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  • Zuma urges South African businessmen to invest in Bayelsa

    Zuma urges South African businessmen to invest in Bayelsa

    South African President Jacob Zuma has again praised Governor Henry Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State for enthroning probity and accountability in governance. He also eulogised him for investing in infrastructure and urged investors in South Africa to take advantage of the conducive business environment provided by Governor Dickson by investing in the state.

    The President expressed the willingness of the South African government to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Infrastructure Development Cooperation (IDC) of South Africa next month on capacity building.

    While relishing the bond between Governor Dickson and Bayelsans, President Zuma enjoined the governor to sustain his love for his people because, according to him, “a politician must always be in touch with his people because politics starts and ends with them.” He promised to visit Bayelsa State next year.

    President Zuma spoke last Friday in Pretoria when Governor Dickson visited him. The governor was in South Africa to interact with top investors and sign letters of cooperation with Naidoo and Associates Consulting Engineers and Construction Management Company and the Black Business Council, which represents the 5th African Black Business Community.

    The governor also inspected the Bayelsa Development Corporation office billed to be inaugurated in January.

    Governor Dickson thanked President Zuma for offering credible leadership to South Africans and Africa in general and conveyed the greetings of President Goodluck Jonathan to him.

    He told his host that he is emulating his party, the African National Congress (ANC), by running Bayelsa State from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) headquarters in Yenagoa at least once in every month. The governor advised African leaders to go beyond ‘‘political integration to integrate our people economically because it is when we build a strong economic base for them that we can put food on their tables.’’

    After the visit, the governor and his team hosted the mega Investment Forum at the Hilton Hotel in Johannesburg where the potentials of the glory of all lands were laid bare.

    Dickson went down memory lane on why it is crucial for his state to partner South Africa and assured investors of having a return for their money.

    He announced an insurance cover for investors and their investments in the state.

    The governor said his state is safe and waiting to be tapped.

    He said he has enthroned a paradigm shift in the state through probity and accountability. A development, he stressed, has won the confidence of the international community, thereby attracting investors from the West to Bayelsa.

    Dickson said the South African investors still have crucial roles to play in his state, because according to him, ‘‘we want to integrate Africa economically and build African economy with Africans as drivers.’’

    Besides being the highest producer of oil and gas in the country, the governor told his audience that the state offers a variety of investment opportunities in nine sectors such as agriculture, energy, fisheries, infrastructure, manufacturing, research, solid minerals, tourism, transportation and many more.

    The governor said: ‘‘We have a mandate of our people, which is firmly anchored on restoration and development of Bayelsans. To effectively do these, we must diversify our economy to be agro- business and tourism based. Luckily, the land and climate in Bayelsa State support tourism and the cultivation of both food and cash crops, which include oil palm, rice, plantation, banana, yams, coco yam, cocoa, sweet potatoes, pineapple, cassava, sugar cane, coconut and many others.’’

    The South African Government was represented by the First Lady, Mrs. Nompumelo Ntuli Zuma and the South African Deputy Minister of Economic Planning, Prof. Elizabeth Thabelth Mukezi. The organised private sector, top business men and investors drawn from South Africa, Nigeria and other Southern African countries participated in the forum. Prominent among them were Mr. Bart Dorrestein, the Chairman, Legacy Group Holding, owners of Michelangelo Towers, Davinci Hotel, Raphael Apartment Suites, Michelangelo Hotels and Nelson Mandela Square. Others are Mr. Bongani Maseko, the Managing Director, Airport Company of South Africa, owners of all the airports in South Africa, operators of international airports in Bombay (India) and Sao Paulo (Brazil) and Mr. Thulani Gcabashe, CEO of Built Africa, a leading Energy/Power company.

    The investment forum was rounded off with a dinner featuring an American international gospel singer, Dr. Jaunita Bynum.

  • Ikuforiji: Ondo poll result is no setback

    Ikuforiji: Ondo poll result is no setback

    The Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly Adeyemi Ikuforiji has said that the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) made a progress with the outcome of the Ondo State governorship election.

    He spoke at the weekend with reporters after the Eid-el-Kabir prayer at the 1st Epe Praying Ground, Oke-Balogun, Epe.

    Ikuforiji said if the ACN could come from nowhere, as its presence was not visible about a year ago, to record a strong presence in the poll, it was an achievement for the party.

