The Nation Newspaper

Tag: House

  • A house divided against itself

    A house divided against itself

    IT has been 10 months since the inauguration of the present Students’ Union Government (SUG) of the Benue State University (BSU). But they have been months of unease for the executive.

    The executive is led by Jeff Mngu, a 400-Level student of Accounting. The union parliament is headed by Titus Hindan, a 400-Level student of Sociology.

    Almost immediately the executive’s tenure began, the SUG was enmeshed in administrative crisis. Some contentious issues resulted into a struggle in the union. Despite the crisis, the union leaders believe that they are doing well.

    CAMPUSLIFE gathered that the crisis caused by the deduction in the constitutional take-off grant for running of the parliament. According to Innocent Okwori, 200-Level Medicine and member representing the Faculty of Basic and Allied Medical Sciences, a part of the house grant was diverted by some union officials. He said the take-off grant was N450,000, but only N200,000 was released to the house.

    Samuel Korzerzer, member representing the Faculty of Clinical Sciences, said: “Some principal officers, who went to the Dean of Students Affairs office for another thing discovered that the amount released was actually more than the N200,000. We confronted the president and the secretary-general but they were trading blame between themselves.”

    Titus denied that the take-off grant was diverted, saying the problem was caused by communication gap between the parliament and the executive.

    He said: “I don’t think the take-off grant was diverted by the executive. Though none of us knew that the money was supposed to be N450,000. The president only released a part. When members discovered that the executive did not receive all the money due to the House, tension built up. I met with the president and he told me that the union had financial challenge. He promised to pay as soon as some money was remitted into the union’s purse. I can say that it was not a diversion.”

    Jeff said: “We went to the Bursary unit and discovered underestimation of the money meant for the house. There was an error in the addition of figures and when it was corrected, the remaining part was released. If I diverted the money, I would have been removed as president.”

    After the take-off grant controversy, the union ran into a budget row. A member of the parliament said he could not remember if the House ever debated or approved any budget from the executive. The member said when the budget was presented to the parliament, the principal officers claimed there was no money to make copies for members for consideration. “The only time they (executive) came to us was when they came to present their committee members. Another time was when we summoned the President, Secretary-General and Director of Welfare. None of us except the principal officers ratified any budget. How was the budget approved?” he queried.

    Titus admitted that the parliament did not approve the budget. He said: “When the House wrote the executive for the budget, they were delaying the process. The president kept shifting date. Later, he brought me part of the budget while the executive was working on the other part. The budget was still being worked on when the crisis began. We went on break, hoping that when we resume, we will consider bills pending before us. We could not do so and there was no iota of truth in the fact that principal officers ratified the budget.”

    But as far as the President is concerned, he sent a budget to the parliament for consideration. “They received it. I gave them a budget personally. When I came in, I discovered that my tenure was very short, so I used my resources to put together a budget and sent it to the Speaker. Later, the parliament wrote to me that they needed allowance to deliberate on the budget and I gave them, but since then, I have not received any reply from them. So if they are saying that I did not send them a budget, it is left to them. But I believe they cannot deny the fact.”

    The Speaker of parliament was having trouble at every sitting. Members quarrelled over the sharing formula for the take-off grant balance. According to one of them, members had expected the money “to go round”, but the Speaker and the Clerk, Terfa Ingbiankyor, allegedly took out huge sum and claimed it would be lodged into the parliament’s bank account. “We were not satisfied with how they spent the first part of the money. So we tried to call the Speaker for a brief informal meeting to iron out the differences. Before then, he went behind to call some members and tried to induce them with money, which they rejected,” a member said under anonymity.

    The Speaker and the Clerk were later asked to convene a sitting but they allegedly refused. After Titus was asked severally to convene parliamentary meeting without doing so, members gathered and elected Tony Onazi, a Law student, as Acting Speaker.

