The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

  • UN chief commends FG’s leadership role on MDGs

    UN chief commends FG’s leadership role on MDGs

    The United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, on Wednesday commended the Federal Government for its leadership initiative and coordinating role on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

    Ban made the commendation in his message to the event on “Transformative Agenda for Sustainable Development in Nigeria and Africa: Lessons, Actions and Emerging Perspectives” hosted by President Goodluck Jonathan.

    The UN correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event took place at the body’s Millennium Plaza in New York.

    Represented by Ms Amina Mohammed, his Special Adviser on Post-2015 Development Planning, Ban said the “Millennium Development Goals are our collective promise to the world’s most vulnerable people.”

    According to him, meeting the goals requires partnerships, policies and resources that accelerate progress.

    He said the MDGs Acceleration Framework, introduced by the government of Nigeria with the support of the UN, was a stellar example.

    “I applaud the leadership and commitment of Nigeria, and also the governments of Ghana, Kenya and South Africa in striving to accelerate progress.

    “At the same time, we must set a development agenda for beyond 2015 with poverty reduction and sustainable development at its core.

    “This means greater focus on decent jobs, better governance, freedom from crime and violence and living within the natural boundaries of our planet,’’ he said.

    The UN scribe said that Nigeria was an early mover on the “MY World survey” in which over 140,000 people took part.

    He said the information gathered had provided a vast amount of insight on the concerns and hopes of women, men, girls and boys throughout the country.

    Ban said the top eight priorities for Nigeria in the “MY World survey” reflected similar results for Africa as a whole, and notably included better job opportunities and infrastructure.

    “Your commitment in Nigeria and across the continent of Africa will help us all improve our efforts to meet people’s needs at national, regional and global levels.

    “In turn, this will contribute to a more effective multilateral system that is ‘fit for purpose’ to deliver on the post-2015 next development agenda,’’ Ban said.

    In his remarks, Jonathan said the country attained appreciable results in MDG projects and was bound to continue with greater achievements on Post-2015 MDG.

    He, however, noted that electricity was necessary for African countries to attain the MDGs, stressing that until the continent was able to achieve sustainable power supply, the MDGs would remain elusive.

    Jonathan applauded Ondo State for its tremendous achievement on MDGs, adding that some states in the country were also making efforts.

    Also, the President of Ghana, John Mahama, said that as the African continent struggle to achieve the MDGs, the girl-child should not be given out for early marriage.

    He suggested that the child-girl should be allowed to stay longer in school.

     

     

  • British envoy assures NSE of ‘cooperation on investments’

    The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Dr. Andrew Pocock, on Wednesday assured the management of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) of enhanced cooperation that would attract more investments into the country.

    Pocock, who gave the assurance during his visit to the exchange in Lagos, said that United Kingdom had been involved in the Nigerian capital market for many years.

    “UK sees Nigeria as a country with great potential, especially in the area of extractive industry, manufacturing and services sectors,’’ the News Agency of Nigeria quoted the high commissioner as saying during the visit.

    Pocock pledged to invite companies from UK to have another look at the Nigerian market so as to enable them to make up their minds about existing trade and investment opportunities.

    He said the efforts would be geared toward encouraging the companies to make pragmatic decisions that were not guided by what they saw or read in the mass media.

    The Chief Executive Officer of the NSE, Mr. Oscar Onyema, said that trading activities on exchange’s new trading platform, “X-GEN’’, would commence next week.

    He said that series of tests to ensure the market readiness of the platform had been concluded to ensure its smooth operation, adding that the new trading platform would take the exchange to the next level.

     

     

  • Aluko moves closer to new deal at Hull

    Aluko moves closer to new deal at Hull

    Sone Aluko is reportedly closing in on a new deal with his current employers Hull City.

    The 24-year old midfielder has been impressive for the Tigers opening five Premier League fixtures this season, scoring a superb winner at Newcastle United last Saturday, futaa.com reports.

    The Nigeria international is reportedly eager to sign on for longer spell even though his current contract has another 12 months to run.

