The Nation Newspaper

Tag: decry

  • Badagry residents decry 4 years blackout

  • Loss of village: Artists decry unfulfilled promises

    Loss of village: Artists decry unfulfilled promises

    Two years after, the Minister of Information and Culture, Chief Lai Mohammed, is yet to fulfill his promise to compensate artists, whose studios and performance spaces, were illegally demolished.

    On Saturday, January 23, 2016 at about 6:00 am, the then National Theatre of Nigeria General Manager, Kabiru Yusuf YarAdua, invaded the National Council for Arts  and Culture (NCAC) Artists’ Village, which housed arts studios, workshops, dance studios and some service contractors with a bulldozer and two truckloads of armed policemen.

    The padlocks and chains used in locking the gates were broken and Kabiru entered the premises with his demolition squad. The noise generated by the forceful entry attracted the attention of residents who watched as Kabiru and his team, which included ‘thespians’, such as Stephen Ogundele and Biodun Abe, ordered the demolition of the arts and dance studios, galleries and restaurants servicing the community. Some of the demolished structures belonged to the NCAC while others built by artists had the approval of the NCAC.

    The NCAC is one of the parastatals in the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture and the NCAC Artists Village is one of her flagship projects. The NCAC law that established the Artists Village has turned out to be one of the best  in the industry.

    This is because it clearly demonstrates trickle down of government spending in the arts. This is critical because research grants, travel grants and support for New Work and productions from government have all but dried up.

    The resident arts practitioners, who represent some of the best in the culture scene had no prior notice of the exercise and our landlord, the NCAC, was not informed.

    Kabiru carried out his vindictive demolition without allowing the artistes and business owners the opportunity to salvage artworks and belongings and as a result caused extensive damage to property and valuables.

    A visual artist, Mr. Smart Ovwie, a sculptor, who arrived the scene later and saw the destruction of his properties, lamented to Kabiru, asking what he did to be oppressed this way. In response, the policemen harassed him and fired shots which sent bullets which hit Ovwie on the leg.

    It was truly tragic to see government officials who have statutory responsibility to promote and develop the arts and culture brutalising artists and destroying government property with impunity. It was, indeed, a clear manifestation of the misrule that Nigerians have been subjected to in recent years

    Later, the Minister for Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, addressed the resident artists. He promised that the injured would get support for their treatment in hospital and that those who are legitimate residents would be duly compensated for damage done to their structures. The Minister confirmed that he asked Kabiru to demolish shanties at the back of the Artists’ Village along the canal that has been a route for miscreants and not Arts Studios and structures in the NCAC Artists’ Village. To date, the ‘Honourable’ Minister’s promise of compensation and rebuilding of the Artists’ Village to a world-class has not materialised.

    We wish to use this opportunity to thank Nigerian and international journalists, media organisations, Institutions and organisations in and beyond the culture sector, and the public for their invaluable support for our struggle to ensure that justice is done and that public trust is not abused with impunity by political office holders.

    On April 13, 2016, we received letter dated April 6, from the Minister (attached) in which he promised to pay N20 million as compensation on behalf of President Muhammadu Buhari’s Federal Government.

    He also made further promises relating to infrastructure and capacity building. We strongly believe that Buhari is an honourable man who will under no circumstances, allow innocent and hardworking Nigerians who promote our arts and culture to suffer. We, as members of Nigeria’s creative sector, find this situation appalling and feel it should be unacceptable to right thinking Nigerians.

    It is important to inform at this point that the Executive Committee of NCAC Artists’ Village Network, after due consideration and deliberation and after fruitless efforts to get the Minister to keep to his word, has engaged the services of the law firm of Momson, Solanke& Co Solicitors to represent the community in the matter.

    We are resolute in our commitment to the protection of the civil and human rights of our members who have been working in the rain and sun for two years now due to the insensitivity of a government that has failed to recognise their invaluable contribution to the development of national culture.

