I will not attend Council of State meeting – Buhari

 Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, the CPC Presidential candidate in the April general elections, says he will not participate in the Council of State meeting until after a ruling on the party’s petition by the Presidential Election Tribunal.

Buhari, whose party is challenging the election of President Goodluck Jonathan in the election, said this on Monday in London in a lecture he delivered at Chatham House.

The Council of State meeting is presided over by a sitting president, and attended by all former Heads of State.

Buhari refused to attend the meeting when he challenged the results of the 2003 Presidential Election won by then President Olusegun Obasanjo.

In the lecture entitled: “Nigeria’s 2011 Elections: Reflections on the Process and Prospects for Nigeria,’’ Buhari said he would await the ruling of the tribunal before attending the meeting.

“I will wait for the outcome of the case before I decide on my membership of the Council,’’ Buhari said.

He recalled that he was in court for 15 months in 2003.

“After the 2003 elections, I stopped attending the council meeting because we had challenged the outcome of the election that brought Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo to power
.
“I hope the CPC will not have any cause to go to the Supreme Court just like we did then,’’ he added.

Buhari explained that he cried during the campaign for the April elections because, according to him, “there is no social justice in Nigeria’’.

He expressed regret that “there is so much decay in the system, which makes it difficult for the average Nigerian to afford basic necessities, including good education’’.

Pastor Tunde Bakare, Buhari’s running mate in the election, said he shared Buhari’s view.

“Until genuine democracy is entrenched, the polity will remain unstable. (NAN)

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Delta monarch wins 13-yr legal battle for throne

WARRI – Justice A. Onojovwo of a Delta State High Court sitting in Ozoro, has held that HRM R. L. Ogbon, Ogoni-Oghoro, Ohworode of Olomu Kingdom, is not the prescribed authority to confer chieftaincy titles on deserving persons but cannot be dethroned.

The judgment ended the 13-year suit by the Igboze factional chiefs of Olomu Kingdom to unseat the Ohworode.

The factional chiefs had dragged Ogbon to court, praying the court to declare the Ohworode unfit to confer chieftaincy titles.

They had also asked the court to revoke all chieftaincy titles so far conferred by the monarch since 1998 and ratify a purported dethronement of the King in 1998 by the Odjenigbovwan group on account of his refusal to subject himself to the authority of the Odjenigbovwan, who is more of a Prime Minister to the Igboze shrine.

The Ohworode was also accused of not fraternising with them because of his Christian beliefs.

The legal battle led to disunity in the community as Igboze chiefs operate a factional traditional council of chiefs led by the Odjenigbovwan separate from the authorised and gazetted Traditional Council of Chiefs led by the Ohworode.

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The challenges before Lagarde, new IMF boss

Her appointment is historical. So also the challenges inherited by her leadership. Tuesday, Christine Lagarde, for the third time in her 56 years on earth, made history  as the first woman to be elected as the President of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Christine Lagarde

But the Fund is also battling challenges of historical proportions which Largarde automatically inherits and must tackle if she must succeed. These range from the euro debt crisis, slow global economic recovery and tainted image of the IMF due to the inglorious exit of her predecessor, Mr Struass-Khan, who had to resign over his arrest and charges of sexual assault in New York.

Born on 1 January 1956  in Paris as Christine Madeleine Odette Lallouette to academic parents, Lagarde was previously the Minister of Economic Affairs, Finances and Industry of France, appointed by President Nicolas Sarkozy in June 2007. She was previously Minister of Agriculture and Fishing and Minister of Trade in the government of Dominique de Villepin.

Lagarde was the first woman ever to become Minister of Economic Affairs of a G8 economy. As French Finance Minister since 2007, she oversaw a softening of the 35-hour working week introduced by the Left by removing taxes on overtime. She attracted criticism early in her tenure by suggesting that the French had become work-shy and that navel-gazing hindered reform.

A noted antitrust and labour lawyer, Lagarde also made history as the first female chair of the international law firm Baker & McKenzie. On 16 November 2009, The Financial Times ranked her the best Minister of Finance of the Eurozone. In 2009, Lagarde was ranked the 17th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes magazine.

Yesterday,  the Executive Board of the IMF, elected and chose Lagarde ahead of the  Mexican central bank governor Agustin Carstens, as the President of the Fund for a five year term starting on July 5th 2011. “The Executive Board agreed that both were well qualified candidates and the objective was to select one by consensus.

Based on the candidate profile that had been established, the Executive Board, after considering all relevant information on the candidacies, proceeded to select Ms. Lagarde by consensus. The Executive Board looks forward to Ms. Lagarde effectively leading the International Monetary Fund as its next Managing Director.”The Fund said in a statement.

