Senegal election, example for Africa – EU

2:47 PM News, Politics 1 Comment

Senegal’s presidential election, which saw the incumbent concede defeat peacefully, has been hailed as a “great victory for democracy” in Africa.

President Abdoulaye Wade has accepted that he was defeated by Macky Sall in Sunday’s run-off.

The African Union said Wade’s concession showed “maturity” in the country’s democracy while the European Union called Senegal a “great example”.

Sall addressed thousands of cheering supporters in the capital, Dakar.

He promised to be a president for all Senegalese people.

The president-elect, 50, said the poll marks a “new era” for the country.

His rival’s bid for a third term in office, after 12 years in power, sparked violent protests which left six people dead.

Official results from Sunday’s election are expected within two days.

A spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said it was “a great victory for democracy in Senegal and in Africa”, reports the AFP news agency.

“Senegal is a great example for Africa,” he added.

AU Commission chairman Jean Ping said the peaceful conduct of the presidential elections “proved that Africa, despite its challenges, continues to register significant progress towards democracy and transparent elections”.

Earlier, President Nicolas Sarkozy of Senegal’s former colonial ruler, France, said the peaceful election was “good news for Africa in general and for Senegal in particular.”

He said, “Senegal is a major African country and a model of democracy.”

The election comes just days after a military coup in neighbouring Mali.

Senegal remains the only country in West Africa to have never undergone a coup.

Wade “phoned his rival Macky Sall at 21:30 GMT [on Sunday] to congratulate him after the first results showed him to be the winner of a presidential run-off,” the Senegalese Press Agency said.

Even before Wade’s concession, thousands of Sall supporters began celebrating on the streets of Dakar.

They chanted “Macky president!” and “We have won!”

Wade brought in a two-term limit for presidential office, but argued that the limit should not apply to his first term which came in before the constitution was changed.

His argument was upheld by the constitutional court in January, prompting widespread protests in which six people died.

In February’s first round, Wade fell short of a majority, polling only 34.8 per cent. Sall came second with 26.6 per cent. But most of the other 12 candidates backed Sall in the second round.

Sall owes his political career to Wade, and had held several ministry portfolios before becoming prime minister, the BBC reports.

But the two men fell out over the handling of public spending by Karim Wade, the president’s unpopular son, whom many believe has been trying to succeed his father, our correspondent adds.

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Stop giving professors political appointments, FG urged

2:44 PM Education No Comments

President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan

A United Kingdom-based scholar, Dr. Charles Abe, has called on the Federal Government to stop appointing serving professors to public and political offices.

This practice, he noted, had been robbing universities of human resources and thus deepening the brain drain syndrome in them.

Rather than appoint serving professors to political offices, he said, career officers should be deployed in such offices.

Abe, who gave this advice at the University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo State, said, “Professors are scholarly teachers who should be left in their universities to continue to teach, research and improve the quality of the universities.”

Delivering the monthly Institute of Education’s public lecture titled, “Monitoring and Evaluation: A Panacea to Quality Assurance in Higher Education,” Abe frowned on the rate government offered political appointments to professors.

According to him, the quality of learning is being eroded in the university whenever a professor is given a political appointment at the expense of his scholarly duties.

“Government should stop robbing the universities of their eminent professors by appointing them as executive secretaries, directors-general; these positions should be left for career officers who have been trained in ASCON, Badagry and Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies,” he said.

Abe, whose lecture drew intermittent applause from the audience, challenged the universities to develop a system whereby teaching is peer-reviewed among senior and junior academic staff.

He noted that a system that was not monitored was bound to collapse and fail and a system that was not evaluated on a regular basis would not be effective.

The lecturer added that monitoring and evaluation in quality assurance would earn both the lecturers and the entire workforce of higher educational institutions the respect they deserve when teaching had been effectively done.

As a way of entrenching quality in the universities, Abe called on lecturers to teach full hours allotted to their courses and not teach a 30-hour course in five hours when examination is approaching.

He added, “Research and publications should be products of honest efforts and not academic fraud.”

Abe also called on the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board to stop admitting students to the universities, pointing out that, they should rather, be allowed to fashion out their own admission procedures that would enable them to admit the best candidates.

Abe cited poor working condition of academic staff, inadequate funding, incessant strikes by university workers as well as lack of relevant journals and books in the library as some of the problems confronting the nation’s university system.

He also identified lack of functional internet facilities, obsolete ideas, poor value system and irregular electricity supply as some of the major problems confronting the system.

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No alternative to investment in education – Israeli experts

2:42 PM Education No Comments

Two Israeli management experts, the President, Galilee International Management Institute, Israel, Dr. Joseph Shevel, and the Chairman of GIMI, Dr. Baruch Levy, have said there is no alternative to investment in education and leadership for any nation that is desirous of economic transformation and development.
This was contained in a statement issued by the Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, Ondo State, to articulate the views expressed by the two at the public lecture of the institution on Wednesday last week.
Shevel spoke on ‘Economic Development Based on Education and Higher Education: the Case of Israel,’ while Baruch delivered a paper on ‘Leadership.’
Shevel observed that despite the abundance of natural resources in Nigeria, its economy still suffered a great impediment due to Nigerian leaders’ indifferent attitude towards education.
He said Israel was able to make up for its resource drought through strategic investment in education.
In a veiled reference to resource-related problems ravaging oil-producing countries, including Nigeria, he said, “If you don’t have oil, you will have to work hard and you must think. In Israel, we lack natural resources, but we invest in education and capacity building and now we have greater tax revenue, increased savings and investment, more entrepreneurial and civic society, improved nation’s health, minimal population growth, improved technology, and good governance.”
He said education was compulsory for children between ages 3 -18 and that any parent who violated the law would be prosecuted and jailed, if found guilty.
Shevel said, as a result of investment in capacity building and education between 1948 and 2012, Israel had benefitted maximally in the areas of economy, education, technology and good governance.
Shevel said in the education sector, five of the Israeli universities were ranked among the best 100 in the world in computer science while two Israeli institutions ranked “best academic research institutions” outside the United States of America in 2008.
“The Hebrew University, Jerusalem and The Wiezmann Institute of Science; The Hebrew University Research company, “Yissum”, is the 11th higher education company in the world and has registered over 5,500 patents and 1,600 inventions worldwide; the Hebrew University earns over $1bn from intellectual property, royalties and university-based companies,’’ he said.
He disclosed that 24 per cent of Israel’s workforce holds university degrees, ranking third in the industrialised world, after the United States and Holland while 12 per cent hold advanced degrees.
According to him, Israel has the highest ratio of university degrees to the population in the world.

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VC seeks improved patriotism among Nigerians

2:40 PM Education No Comments

The Vice-Chancellor, Babcock University, Ilisan-Remo, Ogun State, Prof. Kayode Makinde, has called on Nigerians to see the country as a project and manage it with a view to enhancing its development.

Makinde made the call in an address at the opening ceremony of a workshop on Project Management organised by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria in collaboration with Babcock Consulting Limited, a consulting outfit of Babcock University in Lagos.

According to him, Nigeria will not experience the desired growth until its citizenry love and work together for its progress.

He added that developed nations achieved the feat because of their patriotism of the citizens. Makinde advised Nigerians to emulate the patriotism of these nations, adding that the leaders too should be selfless in their service to the country.

The workshop, he said, was organised to equip participants with various skills that would enable them to perform their roles efficiently in their places of work.

On project management, Makinde noted that “God Himself is a Project Manager and the creation by Him was a Project Management process.”

Makinde said the recipe for good project management included understanding the thing to be done, as well as understanding the terrain, ability to take decision, perseverance and ability to manage time.

He noted that he was happy with the collaboration between CIBN and Babcock Consulting, adding that it was a worthwhile relationship.

Welcoming participants, the Registrar/Chief Executive of CIBN, Dr. Uju Ogubunka, assured them that they would get enough benefits from the workshop.

