Troops have been called in to dislodge students of the University of Abuja (UNIABUJA) who this morning blocked major roads in Nigeria’s federal capital, sparking traffic chaos in the city.
“Soldiers and police men have arrived the scene and are trying to control the situation but the students remain adamant. Traffic remains at a standstill,” reports a News Express correspondent at the scene.
As News Express earlier reported, commuters, including those travelling out of Abuja, have become stranded following the blocking of major roads in Abuja, including exit points, by the students, who are protesting against the prospects of those affected by the refusal of the National University Commission (NUC) to accredit some Engineering, Agriculture and Science courses losing years of schooling as a consequence.
Spearheaded by Engineering students of UNIABUJA, the protest started yesterday but was more of a campus show, leading to the postponement of first semester examinations scheduled to start yesterday.
Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Alhaji Muhammed Sani Sidi on Monday received relief items worth N104 million (52 million yen) from the government and people of Japan for victims of flooding in the three states of Benue, Kogi and Rivers states.
The items included 50 water purifiers, 200 tents, and 7,000 blankets worth approximately 52 million yen (N104 million).
At the ceremony, which took place at the cargo terminal of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, Sani-Sidi disclosed that between June and October this year, Nigeria experienced unprecedented floods which affected about 7.7 million people and displaced 2.1 million others. While 363 people lost their lives.
While expressing gratitude to the Japanese government over the gesture , Sani-Sidi gave the assurance that it will go a long way in ameliorating the suffering of flood victims. The items he said will be distributed transparently and that a staff of JICA will accompany NEMA officials during distribution.
Following this he said, the Federal Government made an international request for assistance and it was in response to that request that Japan through JICA then decided to provide emergency assistance from a humanitarian point of view for the victims as well as in light of friendly relations between Japan and the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Chief Representative of JICA (the Japanese Humanitarian Agency) in Nigeria Mr. Tetsuo Seki while handing over the items, commended the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) for their work in managing the disaster, and their effective coordination of the response plan and further assured that his country will always assist in providing both emergency relief and medium to long term reconstruction and rehabilitation process.
The JICA representative said his agency and NEMA has been working closely to provide needed training for Nigerians. “This collaboration has led to trainings of NEMA staff in Japan on: Capacity Development for Flood Risk Management with Integrated Flood Analysis System in July this year, and the Development of comprehensive assistance systems for victims in 2007. There is currently on-going discussion on capacity building of NEMA staff in the area of disaster preparedness”, he added.
Also speaking, Ambassador of Japan to Nigeria, Mr. Ryuichi Shoji lamented that the flood led to the death of 363 people. He also disclosed that his country was working on reconstruction from the devastating Great East Japan Earthquake of last year, which resulted in tremendous damage and many lives were lost.
“I hope that the relief supplies will reach the flood victims swiftly and will ease the pain of the victims suffering. We want to continuously work together with the Government of Nigeria and international actors for the early recovery and reconstruction of the affected states”.
As explosions terrorized both Palestinians and Israelis for a seventh day Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will head to the region in an attempt to help resolve the incessant violence.
Clinton will leave Cambodia late Tuesday for a trip to Israel, Ramallah and Egypt.
“She’ll meet with regional leaders, beginning with our Israeli partners, to consult on the situation in Gaza,” Deputy National Security Director Ben Rhodes said.
He said the visits will support the “de-escalation of the violence and a durable outcome that ends the rocket attacks on Israeli cities and restores broader calm in the region.”
Meanwhile, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is also scrambling to help find a solution before airborne attacks escalate to a ground war.
Ban met with Arab League Secretary-General Nabil El-Araby on Tuesday and has plans to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
Sixteen foreign ministers from the Arab League’s member states are expected in Gaza Tuesday and will be joined by Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, a spokesman for the organization said.
On the ground, a fresh array of airstrikes pummeled Gaza as rockets pounded southern Israel on Tuesday.
The Israel Defense Forces said it targeted 100 sites overnight, “including underground rocket launchers, terror tunnels and ammunition storage facilities.”
The Palestinian Ministry of Interior, meanwhile, reported at least 110 people have been killed and 900 people injured since the beginning of the Israeli offensive.
Chatter about a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas have sparked a glimmer of hope. But despite days of diplomacy in Egypt, the reality on the ground did nothing to abate fears on both sides of the border.
Michael Oren, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, said Israel had finished its planning for a ground invasion of Gaza.
If Israeli troops do invade, Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal said it would “not be a picnic.”
“We do not want escalation, nor do we call for a ground war,” he said Monday. “But we are not afraid of it, nor will we back down.”
