Abducted doctor’s wife released in Ondo

Sixteen days after she was abducted by unknown men, the wife of a medical doctor in Ondo State, Mrs Juliana Ogunleye, was, on Monday, released by her abductors.

Nigerian Tribune learnt that the 65 years old woman was eventually freed around 5.30 a.m on Monday.

It was gathered that the abductors called the family members early in the morning to go and pick the woman where she was dropped.

The woman was later picked up by her family members at about 5.40am on Ado-Ekiti road, where the kidnappers had dropped her.

Speaking with the Nigerian Tribune on phone over the development, one of the children of the woman, Ayo Ogunleye, said the kidnappers put a call to one of their uncles early in the morning.

According to him, the people said they should go and pick their mother since they had refused to pay the ransom demanded from the family.

He said: “They (abductors) just called us to go and pick our mother, the voice said since we have refused to pay the N50 million ransom. It shows that our mother is worthless and that we should go and pick her.”

Adamu asks court to stop prosecution

A former member of FIFA’s Executive Committee, Amos Adamu, has dragged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), and the Nigerian Police before an Abuja High Court, over alleged threats by the security agencies to arrest him.

Adamu is asking the court to declare that both anti-graft agencies lack the powers to investigate and prosecute him for alleged breach of FIFA’s code of ethics. His lawyer, Niyi Ayoola-Daniels, asked the court to declare that the police would be acting above their powers if they decided to investigate him for allegedly breaching FIFA’s code of ethics. Adamu also asked the court to declare that, by virtue of the laws establishing the offices of the anti-graft agencies and the office of the Attorney General of the Federation, they lacked the power to prosecute him for alleged breach of FIFA’s code of ethics.

He also asked the court to restrain the agencies and the police from infringing his right to pers onal liberty as enshrined in Section 35 of the 1999 Constitution. When the matter came up on Monday, Ayoola-Daniels told the judge that FIFA was not an agency of the federal government and therefore neither the EFCC nor the ICPC could question him on his conduct while serving as an Executive Committee member. The judge consequently adjourned the matter to 17th January, 2011.

In an affidavit attached to the originating summons, Adamu said he was rattled by the statement credited to the EFCC’s Spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, which he alleged cast aspersion on his person. Adamu had been FIFA Executive member since 2006 until his suspension last month for breach of Articles 3 and 5 of FIFA’s code of ethics.

Central Bank sells $400m in auction sales

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), yesterday, sold $400 million in its by-weekly Wholesale Dutch Auction System (WDAS).

This is the highest sale of foreign exchange at the official window since September 27 auction when $650 million was traded. The Central Bank has sold about $4.9 billion in the last two months in 18 auctions. Similarly, the foreign reserves dropped to $33.84 billion on Friday from $34.16 billion the previous day. Analysts forecast a surge in forex demand in the next few weeks due largely to the increased market reliance on CBN. Official data for the months of January-August 2010 indicate that the central bank supplied approximately 27.1 per cent of the dollar demand of $52 billion of inflows into Nigeria’s foreign exchange market with autonomous sources (oil companies, international institutions, and remittances) accounting for the rest. The naira sold at the official market at N149.01, while at the interbank it sold at 151.865, at the bureau de change at N152 and 153 at the parallel market.

Demand pressure

According to analysts at Afrinvest, an investment and financial services firm, the naira may “inch upwards this week as demand pressure increases towards the end of the year.” The firm in its weekly report however said sustained inflows from oil majors will likely stabilize the naira in the interbank market. The report noted that demand for forex increased last week when compared to a slowdown in the previous week. Although the CBN maintained its volume of supply, market demand of $548.7m outstripped the $450.0m offered. This demand pressure continued this week as $447.62 million was actually demand out of which the CBN was able to meet 89.36 per cent of demand.

A bureau de change operator on Broad Street in Lagos, Gali Kabiru, said the increase in dollar supply may be due to anticipation of increased demand. “People expect that after next week, the foreign exchange market may be closed until next year so many people are making provisions for such occurrence,” he said, adding that interbank rate at N153 makes parallel market rate. He said the demand may increase for the next few auctions before the closure.

Sustain dollar rate

Regional Head of Research, Africa Razia Khan, Standard Chartered, London, Razia Khan said it is important for the central bank to commit to meeting market demand in full, to sustain any given dollar-naira rate. “Because the auction cut-off represents the lowest successful bid, most bids for foreign exchange are likely to have been settled at higher dollar-naira rates, and the interbank market will normally trade at a higher rate than that determined by the WDAS auction,” she said. According to her, naira stability would be achieved with the supplier able to comfortably anticipate and meet market demand. “In this case, it would require the CBN to stay ahead of the market, and pre-empt any spike in forex demand,” she said.

Ibori goes to London

James Ibori, former Delta State governor, who is on a wanted list in Britain over allegations of corruption, yesterday in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, lost his appeal against his extradition.