    In the meeting presided over by Tony, Titus and the Clerk were impeached for failing to respect the parliament’s decisions. Fighting back, the impeached officials reported the development to the Dean of Students’ Affairs, Prof Armstrong Adejo, claiming that they were removed through an alien constitution.

    Samuel said: “When we met with the Dean, he asked us which constitution we used and we showed him. The Dean said the constitution was not recognised by the union but we told him that Titus gave us the constitution. Titus denied before the Dean that he gave us the constitution. We were going to use the old constitution to continue with the procedure, but the Deputy Speaker intervened and called an informal meeting during which we demanded a refund of the money Titus mismanaged. When that was done, we upturned the impeachment and recalled the Speaker.”

    Titus denies the charges, saying in all processes, the constitution should take its course. Another allegation the Speaker faces is that, he single-handedly approved the union’s secretariat project. But Titus said a good number of the parliamentarians consented to the project to continue.

     

  • Nigeria’s Culture House opens in South Africa

    Nigeria’s Culture House opens in South Africa

    Buoyed by the success of Nigerian cultural centres in Brazil and China, the Federal Government will open a similar Culture and Information Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa, this year, Tourism, Culture and National Orientation Minister Edem Duke has said.

    Duke spoke after an inspection of the former Nigerian Chancery in Johannesburgwhich will be used for that purpose.

    Accompanied by the Ministry’s Director of Culture, Goerge Uffot, Deputy Director (Bilateral) Mrs. Dayo Keshi and officials of the Nigerian High Commission in South Africa led by Head of Chancery, Mr. Jonathan Eze, the Minister took a thorough look at the property and the environs and concluded that the premises would serve the purpose of promoting Nigerian culture while also providing general information about the country.

    The Minister pointed out that the centre, which is the first to be opened by Nigeria in Africa, would be used to strengthen cultural relations not only with the government and people of South Africa but also with other countries in the southern part of the continent.

    Explaining why Nigeria has decided to site her first Culture House in Africa in Johannesburg, the Minister said: ” We recall the very elaborate and robust relations between Nigeria and South Africa, especially in the years of struggle against apartheid as well as the leadership role the two countries are playing in the advancement of the cause of Africa globally. This choice is also in recognition of the role Nigeria played and continues to play in the history of Southern African countries”.

    The decision was also influenced by the fact that there are many Nigerians living legitimately in South Africa and contributing to its socio-economic development as well as the maintenance of bilateral relations. Having a Nigerian Culture and Information Centre around them will enhance their activities and also complement the operations of the Nigerian High Commission. The Minister disclosed that Nigeria was working with South Africa to facilitate the opening of a South African Tourism Outpost in Nigeria stressing that the Culture House will partly serve a similar purpose.

    On the specific functions of the centre, Duke said ”As with similar centres operating in Brazil and China, this centre will be a mini melting-pot of some of the elements of our history and heritage as well as a platform for socio-cultural engagements not only for Nigerians but also for nationals of other countries who, through the centre, will have a deeper insight into what makes the biggest and most populous nation in Africa what it is. There will be a regular showcasing of Nigerian artifacts by our various parastatals and agencies and other interest groups from home. We intend to have a permanent photo exhibition that will speak to and reflect the various aspects of Nigerian culture”‘.

    The centre will also have a store where arts and craft from Nigeria will be available for purchase. These will include fashion accessories in realisation of the fact that Nigeria is a leading light in music and fashion. Also envisaged within the operations are specialised exhibitions and a function area where government officials, especially governors, can interface with their citizens.

    Duke also believes that the centre in will be a major stride in the advancement and definition of cultural diplomacy, African brotherhood, greater bilateral understanding, economic growth and winning the hearts of South Africans and nationals of other countries in the region in the interest o Nigeria. According to the Minister, ”Nigria is playing a frontline role in the maintenance of peace and stability in Afica and other parts of the world as Nigerians also continue to make significant contributions to knowledge wherever they are found. In order to sustain all of these, the establishmen of Nigerian cultural centres as a major platform of diplomacy in strategic parts of the world is expedient.”or some South Africa based Nigerians among whom are journalists, businessmen and students who engaged the Minister on various issues during the brief visit, a Nigerian Culture and Information Centre in Johannesburg will be a rallying -point that is long awaited and will make them have a constant feel of their culture and the governance process.

