The Nation Newspaper

Category: News

  • Onaiyekan to Presidency: stop linking opposition with Boko Haram

    Onaiyekan to Presidency: stop linking opposition with Boko Haram

    The Catholic Bishop of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, has urged the Presidency to stop labelling critics of his administration, particularly opposition politicians, as enemies and supporters of the Boko Haram sect.

    Speaking on a radio programme “Face the Nation”, on Rockcity 101.9 FM Abeokuta, Ogun State, the frontline cleric advised those in positions of authority to be tolerant of the opposition.

    He said: “The issue of the politicisation is very serious and dangerous, where the party in government sees anybody who doesn’t agree with them as the Boko Haramist that are out to destroy the nation. What this means is that, if you do not agree with me, or if you are not in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), you don’t love Nigeria… That we disagree in politics doesn’t mean we don’t love our nation. And until we get that out of our heads, not much will move forward.

    “By the way, before I’m misquoted, it’s the same thing from the part of the opposition, who think they are the only ones who love Nigeria and those in the party in government don’t like this country and are destroying our nation. That kind of attitude cannot help us.”

    The former Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) president also said the insecurity in the land is disturbing.

    The cleric expressed disappointment at the Presidency’s information managers.

    He said: “When things are not going well, and if there is anything on which Nigerians are agreed, irrespective of political parties, it is that things are not going well. The only time I’ve heard that everything is perfect was recently on television, on the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), when Okupe was telling HARDTALK that ‘everything in Nigeria is perfect’.

    “He is the only one I’ve heard saying that kind of thing, that the government has done everything perfectly. When he was asked about the girls in the bush, he said: ‘Oh, don’t worry, they will soon come back.’ Who is he deceiving? We all agree that things must change. I’m hoping that the more and more Nigerians will realise that we can’t just sit down and wait for things to change. Worse still, we don’t sit down and say, ‘Only God will save Nigeria’.”

  • Reps may subpoena Health Minister over NMA strike

    Reps may subpoena Health Minister over NMA strike

    •‘NMA’s demands justifiable’

    There were indications yesterday that the House of Representatives may subpoena Health Minister, Prof Onyebuchi Chukwu, to appear before it.

    It was learnt that the minister had been absent from a meeting for the resolution of the crisis in the Health sector, particularly the indefinite nationwide strike of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA).

    Speaker Aminu Tambuwal yesterday warned the minister over his uncompromising stance on the efforts to end the nationwide strike of the NMA.

    The Speaker, who spoke at plenary, expressed disappointment that Chukwu refused to appear before the House Committee on Health, which was mandated to end to the doctors’ strike.

    Tambuwal’s warning followed his meeting with the Chairman of the Health Committee, Ndudi Elemelu.

    The chairman had addressed the House on the challenges the committee was facing in its assignment, including the minister’s absence at peace meetings with the Health sector’s stakeholders.

    The minister, Elemelu said, represented President Goodluck Jonathan at an undisclosed event and location.

    “The information they (the committee members) are giving us on the Minister of Health is not encouraging. I urge that the minister should attend to the invitations of the committee or we will resort to the provisions of the constitution,” Tambuwal said.

    The committee’s efforts to resolve the crisis in the Health sector have been unsuccessful as the Ministries of Health and Finance did not attend the peace meeting.

    The committee, at a meeting earlier in the week, summoned the Ministry of Finance, the Budget Office and the Head of Service of the Federation to be present at yesterday’s meeting to ensure speedy action on NMA’s demand, especially on the controversial Skipping and Relativity.

    Though Labour Minister Emeka Wogu; Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission and a representative of the Head of Service attended yesterday’s parley, the meeting could not continue because of the minister’s and Finance Ministry’s absence.

    “They are not serious,” Elemelu said. “I want to let Nigerians know that the Ministry of Heath is truly not serious in the effort to solve the problem in the Health sector.”

    The committee chairman said it was important for the Health and Finance Ministries and the Budget Office to attend the peace meeting because it would have enabled aspects of funds to be sorted out.

    The NMA said the strike would continue.

    “Of course, it takes two to tango,” NMA President Kayode Obembe said. “There’s no way we can move forward, if the Ministry of Health is not doing its part.

    “All I can say is that as soon as possible, as soon as we get the Ministry to accede to, not even all the demands, but some of the basic minimum of the demands, the strike would be called off. But not until they respond.”

    Lagos State House of Assembly’s Majority Leader Ajibayo Adeyeye has said the demands of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) members, which led to the nationwide strike, are justified.

    Adeyeye, who is a doctor with over 20 years of practice before joining politics, spoke at a weekly programme, organised by the House of Assembly’s correspondents in Alausa, Ikeja.

    He said: “It is very unfortunate that Nigerian doctors are on strike. I am never happy when hospitals are closed in our environment, where an average person cannot afford private health care.” The lawmaker expressed displeasure over what he called “unhealthy rivalry in the Health sector”.

  • Mark: ASUP’s demands are genuine

    Mark: ASUP’s demands are genuine

    Senate President David Mark has said the Federal Government is committed to addressing the challenges in the Education sector.

