The Nation Newspaper

Category: Commentaries

  • Whither Oke-Ogun Polytechnic?

    SIR: May 14, was the day that the news filtered in that the Oyo State House of Assembly (OYHA) passed into law, two executive bills, seeking for the establishment of both The Oke-Ogun Polytechnic, Saki, and Ibarapa Polytechnic, Eruwa. The announcement was greeted with applause from the concerned region. The news that The Polytechnic Ibadan, Saki satellite Campus has been granted autonomy as a full-fledged Polytechnic is now becoming stale and the hope of the people of Oke-Ogun having an autonomous higher institution of their own is becoming forlorn.

    The realities on ground as regards Oke-Ogun Polytechnic  demands that some sort of progress reports should be known. Going by the period of passage of the bill and happenings to this present moment, it seem as if the establishment has been shoved aside. There are considerable  reasons behind this assertion. First is that the current crop of students admitted into The Polytechnic Ibadan, Saki Campus, were admitted under the name of The Polytechnic Ibadan. Another reason is the recently constituted Board for the Technical University of Oyo State. The hope of announcing a similar Board or Committee  for the newly established Polytechnics is not forthcoming and thus further raise doubt about their take-off.

    However, the veracity of establishment of Oke-Ogun Polytechnic is not supposed to be doubtful based on the  broadcast by Governor Abiola Ajimobi, on May29, where he said: “We have upgraded the satellite campuses of the Polytechnic, Ibadan in Saki and Eruwa into full-fledged Polytechnics, so as to open more opportunities of tertiary education to our children…”. Two weeks after, the Oyo State House of Assembly announced its own version of the establishment. Six months after the announcement, there seem to be no corresponding follow up.

    The desire of the state government to “open more opportunities of tertiary education” to the entire state could be achieved by being true to promises made. A simple way to achieve this is to include in the budgetary allocation for the 2014, the needed funds that will cater for listed but yet to be implemented plans – the take-off of the upgraded and full-fledged institutions inclusive. Doing this will clear any form of misgivings that might have been nursed in the minds of those doubtful of government’s sincerity.

    The expectation of the Oke-Ogun region is high on the upgrading of the current Saki satellite campus of The Polytechnic Ibadan. A prompt and rightful action on making the Polytechnic a reality coupled with more dispensing of dividends of democracy to the region will be assuaging the hitherto neglect of Oke-Ogun.

     

    • Adesina Adeyemi

    Saki,Oyo state.

  • Fuss over Abuja-Lokoja contract variation

    Last month, the Minister of Works, Arc. Mike Onolememen appeared before the Senate ad hoc Committee on the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P). He was summoned to shed light on the revision of the contract sum for the Abuja-Abaji–Lokoja highway, from the initial N42 billion in 2006, to N116 billion in 2011. Since the hearings, imaginations have run wild.

    Ordinarily, the basis for the indignation that oozes from these opinions is understandable, against the backdrop of public concern about accountability and judicious application of our commonwealth. But those who have expressed negative views on the issue are barking up the wrong tree, as a forensic examination of the subject matter of their outrage will reveal just how misguided and misleading the comments have been.

    In fulfilment of the federal government’s promise to dualise all roads leading to Abuja, contracts for the dualisation of the Abuja-Abaji-Lokoja road were awarded in four sections to four construction companies in 2006. The contractors are: Dantata & Sawoe, RCC, Bulletine, and Gitto Construzioni. The length of the road is 196km and the scope of works of the original contract involved the construction of a new carriageway only, which is to run parallel to the existing carriageway, so that it becomes a dual carriageway on completion.

    The completion period was 30 months. However, by May 2011, that is five years after the award, the projects had attained only about 38 per cent completion. Nigerians plying the road can attest to this, because of the frequency of carnage then, and excruciating loss of man-hours as a result of traffic jams, especially during festive periods.

    Several factors were responsible for the non-delivery of the project on schedule. The most obvious of these was the grossly inadequate budgetary provision.  In five financial years (2006 – 2010), the total budgetary provisions for the Abuja-Abaji-Lokoja road project was N26.63 billion, representing 62.6 per cent of the total contract sum of N42.55 billion. Indeed, in 2006 and 2008, there were no budgetary provisions at all. While the project was starved of funds, the basic costs of construction materials such as cement, steel, bitumen, diesel, and cost of labour skyrocketed, owing to inflation and the implementation of the new National Minimum Wage. In the circumstance, the unit rates of the contracts became obsolete.

