European Union commissioners are due to debate proposals that would force quotas for women on corporate boards.
BBC says EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding is in favour of the proposals to make it mandatory for companies to reserve 40 per cent of seats for women.
But several countries, including the United Kingdom, are opposed to it.
The debate comes after the European Parliament criticised the lack of female candidates for the European Central Bank (ECB).
A parliamentary committee – in a resolution passed by 21 votes to 12, with 13 abstentions – called on the European Council to withdraw the candidacy of Luxembourg’s Yves Mersch for the ECB executive board, saying his appointment would mean that the board would be all male up until 2018.
The debate on Ms Reding’s quotas plan is due in Strasbourg on Tuesday.
If there is enough agreement, the proposals will be put to the European Parliament, which could vote to make gender quotas mandatory across the 27 countries in the European Union.
At the moment, less than 15 per cent of board positions in EU member states are currently held by women, according to the Commission.
Ms Reding’s proposals on compulsory numbers of women come after France, Spain, Italy, Iceland and Belgium introduced quota laws. Norway, which is not an EU member, has had a 40 per cent quota since 2003.
Her opponents argue that voluntary targets and increased efforts to change attitudes would be more effective in the long run.
Category: News Update
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EU considers women board quotas
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Jos traders task government on relocation policy
Traders at the new Jos market, on Tuesday, appealed to the Plateau State Government to effect the relocation policy of all street traders to the market.
A cross-section of traders, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria, said the government’s inability to enforce the relocation policy was adversely affecting their businesses.
They alleged that the continuous presence of traders at un-designated areas around terminus and Rwang Pam street areas of the city had prevented customers from patronising them at the new market.
NAN learnt that the new market comprises 3,000 stores for traders and other businesses but less than 400 stores are currently occupied by traders.
NAN reports that most traders prefer to do business around the terminus area as against relocating to the main market.
Mr. Chineye Godwin, a trader at the new market, complained that most traders at the new market were going bankrupt due to low patronage.
He said that most customers preferred to buy at the terminus open market and urged the state government to come to their aid by relocating all traders at the terminus axis to the new market.
“If you notice there are no customers, people are not coming but if the government will pursue people from terminus because it is from there that we came here, but other traders refused to relocate. But we that are obedient came here and we are suffering, the whole money we came here with, all has finished.
“What we are asking the government to do is to help us; ask those people to relocate so that the market will have one face; so that customers will come here,” the trader told NAN.
Mr. Chidebere Nsofor, another trader at the market, told NAN that the relocation of the Terminus motor park to the New Rukuba Road motor park would also improve patronage at the new market.
He appealed to the state government to consider the relocation of the market alongside the motor park in the interest of the law abiding traders at the New Rukuba Road market. -
Amnesty urges Edo to stop execution of prisoners
Amnesty International on Monday appealed to the Edo State government to stop the execution of two condemned prisoners in the state.
The inmates could be executed as early as Tuesday, sources told Amnesty International, prompting the organisation to call for their appeals to be respected and preparations of the gallows to be halted.
The news came three weeks after the Governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole, signed their death warrants.
According to information received by Amnesty International, neither the convicted prisoners nor their families have been informed of the planned date of execution.
“The Nigerian authorities must immediately halt any plans to execute the two prisoners on death row in Benin City prison,” said Lucy Freeman, Amnesty International’s Deputy Programme Director for Africa.
“The inmates are party to an ongoing appeal and the judicial process must be respected.
“To go ahead with any execution of prisoners when their death sentence is still being challenged in the courts is a flagrant violation of human rights.
“Refusing to provide convicted persons and family members advance notice of the date and time of execution is a clear violation of human rights. It is cruel, inhuman and degrading,” Freeman added.
Prison wardens at Benin City prison were seen preparing gallows for the executions between Sunday night and Monday morning.
In a cruel twist, other inmates not on death row were made to wash the gallows this morning, Amnesty said.
A Court of Appeal ruling is still pending after a further appeal was submitted by a Nigerian NGO, the Legal Defence and Assistance Project, in March 2010 on behalf of then 840 death row inmates, including the pair in Benin prison.
An injunction was granted by the court upholding the appeal but it was lifted in April 2012.
The judgment remains pending on a second appeal which was filed by the organisation the same month.
Oshiomhole, according to Amnesty, signed the execution warrants after prison authorities informed him that the death row inmates in Benin City prison were “becoming unmanageable.” -
Why state of origin should be abolished in Nigeria – Mark
Senate President, Senator David Mark, on Monday said that time has come for the country to shift from the syndrome of state of origin and embrace state of residence.