    He said: “A year ago, ACN was not on ground in Ondo State. The battle then was between the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party (LP). But today, after a few weeks of campaign, the party has proved that it is a force to reckon with. The result of the election has shown that we can get to any state and make our presence felt in a few days. That was what happened in Ondo State.

    “Check and see what has happened there. If an incumbent governor could only poll twice the votes we polled, it leaves much to be desired because the LP candidate, Olusegun Mimiko, has been the governor for over three years.”

    According to the speaker, the result shows that Mimiko is not acceptable to the people. “That was why they did not come out en masse to vote for him like what happened to Governor Babatunde Fashola in Lagos State and Governor Adams Oshiomhole in Edo State.

    “Look at the stories of the ACN governors. In Lagos, Governor Fashola won his re-election with about 82 per cent. The same thing happened in Edo State. This shows that ACN is a party that works for the people. The electorate will come out en masse and vote for a governor that has worked.

    “The truth is, LP did not win that election if you look at it critically. If an incumbent governor could not poll 50 per cent in an election, I don’t see that as a victory,” Ikuforiji stressed.

    He also said his party has not suffered any setback in the loss of the Ikoyi/Obalende local government chairmanship to the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Babajide Obanikoro, at the election petition tribunal, because the court process is still on.

    “Let me correct an impression. Losing an election through a tribunal is an incomplete process. There is still a procedure in place. Until the final judgment is declared at the appeal, you cannot say we have suffered a setback. The chairman of Ikoyi/Obalende Council is still the boss until the matter is determined by the court,” Ikuforiji said.

  • Minister solicits partnership between Fed Govt, states on water supply

    Minister solicits partnership between Fed Govt, states on water supply

    The Minister of Water Resources, Mrs. Sarah Reng Ochekpe, has called for a partnership between the federal, state and local governments in the provision of water.

    She spoke in Jos, the Plateau State capital, when the Committee on Good Governance, led by the Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, inspected the Greater Jos-Bukuru Water Supply Project built by the Plateau State Government in Jos-North Local Government.

    Mrs. Ochekpe said the provision of water to the populace was the responsibility of all tiers of governments, adding that governance was about providing facilities, maintaining them and rehabilitating them whenever they became obsolete.

    “What the Plateau State Government is doing is rehabilitating the treatment plant and reticulating facilities. That is to expand and replace old pipes to get more water to the communities. For us at the federal level, we are excited about what the state government is doing because, to provide potable water to the communities across the country, we must have a strong partnership between the states and the federal government and it is encouraging that the Plateau State Government is coming strong on this,” she said.

    The minister encouraged other states to emulate Plateau by joining hands with the Federal Government to ensure citizens’ access to water.

    She said the project embarked upon by the state was to ensure proper management and supply of adequate water.

    Ochekpe noted that they were laying new pipes to replace the old ones, to prevent loss of water as a result of broken pipes.

    Conducting the team round the project, the Plateau State Commissioner for Water Resources, Idi waziri, said since 1981, there had not been any major repair on the water supply treatment plant until the advent of the present administration.

  • ‘How I escaped being killed over property’

    A middle-aged woman, Princess Hadiza Ibrahim, has told The Nation how she was almost killed by her tenants while recovering one of her properties which she gave out to them on a five-year rent.

    It was in the morning on July 30, when Princess Ibrahim and her daughter staged a peaceful protest at Plot 1678, Karimu Kotun Street , Victoria Island , to alert residents that they were the real owners of the property, contrary to the claim of a car dealer which was then occupying it. Upon arrival, Princess Ibrahim, who had come from Abuja, blocked the entrance to the car shop with a mattress and sat on it with her daughter.

    Although they did not stop anybody from entering the premises of Chariot Motors, the woman and her daughter screamed to whoever cared to listen that the present occupants who were allegedly claiming ownership of the property were fake, noting that she acquired the property from the Federal Government in 1988. She also claimed that she sold part of the property to Africa RE to build its corporate head office in Nigeria .

    However, on September 28, the Manager of the car shop, simply identified as Mr Yekini, had allegedly gone to Princess Ibrahim’s Ibadan, Oyo State home to return the keys of the property and informed her that they had finally moved out of the place.

    She claimed that two days later, she got a call from Yekini, urging her to come and take over the property as it was not good leaving it empty since they had moved out.

