The Nigeria Baseball and Softball Federation have finally fixed 13th – 18th May, 2013date for 2013 National Senior Softball Championship scheduled to hold in Ilorin, Kwara State.
A statement from the office of the Secretary General of the federation shows that only the best five teams in the country will participate in the competition adding that qualifying for the championship will depend on the number of teams that register from each zone and state at NBSF intends to have geographical balance and representations among the strongest states in softball in Nigeria.
The statement also said that Softball Technical Team headed by Head Coach Rita Ato will determine qualifiers should the registered teams out-number the expected clubs.
Furthermore, names of players who made the national team as a result of the Softball Tryout in Ibadan in February 2013 will be announced and the national camping for the Senior Softball Team will also follow for ten days in Ilorin.
While confirming this, the Secretary General of Nigeria Softball and Baseball Federation, Kehinde Olaniyan said that the developmental programme of the federation is yielding the needed result adding that with the long list of championships Nigeria national teams and clubs will attend next year, there is every need for the federation to wake up to its challenges and make sure that not only that the country participates in those championships but go extra mile and make Nigeria proud.
On the forthcoming championship, he maintained that it has a lot of advantages for the players saying that it will be a good ground to prepare them for international exposure.
“This event is an advantage for each player that made the national team during the Tryout in Ibadan as it exposes them for further evaluation”
“It is also an advantage for new talents that will make the national team to be discovered as it will be used to further strengthen the national team in preparation for international campaigns by the end of this and early next year” he concluded.
The Jihadist violence which is ravaging the Northern region of the federal republic of Nigeria appears to show no indications of letting up. This is according to information received by 247ureports.com from a competent source within the top echelons of the security structure stationed in Kano.
As gathered, the Jihadist group who had recently ramped up their violent attacks in selected States of Northern Nigeria – particularly Kano, Bauchi and Borno State. Our source pointed to the continued talk of amnesty by stakeholders within the federal government of Nigeria – as the principal cause for the increased level of attacks.
Precisely, the antagonists against the effort to grant amnesty to the Jihadist based group – is alleged to have raised the combative tendencies of the group to continue in their Jihadist quest.
Our source further revealed that the Jihadist group has launched a broad mass recruitment campaign in the Kano State environs. The recruitment exercise is reportedly headquartered inside the ancient Islamic communities of Kano metropolis. The new recruits are taken to the troubled West African country of Mali for training. The training is said to last a period of 4 to 6 months. A majority of the new recruits are said be arriving Mali by road transport.
According to our source, the leader of the Jihadist group was recently a guest of a wealthy Islamic leader at a home located in the northern senatorial district of Bauchi State. The leader of the group had come to Bauchi to coordinate the Bauchi recruitment. They arrived Bauchi two days before Easter Day on March 29 and according to security sources – departed to Mali on Easter Day.
The recruitment exercise is reported by sources to have netted the group an estimated number of over 1,000 new members within 19 to 30 days of operation.
Already the Jihadist group has begun preparations for a Black June/July for the selected States in the Northern regions of Nigeria.
Wants FG To Declare Achebe’s Ogidi’s Home As National Monument
Pleased with the enormous volume of creative works produced during the life time of the internationally respected novelist Professor Chinua Achebe which have advanced the promotion and protection of the human rights of Nigerians and other citizens of the World, HUMAN RIGHTS WITERS’ ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA [HURIWA] has named the late World acclaimed writer Professor Chinua Acebe as the greatest human rights icon of all times and will consequently induct him in the national human rights hall of fame of the body.
In a statement jointly authorized by the National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and the National Media Affairs Director Miss. Zainab Yusuf, HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS’ ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA [HURIWA] has also called on the National Commission for Museum and Moment and the Federal Ministry of Culture and Tourism to secure the country home of the late literary legend in Ogidi, Anambra state and declare it as a national monument as a way of immortalizing the monumental body of intellectual and cultural achievements made by the late Professor Chinua Achebe just as the rights group said the declaration of the personal estate of the late legend would be another way of preserving the edifice for generations yet unborn to appreciate the gift of such an enormously talented Nigerian writer who put Nigeria on the World’s positive intellectual stage.
