The Nation Newspaper

Tag: defends

  • PDP defends Ihejirka

    PDP defends Ihejirka

    The Abia State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said the alleged link between former Army Chief, Gen. Azubike Ihejirika and the Boko Haram sect is laughable.

    The party said the former Chief of Army Staff (COAS) remained one of the best soldiers to head the military.

    It said Gen. Ihejirika consistently fought Boko Haram insurgents when he was the Army Chief.

    Addressing reporters at the weekend in Umuahia, Abia State PDP Chairman Emma Nwaka said it was ridiculous that APC leaders made “unsubstantiated allegation” by an Australian international negotiator, Dr Stephen Davis, and uses it smear Gen. Ihejirika.

    APC National Chairman Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, on September 2, called for the arraignment of the former Army Chief at the International Criminal Court (ICC) for his alleged sponsorship of Boko Haram insurgents.

  • Speaker defends Nyako’s impeachment

    Speaker defends Nyako’s impeachment

    Acting Speaker of the Adamawa State House of Assembly Kwamoti Laori justified yesterday the impeachment of Admiral Murtala Nyako as governor.

    He said the House followed the constitution.

    Laori spoke when the state Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Joel Hammanjoda Madaki, led the executive members on a visit to him.

    Laori, who represents Numan Constituency, said: ‘’ I have been hearing people say that the whole process was executed in haste and the Nigerian constitution was flouted, but I want to tell anybody who wants to listen that the Adamawa State Assembly will do anything possible and go to any extend to defend the impeachment of former Governor Nyako. It was done legally and according to the tenets of the law.

    “What people are saying is not defensible in law, but we will do everything to prove that the House lawfully impeached the governor according to the relevant sections of the 1999 Constitution as amended’’

    He promised that the House would cooperate with the PDP leadership to shape the affairs of the state.

    Madaki said the party had come to congratulate the House for wiping the tears on the faces of the people of Adamawa especially PDP members, with Nyako’s removal.

    “ We are here to thank you and also congratulate you for a job well done because the mandate was stolen from us but today, we can enter the Government House freely unlike before when stern-looking security men prevented us from having access.’’

  • Oliseh defends African sides

    Oliseh defends African sides

    Ex-Nigeria International Sunday Oliseh has defended Africa Players conduct over bonuses at the 2014 World cup in Brazil.

    Cameroon,Ghana and Nigeria all had issues with their players over appearance fees and bonuses during the tournament.

    However, Oliseh believes the row is not enough to judge them as non committal to their national team course due to their unique cultural background,and their financial responsibilities stretch far beyond their own ends.

    “I would refute the suggestion that African players are not as committed, in fact I’d say they are more committed, When you look at the responsibilities African players have to carry, the culture is a familiar one. It’s built around families.

    “If you are earning €100, it’s not just for your wife and kids, it’s for your wife, kids, brother, cousin, aunt, sister and sister’s brother. School fees for this and that. In one kind of way, we are drained. But it’s a drainage we accept and do not complain about.

    “So when African players come to the World Cup, it’s not all about money, it’s because of the fact that most of them have (been made) certain promises and these promises have not been fulfilled. It’s very easy to apportion blame but it’s a general thing because the situation is different. My mailbox is full with questions about this issue.”

    The former Super Eagles captain who had 63 caps for Nigeria and is now a member of the FIFA technical group at the ongoing World cup feels an African team can win the World cup if on field issues are addressed properly.

    “We have the quality. Ghana were within one penalty (in a shootout) of reaching the semifinals four years ago. But what we need is a solution so that everyone is satisfied before the tournament starts. It’s going to be better for everyone if we don’t have to talk about off the pitch issues.

    Personally I find it very painful.”

  • Group defends Akiolu’s endorsement of Ambode

    A group, the Protector of Lagos Legacy (PLL), at the weekend, defended Oba Rilwanu Akiolu I of Lagos on his endorsement of Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode as a worthy successor to Governor Babatunde Fashola.

