The Nation Newspaper

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  • Nigeria will remain united, says Maku

    The Minister of Information, Mr Labaran Maku, has said Nigeria would remain united.

    He urged Nigerians in the United States to have absolute faith in the country.

    The minister spoke in New York City while addressing Nigerians during an Independence march.

    He said: “We must have absolute faith in Nigeria and I have seen a lot of faith in some Nigerians here in the United States.

    “ I have seen Nigerians here troop out in their thousands to celebrate our nation’s independence.

    “This is great. This is wonderful and faith is what makes a difference in a nation. If you have faith, you can turn any situation into glory.

    “If you have faith, miracles are possible, if you have faith, development and transformation are possible. So, the most important thing is faith in a nation.’’

    He called on Nigerians around the world to be united and stressed that “diversity is the strength of Nigeria.

    ‘The same way you have diversity as the strength of the United States of America. No great nation is truly monolithic.

    “So, we are many and we are diverse, these are the different resources you can put together for the development of Nigeria.’’

    Maku said it was important for Nigerians to continue to respect the nation’s diversity and love one another across ethnic boundaries and cultures.

    He urged Nigerians in the diaspora to show interest in the development of the country by contributing to the development of the country.

    He said: “Let us benefit from your talents, from your knowledge, from your resources. Those resources should be repatriated to the country of Nigeria. See how Chinese in the diaspora developed China.

    “We expect Nigerians in the diaspora to contribute to our national development and we know that Nigerians are very talented in their professions. They are the leading lights in America and Europe.’’

    The minister also encouraged Nigerians abroad to have faith in the democratic process the saying that “change is slow but change is certain.

    “Every country you see today in Europe, had a very humble beginning, very difficult beginning, some of them more difficult than what we face now.

    “So, every generation builds its own layer on the development of a country. Our country is a very young country; 52 years old.

    “So, I believe that our country has a great future. The problems we face today are changes for the future generations.

    “Even the gaps we have in development are opportunities for investment and contributions to the development of the country.’’

    Maku assured the crowd that the 2015 general elections in Nigeria would be the best and added that bad leaders would not be elected into office.

    The minister, however, assured Nigerians that the Federal Government would soon achieve its goal of regular and uninterrupted electricity supply.

    He said the government was building 10 power plants across the country to stop irregular power supply.

    “It is the priority of the sitting administration in Nigeria to make life bearable for its citizens through the provision of regular power supply, good roads, rural infrastructure and sound education.

    Maku said government would do everything to restore credibility to the education system.

    “The government in Nigeria has passion for education. We want to ensure that every child has a qualitative education.

    “Nigeria is investing in education, especially the primary school education in order to achieve the standard that America has in the area of education,” he said.

    Maku said government had concluded plans to restore national infrastructure, including the railways.

    He said there would be trains travelling between Lagos and Kano states beginning from 2013.

    “ Nigeria will surely be the best economy in Africa by the year 2025,’’ the minister assured

  • Brothers arraigned for assaulting in-law, stealing

    Two brothers have been arraigned before a Yaba Magistrate’s Court, Lagos for allegedly beating their sister’s husband.

    Esonwanne Ikechukwu, 29, and Esonwanne Okechukwu, 25, are standing trial on two-count charge of alleged assault and stealing under Sections 171 and 285(1) of the Criminal Laws of Lagos, 2011.

    Prosecuting Sergeant Philip Osigale told the court that the accused on September 29, around 10:45pm, at 17, Fagbile Street, Surulere, Lagos unlawfully assaulted their in-law, Umeh Obinna, by hitting him with a wood. He said the accused injured the complainant on his left eye and head.

    Osigale said the accused also stole an LG225 phone valued N12, 000 and N120, 000 belonging to their in-law.

    They pleaded not guilty. They alleged that the complainant, who has been married, to their sister for seven years, always battered her.

    Ikechukwu alleged that he had on several occasions, beaten their sister to coma, even when she was seven months pregnant.

    He said they had warned him severally to stop beating her until it got so bad that she had to run home for safety only for him to come back and beg them that it would never happen again.

    He claimed that they had to sign an agreement with him never to touch her again, else they will deal with him, but he continued to beat her.

    Ikechukwu said they had gone to ask him why he beat their mother who came to mediate between him and his wife.

    According to him, Umeh did not give them any good reason for beating their sister and also pushing their mother when she came to his house the following morning to know why they were fighting.

    He said: “Because he could not give us any reason for pushing our mother, we had to beat him because it showed that he does not have respect for our family.

    “My sister was the one who called us about midnight the previous day that he wanted to kill her. She called my father’s phone that he has started beating her again that we should come to her rescue. Then, the following morning, my mother went to their house and he pushed her out.

