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Tag: FG

  • FG may swap Boko Haram’s wives, kids for abducted girls

    FG may swap Boko Haram’s wives, kids for abducted girls

    As part of the ongoing backdoor talks with Boko Haram, the Federal Government may be disposed to the  release of people described as soft detainees of the sect to secure freedom for the more than 200 school  girls abducted by the group last month.

    The soft detainees are the wives and children of Boko Haram members in various facilities nationwide.

    The government is not keen on outright swap of the girls with Boko Haram members in detention, The Nation gathered yeterday.

    The  Presidential Fact-Finding Committee on the girls’ abduction yesterday in Maiduguri met with leaders of the Chibok community.

    A  top source said last night that the talks  are progressing well  with feedback from both sides.

    “The government may consider the release of only soft detainees in line with international rules of engagement,” said the source.

    It added that the soft detainees are wives and children of Boko Haram members detained by the Federal Government.

    “They are vulnerable people for whom the rules of engagement allow some human rights waivers,” the source added.

    It described the gesture as a continuation of a similar approval by President Goodluck Jonathan in 2013.

    Responding to a question, the source added: “It is still at the level of contemplation. But the talks are ongoing.

    “Certainly, there will be no outright swapping of the girls with Boko Haram members who are in detention.”

    The source said the government was looking at this option because most Nigerians want the girls back alive.”

    Asked about the stage of the rescue operation for the girls, the source added: “Up till now, it is still at the level of intelligence gathering, to locate where they are kept.

    “Once the area or camp is located, it will not take less than six hours to liberate the girls.

    “We have got intelligence report that most of these girls are alive but we are trying our best to locate the exact spot of the camp or camps where they are held hostage.”

    Meanwhile, the Fact-Finding Committee yesterday met with leaders of Chibok Community in Maiduguri.

    Spokesperson for   the Committee, Kingsley Osadolor, said the panel “ had made substantial progress in its assignment,” and  received the cooperation of the various stakeholders it had interacted with.

    “However, the work of the committee is not finished. The Committee will visit Chibok, and you will be informed accordingly.”

    Osadolor also gave insight into the activities of the committee since Monday.

    The statement added: “Military Commanders, the state Commissioner of Police, state Director of the Department of State Services, Commanders of Customs, Immigration, and Prisons formations, as well as the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, have taken turns to brief the Presidential Fact-finding Committee on the Chibok abduction.

    “The meetings took place in Maiduguri, Borno State, where the Committee is carrying on with its assignment. The first round of interactions took place till late on Monday night, while the second session continued on Tuesday.

    “Others who have interfaced with the Committee are principal officers of Government Secondary School, Chibok, where the mass abduction took place, and the Chairman of Chibok Local Government.”

    The statement quoted the Chairman of the Committee, Brig.-Gen. Ibrahim Sabo (rtd) as saying:  “We are pleased with the candour of the officers. In the light of what we have heard and ascertained from the intensive engagement so far, I am confident that the Committee will discharge its mandate.”

    “Part of the Committee’s task is to articulate a framework for a multi-stakeholder action for the rescue of the missing girls, as well as mobilise the surrounding communities and the general public on citizen support for a rescue strategy and operation.

    “The Commanders, who interacted with the Fact-finding Committee, have been in the theatre of conflict with the insurgents, including the material time of the abduction of the schoolgirls.”

  • APC governors to FG: Strengthen security operatives

    APC governors to FG: Strengthen security operatives

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) under the auspice of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), on Thursday urged the Federal Government to strengthen the capacity of the security operatives to counter terrorism.

    PGF Chairman, Governor Rochas Okorocha, in a statement expressed condolence to the families of those killed and injured in Tuesday’s explosions in Jos, Plateau State.

    He said, “We urge the Federal Government to strengthen the capacity of our security services and provide all the equipment and resources that our officers and men in the frontline need to become an effective fighting force and to carry out counterterrorism operations.

    “Similarly, we call on the Federal Government to recognize that terrorism has never been defeated anywhere by sheer force alone; all avenues must be explored to ensure the safety of the lives and property of all Nigerians; this is the minimum requirement of government.”

    The governors noted that the blast which occurred just three days after a similar attack in Kano marked a significant escalation in the senseless attacks on Nigerians and an affront on the Nigerian state.

    Okorocha said that it is apparent that the attacks were intended to cause as much carnage as possible and also increase mutual suspicion among people of different faiths and ethnicity.

    Charging the citizenry to remain steadfast, the governors said, “We urge Nigerians to stand firm and not relent to the antic of terrorists who seek to return us to the dark ages.”

  • Falana to FG: Stop trivializing Chibok abduction

    Falana to FG: Stop trivializing Chibok abduction

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    Lagos lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), has advised the Federal Government to stop trivializing the abduction of female students of Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, in the interest of public morality and sensibility.