He noted that competent resource persons had been invited to handle the various topics during the workshop.

In his remark, the Chief Executive Officer of Babcock Consulting, Prof. Dayo Alao, thanked Ogubunka for agreeing to collaborate with Babcock consulting.

He also assured the participants of getting the best from the workshop.

The two-day workshop attracted participants and facilitators from different sectors of the economy including the banking, oil and gas and the academia among others.

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Makon lifts UNILAG with PLC laboratory

2:38 PM Education No Comments

Makon Group of Companies, Lagos, has donated a Programmable Logic Control Laboratory to the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, University of Lagos.

The Group Managing Director of the company, Mr. Oluwaseyi Makinde, an engineer, while presenting the fully-equipped laboratory to the UNILAG Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Tokunbo Sofoluwe, said the gesture was informed by the firm’s commitment to boosting local capacity development.

He added that it was done as part of the corporate social responsibility of the company and as the firm’s contribution to the success of the Nigerian Content Development Act.

 “The motivation for setting up this laboratory dated to late 1990s when Makon was in need of control engineering with PLC knowledge for the Chad-Cameroon Pipeline Project. At that time none was found, we had to bring foreign experts to handle the software programming aspect of the project.

 “It is gratifying to record that with the establishment of Makon PLC Laboratory, fresh graduates would have been exposed to this important subject which will facilitate their deployment in the industries,” he added.

Makinde said the firm would continue to support education in order to build a mass of human capital needed to drive all the sectors of the nation’s economy.

He also said his company would also help the university to sustain the laboratory by bringing the firm’s experts to teach the students on a regular basis.

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Abolaji urges standardisation of school curriculum

2:37 PM Education No Comments

The founder of Global International College, Mrs. Osime Abolaji, has advocated the standardisation of the nation’s secondary school curriculum to enhance development.

She made this known during a press conference on Thursday in Lagos.

She said the curriculum must be reviewed to promote proper understanding of subjects taught in schools.

She said, “A standard curriculum is essential to educational development. The number of subjects should also be reduced in schools. The curriculum should include work ethics and entrepreneurial skills. If the teacher is to teach a large variety of subjects within the short period of a term, how will the teacher be perfect and how do you want the child to understand the entire subjects?” she asked.

She blamed the lack of a standard curriculum for the low quality of the school system’s products.

Abolaji said, “One of the problems Nigerian pupils has is rote learning, otherwise known as ‘cramming.’ They are overcrowded with many subjects; so by the time they get to the industry for work, they will not perform well, while some of them don’t even understand what they have been taught.”

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I won’t run for public office again – Obi

2:33 PM News, Politics No Comments

Anambra State Governor Peter Obi has said he will not run for elective public office or hold any political office after his tenure as governor in 2014.
In a statement in Awka on Monday, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Media and Publicity, Mr. Valentine Obienyem, said Obi would retire to his family and private life after completing his tenure.
Obienyem, who was reacting to reports that Obi was having issues with his Imo State counterpart, Chief Rochas Okorocha, said the governor had a passion to serve his people faithfully.
The report said the National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, Chief Victor Umeh, had declared that Okorocha would replace the late Chief Emeka Ojukwu as the leader of Igbo, instead of Obi, many had suggested for the role.
Obi has also been linked with an aspiration to run as Vice-President in 2015 after his tenure.
“The governor himself has said it for the umpteenth time that after serving the people of the state that he would not go for any other political job, senate, ministerial appointment or any other,” Obienyem said.
He insisted that Obi and Okorcha were not at loggerheads, saying the reports of their brawling were unfounded.
He called on the media to reject one-sided stories and ensure that the views of all sides to a story were reflected in the interest of objectivity.
Obienyem said, “I am sure if the writer of that story had contacted either of the governors’ aides, they would have got the right position, except he was clearly out for mischief.”

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Dokpesi to pay N7.5bn debt to Fidelity Bank

2:32 PM News No Comments

A Federal High court in Lagos has ordered Chief Raymond Dokpesi and his Daar Communication Plc, to pay the sum of N7.5bn debt to Fidelity Bank Plc.
Justice Mohammed Idris, in his judgment on Monday, ordered that the company should pay the debt with all its accrued interest as claimed by the bank in its writ of summons.
According to the writ of summons, the plaintiff asked the court to order the defendant, Daar Communications, to pay the debt with the accumulated 21 per cent interest per annum on the indebtedness from May 31, 2011 until judgment and another 21 per cent interest per annum from the day of judgment until final liquidation.
The bank, through its counsel, Joseph Nwobike, filed the suit seeking the recovery of an outstanding debt of N7.5bn of a loan, it said it granted the company to enable it to broadcast the FIFA Under-17 World Cup hosted by Nigeria in 2009.
Daar Communications Plc is the parent company of the Independent African Television and Ray Power radio.
The facilities were said to have been secured by Dokpesi’s personal guaranty and by all assets debenture on the fixed and floating assets of Daar Communications valued at N21.3bn.
Also said to have been put forward as security for the loan is a legal mortgage over a property located at 34, Creek Road, Apapa, Lagos belonging to Baldok Shipping Limited.
The judge said, “I am of the view that the plaintiff thereby is entitled to judgment against the defendants.”
Dokpesi had said he only owed Fidelity Bank about N3bn and not N7.5bn.
But the judge said, “The claim of the plaintiff relates to principally simple uncontested liquidated monetary claim for interest is within the formal agreement of the parties.
“The matter appears uncontentious and suitable for judgment in favour of the plaintiff.
“In conclusion judgment is hereby entered in favour of the plaintiff against the defendant in terms contained in the writ of summons filed herein.”

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Men who consume sugary drink risk heart disease — study

2:29 PM Health No Comments

GBENGA ADENIJI writes about a new study indicating that men who consume sugar-sweetened beverage a day are risking heart disease

Most people find it easy to drink sugary substance than take any bitter liquid.

But a new research has revealed that individuals especially men who drink sugar-sweetened beverage a day increase their risk of heart disease.​

It shows that naturally, sugar-sweetened beverages cause many health problems- including obesity and diabetes. And that taking one daily adds one more potential risk to the list: coronary disease.

According to the study, men who drink one sugar-sweetened beverage daily have a 20 per cent higher risk of heart disease than men who drink none.

The researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health tracked nearly 43,000 participants in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, which included male dentists, pharmacists, physicians, veterinarians and other health professionals ages 40 to 75, almost all of whom were of European descent.

For 22 years, the men filled out surveys about their diets and other health habits. The researchers also collected blood samples from more than 18,000 men who were demographically similar to those in the survey.

The results, published in the American Heart Association’s journal, Circulation, discovered that drinking 12 ounces of regular soda, fruit drinks and other sugar-sweetened beverages daily was associated with a higher risk of heart disease.

This, it adds, is even after taking into account other cardiovascular risk factors, such as smoking, physical inactivity, alcohol use and a family history of heart disease.

A professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health and the lead author of the study, Dr. Frank Hu, said the findings were significant because even relatively modest consumption of sugary beverages – just one drink per day – was associated with an increased risk of heart disease.

Hu says, “These drinks should be treated as a treat, not for all the time.”

The study specifically categorised sugar-sweetened beverages to include regular soda, fruit drinks, sports drinks, energy drinks and sugar-sweetened water.

Also, a 2011 report from the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that about 25 per cent of Americans drink the equivalent of more than one can of soda each day.

The study states that men who drank daily sugar-sweetened beverages had certain markers of cardiovascular disease in their blood, including higher levels of lipids like triglycerides and lower levels of HDL, or “good,” cholesterol.

Hu adds that increase in these markers could show certain revelations about the biological mechanisms that may connect sugary drinks and heart disease.

It is however not only men’s affair as previous researches have indicated  that the link between sugary drinks and heart disease may also exist for women.