    “So, my brother and I decided to go and visit him to know what was wrong with him and why he did not keep our agreement but instead of answering us peacefully, he started shouting. That was why we beat him. We did not collect any money or phone from his house.”

    Magistrate, Mrs. A.O. Gbajumo granted the defendants bail in N50, 000 with two sureties each in like sum and adjourned the matter till October 29.

  • Protesters stop Reps at Egbin thermal station

    Members of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Power have escaped been lynched by protesters at the Egbin Power Station, Lagos. The committee was in Egbin as part of its oversight functions.

    The members in company of Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) officials could not inspect the thermal station as residents of its host community protested incessant power outages.

    The protesters, carrying placards with various inscriptions, lamented the non-availability of electricity for weeks and prevented the committee from inspecting the station.

    The protest embarrassed the visiting lawmakers who promised to investigate the matter.

    The Committee Chairman, Hon. Patrick Ikhariale told reporters in Ibadan, Oyo State, when the panel visited the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) that the protest was not targeted at him or the members, but PHCN officials.

    He said efforts were made to educate the protesters that part of their protest was “why we are visiting, but they could not understand.”

    According to him, all what people know is government, whereas every arm which comprises the legislature, executive and judiciary has specific roles.

    Many Nigerians, he said, do not know that legislators have no access to the financial purse, adding that the legislature would only ensure that money budgeted by the executive for projects are judiciously used for the purpose they are appropriated.

    He said the legislators would not relent on their oversight functions to ensure that money meant for particular projects are used accordingly.

    When the protesters prevented members from inspecting projects at Egbin, the panel moved to Ibadan.

  • Governor blames Nigeria’s woes on bad leadership

    Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha yesterday blamed Nigeria’s problems on bad leadership and lack of political will to take critical decisions.

    The governor was the guest lecturer at the University of Nigeria Nsukka’s (UNN’s) Endowment Fund launch/lecture at the Princess Alexandra Auditorium of the university.

    In the lecture titled: Nigeria and the Leadership Question, the governor noted that democracy has failed in Nigeria and other African countries “because it was foolish to adopt American democracy completely without repackaging it in line with the cultures and traditions of the people”.

    Decrying the flawed electoral processes in Nigeria, Okorocha said: “If you conduct good elections in Nigeria, you will see that over 80 per cent of the people in government have no business there. There is so much imposition of leadership in Nigeria and that is why nothing is working. There is nothing wrong with the head but the head of the state.

    “What Nigeria is experiencing now is neo-colonialism. Everyday, our children line up at the American Embassy, looking for what? Why do we say people must pass English language and mathematics before they qualify for admission? That’s another form of neo-colonialism? Why don’t we say people must pass Igbo language?

    “The disease in our country is leadership and until this is solved, we can’t make any head way.”

    UNN Vice-Chancellor Prof. Bartho Okolo said the endowment fund would sustain the growth and development of the institution.

    “By today’s development, the university would be following in the footsteps of legacy institutions all over the world where such capital campaigns exist and are used to fund variety of projects, including infrastructure development, research and scholarship.”

  • Police recover bodies of NNPC men

    Four weeks after their death, the bullet-ridden bodies of three engineers of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) killed by vandals at Arepo, Ogun State, have been recovered by the police.

    Their bodies were found in “two shallow graves” in the Arepo creeks after an intensive search.

    The police were taken to where the bodies were buried by suspects arrested in connection with the engineers’ death.

    The slain NNPC men were deployed to repair a vandalised pipeline in Arepo on September 5, when they were killed.

    The Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) in charge of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Special Task Force, Friday Ibadin, said officers who used speedboats and helicopters to comb the creeks near Arepo dug up the bodies in two shallow graves across a river.

    He told reporters in Lagos yesterday: “We found, in a decomposing state, bullet-ridden bodies of the three victims. We learnt that the body of the local security guard employed by NNPC, Taye, aka Dead Man, was cut into pieces and disposed off.

    “Shortly after the incident, the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, reconstituted the dissolved Anti Vandal team. It became important to get to the root of the incident that led to the death of these NNPC officials. And in the course of investigation, about six suspects were arrested. We gathered from the confession of one of them, Imerepamu Ijebu Joel, that he knew where the NNPC staff were buried.

    “Initially, he took our team to a spot and after several hours, the bodies were not found. At night, the Ijaw boy attempted to dig one spot, but he was stopped by the police who were on guard. And two days later he opened up and agreed to take us to the real spot.