    Furthermore, the contractors encountered serious technical, geological and ecological challenges, including very unstable sub-soil, fine white chalk, clay and black cotton soils, high water table, crop outgrowths, and rock formations. This necessitated the contractors requesting for a review of the rates. In a sense, these challenges were traceable to the haste with the contract was awarded in 2006, because enough time and attention was not devoted to detailed planning, as well as detailed geo-technical and soil investigations. Indeed, some of the sections which the contractors had completed within the 38 per cent bracket in five years had begun to fail.

    It bears repeating that the original contract was for one carriageway only. There was no consideration whatsoever for the existing carriageway. However, with increased vehicular traffic and much heavier axial load, the existing carriageway began to deteriorate rapidly by 2008. So, the country was faced with little progress on the new contract, and a failed carriageway on the existing road.

    In November 2010, the Federal Ministry of Works constituted a technical committee made up of ministry officials and representatives of the contractors, to undertake a comprehensive appraisal of the road project, and recommend measures to facilitate its completion.  The committee submitted its report in January 2011. Key among the recommendations of the committee were the provision of adequate drainages on the new carriageway; and improving the existing carriageway by complete rehabilitation, where necessary. The committee also recommended the review of the contract sums to cater for the existence of extensive unsuitable soils and review of obsolete unit rates.

    Upon further consideration of the report and recommendations therein, including new costs, the Federal Ministry of Works forwarded the full reports to the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) on July 26, 2011. The BPP reviewed the submissions and issued certificates of “No Objection” for the new cost, which totalled N116 billion. Memoranda were subsequently prepared and tabled before the Federal Executive Council, which approved the contracts at its meetings of September 28, 2011, and November 23, 2011.

    Contrary to some of the views being bandied, there is nothing “mysterious” about the variation of the contract sum from N42 billion to N116 billion. A mystery is inferable where there is no identifiable basis. Besides, the impression being created is that the variation in the contract sum is a 24-carat discovery by a Senate Ad Hoc Committee that is exposing cobwebs. To uncover implies some wrong-doing that was previously hidden from the relevant authorities, or those who should know.  As stated above, the variation was approved, first, by BPP, and then tabled before the Federal Executive Council, which considered and passed the memoranda. It is elementary that conclusions of FEC meetings are not shrouded in “mystery”.

    What is perhaps little appreciated is that the revision of the cost of the construction of the Abuja-Abaji-Lokoja dual carriageway is, in fact, a new contract, the scope of works of the earlier contract having been enlarged considerably. If the present administration, which inherited the virtually comatose project, had merely been content with the completion of the road contract as initially conceived, there is little doubt that, editorialists, public affairs commentators, and other well-meaning Nigerians would cry shrilly over why the government did not deem it fit and proper to deliver a truly brand new expressway, by not only constructing a new carriageway, but reconstructing the existing carriageway, which had begun to fail by 2008.

    It is obvious, therefore, that rather than jeopardise the national interest, the variation in the contract for the carriageway (through the expanded scope of works) is squarely in the national interest. What is even more significant is the value that is accruing on account of the new template for the dual carriageway project. Whereas the Jonathan administration inherited the project at about 17 per cent completion (that is, if evaluated on the basis of the new scope), today the job (including the expanded scope of works) is 70 per cent completed, with firm assurances that the project would be fully delivered in 2014. This calls for commendation, rather than condemnation under the guise of seeking probity in public contracting, an issue that, on a sober examination, is decidedly not at stake in the project.

     

    • kpasaja is Special Assistant (Media) to the Minister of Works.

     

  • Assessing Lagos’ investment in education

    South African legend, Nelson Mandela, just passed on, once described education as the ‘greatest engine for personal development through which the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor while the son of a mineworker can become the head of a mine and a child of a farm-worker can become the president of a great nation’. Education has been part of the human society from the very beginning and human societies throughout the ages have had vested interests in education. In fact it would not be an exaggeration to say that without education, in this modern day, most societies would find it difficult to survive.

    It is therefore a well established fact that good and well structured educational system is one of the vital factors in the socio-economic development of any nation. The educational sector is so germane to the development of any society to the extent that the level of education of any particular society mirrors its level of prosperity. It is for this reason and many others that every responsible government always place education on the priority list and also devotes a good chunk of its available resources to the development of its educational sector.

