA) Initiative” refers. We sincerely appreciate the confidence reposed in our wholly Nigerian software innovation to provide the technology that supports implementation of the TSA Initiative. Our e-Payment and e-Col/ection platform – REMITA, serves as the Payment Gateway for TSA. The system connects with the GIFMIS at the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, Temenos T24 banking application at Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in addition to several systems provided by other Payment Service Providers to ensure seamless payment and collection of Government receipts across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
“Your Excellency, please find below some of the areas we have used technology to support the TSA scheme: We have created a platform that empowers Government to see at a glance the cash position of all participating MDAs on the TSA. Provision of the payment and collection platform for 705 MDAs currently enrolled on GIFMIS.
Direct deployment of REMITA. to 754 MDAs that are either partially or self -funded to facilitate electronic payment and collection.
*Connection to all Commercial Banks and over 400 Micro Finance Banks in Nigeria. *Empowerment of the citizenry to pay Government from any Commercial Bank branch, a growing number of micro Finance Banks and Agents, use of internet banking, mobile phones, debit and credit cards.
*Direct Credit of Government accounts at CBN typically within two (2) hours.
*Collection of over about N 1 trillion on behalf of the Federal Government between August to date, either as transfers from Banks or direct receipts from payers.
“Your Excellency, we are aware that you must have heard series of reports around the 1 % processing fees chargeable on e-Collections of Government receipts. We will like to provide some background on these issues sir.
SystemSpecs was engaged to provide the Payment Gateway for TSA in 2011. While the payment leg of TSA commenced in January 2012, the collection component did not start as scheduled due to the resistance from a number of quarters and the absence of the political will to push this through.
“In 2013, CBN and OAGF setup a multi-stakeholder implementation committee and organised a Joint seminar with key stakeholders including Banks to agree on the formalities for commencement of e-Collection. The Banks proposed a fee of 5% to compensate for the fact that they would no longer keep float. The implementation committee however recommended 2.5% after negotiation with the Banks. The then AGF later approved 1 % as processing fee which was in turn communicated to all the stakeholders through CBN in December 2013. Subsequently, we executed a contract with CBN and other stakeholders involved on the provision of services to support TSA.
“Based on the increased scope of the TSA project following your directive in August 2015 for all MDAs to join the scheme, we had highlighted the need for a stakeholder meeting to discuss the TSA e-Collection fees. This was communicated to both CBN and OAGF.
“Instead of an invitation for a stakeholders meeting as requested, we received a directive from the CBN Governor to refund ALL TSA e-Collection fees earned to date and to suspend all charges on the platform. SystemSpecs has since complied fully with this directive and refunded all monies earned to date to CBN. This we did in good faith and without prejudice, to avoid distractions that could becloud the bigger potentials of the TSA project for our country
“While we await clarification from OAGF/CBN on the way forward, we have since suspended all TSA e-Collection fees on the platform. This means that none of the TSA collection parties/channels are earning any fees for providing services to Government.
“This position is however not sustainable as the collection partner Banks are threatening to suspend FGN TSA collections. This would clearly be playing into the hands of those who do not wish this initiative to succeed. We understand the strategic importance of the TSA project to this Administration and the country at large.
We have demonstrated good faith and continued commitment to the project in the last four years to deliver on our mandate. We will continue to do all within our power to bring the project to full term.
“Your Excellency, we would appreciate your kind and urgent intervention to ensure a speedy resolution of this matter before the Banks stop collections

New attacks being planned in France, Europe – French PM

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said Monday that authorities believe new terror attacks are being planned in France and in other European countries following the carnage in Paris.
“We know that operations were being prepared and are still being prepared, not only against France but other European countries too,” he said.
‘Terrorism’ could hit again ‘in days or weeks to come’
And that Paris attacks was’planned in Syria