The media focused Non-Governmental organization which plans to stage a national human rights lecture in Abuja in the coming months to honour the memory of the late literary legend, also urged the Federal Ministry of Education to implement the translation of Chinua Achebe’s greatest work ‘Things Fall Apart’ into the major languages of Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba and distribute the books freely to all Nigerian secondary schools as one way of restoring the lost glory of Nigeria’s national reading culture and to academically empower the youth to pass their ordinary level English and English literature subjects with ease.
HURIWA also condemned what it called the hypocritical sheding of crocodile tears over the passage of Professor Achebe by the country’s political leadership which over the years perpetrated grandscale corruption and economic crimes which led to the car accident that physically incapacitated the late Professor Achebe thereby necessitating his self exile to the United States of America where he sought and received the best of healthcare that sustained him several years after the fatal car crash in the badly maintained federal road in Nigeria.
HURIWA stated thus; “While we mourn the passage of Nigeria’s greatest intellectual and writer of international repute, we have decided to honour his memory by recognizing him officially as the greatest human rights icon and we will complete the process by inducting him into our national human rights hall of fame and host it on our website @www.huriwa.org forever as a way of reminding Nigerians that this great writer used his creative talents to produce works of literature and novels that tell the Nigerian and African authentic story and also vigourously campaigned for the fundamental human rights of all Nigerians to be respected, promoted and protected”.
“We hereby urge the Federal Ministry of Culture and tourism and the National Commission for Museum and Monument to declare the Ogidi country home of Professor Chinua Achebe as a national heritage/monument whereby tourists from all parts of the World could be given access to appreciate the place whereby the international writer and novelist grew up from a very humble background”, HURIWA stated.
Stalwarts of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, are angry over the failure of President Goodluck Jonathan to constitute boards of parastatals and agencies of the Federal Government 17 months after the boards were dissolved.
The angst of party members is further fueled by allegations that the failure to reconstitute the boards is at the instance of some senior Presidency officials who are benefiting from the vacuum.
In the absence of the boards, senior officials in the Presidency are alleged to be wielding influence over government agencies and boards drawing and dispensing patronage and contracts at will.
Reacting to the development, yesterday, the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN described the absence of the boards as a further reflection of what it described as the lacklustre attitude of the Jonathan administration to governance. The party which spoke through its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, also faulted what it described as the administration’s failure to appoint substantive heads for a number of federal agencies.
The PDP in a riposte said the boards would be announced this week even as it reassured that the process was delayed for the purpose of ensuring due diligence in the reconstitution. The party said that the PDP was mindful of empowering its people legitimately through board appointments unlike its opponents who restrict patronages to a handful.
Boards dissolved since 2011
The boards of Federal Government parastatals were dissolved by President Jonathan on October 19, 2011 few months after his election as president. It was expected at that time that the boards would be reconstituted shortly as a committee for the composition of the boards headed by Vice-President Namadi Sambo was immediately constituted.
When he inaugurated the Sambo committee on October 19, 2011, the president had urged the team to act quickly apparently in realization of the need of paying patronage to party chieftains who helped him in his successful election bid.
“We are formally inaugurating this committee headed by the vice president, one of the most powerful committees because most senior people from the executive, the legislature and the party (Peoples Democratic Party) are members. We believe that you will do this work very quickly,” the president had said.
Though the Sambo committee has not formally submitted the report of its activities, presidency sources disclosed, yesterday, that the committee may have completed its assignments as the committee is no longer meeting.
One Presidency source disclosed that the administration has been selectively picking from the report of the Sambo committee in the recent appointments that were made into some selected boards notably, the governing councils of some federal universities, the Nigeria Ports Authority, NPA and that of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA.
Party chieftains are, however, enraged that more than 17 months after the president dissolved the former boards that he is yet to formally re-constitute most of the boards and thereby depriving party members the expected patronage.
One member of the PDP NEC lamenting the fate of party chieftains cited the case of a senior presidency official who was alleged to have used a family member to win some contracts across the country.
