The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Access

  • GES: Kogi women farmers seek access to fertiliser

    Women farmers in Kogi have appealed to the Federal Government to improve on the Growth Enhancement Support (GES) scheme and make fertiliser and other farm inputs more accessible to them.

    Leader of the women farmers drawn from the 21 local government areas of the state , Hajia Hazarat Momoh, made the appeal at the Annual Women Farmers’ Forum held in Lokoja.

    She said the 2013 meeting was facilitated by Actionaid Nigeria and Kogi-based Participation Initiative for Behavioural Change in Development (PIBCID), a non governmental organisation (NGO), in collaboration with the state Ministry of Agriculture.

    Momoh said the women farmers organised themselves into groups to be able to participate in the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) of Federal Government of which the GES is a critical component.

    She said the scheme was designed for the specific purpose of making affordable, agricultural inputs such as fertilisers and hybrid seeds through the e-wallet system, to registered farmers.

    Momoh said the major goal of the GES was to increase yield per hectare for all Nigerian farmers.

    She however expressed concern hat none of her registered members in the state received fertiliser for the 2013 farming season.

    The Director of Women in Agriculture in the Ministry, Mrs Rachael Tokula, commended members of Women-in-Agriculture and Small-Scale Women Farmers Association of Nigeria (SWOFAN) for their commitment to agriculture.

    She advised them to always liaise with the Ministry of Agriculture instead of the Ministry of Women Affairs to pursue their demands.

    After a careful evaluation of the impact of GES scheme on the ATA, the participants identified some areas to be enhanced.

    They listed inadequate awareness, distance between beneficiaries and agro-dealers, communication, time of delivery and quantity of the inputs, among others, as areas to be improved upon.

    In his opening remarks, the Executive Director of PIBCID, Mr Victor Adejoh, said the 2013 forum was aimed at enhancing the involvement of women farmers in the GES scheme.

    Mr Alemeru Olusegun of the GES unit of Federal Ministry of Agriculture assured the women that government was committed to improving on its services.

    The women farmers also elected nine members, three from each of the senatorial districts of the state to serve as link between them and the government.

  • Lagos to restrict access to General Hospitals

    An an effort to promote regular use of its Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs), the Lagos State Government may restrict access to General Hospitals.

    Governor Babatunde Fashola spoke yesterday at the inauguration of Eredo Primary Healthcare Centre in Epe Constituency II.

    Explaining that PHCs have been revitalised to cater for patients’ needs, Fashola said: “Very soon, no doctor will attend to you in the General Hospital except you have a referral note from a primary healthcare centre. What you seek in the United Kingdom (UK) is now here with you, so you do not need to travel long distance anymore.”

    He urged residents to utilise the facility, stressing that it is equipped with facilities and qualified personnel to diagnose several ailments, including hypertension, cancer and diabetes.

    The governor said: “What we seek to achieve is to build a referral healthcare system that moves from a robust and intensive grassroots healthcare, starting from 24-hour service delivery at the various local governments to General Hospitals and to teaching hospitals.

    “This is the only way we can fully integrate, redistribute and optimise our assets. This model has succeeded in every part of the world. We want to replicate it here to make healthcare a local success.”

    He said the Eredo Primary Healthcare Centre is the fifth of the 24-hour Comprehensive PHC Flagship Centre to be inuagurated.

    The others are Iga-Iduguran, Mosan-Okunola, Ajara and Ejire Flagship PHCs.

  • 120 million Nigerians lack access to electricity, says Minister

    120 million Nigerians lack access to electricity, says Minister

    The Minister of State for Power, Zainab Kuchi, has disclosed that about 120 million Nigerians do not have access to electricity.

    She said only about 40 million Nigerians are enjoying power supply.

    She spoke to State House correspondents at the end of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    The Power and Niger Delta Ministries gave their 2012 scorecards on the occasion.

    At the briefing were the Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Elder Godsday Orubebe, Minister of State Niger Delta Affairs, Darius Dickson Ishaku and Information Minister, Labaran Maku.

    According to her, privatisation in the sector would be concluded next month and the Federal Government would focus on commercialisation of the power sector to meet the demands of Nigerians.