    The Minister assured them that the Jonathan administration is committed to the cause of Nigerians wherever they are based across the world and will protect their interests at all times.

  • Is all well with the house of NANS?(2)

    I ended last week’s piece with the petition to President Goodluck Jonathan by Adelu James who contested the post of president of NANS with eleven other contenders. James raised some pertinent issues in the melodrama currently plaguing the association. After reading last week’s piece, Prince Miaphen, one of the contenders who identified himself as the authentic student representative and president of NANS sent me two documents, a statement recounting what transpired at Uyo last year and text of the maiden press conference he granted after being sworn in as president of NANS in Jos on January 13. I will return to the issue of Miaphen and the allegation of attempted assassination leveled against him by Yinka Gbadebo later.

    But in the interim, was Gbadebo eligible to contest the election in the first place? I pose this question because Adelu James, a 500 level Law student of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife claimed he is “the sole ticket of the institution to contest at Uyo convention. But it is a big surprise to me and a slap to all Nigerian students that, Mr. Yinka Gbadebo who is not a student of Obafemi Awolowo University could be allowed by the convention planning committee, the convention chairman and the State Security Service to contest the election with the studentship of Obafemi Awolowo University”. If this was the case then the next question that will arise is who was the authentic representative from OAU?

    In order to answer this question we have to rewind a few years back and put things in perspective. Gbadebo was alleged – by all the presidential candidates – to have physically assaulted the former Vice-Chancellor of University of Ado Ekiti now Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti, Prof. Akin Oyebode now at the Faculty of Law, University of Lagos, an offence which led to his rustication from the university. With his result still hanging in Ekiti State University, he allegedly enrolled for a Diploma programme in OAU which apparently led to his eligibility to contest the election.

    Yinka Gbadebo, however, debunked insinuations that he applied for an OAU diploma in order to be eligible to contest NANS presidency. According to him, he “came to OAU to obtain more knowledge after waiting so long for UNAD to release my result all to no avail based on political reasons that are interwoven with my active participation in students’ unionism.”

    He stressed that “rumour peddlers” are ignorant of the content of NANS constitution, adding that the constitution states clearly that to be eligible for presidential election, a candidate must be studying a course of not less than two years duration in any institution of higher learning. “Most of them have never seen NANS constitution and charter of demands in their life and they want to aspire.”

    From this it is not surprising that it has been conflicts on all fronts. In February during a visit to Jos another drama played out. After the Uyo convention, Gbadebo and his executives took it upon themselves to go on fence mending tours of university campuses across the country, that tour brought them to Jos on February 7th where he alleged that an assassination attempt was made on his life. Let’s hear him out: “In our bid to defend the mandate that Nigerian students gave to us at the polls, we decided to embark on a tour of our campuses to familiarise ourselves with the problems facing our students. This tour brought us to Jos on Wednesday, 6th February 2013. Scared of the imminent truth that his fraudulent activities would be revealed to the people of Plateau State who he had earlier hoodwinked into believing his self-acclaimed presidency of NANS, Prince Miaphen sent a group of assassins after me and my entourage on Thursday 7th February 2013”.

    He alleged that the assassins who came armed with guns and machetes ended up kidnapping one of his colleagues, Dimeji Azeez of the University of Ibadan and “totally vandalized and destroyed the two weeks old official bus of the national secretariat of NANS. Azeez was later released after we apprehended the younger brother to Prince Miaphen who led the assault team”.