The latest study’s findings observe those of a study of nearly 89,000 women, the Nurses’ Health Study, which Hu and his colleagues published in 2009.

That study discovered that women who drank one or less than two sugary drinks per day had a 23 per cent increased risk of a heart attack

It is vital to state that the new study didn’t find a nexus between diet drinks and cardiovascular disease, and past studies didn’t link diet drinks with an increase in diabetes risk or weight gain.

This, the study suugests, may be because people who choose diet drinks might be more likely to develop better diets and healthier lifestyles overall.

According to the study, men who drank diet soda often got more exercise and smoked less. Some nutrition experts however hesitate to suggest that people simply replace sugar-sweetened beverages with diet drinks due to the lack of evidence about the prolonged effects of artificial sweeteners.

Some researches also suggest that diet soda can condition the taste buds to crave sweets, leading to higher sugar intake in other parts of the diet.

It is even stated that growing soda habit leads to untimely death for many Americans. According to an analysis from the University of California, San Francisco, about six thousand deaths over the last decade could have been avoided if Americans drank less soda and sugary beverages.

The analysis found out that America’s growing addiction to sweet drink has increased health outcomes such as heart disease and diabetes including higher health care costs.

The new analysis, presented at the American Heart Association’s 50th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention, gives an insight into the extent of damage the consumption of sugary drinks can be.

Employing the use of a computer model and data from the Framingham Heart Study, the Nurses Health Study and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, researchers estimated that the increasing consumption between 1990 and 2000 of soda and sugar-sweetened beverages, which they shortened as “SSBs,” led to 75,000 new cases of diabetes and 14,000 new cases of heart disease.

They note, “ What’s more, the burden of the diseases translated into $300m to $550m increase in health care costs between 2000 and 2010. The model is really important because it gives us a big picture that might serve as a more effective impetus for health policies to curb consumption.”

The lead author and internal medicine resident at the University of California, San Francisco, Dr. Litsa Lambrakos said, “A lot of people drink these drinks on a daily basis and they have little to no nutritional value. We want the public to know that they should not be considered a staple of the American diet.”

Besides, Lambrakos said date from Soda Pop Culture show that more Americans are drinking soda or other sugary drinks on a daily basis- and having larger contents, more consistently- than ever before, Lambrakos said.

The analysis noted that 21,000 years of potential life were lost to Americans over the last decade when increased consumption of the drinks led to premature death.

There is also a disclosure that it is not just the amount of sugar in the beverages that matter, but its kind.

Lambrakos added that a study noted that people drinking soda or SSBs had an increased risk of diabetes while those drinking similar calorie and sugar loads of 100 per cent fruit juice had no such increased risk.

The beverage industry however faulted the claim, saying, “Heart disease and diabetes are complex problems with no single cause and no simple solutions. Consuming sugar-sweetened beverages is not a risk factor” for either condition.”

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Security scare at US embassy in Abuja … two suspects handed over to Nigerian authorities

2:28 PM News No Comments

There was a security scare at the United States Embassy in Abuja on Monday, following suspected gunshots in the vicinity of the well guarded mission.

While one account had it that unknown gunmen fired shots around the embassy, another said it was two teenagers who set off fireworks in an undeveloped plot located a few metres from the mission.

The embassy is located on Plot 1075, Diplomatic Drive, Central Business District in Abuja.

Immediately the shots were heard, a commotion reportedly ensued while diplomats and other embassy staff were placed on an emergency alert.

The News Agency of Nigeria quoted some policemen at the diplomatic zone, which houses several embassies, as saying there was “panic and confusion” after the shots were heard.

A petty trader told NAN in pidgin that there was smoke and noise, which led to a commotion.

The unnamed petty trader said, “I hear noise and see smoke; people dey run and I think say na knockout and people say na gun shot. Naim I pick my egg roll and kunu and run too.”

A member of staff of the embassy, who declined to be named, told NAN that they were “placed on emergency following an incident across the street.”

The NAN correspondent claimed to have seen a combined team of policemen and U.S. security officials questioning two teenagers detained in front of the embassy.

The embassy confirmed the security scare in a terse statement issued by its information office.

It said two suspects arrested in connection with the incident were in the custody of Nigerian authorities and referred journalists to the Nigeria Police Force for further information.

The statement reads, “We believe there were shots fired in the vicinity of the US Embassy. The Nigerian authorities have two individuals in custody.

“We refer you to the Nigerian police for further information.”

The email statement, one of the embassy’s standard methods of communicating with journalists, was sent to one of our correspondents.

But the Nigeria Police Force Headquarters and the Federal Capital Territory Police Command denied knowledge of the incident.

However, the embassy’s Public Affairs Specialist, Mr. Sani Mohammed, when contacted on the telephone, confirmed the authenticity of the mission’s statement to THE PUNCH.

Mohammed said, “We issued the statement and like it states, contact the police for further information.”

Sani, however, did not answer further questions, noting that he had no more information to give on the incident.

According to the police, there is no report of the incident.

The Force PRO, Mr. Olusola Amore, said an officer was dispatched to the embassy to confirm the incident, but the mission allegedly denied issuing a statement about the purported shooting and arrest of two suspects.

He said, “I don’t know where you (journalists) got such a statement because we dispatched an officer to the embassy and they (embassy authorities) said there was no shooting around their building and that they did not issue any statement on the matter.

“You should examine the source of the statement purportedly issued by the embassy.”

Similarly, the FCT Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Moshood Jimoh, said he had contacted the Divisional Police Officer in charge of the area, who said there was neither a report of shooting nor any form of violence around the embassy. He also said no arrests had been made.

When contacted, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Ogbole Ahmedu-Ode, said, “I’m yet to receive any such report.”

The State Security Service spokesperson, Marilyn Ogar, denied knowledge of the report.

She said, “You can get in touch with the police as the embassy indicated.”

However, there was heightened security presence around some government facilities in Abuja, which included the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.

The last travel warning issued by the American State Department to US citizens visiting Nigeria was on February 29, 2012.

It reads in part, “The Department of State warns US citizens of the risks of travel to Nigeria and continues to recommend that US citizens avoid all but essential travel to the Niger Delta states of Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, and Rivers; the South-Eastern states of Abia, Edo, Imo; the city of Jos in Plateau State, Bauchi and Borno states in the North-East; and the Gulf of Guinea because of the risks of kidnapping, robbery, and other armed attacks in these areas.

“Violent crime committed by individuals and gangs, as well as by persons wearing police and military uniforms, remains a problem throughout the country.

“Based on safety and security risk assessments, the U.S. Mission requires advance permission and justification as mission-essential for US official travel to all Northern Nigerian states, in addition to the locations listed above.”

Also, the U.S. Department of State, early in March, updated its travel warning, and restricted travels by its government officials to the Northern part of the country.

It had maintained that the risk of attack against Western targets in Nigeria remained high.

Worried by armed violence and terrorist activities in some parts of the country, President Goodluck Jonathan had on December 31, 2011, declared a state of emergency in 15 local government areas in Borno, Niger, Plateau and Yobe states.

Embassies in Abuja have been on a state of heightened alert since the suicide bomb attack on the United Nations building in the federal capital on August 26, 2011.

There have also been reports that Boko Haram may be targeting Western interests in the country, especially in the wake of the recent abduction of some expatriates.

A Briton and an Italian abducted in May 2010 in Birnin Kebbi by suspected terrorists were killed by their captors two weeks ago when Nigerian and British special forces tried to rescue the hostages from where they were being held in Sokoto.

