Libya: Fleeing Nigerian, Ghanaian migrants flood Niger

Nigerian and Ghanaian migrants fleeing form violence in Libya have reportedly arrived in Agadez, Niger Republic, on a truck.
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eports had it that Niger’s city of Agadez had been transformed from a bustling trade hub in the middle of the Sahara desert into a refugee centre for the thousands of African migrants fleeing the violence in Libya.

According to reports monitored on British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), for the last two months, a large convoy of trucks had been driving into town each week, with the flow now eased to about 10 vehicles packed with between 1,500 and 3,000 people.

Figures from the beginning of May put the number of migrant arrivals over the Sahara from Libya at 65,000.

The figure said to be more than six times the number of migrants had landed on the Italian island of Lampedusa from Libya in the same period.

The atmospheric heat in Niger already risen to 48-degree was said to have caused exhaustion of fleeing migrants consequent upon their gruelling trip.

Many of them were said to be thirsty and hungry as they unloaded the luggage they managed to bring with them on the journey which took them more than a week.

A Ghana refugee, Ibrahim Harun Hafiz, recounting his experience said: “On our way, we saw a truck that caught fire, all of its occupants got burned.

“On our way, we saw a truck that caught fire, all of its occupants got burned. Next, we found another truck which had had an accident in which 40 people died straight away, while many got severe injuries.”

Another, Abdulaziz Abdullah, a Ghanaian mechanic who worked for four years in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, said: “The journey is between life and death. Many people did not make it to Niger because of hunger.

“If I showed you a [recent] photo of myself, you wouldn’t recognise me. But I thank God I’m alive, though I’ve lost everything.”

He said he decided to join the convoys heading south after his home, near a military camp in Tripoli, but was bombed on March 28 and he lost all his workshop equipment.

The trucks transporting the migrants was organised by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in Tripoli and various West African embassies who liaised with the Libyan authorities to guarantee their safety for the trip.

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Again, JAMB shifts 2011 UTME date to June 18

THE Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced Saturday, June 18, 2011 as the new date for the conduct of the 2011 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

JAMB Registrar and Chief Executive, Professor ‘Dibu Ojerinde, who announced the shift in date in Abuja, on Wednesday, said the new date, as approved by the Federal Government, was to avoid a clash in date with the ongoing National Examinations Council (NECO)’s Senior Secondary School Examinations (SSCE).

The board had earlier set Saturday, 11th June, 2011 for the conduct of the 2011 UTME.

It will be recalled that JAMB had first shifted the date of the conduct of the examination from April, 2011 to allow for the conduct of the 2011 general election.

But new change in date, the Nigerian Tribune learnt, was as a result of pressure from parents of some of the candidates who were currently sitting for the NECO examinations and had registered to participate in the forthcoming UTME.

A statement by the JAMB Public Relations Officer, Mr Timothy Oyedeji, quoted the JAMB boss as saying that “the change has become inevitable as a result of the clash in date (i.e. 11th June, 2011) earlier fixed with the ongoing NECO examinations.”

He said: “For instance, sizeable students who have applied to write UTME would also be sitting for the National Examinations Council’s Biology (Practicals) on Friday, 10th June, 2011, and as such, may not be able to travel after their NECO examinations to sit for the scheduled 2011 UTME on Saturday, 11th June, 2011.”

Ojerinde said the government was mindful of the fact that the board had been inundated with requests from parents of children who chose towns outside their present’s locations to reconsider and shift the date to June 18, 2011 as against the earlier fixed date for the 2011 UTME.

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Reps to buy cars for N800,000 each

OUTGOING members of the House of Representatives are to go each with the Peugeot 407 cars earlier bought by the House leadership at N2.3 billion, the Nigerian Tribune has learnt.

Interested lawmakers are expected to pay between N800,000 and N850,000 for each of the cars, which were bought brand new.

It will be recalled that the purchase of the vehicles generated furore between the House leadership and the members who threatened to impeach the speaker on allegation of underhand dealing in the transaction.

Anti-corruption bodies were also drafted to investigate the alleged fraud in the purchase of the automobiles and office equipment for the representatives.

However, the House will today hold a valedictory session, which was earlier slated for Wednesday. The House will officially close for its sixth session on Saturday.