    This is coming on the heels of criticisms by an organisation, “Visioneer for new Lagos”.

    In a statement, PLL Coordinator Mr. Olatunji Williams described Mr. Bambo Akin-Johnson of the Visioneer for new Lagos as “a non-existent name in Lagos”.

    It said the “faceless group” lacks respect for the Yoruba culture by “insulting the Oba of Lagos for exercising his constitutional right”.

    PLL said the Oba of Benin endorsed Governor Adams Oshiomhole for the last governorship election in Edo State and nobody insulted him, adding: “In fact, various traditional rulers have been endorsing President Goodluck Jonathan for re-election and nobody has poured such venomous insults on them as this faceless organisation has done.

    “Oba Akiolu has only exercised his constitutional right as is the case all over the world and should not be made a boot of uncultured vituperation by some faceless people in the name of politics. It is noted that the revered Oba of Lagos, in airing his opinion, said the All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and other parties will still follow their party procedures to choose their candidate for the election; and that it is the responsibility of Lagos people to vote for the candidate of their choice.”

    PLL challenged those behind the group to come out and address the press, instead of hiding behind a faceless organisation to insult traditional rulers.

    It said: “Indeed, the endorsement of Ambode by the Oba of Lagos and other traditional rulers in the state has sent jitters down the spine of these political jobbers, as he remains the most outstanding and qualified candidate for the job of building on the legacies of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and Fashola and moving Lagos to the next level. Our resolution is that Lagos will continue to move forward and will never be captured by unprogressive forces of darkness.”

  • Kogi Utd defends Federation Cup

    Kogi Utd defends Federation Cup

    Kogi United have successfully defended the State Federation Cup with 3-2 penalties over their city rivals FC Lokoja at the Confluence Stadium on Sunday.

    It was a tension soaked match witnessed by a large crowd of supporters including Kogi State Governor, Captain Idris Wada who was on stand from on set.

    FC Lokoja produced a tensed atmosphere for the Wada Boys, who failed to convert their few scoring chances especially in the first half.

    Despite dominating the whole of second duration, Kogi United could not break the determined defense of FC Lokoja who were playing as if waiting for the shoot-outs

    The eventual shoot-outs was nerve wrecking as both sides missed on a valuable occasions.

    Kogi United’s keeper, Dada Bello, who came in as stoppage time substitute became the hero of the day with three saves.

    Executive Governor of Kogi State, Captain Idris Wada who presented the winners trophy to Kogi united captain, Afolabi Abiodun commended both sides for good display of soccer artistry just as he promised his administration’s resolve to develop sports in the state.

    Kogi United chairman, Mallam Abdul Adama noted that the club would aim to prioritize going very far in the Federation Cup without losing focus on their position in the National League.

    The Wada Boys will however shift their focus to the National League action as they have an important home game against Spotlight FC of Katsina on Wednesday.

  • Eskom defends proposed upgrades to head office

    Eskom has defended its proposed upgrades to Megawatt Park, its head office in Johannesburg, as a necessity despite the utility being under financial constraints.

    “These are essential, they are not lavish upgrades,” said spokesperson Andrew Etzinger.

    He said the upgrades were necessary for the health and safety of the staff, data security and the improvement of energy efficiency.

    The Sunday Times reported that the upgrades would cost the power utility R500 million. Etzinger, however, could not confirm the costs. He said there was no trade-off between the health and wellness of staff and investments.

    “Various components are in the process of going to tender but we cannot pre-empt the costs,” he said.

    The Sunday Times reported that R3 million was earmarked for a VIP entrance and offices, plus R608 000 for curtaining. Landscaping would cost R1.4 million.

    The upgrades would also include an emergency generator installed at a cost of R8.5 million and an uninterrupted power supply systems for R6.7 million.

    Another R81 million would be spent on air conditioning, heating and ventilation, the paper reported.