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Jonathan promises to replicate Asian Tigers economy in Nigeria

2:25 PM News No Comments

President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday promised that his administration would replicate the Asian Tigers economy in Nigeria before the end of his tenure.
The four Asian Tigers or Asian Dragons is a term used to describe the highly developed economies of Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan.
Jonathan spoke at the opening of the Nigeria-Korea Investment Forum on Infrastructure and Energy Development at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry building in Seoul, South Korea.
The President is in South Korea where he, alongside 52 other Heads of State and international organisations, is attending World Nuclear Security Summit.
He said his administration would do everything possible to woo foreign investors to the country.
He added that the investors would be encouraged to invest in Nigeria.
Jonathan said every policy and programme being put in place by his administration were aimed at achieving the country’s dream of realising its Vision 20:2020 – to be among the 20 top economies in the world in the next 20 years.
The President called for a collaboration between the 150 chief executives of blue chip companies that listened to his presentations on opportunities open to them to invest in and get returns in the Nigerian economy.
He told the gathering that vast opportunities abound in Nigeria, saying its large population and resources were a great advantage to the country.
He noted that North Korea became developed without natural resources. Jonathan said, “The growth of your economy despite not having any natural resources is something we want to repeat in Nigeria with our abundant resources.
“We want to borrow a leaf from the miracle of the Han River in making Nigeria one of the 20 largest economies.”
He assured the chief executives that the gains recorded in the telecommunications sector would soon be replicated in other sectors of the economy like power energy, oil and gas and the manufacturing sector, especially with the population of over 167 million and a ready market.

by Olalekan Adetayo, Abuja

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Jonathan assures the world of Nigeria’s nuclear safety

1:06 AM News No Comments

ABUJA — President Goodluck Jonathan has assured the global community that Nigeria will  ensure that adequate safety measures are deployed when the country introduces nuclear power into its energy mix.
Speaking at the opening of the Nuclear Security Summit in the South Korean capital, President Jonathan declared that Nigeria remained fully committed to complying with all international legal and regulatory requirements for safety and security in the use of nuclear energy.

South Korea's President Lee Myung-Bak (L) greets Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan as he arrives for the welcoming ceremony for the 2012 Seoul Nuclear Security Summit at the Coex Center in Seoul on March 26, 2012. The two-day meeting in South Korea is a follow-up to an inaugural summit in Washington in 2010 hosted by US President Barack Obama, which kick-started efforts to lock up fissile material around the globe that could make thousands of bombs. AFP PHOTO

A statement by Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Reuben Abati, quoted President Jonathan as telling world leaders at the summit: “I wish to assure this august gathering that Nigeria has remained manifestly committed to compliance with international legal and regulatory requirements for safety, security and safeguards in the use of nuclear energy.
“Our commitment is unwavering, as it would be recalled that Nigeria was the second country to sign the Non‑Proliferation Treaty in 1968 and voted for its indefinite extension in 1995.
“Nigeria also signed the Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement in 1998 and ratified the Convention on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident in 1990.  Furthermore, in preparation for the introduction of nuclear power in the country, Nigeria has ratified all relevant international treaties and conventions.”
The President said Nigeria had already taken significant actions in support of the resolutions of the Washington Nuclear Security Summit in 2010 and UN Security Council’ s Resolution 1540, including collaboration with the USA, China and the International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, to convert the country’s research reactor from high enriched uranium to low enriched uranium to reduce the risk of fissile materials being stolen by criminal or terrorist groups.
According to him, Nigeria is  also working with the IAEA and other international expert institutions to enhance the training of personnel of its security agencies so that they are more able to meet the challenges of nuclear security threats.
Jonathan announced that a national institute for nuclear security training was being established in Abuja to provide human capacity development for the country and other African nations.
Jonathan said: “I would like to assure this meeting of my country’s unflinching support for all multi‑lateral efforts aimed at nipping the menace of nuclear terrorism in the bud.”
“As a country, we are desirous of the application of nuclear technology for peaceful purposes only.  We are committed to the achievement of a world free of nuclear weapons and we would continue to work assiduously with like‑minded countries to achieve that goal.”

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Medical workers decry decaying healthcare facilities

1:03 AM Health, News No Comments

ABUJA – MEDICAL and Health Workers’ Union of Nigeria, MHWUN, yesterday, decried the level of decay in the healthcare delivery system in the country, especially at the primary level, lamenting that most facilities at the primary health care level were in various states of despair.’
The union noted that ”from 2001 to 2007, about 684 primary health care centres were constructed, of which 471 were completed, but most of them had been taken over by weeds.”
Speaking on the union’s  week-long programme that  commenced nationwide, yesterday, with the theme: “Primary Health Care, a Platform for Attaining Universal Access to Quality Health Services in Nigeria”, President of the union, Dr. Ayuba Wabba, said in Abuja that “health is not only a human right but is at the heart of human progress, it determines whether parents or citizens can work to support their families.”

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Six die as soldiers battle Islamist

1:01 AM News No Comments

KANO  (AFP) – A former police officer and two of his friends were killed Sunday in a shootout that also killed three suspected members of the Boko Haram Islamist group.
Lieutenant Colonel Sagir Musa, spokesman for the elite unit hunting down Boko Haram members, said militants attacked soldiers in the city of Maiduguri in a raid launched late Saturday, triggering a fierce gunbattle that lasted until early Sunday.
“The attack was repelled. Sect members retreated through narrow paths to different locations only to reorganise and shoot dead a retired police inspector and two of his friends right in front of his house.”
Musa said three Boko Haram members were killed in the shootout.
One resident said about 20 gunmen attacked a police station with rifles and explosives.
“There was a shootout that continued throughout the night and around 200 residents were forced to lie on their faces along the streets to avoid being caught in crossfire,” he said.
Another local man said he saw six dead bodies.
“The shooting continued throughout the night, we did not sleep,” he said.
Boko Haram, blamed for a wave of attacks mainly in northern Nigeria, has targeted mostly the police and other symbols of authority in Africa’s most populous nation, but also churches.
Although its specific aims remain largely unclear, violence by the sect since mid-2009 has claimed more than 1,000 lives, including more than 300 this year alone, according to rights groups and an AFP count.

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Attracting Africa youths to agriculture: the way forward

1:00 AM Business No Comments

The President of Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), Dr. Namaga Ngongi, was at the recently held international conference on “Young People, Farming & Food: the future of the Agrifood sector in Africa,” in Accra, Ghana.
In his paper on the role of Young People in Africa’s Agriculture revolution, Dr. Ngongi spoke extensively on measures that will make agriculture attractive to the youths.
After the presentation, he spoke with journalists, Jimoh Babatunde, who was there captures his thoughts.
Excerpts:
On the conference
This conference is both important and timely. Agriculture is the backbone of sub-Saharan Africa’s rural economies. Yet, the vast majority of human assets and capital of Africa remains locked out of this economic sector across the entire agricultural value chain – from farming to research, innovation, product development and market participation.
Recent statistics indicate that young people make up approximately 30 per cent of the total population in Africa.
With nearly 60 per cent of Africa’s population residing in rural areas and the large majority made up of youth, half of them being young women and girls, the poor participation of young people in farming and the agricultural economy must be seen as a matter of grave concern to all; indeed it directly threatens the future of agriculture and rural economic transformation on the continent.
If young people living in rural areas do not find enough incentives, profitable economic opportunities and attractive environments in which to live and work, they will continue to migrate to cities in large numbers and the opportunity to attract a steady flow of investments to transform Africa’s agricultural sector will be missed.
This trend would not only contribute to the mega urbanisation and growing urban unemployment that is already under way, but could also affect global food production. Who will then feed the global population that is projected to reach 9.2 billion people by 2050?

On why the youths are not taking to agriculture
For the most part, farming practices in African agriculture have not changed in generations. Lack of support to improve productivity and bring innovation into the sector has in many ways pushed our young people away from business opportunities in agriculture and into more attractive sectors like information and communication technology (ICT) or finance.
Given agriculture’s major role in the rural economy, it has significant potential to provide solutions to the current problems of youth unemployment on the continent and slow the pace of rural-urban migration.