“You can imagine in this case that they won a contract to pull down, redesign and rebuild the airports but in the case of (name withheld) they refused to pull it down but only rehabilitated it but collected the full cost of pulling down and rebuilding.”
Members confront Tukur
The outcry over the issue was a topical feature during the recent reconciliation tour embarked upon by the national chairman of the party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur. At the Northwest Zone reconciliatory meeting in Kaduna, party chieftains were reported to have complained about the issue.
“We told Tukur that it was discouraging for party stakeholders who worked for the party to be sidelined at a time like this and he was told that it has taken too long and that it has never been like this under a democratic setting.”
Tukur was reported to have only muttered that the issue was receiving attention and would be resolved soon.
Besides the rage of the party men, it is feared that the absence of the boards constituting a barrier to the smooth operations of many of the government agencies.
“Many of these boards have strict rules on approval limits meaning that in the absence of the boards that the agencies are handicapped in the discharge of their duties and it is a matter that has worsened the implementation of the capital budget of the Federal Government,” a business expert told Vanguard yesterday.
Reacting to the development yesterday, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the national publicity secretary of the ACN said it was a reflection of the lacklustre attitude of the PDP controlled federal administration.
“Clearly, the inability of this government to reconstitute the boards of the several agencies is a further testimony to the lacklustre leadership style of the government.”
Reacting yesterday, Chief Olisa Metuh the national publicity secretary of the PDP said:
“I can assure you that the boards would be announced this week.
Among the choice boards yet to be inaugurated are the boards of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, the refineries and other agencies in the petroleum sector, the board of the National Pension Commission among a handful of others.
Also yet to be reconstituted are the boards of federal polytechnics, colleges of education, Federal Government owned hospitals, agencies in the tourism sector and federal ministry of health, among others.
Among the boards in the tourism sector yet to be inaugurated are those of Nigeria Tourism Development Corporation, NTDC, National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism, National Orientation Agency, NOA; National Theatre; National Institute for Cultural Orientation; Centre for Black and African Arts Civilisation, CBAAC, National Museum and the National Arts Gallery.
Gunmen yesterday night ambushed a police patrol vehicle at Yankaba market in Kano and killed three policemen.
The policemen were said to be on routine patrol in the area when they came under fire from the attackers. Police sources said one of the slain cops was an officer attached to Bompai division in the state. Residents said the patrol vehicle was damaged in the attack, which occurred after 8pm.
A senior police officer, who confirmed the incident last night, said commissioner of police for the state Alhaji Musa Daura visited the scene of the attack along with other key police personnel.
It is understandable that Alhaji Atiku Abubakar would be enduring some unease at the disclosures made in The Accidental Public Servant, Mallam Nasir El Rufai’s recent book. The former vice-president’s media team has tried to engage in obfuscation about their principal’s serial interference with contract award processes that were detailed in the book.
Against this, they have reproduced El Rufai’s assertion that Atiku did not meddle in privatisation processes, which are very different and distinct in nomenclature and substance from seeking contracts for friends.
Now that Atiku himself has spoken on the controversial NITEL GSM contract involving Ericsson and Motorola, it is obvious that the attempt at confusing issues persists. It is untrue that the NITEL GSM contract in question was split. Rather it was awarded to Ericsson, but at the lower price submitted by Motorola, because of Atiku’s intense lobby and smears deployed to advance Ericsson’s bid. Atiku and Abdullahi Yari, his then ADC, at different times spoke to El Rufai to favour Ericsson.
It is Atiku’s responsibility to explain why he became an Ericsson salesman, although the investigations conducted by Motorola after the debacle makes clear he was not engaged in an altruistic mission. This incident had diplomatic repercussions as the American government wrote to protest this loss by an American company that had submitted the cheaper bid. Atiku persists in his laughable assertion that El-Rufai’s brother is a shareholder and member of Motorola’s board – something any person can research and confirm to be an outright falsehood.