The violence and rhetoric has only intensified as diplomats try to resolve the crisis.
On Monday, Egypt’s top intelligence official presented Israel a letter outlining Hamas’ proposal for a cease-fire, according to a general in Egyptian intelligence who is optimistic a deal will being reached. The fighting has challenged Israel’s relationship with Egypt, but Israeli President Shimon Peres on Monday praised Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy for playing a “constructive role.”
Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor confirmed late Monday that “negotiations are going on” that may lead to a cease-fire, though he didn’t offer any details.
Gaza has been under a crippling economic embargo since Hamas won control of the territory from the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority, which controls the West Bank, after a landslide 2007 election that was followed by intra-Palestinian clashes.
The United States, Israel and the European Union characterize the militant fundamentalist Islamic organization Hamas as a terrorist group. But many Arab and Muslim nations see Hamas as the victim of Israeli aggression.
Diplomats hope to avoid a repeat of 2008, when at least 1,400 died as Israeli troops invaded Gaza after a similar spate of rocket attacks.
Israel has signaled it is open to a cease-fire, but only if Gaza militants halt rocket attacks.
“They have a choice. The minute they will stop (shooting), it will stop,” Peres said.
The bloodshed might be worse if not for the “Iron Dome,” Israel’s missile defense system that has intercepted about 30% of the rockets fired from Gaza since last week, including more than half the 67 fired on Monday, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev said a short-term “Band-Aid” solution won’t do.
“There’s no doubt that Hamas would agree to an immediate cease-fire, but it wouldn’t mean anything. We want to know when it’s over, that it’s really over,” he said, adding Israel will use diplomacy or military force — whatever is necessary — to ensure that southern Israel doesn’t continue to face the threat of rockets.
Israeli authorities say they take great pains to avoid civilian casualties, though this is difficult to do when rockets are being launched from densely populated civilian areas, where suspected militant leaders are also based.
While saying he feels an agreement can be reached, Palestinian parliament member Mustafa Barghouti says he blames Israel for the bloodshed thus far.
“The problem is that Israel is using the bombardment of civilians and the killing of children as a tool of negotiations,” he said.
Too young to understand but not to die
Israeli forces also hit a Gaza City office building used by some media outlets — as they had Sunday — killing two, including the head of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s military media office.
That strike targeted four senior Islamic Jihad members who Israel’s military said were hiding in the building, including the information chief, Israel’s military said. The others were described as key figures in military training, attack planning, long-range rocket operations and arms manufacturing within the same organization.
Calls for a truce came on the heels of the single deadliest attack — an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on Sunday that left a family of 10 dead within a building’s broken concrete and mangled metal.
Al Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military arm, called it a “massacre committed by Israeli occupation” on Twitter.
The Israeli airstrike targeted Yehya Bayaa, “a senior Hamas member,” said Lt. Col. Avital Leibovich, the Israel Defense Forces’ chief spokeswoman. The IDF alleges Bayaa is one of the leaders of a Hamas rocket-launching unit.
As it’s happening: CNN reports on the ground
The building hit was a known hiding place for Bayaa — though not his home, as was reported earlier — Leibovich said. Initially, the IDF reported it killed Bayaa in the attack.
Gov Rochas Okorocha with members of Omenimo Dancers at the flag-off of 2012 Ozuruimo Festival recently
Imo state government has disclosed that 25 Billion Naira would be
spent in the on-going transformation of Orlu into a model city.
The state governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha stated this while
inspecting Umuna erosion site and other projects in the area.
Governor Okorocha said that a whopping sum of 5 Billion Naira has already been spent on the projects, pointing out that the site was
abandoned over years even upon several efforts to attract federal
government attention to the erosion menace.
He expressed satisfaction with the quality of job and the level of
speed at which the construction is done especially, the drainage and
dualization of the road that links Orlu city to the international
market in the area.
He reassured that his administration would continue to focus more on
capital projects than re-current as well as shining wastages and
unprofitable spending, pointing out that the job is single-handedly
funded by state government.
The managing Director J.P. Contracting, Mr. Garry Pisius said his
company is on their toes to ensure the completion of the project
before next rainy season.
In a similar development at Imo State University Teaching Hospital
(IMSUTH) Orlu, Governor Okorocha expressed dissatisfaction that
despite the huge amount the state has spent on the second phase of the
project it is yet to be completed.
He asserted that the Rescue Mission administration is interested in
the continuity of every good and well-thought-out project that would
boost the economy of the state, such as Orlu Teaching Hospital which
he noted was started by former state Governor Chief Achike Udenwa and
later abandoned by Ohakim-led administration.