The Gulf Arab Emirates’ cassation court ruled against Mr. Ibori’s appeal. The former governor, who has also been declared wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), was arrested in the Emirates in May. The arrest was at the behest of the London Metropolitan Police, and a Dubai court later approved a British extradition request.

Convicted associates

A British court had in August 2007 frozen his assets, worth over $35 billion, based on the suspicion that they were the proceeds of corruption. Some of Mr. Ibori’s associates in Britain have been convicted.

Among these are his sister, Christine Ibie-Ibori, and his ally, Udoamaka Okoronkwo (nee Onuigbo). Both are currently serving jail terms in a United Kingdom prison. Mr. Ibori’s wife, Theresa Nkoyo, and his UK-based lawyer, Bhadresh Gohil, were also convicted recently.

A statement by Femi Babafemi, the spokesperson of the EFCC, yesterday said, “The ruling today of the appellate court in Dubai only goes to confirm our earlier position issued after the first ruling in October that justice is universal and applicable anywhere in the world.

“We have been cooperating with authorities in other jurisdictions on this matter and we will continue to do this until the cause of justice is fully served, irrespective of the ignorance and misrepresentation being peddled by mischief makers.”

The anti-graft agency had in April tried to arrest Mr. Ibori before his trip to Dubai, to question him over allegations that he looted N44 billion from Delta State coffers. However, a large number of his supporters prevented police from arresting him in his hometown, Oghara. Few days after, he fled the country for Dubai. How he fled the country without being apprehended is still unknown.

Mr. Ibori governed Delta State from 1999 to 2007. He was a big power broker in the Peoples Democratic Party after he left power, dismissing all accusations against him as political.

It is not clear yet how soon he will be flown to Britain to face further prosecution.

Supreme Court re-validates election of former Delta Speaker

The Supreme Court yesterday re-validated the election of former speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, Martins Okonta, whose election was nullified by the Court of Appeal on the grounds of illegal substitution. Not satisfied with the decision of the Appeals court, Mr. Okonta approached the Supreme Court with a notice of appeal, requesting it to overturn the verdict of the court which removed him from office. Mr. Okonta, in his appeal, said that the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Abuja, was in conflict with the one earlier given by its Benin division and that the Abuja division of the court shut him out of the case and was, therefore, not given a fair hearing before judgment was given in the case. The Court of Appeal, Abuja, presided over by Jimi Bada, had ordered INEC to retrieve the certificate of return from Mr. Okonta of the PDP and issue it to Noye-Kingsley Philips.

Mr. Bada also directed that Mr. Philips, who was proved to be the rightful candidate of the party for the 2007 State Assembly election, be sworn in as a member of the House by the secretariat of the Delta House of Assembly forthwith.

“This court is compelled to align itself with the decision of the trial court because the evidence supplied by the appellant respondent (Philips) clearly shows that Section 34 of the Electoral Act was violated by INEC and Okonta respectively. The appellant applicants, INEC and Okonta, are hereby directed to jointly pay the sum of N100,000 to the respondent as compensation for court processes,” Mr. Bada stated.

Apex ruling

Ibrahim Idris, Mr. Philips’ counsel, told the media after the judgment that his client clearly won the primaries. He said that the leadership of the party, in a clandestine arrangement with INEC, replaced him (Philips). “Being a pre-election matter, wisdom demands that we wait until the election was conducted before approaching the regular court and not the Election Tribunal,” he said.

Mr. Okonta had since lost the seat to Mr. Philips while another member of the house was sworn in as the speaker.

However, the Supreme Court set aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Abuja which upheld the decision of the Federal High Court that nullified Mr. Okonta’s election. Justice Dahiru Musdapher who led four other justices agreed with Mr. Okonta’s counsel, Lateef Fagbemi, that the suit that led to the appeal was incompetent because Mr. Okonta was not joined as a party at the Federal High Court. Justice Olufunlola Adekeye, in the lead judgment, said the refusal to join Mr. Okonta in the suit is a breach of his fundamental right to a fair hearing. She said it is trite law that proper parties are before the court so that they will be bound by the effect of the action.

“The decision of the Federal High Court which was upheld by the Court of Appeal is hereby set aside,” she said.

Mr. Okonta had gone to the apex court seeking a review of the verdict of the Abuja Court of Appeal which had nullified his election. The court also refused Mr. Okonta’s request for an order of injunction staying the execution of the Appeal court judgment delivered on May 12, 2009, pending hearing and determination of the appeal.

The apex court said there might be no need to hear the application as it would take the substantive case and gave instant judgment.

INEC gets 15,000 DCC machines

Attahiru Jega, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), yesterday said over 15,000 Direct Data Capture Machines have arrived the country in readiness for the 2011 elections.

Speaking at a national dialogue organised by Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre in collaboration with INEC, with support of MacArthur Foundation, the INEC boss urged Nigerians to ensure that they register for the coming voter registration starting from January 29. He warned that anybody who fails to register within the stipulated time may not vote in the elections next year.

He promised to tackle the flaws that were recorded in the 2007 elections, such as failure to capture people adequately with the biometric system and also failure to issue voter cards on time.