    Mark spoke yesterday in Abuja when executives of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), led by its President, Dr. Chibuzo Asomuogha, visited him in his office.

    The Senate president noted that ASUP’s demands are genuine.

    He said the biggest investment any government could give its citizens is effective education at all levels.

    A statement by his Chief Press Secretary Paul Mumeh on the visit, quoted Mark as saying the union had a genuine case.

    Mark said: “ASUP’s demands indicate that the union is not selfish. They are requesting for not only their welfare but infrastructural development that would promote learning in the polytechnics.

    “I was delighted when I heard that the union gave room for the new Minister of Education to settle down and look into the demands of the union. This shows some level of understanding.

    “We must continue to dialogue. What we need is to resolve all the issues raised and bring back our students to the class. Polytechnic education is a unique form of education no nation desirous of development can ignore.”

    He said the Senate under his leadership would ensure that normalcy returns to the polytechnics.

    Mark said: “The Senate will continue to do the needful to bring back our students to classes and ensure normalcy returns to the sector.”

    Asomuogha hailed the National Assembly for taking decisive steps to resolve the ASUP strike and return the lecturers to the classroom.

    The union leader urged Mark and the Senate to prevail on the Federal Government to accede to the demands of the union before the expiration of the three-month suspension of the strike.

  • Jonathan pledges $3.5m to stop Ebola spread in West Africa

    Jonathan pledges $3.5m to stop Ebola spread in West Africa

    President Goodluck Jonathan has promised $3.5 million to support governments of West African countries ravaged by the dreaded Ebola virus.

    The move is to contain the spread of the virus.

    The Coordinating Minister for the Economy (CME) and Finance Minister Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala spoke on the financial assistance yesterday in Abuja at the opening session of 34th meeting of the convergence Council of Ministers of Finance and Governors of Central banks of West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ).

    The minister said Jonathan, at a recent ECOWAS meeting in Accra, Ghana, “pledged $3.5 million to support the governments of the region to contain the spread of the Ebola virus”.

    The prevalence of the dreaded virus in some West African countries, especially Guinea, had forced the rescheduling of the meeting from Guinea to Nigeria. Okonjo-Iweala said the Federal Government was of the “belief and prayer that, given the collaborative efforts of the health authorities and the support of the zone’s political leaders, the Ebola outbreak, which led to the rescheduling of the meetings, will be contained and eliminated very soon”.

    The minister said Nigeria’s commitment to the realisation of the goal of a strong monetary and economic union was what swayed the country to host the meeting.

    She warned that Nigeria, as the largest economy in the sub-region, was likely to bear the brunt of any union or lunch that is not based on solid ground.

    Okonjo-Iweala cautioned ECOWAS member-states of the dire consequences of rushing to achieve economic integration.

    The minister advised them “to resist the stampede in the attempt to adhere to a set deadline capable of putting the economies on edge”.

    She said: “Our tax to GDP ratio has fallen below the WAMZ level. After the rebasing, our tax to GDP ratio which was about 20 per cent at the WAMZ level is now 12 per cent. We are already working in order to improve on this particular criterion.”

    Okonjo-Iweala stressed that January 1, 2015 deadline for ECOWAS currency union was not sacrosanct.

    The minister urged member-countries to be guided by the lessons from the European countries, which were hit by the Euro zone crisis.

    She said: “Look at the challenges (Euro zone) faced when some members were not quite ready but still went into the union, when it was apparent that not all of them were in a very solid platform. Consequently, you have seen that when the financial crises came, they were not able to withstand it. So, before you go in, it is very important to get some basic things right. This is because there is nobody chasing us.”

  • Insecurity: Why Fed Govt needs $1b loan, by Omeri

    Insecurity: Why Fed Govt needs $1b loan, by Omeri

    The Coordinator of the National Information Centre (NIC), Mr Mike Omeri, has said the proposed $1 billion loan the Federal Government is seeking will not be handed down to the government in cash.

    Omeri said the loan is an arrangement involving governments.

    He said the arrangement was common among world powers.

    Omeri said: “The loan request is not for the government of Nigeria to go and collect cash. It is a long-term arrangement which most super powers are involve in.

    “This long-term process being put together by the government is to ensure that there is transparency in it. It is used for the purpose it is meant for.”

    The NIC chief allayed the fear that the loan would be misused.

    He said: “It is not just to fight Boko Haram, it is aimed at supporting  the Armed Forces for surveillance and training, among others.

    “It is a long-term facility that could involve government to government processes. I am not sure that any government will give out money to another government so that they could misdirect its usage.”

    Omeri explained that following the successful extradition of the suspected co-mastermind of the April 14 Nyanya, Abuja bomb blast, Aminu Sadiq Ogwuche, to Nigeria, another suspect, Rufai Tsiga, is on Interpol’s watch list.

    The agency chief said the security forces were on the trail of Tsiga and other personalities aiding terrorism in the country.

    “The chief mastermind of Nyanya bomb blast, popularly known as Dr. Tsiga, is still on our watch list. The security forces are on his trail. Whenever we succeed in arresting him, we will make it public, like that of Ogwuche. For now, he remains a wanted person,” he said.