He therefore called on the contractors to expedite action to ensure
completion of the 2nd phase of the hospital projects on or before
February 2013 as he reassured that the state government will continue
to play its part to actualize the projects which he described as one
capable of turning lives around in the area.
In his response, the acting Chief Medical Director (CMD) of IMSUTH,
Dr. Nzewuibe Chijioke who explained that the MRI machines and other
specialist clinic scan equipment have been installed and thanked the
governor for his commitment to make the hospital one of the best in
the country.
Twenty three years after Nigeria’s independence was an era that witnessed huge capital investments by the Federal Government to lay the foundation for a strong and vibrant economy. Such investments were in all aspects of the economy: oil and gas ( including refineries and depots and petro-chemical plants), mines and steel, infrastructure especially inter regional roads, electricity and telecommunication, vehicle plants, building and development of seaports and airways, building of financial institutions, post offices, textile factories, river basin development authorities, etc. These investments were estimated to be over five trillion naira. Almost at about that time, it was discovered that most of these investments were going down the drain largely due to poor management. Thus the enterprises were not able to provide the economic and social services for which they were established. The accumulated result was that Nigerian economy became comatose and so sick it needed a surgeon’s attention immediately.
So, the federal government of Alhaji Shehu Shagari consulted the World Bank and the IMF who, as usual to the economic challenges of Third World countries, recommended austerity measures which included deregulation and devaluation of the naira. Devaluation was devastating because it led to very high rising of the prices of goods and services, just like the Udoji era in 1975. Inflation due to Shagari’s austerity measures was well captured by Jimmy Conter, the Eze Agala 1 of Ikwerre in his song titled “Austerity Measure”. According to Jimmy, before the austerity measures, a cup of gari used to sell for twenty kobo in Port Harcourt, but had to rise to one naira due to Shagari’s austerity measures. Such unprecedented 400% rise in the price of gari and indeed other goods had continued since then.
After Shagari, came the Buhari government which threw the issue of IMF-World bank’s recommendation open to Nigerians for debate. At the end of the debate, most Nigerians rejected the IMF-World Bank prescriptions and so the government refused to buy the drugs. When Babangida came as leader of the government, he welcomed the prescriptions and bought the drugs. The prescription was re-christened Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) whose key recommendation was deregulation of the Nigerian economy. So in 1988, he formed the Technical Committee on Privatization and Commercialization (TCPC). The key objective was to open up and liberalize the economy such that the private sector will lead the economy and enable the enterprises deliver the services for which they were incorporated. So the TCPC was to privatize or commercialize selected government enterprises found guilty of inefficiency and ineffectiveness. This was why the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) was commercialized in about 1988. As we talk today, staffs of the NNPC are happy that the corporation was commercialized and indeed they would prefer that it be privatized.
What this means was that all was not well with the management of the NNPC. That was why the law establishing the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) listed NNPC for privatization. The BPE metamorphosed from the TCPC. It is the key and authentic deregulation agency of the Federal Government of Nigeria. With the support of the World Bank, DFID etc, the BPE remains the most capacitated institution in Nigeria that can reform an enterprise, all things being equal.
This is why all the reform bills that later led to the privatization of government owned enterprises originated from the BPE. It was the BPE ( while acting as the Secretariat of the OGIC) who drafted the first and original PIB that was approved by the FEC but never saw the light of the day after it was deposited with the law makers. That was the draft that was redrafted several times to a point there was no true copy of the original draft because there were then over ten species of the PIB. This led to the current government doing a new and clean draft now before the NASS for passage.
BPE, like all such institutions across the World, has been having it rough with the powers that hate privatization and can influence government decisions in Nigeria. While BPE will always stand on the part of due process, these enemies of true capitalist progress would always want to arm-twist the BPE and the government to have their way. They are mostly in government and some in the private sector. They are the ones that have frustrated the privatization of NITEL/MTEL, PHCN and now they have succeeded in preparing and smuggled in a Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) that may not serve the interest of Nigerians.
It is now common knowledge that out of the 122 enterprises privatized by the BPE, about 65% of them are doing excellently well while the rest are facing one challenge or the other arising from policy environment. If this is a testimony of good performance by the BPE, why should the current PIB seek to delist NNPC from being reformed by the BPE? This is the question Nigerians are asking the Minister of Petroleum Resources and the NNPC. Why should the current PIB provide for the NNPC to reform itself and at the end still retain itself with a new name National Oil Company? Why should all the key decisions to be made in reforming the oil and gas sector be made by the Minister of Petroleum Resources? Is it reasonable for the Minister to be in-charge of the reformation of NNPC under her? Knowing full well that the Minister was a staff of Shell who has been against true reform of the sector, who said that there is no correlation between Shell’s interest and the current PIB? Again, can what will be in the interest of Shell be favourable to Nigerians?