He also said that voters will get temporary voter cards within seven minutes of registering at registration centres across the country.

Poor security network

On the issue of the stolen DCC machines, he lamented the porous security in the nation’s airports, and described the act as unfortunate. He warned that electoral offences will not be tolerated any longer, regardless of who is involved.

Mr. Jega disclosed that the Electoral Act now permits INEC to arrest and prosecute offenders, as was done in Enugu during the bye-elections where a man was caught with 80,000 voter cards.

The representative of the MacArthur Foundation, Godwin Odoh, urged Nigerians to protect their votes during the 2011 elections.

He lamented that in spite of the enormous potentials the country has in human and natural resources, corruption and absence of free and fair elections have denied the country the status of the giant of Africa that she lay claims to.

Students’ vote

The INEC chairman said the current voting process put in place by INEC, which mandates voters to vote only at their points of registration, could hinder students’ participation, since tertiary institutions are usually shut down during elections.

“Unfortunately, if the calendars are not reliable, it will be difficult for us. If the calendar stabilises, it will be possible for us to know when to arrange the registrations and elections to coincide with when the students are away. Right now, whatever we do, we will not be able to accommodate the interests of most of the students,” Mr. Jega said.

Facing difficulties

The chairman said that the issue of students’ votes is one of the challenges which INEC does not think will be resolved before the April elections.

“It is the same problems we are facing with the Nigerians in Diaspora. The exigencies of the times constrain us. We have to take each of the problems one after the other. Maybe after the April elections, we can do everything possible to resolve these issues. For now, it is actually impossible logistically,” he said.

While making no promises, Mr. Jega, a former vice chancellor of Bayero University, Kano, said he is still in talks with his former colleagues on a possible way out of the situation.

“We have been discussing with the NUC (National Universities Commission) and some of the vice chancellors on what we can do. It is a difficult thing. Through consultations, it may be possible to allow one week for the students to go home during the registrations. But it is also going to be expensive and that will have to be repeated during the elections. Who is going to fund that?” Mr. Jega complained.

The event had the former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Muhammadu Uwais, as chairman.

Tension as Northern govs meet in Abuja

GOVERNORS of the 19 northern states are due to meet in Abuja today, ahead of the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The meeting, which was supposed to take place in Kaduna, had to be shifted to Abuja at the instance of the vice-president, Alhaji Namadi Sambo.

Sources said the meeting would allow the governors to take a common stand on the schedule of primaries of the PDP and the bid by National Assembly members to become automatic members of the NEC.

The governors, according to sources, had resolved to fine-tune a number of issues before the NEC meeting and they could also use the opportunity to take a stand on their support for President Goodluck Jonathan and Vice-President Sambo.

It was learnt that the governors wanted to take a common position ahead of the governors meeting and the meeting of PDP governors.

“The meeting could resolve a number of issues. We could see the governors adopt the Jonathan-Sambo ticket in view of current realities and we could see hem taking a final decision on the NEC membership issue by the National Assembly members,” a source told the Nigerian Tribune.

It was gathered that the northern governors were also planning a common position on the leadership of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), which was moving to effect leadership change.

Activists demand prosecution of Shell over Wikileaks revelations

Environmental activists have urged the Nigerian government to begin criminal prosecution of executives of oil giant, Shell, for alleged treasonable activities committed by the corporation as revealed by an online whistleblower, WikiLeaks.

In the released cables of US diplomats in Nigeria, WikiLeaks revealed that Shell’s vice president Ann Pickard admitted to a former US envoy to Nigeria that its employees were seconded to all the relevant ministries and agencies of the Nigerian government and thanks to the infiltration, the company was able to keep a tab on all governmental policies and deliberations.

But the Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) said the revelation has shown that rather than operate as a company, the oil-giant had become “a pseudo-political organization bent on taking political power and undermining our national interest, national security and our sovereignty.” The group, in a statement, issued yesterday, said Shell had gone beyond merely doing business in Nigeria but had “perfected its despicable act of corporate rule through which it has over the years evaded justice for all its atrocious activities against the environment and the Niger Delta People.”

Quoting statements credited to Ms. Pickard that the oil company knew “everything that was being done in those ministries” as the Nigerian government had “forgotten” about the extent of Shell’s infiltration and unaware of how much the company knew about its deliberations, the activists claimed that it had finally “been vindicated!”, noting that it raised alarm several years back about “Shell’s surreptitious attempt to assume full control of our national systems.”

The group noted that Shell was not only in the drivers’ seat of the oil fields of the Niger Delta but also in government policy-making meetings where it consistently instigated policy sommersaults with the Petroleum Industry Bill and other far-reaching laws that would guarantee transparency and accountability which it did not want.

“With these leaks, it is time for the Nigerian government to reclaim our sovereignty from Shell and restore dignity to the Niger Delta people by forcing Shell to stop gas flaring, reckless oil leaks and total disregard of the environment,” ERA/FoEN Executive Director, Nnimmo Bassey, said.