    Etzinger said the proposed upgrades were to bring the building in line with energy consumption standards in the country.The focus of Eskom executives should be in preventing rolling blackouts instead of seeking to maximise creature comforts .

    The Democratic Alliance (DA) said it would write to the chairperson on the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, ThembaGodi, demanding Eskom executives urgently be summoned to Parliament over the proposed upgrade.

    DA spokesperson Natasha Michaels said the DA could not stand by while the South African public was forced to foot the bill for the “mother of all extreme make-overs”.

    “To add insult to injury, it is the South African public who will feel the brunt of load-shedding in the winter months ahead,” she said in a statement.

  • 2015: Jega defends timetable

    2015: Jega defends timetable

    INEC ‘not influenced by external pressure’

    Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman Attahiru Jega has defended the much criticised 2015 poll timetable, saying it is in line with international best practice.

    He also said INEC was unprepared to conduct all elections in one day, as being advocated in some quarters.

    Prof. Jega, who was responding to questions from the audience at Chatham House, London, said no external pressure influenced the timetable.

    He spoke after a presentation at the Chatham House on “2015 Elections in Nigeria: Expectations and Challenges”.

    In the transcript released to reporters in Abuja by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Kayode Idowu, the INEC chairman said the 2015 elections schedule was “informed by rational and logical considerations, not sentimental or ulterior motivations”.

    The timetable, which was released two weeks ago, attracted criticisms from some governors and lawyers.

    INEC was accused of designing a timetable that would favour President Goodluck Jonathan, who is seeking re-election in 2015.

    According to the schedule, National Assembly and Presidential elections will hold on February 14, next year. Governorship and State Assembly elections are for February 28.

    He said: “Nobody has put us under any pressure. We did these things logically and rationally, in terms of what we considered best for our country.

    “As far as we are concerned, the presidential election is not positioned first. What we did is that we combined the National elections; so, you can’t say that presidential election is placed first.

    “Some Nigerians wonder why we can’t have all the elections in one day. It is true that in some countries, they conduct all their elections in one day.

    “From our own assessment, the enormity of challenges associated with that is such that we are not prepared in the electoral commission to do all the elections in one day. But then, we felt that instead of having three elections, let us have two.

    “In 2011, we had three: we did the National Assembly elections first; then, the Presidential; and then, the Governorship as well as State Assembly elections. But we felt that (in 2015); let us have two elections rather than three.”

    Jega said the timetable was in line with global best practice.

    He added: “Then we said: what is the best combination in line with global best practice? The global best practice is that you do national elections separate from state elections, if you can’t do all together. So, rather than have the Presidential and Governorship elections together, or the National Assembly with State Assembly elections, we said, let us have all the national elections together, and then the state elections.

    “That is the logic, that is the rationale; and it is defensible. But you hear politicians make all manner of allegations; because in their own calculation, some people want certain elections to come first; others want it to come later.

    “If you do not satisfy what they want, then they would start accusing you as if there is an interest being served, or that we came under some pressure. Nobody has put us under any pressure.”

    The INEC chairman added that the elections were slated for February to allow time for litigations before the commencement of new tenures.

    He said: “In 2011, we did voter registration in January/February.

    That was why the elections had to wait till April.

    “But since we are not doing a fresh registration in 2015, we said let’s have the elections early in the period permissible, so that there will be more time before swearing-in, for litigation.”

    Jega, who revisited the November 2013 poll in Anambra State, promised that INEC would address logistics, which marred past elections.

    He was confident of better elections in Ekiti and Osun states and during the 2015 general elections.

    He said: “The issue of logistics is a major challenge for INEC, and we are doing our best to address it. But for Anambra, the state has 31 local government areas, and the challenge we faced was with regard to one local government – Idemili North.

    “Since the Edo State governorship election, we started customising result sheets to specific wards and polling units. In the past, politicians would get result sheets and move them around.