He said that immediate elimination of state of origin and enthronement of state of residence would go a long way to cement relationship in the country.
Mark spoke to journalists in Quebec, Canada, after the opening ceremony of the 127th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly, with the theme “Citizenship, identity, linguistic and cultural diversity in a globalised world.”
He noted that one of the issues that would be addressed at the on-going constitution review is a shift from state of origin to state of residence.
He wondered why a person who has lived in a particular place for 20 years performing all necessary civic responsibilities could not become an indigene of the area.
He said, “You should know that one of the issues we’ve been discussing in Constitution amendment is shift from state of origin to state of residence because it is an important issue.
“You are resident in a place for 20 years and still, they don’t take you as part and parcel of that place.
“I think it’s a difficult task but in my candid opinion, I think if we have an open mind and we approach it from a nationalist perspective, rather than a small, clannish perspective, I think we would get it right.
“Let’s forget the business of state of origin and go to state of residence.
“Once you are resident in a place and you perform your civic responsibilities for the period, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t benefit, provided of course you don’t claim dual residency.
“Some Nigerians may be very clever. They would come from Ondo State and are resident in Benue, when the benefits of Benue are not commensurate with their expectations, they shift to Ondo State.
“We can’t have that. Once you take a particular area, you should just be a part and parcel of that particular state.”
He described the theme of the conference as extremely relevant.
The theme of the conference, he said, is not “just international, it is also national because that is the only way we can domesticate and implement the theme.”
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Eid-el-Kabir: FG declares Thursday, Friday public holidays
The Federal Government has declared Thursday and Friday as public holidays to mark the 2012 Eid el-kabir celebration.
Minister of Interior, Abba Moro, who announced this in Abuja on Monday, called on Nigerians to imbibe and emulate the worthy tenets of Islam as practiced by the holy Prophet Mohammad.
A statement signed by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Interior, Mrs. Daniel Nwaobia, quoted Moro as urging the citizens to pray for peace and prosperity of the nation.
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Boko Haram: My arrested nephew a drug addict – Senator
Senator Khlaifa Ahmad Zannah on Monday disclosed that he knew that his nephew, Shuaibu Bama arrested by the Joint Task Force for allegedly being one of the commanders of the Boko Haram Islamic sect is of a “bad character” and a “drug addict.”
The embattled Senator representing Bornu Central told reporters at a press conference in Abuja that he was not aware that Bama was a Boko Haram member.
He decried the activities of the JTF personnel in Maiduguri, saying all their atrocities are not known by the public.
He blamed the “mixing of politics with security” for the escalating menace of Boko Haram insurgency in the area.
He added that the former governor of the state Ali Modu Sheriff was colluding with the JTF to tarnish his image for political gain.
Zannah said: “I was never told or contacted by anybody that they are looking for Bama. I saw him about six months ago.
“He lives around that area although for the past four months, I have not gone home. I went for an operation outside the country.
“I never knew him (Bama) to be a member of Boko Haram. But I know him to be of a bad character and a drug addict.”
The Senator said he strongly believes that ex-governor Modu Sheriff masterminded the allegation that Bama was arrested in his house.
He said: “I think so because the JTF is taking more directives from him (Modu Sheriff) than anybody in this country.
“Wherever he goes to in Maiduguri, the paraphernalia employed to welcome him cannot be done even to the president.”
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Sheila Solarin for burial in November
The late Sheila Solarin who died at the Babcock University Teaching Hospital, Ilisan, on Sunday would be buried in Ikenne, Ogun State, in two weeks time, her son, Mr. Tunde Solarin has said.
He told The Nation that he is “very proud” to be the son of Sheila, whom he described as a “great woman, teacher and humorous person.”
Sheila, 88, an educationist, would be buried beside her husband, Tai, who died in 1994.
He told our correspondent in Ikenne that the family would deliberate on the burial date, adding that it would most likely take place within the next two weeks.
“The family has not decided yet. But it would likely take place within the next two weeks.
“The date would be publicised as soon the family reached a decision,” Tunde said.
Tunde, who recalled his mother’s last moment on earth, thanked Nigerians and old students of Mayflower School for their support.
He expressed the hope that her life would have a positive influence on people.
He said: “I was there a moment after he passed away. Since I wasn’t there physically at that moment, I can only describe what I saw half an hour before she died.
“She was feverish, trying to speak and the doctors were attending to her. They were trying to stabilize her, she was on electrocardiograph, an heart monitoring machine on one side and the drip was on the other.
“There were a lot of medical equipment around her, the doctors did their utmost to enable her to survive, but the age at which she sustained such a serious injury made their job extremely difficult.