    “We have just started talking. The focus is on games and getting fit again. I am sure it will get done.

    “No doubt it will drag on, as negotiations do, but I am relaxed about it. It’s football so nothing would surprise you but I am sure it will get done, “futaa.com quoted Aluko as saying on express.co.uk

    City boss, Steve Bruce, who gave Aluko his debut at Birmingham aged 16, is also eager to tie the Nigerian down to a new deal in a bid to replace the current one which runs out by the end of the current season.

     

     

  • China army general’s son jailed for rape

    A court in China has convicted the son of a high-profile army general and sentenced him to 10 years in jail for rape, state media say.

    The court said Li Tianyi, 17, and four others raped the woman at a Beijing hotel in February after having drinks.

    He had denied any sexual relations with the woman, whom he alleged was working as a prostitute, previous reports say.

    Li Tianyi is the son of army Gen. Li Shuangjiang, known for his renditions of patriotic songs on television.

    BBC says Li Tianyi’s mother Meng Ge is also a well-known singer in China’s People’s Liberation Army.

    The case was heard at the Haidian Court in north-west Beijing. The other defendants also received jail terms ranging from three to 12 years.

    This was not the first time that Li Tianyi, also known as Li Guanfeng, was involved in an incident that sparked public outcry. In 2011, he was sentenced to detention for a year over a road rage incident.

    He was behind the wheel of a BMW car with no licence plates in Beijing when he confronted a middle-aged couple in another vehicle blocking his way.

    He assaulted the couple and shouted at shocked bystanders, telling them not to “dare to call the police.”

    His father apologised to the couple over the incident.

     

  • Jang cleared of crime against humanity

    Jang cleared of crime against humanity

    The International Court of Justice has exonerated Plateau State governor, Jonah Jang, in the allegation of crime against humanity.

    The ICJ gave the governor a clean bill while delivering judgment on a case pending before it since 2009.

    It would be recalled that the  Hausa Muslim community in Jos dragged the Plateau government before the ICJ in 2009, accusing the governor of masterminding killing of Hausas and Muslims in the city during the 2008 political crises.

    The appellants accused Jang of genocide, ethnic cleansing and mass killing when the governor allegedly issued a shoot- at-sight order to the police in November 2008.

    They also alleged that the state police command, acting on the governor’s orders, killed about 750 Muslims during the 2008 crises.

    However, the ICJ after lengthy investigations declared that the appellants have failed to proof their allegations.

    Responding to questions from journalists on Wednesday, the Plateau State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Adward Pwajok, said, “The ICJ has vindicated Plateau State government and the governor of all allegations.”

    He said, “The state government was dragged before the court for genocide, ethnic cleansing and mass killing. The case was instituted by aggrieved parties in 2009.

    “When the case was instituted, the state government did not wait to be invited. We went there to respond to the case almost immediately. We then left the court to conduct its own investigations.

    “Apart from the court, there are several civil society organizations across the globe that also conducted independent investigations into the allegations. But at the end of the day, none of them, including the court has any fact that could link the governor to the crime.”

     

     

  • Ex-governor Umar seeks investigation into Abuja killings

    Ex-governor Umar seeks investigation into Abuja killings

    A former Military Governor of Kaduna State, Col. Abubakar Dangiwa Umar (rtd), on Wednesday demanded a thorough investigation into the killing of nine migrant workers last Friday in Abuja.

    He also raised six posers for any investigative panel or committee to address.

    Umar, who made his position known in a statement in Abuja, said the nation ought to know if the owner of the affected twin-duplex had been questioned or not.

    The statement said: “The authorities must not look for alibi or some excuse to avoid responding to the public outcry over the massacre of apparently unarmed, homeless people in the Apo area of Abuja last week by officials of the department of state security.

    “It is obvious the public is outraged both by the gruesomeness of the killings as well as the attempt to explain it in ways that could be likened to beggars’ common sense.

    “To show respect for the people, a thorough and transparent investigation must be conducted without further delay.”

    Umar raised six posers for any panel probing the killings.