    “So, we customised the result sheets. And so, if there was a mix-up in the distribution among polling units, you would have the kind of crisis we had in Anambra.

    “Of course, there was no reason why there should be that kind of mix-up and we were not satisfied by the explanation given by the Electoral Officer in charge of that local government. But the fact was: before we could retrieve and redistribute those result sheets, time had lapsed and the people had become agitated. Some even blocked our officials from proceeding with the process of redistribution, because they suspected that something funny was happening.

    “What we have done is to have that officer arraigned in court. He has been charged, because it is a criminal offence to obstruct the electoral process or undermine elections. The matter is in court, and is being prosecuted. So, we are doing our best.”

    Jega, however, regretted that reports of the challenge during the November 2013 Anambra State governorship election were overblown.

    He added: “You cannot stop people from interpreting what happened one way or the other, especially as it is true that Idemili is an area considered a stronghold of one of the candidates. Was it done deliberately? That is what the court case will be addressing.

    “But we cannot allow this to continue to happen. And that is why we are paying a lot of attention to addressing the challenge.

    “We have demonstrated a capacity to identify people who are responsible for failures, and to hold them accountable. And that is another thing that wasn’t the case in the past. It is a big challenge and we will continue to do our best in that regard.”

    The INEC chairman is certain that the challenge of people not finding their names on the biometric register of voters on election day would not reoccur if every voter makes efforts to ascertain their status during impending display of the register before the commencement of Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) nationwide.

    He spoke of additional means being put in place by the Commission to facilitate voter enquiry about the register.

    Jega said: “We have already provided a service in that regard, using the SMS platform. In fact, in Anambra – although it came a bit late before the election, and there was no massive publicity to get the people adequately aware – we deployed the use of SMS to enable the voter to interrogate the register. You could send an SMS to a particular number to know whether you are on the register, and in which polling unit you have registered. “We hope to launch this facility nationwide by the end of this month, so that people can interrogate the register. And before the 2015 elections, we hope to have the register accessible on INEC website so that people can ascertain their status.”

    The Chatham House forum in London was an extension of a similar event organised earlier in the week by the United States Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington DC.

    Civil Society Organisations’ leaders from Nigeria at the event were Clement Nwankwo, Executive Director, Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC) and Convener of the Civil Society Situation Room on Elections; Ayisha Oshori, Executive Director, Nigerian Women Trust Fund; Festus Okoye, Chairman of the Independent Election Monitors; Dr. Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi; Executive Director, WARD-C; Jude Ohanele, Chairman of South-east Governance Network; and Inemo Samiama, Director, Stakeholders Democracy Network.

    At the Washington event were senior United States policy makers, diplomats and development partners, among them former U. S. Secretary of State for African Affairs Ambassador Johnnie Carson; former U. S. Ambassador to Nigeria John Campbell; Senior Associate and Regional Director at the National Democratic Institute (NDI) Christopher Fomunyoh; President, International Republican Institute, Ambassador Mark Green; Senior Advisor, Open Society Foundations, Morton H. Halperin; Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour, Karen J. Hanrahan; Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of African Affairs, U. S. Department of State, Robert P. Jackson; Director of African Studies and Associate Professor, John Hopkins University, Peter M. Lewis; Senior Advisor to the President, United States Institute of Peace, Princeton N. Lyman; and Vice President, Programs, International Foundation for Electoral Systems, Michael Svetlik.

     

  • Investor defends Chinese’ business practice

    A Chinese entrepreneur and Managing Director, Lifemaster Nig Ltd, Lagos Mr. Andy Xing has defended Chinese manufacturers’ integrity. He told The Nation that China manufactures for export for Europe and the United States wondering if they can maintain the international requirements of those developed economies and not meet Nigerian’s. He said the challenge of substandard goods production is not wholly their decision as some Nigerian business men deliberately demand cheap and substandard products which do not match the expectations of the Nigerian discerning public.