     

    • Agubom (Kurious K) is Deputy Coordinator, Artists’ Village Network, NCAC Artists’ Village, Lagos.

  • Ex-militants decry non-payment of allowances

    ‘From all indications, our ordeal is not unconnected with our refusal to support his preferred governorship candidate in the last election in Ondo State, Mr Eyitayo Jegede (SAN). Since the election, Ajube has threatened to deal with all those who worked for the APC candidate and now Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu’

    Some ex-militants from Bolowou community in Ese-Edo Local Government Area of Ondo State have raised the alarm over non-payment of their N65, 000 monthly amnesty stipends.
    The affected ex-militants, numbering 25, said they became worried when they were not paid alongside other beneficiaries of the scheme in the council who had received alerts on their bank accounts.
    They alleged that they were being victimised due to their decision to support the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Mr. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN) during last year’s governorship election.
    Ese-Odo has always been a stronghold of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) but the APC was victorious in the council during the last gubernatorial polls.
    They also alleged that the former Western Fringe Commander of the defunct Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), Mr Bibopere Ajube, alias General Shoot at Sight, is the mastermind of the stoppage of their allowances.
    A statement jointly signed by two of the ex-militants, Jamin Wariebi and Lubi Timiakirimni said Ajube was punishing them over their refusalý to support the governorship candidate of the PDP, Mr. Eyitayo Jegede (SAN) in the November 26 governorship election in Ondo State.
    They, therefore, threatened to embark on a peaceful protest at Bolowou if their allowances remained unpaid.
    The statement reads: ‘’We are worried and constrained to alert the nation that a former MEND commander, Bibopere Ajube, aka General Shoot at Sight, has stopped the payment of our N65,000 monthly stipends with the collaborating of the programme’s coordinator, Brigadier- General Paul Boroh (rtd).
    ‘’All other beneficiaries of the programme have been paid, but to our surprise, ours was not and we were informed by competent sources at the Amnesty Office that Ajube went to the coordinator to delist us from the programme and has already replaced us with persons who were not even captured in the programme.
    ‘’From all indications, our ordeal is not unconnected with our refusal to support his preferred governorship candidate in the last election in Ondo State, Mr Eyitayo Jegede (SAN).
    ”Since the election, Ajube has threatened to deal with all those who worked for the APC candidate and now Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu.”
    But when contacted, Ajube confirmed the allegation, saying he has given their slots to those who were genuine ex-militants.
    He warned them to stop linking their ordeal with the last governorship election in Ondo State, insisting that they will never benefit from the scheme again because they are not ex-militants.
    He noted that the 25 people involved lied by claiming that they worked for the APC during the last governorship election because they were loyalists of Chief Olusola Oke of the Alliance for Democracy (AD).
    He said: “I have been sincere to my people on this issue of Amnesty and that is why I always directed the Amnesty office to pay directly into the boys’ accounts unlike my colleagues, who would ask the office to pay into their accounts and later share the money to their boys.
    “We will ensure that only those genuine ex-militants will continue to benefit from the scheme.”

  • Itsekiri decry NDDC’s ‘neglect’

    Members of Itsekiri Coalition Movement (ICM) have given the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) a 21-day ultimatum to correct the alleged neglect of Itsekiri nation, or face their wrath.

    The group yesterday led protesters to the Warri office of NDDC at Ejeba, demanding the sack of the commissioner representing Delta State on the board of NDDC, Dr. Ogaga Ifowodo. It accused him of bias and incompetence.

    The demonstrators, who were prevented from entering the premises by soldiers and policemen, caused a gridlock on Ejeba Road.

    They alleged the commission failed to complete projects in their area, adding that they were excluded from the call for contract tenders.

    The protesters, led by Tuoyo Ofuyaekpone, Samuel Khalil and Eddy Olueh, presented a communiqué to the Assistant Director of NDDC, Haruna Mazadu, who was with other management officials.

    Olueh said after the expiration of the ultimatum, they would embark on another action.