    He thus declared Prince Miaphen “persona non grata on campuses of all Nigerian institutions of higher learning. That any campus that welcomes the said Prince Miaphen will be indefinitely suspended from NANS and all NANS related activities, including the right to vote or to contest for any national office. That the Plateau State Government under the able leadership of Da Jonah Jang in collaboration with Nigeria Police Force and State Security Service should as a matter of urgency arrest and prosecute Mr. Prince Miaphen alongside his cohorts within 7days. That the Plateau State Government in other to forestall the breakdown of law and order, should with immediate effect provide the leadership of NANS with a NEW BUS AS A COMPESATION, based on the fact that Mr. Prince Miaphen is an indigene of Plateau State from Shendam Local Government Area”.

    Miaphen denied the entire allegation, according to him he was on tour of higher institution campuses in Gombe, Bauchi, Yobe and Bornu States when Gbadebo, who had information on what he was doing paid a visit to Jos. “The question I would like Gbadebo to answer is why did he not go to the campuses of University of Jos, Plateau State University or Plateau Polytechnic? He did not go there because he is an unpopular candidate that believes in grandstanding and hobnobbing with politicians. NANS headquarter is not in Abuja or the various state government houses but on University campuses.”

    Miaphen, who said he has the backing of the other contestants and Nigerian students said his intention is “to relocate the NANS Secretariat from the streets and salubrious confines of Abuja, where it has been domiciled for the better part of the last decade, back to the campuses, where it was originally designed to function. It is pertinent to state that NANS is a force with a dominant constructive component. Its impact, primarily, should be to benefit the students and managements of its respective host institutions, and by extension the entire educational system of Nigeria. This is the only way that the organisation shall muster the zest to contribute to the overall development of the country by deepening democracy, advocating for good governance, a just and egalitarian society for all, among other salient issues contained in the NANS Charter of Demands.

    What I can deduce from what Miaphen and his cohorts are trying to achieve is their determination to go back to the era of NANS of old where Universities at the time are strategic resources for the production of ideas and manpower for societal growth. Students were at the center of this as agents of change as leaders of tomorrow with strong stake in the future of the community. But today in the realm of students all you hear is cultism, fraud, exam malpractices, yahoo yahoo, prostitution etc.

    Aside NANS national leadership intellectual decline, the various structures of the union- state joint committee and students’ unions have either sold out to politicians or lack the requisite intellectual wherewithal to lead successful and genuine struggles of students. While I blame the student leaders, I must also blame the school authorities and the state in destroying the legacy of genuine students’ unionism either by buying over of student leaders or by use of naked force like police and victimisation to deal with genuine student activists.

    Dear reader, does it surprise you the way things have turned out with our “future leaders” and their association? It should not because we are all seeing ourselves in the mirror, in essence, what is unfolding is a stack reminder of our pathetic society today where our students emulate leaders who continue to regenerate itself in brazen corruption, and lack of concern for its citizens, where politics does not go beyond greed and lucre. Student leaders who are supposed to be groomed for everything noble are already in the same track with our “leaders”.

  • Is all well with the house of NANS (1)?

    Is all well with the house of NANS (1)?

    All around the world, universities are established to push forward the frontiers of knowledge, transform people’s lives and contribute to the health and wealth of our nation through their deep involvement in result oriented researches which is expected to have impact in the wider society and the economy. It is within this premise that I’ll like to address an issue that has been on my mind for some time now, the issue of student unionism. I have been putting it off but it now calls for attention as I continue to receive correspondences from different individuals purporting to be “president” of NANS.

    From my last count – which may not be conclusive – there are at least three “presidents” of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS). “Comrade” Yinka Gbadebo, “Comrade” Adelu Monehim James, and Prince Miaphen all claim they’re the duly elected president of the uniform student body; what this portends therefore is that there is a split. Despite the controversy surrounding the December 2012 elections, Gbadebo was sworn in last month at an elaborate ceremony in Abuja that had in attendance Owelle Rochas Okorocha, Governor of Imo State and other dignitaries.