The group said that when Diezani Alison-Madueke, a former employee of Shell was appointed minister for petroleum, “we warned that it was a tactless surrender of Nigeria’s oil industry to Shell. We told Nigerians that there is irreconcilable conflict of interest in her appointment because the minister has never for once hidden her true identity as a protégé of Shell.”

Damaging cancer

The group also called on the Nigerian government to begin an immediate “investigation to identify those Shell agents planted in ministries and government agencies and flush them out of the system.” According to the group’s programme director, Godwon Uyi Ojo, “Shell has become a cancer that is damaging every organ of the Nigerian polity. No wonder Shell has been able to evade justice for ecological devastation, complicity in cases of human rights violation and other atrocities linked to its operations in the Niger Delta.”

Secret dispatches from Washington’s embassies in Africa also revealed that Shell swapped intelligence with the US, in one case providing US diplomats with the names of Nigerian politicians it suspected of supporting militant activity, and requesting information from the US on whether the militants had acquired anti-aircraft missiles.

Mr. Bassey pointed out that with these leaks, “we have been validated by our publication in 1993 that Niger Delta people have been trapped between a vicious global corporation and a visionless government.”

‘Don’t politicise data capturing machines theft’

The recent theft of data capturing machines imported by the Independent National Electoral Commission at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos is an internal security issue that should not be politicised, the minister for defense, Adetokunbo Kayode, said at the weekend. Mr. Kayode, who told reporters in Akure that those who stole the machines were petty thieves, said the government was doing everything to address the internal security at various airports and warned authorities of the airports to brace up.

“Internal security is one of the biggest challenges we have in this country,” he said. “That is why we have not left everything to the police alone. Mr. President has directed all the armed forces to support the police to ensure that our internal democracy is stabilized. Theft in any airport is normal, but it is not acceptable. What happened was that some petty criminals stole some computers. Though they have all been arrested, it just showed that it is not uncommon. Many times you travel outside the country and you discover that your bag is missing. In fact, some airports are even worse. You have to hold on to your trousers because before you know it your trouser is gone.”

On the forthcoming primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party, Mr. Kayode said the party was ready to field the best candidates and would allow for internal democracy where a level playing field would be provided for all the aspirants. He, however, said all the political parties in the country are facing challenges of internal democracy.

“The smaller parties are worse than the PDP when it comes to internal democracy,” he said. “Internal democracy is a challenge to all political parties. It will be foolish for any party to think that it is only PDP that has the problem of internal democracy. The PDP is huge and has bigger challenges than all these small parties. The small parties that control two or three states are not better than the PDP in terms of internal democracy. What is presently happening in the folds of the Action Congress of Nigeria in Lagos state is a good example. There were protests because some people said they were being sidelined.”

The minister who called for support for the candidacy of President Goodluck Jonathan, said the people of Ondo state would support his candidacy because he offered the best credentials among those jostling for the position.

“The voting pattern in Ondo state has always remained the same,” he said. “When it comes to a presidential candidate, we always go the same way without party affiliation. I am very sure that those in the Labour Party and other political parties in the state will support President

Lawmakers to quiz Sanusi and Aganga over comments - NEXT

The National Assembly has summoned the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido, and the finance minister, Olusegun Aganga, to defend comments on legislative expenditure by the government.

The summons in both chambers of the National Assembly is following comments attributed to the CBN governor that the National Assembly is serviced with up to 25% of the overhead cost of annual budgets and the subsequent hint by the finance minister to cut down the budgetary allocation to the National Assembly.

The emotion laden Senate also summoned the special adviser to the president on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to clarify the issue about the administration of “constituency projects.”

While the officials will appear before a select committee in the Senate, the House of Representatives invited both government officials to appear before the whole House and before a live TV coverage.

Rep members argued that considering the implications of the comments attributed to Messrs Sanusi and Aganga on the image of the National Assembly, and the electoral values of members, both men should appear before the entire House on Thursday.

“These comments are lies. They owe us an explanation and most importantly, they owe the public an explanation. There is more to this than is coming to us now,” the Senate president argued.

The Senate, however, declined nudges to let the summoned government officials appear before the whole Senate, saying both government officials have lost the privilege to enter their chamber after such disparaging comments against them.

The Senate, rather, summoned both men to appear before members of the Senate committee on finance and banking, appropriation, MDGs, and the national planning committee, today.

Sanusi’s wikileaks

Some senators argued that Mr. Sanusi’s comments have incited the public against the lawmakers, and this is worse than the treason which the United States government is preparing to charge the CEO of Wikileaks, for releasing highly confidential cable communications between the US government and their envoys abroad.

Others complained the reports have caused them and their families’ psychological trauma and stigmatization.

“Let Sanusi and the finance minister appear before us so that we can dress them down,” Nuhu Aliyu (PDP, Niger State) urged his colleagues.

Others called for his sack for turning against lawmakers.

“We have treated Aganga (and Mallam Sanusi Lamido) very well in this chamber; why should they attack us?” Jubril Aminu (PDP, Adamawa State) lamented.