Wednesday 11 November 2015

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Tuesday 10 November 2015

I can fix Kogi better than all — Audu

LOKOJA — The flag-bearer of All Progressives Congress, APC, for the November 21 governorship election in Kogi State, Prince Abubakar Audu, has said he knows how to fix the problems of the state better than any other candidate in the poll.
Abubakar Audu
Abubakar Audu
Audu, who stated this at at Okpo in Olamaboro Local Government Area of the state during his campaign rally to the area, weekend, said the time had come for people of the state to enjoy the dividends of democracy.
He said: “There is nothing stopping people of the state from enjoying the full dividend of democracy, but with the present crop of leadership on the stage, it may turn out to be a wishful thinking.”
He implored the people of the area to keep a date with him on November 21 by voting APC to power for dividends of democracy to be distributed evenly among the various segments of the state.
Audu said: “You should not entertain fear any longer. My blueprint that will turn things around in the state is ready and waiting to be implemented to transform the state once I’m voted into power on November 21.”
“Today, in the civil service, you are hearing of percentage payment, promotion without cash backing and non payment of salary, it is very disheartening. I assured workers of full pay and no retrenchment, including payment of all their arrears, if am voted.”
Audu, who also lamented the deplorable state of many of the state roads, especially the main link roads in Ofu and Olamaboro, assured the people of the areas of quick intervention if he won the election with their votes.

DIVORCE: ‘He said he had a degree in Mass Comm’

Lagos—The presiding President of a Lagos Customary Court sitting at Agboyi/Ketu, Mr. O. T. Williams, yesterday advised women to always do proper investigation before going into marriage.
He said this while dissolving the marriage of a 38-year-old business woman, Nnenna Nwokonko, which she contracted with her estranged husband, Kelechi Nwokonko, over deceit.
The petitioner had, on October 28, asked the court to dissolve her six-year-old marriage over alleged threat to life and assault, adding that the relationship was also built on deceit.
She said: “He lied to me that he is a graduate of Mass Communication from the University of Lagos and that he is financially buoyant, only for me to discover that he is just a school certificate holder without any genuine means of income.”
Nnenna presented as evidence text and WhatsApp messages the respondent, Mr. Nwokon-ko, allegedly sent her.
One of them read: “I will destroy you with my mouth. I have seen a man coming out of your house; I have declared war on you and your family. If I see you on the streets, I will disgrace you. I am prepared for war, shameless dog.”
The respondent did not deny the allegations of deceit or assault, but told the court that he was not interested in divorcing his wife.
“After consultation with my family and pastors on the implications of divorce and the effect it will have on our child, I no longer want to divorce my wife,” he said.
When the court asked Nnenna if she was willing to consider the respondent’s plea, she said no.
The President then dissolved the marriage, saying that there was obviously no more love and that threat to life had been proven without reasonable doubt.
The court, however, told the respondent to appeal within 30 days if he was not happy with the decision.

BoI’s facility boosts local cables production by 30,000 tonnes

THE Bank of Industry’s s intervention in the nation’s real sector, especially in the cables and wires industry, has increased local production of electric cables by 28,000 metric tonnes following the expansion of Coleman Wires and Cables factory from 2000 metric tonnes to 30,000 metric tonnes.
Speaking during the official commissioning of Coleman Wires and Cables factory, Arepo 2, in Ogun State, Managing Director, BoI, Rasheed Olaoluwa, said: “BoI is very pleased to have been instrumental to making this factory a reality. As a lender, you are happy, when you give out a loan and the loan has been well utilised for the purpose of which it was taken.
BoI boss, Rasheed Olaoluwa
BoI boss, Rasheed Olaoluwa
“We are very happy to see that the facility we have disbursed to this company has turned into a reality.”
He added that the support of BoI to the company is consistent with the Development Finance Institution’s mission to transform the nation’s industrial sector, adding that the company has been able to shoot up its production capacity from 2000 metric tonnes to 30,000 metric tonnes.
His words: “We are very proud of the achievement of the company. From inception, the company started roughly with about 2000 metric tonnes of wires and cables and today I am very proud to announce that this company has grown from 2000 tonnes to over 30,000 tonnes of cable.”
According to him, the cable company was able to achieve this feat by maintaining and producing high quality standards of cable acceptable in any part of the world.
“It is no accident that the company has become the largest producer of cables and wires not only in Nigeria but the entire West African region. This company is a very innovative one achieving great strides in their business operations over the years and has also improved on“their activities and has also gained efficiency over the years,” he said.
The Managing Director, Coleman Wires and Cable, George Onafowokan, stated that “Our viewpoint is to satisfy local demand by also removing the import element. Arepo 2 is a continuous process of our innovation and commitment to the Nigerian market. With this expansion, we are telling the world that is possible for Nigerian companies to succeed in“engineering business and we are not stopping here,”