    In a statement issued in Lagos on Thursday, Falana remarked that the manner in which President Goodluck Jonathan and his wife, Patience, are carrying on about the Chibok abduction leaves much to be desired.

    The activist noted that last Saturday, President Jonathan announced the setting up of a 26-member committee to probe the abduction of the school girls.

    He also noted that few hours after, the First Lady was reportedly said to have set up a parallel panel of inquiry on the same matter.

    He pointed out that while the panel set up by the President could be regarded as a ministerial panel, that of his wife has no constitutional backing or any known law.

    He suggested that the panel set up by the first lady be disbanded immediately.

    Falana recalled that because most members of the First Lady’s Panel are based in Borno State, she summoned them to appear in Abuja over the weekend.

    “Officials of the West African Examination Council were also ordered to report in Abuja by the wife of the President.

    “In a well televised drama, some of the panel members who responded to the summons were interrogated.

    “Frustrated by the refusal of the wife of the Governor of Borno State to turn up at the mock trial, the First Lady broke down in tears as the “grandmother” of the abducted girls.

    “To the utter embarrassment of the Nigerian people, the First Lady has since declared that no child is missing!

    “In spite of the inauguration of the Presidential Committee to investigate the abduction of the over 200 girls in Chibok and the publication of the names of about 185 of the missing girls by the Christian Association of Nigeria, some political leaders have insisted that no child has been abducted,” he noted.

     

  • Abduction: Court asked to compel FG to provide security for schools

    Abduction: Court asked to compel FG to provide security for schools

    The Federal High Court in Abuja has been asked to compel the Federal Government to provide adequate security for students of its colleges across the country.

    The request is contained in a suit by a group of concerned Nigerians instituted yesterday before the court by an Abuja-based lawyer, Sunday Essienekak.

    The plaintiffs, in an exparte for “judicial review – an order of mandamus, are seeking among others, leave to apply for an order of mandamus mandating the Federal Government and its relevant agencies to “provide security to the students of all Federal Government Secondary Schools in Nigeria.”

    They are seeking to mandate the government and its agencies to “take preventive steps to secure the lives and property of all vulnerable students” in Federal Government schools in the Northeastern part of the country in view of the worsening security situation in the area.

    The lawyer, in his supporting affidavit to the suit marked:FHC/ABJ/CS/344/2014, stated that the suit was informed by the increasing kidnap cases in government schools in the Northeast.

    He stated that it was the duty of the Federal Governent to provide security services to Nigerians and by implication the week, defenceless, vulnerable children in these Federal Government owned schools.

    “There is a security situation in Nigeria, mostly in the Northern states, that has occasioned the kidnaping, killing, abduction of vulnerable children in Federal Government Secondary schools.

    “Recently, at the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok in Borno State, about 234 girls were abducted by insurgents.

    “It is necessary that this duty be performed to abate, avert or forestall the inherent danger associated with it and to protect and save the lives of these vulnerable, weak children,” Essienekak stated.

    The plaintiffs urged the court to grant their prayers in the interest of justice.

    Sued in the case are the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Education Minister, Chief of Defence Staff, Director of State Security Service and Inspector General of Police.

    Among the plaintiffs are Sunday Omekedo, Tsadu Mohammed, Engr. Pius Udihirinwa and Iyama Lawrence.

    A date is yet to be set for hearing.

  • Amnesty asks FG to fish out bombers

    Amnesty asks FG to fish out bombers

    The Amnesty International (AI) yesterday asked the Federal Government to fish out the perpetrators of Thursday’s bombing in Nyanya near Abuja.

    It also described the bomb explosion as callous.

    It however asked the Federal Government to do more to protect Nigerians from further attacks by insurgents.

    The AI gave the charge in a statement in Abuja against the backdrop of the killing of 19 people and the injuring of 60.

    The statement reads: “Thursday’s night deadly car bombing in a suburb of the Nigerian capital, Abuja displays a callous disregard for human life and highlights the urgency of bringing an end to the campaign of violence against civilians being waged by Islamist armed groups in Nigeria.

    “No group has yet claimed responsibility for the latest attack, which killed 19 people and injured more than 60 in the Abuja suburb of Nyanya.

    “It comes less than three weeks after the armed group, Boko Haram, killed more than 70 people in a similar attack on the same area.

    “Besides showing a callous disregard for human life, violent attacks targeting civilians, like the one carried out in Nyanya last night (Thursday) are unlawful and must end immediately,” said Susanna Flood, Director of Media at Amnesty International.”

    The AI asked the government to protect Nigerians from further attacks by the insurgents.

    It also appealed to Boko Haram and other insurgency groups to stop recourse to attacks.

    It added: “The Nigerian authorities, for their part, must do more to protect civilians and bring the perpetrators of all such attacks to justice – but it is crucial that they do so without carrying out further human rights violations.”