The new PIB before the NASS is too cosmetic and may not lead to a true reformation of the Nigerian oil and gas sector. One would therefore suggest to Mr. President to quickly recall the PIB from the NASS and throw it open to Nigerians for detailed discussion. Comments emanating from the House of Representatives show that the PIB was like the proposal for the printing of the N5000 currency note by the CBN. As at today, a good number of opinions from Nigerians are against the PIB. Indeed as a mark of respect and honour for the Nigerian peoples for which the PIB was meant to serve, it is absolutely reasonable that in a democracy, an important document like the PIB should savour a rich public debate before sending it to the NASS for passage.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Monday, November 19, 2012 arraigned Oluwaseun Ogunbambo, his company Adeline Investment Limited and two others before Justice Adebisi Akinlade of the Lagos High Court, Ikeja, on a 14 count charge bordering on conspiracy to obtain, obtaining by false pretences, forgery and uttering of documents to facilitate credit to the sum tune of N610, 000,000.00 (Six Hundred and Ten Million Naira Only).
Two other individuals involved in the conspiracy: Olamide Ogunbambo and David Ayodele Isaac are, however, at large.
One of the charges read:“Oluwaseun Ogunbambo, Adeline Investment Limited, Olamide Ogunbambo (at large) and David Ayodele Isaac (at large) on or about the 14th day of February 2009 at Ikeja within the Ikeja Judicial Division with intent to defraud, conspired to obtain credit facilities in the sum N610,000.000.00 (Six Hundred and Ten Million Naira Only) from Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc by falsely representing to officers of the bank that you earn a monthly salary of N5,000,000.00 and a monthly housing allowance of N5,000,000.00 as the Managing Director of Fargo Petroleum Limited which amounts were paid into your account NO 202142-3/5/9110 with Guarantee Trust Bank Plc which representation you knew to be false”.
Specifically, the first accused person and accomplices allegedly used forged documents and false information to fraudulently obtain the sum of N610, 000,000.00 (Six Hundred and Ten Million Naira Only) from Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc.
When the charges were read to the accused person, he pleaded not guilty .
Counsel to the first accused person, Adebayo Adenipekun (SAN) apologized for the non-appearance of his client in court in the last couple of sittings which warranted a bench warrant to be issued on him. He told the court that Oluwaseun Ogunbambo’s serial absence for arraignment was due to error of judgment. “I hold myself responsible for this act. Therefore, I wish to withdraw previous applications filed and will urge your lordship to tamper justice with mercy”, he pleaded.
Counsel to the EFCC, Francis Usani did not contest the withdrawal of all previous applications but prayed the court to remand the accused person in prison custody. Justice Akinlade therefore struck out all previous applications and advised counsel to the accused person to file a new bail application.
Adenipekun, thereafter asked for a short adjourned date for the bail application to be considered. Justice Akinlade adjourned the case to November 27, 2012 for hearing of the bail application and January 21, 2013 for commencement of trial.
She ordered that the accused person be remanded in Kirikiri maximum prison.
President Goodluck Jonathan will leave Abuja on Tuesday night for Islamabad, Pakistan to attend the summit of Heads of State and Government of the Group of Eight Developing Nations (D-8) which opens there on Wednesday, November 21, 2012.
President Jonathan will be accompanied on the trip by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Olugbenga Ashiru, the Minister of Trade and Investment, Dr. Olusegun Aganga and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.
Besides participating in the summit of the D-8 which was established in 1997 to foster developmental cooperation amongst member-countries, President Jonathan will also hold bilateral meetings in Islamabad with the Presidents of Pakistan, Malaysia, Turkey, Iran and Egypt whose countries also belong to the D-8.
Other D-8 nations are Nigeria, Bangladesh and Indonesia.
The objectives of the organisation include promoting trade and economic cooperation amongst its members, improving member states’ position in the global economy, diversifying and creating new opportunities for them in international trade relations, enhancing their participation in decision-making at the global level, and improving the standards of living of people in the eight member-countries.
The President will also meet with Nigerians living in Pakistan before returning to Abuja on Friday.
The Presidential Committee on Flood Relief and Rehabilitation, yesterday, paid a visit to the displaced persons camp in Edo State and donated relief materials worth millions of naira to the victims.
Co-Chairman of the Committee, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, who led the team to Edo State said the state was the first in the list of affected states to be visited.