    In a state like Lagos, with a burgeoning population in excess of 20 million for instance, it is more challenging ensuring that its citizenry have good education in the best possible environment. Despite these seeming challenges, the state has continued to trudge on its responsibility of delivering a well educated citizenry. As at January 2011, the state had 1,045 schools with 466,201 pupils and 16,351 teachers in its primary education sector, while there are 317 junior secondary schools, 326,171 students and 9,215 teachers in the junior secondary schools. The figure for the junior secondary schools include the 12 established by the current administration in developing areas of the state or communities with growing population which hitherto had no such schools. The senior secondary schools consist of 319 schools, 322,242 students and 9,625 teachers.

    The focus of the Fashola administration in the educational sector include the rehabilitation and construction of classroom blocks, enhancing pupils performance and learning outcomes, human capital development and recruitment, quality assurance and standards and educational planning and management. Recently, the government recruited 10, 000 teachers to bridge the shortage of tutors especially in special subjects such as English, Mathematics and the core sciences.

    The state, in the last six years, has built 5,204 new classrooms to cater for the growing student population which has increased over the years to 1,198,624 (578,504 in primary and 620,120 in secondary schools). All these are housed in the 664 schools spread across the state.

    The state also rehabilitated 6,666 classrooms within the period, provided 197 schools with science laboratory, built ICT laboratory in 120 schools, supplied 212 schools with science materials and installed intro-tech laboratories in 73 schools. Also, 1,409,476 textbooks were distributed freely to students while 387,133furniture were provided to students to make them learn in conducive environments.

    Similarly, the government introduced a novel Lagos Eko project, an intervention programme with which it has fast-tracked the development of schools and training of teachers in order to improve learning outcomes in all junior and senior secondary schools.

    The Fashola administration continues to pay the WAEC examination fees of students in public secondary schools in addition to distributing free text books to pupils and students in public schools. In each session, a pupil/student receives at least five text books in the core subjects such as Mathematics, English Language, Biology, Economics and Computer Studies, to enhance their performance in their studies. This has impacted on enrolment in Lagos schools.

    Another major initiative of the administration to ensure the mental fitness and preparedness of the students is the restoration of uniformed clubs and societies in all public primary and secondary schools with a view to reawakening of values and leadership traits in them as in the days of old. Free uniforms were given to all pupils/students members as well as their teachers.

    With the reality that reading culture is fast dying in the society and indeed among the students, the state government upgraded all the major public libraries across the state. In line with modern trends and with a view to delivering prompt and efficient services, all these libraries are currently being automated. When completed, users will be able to access them on line with the new On-line Public Access Catalogue (OPAC). It should be stated that two of the libraries, Herbert Macaulay and the Old Secretariat are now internet-compliant.

    The Fashola administration has also continued to give out bursary to deserving students annually. While scholarships are awarded locally and internationally to indigenes with exceptional academic performances, bursaries are given to indigenes in local tertiary institutions. In 2008, 513 students of the state origin in various institutions of higher learning that scored 4.0 aggregate and above were awarded local scholarships to the tune of N143, 819,772. The operations of the state Scholarship Board have been fully automated and all applications for the board facilities are applied on line. This has also enabled the board commence e-payment of awards to beneficiaries with the support of one of the new generation banks. This has eliminated the difficulties usually experienced by students in converting cheques to cash in the past.

    Mass education has also been taken to greater heights by the Fashola administration. The agency for mass education in the state has continued to, among others, increase awareness on the importance of literacy, among the citizens, provide functional literacy education, functional and remedial education for school dropouts. With the support of UNDP and UNICEF, the agency has 1,084 centres across the state and has so far graduated 47,226 from its adult literacy programme. Some of them are also attending the NTI Distance Learning Programme in order to become teachers. The Programme has also gained grounds, especially in mechanic villages in the state.

    The world is now a global village and learning and communicating in other languages is now in vogue. To this end, government has built and equipped six multi-lingual laboratories in each of the six educational districts for the teaching and learning of foreign languages such as French, Arabic and Mandarin.