    “Boko Haram and other armed groups must renounce their unlawful and counterproductive campaign of violence against civilians.

    “More than 1,500 people have been killed since the beginning of 2014 amid fighting between Nigerian security forces and Islamist armed groups, which are based mainly in the north-east of the country but occasionally launch attacks in the capital and elsewhere. Last night’s attack comes just days before the World Economic Forum on Africa opens in Abuja on 7 May.”

  • Abduction: Court asked to compel FG to provide security for schools

    Abduction: Court asked to compel FG to provide security for schools

    The Federal High Court in Abuja has been asked to compel the Federal Government to provide adequate security for students of its colleges across the country.

    The request is contained in a suit by a group of concerned Nigerians instituted yesterday before the court by an Abuja-based lawyer, Sunday Essienekak.

    The plaintiffs, in an exparte for “judicial review – an order of mandamus, are seeking among others, leave to apply for an order of mandamus mandating the Federal Government and its relevant agencies to “provide security to the students of all Federal Government Secondary Schools in Nigeria.”

    They are seeking to mandate the government and its agencies to “take preventive steps to secure the lives and property of all vulnerable students” in Federal Government schools in the Northeastern part of the country in view of the worsening security situation in the area.

    The lawyer, in his supporting affidavit to the suit marked:FHC/ABJ/CS/344/2014, stated that the suit was informed by the increasing kidnap cases in government schools in the Northeast.

    He stated that it was the duty of the Federal Governent to provide security services to Nigerians and by implication the week, defenceless, vulnerable children in these Federal Government owned schools.

    “There is a security situation in Nigeria, mostly in the Northern states, that has occasioned the kidnaping, killing, abduction of vulnerable children in Federal Government Secondary schools.

    “Recently, at the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok in Borno State, about 234 girls were abducted by insurgents.

    “It is necessary that this duty be performed to abate, avert or forestall the inherent danger associated with it and to protect and save the lives of these vulnerable, weak children,” Essienekak stated.

    The plaintiffs urged the court to grant their prayers in the interest of justice.

    Sued in the case are the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Education Minister, Chief of Defence Staff, Director of State Security Service and Inspector General of Police.

    Among the plaintiffs are Sunday Omekedo, Tsadu Mohammed, Engr. Pius Udihirinwa and Iyama Lawrence.

    A date is yet to be set for hearing.

  • FG orders ministries, schools in Abuja to shut down for World Economic Forum

    FG orders ministries, schools in Abuja to shut down for World Economic Forum

     All government offices and  schools in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) are to be shut down  on Wednesday and Thursday when Nigeria will be hosting  the World Economic Forum Africa.

    The shutdown is at the instance of the Federal Government in response  to the recent bomb blasts at Nyanya, near Abuja.

    It   pleaded with the delegates for the summit “not to let terror win” by staying away.

    The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief  Pius Anyim, in a statement  asked private organizations with large staff  to also shut down business during the two days.

    He said the move “is to ease the flow of traffic within the city and enable participants carry out their assigned roles and participate actively at the World Economic Forum Africa.”

    A suspected car bomb killed 19 people and wounded 60   on Thursday night at Nyanya next to the bus stop where a rush-hour bomb attack killed 75 people on April 14.

    The bombs, along with the abduction of 200 girls from  the Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, threaten to overshadow the WEF conference’s emphasis on Africa’s positive growth story.

    The girls, who were taking examnations, were taken away on trucks on the same day as the bus station bombing.

    The Federal Government is expected to  mount a huge security operation to protect the WEF scheduled for  Wednesday and Thursday.

    A regional replica of the Davos, Switzerland, event, it will bring together international leaders, policy-makers, entrepreneurs and philanthropists.

    “We want to state categorically that the President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan administration will not be diverted nor will it give in to these nefarious acts of terrorism,” Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said in a statement  yesterday.

    “The government has taken the strongest measures to ensure a safe forum. We ask participants not to let terror win,” she said.

    Despite the repeated assurances on security, there were signs that not all the delegates were convinced that Nigerian authorities could keep the capital safe during the event.

    Fernando de Sousa, General Manager of Microsoft Africa Initiatives, cancelled his trip “for security reasons following the bombings in Abuja”, a PR company representing the firm said.

    Interior Minister Abba Moro told Reuters that security in Abuja city centre would make it very difficult for any insurgents to find their way in.

    He also said security forces were close to rescuing the missing girls.

    “Defence High Command is doing everything to secure the release of these girls. We are closing in on their location. Hopefully in the next couple of days, they will be rescued,” Moro said in a telephone interview.

    But he added: “The government has to be careful. Any all-out forceful rescue of these kids could undermine their safety.”

  • FG to enforce standards in cement industry

    FG to enforce standards in cement industry

    The Federal Government is to improve supervision and enforcement standards for the cement industry to check the growing incidence of collapsed buildings in the country.