    Mazadu promised to pass their grievances “to the appropriate authorities”, adding that actions would be taken.

     

  • APC, PPA decry N9m poster fee in Anambra

    The All Progressive Congress (APC) and Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) are at loggerheads with the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) government in Anambra State.

    This followed the imposition of N9million on governorship aspirants for the November 18 election.

    The fee was imposed by the  State Signage and Advertisement Agency (ANSAA), led by  Jude Emecheta.

    The agency in February, said  aspirants who wanted their posters pasted anywhere in the state must pay N3million naira.

    Emecheta speaking to reporters yesterday in Awka said payment was sacrosanct, as it would be used to clean-up the environment .

    According to him, “the agency will ensure that posters and other campaign materials do not deface the state”

    “No election posters are permitted to be pasted on public buildings, traffic lights, poles and round-abouts. Politicians should direct their aides to paste their campaign materials on approved boards to avoid prosecution”

    “The  fee is not to witch-hunt any aspirant, but simply to ensure that things are done well.’’

    But the APC State Chairman, Emeka Ibe, said the fee was exploitative, outrageous and would be resisted in court.

    For Mattias Emeke, the PPA State Chairman, the agency was afraid of Governor Willie Obiano losing the election.

    “We can assure the agency that we will reject the order because it is unconstitutional.’’

    Mrs. Angelina Okoye a politician said that the order was uncalled for and urged the agency not to pollute the polity with unnecessary levy.

    APGA State Chairman  Norbert Obi said the government had good intentions in coming up with the policy.

     

  • Senators decry Customs’ rejection of directive on vehicle duty

    Senators decry Customs’ rejection of directive on vehicle duty

    The crisis of confidence brewing between senators and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has taken a new dimension.

    The Senate yesterday summoned the NCS Comptroller General, Col. Hameed Ali, to appear before it to explain why he disregarded its directive on payment of duty on old vehicles.

    Besides unanimously adopting the prayer for the Customs boss to appear in plenary, the lawmakers resolved that he must appear in Customs uniform on Wednesday, April 15.

    The resolution followed a motion by Senator Dino Melaye (Kogi West) on alleged “disregard and disrespect of Senate resolution” to suspend the planned vehicle duty ultimatum due to begin on April 12.

    Melaye said when he saw the front page of a national newspaper today, “initially my thought was maybe when I was sleeping this morning that there was a martial music that the military have taken over because such statement can only be made in a military government, where an individual, a parastatal, institution or an agency of government will confront the powers of the Nigerian Senate”.

    ”The front page read ‘Customs dares Senate’.

    “Mr. President, I want to believe this is misrepresentation. Democracy is standing on three legs. One of the most important leg of democracy is the legislature and Nigerian Customs cannot function without the National Assembly because they cannot spend or survive without appropriations and oversight and if this Senate take a resolution and an agency of government will have the temerity, will have the guts, will have the strength to blatantly disregard the entire institution of the Nigerian Senate, it is a very dark day for democracy,” the senator said.

    He added that when the Customs committee asked the comptroller-general of Customs why he was not wearing the rank of comptroller-general, he said “uniform men don’t wear uniform twice”.

    Melaye said he asked Ali “under which law”.

    “I educated him by reminding him that he retired as a colonel and that General Hannaniya retired as a General; he was appointed as the Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), he wore promptly and daily the uniform of the commission.

    “Then if that position is a rank and you are not wearing that rank, it means you are not even proud of the Nigerian Customs,” he said.

    He said the Senate would need to check properly, if Customs operativeswould now start checking duty certificates on Nigerian roads and it”will not be affected because if the President is coming, no customs men will stop him to ask him for his customs paper”.

    “The Customs people will only salute and he will pass. If a senator is passing, including Ike Ekweremadu, when he is passing, nobody will stop him to ask for Customs papers; they have to standstill till his convoy passes.

    “But we are doing it in the interest of the Nigerian people and they have now confronted the institution of the Nigerian Senate.”