On Pentascope, we see the same pattern of muddying the waters with falsehood. As chairman of the National Council on Privatisation (NCP), Atiku gave his approval in writing on 21 February 2003 for the management contract with Pentascope to be signed. The memo on which Atiku minuted his approval, BPE/I&N/NT/MC/DG/280, is dated 20th February 2003, and was initiated by the director of BPE that was covering the DG’s duties at the time. By the virtue of the high office he then held, Atiku knows that Pentascope was not foisted on NITEL but emerged from a properly advertised and competitive selection process. After the failure of the first attempt to sell NITEL, it had been decided that there was need for a management contractor to keep the momentum of preparing the company to operate like a private entity and to preserve its assets. Pentascope resumed in NITEL on 28 April 2003, shortly before El Rufai left the BPE to become a minister.
The Pentascope contract terms included obligations by the BPE to monitor the contract, and for the NITEL Board to set up an Executive Committee to supervise day to day operations in NITEL. Between the new BPE leadership that neglected its responsibilities, the NCP which Atiku chaired and which failed to supervise the BPE and the bureaucrats and politicians around the Ministry of Communications, the management contract was frustrated and terminated in 2005.
When a former vice-president asserts that NITEL was making N100 billion in profit annually, the mind must boggle that someone so unconstrained by fidelity to facts had once been saddled with significant responsibilities. NITEL never made such profits. NITEL had never paid a single dividend to the FGN until the BPE forced it to pay N3bn in 2001! While the politicians and bureaucrats were fighting to reclaim ministerial control of NITEL (and the inflated equipment contracts that came with it), the company was fast losing market share to the new kids on the block, the GSM companies that understood how to create and sustain value.
It is to be hoped that Atiku will respond to the other matters concerning him in the book, but this time he must ensure that facts trump the braggadocio.
PDP Jittery, Says they Asked Gov. Dickson To Obey Judgment
Three Council Chairmen in Bayelsa State had filed a suit at the Appeal Court challenging the ruling of the High Court, Yenagoa in Bayelsa State.
It will be recalled that Justice Ajuwa of the High Court in his considered opinion dismissed the suit against Chief Koku Gariga, Deacon Ineye Ingbaifegha and Chief Selekebina Saboh of Sagbama, Kolokuma/Opokuma and Ekeremor Local Government Areas respectively on the ground that; “the tenure of office of the three Chairmen does not take effect from the 18th day of December 2013 when they first took their oath of office and oath of allegiance.”
Counsel to the three Council Chairmen, Festus Keyamo, said the learned Justice Ajuwa of Yenagoa High Court misinterpreted the complaint of the three Chairmen and Peoples Democratic party and erred in law because by virtue of the provisions of section 27 (3) (a) of the Local Government Law Cap. 1.10 Laws of Bayelsa State 2006 the tenure of office of a Local Government Chairman is three (3) years commencing from the date when he takes his oath of allegiance and oath of office.
Adding further Keyamo backed his argument based on the decision of OBI V. INEC (2007) 11 NWLR PT. 1046, the tenure of office takes effect from the day the oath of office and oath of allegiance is taken. He further said the oath of allegiance and oath of office cannot be taken in proxy, stressing that once an act had been declared to be unlawful such an act no longer has any legal consequence law.
Meanwhile, a motion on Notice dated 26th March, 2013, brought by the Claimants/Applicant pursuant to Order 39 Rule 1 (1) & 2 and Order 55 Rule 1 (1) and Rule 3 (3) & (2) of the Bayelsa State High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2010, “An Oder of Interlocutory Injunction restraining the Governor of Bayelsa State, the Chief Judge of Bayelsa State, Mr. Willie Oyadougha, Mr. Iselema Gbaranbiri and Mr. Tobiye Billy as Defendant/Respondent as Chairmen of Sagbama, Kolokuma/Opokuma and Ekeremor Local Government Areas, pending the determination of the Appeal against the judgement of High Court delivered on 27th day of March, 2013, filled at the Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt Division. Barrister Festus Keyamo disproved Justice Ajuwa that “the fact of the case as said in the affidavit in support of the summons.