    Responding to questions on when Ogwuche’s trial is likely to begin, Omeri said the suspect would be tried on Nigeria’s laws.

    According to him, where the need arises, other legal processes, which demand international standard, could be applied.

    On the Wednesday’s kidnap of a German national in Adamawa State, Omeri said the act was criminal, distasteful and must be rejected by Nigerians.

    He said the government would investigate the matter and take necessary actions to protect its citizens.

  • ‘NDLEA seized N3.4b illicit drugs in 2013’

    ‘NDLEA seized N3.4b illicit drugs in 2013’

    ational Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Chairman/Chief Executive Ahmadu Giade has expressed concern over the danger increased drug trafficking and abuse pose to the nation.

    He said the agency in 2013 alone seized 339,968 kilogrammes of illicit drugs valued at N3.4 billion.

    The NDLEA chairman said the agency also closed down six methamphetamine production laboratories and arrested 13 suspects in connection with the laboratories.

    This is even as the 2014 World Drug report reveals that about 243 million people between the ages of 15 and 64 used illicit drug in 2012.

    The report also puts the figure of problem drug users at 27 million, with about 12.7 million individuals who injected drugs. Of the  number, 1.7 million are said to be living with the Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV).

    Giade spoke yesterday in Abuja at the dissemination of the 2014 World Drug Report and the 2013 International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) report.

    In his key note address, Giade said drug production, trafficking and abuse were among the biggest security challenges confronting humanity.

    The agency chief called for urgent attention to combat them.

    He stressed that most criminal acts are perpetrated under the influence of drugs.

    Giade said: “Drug production, trafficking and abuse represent one of the biggest security challenges confronting humanity today. The situation is so frightening that an urgent intervention is needed for a guaranteed global peace and development.

    “Drug is a catalyst for crime. Most criminal acts are perpetrated under the influence of drugs.

    “The public need to know that globally an estimated 200,000 people die yearly due to drug abuse. Most of these preventable deaths occur among the youths. It is important to know also that those who die of substance abuse also cut across age, sex, religion and social status.”

  • ECOWAS to abolish residence permit

    ECOWAS to abolish residence permit

    The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Heads of State have approved the abolition of residence permit and the introduction of biometric identity card.

    They also adopted the ECOWAS Common External Tariff (CET), which begins on January 1, 2015, to promote trade exchange and investments within the region.

    The move is expected to form the pillars of the sub-region’s single currency.

    The commission will work with other stakeholders to realise its vision for the people rather than an ECOWAS of states and a single economic space by 2020.

    This was contained in a statement yesterday in Abuja by the President, ECOWAS Commission, Kadre Desire Ouedraogo, at the 34th meeting of the convergence Council of Ministers and Governors of Central Banks of the West African Monetary Zone.

  • Terrorism: Ekweremadu urges Nigerians to be courageous

    Terrorism: Ekweremadu urges Nigerians to be courageous

    Deputy Senate President Senator Ike Ekweremadu yesterday urged Nigerians to be courageous in facing up to the realities of Boko Haram insurgency and other security challenges confronting the country.

    Ekweremadu spoke in Abuja in the maiden lecture/award dinner organised by the Senate Press Corps.

    Speaking on a topic, titled: Courage in the Times of Extreme Danger, the senator noted that “although individuals, groups, and nations face one form of danger or the other once in a while, it becomes most worrisome when it turns extreme or becomes a pattern of life”.

    He regretted that Nigerians are in peculiar times in which terrorism, violent crimes, moral decadence, corruption and impunity in high places were taking their tolls on the nation.

  • 2015: Afe Babalola calls for abolition of bad practices against women

    2015: Afe Babalola calls for abolition of bad practices against women

    legal  icon, Chief Afe Babalola (SAN), has called for the abolition and criminalisation of practices that hinder effective participation of women in politics.

    Babalola spoke in Ibadan, Oyo State, at the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) Week 2014 and “FIDA Nigeria at 50”.

    He said steps should be taken to facilitate the increased participation of women in Nigerian politics.

    Among such steps is a quota system or proportional representation.

    Babalola said: “Contrary to some views, this will not amount to discrimination against men. It must be noted that such quota systems already exist in various aspects of our national life.

    Alternatively, political parties can be encouraged or statutorily required to make representation by women specified proportions of their candidates at elections into certain offices.

    “If the option of encouragement is chosen, such parties may be rewarded with specialised funding to aid some aspects of their activities, including women empowerment.”

  • COEASU suspends strike for three months

    COEASU suspends strike for three months

    the Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) yesterday suspended its seven-month old strike for three months to allow the Federal Government examine its grievances.

    The union said it was suspending the strike from July 21 to give room for negotiation with the government.

    COEASU President Dr. Emmanuel Asagha addressed reporters yestetrday in Abuja at the end of a meeting with the Minister of Education, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau.

    He said: “There are so many factors involved. We have fought a good fight and we have brought ourselves this far. The new minister has exhibited sincere commitment towards the resolution of the lingering issues. We believe that the way he has spoken, with utmost commitment with the fear of God, having emphasised that so seriously in his various speeches, we believe that the issues will be resolved in no time…”