    The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Olusegun Aganga, made this disclosure in Abuja at the second Lafarge National dialogue series.

    Aganga, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Amb. Abdulkadir Musa, said the challenge that building collapse is posing to the nation is a source of concern to the government.

    The minister stated that “the implementation of ISO standards for building as well as the enforcement of building codes is currently being embarked upon.”

    Aganga said the government is leaving no stone unturned in its efforts at establishing quality standards in the country.

    According to him, “a new era of consciousness has begun and will be sustained effectively. To this end, we are working on introduction of courses on standards in universities in the country.”

    Government he said “is fighting the scourge with all resources in order to ensure that the trend is permanently halted and as instrument of positive change, we are responding appropriately to incidence and occurrences as they arise, while working assiduously to prevent others from ever occurring.”

    The Representative of Minister of Housing Alhaji Sanni Gidado also disclosed that the nation’s building code is being reviewed and has reached its final stage. The executive he said is now working with the National Assembly to pass the law to enforce the use of building code and working to see that public buildings go through proper approval.

    Also speaking at the event, Lafarge’s Group Executive Vice President/Country CEO Nigeria and Benin Republic, Mr. Guillaume Roux stated that the national building code which came into force in 2006 needs to be widely accepted by all stakeholders and be fully implemented.

  • FG’s claim on economy is big illusion, says lawmaker

    Deputy Whip of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rotimi Abiru has described the claim by the Federal Government that the economy of Nigeria is now the best in Africa as the biggest illusion of the century.

    Abiru, who was reacting to the development, said the  Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the country, which showed that the Nigerian economy has overtaken that of South Africa’s, is nothing that should excite Nigerians.

    According to him, “the new GDP is nothing to be happy about because it is not in terms of per capita income. What is the essence of becoming Africa’s biggest economy when it doesn’t translate to improved standard of living for the common man?

    “What is the essence of the new GDP figure when it doesn’t translate to reduction in unemployment in the country? There is virtually nothing to be happy about.

    “Nigeria has earlier been rated as one of the poorest countries in the world by the World Bank, and as a matter of fact, it was rated with countries that are either over-populated or ravaged by war like Bangladesh, China, India, Democratic Republic of Congo whereas our dear country does not suffer such fate”, he said.

    Querying the indices on which the rating of Nigeria as the biggest economy in Africa was based on, the lawmaker  said the new GDP and the World Bank rating are parallel things.

    He pointed out that an average Nigerian citizen does not have access to the basic things of life, which according to him, include, potable water, decent accommodation, good healthcare delivery system, electricity, among other basic necessities.

    Abiru explained that life expectancy is below 50 years, “while infant mortality rate is 78 per 1000 live births; under-five mortality rate is 124 per 1000 live births and Nigeria is the seventh highest infant mortality rate in the world.

    “Nigeria boasts of the richest man in Africa and it also parades the poorest people in the world. One out of seven poorest people in the world is a Nigerian.

    “Basically, the new GDP does not translate to good living condition for the mass of Nigerians when about 80 per cent are living below poverty line. As a matter of fact, out of that, more than 60 per cent are actually living below 1 dollar per day, which means the country harbours the poorest of the poor.

    He said that it is mis-governance that allows the lopsided and the inordinate correlation between the economy growth and the per capita income. “The economy of the country has been put in the stronghold of less than 1 per cent of the population,” he added.

    It would be recalled that the Federal Government, while presenting the outcome of the preliminary estimates of the GDP, said that the country’s real GDP for 2011 and 2012 now stood at 5.09 per cent and 6.66 per cent, while the economy grew by 7.41 per cent in real terms last year.

  • FG needs 30bn to complete East West road

    FG needs 30bn to complete East West road

    The Federal Government needs N30 billion to complete the East West road project.

    The Supervising Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Mr Darius Ishaku, said this when he received members of the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) sub committee on the East-West road.

    Ishaku said in spite of the budgetary provision and funds from the African Development Bank (AfDB), there is a “gap” of N30 billion still needed.

    The News agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Federal Government obtained N50 billion from the AfDB for the project.

    He reiterated the ministry’s plans to approach the Infrastructure Development Bank to ensure the completion of the project.

    He commended the efforts of the Federal Government in securing funds from the SURE-P and called for regular disbursement.

    He said that the ministry would strengthen its cooperation with the SURE-P to ensure the completion of the project.

    NAN reports that the project, which was started in 2010, has a total contract sum of N349.9 billion.

    NAN further reports that out of the money, N250 billion has been disbursed.

    The 338-kilometre road stretches from Effurun in Delta to Oron in Akwa Ibom and cuts across four states in the Niger Delta region.

    The design for the project has 42 bridges and 786 culverts, which are divided into five sections.

    The ministry said the project was 70 per cent completed after an assessment of the level of work done by the contractors.