The Claimants case is that based on the judgement of the Supreme Court in Suit No: – SC/127/2012 they were officially sworn into office by the Chief Judge of Bayelsa State on the 18yh day of December, 2012, when they took their oath of allegiance and oath of office. That upon assuming office, the Claimants proceeded to his noble Court for the interpretation of Section 27 (3)(a) of the Local Government Law Cap. L 10 Laws of Bayelsa State 2006 which provides for their tenure of office, which was dismissed by his court. Being aggrieved, the Claimants have filed an appeal against the said judgement.
That despite the pendency of the Claimants appeal, attempt are being made by the Governor of Bayelsa State, the Chief Judge of Bayelsa State, Mr. Willie Oyadougha, Mr. Iselema Gbaranbiri and Mr. Tobiye Billy as Defendant/Respondent as Chairmen of Sagbama, Kolokuma/Opokuma and Ekeremor Local Government Areas.”
However, sources close to the PDP told www.247ureports.com that it is surprising that this same matter has gone back to Court of Appeal for interpretation of Supreme Court Judgement which was delivered last December; “We advised the Governor but he is somebody that does not take to advice. We are afraid that our conduct of these local government elections might revise negatively to our party. Infact, we advice the Governor not to conduct the chairmanship election in those council but he said, as the Governor of the state he will go ahead to conduct the elections.”
This is suspicious and a doctored Judgment, a constitutional lawyer queried the judgement delivered by Justice Ajuwa of High Court in Bayelsa State. Meanwhile sources within the Appeal Court however, averred that; “Bayelsa is the only state in the South/South Region that do not obey Court Orders and Judgements, saying, this is not a healthy development and a wrong signal to the state judiciary. The former governor, Mr. Timipre Sylva was doing this but today he also resort to that same court were court orders and judgements were not honoured,” the source said.
The present Chief Justice of the Federation is a no nonsense person that believes that right thing must be done in every matter in the nation’s Judiciary, according to the source the CJN has set up secret task force to monitor and checkmate the Justices in Appeal/Supreme Courts of any fraudulent practice that may endanger her reputation before leaving office by 2014.
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon Aminu Tambuwal will lead the pack of speakers at the 60th anniversary symposium of Governor Adams Oshiomhole holding in Benin City, on Thursday, April 4.
Theme of the symposium which will be chaired by Alhaji Aliko Mohammed, Chairman, Arewa Consultative Forum is Deepening Democracy and Enhancing Public Welfare.
Other speakers expected at the symposium include the Chief Servant of Niger State, Governor Babangida Aliyu; Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, former Governor of Lagos State and National leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria; Bishop Matthew Kukah, Bishop of Sokoto Catholic Diocese and Dr Obiageli Ezekwesili, former Minister of Education.
A statement by Comrade Issa Aremu and Kayode Komolafe for the Planning Sub-Committee, Friends of Adams Oshiomhole, indicates that the symposium will hold at the Imaguero College Hall in Benin City from 11:00am.
“We Own The Oil But We’re Following Due Process To Reclaim It”—Kogi Government
The Government of Kogi State in Nigeria’s North-Central has washed its hands over the attack on the oil-bearing Aguleri community in neighbouring Anambra State in the country’s South-East.
Breaking the story of the communal war last Thursday (March 28) News Express had quoted Phil Chinwuba Esq., General Secretary Aguleri Foundation of UK, as accusing the Kogi State Government of spearheading the war against Aguleri.
“Kogi State govt has continued to push mobs into Aguleri Otu as they have continue to arrive in lorries with heavy weapons. They have sacked two of our villages as at yesterday. They have also burnt our schools and churches as at yesterday. WE cannot hold Easter service or celebrate Easter feast with our love ones in that part of Aguleri,” Chinwuba had lamented.
He advised the Nigerian Government to “restrain Kogi State govt” or “Aguleri people would have no other alternative than to use any means necessary to defend ourselves. Our endurance has been tested to the limit and there is limit to what we can take from these uncircumcised bandits.”