The senators said the comments of the government officials was an exhibition of “ignorance at high places”, arguing that the entire budget of the National Assembly for this year is N158 billion, which is “just about 3% of the total national budget.”

After an explosive recruitment interview with the Senate for his job, in which he countered some policies of the then president, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, Mr. Sanusi has gained the reputation of a radical technocrat who may not be intimidated by crowd or position.

Meanwhile, the spokesperson of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Reuben Muoka, expressed delight at the passage of the budget, which he said has been long overdue.

“This is a 2010 budget that we are talking about. We are happy that the budget has been approved so that we can get to work. It is with mixed feelings that we receive this news. Our budget ought to have been approved earlier, but it has been delayed due to unnecessary controversy. All the same, we are happy that our promise to Nigerians to do the SIM card registration can now be fulfilled,” he said.

House approves N6b for SIM card registration

Proceedings at the House of Representatives was brought to a halt yesterday when members discovered that the controversial 2010 budget of the Nigerian Communications Commission which allocates N6.1 billion for SIM card registration has been passed clandestinely. The sitting became quite rowdy and a furious Dimeji Bankole, the speaker, was seen walking out of the plenary, followed by other equally angry members.

For many months, most of the lawmakers had opposed the budget, insisting that it was a clear waste of money since the telecommunication companies were already registering their customers. Indeed, last Tuesday, 18 members made such loud protestations against the budget that debate on the matter was again shelved.

Yesterday when calm returned to the House, Mr Bankole came back to the sitting and showed support for the passage of the budget by parrying every comment against it. The budget has been stalled mainly because of the robust opposition to the inclusion of a provision for N6.1 billion for the registration of SIM cards.

This demand by the Commission had received such vehement opposition from members that the speaker had to recommit the conference report on the budget Bill to an ad hoc committee for scrutiny, and recommendation to the House.

Members had always argued that SIM card registration is the responsibility of the service providers who are already doing that free of charge for their respective subscribers.

The committee, led by West Idahosa who was recently recalled from suspension, approved the N6.1 billion for SIM cards registration on the basis that it does not contravene the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Act as charged by some members who opposed the budget.

Sneaky

Rabe Nasir, a member of the ad hoc committee, however said that the budget was surreptitiously passed by only 18 members of the House the previous Thursday.

“I am surprised to read in the votes and proceedings of Thursday November 25, 2010 that the budget has been passed without deleting the item for SIM cards registration,” Mr Nasir said.

He said he was surprised that the budget report was introduced for consideration on a supplementary order paper, and was approved when there were only 18 members left on the floor that day. He added that the approval breached his personal privilege as a member of the House, as well as a member of the ad hoc committee.

Mr Bankole, who was apparently angered by Mr Nasir’s comment, ruled him out of order, and walked out of the plenary leaving the stage for his Deputy. The members also stood, grumbling and threatening to abandon the plenary only for the speaker to reappear, blaming his walk-out on a problem with his caftan.

“This is not the first time I have handed over to the Deputy Speaker to preside,” he said, denying that he had walked out on the members most of whom were on their feet when he returned. When someone noted that he wasn’t smiling when he left, he said, “I will smile all the way as I walk out of the chambers now.”

The issue was not discussed in any detail after his return, thus confirming that the budget has been passed.

The spokesperson of the Commission, Reuben Muoka also expressed delight at the passage of the budget, saying the process was long overdue.

“This is a 2010 budget that we are talking about. We are happy that the budget has been approved so that we can get to work. It is with mixed feelings that we receive this news. Our budget ought to have been approved earlier but it has been delayed due to unnecessary controversy. All the same, we are happy that our promise to Nigerians to do the SIM card registration can now be fulfilled,” he said

Atiku is not a consensus candidate, says group

A non-governmental organisation, Media for Ethnic Equality, has described the labelling of Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President and presidential aspirant, as a consensus candidate as faulty and an act of media manipulation.

In a statement issued in Lagos on Tuesday, the group said that since there was a voting, the process that led to the emergence of the former vice president as the candidate for the Adamu Ciroma led-Northern Political Leaders Forum on November 22, 2010 cannot be described as a “consensus”. “We understand that out of the nine people who constituted the committee, five voted for Atiku while four voted against him. Though he had highest vote, this cannot in any way be described as a consensus because we still have four dissenting votes,” read the statement, which was signed by the group’s Publicity Secretary, Iyiola Johnson. “It is even more dishonest to label him as a consensus candidate going by the fact that the committee could not even reach a consensus over his choice. Besides, consensus system which emanated from United Nations (UN) processes is used to completely avoid voting. Once a process is decided through voting then it is not consensus. We just think it is time we correct this misinformation making the rounds in the Nigerian media.”

Carrying everybody along

According to the group, only five ethic nationalities, representing five states of the North, selected Mr Atiku out of over 200 ethnic nationalities in the Northern part of the country. “Who represented other Northern states like Plateau, Nassarawa, Kaduna and Kogi in the Ciroma-led NPLF?,” said Mr Johnson. “If the Ciroma group is to be taken serious, they ought to have invited other ethnic nationalities to make Mr Atiku a popular choice.”

