The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

  • Dangote attributes success to Jonathan’s ‘favourable’ policies

    Dangote attributes success to Jonathan’s ‘favourable’ policies

    Business mogul, Aliko Dangote, on Thursday said his achievements as Africa’s richest man and 25th richest person on earth was due to the favourable policies of President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.

    Dangote spoke on Thursday night in Nairobi when President Jonathan met with the Nigerian community in the East African country.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the meeting was part of the activities lined-up for the three-day visit of President Jonathan to Kenya which began Thursday.

    Dangote, who was on the President’s entourage told the gathering that Jonathan had done a lot to improve business climate in Nigeria.

    He said, “I want to tell you what the President has been doing in Nigeria. He is very humble and may not want to sing about what he has been doing.

    “I will tell you what he has been doing to Nigerians and to some of us who are in business in Nigeria.

    “We are very grateful for some of the policies he has introduced.

    “As you all know, without the good policies of government, there is no way a person like me from the big town like Kano can rise from a humble beginning to become the 25th richest person on earth.

    “Without the policies of Mr. President and also making sure that yes, there is consistency in the policies of government this could not have happened.

    “If Government has bad policies, the whole economy will crumble, and if they have good policies people will be able to prosper, and that is what it is happening now.”

    Dangote also attributed his success story to the reforms carried out by the Federal Government in the banking sector.

     

  • Echiejile dismisses Besiktas switch report

    Echiejile dismisses Besiktas switch report

    Nigeria international left back, Elderson Echiejile, has denied that he has joined Turkish Super League side Besiktas.

    “It’s not true that I have signed for Besiktas. There was no agreement between Braga and Besiktas. I am still a player of Braga,” MTNFootball.com quoted the defender, whose contract at Braga expires in June 2014, as saying on his official website – www.elderson3.com

    Echiejile also denied the transfer on his twitter handle @eldersonech, insisting he is focused on Saturday’s World Cup qualifier against Malawi in Calabar.

    “Please disregard any report that I have signed for besiktas. I’m still a player of sporting braga,” he tweeted.

    “Everything abt a transfer is behind me as I’m focused on Saturday’s match vs Malawi.”

    Interestingly, Besiktas on Thursday unveiled Corinthians of Brazil left back Ramon Motta on a season-long loan deal.

     

  • Dutch liable for Srebrenica deaths – Court

    The Dutch Supreme Court has ruled that the Netherlands was liable for the deaths of three Bosnian Muslim men killed in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, BBC reports.

    The men had been ordered to leave a United Nations compound run by Dutch peacekeeping forces when Bosnian Serb forces overran it.

    The ruling upheld an earlier decision by an appeals court in 2011.

    Considered Europe’s worst massacre since WWII, 7,500 Bosnian Muslim men and boys were killed in the atrocity.

    The case centred on three Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims) who were working for the Dutch force, Dutchbat, during the 1992-1995 Bosnian war.

    They were among thousands who took shelter in the UN compound as Bosnian Serb forces commanded by Gen. Ratko Mladic overran Srebrenica on July 11, 1995.

    Two days later, Dutch peacekeepers forced the Bosniaks out of the compound.

    In 2011, the court ruled that the Dutch troops should not have handed the three men over to Bosnian Serb forces.

    “The (appeals) court decision is upheld,” Judge Floris Bakels said as relatives of the victims broke down in tears and hugged each other.

    The final ruling means that relatives of the victims can now claim compensation from the Dutch state, including former UN interpreter Hasan Nuhanovic, whose father, mother and brother were killed by Bosnian Serb forces.

    BBC says the ruling may have an impact on future UN peacekeeping missions, as states could be reluctant to participate in foreign military operations amid fears of being held responsible for situations that get out of control.

     

     

  • Man rapes teenager to death in Bayelsa

    Otuoke, the university community, in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa, was thrown into mourning on Thursday morning.

    Members of the community woke up to hear reports that a 36-year old man raped an 18-year old teenage girl to death.

    The man, who was said to have been driven by his excessive libido, was identified as a close associate to a former Community Development Chairman.

    It was learnt that the man whose name could not be determined hailed from Isoko in Delta State Local Government Area.