Challenges and Success factors

Lagarde’s  effectiveness as IMF Chief is hinged on  factors including her personality, experience, background and the dynamics of the challenges confronting the Fund.

For example, her  determination as a negotiator and experience working on the euro zone debt crisis are likely to ensure she settles smoothly into leadership of the International Monetary Fund, as the global lender faces some of the toughest economic challenges in its history.

Also, her charisma and expertise in international relations which she built up as French Finance Minister will carry weight with governments around the world as she replaces the disgraced Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

Supporters say Lagarde, the first woman to head the IMF, will have the political muscle to press indebted euro zone states into delivering on promised budget reforms.

Yet her lack of the highbrow academic credentials as an economist that Strauss-Kahn brought to the Fund, and the likelihood that she will continue the same conservative policies which have so far failed to resolve the euro zone’s crisis, are a concern to some.

She has a reputation for sealing deals under pressure — during talks among the G20 nations in February she brought China  into a compromise deal on ways to measure economic imbalances. She proved her negotiating stamina a decade ago as the first female chairman of U.S. law firm Baker & McKenzie.

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PHCN signs N12.75bn contract to rehabilitate Kainji Power Station

Abuja – The Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) on Monday signed a N12.745 billion contract with Hydro China Company to rehabilitate the Kainji Power Station.

Mr Afolabi Ganiyu, the General Manager, Project Unit of the PHCN, told newsmen that the contract was a joint venture between the PHCN and the World Bank to boost energy productivity in Nigeria.

Ganiyu said the agreement involved reconstruction of three units of Kainji Power plants IG5, IG6 and IG12 auxiliaries and the common systems to bring them to full capacity.

He explained that the contract was awarded to increase the capacity of the power station from 350 megawatts and 320 megawatts to 670 mega watts.

According to him, the advantage is that Kainji Dam will now be a station used to stabilise frequency of system collapse in the country.

He disclosed that the propeller turbines of power plants were severely damaged but would be replaced with Kaplan machines to increase the efficiency of the units.

“This has a way of stabilising the system to  make the station a stabilising station. When this is done, there will not be incessant power failures again when all these units are back,” he said.

He said that the contract would have a duration period of forty-two months.

“The first of the three units would come up at the twenty-seventh month and other units would be at the end the contract period of forty two months,’’ he stated.

Ganiyu said that at the end of the contract, Nigerians should expect more and stable power supply in the country.

Mr Duam Xiiojing, the Vice President of Hydro China Company, assured that his company would finish the contract within the specified period, but called for the cooperation of Nigerians to see to the success of the work. (NAN)

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We were offered money to drop nominees – Senator

ABUJA— A list of 33 ministerial nominees was presented to the President of the Senate, Senator David Mark yesterday evening. The list was presented by an unidentified presidential aide to Senator Mark who is expected to formally unveil the names at today’s session.

Controversy, however, broke out yesterday over the reported disbursement of millions of naira to Senators allegedly to influence their decisions on some of the nominees. Senator Smart Adeyemi, vice-chairman of the influential Northern Senators Forum, NSF, was one of those who disclosed in an interview yesterday of offers being made to Senators to influence them one way or the other on the issue.

Meanwhile, controversy continued to shadow the process even as at last night with political influence peddlers aiming to overreach one another in the jostle for the cabinet.

Ahead of the screening today, Senators were last night locked in several caucuses where issues were being raised on some of the nominees and the resolution of appointments into Senate principal positions. A meeting of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, caucus was scheduled for midnight to settle unresolved issues around the nomination of Senator George Akume as the Senate Minority Leader. Another meeting of some concerned PDP Senators on the same issue was also scheduled for last night.

Both meetings were yet to commence at press time.

Interest on the screening process

Interest on the screening process heightened yesterday with the revelation that Senators were being pressurized one way or the other on some of the nominees. Some Senators were also preparing to put some of the nominees under pressure to  ensure that only suitably qualified nominees scale through.

“You know this is our only time to subject them to serious questioning because once they are confirmed, they become lords unto themselves,” one Senator told Vanguard.

Pressure to disqualify some nominees

Senator Adeyemi, however, confirmed pressure coming from lobbyists to reject some of the nominees, notably some in the past cabinet who were injurious to their interests in the last dispensation.

Especially reported to be of interests to the lobbyists is a former female minister, Vanguard learnt.

According to Adeyemi, “we have been under intense pressure by lobbyists and political hired mercenaries to stop some nominees from being cleared or to disqualify some nominees by asking questions to embarrass them and stop them.