75% Nigerians lack access to regular power

Despite the huge investments made in the energy sector since the privatisation of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, about 75 percent of the Nigerian population still live without access to regular electricity supply.
Power
Power
According to The Nigerian Association of Energy Economists, NAEE, despite statistics indicating that 45 percent of the country’s population is currently connected to the national grid, regular supply is still restricted to just about 25 percent of the population.
This is coming as the International Finance Corporation, IFC, said that constant regular power supply will ensure overall prosperity and development for Nigeria.
Most of the people with access to electricity are found within the urban areas of the country, thus leaving citizens in the rural areas with less access to electricity supply. NAEE therefore raised concern on economic redundancy in these parts of the country, adding that despite the importance of energy to economic development, large proportions of Nigerians still lack access to electricity.
The National President, NAEE, Mr. Wumi Iledare, who stated this at the 2015 World Energy Day, said energy contributed greatly to the transformation of the world and provided comfort to the human race. He, however, noted that the association was concerned that majority of Nigerians do not have access to energy, stressing that for those with some form of access, availability and quality still remain major issues to contend with.
“Nigeria has vast and varied energy resources, both renewable and non-renewable resources. The nation is also the largest economy in Africa with a GDP (gross domestic product) of about $531.8 billion, according to the World Bank, yet the nation still faces serious energy poverty issues, with energy supply falling short of energy demand.
“It is estimated that the nation has as much as 90 percent deficiency in electricity supply while in off-grid areas where some 50 percent of Nigerians live, access to electricity is practically zero. Even in on-grid areas, power outages are still a recurrent theme and this has continued to pose serious constraints to economic development.
“There is obvious inequity in energy access based on levels of income, and location. Access is nearly 100 percent in developed countries, compared to 60 percent in the developing countries. In 2011 alone, the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimated that about 68 percent of the people in sub-Saharan Africa were without access to modern energy and 52 percent of Nigeria’s population falls into that category,” he said.
According to the NAEE President, some of the factors for this pitiable state of access to energy are endemic corruption, poor assets maintenance, inadequate gas supply to thermal generation plants, transmission infrastructure, and inconsistent government policies.

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Another collapsed facility, another nightmare B

WHEN the immediate past administration of Sullivan Chime began the reconstruction of the only road leading Isiuzo Local Council to the state capital, the people of the area had heaved a sigh of relief.
Isiuzo, despite being relocated from Enugu North Senatorial District to Enugu East Senatorial District for administrative convenience, has not felt government’s presence compared with other areas of the state.
It was then a nightmare travelling to the area during rainy season from Enugu due to bad road.
Residents and visitors were comfortable travelling through Nkalagu in Ebonyi State to the area, than through Enugu.
Residents were glad when the road reconstruction began. That soon gave way for despair, following the inability of the state government to complete the road before the 2015 general elections.
Now the worst has happened, thus compounding their situation as the hanging bridge on the uncompleted road that linked them with the state capital has collapsed.
T
he bridge hanging across Ebonyi River collapsed over the weekend following an attempt by a truck loaded with 900 bags of cement to cross.
The bridge was said to have been built by the Nigerian Army shortly after the Nigeria-Biafra War, over 44 years ago.
By the fall, many communities in Enugu, Ebonyi, Benue and other states have been cut off, including Udenu and Neke, local council and community of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and the
Chairman of Isi-Uzo Local Council, Augustine Nnamani, respectively.
Residents on Saturday quickly began putting up a makeshift bamboo bridge to enable them walk across the river to get to their homes and neighbourhood.
The Guardian visited the area and discovered that buses plying
Eha-amufu to Enugu now terminate their journey at different ends of the river.
Traders at Orie Market, while lamenting the collapse, stressed that they have once again returned to their “worst nightmare.”
The Chairman of Isi-Uzo Local Council, Augustine Nnamani, had earlier maintained that the council had been spending money to maintain the collapsed bridge, adding that the council was still making monthly contributions to the state government for the Enugu-Ikem Road project that is now abandoned.
Meanwhile, the Police in Enugu said that their timely intervention prevented what could have resulted in a blood-bath as youths in Isiuzo protested the collapse of the bridge. The police alleged an attempt by youths to attack the driver and conductor of the truck.
The Police Public Relations Officer in Enugu, Ebere Amaraizu, said the
youths “ in their hundreds with other members of the community had
attempted to unleash terror on the driver and the conductor of the said truck when officers from Isiuzo Division intervened and restored calm to the area.”
He said the irate youths were not happy over the hardship they were subjected to by the collapse of the ancient bridge, adding however that no life was lost in the incident.