    The initiatives of the administration have gradually been impacting positively on the sector. For one, the volume of jobs given out in the education sector of the state for the renovation and construction of classroom blocks, provision of teachers and pupils furniture has created several job opportunities. Also, the gradual but steady construction, provision and rehabilitation of schools and other educational infrastructure is gradually but steadily restoring confidence in public schools as shown in the higher enrolment figures in these schools either through transfers or new admissions into them. This increase is also noticed through higher cost of conducting the Unified Test/Examinations in public schools. Equally, through the reports of the Policy, Planning, Research and Statistics Unit in the Education Districts and SUBEB, steady improvement in pupils’ performance at examinations has been noticed.

    • Ogunmosunle writes from Ikeja, Lagos

  • Mandela: We can eulogise our own

    SIR: So, I just read US President, Barack Obama’s tribute to Mandela and seriously? I have to laugh. The same capitalism that jailed Mandela? The same imperialism brought by Rhodes that Mandela spent half of his productive life fighting?

    The same America that called Mandela a terrorist for taking up arms against the apartheid regime and inciting young South-Africans to do so?

    The same America that put Mandela’s name on US’s terror list until 2008? The same America that continued to harass him for saying he’s a socialist?

    Enough already!

    Tired of all the hypocrisy. The same President Obama has refused all calls from the international community to apologise to Africans for the crimes committed against them. Twenty-seven wasted years of Mandela’s life and there’s no apology and you just waltz in after death to eulogise him?

    I say save your eulogies, we can eulogise our own. Until America apologises to Africa for all the crimes committed from the days of slavery to the days of murdering our leaders in the name of ‘installing democracy’, we say save your eulogies, we can eulogise our own.

     

    • Ogunjimi James Taiwo,

    Lagos

     

  • Health professionals and NAFDAC’s boss, Orhii

    Health professionals and NAFDAC’s boss, Orhii

    Should President Goodluck Jonathan cut short the tenure of NAFDAC Director-General? Health professionals believe it is the wise thing to do.

    Dr. Paul Orhii’s tenure as Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) no doubt has attracted a swirl of controversies. The controversies appear not to let up. It’s all about what the statute books say are the qualifying credentials of whoever should occupy the position. The law prescribes the profession of who should be appointed Director-General, something that Orhii’s appointment seemed to undermine.

    Pharmacists in Nigeria believe that the law in question has pencilled down a professional pharmacist as the one that must be appointed Director-General of the agency. Nevertheless, since the position of power and authority in Nigeria could be used even to the subversion of the statutes, it appeared that some four years ago, when Orhii’s kinsman served as the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, the very sleight of the hand became too attractive that he landed the job. The precedent, against the declaration of the statutes, has been the subject of recrimination and professional controversies.

    Indeed, sensing that they were losing grounds professionally and in national relevance with each day that the appointment was sustained, relevant industry professionals have kicked and cried. Inevitably, as the recriminations continued, the administration and delivery of healthcare in the country have faltered steadily. Aggregately, the controversy seems to also be testing the will of the relevant professional group.

    Years ago, following the appointment of Dr. Orhii, a medical doctor and a lawyer from Ushongu Local Council of Benue State, as Director-General of NAFDAC, it seemed that the state had finally nailed the fate of the pharmacists in these matters. Why, for instance, a government would pick a medical doctor and a lawyer to run the affairs of NAFDAC, when the statute books had advised differently, beggars reason.

    Section 9, sub-section 1 of the agency’s establishing statute recommends that: “there shall be appointed for the agency by the President, Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces on the recommendation of the Minister, a Director General who shall be a person with good knowledge of pharmacy, food and drugs.” Is it possible that in Nigeria, a person who so qualifies would altogether not qualify to register as a professional member of the professional association of pharmacists?

    Is it possible, drawing from the precedence, that the Federal Government could one day appoint someone who does not qualify to register as a member of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), the professional association of qualified legal practitioners in Nigeria, as the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice?

    Pharmacists and several other health sector professionals seem equally incensed that successive governments seem to have been sold the lie that only professionals registered with the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), the professional body for qualified and practising medical doctors in Nigeria, can be appointed Ministers of Health, a privilege that seems never extended to other health professionals.