While sympathizing with the governor and people of the state over the flood disaster, Alhaji Dangote said: “this committee is made of heavy weights from the various professions. They are not here to make money out of this. We are trying to see if we can raise one hundred billion naira. We had a fund raising at the villa at Abuja and we have actually raised twelve billion.”
“I want to assure you that the displaced Nigerians would not be left to suffer. We will come to their rescue. We will help not only in terms of flood but we will make sure that they would be better off than they were before” he noted.
In his response, Governor Adams Oshiomhole thanked President Goodluck Jonathan for providing the leadership to galvanize support for the victims of displaced persons because the challenge of the flooding is enormous.
He said: “I want to appreciate Mr. President for putting up such a high-powered committee who have laboured to get to the level where they are and whose compassion to share part of their resources in a coordinated effort to mitigate the sufferings of those affected, and give them hope. Mr. President has done extremely well. He has helped to tell us, as Nigerians, that we should be our brothers’ keeper in our time of need”, he noted.
The governor lamented the gravity of the flood saying, “the challenge of the flood is enormous. In the short run, we want to make sure that our brothers and sister are not allowed to die of starvation having been displayed by the flood, their Farmlands destroyed, livestock destroyed and family life destabilized.”
While expressing joy that Nigerians have reacted positively to the displaced persons by donating relief materials he disclosed that he is encouraged by the way Nigerians have reacted across the length and breadth of the country.
He maintained that, “this is a positive indication that Nigerians have shown that we are one and the same. It is important in terms of the politics of national unity.”
The Governor, who commended Dangote for the personal interest he has shown in the industrialization of the state and for devoting time to these humanitarian efforts, stated that, “I am confident that the additional relief materials which I hear is quite a lot will go a long way to make the camps more comfortable.
“I want to assure you that only those who deserve to benefit will benefit. Your visit will give them a lot of psychological relief that people they have heard of and not seen, but this disaster has brought them to the local communities” he added.
The committee donated 1,500 bags of 5kg rice, 1,500 bags of 5kg gari; 1,500 cartons of noodles; 3,000 bags of 1kg bags of salt; 2,000 bags of water; 1,500 1 litre pack of palm oil; 7,500 1kg bag of sugar; 750 sanitary packs; 250 mattresses; 1,000 blankets; 700 clothing materials for men and 700 ankara materials.
The All Nigeria Peoples Party [ANPP] viewed last Sunday’s presidential media chat, where President Goodluck Jonathan sought to engage the Nigerian citizens with regard to his work, with interest. Bearing in mind that the session was designed to candidly present The President’s progress, ideas and plans as the head of the Federal Republic with the utmost frankness and simplicity, our great party believes that President Jonathan only succeeded in obfuscating the minds of Nigerians.
For starters, when asked about the ongoing constitution amendment, the President declined to take any position on the myriad of issues being raised for amendment in the constitution, with the self-serving explanation that it would be in the best interest of Nigerians to suggest areas in the constitution to be amended. However, we believe that it is the sign of a leader with ideas and direction to have a clear-cut legislative agenda, as a signature of his policy philosophy.
Secondly, when he was reminded about his campaign promise of reducing poverty, President Jonathan quickly charged in to tell Nigerians that he never promised to reduce poverty, but rather told the populace when he was campaigning for their votes that he wanted to ‘‘create wealth’’. This is a clear political equivocation which is patently illiterate at best and self-indicting at worst. Nigerians are now left to wonder who Mr President had set out to empower all along. This is because, for sure, creating wealth might actually be a metaphor for putting more money into the hands of his already rich party members and cronies, while leaving the poor of the nation in the hands of chance.
Thirdly, The President tried to evade the question of his government’s lack of ‘‘enforcement’’ in the fight against corruption. But when he was forced to give an answer with specific reference to the Siemens and Halliburton cases, narrated that it was difficult for an incumbent government to fight the corruption carried over from a previous administration. We wonder whether he was trying to say that previous governments had vacated the The State House with all the paraphernalia and powers of law enforcement and relevant documents needed to know what is the reality concerning these and many other clear cases of corrupt practices at the highest level.
We believe that the international community that rated us abysmally low in the fight against corruption had already seen the insincerity of the present government in tackling corruption head-on. In fact, the foreign firms indicted in the corruption saga had been punished in their own countries, while this PDP government tries to sweep everything under the carpet in order not to rock their gravy train of ‘‘chop I chop’’. We in the ANPP believe that President Goodluck Jonathan needs more than a media chat to communicate to the disillusioned masses his government’s vaunted vision, progress and plans. Action speaks louder than word.