Offer of millions of Naira

“They have given many of us sleepless nights with offer of millions of Naira so as to discredit some nominees. But to some of us, this will not in any way affect the screening. The screening will follow the normal pattern. Once they scale through security screening which normally would have taken care of their moral and integrity, ours is to ask questions on their state of intelligence and plans to midwife the transformation programmes of the President.

“Many of us will be very much at alert to make sure that money is not allowed to play any role in this screening exercise. We have been told that some people should not be allowed to pass through the screening simply because they effected or carried out reforms that will empower Nigeria rather than foreign interest.”

The former Chairman, Senate Committee on Federal Character and Inter-Government Affairs who noted that some opponents of government were at work to frustrate the policies of government by working for the disqualification and subsequent removal of those who will help drive the developmental programmes of President Jonathan, said: “We have also noticed that there are political opponents and those whose business interest is being threatened by the reforms are involved in this crusade so as to settle business score.

‘’We, at the National Assembly will vehemently oppose further attempts to lure us to stake the future happiness of the Nigerian masses by attempting to scuttle the confirmation of otherwise qualified nominees to fill ministerial slots, particularly ministers who have restructured their ministries in the past. We shall resist the temptation for the sake of the nation and the Nigerian spirit.”
In the meantime, caucus meetings were ongoing yesterday to smoothen the adoption of principal officers today.

S-East, S-South Professionals  caution Jonathan

Meanwhile, the South-East and South-South Professionals, yesterday cautioned President Jonathan not to further increase the cost of governance. The group in a statement by its President, Mr. Emeka Ugwu-Oju, said the proposed nomination of 42 ministerial candidates was at variance with the administration’s promise of reinventing a leaner and more focussed government.

“As a development and advocacy group of the South-East and South-South zones, from where the President hails, we owe it as a duty to advise the President. In the composition of his cabinet, we are worried by the discordant signals and feel obliged to remind the President of the high expectations of Nigerians and the confidence they reposed in him through their votes.

“In the midst of anxiety over the high cost of governance, Nigerians expect the President to run a lean and efficient cabinet composed of professionals with good track records and high integrity. Though the Constitution requires the President to appoint one minister from each of the 36 states, we do not expect him to exceed that number.

“Information from the grapevine that he intends to appoint a 42-member cabinet should remain what it is, a mere rumour. We understand that some pressure groups are advising him to follow the unsustainable waste such appointments caused in the past.”

We are also worried that an unwieldy cabinet will be counter productive to the imperatives of the transformation agenda.
“Our research shows that the cost of governance would go down by 10 per cent each year to achieve more than 40 per cent reduction, if the President reduces the number of ministers, parastatals, commissions and other areas of wastes during his tenure.”

The group as such advised the President not to bow to political pressures at variance with his vision.

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Court sacks Ataoja of Osogbo

AN Osogbo High Court, on Monday, re-affirmed the removal of Oba Oyetunji Olanipekun as the Ataoja of Osogboland.

The traditional ruler was installed on Sunday, September 12, 2010 by the Prince Olagunsoye Oyin-lola-led administration in the state.

Justice Jide Falola, while giving ruling in a case filed by Alhaji Nasiru Oyeniyi, head of Gbaemu compound and Pa Clau-dious Fayoyiwa, head of Olu-Awooba compound, on behalf of Sogbo Ruling House against Oba Oye-tunji and the kingmakers, ordered that Olanipekun should vacate the throne with immediate effect.

He also ordered him to stop parading himself as Ataoja of Osogbo.

Justice Falola, in his ruling, said “I wish to point out that there is no dispute that this suit was instituted before the applicant (Oyetunji Olani-pekun) was appointed as the Ataoja and consequently installed by one of the defendants in this case (former governor of the state, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola).”

The judge added that “after the installation matter degenerated, it led to the filling of application for setting aside of the installation of the appointment of Oyetunji as the Ataoja before Justice Yinka Aderibigbe, who subsequently set aside Oyetunji’s installation on February 18, 2011.

“He has not given any reason why he finds it difficult to comply with the court order that set aside his installation and still come to court referring to himself as Ataoja of Osogboland.

“Oyetunji appears to be poking his finger at the eyes of the court, by disregarding the earlier court order.

“It is necessary to react promptly and declare that under the law, there is no Ataoja of Osogbo on the throne currently. The applicant (Oyetunji) is an impostor. The instrument of office has been withdrawn by a valid and subsisting order of this court since February 18, 2011.