The speaker, who announced the outcome of a closed-door meeting earlier, said members at the executive session deliberated on the audit of the House official vehicles and office equipment and that the deliberation was satisfactory.

At a plenary session on Wednesday, the House passed the anti-terrorism bill, after adopting the harmonised version of the bill which deals with offences relating to conduct carried out or purposes connected with terrorism.

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Jonathan urges support from party leaders

President Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday, called on leaders of all major political parties in the country to join hands with his government for the transformation of Nigeria.

In an opening remark at the meeting between him and leaders of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP), the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) and the Labour Party (LP) at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa in Abuja, Jonathan said despite their political differences, the major political leaders must work with the government to ensure that Nigerians get the dividends of democracy.

“No matter who is the president, no matter who is the governor, what Nigerians are interested in is to have food on the table. There should be infrastructure, there should be security and there should be good governance. And I know that not only the ruling party can make this possible. For me to succeed, to give Nigerians what they want, we must run a stable government. It needs the cooperation of all the political parties; all the leaders”.

He said: “I want to plead with you that I will not want to run a government of opposition party or main party, I want us to collectively run a Nigerian government; a government that will take the interest of the country to heart and work towards solving our problems; the problems that are dear to our people”.

The president told the political leaders: “Our interests are the interests of Nigeria. I am not going to play politics of discrimination. I want to assure you that I do not intend to run an opposition government. Let’s cooperate for the interests of our people,” stressing that whatever the points of differences are among the different political groups, they should be able to resolve them without rancour.

“That is why I called you to assure you that I will run a Nigerian government. I want to assure you that our interest is Nigeria’s interest and I know that the interest of every politician, irrespective of political party, is the interest of the country. I am not going to play politics of discrimination,” he stated further.

The meeting, which is part of the president’s consultation platform, was however shunned by the leadership of Muhammadu Buhari’s Congress for Progress Change (CPC). Not a single member of the party attended the meeting.

While recounting the nation’s democratic journey, the president said he was hopeful that Nigeria was beginning to stabilise politically; noting that it was through their collective effort that the present leadership of the country emerged.

While emphasising the importance of the meeting with the different political parties, President Jonathan said: “If it is possible and not at variance with your parties, I suggest we meet periodically so that things that are dear to our country will be discussed”.

The president said the successful conduct of the April polls had placed a greater responsibility on Nigeria on the continental and international level, especially regarding the quest of Africa to occupy a permanent seat on United Nations Security Council (UN-SC) and noted that “if we have a stable polity, our leadership role will increase and our citizens’ status will increase. The party of Mr. President cannot do it alone”

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N10bn scam: Bankole writes EFCC, disowns Clerk’s letter •As Reps fault EFCC summons to him

SPEAKER, House of Representatives, Honourable Dimeji Bankole, has written to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), denying any knowledge of his summoning on Tuesday for interrogation over the alleged N10 billion scam rocking the chamber.

The letter, dated May 31, was signed on behalf of his Chief of Staff, Morris Ekpeyong.

Ekpeyong, who claimed to be writing on behalf of his boss, said Bankole had not received any correspondence directly from the commission.
He was silent on the letter written by the Clerk of the House of Representatives, Sanni Omolori.

Bankole further said in the new letter that he was not aware of the date fixed for his appearance because he was not informed of any.

He said he could not have been honouring an appointment he was not aware had been fixed for him, though the Clerk, in his letter to the commission, had claimed to be writing on his instruction.

The commission, however, said on Wednesday that it was keeping his game plan on the alleged scam to its chest, adding that the corruption case was still alive despite the failure of the speaker to appear for interrogation.

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives, on Wednesday, explained reason behind the failure of Bankole to honour the summons by the EFCC, as it faults the procedures adopted by the anti-graft commission for interrogating him.

The House said it was never briefed by the EFCC that it summoned Bankole for a chat, just as it found out that the speaker never received any letter of summons from the anti-graft commission until newspapers began to trumpet such.

A memo written by the Office of the Speaker and addressed to EFCC said the House was opposed to the procedure of inviting the speaker through newspapers, noting also that a lot had been written on the issue which were far from the truth.

According to the memo, “no letter has ever been addressed to or received by Honourable Dimeji Bankole from your office, even though a lot has been written concerning him on the pages of newspapers in connection with your office and the above subject matter in recent times.”

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