The dying American girl and hope of heaven

Hope-of-HeavenTHE concept of heaven is a point of convergence for all the world’s major religions. It is believed to be the dwelling place of God and the ultimate destination of the faithful who meet certain conditions and please God. The point of divergence – a critical one – has to do with the kind of passport and visa required for entry into heaven.
For some of the religions, one only needs to believe in God and live a life that is pleasing to Him from that moment till departure from earthly life. The teachings about the nature and character of God on the one hand, and God’s expectations of mankind on the other, differ significantly from religion to religion.
Of the passport and visa requirements for heaven, Jesus in whom the Christians believe as both God and Saviour of the world, is unequivocal. He declared to His apostles and, by extension all those who profess faith in Him, in the sixth verse of the 14th chapter of John’s gospel: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through Me.” His declaration made over 2000 years ago was unprecedented and there has not been any other quite like it ever since.
In His teachings, Jesus gave the number one requirement for the journey to heaven as faith in God and acceptance of the divine plan for salvation which He came to execute through, His earthly ministry. To make heaven, one must believe in God, profess this belief, embrace the plan of salvation, live a holy life and love God and fellow humans. But while most of the religions espouse various doctrines of heaven, very few faithful actually look forward to making it there.
As the famous reggae star, Peter Tosh, sang “everybody wants to go heaven but nobody wants to die except Jesus.” A disappointed Master of Ceremony who was finding it hard to get his audience to applaud the high moments of a function deviced a funny but effective strategy. He urged the crowd to clap the number of years they wished to live with each clap representing an additional year. They just went on and on with even the elderly struggling to outclap younger folks.
Even among Christians, heaven is becoming a rare sermon topic in a generation where motivational talks and prosperity messages present a stronger appeal. Way back then in His earthly ministry, Jesus had wondered: “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” Matt 16:26.
The case of Julianna – the dying five-year-old American girl is therefore worthy of celebration in a generation that is so afraid of death and cares little about heaven. Julianna is the daughter of Steve and Michelle Snow. Steve is a retired U.S. Air Force pilot who gave up his job partly to take care of terminally ill Julianna while Michelle is a neurologist. Julianna was born with a hard-to-diagnose incurable disease on August 25, 2010 as a second child to the couple.
According to excerpts from the mother’s blog, she and her husband noticed that at the age of nine months, Julianna could not sit up steadily. By her first Birthday, she could not stand, talkless walk. As the parents were to painfully discover, Julianna was suffering from “Chacot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease, a neurodegenerative illness,” a hereditary condition where neurons in the brain and spinal cord are progressively destroyed. Julianna obviously inherited the disease from her father who had a very mild form of it only detected after suspicions over the origin of the little girl’s plight led in that direction.

Dasuki sues FG, alleges threat to his life, seeks order on DSS to vacate house

FORMER National Security Adviser (NSA) Colonel Sambo Mohammed Dasuki (rtd) has sued the Federal Government at a Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking enforcement of his fundamental human rights to dignity and security of his life.
Dasuki is asking the court for a mandatory order compelling the Federal Government and its agents especially the operatives of the Directorate of the State Security Service (DSS) to vacate his house located at 13, John Kadija Street, Asokoro with immediate effect.
In the suit filed by his counsel Mr. Ahmed Adeniyi Raji SAN, Dasuki pleaded with the court to stop the siege laid on his house and to remove all impediments, human and non-human barricade and bulwarks said to have hindered the permission granted him since November 3 to travel abroad for treatment of his ailing medical condition.
In a motion on notice filed pursuant to section 36 (5) 37 and 41 of the 1999 constitution and sections 1(1) and (2) and 266 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015, the ex NSA also sought for order of the court extending order of November 3 permitting treatment of his ailment abroad.
The motion on notice was premised on five grounds including the request to enforce the three- week permission granted him by the court on November 3 to keep a re-rescheduled medical appointment with his physician abroad.
He claimed that the Federal Government acting through the operatives of the SSS and other security agencies have frustrated the said order by barricading his apartment since the permission was granted.
The ex-NSA also requested the court to extend the order of Number 3 since it could not be implemented due to the action of the security agents.
Dasuki further asked the court to dispose with his appearance in court for the purpose of this application because of the alleged constant threats to his life from the security agencies.
In a 13-paragraph affidavit in support of the motion, Dasuki claimed that following the order of November 3 permitting him to go abroad for medical attention, he immediately purchased his travel ticket and boarding pass issued to him to accomplish the trip.
He averred that shortly after, the operatives of the SSS acting on behalf of the Federal Government stormed and barricaded his house at Asokoro in brazen defiance of the court order and prevented him from traveling out.
Dasuki asserted that the siege on his house ought to be immediately removed and that as a result of the aggression of the Federal Government, his life has been under constant threat.
No date has been fixed for hearing of the suit.