    “When I received the call, we got to Lagos about 7:30pm from Ibadan that day. There, we discovered that my tenant had indeed vacated the property and had moved out all their cars except three Tata cars. We took over the property and about 12midnight, we heard knocks on the gate and the security men came to alert me that policemen were around; that they said they got a distress call that armed robbers were operating in the car shop,” she recalled.

    She went on: “I was shocked when I opened my gate. I was scared to see over 20 armed policemen point guns at me. I told them that we were not armed robbers but owners of the property and that I had been having problems recovering it from my tenant who had refused to move out after several quit notices.

    “The police officer who led the team believed me and ordered others to ‘relax.’ That was how I escaped being killed. The policemen from Lion Building, Lagos, said somebody called to inform them that robbery was going on in the building and that was why they came”, she added.

    After investigations, she said they discovered that it was Mr Yekini that called the police to inform them of a robbery at their car shop.

    Ibrahim, who hailed the ‘reformed police’ led by Inspector General (IGP) Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar, noted that were it not that the police had been repackaged, she would have been dead. “Policemen are no longer being used, contrary to the thinking of my tenant; they investigate before they act and that is why I’m still alive.

    Princess Ibrahim told The Nation that owing to her closeness to former Oyo State Governor, Rashidi Ladoja, her tenants had run to him, asking him to plead for forgiveness on their behalf after investigation had shown that they were the ones behind the false robbery alarm.

    She had made copies of the quit notices served the Managing Directors of the car shop on March 1, 2010 and April 2, this year available to The Nation during the July protest. She also submitted a petition of threat to her life dated July 15, to the office of the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubarkar.

    According to her, it was because of IGP’s intervention that the assault incident was charged to court.

    She said her former tenant allegedly confessed that it was a Senior Advocate (SAN), who advised him on the court orders he obtained from a Magistrate and High Courts on which her signature was forged.

  • Bodies were not washed off Delta morgue, says govt

    The Delta State Government yesterday said bodies were not washed off its hospital by floods in Patani.

    Commissioner for Information Chike Ogeah, in a statement, said the report that the morgue at Patani hospital was water logged was incorrect.

    Ogeah said: “Although Patani is one of the areas most affected by floods, its mortuary was never flooded. At the onset of the flood, every public office holder was deployed in their areas of origin by Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan to monitor and coordinate relief efforts.

    “Thus, top officials of the state government and officials of organisations charged with providing relief materials to internally displaced persons maintained a hands-on approach to the management of the flood.

    “Commissioner for Special Duties Timi Tonye, who hails from Patani Local Government Area, has virtually been living in the area since the onset of the floods. He has remained on ground and has been coordinating relief efforts.

    “The report gave the impression that there was a fresh surge of floods in Patani. This is far from the truth. On the contrary, the floods have been receding in the past two weeks and the state government is gearing up for the second phase of the flood management, which is the rebuilding of the affected areas.

    “Tonye, who oversees the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Commission (DESOPADEC), has attested to the fact that the morgue in Patani was never flooded and that services are gradually resuming at the General Hospital.

    “Similarly, Commissioner for Health Joseph Otumara has been actively involved in the management of floods through the provision of requisite medical services in relief camps.

    “At the peak of the floods, no resident complained about the washing away of the bodies in any mortuary. At no time was the premises of the General Hospital, Patani, overrun by flood. The road leading to the hospital and the Doctors’ Quarters were the only areas flooded. The main hospital compound, including the morgue and other critical service areas, were not affected.

    “The mortuary attendant at the hospital, Mr. Kenny Edios, confirmed that the hospital was evacuated due to the flooding of the access road and the Doctors’ Quarters.

    “He affirmed that the mortuary and other major facilities in the hospital remain intact and that the water has been receding in the affected areas, paving the way for the resumption of normal service delivery.

    “Edios said two elderly people, who died at the peak of the flood, were embalmed and deposited at the morgue in Patani General Hospital. He said there were 42 bodies at the morgue before the floods and they are all accounted for.

    “In putting the records straight, we are not suggesting that there are no health challenges in the aftermath of the flood. The health challenges are enormous. We acknowledge the fact that our people have displayed uncommon valour and improvisation as they sought to cope with the ravaging floods.”

  • PDP wants us to fight Okorocha, says Imo Speaker

    Imo State House of Assembly Speaker Benjamin Uwajumogu has said leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state wanted him and other PDP lawmakers to fight Governor Rochas Okorocha.