The group said it is time for Nigerian politicians to respect the rights of ethnic minorities, adding that taking decisions arbitrarily has never helped the country and the advancement of democracy. It also advised politicians to refrain from inflammatory statements capable of heating up the polity, saying that Nigerians at this time more than ever before need ethnic harmony and not divisions.

Galadima defends CAF nomination

FORMER chairman of the Nigeria Football Association (NFA), Ibrahim Galadima, has described his nomination to contest the CAF executive committee seat vacated by Amos Adamu as an act of God.

Adamu has been suspended from all football activity for the next three years by FIFA for his part in the cash-for-vote scandal following a sting operation by a British tabloid.

Adamu has since launched an appeal in a bid to clear his name, but the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) promptly nominated Gala-dima to contest his seat at next year's CAF elections.

“This is the work of God. I am humbled because there are so many Nigerians who are more quali-fied than me for the opportunity,” Galadima told SuperSport.com.

The former chairman of the Kano Pillars said he could have been in the CAF committee much earlier but decided to be patient.

“During my tenure as NFA chairman, our board had the prerogative to select a candidate for the post. If I wanted to be selfish, my name would have been put forward.

"We decided to be prudent about the whole thing and Dr (Amos) Adamu was nominated instead. So my nomination was divine because I see it as something God had destined to happen at some stage in my life,” he said.

Customs intercept tanker load of drugs

A tanker loaded with drugs worth over N10million, vegetables and other essentials was intercepted by men of Nigeria Customs Service in Kaduna and handed over to the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC).

While receiving the seized fake drugs and products, the NAFDAC deputy director in charge of the North-West, Dr Eric Iful, said that samples of the seized drugs had been sent to the laboratory for analysis, adding that the seized drugs were considered to be fake because they had not been registered by NAFDAC.

The driver of the tanker which was painted in the colour of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation with NNPC inscribed on the body, was said to have run away while investigations were on to arrest the culprits.

Speaking while conducting newsmen round the seized goods at the customs office in Kaduna, the comptroller in charge of the Federal Operations Unit (FOU) Zone B, Mr Abubakar Gusau said they had also realised about N1.3 billion revenue and made 577 seizure of contraband since January 2010.

Alleged 25% expenditure on NASS: Senate demands apology from CBN gov

THE Senate, on Monday, demanded an apology from the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mallam Lamido Sanusi, over his statement that “25 per cent of total annual overhead cost of the federal budget are allocated to lawmakers”

The upper legislative chamber of the National Assembly described the statement as embarrassing and unfounded, and was set to summon him before the end of the week.

Mallam Sanusi had, at the weekend, at the eighth annual lecture of the Igbinedion University, Okada, in Edo State, said over 25 percent of the Nigeria annual total overhead cost is expended on lawmakers.

The Senate, however, said the CBN governor was misquoted, adding that if not, we expected that he should retract “this very fallacious and very damaging report with an apology.”

Senate spokesman, Senator Ayogu Eze, insisted that what Sanusi said was on the contrary, adding that “ I want to state categorically that it is not true. The total budget figure for the year 2010 as amended is N4,427,184,596, 534.

“The entire budget of the National Assembly for the year 2010 is N158,916,167,627. If you reduce this to mathematics, what the National Assembly get is 3.5 per cent of the entire budget.”

FG to unban vehicle, furniture, textile importation

TIRED of annually losing billions of naira in revenue to a non-effective ban, the Federal Government, it has been reliably gathered, has fine-tuned an amendment to the import prohibition list, with the aim of unbanning the importation of furniture items, textiles and toothpicks.

In a move that may also result in a significant collapse of prices of cars, the government is also set to endorse the importation of cars not more than 15 years old.

The Minister of Finance, Mr Olusegun Aganga, according to impeccable sources, in a signed endorsement on November 19 to port service providers, has also removed cassava, among other items, from the much criticised long list of import ban.

In a dramatic shift from the hitherto age limit on imported vehicles which was pegged at 10 years, the Federal Government has approved that imports should be extended to 15 year-old automobiles, since the ban on vehicles above 10 years had not been effective, but had encouraged the smuggling of cars across the borders, resulting in severe loss of revenue.

The import trade policy reviews were contained in a memo from the Federal Ministry of Finance to the Comptroller-General of Customs and the three Destination Inspection Service providers - Cotecna Inspection limited, Global Scan System and Societe Generale de Surveillance.

Captioned “Revision of Schedule Three-Import Prohibition List (Trade) of the 2008-2012 Common External Tariff (CET),”, the memo which was signed by Aganga on November 19, 2010, however, failed to give any clue as to why government was finally bowing to importers and agents prayers at a time when everyone had seemingly given up hope on the issue.

By implication, this means that textile fabrics and other articles of similar characteristics that fall within the Lace and Embroideries under the various HS Codes, except the African prints, can now be imported with a duty charge of 20 per cent and a levy of 20 per cent.