On what to do to attract the youth to agriculture
Clearly, there is an urgent task at hand. As leaders in agricultural development, policymakers and professionals, we must articulate new visions of agriculture that can be attractive to young people and align with their aspirations and interests.
The vision of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) is a deeply exciting one. It is of an agricultural renaissance, a vision of a food secure and economically prosperous Africa, marshaling the capacities of a new generation of agricultural scientists, extension professionals and entrepreneurs across the food/ agricultural value chain.
In this effort, AGRA recognises the potential of young men and women as active agents in the transformation of Africa’s agriculture and poverty reduction. But the evidence is compelling that young people encounter significant constraints and disadvantages in their attempt to engage in agriculture.

On the constraints identified by AGRA
Amongst these constraints, the following stand out: Young people in rural areas, especially the women, are often disadvantaged with low levels of education and literacy. They often have fewer opportunities for gainful employment in farming and non-farming rural agricultural livelihoods.
Young people have fewer chances to obtain capital or credit and assets: Access to credit in rural financial institutions is often tied to availability of collateral (usually land) that young people do not have.
Others are access to extension and vocational training; access to agricultural/rural market and exclusion in policy discussions and instituted policies as National policies rarely feature the concerns or issues of young people on the future of food, farming and development.
Today, there is a growing realisation that young people have enormous potential for innovation and risk-taking that is often at the core of growth and development in rural areas. The youth response to the ICT innovation and the opportunities that stem from ICT stands as a powerful testament of the capabilities of Africa’s young men and women.
The challenge that we must take up, as leaders, facilitators, and policymakers in Africa’s agricultural development is to build the capacities of young people – male and female, and equip them to address the emerging requirements of an attractive agricultural and non-farm rural economy that offers prospects for viable incomes and good quality of life.
To make agriculture attractive to the young, we must invest in education at all levels, support agricultural innovation, build market infrastructure and improve the business environment in ways that will raise incomes and expand the agricultural value chain.

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PDP Convention:PDP is not a secret society – Olisa Metuh

12:57 AM Politics No Comments

…says candidates themselves called for consensus
Chief Olisa Metuh, the new national publicity secretary of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP was until his election last Saturday, the national vice-chairman (Southeast) of the party. Following the election, he spoke in a telephone interview on the intrigues that shadowed the convention, the challenges ahead of the party and on the competence of the old men that now call the shots in the party. Excerpts:
HOW do you assess the ninth convention of the PDP?
It is one of the best so far, very transparent, orderly and in line with our constitution. Everything was done including auditor’s report, speeches by the secretary and most of all, all the candidates were free to make their own choice and where people didn’t agree to step down, there was election into those particular offices and the elections were done transparently.
Ballot boxes were transparent, people queued up and voted for candidates of their choice. So, I think the PDP is coming better, we are getting better every day. We are not unmindful of criticism against us, so we try to change and adjust accordingly.
From your perceptive could you point at any flaw during the convention?
For me as a candidate I was more interested in my campaign and what I saw was perfect, excellently done.
Convention committee
I give kudos to the national convention committee and the outgoing national working committee. I can’t point out at any flaw.
Why is your party inclined towards consensus in the election of its officers?
I wish you could ask that to the opposition parties. Every time we do elections, we do contests and we have a lot of people that contest for positions in PDP. People actually contest, people actually campaign for these offices then if there is consensus just before the election, or a day to the election, it is different from the case with opposition parties who never seem to have other candidates, who never seem to have campaigns, who never seem to have anything democratic at all.
All they do is to come and anoint people and appoint people even secretly. So, I think that PDP has shown that we are a lot better, that we are miles ahead of the other parties in Nigeria in terms of how we conduct our primaries and our congresses. We are setting the pace.
The opposition has its flaws but that begs the issue, why does your party prefer consensus to election?
You know there are people that buy forms not necessarily because they will win but they want to be heard, some people want their posters to be seen, some people are praying for God to intervene for them and others are just seeking for the attention of the leaders of the party.

From left, Vice President Namadi Sambo,President Goodluck Jonathan, acting National Chairman, Abubakar Baraje, former President and Chairman of BOT, Olusegun Obasanjo and Speaker of the House of Reps, Hon.Aminu Tambuwal.

Arranging for consensus
But before then, once you see that the leaders of the party and the delegates are headed in one direction…indeed, I am aware that in this election that some candidates were even meeting the leaders to arrange for consensus so that they can see an honourable exit. Once they see the direction that the delegates are going, the people would demand an honourable exit and that was what happened. It is the candidates that appeal for it (consensus).
What would you describe as the major agenda of this new executive of the party?
It is the chairman that would determine. The chairman’s role is to set the agenda with the National Working Committee. Mine is to brief the press and I will not exceed my powers under the constitution. I will continually brief you on the decisions of the National Working Committee and the agenda being set by the leadership and I will make sure that I do it in a very open manner so that you can understand what we are doing. If we are not doing it well, you criticize us and we can adjust accordingly. We will run this party in a very open manner. PDP is not a secret society, PDP belongs to everybody and we owe it as a duty to our people nationwide to educate them on why decisions have been made on their behalf.

Bamanga Tukur casting his vote at the convention, Saturday in Abuja.

Not too long ago, some members of the party described it as a cult. Do you think you have moved far from that description?
No responsible member of the party would describe PDP as a cult. PDP is open, we have divergent views, people from different backgrounds, people with different opinions but at the same time, we are all agreed on one thing, that we belong to the party, we want to work hard for the party, we want to work hard for the country and we want to ensure that democracy stays in Nigeria. Unity in purpose in making sure that we survive as a democratic nation is the propelling thing behind PDP decisions on major issues.
The new national chairman of the party is about 77, the Chairman of the board of trustees is about 76 and the National Youth Leader is 50? Does the party have a position for the youths?
I think it is totally wrong, PDP is a party of experience,  a party of people who are capable and committed. You cannot exclude a man who is best for the job because he is older than the others, you cannot exclude him because he is younger than others. On a personal level, I have always remained one of the youngest in the party hierarchy and nobody has ever highlighted that.
It is a question of competence and how to handle issues, it is not a question of age. We have competent people at the right places. Our national chairman is very competent and he is very fit. Yesterday, (Saturday) I had to walk with him from the stand to the podium and I was practically running to catch up with the national chairman. He is intellectually capable and he has a lot to offer the party. Did you listen to his speech? I was moved. Even me having served this party for 13 years at the highest level, I was moved and actually inspired to work with such a man. I think he will do well as national chairman of PDP and that is what is most important.
Are you insisting that the older men are more competent?
No, sometimes, you find the competent people older and sometimes you find the competent people younger. Our national legal adviser is one of the youngest national legal advisers in the history of our democracy and nobody is saying that. He is a young man from Plateau, but he is competent. He is a sound lawyer. Very articulate, very young man and we did not refuse to vote for him because he is not so old.
Ahead of this convention there were reports of intrigues centering on the President insisting that the national chairman must be Tukur and no one else. Why?
Well, I think I read this in the press like all others. The President reserves the right to support the national chairman of his choice. In supporting that candidate if he decides to sell his candidature to other stakeholders, it is within his democratic rights. As long as he does not interfere with the constitutional right of other candidates.
The president deserves the right to have a candidate of his choice and to promote his candidature among other stakeholders. But when it happens behind the doors people think that it is something that is being manipulated. No. He is a PDP super delegate, he can support someone and others can say no but if they buy his argument, it is very democratic.
Lastly, what mechanism would you bring to bear to polish the image of the party?
There is nothing else you can do other than to be open and transparent. As long as you are open and you connect with the people they will see the truth. I think the perception they have of the PDP is very wrong.
Wrong perception
The perception is totally wrong and mine is to assist the national chairman in correcting that impression because as a party we have done good, as a party we have done well. Let me tell you the truth, people think that party people do not go through pains, they don’t go through sufferings,  that they are not human beings, we are Nigerians, we have families, we have extended families and this propels us in some of the decisions we take.
But because we don’t explain those reasons, because we don’t like to enlighten Nigerians about the processes that are being done they tend to misread it and now give it negative connotations. But I will make sure that I keep on engaging the media and engaging Nigerians in explaining the decisions of the party.