    She said: “Privatisation is at its conclusion stage. What we need to focus on is the commercialisation of the power sector, considering where we are and the fact that we are giving power to only 40 million Nigerians. There are 160 million Nigerians and we are only giving power to 40 million of them.

    “What it means is that there are about 120 million Nigerians without electricity.

    “We are looking forward to the energy mix. What we are looking at are ways that will bring in many options. The only way we can power Nigeria, as we have agreed, is to look forward to the Independent Power Projects (IPPs).

    “We keep on saying we shouldn’t allow imperialism. Yes, we want foreign, direct investment, but we also want Nigerians to take ownership. If water sells on the streets, power can sell better because everybody wants power every time.”

    The minister went on: “So if we come together by way of synergy and we are able

    to build consortiums and the IPPs come in to address the issue of power need, it will not only be government

    looking for funds to do this, there is the energy mix we want to come up with. There is solar, wind and hydros.

    “These things are available in form of access to Nigerians. We need to deliver power to Nigerians and the only way to do this is by serious commercialisation.”

    Stressing that power business is more lucrative than the oil business, she said: “There is even more money in power than in petroleum. All you need is a power plant and you will make money. The government has tried. We have all sorts of encouragement. We could go into coal, renewable energy. So we need clusters of the windmill.”

    On the performance of the sector in 2012, she said: “We had our scorecard spread out and we got some congratulatory notes from members of the council. But worthy of note is what we intend to do this year. We want to move the power sector to another level.”

     

     

     

     

  • Council pushes pro bono to aid indigents’ access to justice

    Council pushes pro bono to aid indigents’ access to justice

    CONGESTION has always been a major flow of the prison system. It is worsened by the seeming helplessness of those concerned. This is because past efforts at prison de-congestion have not yielded positive results.

    Today, all the nation’s prisons, built ages ago, are not only devoid of basic facilities, they are over-crowded. Nigerian prison now pass as human destructive facilities as against being reformatory.

    One of the first prisons in the country – the Warri prison – was built in 1805; Azare 1816; Degema 1855 while the newest, Zing was built in 2011.

    Worse still, majority of inmates in these prisons are people, whose guilt has not been established. Some have spent years as awaiting trial inmates for offences that ordinarily, would have attracted months’ sentence.

    By a report of the nation’s prisons audit carried out in 2012 by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and some stakeholders, over 80 per cent of inmates in the nation’s about 234 prisons, are awaiting trial inmates.

    This, no doubt, reflects a failure on the part of the various components of the country’s criminal justice system.

    Aside that police’s investigations are largely crudely conducted, devoid of scientific analysis; but mostly dependent on forced confession, the pace of trial at the nation’s court is mostly, at snail speed. It becomes worse when an accused person is without legal representation.

    It is in this light that the move by the Legal Aid Council (LAC) to encourage a standardised, well-coordinated and documented pro bono (free legal) services in the country, is heart warming.

    LAC Chairman, Bolaji Ayorinde (SAN), explained that his council, working with the new Legal Aid Act 2011, has introduced some radical reforms and designed a new framework to guide its activities till 2015.

    Speaking in Abuja, Ayorinde said: “We are now ready with a working paper to guide the council. It is entitled: Justice for all: The Attorney General’s outlook for the Nigerian Legal Aid Council. It has as its blueprint; ‘partnership, accessibility and sustainability.’ It is meant to guide the council from 2012 to 2015.”

    He said having realised that pro bono, is at the very heart of legal aid, his council has initiated plans to bring on board, the private Bar (private lawyers), to encourage them take up a number of pro bono cases, which LAC recommends. “Lawyers in the country already engage in pro bono services. But this time, we want to regulate the provision of pro bono services. We are setting up a system, in the form of collaboration between the private Bar and the LAC.

    “We have had consultations with the various Bars, individual lawyers and some Senior Advocates of Nigeria. They are all very excited about this prospect and are looking forward to working with us.

    “What we want to do is to properly regulate the provision of this service rather than leaving it to the discretion of the lawyers. The 2011 Act gives LAC the authority to empanel pro bono works for lawyers.