“The right, which he claimed to have, is declared illegal and withdrawn and he cannot be recognised as the Ataoja of Osogbo until it is reversed by the Appeal Court.”

Shortly after the ruling, people of Osogbo trooped out in large number to jubilate over the removal of Olanipekun as Ataoja of Osogbo.

The people, mostly youths, in a peaceful protest, took to the street and marched to the office of the state commissioner of police, while demanding full implementation of court order by ejecting Olani-pekun from the palace.

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Tinubu, Fashola disagree over Lagos cabinet

THERE is a serious disagreement between the Lagos State governor, Mr Babatunde Fashola and his predecessor in office, Senator Bola Tinubu, over the list of nominees for commissioners and special advisers in the state, a source has said.

The source told the Nigerian Tribune that the list, which had since been forwarded to the state House of Assembly, could be rejected if Fashola eventually refused to bow to Tinubu’s control.

According to the source, Tinubu had disagreed with Fashola on the portfolio of some of the nominees, which Fashola would not like to change as directed by his predecessor.

The source spoke on the nominee for the position of Chief of Staff, adding that while Fashola had favoured a Lagos indigene, Tinubu had preferred a non-indigene.

The position had been occupied by Lagos indigenes in the last 12 years and it was so to serve as financial buffer for Lagos indigenes who always requested for financial assistance from the governor.

“Till last weekend, Tinubu was not happy with Fashola for sending the list to the state House of Assembly without concluding with him. The instruction from Tinubu now is that the lawmakers should reject the list, pending his approval,” the source said.

The source said Tinubu also contested the nomination of one Mrs Olukemi Pinhero, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), to become the next Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in the state.

It was gathered that Fashola nominated the woman but it did not go down well with Tinubu, who also had a nominee for the position.

Besides the two positions, the Nigerian Tribune learnt that the position of the Secretary to the State Government was also in contention.

Meanwhile, fresh facts have emerged contradicting the rumoured rejection of the cabinet list by the leadership of the state House of Assembly, as it was set to commence screening this week.

Also, some leaders of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in the state are reported to have met behind closed doors, on Monday and warned against moves by any politician to tinker with the list presented by the governor.

The leaders, who were irked by alleged desperation by some people to change the list, advised a former commissioner in the state (name withheld) to desist from mounting pressure on the national leader of the parrty, Senator Tinubu, to change the choice of a nominee.

A member of the House, who pleaded anonymity, said the responsibility of the legislature was not to reject names of nominees from the executive based on primordial sentiment, but to screen and approve or reject them on their merit.

After a meeting held at an undisclosed venue in Lagos, on Monday, one of the party leaders said it was their view that any attempt by anyone or group of persons to move against the list presented by the governor was a direct confrontation against the party leadership.

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Anti-bomb squad storms NASFAT ground in Lagos

MOTORISTS heading for the Nasrullahi-l-Fathi Society of Nigeria (NASFAT) camp on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, on Sunday, were subjected to screening by men from the anti-bomb squad of the Nigeria Police.

The anti-bomb experts were joined by a number of regular policemen to beef up security at the monthly prayer session of the Muslim organisation.

Lagos Disco Inferno [Vinyl]

Nigerian Tribune learnt that some faithful at the prayer ground were caught unawares by the development, as the anti-ballistic experts frisked all vehicles moving in and out of the camp at two different points.

The development was in connection with a bomb blast at the police headquarters in Abuja, recently.

The June edition of the NASFAT programme was organised to offer special prayer of thanks for the successful conduct of April general election, as a follow-up to a similar session preceding the poll.

A top NAFSAT official told the Nigerian Tribune that the stepping up of security in the arena was sequel to a prior arrangement by the organisers to host Vice-President Na-madi Sambo and some state governors at the praying ground.

Though the expected dignitaries did not come, eagle-eyed security personnel kept surveillance to keep off suspected troublemakers.

One of the expected dignitaries, the Secretary-General of the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (SCIA), Dr Lateef Adegbite, sent a representative.

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Orji, groups caution against removal of fuel subsidy

The removal of subsidy as a panacea to the lingering N18,000 minimum wage will create more problems in Nigeria’s fragile economy, Abia State Governor Theodore Orji has said.

He said: “Considering the disparity between the micro and macro states of our economy, in which majority of the masses rely on subsidy, it will be suicidal to encourage removal of subsidy.”

A statement by his Special Adviser on Media, Mr. Ben Onyechere, quoted the governor as saying:

“This economy ought to be subsidy-based because production output is falling due to erratic power supply. It has resulted in a high level of unemployment and, as such, I advise the President against such a move because it is the same as robbing Peter to pay Paul.

