I will not scrap NYSC, says Jonathan

By McPhilips Nwachukwu & Ogbonna Amadi
LAGOS — President Goodluck Jonathan said, Tuesday, in Lagos that the Federal Government has no intention to scrap the National Youths Service Corps, NYSC, programme initiated in 1970, but would rather review it to meet more progressive needs.

The President spoke at an occasion tagged: President Meets a Cross Section of the Youths organised as part of the Presidential inauguration ceremonies to usher in a new democratic government on May 29, 2011.

Cross section of Youths meet with President Goodluck Jonathan at the Eko Hotel in Victoria Island Lagos Tuesday.

Following the death of many serving corps members during the post election violence that erupted in some Northern parts of the country, many Nigerians, and especially aggrieved families and disaffected youths have called on Federal Government to scrap the programme.

As emotional as the call sounds, President Goodluck reasoned scrapping the programme was not in the best interest of the country since, according to him, it continues to fan the ambers of unity and love among the populace.

“I will not subscribe to the cancellation of the NYSC programme. But we will continue to encourage the reviewing of it to make it more practical and more effective for the over all development of the country,” he said.

Asked by some youths to ensure that country is given what should be seen as “a peoples’ constitution,” one capable of erasing fears of minority, religious violence and stablising the country permanently, Jonathan said it was not possible to introduce a new constitution for the country since the process involves a constitutional procedure.

According to him, “It is the Military that has the power to disband a country’s constitution without regards to any law and may be, at some point appoint a new constitution making body to draw up another one.”

However, Mr President assured Nigerians that just as Federal government amended some parts of the constitution before the election, that it will continue to amend the constitution when necessary in the light of the continued unity of the country.

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FG to stop rice, fertiliser, sugar importation by 2015

The Federal Government has made its intention known to stop the importation of some products, including rice, fertilisers and sugar into the country by 2015.

President Goodluck Jonathan made this declaration at an interactive session he had with the Nigerian business community and captains of industry in Lagos on Monday.

According to the president, the country needs to stimulate the local production of these items, adding, “my belief is that by 2015, Nigeria has no business importing rice or fertiliser and we also need to encourage the local production of sugar such that its importation will be a thing of the past.

“To create jobs,” he continued, “the government will strongly discourage the importation of goods being locally produced or capable of being locally produced in the country.”

He added that subsidies and waivers, which he believed had had much detrimental effect on the economy, would be discouraged, and henceforth, “special consideration and concessions will be granted only to businesses delivering value chains and creating jobs.”

President Jonathan assured that the Federal Government would come up with an appropriate tarrif structure that would not be tinkered with till 2015 in order to allow for long-term planning by the organised private sector, and see that the decision on importation is brought to effect.

He said that as from May 29 onwards, he would personally chair the national economic team, a think tank consisting of eggheads from both public and private sectors.

According to the president, he had decided to usher in and inaugurate his new administration with a meeting and brainstorming session with the private sector, instead of with dancing and merry-making because “this is what the times call for.”

He equally promised that he would take the brainstorming further by going into multiple days of retreats on each sector of the economy towards finding solutions to the many problems facing the economy.

Speaking earlier at the forum, the Special Economic Adviser to the United Nation’s Secretary General, Professor Jeffrey Sachs, had stated that Nigeria should be hopeful of great future development.

“To double gross output like in Japan and Korea, Nigeria needs to attain about a seven per cent growth rate, which it has attained, and to double per capita income (income per head), it needs to grow at about nine per cent, which I believe it will attain soon,” Sachs stated.

According to Sachs, there were five things working for the country in terms of development, including the facts that reforms were being consolidated; the fact that democracy is being consolidated and the fact that the beginning of the president’s term offers immesurable opportunities.

The other two factors, according to the UN economist, were that world markets were on Nigeria’s side and the fact that technology was also on the side of the country’s further development.

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Amaechi emerges Governors’ Forum chairman

RIVERS State governor, Rotimi Amaechi, is the new chairman of Nigeria Governors’ Forum and he is expected to serve for two years.

The outgoing chairman of the forum, Dr Bukola Saraki, while addressing newsmen after a meeting of the 36 state governors at the Government House, Ilorin, on Monday, said that the selection of the chairman was by consensus, noting that all the governors supported his choice without going into voting.