    He added: “The investigation should find answers to the questions that have been on everyone’s’ lips since Friday: how can an intelligence gathering outfit find itself conducting an internal security operation with little or minimal coordination with the police and the military? What efforts did the SSS make to verify the intelligence they claimed to have received and how much pain did they bear to avoid or minimize casualties? If indeed they had established beyond reasonable doubts that the vagabonds residing in the uncompleted building were members of the dreaded Boko Haram terrorist group, what did they do with the landlord? Did they interrogate him? What weapons have they found? Have they demolished the building?

    “For the armed services, the question whether or not to enquire into last week’s catastrophe goes beyond finding out if someone had gone rogue or abused his powers. They need not be told that such high handed and heinous acts call into question the credibility of the bulletins they have churned out on the long running counter-insurgency operations going on in the country.

    “Armed forces shorn of credibility are a disservice to Nigeria and a subversion of this country’s security administration. If the people of Nigeria are hard put to trust their armed services to protect them, what chances are there that the rest of the world will trust them with actions that truly matter to our security? “

     

  • World Bank President expects China to hit GDP growth target

    China should hit its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth target of 7.5 per cent this year, World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim said on Sunday.

    But he warned that rising interest rates in emerging markets in response to reports that the U.S. is preparing to scale back its quantitative easing (QE) programme show that significant risk remains.

    “The rise in interest rates as a result of the announcement of the tapering of QE has exposed weaknesses in the economies of emerging markets,” he told reporters.

    “Our message is very strong to those emerging markets: think about those weaknesses and begin to move.”

    Several investment banks upgraded near-term forecasts for China’s growth after a run of strong data for August, including factory output and exports, and many now have full-year growth above the government’s official target of 7.5 per cent.

    UBS, Deutsche Bank, CICC and Nomura were among the banks to upgrade their growth forecasts for 2013 after the recent data, and now all have it 7.6 per cent or higher.

    Kim was in Shanghai as part of a four-day tour focusing on expanding collaboration with China on climate change.

    Power consumption in China, the world’s top energy user, is expected to grow more than nine percent this year, faster than the 5.5-per cent growth rate in 2012, the State Electricity Regulatory Commission said in January.

     

  • Senate postpones debate on 2014 MTEF

    Senate postpones debate on 2014 MTEF

    The Senate on Wednesday postponed the debate on the 2014-2016 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP).

    The fiscal document which is considered crucial for the preparation and formulation of the 2014 Appropriation Bill was sent to the Senate last week by President Goodluck Jonathan.

    Before the debate got under way, the lawmakers agreed to mandate its Joint Committees on Finance and Appropriation to study the document with a view of identifying its flaws and strength.

    The committee was also asked to meet with the executive arm of government to correct any identified shortcomings before it could be presented for debate and possible approval.

    The Senator Ahmed Makarfi -led committee was given two weeks to study the document and submit its report for consideration of the Senate.

    The Fiscal Responsibility Act stipulates that the two chambers of the National Assembly should debate and approve the MTEF and FSP before the Appropriation Bill could be presented to the National Assembly.

    Though Senate Leader, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, presented the MTEF and FSP consideration, some Senators prayed the upper chamber to reject it due to alleged flaws.

    Ndoma-Egba noted that among others, the MTEF and FSP is proposing a reduction in the capital expenditure and a rise in the recurrent expenditure which had been pegged at 26 per cent.

    He said that recurrent expenditure is pegged at 74 per cent.

    He said that the reduction in the capital spending for 2014 is a fall out of the government’s projected reduction in revenue in 2014.

     

     

  • Ribadu to Okiro: I did not aspire to be IGP

    Ribadu to Okiro: I did not aspire to be IGP

    A former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, on Wednesday said he did not at anytime aspire to be the Inspector-General of Police while in office.

    He faulted an allegation by a former Inspector-General of Police, Sir Mike Okiro, that he was desperate to use his position as EFCC chairman to be the nation’s police chief.