    Pharmacists have repeatedly raised issues on this with both the Minister of Health and the presidency. It has neither yielded a word of contrition nor regrets from the government. Instead, in a clear disrespect of the provisions of fairness as well as the doctrines of the Federal Character, Dr. Orhii’s kinsman, Professor John Ibu from Oju Local Council of Benue State, was earlier in the year appointed chairman of the governing council of NAFDAC. Unlike Orhii, though, Professor Ibu is eminently qualified to chair the board of the governing council.

    A retired academic, Ibu is well respected both in the academic community as well as in his Benue State. A very devout Christian, Ibu has raised his family admirably in the purest traditions of the faith, and his daughter, a medical doctor by training, is today married to the senior pastor of the Dunamis Church, Pastor Enenche.

    With both issues of professional qualification dogging Dr Orhii, and the disrespect of the doctrines of the Federal Character in appointing Professor Ibu from Benue state buffeting the agency, it surely calls for an urgent remedy.

    Orhii, a medical doctor and holder of a degree in law from an American university, has argued that he holds a PhD in Neauropharmacology as a biomedical scientist. He, however, has refrained from stating whether he was qualified to register as a professional member of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, as well as the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria. But clearly knowing where his bread is buttered, Orhii has taken advantage of the ensuing silence from the presidency to mount strong lobby initiatives for his confirmation as Director-General for a second tenure. Members of the pharmacy profession have argued that they have the law on their side.

    There seems to abound in the case both moral and legal issues. Following the position of the statutes, it means that anyone occupying the position of the Director-General of NAFDAC must be assumed to be a practising pharmacist since a “good knowledge of pharmacy” cannot be effective outside its practice. Yet, it beggars reason whether anyone is permitted to practise pharmacy professionally when the person is not qualified to be registered as a professional member of the PSN? Will the authorities in the presidency look carefully at the merits of this issue and in their quiet, silent refrain swiftly serve Orhii a notice of “service no longer required” to permit it to not only correct the anomaly but to also pick a professional who is from outside of Benue State?

    To have kept Orhii at NAFDAC these past four years is a mistake only excusable by the understanding that the government must not be made to lose face. But to stretch his stay in the place beyond one tenure is a grave affront on the rule of law and a disservice to Nigerians. On the legal implications of this, the Attorney-General has a duty to prepare a memo to the presidency on this. Dr. Orhii could, however, be redeployed to some agency that does not create professional misgivings on the overall programmes of government.

     

    •Onubogu is a public relations consultant based in Benin City.

  • Can we trust INEC in 2015?

    The election that took place in Anambra State on the 16th of November 2013 has given Nigerians some concern as regards the capability of INEC to conduct credible elections in Nigeria, come 2015.

    The whole exercise looks as if INEC has not learnt any lesson from previous elections conducted in this country, hence the whole exercise took a new twist as confusion ruled the exercise.

    rians on the coming election schedule to take place in 2015,whether what took place

    When President Goodluck Jonathan was looking for a credible candidate to head the current INEC, he assured Nigerians that the person he would place in the saddle of election in Nigeria would be a person of proven integrity and would deliver the best election that would be acceptable to all Nigerians, but the whole promise has been a disappointment and made Nigerians to lose confidence in the electoral system in the country, which sometimes lead to apathy on the part of Nigerians in taking part in any election.

    The Anambra charade would be a carryover of what we shall see in 2015, because most Nigerians will never believe in anything INEC comes out with in future as regards election in this country. If it’s in another clime, the entire INEC would have resigned their appointment for a credible person to head the commission to the admiration of all Nigerian.

    By Bala Nayashi

    Lokoja

    Kogi State.

  • The task before Epe local government chairman

    Since the election that ushered in local government council executives in Lagos State two years ago, the council managers are expected to perform optimally to the satisfaction of those who elected them into office, but their hopes were dashed because the reverse has been the case, no thanks to bad governance and insensitive leaders.

    The case of Epe Local Government Area of the state is very crucial, unique, pathetic and funnyand backward, when compared with other states created since 1976

    This local government has not seen much development in terms of infrastructural facilities, road network and thus presents the chairman an uphill task of bringing his wealth of experience to bear in the administration of the council.

    The chairman, Mr. Segun Agbaje, needs to embark on massive infrastructural development to make the people of the area very happy and as a result do the council proud in the committee of developed councils in the state.

    Mr. Agbaje should not allow sycophancy; hypocrisy and other anti-progressive issues prevent him from making history and appreciable impact on the lives of the people in the local government area.