    For those old enough to remember the military era, they will recollect the part student unions played in giving the military sleepless nights. How can one forget Olusegun Okeowo, late Chris Abashi and a host of others? Then student unionism was ideologically driven with detailed and intelligent analysis of the state of the nation, regular communique that are deep with insight and knowledge are released, not the shallow statements that we see from the stable of representatives of Nigerian students these days.

    Student unionism in Nigeria has a cherished and glorious history that is worth reenacting here. The emergence of West African Student Union (WASU) pioneered by some Nigerian students in London in 1925 opened the floodgate of student unionism in the country. WASU fought the colonial masters for the rights of Africans. This was followed by the National Union of Nigerian Students, (NUNS) whose last leader was Olusegun Okeowo. The NUNS was proscribed by the regime of General Olusegun Obasanjo. But with the advent of democratic rule, Nigerian students converged at the Yaba College of Technology, Lagos to establish NANS. NANS inherited the same idealism from WASU and NUNS and the student union matched on as a platform of change and of informed activism. Has that same cherished tradition continued to date? We’ll find out.

    At its 26th convention, student delegates from institutions of higher learning across Nigeria converged in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, and elected Yinka Gbadebo of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) Ile-Ife as the president of NANS. However, one notable feature which has been the norm in past conventions since student unionism started was left out; the students did not discuss the state of the nation. I recollect reading a report then where one disappointed delegate described the failure to discuss current issues as “evidence of the level of degeneration in NANS.” He added that the organization used to be at the forefront of the struggle for the liberation of Nigeria’s downtrodden and oppressed classes. This, no doubt, is one informed delegate.

    I can still recall vividly, just like I mentioned earlier that NANS served as an active resistance group during the era of military regimes in Nigeria. It was part of the movement that fought for a return to civil rule in the country. By 1990, NANS was at the peak of its glory, having played a significant role in rousing Nigerians to protest the Structural Adjustment Program imposed by the Ibrahim Babangida regime at the urging of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

    The same 1990 also marked the beginning of what would be a split within the organization five years later. NANS annual convention was fixed to hold on November 30, 1990 at Auchi Polytechnic. Eventually, after much intrigue and disagreements, the convention opened a day later and at a different venue: the University of Benin, (UNIBEN).

    After the controversial and heated convention, NANS witnessed a split along ethno-religious lines when a former undergraduate from Usman Dan Fodio University, Sokoto (UDUSOK), announced a “Northern NANS”. This almost tore the union apart, but the students eventually came together after finding a common ground of agreement. However, that split fostered deeper ideological conflicts and schisms between different interest groups and weakened the broad platform of NANS; this unfortunately has continued to date. This compelled another delegate years to allege that: “Student unionism has been infiltrated by dirty money politics as well as brigandage by members of some confraternities and cult groups”.

    But some activists of the past also strike more sympathetic notes. They see the new developments as not simply evidence of student leaders’ “degeneration,” but as a symptom of broader problems in the larger society like in 2005 when the then NANS president Orkuma Hembe used the platform to campaign for Obasanjo’s third term gambit and even went further to award him “Defender of Democracy”. Perhaps he was too young, or does not have a sense of history to recollect that it was this same defender of democracy that proscribed NUNS and under whose administration some NUNS fighters were rusticated from their various Universities.

    To try to understand the present crisis in NANS is to also understand that the larger Nigerian malaise is also affecting the association. If you think the principle of zoning of political office is a creation of the Federal Character Commission or the PDP, then you have another think coming. There is zoning provision in the constitution of NANS, and this does not permit anybody other than a Student of an institution of higher learning in the South-West to contest last year’s election, according to the Constitution and Charter of Demand of NANS. The student body is actually zoned into four zones.