    “It took six hours of sailing to get to the spot. We had 40 heavily armed men, and we took along a pathologist, a coroner, and the medical team from NNPC who eventually identified the bodies. They took us to a place where they claimed they bury non-natives. With the assistance of John Bosco, Peter Opidi, and the suspect Imerepamu Ijebu Joel, we were shown two shallow graves. It was there that we discovered the bodies and they have been deposited at a mortuary.

    “I wish to commend the gallantry of the sector commander, DSP Onaghise Osayande and his team, who dared the dangers of the creek to recover the bodies. Meanwhile, we are carrying out further investigations to see if there was more to the killings than what we had gathered.”

    Fuel shortage set in shortly after the NNPC men’s death. NNPC blamed the shortage on the shutdown of the damaged Arepo’s System 2B pipeline, which carries one third of the nation’s daily fuel needs.

    Acting Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of NNPC, Mr. Fidel Pepple, said the pipeline was evacuating about nine to 11 million litres of fuel from Lagos to Ibadan, Ilorin and the North before it was damaged.

    In March 2008 a pipeline explosion, in the same village, killed the Deputy Area Manager in charge of Maintenance at the Mosimi Depot.

    Three other senior NNPC officials were also severely burnt.

    In June 2009, NNPC’s pipeline in Ilado, a Lagos suburb, also exploded, wounding scores. Eleven boats belonging to the vandals were razed.

  • Dangote donates N430m to flood victims, women in Kogi

    Dangote donates N430m to flood victims, women in Kogi

    Africa’s foremost industrialist and President of Dangote Group of Industries, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, at the weekend donated N430million to victims of floods and women in Kogi State.

    The state is home to Dangote’s Cement factory, said to be one of world’s largest. It also hosts Dangote Academy of Learning and Development, where young local talents are trained to boost the manpower needs of the nation’s industries.

    At a ceremony attended by top government functionaries in Lokoja, the state capital, Dangote said the contribution was administered by his foundation to complement the effort of the government in providing materials to flood victims and resettling them as soon as possible.

    The renowned industrialists said foodstuff and relief materials worth N50million would be donated to the victims and N150million would be given in cash.

    He said N230million would be shared to women at N10,000 each to boost their businesses.

    Dangote said he was touched by the pains of the flood victims, adding that the floods caused the death of some residents and the destruction of property.

    According to him, it may lead to the spread of diseases and epidemics.

    He said: “Obviously, the government alone cannot shoulder this onerous responsibility of bringing relief to the victims. The private sector and public-spirited individuals should join hands with the government to assist the victims of this national disaster that has ravaged about 21 states of the federation.”

    Dangote said his foundation was increasing its philanthropic profile across the world.

    Dangote, who was accompanied by his daughter, Hajia Halima, hailed Governor Idris Wada for quickly taking measures that reduced the suffering of the victims.

    He praised the Federal Government for its intervention through the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), saying the agency dispatched a search and rescue team to Ibaji Local Government Area to rescue victims and donate drugs, clothes and other items.

    With the governor, the philanthropist inspected some of the flooded areas of Lokoja and visited some victims at their temporary camp at St. Luke’s Primary School, Adankolo.

    Wada described the gesture as overwhelming.

    The governor noted that it was the largest donation the state had received for the victims.

    He said the floods were of historical significance to the people because many of them took things for granted.

  • Minority whip urges Efcc to probe N3.38b Edo road contract

    The Minority Whip in the House of Representatives, Samson Osagie has asked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to probe the a ward of the Oben-Omoghun-Nokhua road project in Edo State to Askay Constuction Company Limited.

    Osagie spoke with reporters in Omogun Nokhua in Orhionmwon Local Government after an inspection of the road project.

    He decried the progress of work.

    Osagie said: “The people of this community, Obe, Omoghun Nokhua within Orhiomwon Local Government Council have been shortchanged. I am unable to accept the argument that the weather condition has been largely responsible for the delay in this project.

    “This is one case of inc ompetence. The contractor lacks the capacity in terms of men and machinery to execute such a gigantic project.

    “Don’t forget that the total cost of this project is N3.38 billion and from my record, over N800 million has been paid. From what we have seen today, the job done is not commensurate with the amount that has been paid.

    “I think seriously as the mouthpiece of the locality, that this is a proper case for the anti-corruption agency to look at.

    “I cannot watch the people of my constituency continue to be shortchanged by an unscrupulous contractor, who no has no capacity. It is a clear case lack of capacity.

    “You will agree with me that the soil level and the type of terrain is are friendly, not a difficult terrain. This is an area where you have less than three feet into the ground, you have laterite for the proposed filling and I cannot accept and my people have said it is unacceptable .”

    He said the contract was awarded in November 2009.

    “The initial crisis, not withstanding, they have no justification to tell us that three years after they have not been able to lay asphalt in any part of the 22-kilometre road. It is unacceptable.