    Good a thing, the council is blessed with human, natural and mineral resources that can transform the local government into an enviable height in the development index in the state of the federation.

    What Epe Local Government Council needs, therefore, is a visionary, focused and determined leader that would galvanise the hidden prospect of the local government council for development by providing good road network, functional street light and banish poverty.

    Ademola Orunbon

    17, Ajanosi Street,

    Oke-Posun, Epe

  • Yusufu: Aristocratic rebel @ 82

    Alhaji Mohammed Dikko Yusufu, Nigeria’s third indigenous Inspector General of Police, former presidential aspirant and a blue blood from Kastina State was 82 on November 10. Born of an aristocratic ancestry, by the time he grew into adulthood, after completing Arabic education in Kano, MD (as he is widely known) had been infected with radical idealism, courtesy of Sa’adu Zungur and Mallam Aminu Kano who were both leading members of the Northern Elements Progressive Union (NEPU). He joined NEPU in earnest and rose through the ranks to become its secretary in Katsina provinces. This radical opposition to entrenched privileges was to define his early life. But he was saved from further radicalism when he was thrust into the Northern Nigerian civil service, where his left-wing leaning attracted suspicion.

    MD joined the police force in a dramatic manner; he eyed the foreign service of independent Nigeria but ended up in The Nigeria Police Force. He, however, distinguished himself in a career spanning 17 years (1962-1979). He was commissioner of police for Northern Nigeria, head of special branch and eventually the Inspector General of Police from 1975-1979. He retired honourably to his ancestral Katsina home, only to cause a stir by planting conspicuously the flag of the Peoples’ Redemption Party (PRP) in front of his house! PRP was the radical and progressive party formed by the late Mallam Aminu Kano with whom he shared a revolutionary spirit. He later served as the chairman, board of directors, Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), Chairman, Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) and founded a political party, Movement for Democracy and Justice. Perhaps the most daring of his political activities was his presidential ambition which amounted to challenging the late General Sani Abacha. He was eventually sidelined in the scandalous adoption of Abacha as a consensus candidate by the existing parties. However, he gained tremendous goodwill from within and outside Nigeria for his doggedness against tyranny. In spite of his attainment in life, coupled with his aristocratic background, MD remains humble, accessible and respectful.

    Adedeji Nurudeen Badejo.

    Surulere, Lagos State.

    badejo.adedeji@gmail.com

  • Again, this Doctrine of Mischief

    You do not require any especial intellectual facility to discern that there is a straight line between the quality of our leaders and the overall progression of our country. Taken a step further, it will not be far-fetched to conclude that since Independence in 1960, leadership acuity in Nigeria has continued to depreciate with successive governments. Hardball can actually predict and with alarming accuracy the political behavior of the government of the day in the next 18 months. Government has been terribly watered-down and set in a mired template and since nobody seems to be thinking anew, the same methods and approaches are applied by every new government.

    For instance, we can safely wager that in the next six months we shall begin to witness a rash of supporters and endorsers of the Goodluck Jonathan’s second term project. Rallies will be organised in major cities by all sorts of groups – ranging from students, market women and Nollywood stars. Of course, “Jonathan-for-second-term” posters will flood Abuja as if they are but cocoyam leaves and not expensive printed matter. Then you will see traditional rulers from different parts of the country queuing up to visit the President in Aso Rock; it is usually done with so much fanfare and ceremony for effect.

    Worn political chicanery which are dredged up and re-used often in a most noxious manner are too numerous to count. Almost every move of government is tailor-made for the singular purpose of giving the incumbent another life and another day in the sunshine of Aso Rock. We witnessed this as (military) President Ibrahim Babangida twisted and turned in his spirited attempt to remain perpetually in office. The goggled one General Sani Abacha did the same. Remember Abacha badge, Abacha, television and Abacha rice. And of course, the mother of all political subterfuge – the one-million-man march in Abuja; it could be described as the whirlwind that sucked in most of Nigeria’s elite politicians.

    President Olusegun Obasanjo after tasting eight years of sweet power did not hand over without trying not to hand over. He employed a horde of marabout, pushed out a pot of cash, worked the military (third term cars) the media, the National Assembly and party’s axe men. He organised a quick (fake) National Conference and he tried to change the constitution by a sleight of hand using some thug who strutted as a Senator of the Federal Republic.