    He was rounded up by an operative of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) who saw him attempting to cast the remains of the girl into a nearby bush.

    But some persons in the community claimed the suspect was trying to assist the girl in his home before she died.

    The Nation gathered that the suspect lives in an uncompleted building across the Otuoke bridge, few meters away from the house of President Goodluck Jonathan.

    Eyewitnesses said the man was apprehended with the naked remains of his victim, claiming that the suspect must have drugged the girl before raping her.

    A source who identified herself as Eunice said the suspect claimed that he met his victim writhing in pains and decided to assist her.

    She said: “We saw the civil defence officer dragging the man and lamenting that the man had raped a teenager to death. We rushed to the scene. The man was begging for understanding.

    “He said he was innocent. He said he met the girl in pains. According to him the girl was frustrated and drank poison and was rolling violently on the ground when he met her.

    “He said attempted to rescue the girl and borrowed N5, 000 to take her to a clinic. On getting to the clinic, he said there was no one on duty and that he took the girl to his house. The girl according to him died in his house later.”

     

     

  • Boko Haram: 91 police families receive N35.7m compensation

    The Assistant Inspector General of Police in-charge of Zone one, David Omojola, on Thursday presented the sum of N35.7 million to 91 families of police officers killed during the Boko Haram insurgency in Kano.

    Omojola said that families who were presented with their cheque were the third batch to receive cash support from the command.

    He said the money which is an insurance coverage for the policemen is meant to alleviate the sufferings of the deceased families and those wounded in the course of their duties.

    He explained that the money should not be seen as compensation for the families, saying no amount of money can bring back those killed in the course of service.

    Omojola said one of the families received one million naira while the least got N100, 000 naira.

     

     

  • Bayelsa denies $250m stake in power company

    Bayelsa denies $250m stake in power company

    The Bayelsa State Government on Thursday denied acquiring $250m stake in a private power distribution company, 4 Power Consortium.

    But the government in a press briefing after its Executive Council meeting in Yenagoa said the state only bought two per cent shares into the power company.

    The Commissioner for Energy, Mr. Ikio Francis, refused to disclose the financial implication of the two per cent investment.

    He said: “The Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) has two per cent in the company. The Bayelsa Electricity Company has two per cent. I only know about two per cent. Anybody who says it amounts to $250m is peddling rumour.”

    Despite prodding by journalist, Ikio held his ground, refusing to disclose the amount.

    The briefing came shortly after opposition accused the government of poor investment decision, wondering how it committed such amount for just two per cent interest.

    Opposition also claimed that the government paid the amount to cover other influential persons in the state who bought shares in the company.

    But Ikio debunked claims that the government paid too much for too little.

    He said: “To say that we don’t have control over the company is wrong. Control over a company depends on your shareholding. I don’t know the sum paid. I will restrain myself from talking about the figure. The records are there.”

    He said the state got involved in the deal as an investor, adding that the people of the star would reap the future benefits of the investment.

    “Our investment is not wasted. There is hope that 4 Power will change the service delivery in the state,” he said.

    Ikio was joined at the briefing by the Commissioner for Information, Deacon Markson Fefegha and the Commissioner for Capital City Development, Mr. Zuwa Konugha.

    Fefegha said that details and records of the transaction were domiciled in the Bayelsa Investment Development Corporation.

     

     

     

  • ASUU misleading Nigerians – Suswam

    ASUU misleading Nigerians – Suswam

    The Governor of Benue State, Gabriel Suswam, on Thursday said members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) are misleading the students and Nigerians on what the Federal Government has done since negotiations began.

    Speaking at the Government House in Makurdi, when he played host to National Union of Benue State Student (NUBESS) on Thursday, the governor stated that the Federal Government has acceded to all the demands of ASUU.

    He advised them to go back to the classes for the sake of Nigerian youths.

    “The federal government has done a lot and I think ASUU should also sacrifice and shift ground as the whole negotiation is becoming political.”

    Suswam, who is leading the federal government negotiation team with ASUU revealed that the sum of N 100 billion has already been distributed for infrastructural development and N30 billion for earned allowance ”

    According to the governor, the criteria for distribution of funds was adopted with ASUU representatives and stated that all projects are to be executed by the universities and their councils.