“I want to thank, from the bottom of my heart, the old students and of course the entire country who knew Sheila and those who probably heard of her good work and the memories they will keep in their lives. Hopefully, her life would be of positive influence on as many of them as possible. I feel very proud to be the son of this great woman.”
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NEMA receives 242 Nigerian returnees from Gabon
The National Emergency Management Agency South-south zonal coordinator, Mr. Umesi Emenike, on Monday received 242 Nigerian returnees from the Republic of Gabon.
Speaking while receiving the returnees, Emenike said the returnees voluntarily decided to return home after years of sojourn in that country.
He noted that it was the constitutional mandate of NEMA to “facilitate such nostalgic operation’’ which, according to him, is a demonstration of patriotism.
Emenike explained that the returnees were not repatriated as could be misconceived, but decided to come home after discovering that Gabon was no longer conducive for their businesses.
“Let no one misinterpret this return as repatriation; they were not repatriated but they felt things were not working well there.
“They decided to return home where they would be proud to thrive under any condition because it is their own country,’’ the News Agency of Nigeria quoted the NEMA coordinator as saying at the event.
Emenike confirmed that some of the returnees had been confronted with harsh economic situations and poverty in Gabon, hence they boldly agreed to come home as an escape from hardship.
The zonal coordinator, who disclosed that many of the returnees were from Bayelsa, assured them of adequate care.
He added that they comprised of 80 per cent children and an octogenarian.
One of the returnees, Mr. Layefa Torubeli, who went to Gabon in 1964, said the returnees were subjected to harsh economic situations that compelled them to reason that coming home was the best option.
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Jonathan, governors to hoist flags for Sports festival
President Goodluck Jonathan will hoist the national flag at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos on November 3 as part of activities leading to the 18th National Sports Festival.
The Secretary of the festival’s Main Organising Committee, Alhaji Abba Yola, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria on Monday in Abuja.
NAN reports that the festival is scheduled for the Teslim Balogun Stadium and other venues in Lagos from November 27 to December 9.
The contingent from the Federal Capital Territory and the 36 states of the federation would be participating in the festival, with more than 22,000 athletes and accompanying officials expected to feature.
“President Jonathan, who is also the festival’s Grand Patron, will be the Special Guest at the occasion, tagged “Flag Hoisting Ceremony” and scheduled for the stadium’s Main Bowl, where he will hoist the national flag.
“He will be joined by the governors of the 36 states and the FCT minister, who will all also hoist their states’ flags at the venue.
“This event, the hoisting of flags, is to practically demonstrate the festival as a symbol of oneness and will also serve as an endorsement for the event,’’ Yola said.
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Court strikes out Uba, four others’ bail application
A Federal High Court in Lagos on Monday struck out a bail application filed by Ifeanyi Uba, the Chief Executive Officer, Capital Oil and Gas, and four others charged with N43.29 billion fuel subsidy fraud.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that others charged with Uba are Nsika Usoro, Godfrey Okorie, Chibuzor Ogbuokiri, and Joseph Orji, all employees of the Capital Oil and Gas.
The men, being prosecuted by the Nigeria Police Special Fraud Unit (SFU) before a Tinubu Magistrates’ Court in Lagos, were on October 11 ordered to be remanded in the custody of the SFU for 14 days.
Uba and the others were charged with economic sabotage, obtaining money by false pretences, stealing of N43.291 billion, property of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, money laundering and forgery.
Justice Okon Abang, in his ruling described the application as incompetent and defective.
Abang also stated that counsel to the applicant, Mr. Joseph Nwobike (SAN), had failed to inform the court that the applicants were detained on a subsisting order of remand, made by Magistrate Martins Owumi.
He said that this fact was not deposed to by the applicants’ counsel in their affidavit of urgency before the court.
“I have gone through the affidavit filed by the applicants’ counsel, and I find no place where it is stated that there was a subsisting order for remand by the magistrate court.
“I cannot possibly comprehend why the learned SAN has chosen to hide this fact from the court,” he said.
He also stated that although the applicants could bring an application for bail before the court, they could not do so under the Fundamental Human Rights Enforcement Procedure Rules.
“Where bail is refused an applicant at the magistrates’ court, he has the right to bring his application before a higher court, but he has to do so within the confines of the law.
“I cannot make findings on the bail application of the applicants, brought pursuant to the Fundamental Human Rights Enforcement Procedure Rules.
“The applicants cannot use this rule to challenge a subsisting order of court. Whether the magistrate had or exceeded his jurisdiction is entirely a different issue,’’ Abang said.