    Immediately after the Uyo Convention which brought it Gbadebo as President, one of the aggrieved contestants, Adelu Monehin James petitioned President Goodluck Jonathan on what he termed the “illegal declaration of Yinka Gbadebo as NANS president”. James, in the petition, described the election as “a mere formality by some elements to endorse an individual who had been positioned to hijack the Association to achieve an end that contravenes the yearnings and aspirations of the over forty millions Nigerian students. Having taking (sic) my time to appraise the convention and what transpired, in the interest of national peace and security, I have decided to write His Excellency as the Chief Security Officer of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on the position that I am taking in the best interest of the nation so that I can jealously protect the interests of all Nigerian students’ home and abroad”.

    He claimed that before the election, stakeholders meetings of the Association and all the presidential aspirants were held with the State Security Services (SSS). In these meetings, some of the vital issues raised and agreed upon in line with the constitution of the Association were: That all the contestants should submit their profile to the office of the SSS including their intent forms to be duly signed by their respective Head of Departments (HOD), “but unfortunately, Mr. Yinka Gbadebo’s form was not signed by any HOD because he is not a student of any known institution in Nigeria”.

    The petitioner tasked the office of the SSS to liaise with various institutions claimed by the aspirants in the profile to authenticate their studentship because any aspirant who is not certified to be a student of any tertiary institution recognized by JAMB, NUC and other education regulatory bodies should be disqualified.

    According to him, the SSS collected and collated information of all the aspirants particularly the presidential aspirants “but unfortunately nobody was disqualified despite the fact that, certain individuals were discovered not to be matriculated students of any institution as claimed Mr. Yinka Gbadebo inclusive. All these were agreed upon in order to ensure that genuine students who can be held accountable for their actions and in-actions are allowed to pilot the affairs of the organization”. At the Uyo convention, twelve people contested for the office of the president. They include; Yinka Gbadebo, Adelabu Adeola, Kazeem O. Kazeem, Prince Maiphem, Isaac Odiyan, Adelu Monehin James and Victor Magress.

  • Tukur to Lagos PDP: Put your house in order

    Tukur to Lagos PDP: Put your house in order

    Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Chairman Alhaji Bamanga Tukur was in Lagos State at the weekend to resolve the crisis rocking the chapter. Party sources said that it was a morale-boosting emergency visit aimed at affirming the leadership of Captain Tunji Shelle (rtd), who emerged as the state chairman at the last year’s party congress.

    The National Chairman lamented the defection of key chieftains from the party to the ruling Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), urging party chieftains to put their house in order. He spoke on the need for unity in the chapter, stressing that cohesion, solidarity and mutual goodwill are critical to the party’s 2015 calculations.

    Tukur, who arrived Lagos in the evening, was received by the Southwest PDP Caretaker Chairman, Chief Isola Filani, the party chairman, Captain Shelle and other members of the state executive committee. The meeting took place at the Dominion Lounge, Muritala Mohammed Airport, Ikeja.

    The national chairman held closed door meeting with the party stakeholders on how to move the chapter forward and position it strategically for the next general elections. Former Works Minister Prince Adeseye Ogunlewe, who has been a critic of the Bode George leadership, attended the meeting.

    Tukur pacified the aggrieved party leaders who complained about their exclusion from party activities, especially the composition of the current executive committee led by Shelle. He explained that he was not in Lagos to dissolve the executive committee, pointing out that the Lagos PDP problem is not similar to that of the Ogun State chapter.

    The national chairman charged the state executive committee to appeal to those who defected from the party to return to the fold, adding that Shelle should assure them of equal treatment and sense of belonging.

    There have been alleged factional interests in the Lagos State PDP, prompting appeals to the National Working Committee (NWC) for the dissolution of the Shelle executive. But the Publicity Secretary, Mr. Gani Taofeek, told reporters after the meeting that Tukur met a PDP that was intact in Lagos State, adding that the party is prepared for the 2015 polls.

    Shelle acknowledged the NWC’s plan to win Lagos in the next election, assuring Tukur that all hands would be on desk to achieve the noble task. He charged party members to forgive and forget the past in the collective interest of the platform.

    The state chairman also thanked Tukur for the confidence reposed in his leadership, assuring that he would not fail the national leadership.