    “Its powers to regulate pro bono is contained in sections 14 and 15 of the Act. We shall be giving out case, we shall regulate and monitor.

    “We have put a system in place, in the form of peer review mechanism. We will not only give out cases, but also monitor the way they are handled.

    “We believe this will help decongest the over populated prisons,” Ayoride said.

    He said his council was planning a conference for September 19 in Lagos as part of its effort to further enlighten the public and other stakeholders about its plans to standardise pro bono practice in the country.

    Ayorinde said the conference, with the theme: “Access to justice: Advancing the frontiers of pro bono,” will serve as a platform for the involvement of all stakeholders in the access to justice and justice delivery systems “to meet with us.” Another member of LAC management board, Adebayo Adelodun (SAN) said his council’s core responsibility is ensuring access to justice by the less privileged, for which pro bono serves as a veritable vehicle.

    “Yes, some lawyers provide free services in some cases. But it is the intention of the council to achieve optimum level in the rendering of free legal services in the country. Today, many senior lawyers are not involved in pro bono. They are the ones, who should be,” Adelodun said. Adelodun, the Chairman, of the Conference Planning Committee, explained that this year’s is designed to build on the gains of the council’s maiden conference held in November last year in Abuja.

    He said the Lagos conference is aimed at sustaining the awareness and interest of the public in the activities of the LAC in its efforts directed at bringing justice closer to the masses of this country. LAC’s Director General, Mrs Joy Bob-Manuel said, more than ever before, the 2011 Act has placed more responsibility on the council to act for thr masses. “It is not enough for lawyers to say they do pro bono. There should be recod. That is why we are empowered under the Act, to empanel and monitor cases where free legal services are rendered. Access to justice is at the heart of the doctrine of rule of law. Poverty should not deprive citizens access to justice, to court and to legal representation,” Mrs Bob-Manuel said

     

  • Re: Access Bank versus Capital Oil

    Re: Access Bank versus Capital Oil

    My attention has been drawn to the commentary in page 19 of The Nation newspaper of Friday, February 1, in regard to the above subject matter.

    The commentary was interesting not for the facts presented, but for the ignorance and or prejudice behind it. The editorial chose to distort facts especially when it stated that; “Justice Abang concurred with Ubah’s counsel, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), who reportedly argued that, in seeking the English court’s freezing order in respect of a matter that happened in Nigeria, the bank “ridiculed the Nigerian judiciary” and demonstrated disrespect for the restraining order issued by the Nigerian court. Olanipekun further described the bank’s London suit as “an attempt to undermine the judicial process in Nigeria. In doing so the arguments of Wole Olanipekun SAN were lumped together in order to achieve the insidious objective of making the judge look bad.

    This reply is intended to correct the erroneous impression that the judge is trying to force Access Bank not to litigate a matter in the UK. Far from it.

    When the matter came up before Honourable Justice Abang on Friday January 25, Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN referred the judge to documents filed by Access Bank before a London High Court, wherein the bank alleged that part of the reasons it avoided instituting an action against Capital Oil and it’s Managing Director, Ifeanyi Ubah in Nigeria was because the Nigerian judiciary was corrupt. Olanipekun said that Access Bank denigrated the Nigerian judiciary as well as dragged its image in the mud in the United Kingdom, as a result of the unfounded allegation against the judiciary. He also informed the court that in two affidavits filed on behalf of Access Bank in the London trial, Access Bank alleged that it decided that its dispute with Capital Oil and Ifeanyi Ubah because should be tried in the UK because of the corruptive influence that could be exerted on the Nigerian judiciary. He then informed the court that the above statement was made by Access Bank at a time it had flagrantly disobeyed the orders of the court.

    Olanipekun submitted that the claim by Access Bank that a person can have “the judiciary in his pocket” is understood to mean that the dispute between them can only be tried in the UK because the Nigerian judiciary was corrupt and could not be trusted to do justice in the matter. The allegation he further stated was intended to paint the entire Nigerian judiciary as so corrupt. He also said that it was contemptuous of Access Bank to suggest that the Nigerian judiciary could be so corruptly influenced by an individual, that Access Bank can ever get justice against such an individual in a Nigerian court. He admitted that while there may be some corrupt judges in Nigeria, the allegation by Access Bank gives the impression that no judge can be found in Nigerian judiciary who has not been corrupted or is capable of escaping the alleged corrupt influence of his clients.