    He urged the Senate to invite the comptroller-general to appear in plenary and in uniform to either justify or falsify the statement credited to NCS before the Senate.

    “If after his appearance he insists that he said it, and then I will recommend him for psychiatrist test,” Melaye said.

    Senator Solomon Adeola (Lagos West), who supported the motion, asked the Senate to “put a stop to the high-handedness of the Comptroller General of Customs”.

    Adeola said the Customs CG was “carrying out the affairs of this agency as if he is the managing director or the commander-in-chief of this country”.

    Senator Kabiru Marafa (Zamfara Central) noted that it appeared that the NCS already decided to push Nigerians to the wall.

    Marafa said: “I don’t see how somebody will buy a car from an authorised dealer with his papers and everything and Customs will stop you on the road, asking you for customs duty. It is not the responsibility of Nigerians to know which customs duty is fake or which is not fake. The time-frame given is not adequate and people need to be educated.”

    He said the NCS should be told that the National Assembly’s duty was to protect Nigerians “and this kind of impunity cannot be allowed to continue.”

    Senate Leader, Ahmed Lawan agreed that what was reported about Customs CG daring Senate’s was enough to agitate the mind of senators.

    He suggested that the CG be invited to “explain whatever it is that he intends to do first”.

    Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, who presided, noted that the issue was of much concern to the Senate.

    Ekweremadu said “activities of the NCS of late are of concern to all senators”.

    He said: “Part of our responsibilities as parliamentarians is to maintain peace and anything that will cause the breach of the peace; it is our responsibility to ensure that we stem it.

    “The Chief Justice of Nigeria, when he appeared before us, one the things he identified as our major problem is impunity.

    “So, while we fight corruption, we must also in equal measures fight impunity. We cannot allow impunity to take roots in this country.

    “Today, we are talking about vehicles that were imported many years ago but we forget that there are beds in our rooms that were also imported and prohibited. I believe that the earlier we deal with this matter, the better for all of us.

    “So, I want to thank all of us for the concern and it is our responsibility to ensure that this kind of impunity is not allowed to take root.”

  • Residents decry Mainland ‘gang wars’

    Residents decry Mainland ‘gang wars’

    Lagos Mainland Local Government residents are worried by the increasing rate of youthful restiveness in the community. They lodged their complaints to a member of the House of Assembly, Oladele Adekanye, during a Constituency Stakeholders’ Meeting at Lagos Mainland Local Government Secretariat in Yaba.

    The youths, they said, had turned the community to battle field.

    They condemned what they called the “laxity” of the Divisional Police Officers (DPOs) in the area to the problem and called on government to arrest the situation.

    Eletu of Oto and Mainland Chief Shamsideen Pedro blamed it all on unemployment.

    Pedro, who represented the monarch of Oto and Mainland, called on wealthy individuals to pool resources and establish a company to cater for the jobless.

    An idle mind, he said, is the devil’s workshop.

    He also canvassed for the creation of state police, suggesting that the Neighbourhood Watch could be upgraded to state police.

    Adekanye said every family has a role to play in curbing crime.

    Popularly called Lado, Adekanye said the meeting would facilitate participatory governance, adding that it is the first of its kind in the assembly’s history.

    “The decision to reach out to our constituents and other groups is borne out of our desire to deepen the democratic culture as well as facilitate participatory governance in the state. It is the first ever Constituency Stakeholders’ Meeting to be held simultaneously across the 40 constituencies in the political history of Lagos State”, he said.

    The Lagos assembly, Adekanye said, had become a reference point for other states, the National Assembly and the international community.

    The assembly, he said, received a letter in September from a State Legislative House in Kenya requesting for a visit to tap from its experiences, progressive skills and people-oriented legislations.

    He reassured his constituents that their welfare and security are the major concern of the government.