    Taofeek said: “We left the meeting with a greater resolve to work as a family so as not to disappoint the people of Lagos who are agitating for a change of government. We will to reassure our teeming members that the PDP is determined more than before to take over power in 2015 and ensure grassroots development in the state. We appeal to our black sliding members to come back home. We welcome people from other parties willing to join us and we assure that all members, new and old, will be treated with the love and fairness”.

     

     

  • House urges IG to find Kwara CP’s killers

    House urges IG to find Kwara CP’s killers

    The House of Representatives yesterday condemned the killing of the Kwara State Commissioner Police Chinwike Asadu and has mandated the Inspector- General of Police Mohammed Abubakar to “ ensure that the killing does not go the way of the previous unresolved murders and assassination.”

    The lawmakers also asked President Goodluck Jonathan to redouble his effort as the Chief Security Officer of the country “ to ensure that all his security chiefs are on top of their schedules.”

    Members of the House also want the installation of CCTV cameras to be encouraged in all state capitals and all public places.

    The resolutions of the House followed the adoption of a motion moved by the Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Public Relations, Zakari Mohammed under matters of urgent national importance.

    The lawmaker, while presenting the motion after a minute silence was observed for the late officer, argued that the killing of the Kwara CP brings to question “our fast deteriorating capacity to deal with all forms of crime in its ramifications.”

    The lawmaker said since 1986 murder of Dele Giwa, former Editor of Newswatch through a parcel bomb “no high profile killing or assassination has been unravelled.”

    He added: “If a high ranking police officer is attacked in this manner, our security situation in the comity of nations would further worsen thereby making investment drive in our country a mirage as no investor would put his resources in an unpredictable environment.”

    Enugu State Commissioner of Police Tonye Ebitibituwa yesterday said his command has arrested some suspects.

    He, however, declined to give the identities and number of thesuspects.

    The police boss said it was through such arrests that the police get information on their target.

    Ebitibituwa said no innocent citizen would be molested by security operatives.

    The General Officer Commanding 82 Division of the Nigeria Army, Enugu, Major General Adebayo Olaniyi has pledged to support the police to ensure that the killers of Asadu were fished out.

    He described the death of the police officer in Enugu as shocking and unfortunate.

    The GOC expressed optimism that “God in his infinite mercy will expose the perpetrators”.

    Olaniyi spoke yesterday at Ebitibituwa’s office.

     

    ‘Place N25m reward on slain CP’s killers’

    Renowned security expert and Chairman of the School of Management and Security, Dr. Ona Ekhomu, has urged the police to place a reward of no less than N25 million for information on the killers of the Kwara State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Chinweike Asadu.

    He said the murder was a warning that leaders at all levels needed to re-evaluate their security profile and practices.

    Ekhomu, in a statement yesterday, said the killing of the late Asadu was a strong indication that the security situation in the country was getting worse. He said reports iindicated that the CP was relaxed when the incident happened. “That created a vulnerability that was exploited by his assailants,” he said.

    He urged the police agency to set up a tips hot-lines where it may receive tips on the incident. All tips should be computer-logged in order to enable review by police managers, he said.

    Ekhomu said: “Security awareness training will make executives more pro-active about their security as it will increase their readiness, responsiveness and decisiveness in personal security issues. Security awareness will enable chief executives imbibe a culture of responsibility for their personal security. It will open their eyes to security risks, security threats, security vulnerabilities and decision options to stay safe and alive.”

     

     

     

     

  • ‘There was no shooting in Kalu’s house’

    The Abia State Government has said there was no shooting at the country home of former Governor Orji Uzor Kalu.

    Speaking in Umuahia, the Commissioner for Information, Eze Chikamnayo, said the office of governor, which Kalu had earlier occupied, must be respected and that the administration has no plans to denigrate it.

    Chikamnayo said the former governor is trying to make the state ungovernable.