Stakeholders decry inconsistent Appeal Court judgments, task judiciary on efficiency


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Stakeholders decry inconsistent Appeal Court judgments, task judiciary on efficiency

courtA lawyer and lecturer in the Faculty of Law, Lagos State University (LASU), Dr Gbenga Ojo has described the inconsistencies in ‎the judgments delivered by the Court of Appeal judges as worrisome and condemnable.
He suggested that a central portal be created for the appellate court judges to have a cross exchange of ideas.
He made this known while delivering a lecture with the theme, “Effective Justice System As Panacea For Change,” at the 2015 National Association of Judiciary Correspondents (NAJUC) annual lecture held at Airport Hotel, Ikeja.

Dr Ojo posited that the delay in the administration of criminal justice has remained a major constraint in the real time dispensation of justice across the country.
He emphasized that such inconsistencies in the appellate court judgments are becoming embarrassing. The law lecturer expressed concern that the Nigerian judicial system has continued to remain analogue rather than going digital.
“Legal practitioners are not doing enough in ensuring effective justice system in the country. There is therefore the‎ need for continuous legal training for stakeholders in the Nigerian legal system.
“The menace of corruption must be fought holistically if it must be eradicated. There is the need to deploy massively, Information Communications Technology (ICT) in the practice of law in Nigeria. Appeal Court judgments must be made consistent at all times.
“There is also the need to have specialised judges ‎for specialised cases. I am also suggesting that there is the need for specialised courts for financial crimes”, he said.
In his own submission, Executive Director of Assess to Justice, Mr. Joseph Otteh commended the media for its role in furthering the course of change in Nigeria.
Otteh said that effective justice system is needed to guarantee change, good governance and democracy, adding that the judiciary is the guardian of the constitution all over the world.
His word: “If our democracy must succeed, then our judiciary must succeed. Our justice system is not protected and discourages economic investment in Nigeria.
“The Nigerian justice system is not working because it is a major barrier to itself. Judges behave the way they do because of the oversight in the accountability expected of them.
“The corruption within the justice system needs to be seriously tackled. Unwarranted transfers of judges and magistrates should be seriously tackled because it slows down the course of justice.
“Chief Judges should begin to exercise their discretion in a more responsible manner.”
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Babatunde Fashanu said effective justice delivery, cannot be the only way the Nigerian problems could be solved.
He said: “It is very important that we get our justice system right. There are very courageous judges, especially in the Lagos State judiciary. Judges must be well paid for them to work well.”
Another SAN, Sylva Ogwemoh argued that it takes a lazy judge to condone a lazy lawyer.
He therefore suggested that judges salaries should be based on the volume of cases delivered.

Earlier in his key note address, the occasion’s chairman, Chief Lai Babatunde (SAN), represented by the Chairman, Ikeja Branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Yinka Farounbi noted that the lecture was fundamental to the existence of Nigeria.
In her remark, the Chief Judge of Lagos State, Justice Oluwafunmilayo Atilade maintained that journalism has over the years made impactful contributions to sustainable growth and human development in the society.
The CJ who was represented by the Deputy Chief Registrar (DCR) Legal, Mrs A.O Okunnuga said: “The theme of this year’s lecture, “Effective Justice System as a panacea for change” is apt and in tandem with our programmes and desire for growth and transformation in the state judiciary.
“Our various reforms and innovative programmes are geared towards advancing the course of justice and to ensure quick and effective dispensation of justice.
In his welcome address, Ikeja branch Chairman of NAJUC, Akinwale Akintunde noted that this year’s lecture series is designed towards providing, “Avenue for us all to take a critical look at the state of affairs of this nation, especially the judiciary sector and in the process identify those things which have the capacity about the desired change.”
According to Akintunde, the theme of this year’s lectures, “Effective Justice System as Panacea for Change” became imperative in view of the role the judiciary plays in the over all development of any nation, particularly now that the current administration of President MuhammaduBuhari is saddled with the task of repositioning government structures for effective and efficient performance in line with acceptable standards all over the world.
“We believe that the revolutionary change being advocated by President Buhari cannot be achieved without an effective justice system”, he stated.