    The lawmaker said: “Since the commencement of the current Assembly in June 2015, 28 resolutions have been passed covering on a broad range of socio-economic, political and other issues pertaining to the welfare of Lagosians, the progress of the state and the nation as a whole. We have in the course of our legislative duties, settled communal clashes, played the Ombudsman while not neglecting several petitions referred to us for mediation and resolution.”

  • Eket decry neglect

    The people of Ekid in Akwa Ibom State have bemoaned the lack of federal presence in their communities.

    The National President of Eket Peoples Union (EPU), Prof Asindi Asindi, said this yesterday at Akpautong in Esit Eket Local Government Area at the gathering of a group, Esit Eket Conscience.

    The don said the time has come for the Ekid people to benefit from Nigeria.

    He said Ekid nation, which makes up Eket and Esit Eket, had remained neglected for years as “the Federal Government has not impacted on Ekid land, despite our crude oil”.

    “Ekid people are sitting on crude oil reserves which contribute immensely towards the national revenue. What does your village or area benefit or enjoy out of this?

    “We need to take stock and bring to the fore the poor representation of Ekid indigenes in the state and federal civil and public services.

  • RCCG landlords decry illegal arrest

    The landlords of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), the Baale of Agunfoye Village, Chief Yekini Babatunde Agunfon, and the head of the family, Chief Amos Oshin Agbabo, have urged the church’s General Overseer, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, to call its contractors to order and stop them from harassing the family with policemen.

    Agunfoye village is the site of the new auditorium being constructed by the church.

    The two men were on Friday whisked away by men of the X-Squad of the Police, Alagbon, Lagos, led by an officer, Mr. Dosunmu, based on a complaint lodged by the church’s contractors, Chief Tunde Ojelade (aka Mania), the Baale of Mowe and Chief Jimoh Balogun, the Baale of Imedu Nla. They have since been released.

    The Baale and the family head said the call to Pastor Adeboye became important because they were afraid that their safety was no longer guaranteed.

    The family had earlier appealed to the church to increase the money payable to tenant farmers on the acquired land for their damaged crops from N20,000 per acre to N50,000.

    They also demanded additional N200,000 on every acre of the land purchased by the church as well as N50,000 per acre as compensation for damaged crops on the acquired land.

    The family went to court to press for the demands as the church had given contractors money to pay customary tenants of the village instead of allowing the village heads to do the payment.

    The families were inundated with demands and threats from the displaced people on the land who thought they had collected money from the church, hence their decision to go to court.

    They said they were surprised to see five policemen coming to hound them like common criminals, arresting and embarrassing them, thus their appeal to Pastor Adeboye.

  • Retired soldiers decry non-payment of pension

    Retired paramilitary officers in Imo State have petitioned President Goodluck Jonathan to address the irregular payment of their monthly pensions and gratuity.

    The pensioners also pleaded that the delegates to the national conference intervenes.

    The aggrieved retirees, who spoke with reporters in Owerri, decried the alleged non-payment of their 53.7 per cent increment approved for retired police and paramilitary officers since July 2010. They also complained about the non-harmonisation of their pension as applicable in other sectors.

    Imo State Chairman of the National Association of Retired Paramilitary Officers (NARPO), Mr.Abaa Tsha Jabez, said the irregular payment had adversely affected them.

    Mr.Jabez said many retirees had died while waiting for their money.

    “Our members have been withering as a result of hardship and maltreatment. We need our monthly pension.”

    The NARPO chairman said a wrong structure was used in paying the gratuity and pension of those who retired in 2005 and 2006.

    Calling on the Federal Government to intervene, Jabez said paramilitary salary structure should be used in paying them instead of the outdated structure or unified paramilitary salary structure of 2002.

    The aggrieved officers blamed Customs, Immigration and Prisons Pension Office (CIPPO) for their woes.

    “CIPPO was functional between 1992 and 1993. The founding pension administrators worked hard and well until Director of Pension S.M.A. Babara disorganised the payment process.”

    He said “we need caring and understanding men and women and not greedy and selfish individuals. For this reason, postings should not be based on senority, but on ability and character.”