“The issue of minimum wage can be addressed through other means to be determined by the President because the people deserve more than N18,000 if our resources are well harnessed and tailored towards the welfare of the citizenry.”
A group, the Yoruba Ronu Leadership (YRLF), yesterday criticised the governors for seeking the withdrawal of petroleum subsidy as a precondition for paying the N18,000 minimum wage.

In a statement by its Secretary General Akin Malaolu, the YRLF said: “Recent statements emanating from the outcome of meetings by the Governors’ Forum urging total removal of petroleum subsidies is an attempt at blackmailing the workers and the people over the clamour to implement lawful minimum wage of N18,000.

“This inglorious attempt to breach the law is an open attack on the people by the very leaders elected by them to serve them.

“The governors, by their transgression, have made a clear departure from their electoral promises, the all-important expectations of the people, which are energy, morals and happiness. It is an attempt to sustain their whetted materialistic appetite.”

Urging President Goodluck Jonathan not to accept the governors’ call, the group said: “We hereby put all leaders on notice that an additional hardship on the people shall bring with it glooming forebodings as it is apparent that the people may take to disorderly behaviour as a result of the intensity of their feelings to various hardships, dirty tricks and blackmail by the political class.”

The  Sokoto State chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) yesterday urged President Jonathan not to remove fuel subsidy before the implementation of the N18,000 minimum wage.

It said the states should, instead, find other means to implement the new pay package. 

Addressing reporters in Sokoto, the Sokoto State capital, the NLC Auditor, Alhaji Abubakar Malami Tambawal, opposed the governors’ suggestion.

“We will continue to do this by affirming our stand,” Tambuwal said, adding that most Nigerian workers were living like paupers.

“This is extremely obnoxious and unacceptable,” he said.

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Expect hard economic decisions -Jonathan

PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan, on Monday at Ota, Ogun State, hinted Nigerians on what to come, stating that his administration would take hard economic decisions

in the overall interest of the country. He, therefore, asked Nigerians to understand and bear with the government, as the decisions would not please some people at the initial stage.

He spoke at the inauguration of May & Baker’s World Health Organisation-standard pharmacentre, his first official engagement after the inauguration of his new administration. Commending May & Baker for embarking on the N4 billion project to address Africa’s disease burden, President Jonathan assured the company that the investment would not be a waste. “We’ll continue to protect local companies as we must produce a good percentage of what we need,” he added.

President Jonathan said there would not be waivers for companies that are importing products into the country, but “we’ll consider those that are manufacturing goods locally.”

While stating that Nigeria could no longer continue to be a dumping ground, he maintained that he was putting up a strong economic team in his much-awaited cabinet.

President Jonathan also said that industry-focused incentives and waivers would soon be unfolded in support of local firms.

He said the government was prepared to roll out policies, including waivers, that would ensure that local manufacturers that were in critical areas of need had an edge over foreign firms on importation of products.

The president said the government needed to protect local firms, despite globalisation, for Nigeria to really emerge a strong economy by 2020.

According to him, waivers and government patronage are two of the best mechanisms to support and protect indigenous manufacturing firms.

“The Federal Government will protect local industries, although no country is an island.

“However, at the same time, for us to claim leadership in Africa, we must be able to produce a certain percentage of what we need locally.”

Jonathan said that the new focus underscored government’s efforts at revamping the power sector and other infrastructure.

The president said that the government would soon be taking strong and harsh measures which might be painful at the beginning.

“Such measures may be tough and painful. These measures, which are definitely necessary, may appear painful to the ordinary people, but they are needed if we are to grow the economy,” he said.

He, however, promised that such decisions and policies would not be taken without consultation with the private sector.

Jonathan said the plant had the capacity to produce over 4.5 billion tablets and 37.5 million bottles of liquid preparation annually.

“Till date, the company has committed over N4 billion to the project, with a substantial part of it coming from bank financing and shareholders’ fund,” he said, adding that the project was the first of its kind in West and Central Africa.

According to him, it would also help conserve the country’s foreign exchange.

“Both local and international medicine procuring companies currently buying from Western and Asian suppliers will now begin to look towards the pharmacentre for their medicines,” he said.

The president said Nigerian and foreign brand owners could also take advantage of the facility in manufacturing their pharmaceutical products.

He said the brand owners could avail themselves of third party manufacturing, loan license production and other forms of partnership and collaboration with the company.

Leutenant-General T. Y. Danjuma, chairman of the company, said the N4 billion plant was the decision of the management decision to support the Vision 20:2020.

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