    The Speaker said the decision to team up with the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) was to ensure stability and good governance in the state.

    He said: “We have to draw a line between politics and governance to give Imo people quality representation, irrespective of party affinity. We entered into an agreement to support this administration to succeed for the people of Imo State. This government is a product of the PDP.”

    Uwajumogu addressed reporters in Owerri, the state capital.

    The Speaker said he is still a card-carrying member of the PDP.

    He added: “I didn’t resign my membership of the PDP. I am still a card-carrying member of the party. Those saying I am no longer a member of the PDP should show my resignation letter. But we have to concentrate on governance. After that, we will return to our parties.”

    The Speaker had defected to APGA on the floor of the House immediately he was sworn in.

    He explained that the current lawmakers do not allow partisan politics to bear on their work or relationship with the Executive.

    According to him, the lawmakers are committed to moving the state forward, irrespective of their party affiliation.

    Uwajumogu noted that the synergy between the Executive and the Legislature was responsible for the success the state has recorded in infrastructure, education and security in the last one year.

    He said: “We are aware that the collaboration between the Assembly and the Executive has attracted widespread criticisms. But we decided to partner the government to rescue the state. This is evident in the number of projects that are ongoing in the state and the ones that have been delivered in the last 17 months.”

    The Speaker attributed the cordial relationship between the Legislature and Executive to the commitment of the administration to the development of the all sectors of the state.

    Uwajumogu said: “The Assembly has no reason to start fighting the governor on the pages of newspapers. We are doing what we are supposed to do. If the Executive is doing well, there will be few conflicts between it and the Legislature. So, the allegation of possible collusion is baseless.”

    The Speaker dismissed claims of a frosty relationship between the lawmakers and the government.

    He described the rumour as the handiwork of the opposition and detractors who want to derail the progress of the state and create rancour between the Legislature and the Executive.

    But the PDP Publicity Secretary, Chief Blyden Amajirionwu, described the Speaker’s claim as false.

    He said: “He is only hungry for power. It is a lie that he is still a member of the PDP. I urge you to discountenance all he has said.”

  • PDP group accuses Folarin of anti-party activities

    A group within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Oyo State, the Synergy Democratic Group, yesterday accused former Senate Leader Teslim Folarin of “serial anti-party activities”.

    The group was reacting to Folarin’s congratulatory message to Ondo State Governor Olusegun Mimiko on his re-election.

    In a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Mr. Diran Majaro, the group said: “Unless a stop is put to the former Senate Leader’s penchant for sitting in a house and defecating in that same house, he would continue to believe that intra-political treachery is a classical example of political behaviour in Nigeria.

    “Our party must put a stop to Folarin’s penchant for anti-party activities. This was what he did in the 2011 elections, when he subverted the PDP’s will by supporting and clandestinely canvassing the candidature of his cousin.

    “Folarin is travelling the same road by congratulating the candidate of a rival party in an election the PDP participated in and lost, and which the party in Ondo State had sworn to contest at the courts.

    “In his congratulatory message, Folarin said performance, rather than political godfatherism, was the determinant of a leader’s relationship with the people.

    “If indeed performance is the deciding factor, we want Folarin to tell the world what he achieved as a PDP Senator for four years and Senate Leader for another four years. Folarin’s stay at the National Assembly was political barrenness.

    “Folarin is praising his friend, Mimiko, while our party and its commendable performance in the Ondo polls are being rubbished by this fair-weather politician.”

    The group urged the party’s national leadership to probe Folarin’s alleged anti-party activities.

  • Traders count losses as Fashola visits site of razed building

    IT was time yesterday for traders at the burnt Euro-Asia plaza in the popular Balogun Market in Lagos Island to count their losses. The six-storey shopping plaza collapsed after it was gutted by fire late Saturday evening.

    Their wares were mostly foot wears.

    They told Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN), who was at the scene to assess the disaster, that they lost all their investments. The fourth and fifth floors housing the traders were razed.

    One of the affected traders, Mr. Olise Damian, told The Nation that the fire started at about 5pm when they were closing for the day. He added that it was just by divine intervention that the occupants of the building that had about 500 shops, including a branch of United Bank of Africa (UBA) survived.

    “I was parking my wares to close for the day when suddenly I heard a noise and people shouting fire. A couple of others and I, quickly rushed out, unlocked the place and used the extinguisher we had, but the fire escalated to the other floor,” Damian said.