     

    He regretted that the unfounded and unpatriotic allegation that the judiciary in Nigeria was corrupt was deposed to by Andrew James Preston relying on documents and facts presented to him by a Nigerian lawyer working with Access Bank as her Corporate Counsel, Fatai Oladipo and Deji Awodein one of the bank’s Deputy General Managers. Olanipekun then expressed further regret that no Briton would make such unpatriotic allegation against a British judge talk less of the entire British judiciary. In his opinion the allegation by the Bank as well the violations of the orders of the Nigerian court were attempts by Access Bank to undermine the Nigerian judiciary and amounted to criminal contempt of the court. The court was also informed that orders made by the court on two occasions had been violated by the bank.

    It was the above arguments that the trial judge agreed with in holding that by supplying information which scandalized the Nigerian judiciary the bank’s Corporate Counsel, Fatai Oladipo and Deji Awodein one of the bank’s Deputy General Managers were guilty of criminal contempt. The court also held that Access Bank and Coscharis Motors flouted the orders of court made on 12/11/12 and 21/01/13 respectively. It is therefore obvious that the Nigerian court had no grouse per se with Access from suing in a British court. In any case, Access Bank variously obtained orders from the London court ordering Capital Oil and Ubah to discontinue their suit in Nigeria or it would hold them in contempt of its orders. The court threatened to fine, imprison them or to have their assets seized if they disobey the order.

    As if that was not bad enough, the English court held that “any other person who knows of this order and does anything which helps or permits either of the respondents to breach the terms of this order may also be held to be in contempt of court and may be imprisoned, fined or have their assets seized”. We suspect that this may include the Nigerian trial judge, Capital Oil and Ubah’s lawyers led by Wole Olanipekun SAN and even any court official who participates further in the matter.

    One can understand why Justice Abang in a bid to uphold the integrity of the judiciary and the judicial process held that the two Access bank officials were in contempt of court. Access Bank cannot insist on maintaining its action in London and seek to prevent others from doing so in Nigeria and at the same time smear our judiciary in a bid to ride rough-shod over everybody.

    Capital Oil’s main grouse for bringing the action in Nigeria is because the Deed of Guarantee which purportedly vets jurisdiction in the English court violates Section 20 of the Admiralty Jurisdiction Act 1991.The Act clearly provides that “Any agreement by any person or party to any cause, matter or action which seeks to oust the jurisdiction of the Court shall be null and void, if it relates to any admiralty matter falling under this Decree and if (a) the place of performance, execution, delivery, act or default is or takes place in Nigeria ; or (b) any of the parties resides or has resided in Nigeria ; or (c) the payment under the agreement (implied or express) is made or is to be made in Nigeria. Capital Oil and Ubah’s contention therefore is that the provision is void as the admiralty jurisdiction of the Federal High Court includes “any banking or letter of credit transaction involving the importation or exportation of goods to and from Nigeria in a ship or an aircraft, whether the importation is carried out or not and notwithstanding that the transaction is between a bank and its customer”, which is what the debt they guaranteed dealt with.

    These are facts and I so present them for clarity.

     

    • Hayes is spokesman, Capital Oil

     

  • Access Bank campaign ends

    The Divisional Director, Retail Banking Division of Access Bank, Obinna Nwosu, said the ‘Access Early Savers Back to School’ campaign initiative is part of its resolve to promote financial and independence among the younger generation.

    He said it would ensure that children, parents and guardians do not relent on their efforts to achieve financial independence, as the campaign ended on Monday.

    Nwosu, said in a statement, “With a minimum balance of N50,000 maintained in their account, account holders immediately qualify for ‘Dora branded Lunch Box’. This scheme is neither a raffle draw nor a promotion, but a reward for customer loyalty.

    “This serves as an avenue for showing our sincere appreciation to our numerous ‘Early Savers’ account holders for their loyalty and continued patronage over the last one year; and to encourage other kids to pursue a secure financial future by opening an Early Savers Account,” Nwosu added.