    Xing said his furniture company produces furniture for homes, offices and hotels of international quality based on standard specifications from their partners in Italy. He said his company will soon apply to the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to get the Nigeria Industrial Standard (NIS) based on the company’s strict application of quality and standards. On his customers listing, Xing said they have corporate customers from banks and other blue chip companies. Their clientele he said also extends to individuals in the medium and upscale segment of the society. On if his home country is funding his business activities in Nigeria, the Lifemaster chief said his company is not sponsored by his home government adding that they have so far resisted the tempting offers from the local banks to take up facilities as they will prefer tomorrow at their pace. He called people to take advantage of the 70 per cent discount they are offering for the festive season and remake their offices and homes.

    Managing Director, lkem Holdings W/A, Mr. Ikechukwu Uwadim, importers of electrical consumables blamed SON for the huge presence of substandard goods in the market. He accused them of turning a blind eye to genuine complaints from importers on the unconventional methods of dumping fake and substandard products hampering the gains of genuine importers. He frowned at the practice of visiting warehouses by SON and confiscating products genuinely imported and cleared from the ports at the pretext of looking for substandard goods. He claimed that if SON is really up and about the unbridled importation of fake and sub standard materials would have been a thing of the past.

    In a sharp reaction, Head, Inspectorate and Compliance, SON, Bede Obayi, in an exclusive interview with The Nation said there is no nation without the presence of substandard products or can be said to be 100 per cent free of fake and substandard products. The issue according to him is the level of its existence and the awareness to know the quality a prospective customer is paying for.

  • Investor defends Chinese’ business practice

    A Chinese entrepreneur and Managing Director, Lifemaster Nig Ltd, Lagos, Mr.Andy Xing have defended Chinese manufacturers’ integrity. He told reporters that China manufacturer for export for Europe and the United States wondering why they can maintain the international requirements of those developed economies and not meet Nigerian’s.

    He accused some Nigerian business men of deliberately asking for cheap and substandard products which does not match the expectations of the Nigerian discerning public.

    Xing said his furniture company produces furniture for homes, offices and hotels of international quality based on standard specifications from their partners in Italy. He said his company would soon apply to the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to get the Nigeria Industrial Standard (NIS) based on the company’s strict application of quality and standards.

    On his customer listing, Xing said they have corporate customers from banks and other blue chip companies. Their clientele he said also extends to individuals in the medium and upscale segment of the company. On if his home country is funding his business activities in the Nigeria, the Lifemaster chief said his company is not sponsored by his home governement, he also said that so far they have resisted the tempting offers from the local banks to take up facilities as they will prefer to grow at their pace.

    He called on people to take advantage of the 70 per cent discount they are offering for the festive season and remake their offices and homes.

     

  • Kwara Utd coach defends Gbolahan Salami

    Kwara Utd coach defends Gbolahan Salami

    Coach of Kwara United Samson Unuanel says Shooting Stars Sports Club (3SC) striker Gbolahan Salami is a good player with much experience, contrary to belief of the otherwise.

    Salami was reportedly missing in 3SC’s training at the start of the week and as a result saw his salary cut by half by management of the club. But Unuanel, who prefers to see the positive side of the player, says if a psychologist is provided to counsel and encourage Salami, he would give 100 percent on and off the pitch.

    “Every player has their bad side. I don’t think labelling Salami a bad player is fair enough. I have not had Salami in my team before but each time I play against him, he is a big threat to every defense. He gives his best on the pitch at all times. He is a player with so much experience. If he has a problem, I think it is the responsibility of the club, we the coaches, the FA, the media and fans in general to help him overcome it, so that we don’t lose his talent just like the case of Etim Esin,” he told futaa.com.

    Unuanel sighted the case of Italy international Mario Balotelli who was labelled a bad player in England, but became better when he moved to AC Milan and did well at the 2013 Confederations Cup.