    “ I have come here to see things for myself. I have come to look at the project and the progress that has been made so far. I am going to do a comparison with similar projects within my constituency and I will make my recommendations to the House Committee .

    “I will make my complaint to the leadership of the National Assemble, and indeed this construction company, called Askay Nigeria Construction Company must give the people of my constituency value for their money.”

  • Mubi killings: SSS arrest two suspects

    Mubi killings: SSS arrest two suspects

    •Jonathan gets interim report

    President Goodluck Jonathan is in possession of a preliminary security report on the Independence Day anniversary massacre of 40 students in Mubi, Adamawa State.

    The report suggests that the killings might not be unconnected with the Students Union Government election held at the Federal Polytechnic, Mubi on the eve of the attack.

    The State Security Service (SSS) has already arrested two suspects alleged to be the masterminds of the killings.

    A source familiar with the matter said: “From the Interim Report, the SSS has succeeded in arresting two suspects who are strongly alleged to be the masterminds of the killings.

    “The government was also briefed that the killings had a strong link with the outcome of the Students Union Government election at the Federal Polytechnic, Mubi.

    “Some aggrieved students were alleged to have embarked on revenge following the defeat of their candidates.

    “The Interim Report shocked the government because it underscored the level at which our youths have degenerated.”

    But government is not ruling out other clues, sources said.

    One source said: “The Police and other security agencies are working on other factors which could have caused for the genocide.

    “Some suspects have also been arrested by the Police. Their interrogation might provide additional clues to the security challenge in Mubi and those behind it.

    “Also, for such violence to have been perpetrated, it suggests a kind of arms pile up in Mubi. The security agencies and the police are expected to get to the root of how students were involved in gun running.

    “There is a suspicion that the killings might be a spill over of the political situation in Mubi and the state. Security agencies are to probe those behind the violent syndicate operating in the commercial town.

    The probe of the killings also involves remedial steps to be taken to prevent a reoccurrence. “So far, a full-scale investigation is still in progress and the nation will be briefed accordingly.”

     

  • Turn to God, Nigerians charged

    Turn to God, Nigerians charged

    Nigerians have been advised to turn to God for solutions to the various problems bedeviling the nation.

    The National President, United Gospel Churches Association of Nigeria (UGCAN), Rev. (Dr) Priscilla Otuya, made the call during the national regeneration conference tagged “Nigeria! Solution Doth Come” in Lagos.

    Otuya said: “If God is good enough to be consulted during elections, then he should be good enough to be consulted in the open as a nation for solution.”

    She said the challenges of Nigeria are beyond the ordinary and requires extraordinary wisdom.

    Otuya noted that Nigeria is groaning under rising insecurity, poverty and corruption, which are having devastating effect on Nigerians.

    A civic education project was launched during the conference as part of efforts to awaken Nigerians to good governance.

    A leadership Integrity award was also given to Christian leaders and professionals.

    Some of the awardees include the General Overseer, World of Eternal Life and Revival Ministry, Rev Samuel Olutoye, Superintendent of the Apapa District of the Assemblies of God Church, Rev Kola Ogunbola, and Executive Secretary of National Summits Group, Mr. Tony Uranta.

    Other awardees are National Secretary of Middle Belt Forum, Dr John Dara and President of Journalists for Christ (JFC) Lekan Otufodunrin.

  • Enugu teachers decry early retirement

    Enugu teachers decry early retirement

    THE Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Enugu State Wing, has expressed strong dismay over what it described as mass premature retirement of teachers in the state.

    Chairman of NUT in the state, Comrade Chumaife Nze, made the stand of the teachers on the issue known yesterday during the 2012 World Teachers’ Day Celebration held at Okpara Square, Enugu.

    Nze said they felt that the retirement was not only improper but heart breaking. He urged the Enugu state Universal Basic Education to recall without delay those teachers affected by that “obnoxious policy and to put a stop to it.”

    On the 27.5percent Teachers Special Allowance, the NUT boss in the state recalled that for three years now, the union has been requesting for the payment of the remaining 17.5percent of allowance.

    He expressed regrets that the NUT in the state had written several letters/memos requesting for the payment of the remaining percentage but all to no avail.

    Nze, however, said he was confident that the state government would make a positive response to their request , adding that the total amount involved was not compared to what the state government had been doing to keep the masses happy.

    While appreciating government’s effort in recruitment of teachers particularly in the secondary schools, he noted that there was still great dearth of teachers in our schools.

    Governor Sullivan Chime, who was represented by the Commissioner of Education, Dr Simon Otuanya, had commended the teachers over their contributions towards the growth of the society.

    He promised to provide toilet facilities in public schools in the state, including primary and secondary schools.