He said that the forum deliberated extensively on the election of a new chairman of the Governors’ Forum.

He disclosed that the forum received and adopted the Fashola Committee report on revenue allocation formula with some amendments and that the new chairman and vice-chairman of the forum would negotiate with the leadership of the National Assembly on the revenue allocation formula, engage with the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), the president, as well as the mass media. Members of the Fashiola Committee and the secretariat are also enjoined to lead the media campaign.

Governor Saraki commended members for the successful induction programme for newly elected and re-elected governors held by the forum as well as the launch of the State Peer Review Mechanism.

The new chairman of the Governors’ Forum, Mr Amaechi, while addressing newmen after his selection, said he would build on what the outgoing chairman of the forum had done.

He said the forum would work hand in hand with the presidency, National Assembly and the RMAFC to ensure that more revenue came to the states.

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Tribunal grants CPC leave to inspect election materials •INEC staff arrested

The Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal which commenced sitting in Minna, Niger State on Monday has granted leave to the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and the gubernatorial standard-bearer in the April 2011 general election, Ibrahim Bako Shettima, to inspect all materials used in the elections in the 25 local government areas of the state.

Ruling on an expert motion brought before the tribunal by the counsel for the petitioners, Mr U. Idachaba, the chairman of the tribunal, Justice P. O. Nnadi also directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to “deliver to the petitioners or its agents certified true copies of ballot papers result sheets” used in the election.

Other documents to be put at the disposal of the petitioner, as directed by Nnadi include:forms EC8A, EC8B, EC8D, and EC8E as well as voter registers, distribution of materials list and other documents used in all polling units, wards, local government areas or intended to be used in the April 26 governorship election in Niger State.

Meanwhile, members of Kagara community in Rafi Local Government Area of Niger State, the police and officials of INEC have disagreed on the motive of an INEC staff arrested in Kagara on Sunday.

Some members of the community arrested the INEC staff in the commission’s office while trying to smuggle out some ballot boxes and ballot papers used in the last House of Assembly election.

The community members who were said to have beaten the INEC staff to a state of stupor believed he was trying to doctor the ballot papers. They later handed him over to the police after he had allegedly asked for “forgiveness”.

The Police in Minna confirmed the arrest but disclosed he was released when investigations into his activities were found to be official.

Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Oguche Richard Adamu said “we were told INEC is a party in a case before the tribunal and they have to put their records straight” adding that “he (INEC staff) never told us he went there on a Sunday.”

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Court stops payment of Alao-Akala's gratuity

Eni Esan of the Oyo State High Court, on Monday, ordered the stoppage of severance gratuities of Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala and his political appointees.

The judge granted a three-point exparte motion brought before her by Lasun Sanusi on behalf of a league of 11 retired judges of the state, who had been battling the governor for their severance pay two years after their retirement from the state judiciary.

In a motion exparte filed at the state high court yesterday, the applicants prayed the court for reliefs to stop the governor, whose tenure lapses on May 29, from paying himself and his appointees without first paying theirs.

The applicants also joined Ladi AbduSalami, state attorney-general; Olayiwola Olakojo, secretary to the state government; Tajudeen Aremu, head of service; and Waheed Olaitan, state Accountant-General, as co-defendants in the suit.

The applicants are: Nurudeen Adekola, Olayiwola Adio, Ruth Oyetunde, Afolabi Adeniran, Olagoke Ige, Karimu Jimoh, Lambe Arasi, Akin Sanda, Atilade Ojo, Simon Akintola and Theophilus Adeniran (deceased) They are made up of three former Chief Judges, two acting Chief Judges and six other judges, who worked with the state's judiciary throughout their careers as judicial officers.

They sought to restrain the defendants from paying Alao-Akala, Olakojo and AbduSalami as well as other political appointees ‘severance gratuities or any other terminal allowances until the claimants/applicants had been paid their respective severance gratuities as retired judicial office holders'.

They also sought to restrain the head of service and the accountant-general from ‘facilitating or releasing funds for payment of the severance packages of the political office holders until the retired judicial officers are paid.

After exploring a sustained judicial process, the retired judicial officers secured a judgement against the governor and order directing him to pay them with specified interests.

The trial judge had fixed June 23 for movement of motion on notice. But the governor had since filed a notice of appeal against the judgement.

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