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How we’re tackling issues around poor quality of service -JOHNSON

12:53 AM Technology No Comments

The Minister of Communications Technology, Mrs Omobola Johnson in this interaction with IT Journalists recently in Lagos spoke on what her ministry is doing to address the poor quality of  service quality by the industry players. She also spoke on the draft ICT policy, insecurity, and need for a converged regulator among others. Excerpts:
Quality of service in Nigeria is getting worse by the day and Nigerians are getting frustrated. What is your ministry doing to address this issue?
I am not sure that there is a day that goes by, as the Minister of Communications Technology, that I don’t receive a call, which, when it finally comes through, the caller is complaining about quality of service. Being a consumer myself, I am quite aware of the poor quality of service, which seems to be getting worse by the day. Quality of service is probably one of the biggest issues that the industry is dealing with right now and it is important that consumers understand what the issues are and what the ministry and NCC, the regulator, are doing about it.

Industry issues
At present the telecoms industry has issues with inadequate number of base stations, arbitrary costs and lengthy process of right of way acquisition, persistent interruptions as they try to lay cables even after obtaining right of way, willful and accidental damage to fibre optic cables and base stations and of course illegal taxes and levies by states and local governments, all of which work together to affect quality of service.
However, I have looked at the newly gazetted quality of service indicators and I believe that these challenges and problems are adequately built into these requirements. We are not asking for 99.9% network uptime or a 0% call drop rate or 100% successful call set up. For this reason I have asked the NCC to commence the process of not only publishing performance on QoS by operator per month but also to now impose meaningful penalties on operators that do not meet set targets.
Performance and penalties will be published on NCC websites on a monthly basis. In other words there shall now be consequences for network operators that do not meet this quality of service indicators. I don’t believe that there is any self respecting company that wants to be constantly penalised by its regulator. However we are working assidously to resolve some of the issues on right of way, approval for base stations, and illegal taxes and levies.

Communications & Tech Minister, Omobola Johnson

Collaboration
We have been working in collaboration with the Ministry of Works and In the next couple of weeks we will be releasing new guidelines that will significantly reduce the bottle necks in the acquisition of right of way for the laying of fibre optic cables. The Ministry has put in motion the same collaboration with the Ministry of Environment and all indications are that we can , within a fairly short time reduce the time it takes to obtain approval to erect a base station.
There is an industry working committe on illegal taxes and levies that is putting together appropriate receommendations to curb illegal, punitive and unfair taxes on telecoms companies. Finally, we have started work on a critical ICT infratructure executive bill which should go to the National Assembly in the next few months after apprpriate consultation with stakeholders.
Because ICT is becoming so critical to development and commerce, one of the things this bill will do is to make it a criminal offense, punishable by law for any individual, company, local or state government to tamper with or cause willful damage to any infrastructure required to provide ICT services to individuals or companies.
I believe that these actions – penalties for not meeting QoS targets, punishment for willful damage and working to reduce bottlenecks in the build-out of telecoms infrastructure will result in some fairly significant improvements in QoS by the end of the year.

Insecurity is also getting worse and stakeholders have advocated the deployment of ICTs to tackle the menace of insecurity. Are there inputs from your ministry about this?
We are very much aware of the insecurity challenges facing the country. The current situation has made it necessary for civil and military services to collaboratively leverage the benefits of ICTs to meet contemporary security challenges that are confronting our nation. ICTs offer solutions that can help tackle the kind of security challenges we are facing.
Just last week, an agency under the ministry, Galaxy Backbone organised a forum on the need to leverage ICTs for national security in partnership with the Ministry of Defence and it was really great to see such collaborations because there is no doubt that the adoption of an integrated ICT strategy will help resolve some of the security challenges we face.
You once said you were in a hurry to advance technology development in Nigeria. What areas do you think the country is still lagging behind that needs quick acceleration in terms of technology development?
Short answer – broadband for data services, broadband that facilitates fast and cost effective access to the internet nationwide; broadband to leverage the internet and internet services to support development in healthcare, education, agriculture and of course financial inclusion.

When will Nigeria upgrade its pockets of technology events to a world class standard that will attract foreign ministers, presidents and heads of states?
First I think it is a case of how, not when. How can Nigeria make itself a destination for world class ICT events such as CeBit, Mobile World Congress, ITU Telecoms World, etc and how can domestic Nigerian events attract participation from local, regional and global companies. We need to have sufficient conferencing facilities in this country and I know that this is something the Minister of Tourism and Culture is very passionate about.
Conferencing and exhibition facilities that can accomodate hundreds of companies and thousands of visitors and of course side attractions that generate revenue for tourism. You must have seen the size of the Mobile World Congress and CeBIT. We also need to have a vibrant ICT industry from where we can begin the early steps of conferences, exhibitions that showcase our local capabilities.
You came up with the idea of harmonised ICT Policy for Nigeria. What actually motivated you into that?
Very simple – prior to the creation of the ministry, ICT was being supervised by two ministries and the Office of the SGF with little or no collaboration or interface between the two. Bringing all the agencies under one roof made the overlaps and duplications among agencies quite obvious.
Discrete policies to drive the industry therefore needed to be harmonised. Once we are done with the stakeholder consultations, I believe we will have a policy document that the ICT industry and government can jointly implement which should drive the development of the ICT industry in Nigeria.

The draft policy’s call for a converged regulator has raised a lot of dust in the industry. Can you please shed more light on why a converged regulator is needed?
Technology is such that the same frequencies can now be used to broadcast and provide internet services unlike in the past where there were different frequencies for differents uses.Let me give you an example – today companies that are given broadcast frequencies and licenses have illegally provided more lucrative internet services to consumers – they do not have a licence from NCC – simply because new technology and equipment allows them to do so.
Individuals with smart phones can broadcast information or misinformation to thousands of people without having a television or radio license. The advent of new, leading edge technologies have forced convergence and we must face that fact and begin to look more seriously at the need to have more efficient regulatory regimes.
As I keep saying the process of convergence is not an easy one or an overnight one – laws and enabling acts must be amended, new institutions must be formed etc – but I have never seen a country make progress if she chooses to take the easy route and avoid challenges and problems.

By Emeka Aginam

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LASPOTECH lecturers begin warning strike over CONPCASS

12:48 AM Education, News No Comments

Lagos – Academic activities at the Lagos State Polytechnic was grounded on Monday as the institution’s chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) began a one-week warning strike.
ASUP was protesting the non-payment of 18 months’ arrears of the Consolidated Polytechnics, Colleges of Education and Monotechnics Academic Staff Salary Scale (CONPCASS).
The ASUP had on Wednesday given the institution’s management a 72-hour ultimatum to be committed to the payment or face industrial action.
A correspondent who visited the Ikorodu campus of the Polytechnic on Monday reports that there were only skeletal academic activities.
The  students gathered in groups discussing the strike.
Some students said that they were not happy with the development.
“I am not happy; we were to have four lectures today but because
of the strike, we had just one.
“The lecturer that showed up taught for only 30 minutes instead of the usual four hours.
“A test was even scheduled for today but it did not hold,” Mr Emmanuel
Matanmi, a student of Agricultural Technology, said.
Mr James Falokun of the Department of Computer Science said that the strike might further prolong the institution’s academic calendar.
“The fuel subsidy strike extended our semester; so, I don’t like this strike,’’ he said.
The students appealed to the institution’s authorities to meet the demands of the lecturers.
The Chairman of the ASUP, Mr Taofik Arowolo, said that the union would meet with the institution’s Governing Council on Tuesday over the strike. (NAN)