Similarly, furniture which was under Harmonised System (HS) Code 9401.100.00-9401.9009.00 and 9403.100-9404.9000, would now attract 20 -per cent duty and 20 per cent levy, respectively, while cassava, under HS Code 0714.100, would now attract 20 per cent duty and 15 per cent levy, respectively.

Toothpick importation (HS Code 3926.9090.91) would similarly attract 20 per cent charges both as duty and levy.

The changes on the 2008-2012 Common External Tariff (CET), according to the minister’s memo, would take effect from the date of the memo.

When the Nigerian Tribune called the Customs high command’s deputy spokesman, Joseph Attah for confirmation, he said he was aware that the minister had indicated that the import prohibition list was due for amendment, but he was yet to be acquainted with items that were going or those that would stay.

Meanwhile, the Federal Government is set to phase out chloroquine for treatment of malaria at the end the year.

The Minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu, made the announcement on Monday.

Chukwu, at a programme in Abuja, said “the FG had phased out chloroquine since 2004, so there is the need to effect this policy.”

He called on Nigerians to stop taking the drug, adding that the ministry was working with the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control to stop its importation.

“The use of chloroquine as treatment against malaria is no longer effective, so Nigerians need to get used to using Artemisinin Combination Therapy (ACT).

“The launch is to communicate quality, accessible, affordable and available effective malaria treatment with ACT within 24 hours of onset of symptoms to the populace,” he said.

The minister said ACT was free and available in all government-owned hospitals and at primary health centres across the country.

“The Federal Government has made the provision of the drugs in government hospitals free. So l want to urge private hospitals to ensure that the dosage price should not be more than N75,” he said.

The minister said the intervention strategy was in partnership with the Global Fund, to reduce malaria mortality by expanding access to ACT.

Speaking at the event, the Coordinator of National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP), Dr Babajide Coker, said the organisation had intensified its efforts at eradicating malaria in the country

Petroleum tanker drivers strike

The Petroleum Tanker Drivers wing of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), yesterday, embarked on a nation-wide warning strike to protest what they term the "indiscriminate victimisation" of their workers by soldiers and the "mysterious" disappearance of petroleum products.

NUPENG's Lagos Zone chairman, Tokunbo Korede, said the seven days warning strike is coming after a 21-day ultimatum elapsed on November 26, 2010, following a meeting with the Chief of Army Staff, the Director-General of the State Security Service (SSS), the Minister of Labour, and the management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). Mr Korede said the failure of the government officials at the meeting to apprehend and prosecute the army officials behind the assassination of a tanker driver in Jos and the disappearance of several tankers, along with their petroleum products, within military installations has necessitated them to push their case.

Litany of intimidation

"It is true," he said. "It started this morning (yesterday) after the 21-day ultimatum we gave elapsed. It is a nationwide action with only PTD on strike now. Our member died instantly at a joint check point of army and police officers at Jos because he refused to be extorted. The culprits ran to Bauchi Garrison Command, where our truck was taken. But up till now the culprits have not being brought out and the tanker and the product are no longer to be found."

The union leader mentioned other incidents, in the month of November, in which tankers and products were seized by army personnel, only for them to vanish "with no trace". "In Ibadan, the army seized our truck," he said. "After a week our truck disappeared with no trace. Also, this November in Port Harcourt, the army and police stopped a luxurious bus on the road and that is how the tanker driver ran over some people. The army immediately took our truck to the barracks. We even paid compensation to the people that died. But after some time the truck and the product were no more to be found."

The NUPENG boss says if the federal government does not take the warning strike serious, it could affect the 2011 general elections. "For how long are they going to take to fish out those criminal uniformed men who are behind all this?," he said. "This is a seven-day warning strike for those saying we are working on it to bring out a solution. They need to take us serious because it will be too disastrous for the coming elections.

Public say no to bill

A resounding ‘no’ from an array of stakeholders has greeted an attempt by federal lawmakers to legislate their way into the leadership councils of their various parties.

Virtually every member of the public who attended a public hearing on the proposed bill Monday, at a meeting room of the House of Representatives in Abuja, opposed the proposal to make almost every lawmaker a member of their party’s National Executive Committee.

From the chairman of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to women organisations, attendees criticised the legislation as contrary to its stated intent, which is to bring the internal democracy to party leadership structures.

PDP chairman, Okwesili Eze Nwodo, denounced the proposed law as a naked power grab. If lawmakers pass the law, it will give them excessive influence in decision making in the PDP,” he said.

Mr. Nwodo pointed out that 48 lawmakers already are present on his 64-member NEC, and any addition would mean its complete hijack by the legislative caucus.

“We want a balance in NEC that will not swallow the elected members of NEC. If we have a volume that swallows it, it will affect debates in our NEC,” Mr. Nwodo said.

He also urged the lawmakers to drop the bill because currently, it is the party’s convention that is the highest decision making body of the party, instead of the proposed NEC.