    He said: “ ‘Early Savers Back to School Campaign”is an initiative that is more than just a financial product but rather an interactive experience for account holders as it comes on the heels of the bank’s strategic partnership with Nickelodeon, a global family entertainment brand to drive its financial inclusion strategy for kids, parents and educators.”

     

  • Rescuers access pipeline explosion site

    Rescuers access pipeline explosion site

    RESCUERS yesterday gained access to the scene of a pipeline explosion on Ijeododo in Iba Local Council Development Area (LCDA) of Lagos State, some 72 hours after the incident.

    A “catway” bridge has been constructed to enable rescuers get to the scene, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said yesterday.

    Fire is, however, still raging at the vandalised pipeline despite the reported switch off of the flow passing through the facility by the Pipelines and Product Marketing Company (PPMC).

    NEMA’s Director General, Mr. Ibrahim Farinloye, had earlier said rescue team comprising NEMA, the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and the Inspector General (IG) of Police special Tax Force on petroleum monitoring were said to have faced a brick wall following a gun duel with the vandals.

    Although the explosion occurred at about 11pm on Monday, Farinloye, told The Nation yesterday that NEMA and NNPC were only able to gain access to the scene at about 2pm.

    He said: “NEMA and NNPC officials reached the source of the pipeline fire at 2:00 pm while construction of Catway Bridge to the point continues to aid movement of specialized fire fighting equipment to the point.

    “The coordinate of fire is N 06.48024, E 003. 25475 degrees while the coverage area is about 6 meters radius of the major fire.

    “There are 4 smaller points. No sign of any casualties at all. There is possibility of stopping the fire by midnight as operations would continue through the night.”

    A police source who pleaded anonymity, told The Nation that some arrests have been made.

    He said: “You know the state command is not in charge of that operation, it is the IG’s special tax force from Force Headquarters who are fighting the battle.

    “I hear some arrests were made but I do not have details.”

    When The Nation visited the scene yesterday, fire fighters from PPMC were seen with their equipment ready. But they could not access the burning pipeline, which is in a thick forest.

    “As you can see, we are working to gain access to the place. The terrain is bad,” said an official who does not want to be named.

    The residents are angry because the community has been plunged into darkness.

    The power line passes through the pipeline’s right of way, making power outage the collateral damage each time fire breaks out from a vandalised pipeline.

    “Now we have to spend the Christmas and New Year holidays in darkness,” said a resident, Soji Ilori, “we may not have light in the next five months.”

    The residents denied reports accusing them of harbouring vandals, adding that they have enough motivation to want to fight vandalism if adequately empowered.

    “If you live here, the only thing that gives joy is light. When there is no light, there is no joy. So that is enough motivation for us to fight the vandals but as you can see, the place is a swamp. We have appealed for a road to be constructed but government has not done anything,” Ilori said.

    “It is easy for people to talk anyhow. We do not exprience armed robberies here as do some communities in Lagos, can we then say that some members of those communties know the armed robber?”

    A PPMC official said pipeline vandalism would stop when responsible government agencies want it to stop.

    The vandalised spot is reminiscent of unhindered vandalism: a swamp that is polluted with crude oil for as far as the eyes can see, a protruding hose from pipeline through the products are drained, gun cartridges, several 25-litre kegs, and a narrow pathway through which the products are paddled off.

    “Look at the spot and you will understand what I mean. This pathway leads to a place that can be traced, why has that not been done if they seriously want to stop vandalism? The products are sold somewhere also,” the official said.

    “Your pages cannot contain the number of vandalism that occurs daily. This morning, one has happened at Baruwa.”

    “The vandals are inside the bush now laughing at what we are doing. Immediately we fix this pipeline now, they will surely come back. ”

     

  • ‘Access to housing finance to grow by 2020’

    A former Managing Director of Shelter-Afrique, Nairobi, Kenya, Mr F. P. O. Fortune-Ebie, has predicted that access to housing finance will grow from 0.5 to 30 per cent by 2020.

    He spoke at a housing summit in Lagos.

    He said finance of the mortgage sector, including mortgage-backed securities, would grow from zero per cent to 20 per cent.