    He further revealed that the earned allowance is for only federal universities and as such, state universities have no business going on strike.

    He said Benue State University lecturers have been paid their earned allowance.

     

  • Baraje’s faction threatens Tukur with jail

    Baraje’s faction threatens Tukur with jail

     …Says ‘his time is up’

    The Abubakar Kawu Baraje-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party on Thursday said the party’s National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, should realize that “his time is up.”

    It said Tukur’s reign of impunity and lawlessness has ended.

    The faction also said it has mandated its lawyers to press contempt charges against the PDP chairman.

    Also, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of PDP, Chief Tony Anenih, has warned warring factions in the party against provocative statements.

    The Baraje faction, which made its position known in a statement issued by its National Secretary, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, said Tukur threats pointed to “not just impunity but also lawlessness and crass ignorance of the tenets of the law and democratic ethos.”

    It faulted the press conference addressed by Tukur in Abuja on Wednesday where he threatened to sack members of the National Assembly who have declared support for the Baraje faction and arrest its officers.

    The statement said: “We have asked our lawyers to press contempt charges against Tukur because his statement was made in clear contempt of the orders of Lagos High Court which three days ago asked both sides to maintain the status quo. We will ask the court to commit him to jail for his disdain for the law and the judicial system.

    “We have always been saying it that Tukur represents everything that must not be seen in a democratic organization. His statement demonstrates not just impunity but also lawlessness and crass ignorance of the tenets of the law and democratic ethos.

    “Tukur displayed his disdain for law and order with his threat to order the arrest of law abiding persons in a democracy.

    “We ask what powers he has under our laws to make that statement and what gave him the impression that Nigeria has become a police state where impunity reigns and citizens can be arrested at the whim of any power drunk Tzar.

    “Fortunately, our country is a democracy under the rule of law and not under the rule of man. The police and our other security agencies cannot be used to further such agenda as being nurtured in the dictatorial mind of Tukur.

     

     

  • Shagari to RMAFC: Reflect diversity in revenue allocation

    Shagari to RMAFC: Reflect diversity in revenue allocation

    Former president Shehu Shagari has urged the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) to reflect diversity in determining a new revenue allocation formula for the country.

    Shagari made this call in his residence in Sokoto when he received members of the commission who paid him a courtesy call.

    A statement from the RMAFC said the former president stressed that the principles of equity, fairness and justice are the only mechanisms that would take care of the diverse interests of the constituent parts of the country.

    Shagari added that the commission must also strive to come up with an acceptable formula that would be seen by the generality of Nigerians as just in intent and formulation, fair to all in distribution and equitable in application.

    To achieve this, the former president enjoined RMAFC to continue to consult widely across the broad spectrum of the Nigerian society to promote buy-in by all stakeholders.

    In his remarks earlier, the RMAFC chairman told the former leader that the commission is committed to ensuring an all-inclusive process that will ensure the emergence of a just, fair and equitable revenue allocation formula for the country.

     

     

  • Molue banned on Lagos Island

    Molue banned on Lagos Island

    Lagos State Government said that it will no longer allow the operators of 911 buses, popularly known Molue” from plying routes on Lagos Island.

    The General Manager, Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, Mr. Babatunde Edu, disclosed this at a stakeholders’ meeting with the branch chairmen of the Lagos Urban Bus Owners Association of Nigeria (LUBON).

    Edu said the new directive had become effective since August 19, urging operators to comply with it.

    He said no Molue bus should cross any link bridge into the Island, such as Third Mainland, Eko and Carter Brides, as they could no longer operate in the Central Business District.

    He explained that the decision was taken due to government’s determination to ensure adequate monitoring of commercial vehicles’ operations and compliance with traffic rules and regulations

    He said, “Though the Lagos State Government was supposed to have commenced enforcement last month, but being a responsive and responsible government which believes in enlightenment before enforcement, we therefore decided to shift the enforcement to this month,” he said.

    Edu stated that LASTMA had been mandated to ensure strict directive and compliance and impound any such of vehicle that flout the rule after the September 4 deadline.

    He said the buses could however perform their operations in other parts of the state aside the restricted areas.