    He explained that the fire completely razed all the goods in the fourth and fifth floors before the two floors collapsed.

    The trader said as the fire raged, occupants managed to escape through the stair cases. It was when they were rushing that some of the traders sustained minor injuries, Damian said.

    “We escaped through the stair case, the building has just one stair case and there was no fire or emergency exit,” he said.

    The situation, according to him, could have been salvaged if the emergency agencies, especially the fire service officials had arrived earlier.

    Another trader told the governor that the disaster was a major setback for their businesses considering the fact that it happened when the peak season was approaching.

    “We are not happy because all we had perished yesterday (Saturday) in this fire disaster.”

    Replying, Fashola sympathised with them, noting however, that it was an avoidable incident.

    “I am sorry about this, but the reality is that this was a disaster that was avoidable, judging by the report we got from the fire service that came to rescue the situation.

    “You have to understand that in life, accidents do happen and some of the accidents are caused by what we ourselves do,” he said.

    The governor appealed to the traders to stay off the building for a while in order to enable the authority carry out proper investigation and determine the structural integrity of the property.

    “For now, we have to keep a safe distance from here to ensure your safety and you may not be able to trade here for a few days. We are bringing in structural engineers to access the building after the fire is put out. You can see that the fire is still on,” he said.

    The structural engineers, the governor explained, would access the property and determine its integrity, adding that it is only when it is certified to be free that people would be allowed to go inside.

    He urged them on the need to have insurance policy, saying that risks such as the fire incident can be well managed when businesses have insurance cover.

    Sunday service could not hold yesterday at St Paul’s Church, Breadfruit Street, directly behind the razed building as the area was cordoned off by security personnel to ensure safety.

    Some of the worshippers were turned backed by the security personnel at strategic entrance to ensure that hoodlums did not hijack the situation and loot the stores in the building.

  • Governor’s aides moved to National Hospital

    About 24 hours after Taraba State Governor Danbaba Suntai was flown to Germany for the treatment of the injury he sustained in last Thursday’s plane crash, three of his aides, who were also injured in the crash, were yesterday taken to the National Hospital in Abuja.

    The aides were receiving treatment in Yola, the Adamawa State capital.

    They include Suntai’s Aide de Camp (ADC) Dasat Ilia; Chief Security Officer (CSO) Timo Dagana and the Chief Security Detail O. Jewel.

    The governor’s aides were brought to the hospital from the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, in two ambulances.

    They were accompanied by armed security personnel and a long convoy.

    The three of them were taken to the Accident and Emergency Ward.

    A senior management source at the hospital, who spoke in confidence, confirmed the transfer last night.

  • Osun PDP, ACN disagree on state police

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Osun State have disagreed on the creation of state police.

    The PDP, in a statement by its Director of Media and Strategy, Prince Diran Odeyemi, said Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s call for state police was for political reasons.

    It alleged that the governor wants absolute power.

    The PDP said: “Why is Aregbesola calling for state police? What does he intend to use it for? What is wrong with the existing central police?

    “We urge the Federal Government to be wary of Aregbesola’s antics. He wants absolute power he can use in the next governorship election and this is unacceptable.

    “Aregbesola should learn to believe in people. The Nigerian Police has been in existence for long and we were all part of the system. Even though it may not be perfect, it is better than introducing a state police that will become a tool in the hand of politicians.”

    The ACN faulted the PDP’s reasoning, adding that, after all, Aregbesola is not the only Nigerian or governor agitating for the establishment of state police.

    ACN Publicity Director Kunle Oyatomi, in a statement, said: “Many PDP governors are also agitating for the establishment of state police and there is no ulterior motive behind the agitation as claimed by the PDP.

    “The question we need to ask ourselves is: Does the Nigerian Police, as presently constituted, have the capability to secure Nigeria? If the Nigerian Police had that ability, we would not have security challenges and threat occasioned by the Boko Haram sect.

    “If we are not mistaken, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) had been changed for the third time because of the activities of the Boko Haram sect. The PDP should find something useful to do, instead of engaging in unfounded accusations.

    “Aregbesola is not just singing the songs other people are singing; he is a visionary leader and thinks well for his people. He knows what is good for the people and is doing all within his power and the state’s resources to improve the state.

    “Our aim is to capture the entire Nigeria and improve the lives of the people. The PDP has failed to render good governance.”