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Muamba making ‘encouraging progress’ – hospital

12:46 AM Sports No Comments

LONDON (AFP) – Bolton Wanderers footballer Fabrice Muamba is making “encouraging progress” in his recovery from a cardiac arrest, doctors said Monday.
The 23-year-old remains in intensive care in the London Chest Hospital, where his condition is described as “serious but stable”, after collapsing during an FA Cup quarter-final with Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, March 17.
A joint statement issued by the hospital and Bolton said: “Fabrice Muamba remains in intensive care at the London Chest Hospital, where his condition is serious but stable.
“He continues to make encouraging progress in his recovery. Over the weekend, he has been able to sit out of bed for a short time, watch television and has begun to eat.
“However, he will need to continue to be closely monitored by the medical team at the London Chest for some time.
“His family requests that he receive no more visitors for the moment, outside of immediate family and members of Bolton Wanderers Football Club.”
Earlier, Bolton manager Owen Coyle said the former England Under-21 midfielder had watched highlights of Wanderers’ 2-1 Premier League win at home to local rivals Blackburn Rovers on Saturday — the club’s first match since Muamba’s collapse and one preceded with tributes to the stricken player.
“He was able to watch Match of the Day on Sunday morning,” said Coyle.
“I am led to believe he fell asleep when it was 2-0,” he added of a match where victory saw Bolton climb out of the relegation zone.
“I don’t know if he still thinks we won 2-0 but it is so great to know that bit-by-bit he is getting better, even if he still has a long way to go.
“Over the last few days he has been able to take in more of the goodwill that globally he has been getting from people and the prayers and everything else.
“He wanted to thank everybody for that support.
“We have to make sure we continue that but he is on his way to recovery. God willing that continues.”
Shortly after Muamba’s collapse towards the end of the first half at Tottenham’s White Hart Lane ground, the match was abandoned and the player — who was said to be “effectively dead” for 78 minutes taken to the nearby London Chest Hospital, where he has been ever since.
The re-arranged FA Cup tie will take place at White Hart Lane on Tuesday and Coyle said a group of players would visit Muamba in hospital ahead of the match.
“It will give us a chance to thank the Tottenham fans because last Saturday it was almost like a sixth sense had taken over,” said Coyle.
“There was a real sense of unity.
“Is it going to be tough? Yes.”
The Scot added: “Fabrice’s father, Marcel, and fiancee, Shauna, wanted to express their thanks to everyone. Football is a passionate game but nothing is more important than Fabrice’s recovery.”
Muamba was born in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo but came to Britain at the age of 11.

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Sekibo’s wife rescued

12:43 AM News No Comments

PORT HARCOURT – MRS Asime Sekibo, wife of Senator George Sekibo has been released. Family sources told Vanguard that she was rescued from her kidnappers, Monday evening at the Bayelsa end of the East-West road.
When contacted,  Rivers State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Ben Ugwugbulam said he was yet to get details on the  issue.
It would be recalled that Mrs Sekibo was taken hostage, Thursday, last week , after receiving lectures and was on her way home at Obiri Ikwerre, along the University of Port Harcourt East-West road.

BY JIMITOTA ONOYUME

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NAMA takes over flight inspection surveillance from NCAA

12:41 AM News No Comments

Ikeja – Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, NAMA, has taken over Navigational Aids Flight Inspection Surveillance, NAFIS, from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA.
Mr Supo Atobatele, NAMA’s General Manager in-charge of Public Affairs, who made the disclosure in a statement on Sunday, said the take over was in line with a Federal Government directive.
He named the facilities handed over to NAMA as one calibration jet, hangar and office complex, located at the Local Wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja.
The Director General of the NCAA, Dr Harold Demuren, at a brief handing over, said the unit was  handed over to NAMA with 19 staff, including three contract workers.
He stressed the need to review the revenue-sharing formula between the two agencies, considering the additional overhead cost to NAMA because of the calibration unit.
Demuren disclosed that before the hand over,  NCAA had ordered for another calibration aircraft, adding that the NCAA had paid seven out of 10 instalments for the purchase of the aircraft.

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Delta Govt House press centre gutted by fire

12:40 AM News No Comments

Asaba -The Delta Government House Press Centre Building, Asaba was on Sunday night gutted by fire.
The office of the Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to the Governor and adjoining offices located at the press centre of the government house were razed.
An eyewitness said  that the fire started at about 10 p.m and would have affected other buildings in the premises but for the prompt response of the state’s fire service men.
The witness said that security men on duty at the time of the incident alerted the fire servicemen, who came and brought the situation under control.
The source said the State Deputy Governor, Prof. Amos Utuam; Chief of Staff, Dr Festus Okubor; Commissioner of Police, Mr Ikechukwu Aduba and other top government officials, were on ground to ensure that the fire was extinguished.
The cause of the fire could not be immediately ascertained and Mr Sunny Ogefere, the CPS, who expressed shock at the incident, said he could not comment on how the fire incident happened.
He, however, said  that investigation had commenced to establish the cause of the incident.
Ogufere said he could not disclose the extent of the damage done to his office by the fire.
“I have not gone in there to see the extent the fire went but that will be established soon.”  (NAN)

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Northern leaders urged to curb menace of Boko Haram

12:37 AM News No Comments

ABUJA – The Nigeria Turning Point Prayer group has asked Northern leaders to curb activities of Boko Haram if the North hope to produce another President of Nigeria in future.
Bishop Wale Oke who spoke on behalf of the group at a briefing, further called on Boko Haram to approach the Federal Government with its grievances and refrain from dragging the nation into a needless religious war.
Said he: “We call on Islamic leaders in the country to stop this menace so that the face of Islam in Nigeria would not be regarded as synonymous with terrorism.
He reminded northern leaders that other regions in the country, particularly the old Eastern region had produced arms and ammunitions which were used to prosecute the Nigeria-Biafra war, adding that those who manufactured such weapons in the past could re-enact their activities if the nation is engulfed in another conflict.

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PDP congress was a total fraud – Gbagi

12:36 AM News, Politics No Comments

WARRI- FORMER Minister of State for Education, Olorogun Kenneth Gbagi, weekend, faulted the remarks of the Minister of Niger-Delta, Elder Godsday Orubebe , that the just concluded Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, congress in Delta State was successful, saying, it was a  total fraud.
Olorogun Gbagi who was reacting to media report that the minister warned him (Gbagi) over his scathing comments on the congress said, “I called the Minister today (Friday) and he denied warning me, saying he had no powers in law and in politics to warn me”.
Gbagi’s words, “I read with shock the comments credited to Elder Godsday Orubebe that the congress in Delta state is concluded and done with, I disagree in totality with him, the minister is my brother and we have lived together before now, but in this instance, I sharply disagree with him”.
“I maintain the position of the group of the former Federal Commissioner for Information, Chief Edwin Clark that the congress is a charade, I will remain an upright politician with no element of fraud and deceit. As it pertains to the Delta Central senatorial district, the position of the E.K Clark group is that there was no reconciliation and harmonization”, he asserted.
“Orubebe is  an Ijaw man from the Delta South senatorial district and cannot represent the interest of Urhobo people of Delta Senatorial district more than me in the E.K Clark group  and unless the Urhobo man takes his destiny into his hands, it is obvious that some people  want to enslave us in perpetuity”,  he added.
According to him, “While I maintain a relationship with Orubebe , it will be on the basis of mutual respect. I have called Orubebe and I can tell you that I have spoken to Chief Clark and our position that the congress is a charade and a shame has not changed”.
“Elder Orubebe is free to represent his ethnic group, but should not pick mercenaries among Urhobos , claiming that he has harmonized . The days and weeks ahead will show that Delta is at it again”, he asserted.
A source who preferred anonymity, however, told  Vanguard, “The problem this time around is not really between Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan group and the former Federal Commissioner for Information, Chief Edwin Clark faction; it is a bone of contention  among Clark loyalists”.