However, speaking News Express over the weekend, Jacob Edi, Special Assistant to Kogi State Governor, vehemently denied the allegation, claiming that nothing of such had taken place. Edi however restated Kogi’s claim to the oil in Aguleri, the host community of Orient Petroleum promoted by the Anambra State Government and private investors commissioned last August by President Goodluck Jonathan. Kogi had started laying claim to the area hosting the petroleum company after the commissioning.
Edi told News Express: “It’s unheard of that we can recruit or arm people to go and fight Aguleri people. Communal clash is not associated with Kogi State.
“That oil belongs to Kogi State. OPL 915 which has oil in commercial quantity is in Odeke in Ibaji Local Government of Kogi State. But in spite of this, the Government of Kogi said that we prefer to use due process to reclaim the oil. The matter is being handled at the highest level and the three state governors – Kogi, Enugu and Anambra – have made presentations on the issue before President Goodluck Jonathan. We want to allow the National Boundaries Commission to do its work.
“There is no community in Kogi State fighting the people of Aguleri. Kogi State is not known for shedding blood; it is the people of Aguleri and Umuleri who are known for fighting and shedding blood. I suspect that what the people of Aguleri want to do is to create an alibi so as to frustrate our efforts to reclaim our oil through due process.”
The Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Millennium Development Goals, OSSAP-MDGs has been invited to make a National Voluntary Presentation on behalf of Africa at the High Level during the Annual Ministerial Review, (AMR) of Substantive Session of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) coming up between the 2nd and 29th of July, 2013 in Switzerland.
Mrs. Kene Offie, Deputy Director, OSSAP MDGs revealed this in a statement issued by her office, saying Nigeria will make presentation of behalf of Africa on the theme of this year AMR which is “Science, Technology and Innovation and the potential of culture for promoting sustainable development and achieving the Millennium Development Goals”.
As part of the requirements, the OSSAP-MDGS will between 4 to 5 April hold a national workshop at the Chida International Hotel in Abuja for the preparation of a national report that will be presented by the Nigerian Country team led by Dr. Precious Gbeneol, Senior Special Assistant to the President on MDGs as Nigeria’s National Voluntary Presentation, NVP.
According to Offie, critical inputs from stakeholders from cross-cutting sectors locally and from the relevant United Nations entities will form the core contents of the NVP to be delivered at the ECOSOC forum.
The workshop, which is being organized in collaboration with the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism will have a keynote address delivered by the Minister of National Planning, Dr Shamsuddeen Usman. It will also have in attendance representatives from the 36 states and FCT, stakeholders in the related sectors and members of the public to ensure inclusive deliberations.
Nigeria, the only country invited to the forum from Africa has in line with the theme of the international event, already indicated that it will highlight its use of science and technology, especially, the Nigerian MDGs Information System it developed in conjunction with the Earth Institute of Columbia University and United Nations Country Team as a guide for the investment of the annual USD1bn negotiated as Debt Relief from the Paris Club for pro-poor activities in the report it will present to the forum.
Nigeria, according to Mrs. Offie, will use the occasion to highlight its deployment of innovative science and technology tools in the conduct of a nation-wide Baseline Facility Inventory and Needs Assessment throughout all the 774 Local Government Areas of the Country to accurately determine the level of investments needed to accelerate achievements of MDGs at different levels of government.
“While emphasis will be placed on the accomplishments and challenges encountered in the implementation of National Development Strategies and Policies as stated in the guidelines for the preparation of the National Report, we intend to highlight the utility of the Nigerian MDGs Information System in both the Report and the National Voluntary Presentation as a crucial tool that has had impact on the implementation of IADGs), including the MDGs in Nigeria,” Dr. Precious Gbeneol, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Millennium Development Goals was quoted as saying in the statement.
NVP was initiated by ECOSOC in 2007 as a mechanism for the international community to assess and advance progress towards the Internationally Agreed Development Goals (IADGs), including the MDGs, at the national level. About 44 developed and developing countries have shared their best practices and lessons and have served as an important tool for knowledge and experience sharing among countries through the platform.