    Sadly dear reader, we are at that grave juncture of our political lives once again. Why is it that nobody wants to leave power, especially in black Africa? Why do we still suffer the sit-tight disease; why do we covet office so much that we convert it to our personal property and sometimes transmute to a god unto the people? The current man of the moment, Hardball can announce, is hard at work now beating all these worn tracks listed above.

    The Deputy President of the Senate, who is also Chairman of the Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, Ike Ekweremadu, is obviously hard at work on one of the plots to prolong the shelf life of President Goodluck Jonathan in Aso Rock. Recently, he has been harping on the discarded six-year single term proposition. “It could be a win-win situation for everybody. And I believe that the way it could work is, now, people have been elected for four years; let everybody complete the four-year tenure for which he or she is elected. And then through the doctrine of necessity or a kind of jurisprudential approach, do some kind of transition of two years. In which case, those present occupiers like president and state governors, who are completing their tenures, maybe, will do another two years that would end in 2017.”

    Hardball would just dismiss this as self-seeking, low-level thinking that has no basis anywhere. We are not in a crisis; our constitution stipulates an election every four years and an election it shall be. No doctrine of mischief please.

  • Re: What is NNPC hiding?

    SIR: In last four weeks, The Nation has written five editorials, several commentaries, features and stories about the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation NNPC, the latest of which is the editorial of Monday December 2, titled: “What Is NNPC Hiding?”

    In the editorial, The Nation made reference to the report of the Berne Declaration whose allegations are wild, baseless and completely unfounded. It will be recalled that upon the release of that report, NNPC had publicly denounced it and gave a detailed account of how government equity crude is sold. For the benefit of those who did not see that statement, the corporation had stated that it sells government equity crude to oil lifters on annual contract basis.

    The selection process is transparent and competitive and involves the publication of advertisements in both local and international media calling for Applications for Lifting of Nigerian Crude Oil on Contract Basis. That traders lift crude oil according to their contractual agreements applicable to all without exception on Free on Board (FOB) basis and all proceeds are paid directly into designated Central Bank of Nigeria Crude Oil Sales Account. Furthermore Nigerian crude oil is sold at published official selling price (OSP) which in not only benchmarked to the internationally recognized pricing institution – Platts – but is regularly subjected to critical analysis of market fundamentals and price determinants at global level. Since OSP differentials are crude stream determined, it stands to reason that they cannot be manipulated to favour an individual or group of traders as being insinuated. NNPC had also noted that at the moment there are 50 subsisting contracts none of which has a monopoly or exclusive right to lift any quantity of Nigerian crude oil.

    As the editorial noted, the House of Representatives has constituted an ad hoc committee to investigate the allegations in the Berne Report. What we expected The Nation to do was to wait for the outcome of the investigation before indicting the corporation if it is found culpable.

    In a failed attempt to make a case against the NNPC, the editorial claimed that the NNPC failed to remit “$13.9 billion representing the difference between $20.9 billion said to have been realized from oil sales between January and August 2013, as against the $7 billion actually remitted to the Federation Account during the period.’’

    The editorial also alleged that the NNPC routinely defies bodies like the National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee. But this is not true! This is aimed at creating a negative public perception about the corporation. NNPC has honoured invitations by committees of both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Where, due to prior commitments it is unable to go, it has always informed the committees in advance.

    On the alleged differentials in money paid into the Federation Account, what the editorial failed to say was that the figures quoted emanated from the NNPC and were given to members of the House Committee on Petroleum (Upstream) when they came to the NNPC on oversight duties. It might interest Nigerians to know that revenue from crude oil comes from various sources: crude oil sales proceeds, royalty and Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT). These are paid into various accounts of the federation with the Central Bank of Nigeria, by the various agencies responsible for handling oil matters. It is the sum total of all these monies that make up the $20.9 billion. NNPC had explained this process to members of the committee who were satisfied with the explanation.

    Again, since the editorial acknowledged that the House of Representatives has set up a committee to investigate the differentials, we expected The Nation to wait for the findings of the committee.

    Once again, we wish to stress that the NNPC has nothing to hide. The current management of the corporation has been working assiduously to change public misperception about the corporation. And no amount of blackmail would distract it from its objective of making NNPC a global national oil company.

     

    • Adamu Gwazuwang,

    Abuja