    Ebie, who is also the Chairman, Board of Trustees, Mortgage Banking Association of Nigeria (MBAN), however, said the sector would only move forward if the contribution of mortgage finance to the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grows from 0.76 per cent to 15 per cent.

    According to him, housing is part of a critical infrastructure to accelerate economic development and also forms a substantial part of the GDP of most developed countries.

    He estimated that with a population of 150 million people, the nation requires at least 720,000 housing units per annum not only to replenish decaying housing stock, but also to meet rising demand and avert a further housing crisis by 2020.

    The MBAN chief canvassed the setting of yearly targets for housing delivery by building an average of one million new housing yearly and the diversification of funding structure in support of the housing sector.

    Lagos State Governor, Mr Babatunde Fashola said the state has fashioned a mortgage scheme targeted at first home buyers who reside in the state.

    He explained that it is a rent-to-own scheme to forestall the menace of Shylock landlords/landladies while ensuring that citizens are decently housed.

    On how it works, he explained that a prospective homeowner is expected to contribute only 30 per cent of the cost of the unit he intends to purchase and then pays the remainder on instalment over a period of 10-15 years.

    Fashola revealed that a mortgage division has been created at the state judiciary to ensure that matters relating to mortgage transactions are expeditiously handled.

    The governor said the success of the sector depends on the cooperation between the public and private sector. The efforts of these two sectors and the cooperation from stakeholders will improve the housing delivery in the country.

    He stressed that the country must have a virile mortgage sector to deliver houses to the people which will not only create jobs for both professionals and artisans but also benefit dealers in building materials.

     

  • Access to land for housing still a problem, says Jonathan

    President Goodluck Jonathan has said equitable access to land for housing development and adequacy of housing remains a challenge.

    Jonathan spoke at the opening of the Presidential Stakeholders’ Retreat on Housing and Urban Development held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    He said if this deficit is to be bridged, the country must continue to seek ways to provide affordable housing, especially to the no-income, low-income, lower-medium income, and the informal sector workers.

    The President said a variety of housing delivery schemes, including social housing, rental schemes, regeneration and housing cooperatives must be evaluated.

    “In June, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved both the National Housing Policy and the National Urban Development Policy, as the umbrella framework for a coordinated response to meeting the challenges in this sector.

    “I commend the Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development and all stakehokders who participated in the development of the two approved policies, for their remarkable efforts.

    “ We cannot but recognise this important step, bearing in mind that prior to the approval, the housing and urban development sector operated without enabling policy instruments that would positively harness the potentialities of the sector.

    “These policies are to be translated into action through a road map for the housing and urban development sector.

    “The road map will address the challenges of achieving a housing revolution in our nation.

    “It will also provide the pathway for transforming our cities into livable and functional human settlements.”

    Minister of Housing and Urban Development Ms. Ama Pepple and her Finance counterpart, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said to avert a housing crisis, the country requires one million housing units yearly for the next eight years.

     

  • Access Bank’s half-year profit hits N30b

    Access Bank’s half-year profit hits N30b

    Access Bank Plc has announced an audited Profit Before Tax (PBT) of N30.07 billion for its half-year ended on June 30, 2012.

    A statement from the bank said its Profit After Tax (PAT) grew by a 225 per cent to N26.13 billion compared with the N8.08 billion recorded in the corresponding period in 2011.

    Similarly, the bank’s Profit Before Tax (PBT) rose from N12.37 billion recorded for half-year in 2011 to N30.07 billion in June, 2012, representing a 143 per cent growth over last year’s performance. Gross earnings rose by 103 per cent to N108.7 billion in relation to last year’s figure of N53.65 billion.

    The bank’s Group Managing Director/CEO Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, said the bank is now firmly established as a top tier Nigerian Bank. “Leveraging on our sustainability driven business philosophy, robust capital position and the quality of our workforce. I am confident that we will continue to deliver strong returns for our investors in 2012,” he said.

    Analysts have described the bank’s performance as a valid testament to its financial strength and capacity for sustainable growth.

    Analysis of the result has shown that Access Bank is already extracting value from its acquisition of Intercontinental Bank by leveraging scale and access to large retail deposit base evidenced by the Bank’s low cost of fund.