Although the 2010 electoral act amendment bill is not all about making the lawmakers members of their party’s NEC, most members of the public focused on this particular provision on the proposed structure and composition of NECs.

Maxi Okwu, leader of the Forum of National Chairmen of Political Parties, which comprises about 14 smaller parties, also opposed the provision. He described it as “untidy” and urged the lawmakers to desist from making such laws.

He argued that even though the lawmakers reserve the right to make laws for the nation, they should discard that aspect of the amendment because it will make the governance of all political parties uniform, bringing back the military regimentation which Nigerians dread.

“This uniformity is a military hangover. We are seeking that you leave parties to run themselves; you cannot regiment it, it won’t work!” ,” Mr. Okwu said.

He argued that widening the scope of political party’s NEC should be an exclusive preserve of the parties and the composition of NECs should also be left to the parties.

Notwithstanding the mounting opposition in the conference room and protests by different groups outside the Assembly complex against the bill, the lawmakers stood their ground, arguing that of all the parties that have representatives in the National Assembly, only two do not currently have their lawmakers as members of their NEC.

Both chambers of the National Assembly are expected to consider the positions of the public and make their final decision within a fortnight.

Labour leaders condemn 25% annual budget spent on lawmakers revenue - Nigerian tribune

Labour leaders on Monday, condemned the high percentage of Nigeria’s annual budget spent on National Assembly members.

The governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Malam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, said on Saturday, in Okada, near Benin, that 25 per cent of government’s annual budget went to the National Assembly.

Sanusi described the trend as unhealthy and called for a cut if the country must develop.

Labour leaders interviewed in Lagos by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) called for a national conference to discuss the salaries and allowances of the federal legislators.

They were unanimous in calling for a reduction of the lawmakers’ pay to avoid chaos in the country.
Mr Peter Esele, President, Trade Union Congress (TUC), said it was regrettable that rather than serve the people, members of the National Assembly were serving themselves.

“It is sad that our lawmakers appropriate salaries to themselves without thinking about the nation. It is a problem that we all need to sit down and discuss.

“It is bad for democracy. It shows there is tyranny in the land and this is sad for the Nigerian people who do not have good infrastructure or adequate means of livelihood,” Esele said.

He advised the legislators to, as a matter of urgency, review their own salaries.

In his reaction, Mr Dele Akinyanju, General Secretary, Railway Workers Union of Nigeria, said that the issue must be discussed by every Nigerian as the money paid to the legislators was tax payers’ money.

“Their annual pay should be reduced. Nigerians from all sectors of the economy should deliberate what should be paid to legislators and the monthly salary should be made public,” Akinyanju said.

Mr Olusoju Salako, President, Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI), called on Nigerians to condemn the amount spent on the lawmakers.

“It is sad that the lawmakers are serving themselves and their families and not the people that elected them. People should begin to condemn this now to avoid unrest,” he said.

Salako described as criminal the 25 per cent spent on about 500 lawmakers out of the money that should be spent on 150 million Nigerians.

Obasanjo is ‘comical,’ says Atiku Campaign Organisation

Obasanjo is comical says Atiku Campaign Organisation *Makes new appointments By Festus Owete November 29, 2010 Ben Obi had barely been formally named the campaign chief for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar before he aimed a few salvos in the direction of the man everyone loves to hate, Mr. Abubakar’s estranged former boss, Olusegun Obasanjo. Mr. Obasanjo, who was president when Mr. Abubakar served unhappily as his deputy, is little more than a jester, Mr. Obi said Monday at a news conference in Abuja, in response to Mr. Obasanjo’s stated reaction to news that his former deputy had emerged as the “consensus” candidate for the North. Mr Obasanjo had last Thursday laughed off the selection of Mr. Abubakar while talking to reporters in Abuja. Asked to respond to the news, the former president had simply said, in pidgin, “I dey laugh.” “We look at him and said the man is always comical with his comments,” Mr Obi said. “We don’t need to engage him, we don’t intend to engage him in matters of that nature.” Mr Obi, a former senator, also dismissed suggestions that the former vice president will face challenges to his membership in the PDP, as indicated at the weekend by the governor of Akwa Ibom State, Godswill Akpabio. He described Mr Akpabio as a busybody who should not be taken seriously since he is neither the chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) nor its spokesman. “I am happy you refer to him (Akpabio) as Akwa Ibom State governor and not the chairman of the PDP. He does not double as the spokesman of the PDP. That is a busybody,” Mr Obi said. Mr Obi will run an Atiku campaign that has just absorbed the campaign organisations of his three other rivals, all from the political North, who have agreed to step down for him. These were former military strongman Ibrahim Babangida, the former national security adviser Aliyu Mohammed Gusau, and the governor of Kwara State, Bukola Saraki. Mr. Obi said the Atiku campaign also has appointed several officials from the erswhile rival campaigns. These include Chris Mammah, who will serve as principal spokesman for the campaignand Bashir Yusuf Ibrahim, who will run campaign operations.