    Ribadu, who made the clarification in a statement through his spokesman, Mallam Adularia Abdulaziz, insisted that ex-Governor James Ibori was instrumental to Okiro’s appointment as IGP.

    He said an influential former governor from North-Central and a couple of other people helped to facilitate Okiro’s selection by Ibori as IGP.

    The statement said, “Our attention has been drawn to the shameless lies a former Inspector General of Police, Mr. Mike Okiro recklessly spewed to the media yesterday. The cause of Mr. Okiro’s anger, the statement, in a London court, by Mallam Nuhu Ribadu that James Ibori was instrumental to his emergence as the Inspector General of Police (IGP) needs no further equivocation as it was an open secret to everybody in the government circle then.

    “If Okiro is now denying this in public, there is no way he can deny this open secret to a number of people including an influential governor from the North-Central then, and a couple of other people who helped facilitate his selection by Ibori.

    “It was this same shameless method of desperate lobbying that Okiro, a chronic political jobber and sycophant of the first order would use in getting subsequent appointments as Chief Security Officer to the PDP national chairman and later, regrettably, as the chairman of the Police Service Commission.

    “The assertion by Okiro that Ribadu wanted to be the IGP further underlines the former IGP as a perennial peddler of falsehood.

    “The truth is Nuhu Ribadu’s focus then was consolidating on his modest efforts at the EFCC, especially at a time when he was working on high-profile cases, including that of Okiro’s godfather, James Ibori.

    “We therefore challenge Okiro to name those people he called Ribadu’s friends that narrated the fictitious story of Ribadu’s interest in becoming the IGP to him.”

    Contrary to Okiro’s claim, Ribadu said he has evidence to show that an assassination attempt was made on his life.

    He added: “The highest distortion in Okiro’s statement, however, is his attempt to rewrite the well-known and widely documented assassination attempts on the former EFCC chairman, and Okiro’s hands in it all.

    “It is ridiculous that Okiro is now desperately trying to paint himself in another colour after all the scheming he orchestrated. It beats our imagination that Okiro would want a Nuhu Ribadu he was fighting to destroy to report those incidences to him. It would have been a case of having a culprit to be a judge in his own case.

    “At the time, the trio of Michael Aondoakaa, the former Attorney General of the Federation, Okiro and Mrs. Farida Waziri, the former EFCC chairman, had created a hell out of the world for Ribadu. The only sensible thing to do was to avoid these characters and seek solace somewhere else. This notwithstanding, it is a blatant lie that Okiro telephoned Ribadu ‘several times’ but that he did not answer his calls.”

     

  • Nigerian dies on U.S- bound flight

    United Airlines, the Houston based carrier on Wednesday confirmed the death of a Nigerian onboard its flight that originated from the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.

    The airline did not give details of how the Nigerian died, but said the deceased was found on its flight 143 on arrival Monday.

    United Airlines said it is assisting the passenger’s family with their needs.

    In an electronic mail to The Nation, United Airlines said: “Medical personnel in Houston met United flight 143 from Lagos, Nigeria upon arrival Monday due to a deceased passenger on board. We are assisting the passenger’s family with their needs.”

    Meanwhile, investigations revealed that Houston police personnel are awaiting autopsy results on the deceased.

    The male passenger, aged 67 died on board a United Airlines flight.

    According to HPD Homicide Division Senior Police Officer, M. Miller, patrol officers responded to a deceased male who was on board the United Airlines flight #143 arriving from Lagos, Nigeria.

    Miller said: “Further investigation revealed that Mr. Igwedike passed away shortly after the flight departed from Nigeria.

    “The flight was then rerouted to Dakar, Senegal. After refuelling, authorities in Senegal rerouted the flight to Houston.”

    The investigation is pending Igwedike’s cause of death, says Miller.

    The normal time for the direct flight between Lagos and Houston, Texas is about 13 hours but the plane was diverted to the capital of Senegal ostensibly to administer further medical treatment on late Igwedike.

    The Nation gathered that Nigerian aviation authorities are collaborating with the airline to investigate the circumstances leading to the death of the passenger.