    The commissioner said Kalu is only trying to whip up sentiments by saying there was shooting at the gate of his Igbere home.

    Unknown gunmen at the weekend stormed Kalu’s home, shooting the bus in which one of his aides was travelling in.

    Police spokesman Geoffrey Ogbonna said the police headquarters is yet to be briefed on the incident.

     

     

  • House defeats motion on cement import

    House defeats motion on cement import

    There was an uproar in the House of Representatives yesterday as the members voted on a motion brought by a member, Hassan Saleh (PDP, Benue).

    Members were disenchanted with the refusal of the Deputy Speaker, Emeka Ihedioha, to rule in line with the votes on the motion, causing an uproar.

    While majority of the lawmakers shouted “Nay!” to the motion, the Deputy Speaker dithered and asked the sponsor to repeat the prayer just in case members did not hear it well in the first instance.

    This incited members, anger, resulting in an uproar. For about three minutes, no one could hear anything in the chamber due to the murmuring that engulfed the chamber..

    The motion, entitled: “Urgent need to investigate the non-implementation of the backward integration policy on local production of cement,” empahsised the non-protection of local cement producers, against the background of the glut in the local market and continued importation of cement.

    The vote was eventually taken for the second time after the sponsor had read the motion a second time.

     

     

     

  • Put your house in order, PDP urges APGA

    The Abia state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has called on the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA to put its house in order in the interest of the state.

    Speaking in Umuahia, the state capital, the Publicity Secretary of PDP, Uchechi Ogbuka said APGA, which is supposed to be a strong opposition, has been in disarray.

    Ogbuka, who was reacting to the statement credited to Senator Pius Anyim Pius, that 2015 polls would be a defining moment for Abia state, advised the chieftains of the party to stand firm rather causing acrimony in the state.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Senate, House query N58b SURE-P funds for foreign contractors

    Senate, House query N58b SURE-P funds for foreign contractors

    •N2.2b spent on secretariat services

    • Travel bills hit N75m

    The joint Senate and House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum (Downstream) yesterday queried the N58 billion the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) paid foreign railway contractors in four months.

    The joint committee also questioned the N75 million SURE-P claimed to have spent on local travels in four months.

    The lawmakers were also uncomfortable with the N2.2 billion claimed to have spent on secretariat services between July and October 2012.

    The issues were raised when officials of SURE-P led by Chairman of the programme, Dr. Christopher Kolade, appeared before the joint committee to defend the 2013 budget of SURE-P.

    To start the session, Chairman, Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), Magnus Abe, said the desire of the lawmakers was to understand where the SURE-P was heading to.

    He noted that the fund allocated to SURE-P was not the ordinary crude oil money to be shared by individuals, saying nobody should take questions by members of the committee personal, as it was incumbent on them to explain to their constituents the utilization of Federal Government funds

    Kolade explained that whatever they do under the programme is based on transparency, probity and accountability.

    He said there was no reason for them to hide information on what they are doing.

    A member of the committee, Senator Benedict Ayade, wondered why the SURE-P paid N58 billion to multi-national contractors on rail line projects. The lawmaker from Cross River North also questioned the N75 million spent on local travels in four months.

    He said the implication of paying foreign contractors N58 billion in four months was that the money would have been transferred out of the country.

    Ayade said: “I though that the philosophy of SURE-P is creation of jobs for Nigerians. Now that major contracts under SURE-P are done by multi-national contractors, how will SURE-P achieve its philosophy and objectives?

    “Is the philosophy of SURE-P no longer empowerment of Nigerians?”

    Ayade also said it was obvious that SURE-P projects are not evenly distributed across the states, adding that “SURE-P is just going the way of other Nigerian committees.”

    He said money was being recklessly pumped to multi-national companies in the name of fighting unemployment, wondering why SURE-P has taken over the functions of Primary Health Centres in the country.

    The committee wanted to know what the Ministry of Work is doing when SURE-P has taken over payment of contractors.