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BA, Virgin, others in fresh trouble with FG

12:34 AM News No Comments

LAGOS— The Federal Government yesterday gave all foreign airlines operating in the country  a 30-day ultimatum within which to dismantle the fare regime that sees Nigerian passengers paying higher fares than other passengers in West Africa.
Aviation Minister, Princess Stella Oduah, who issued the ultimatum in Abuja last night,  said the 30-day ultimatum would start today.

Aviation minister, Stella Oduah-Ogiewmonyi

This came on a day the Ministry of Aviation also sought the cooperation of the National Assembly towards the enactment of  a Passengers’ Bill of Rights.
It could be recalled that in the wake of the impasse between British Airways and Arik Air regarding the denial of landing slots of the latter at London Heathrow airport, the ministry had, in addition facilitating the landing rights of Arik Air in Heathrow, waded into the huge fare disparity in the sub-region and demanded fare parity from British Airways, BA, Virgin Atlantic Airways, VA, and other international airlines operating in the country.
See table showing the different price regimes by BA and VA here
BA and VA had particularly asked for more time to conduct its own study on the alleged fare disparity, promising  to report back  to the Ministry last December.
But worried by the obvious delay tactics on the part of the two British carriers, Aviation Minister, Princess Stella Adaeze Oduah, weekend said any international airline operating in Nigeria which failed to dismantle the fare imbalance and other sharp practices within the next 30 days would be banned from operating in Nigeria.
She said:  “We are seriously concerned and worried by the reluctance to restore parity within the region by the foreign airlines.
They have been using all kinds of delay tactics; this is unacceptable and will no longer be tolerated. Nigerian passengers do not deserve this kind of exploitation and we are willing and ready  to stand up to their rights.”
Oduah said Nigeria remained an important and lucrative route for the international airlines, warning that anyone not ready to treat Nigerians with equity and dignity would be barred from operating in the country.
”In the interim, we encourage Nigerian travellers  to avail themselves of other competitive alternatives while we try try  to address and resolve this issue once and for all,” she said.
A source had told Vanguard that government’s action was informed by the delayed tactics deployed by the British government on the need to resolve the issue of unequal fare regime of British carriers in their Nigerian operations, compared to what holds in other countries on the West Coast.
Government had always banked on the fact that once the two British carriers were made to toe the line, other international airlines would follow their footstep on the issue, especially considering the historical links between Nigeria and Britain.
Vanguard gathered at the weekend that the latest withdrawal of slots from Arik Air on its Abuja-London Heathrow operations, which led to the airline’s suspension of flight on the route yesterday, further infuriated the government.
The British government had in the last quarter of 2011 asked the federal government to give it till December 31, 2011, to conduct a study on the fare regime of both British carriers on Lagos-London and Abuja-London routes, in relation to that of other countries in the sub-region, but failed to meet up with that deadline and called for an extension of time which, according to sources, was to enable it buy time while the two carriers continued operations unhindered.
The British government had begged for a negotiation in the heat of the row caused by the shabby treatment of Arik Air at Heathrow, when government threatened to shut down British Airways operations on Lagos-London route.
A source told Vanguard weekend that government was no longer disposed to the delayed tactics being employed by the British government, especially in the light of the resurgence of Arik Air’s problem at Heathrow earlier in the month.
Announcing a re-suspension of its Abuja-London flight penultimate week, Arik Air had said:  “From the inception of the route in November 2009, Arik Air has been in a slot-lease agreement with a UK carrier, leasing arrival/ departure slots on the Abuja/ London route at Heathrow.
“At the end of the summer schedule (October 2011), the UK carrier that Arik Air was in the slot-lease agreement with for this route advised the airline of its intention to sell the company and began to wind down its contractual arrangements with Arik Air. Without these commercially arranged slots, Arik Air was forced to suspend operations at the start of the winter schedule (2011).
“Immediate discussions were held by the respective governments to resolve the long-existing and underlying anomaly in the BASA.   As an abridgement, the UK authorities facilitated the temporary continuation of the commercial lease of these slots in support of Arik Air’s Abuja/ London, Heathrow operation.
“This interim solution was only available up until 25th March (2012). Unfortunately,despite the best efforts of both governments, there has been no solution found. The situation remains as it was at the end of October 2011 with Arik Air having no landing/arrival slots after March 2012 thus forcing it to suspend the route.
Although Aviation Minister, Princess Stella Oduah, could not be reached weekend to know what action government was taking in the next two weeks, sources at the Ministry said the operations of both British carriers might be shut in Lagos in the interim, in view of Arik Air’s problems at Heathrow, and shut completely should the British government fail to respond to Nigeria’s quest for a dismantling of the current fare regime which is unfavourable to Nigerians.
The Aviation Minister’s aide, Mr. Joe Obi, had told Vanguard three weeks ago that though the British negotiating team on British Airways and Virgin Atlantic Airways fare structures appealed for extension of time, on the expiration of the December 31, 2011, deadline, which was acceded to, the Nigerian government would not wait indefinitely because of the urge with which Nigerians want the issue settled.
He also said the matter bothered on public interest which government was in a hurry to resolve in the
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Aviation is putting finishes touches on a proposed Passengers’ Bill of Rights which it hopes to present before the two chambers of the National Assembly soon.
The ministry, which is very optimistic that the National Assembly will lend its usual cooperation towards the swift passage of the bill, believes air passengers will have a fairer deal once the bill is passed into law.
One of the salient provisions in the proposed bill stipulates that a passenger has a right  ???o  compensation if his or her flight is delayed for more than one hour, out-rightly cancelled or where a passenger is denied boarding without any reasonable cause.

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$180m Halliburton bribery: Judge strikes out suit

12:30 AM News No Comments

Abuja – Justice Abubakar Umar of an Abuja High Court on Monday struck out a suit filed by the EFCC against three persons named in the Halliburton bribery scandal.
The EFCC is charging a former Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Head of Service, Alhaji Ibrahim Aliyu, retired AVM Abdullahi Bello and Mohammed Bakari of the Urban Shelter Ltd., on a nine-count charge bordering on corruption and bribery.
They were alleged to have used their companies; Intercellular Nigeria Ltd., Sherwood Petroleum Ltd and Tri-Star Investment Ltd. to benefit from a $7.5 million Halliburton bribe.
Justice Umar struck out the suit after the EFCC Counsel, Ms Kauna Pindam, prayed the court to grant the commission another adjournment to enable it to arraign the accused persons.
Umar refused to grant the adjournment but reminded the EFCC of an order he gave on Jan. 23 that the commission should be ready to arraign the three suspects named in the 180 million dollars Halliburton bribery scandal unfailingly this Monday.
“I will not grant any more adjournment. Remember I gave an order on Jan. 23 that March 26 date would be the last time the court would give the EFCC chance to arraign the suspects.
“I gave the long adjournment to allow the EFCC to interface with its U.S. sister agency in utilising security information you said you got.
“I warned the EFCC that upon its failure to arraign the accused today, I will strike out the case and write to the Minister of Justice to lodge a complaint about the attitude of the commission.
“I remember I also warned the EFCC and the accused counsel to adhere to the specific details of the order or suffer certain penalties for not following the instructions.’’
Umar warned the EFCC not to expose the judiciary to ridicule.
“I have checked my records and in the past one year, since Feb. 17, 2011 when I granted leave to the prosecution to arraign the accused; they have not done so.
“It has been over a year now and still the EFCC is coming up with excuses; the EFCC should know that if it is not ready to prosecute and bring cases to conclusion, it should not apply for leave of court to arraign anybody.
“The EFCC should know that I am answerable to the National Judicial Council and what will I say is the reason why this case has been at arraignment stage for the past one year?
“I therefore strike out the suit for want of diligent prosecution. ’’ (NAN)

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