The Nation Newspaper

Tag: House

  • HOUSE ON THE ROCK CHURCH TO PREMIERE ‘93 DAYS’

    AS part of its campaign to promote a purposeful leadership in Nigeria, The Rock Cathedral in collaboration with Natives FilmWorks, Michelangelo Productions and the Bolanle Austen- Peters Production will premiere the highly anticipated Steve Gukas film – 93 Days.

    The premiere holds on Tuesday, September 13, 2016 at the Rock Cathedral, Lekki-Epe Expressway, Lagos.  It will be the third movie premiere of the renowned church. Last year, it premiered Selma and Captive which featured award -winning Nigerian actor David Oyelowo.

    Starring Bimbo Akintola, Danny Glover, Tim Reid, Somkele Idhalama, Keppy Ekpenyong, Gideon Okeke and other talented actors, 93 Days is a compelling story of dedication, sacrifice and resilience which celebrates the courage shown by the First Consultant Medical Team, the Lagos State & Federal Governments and well-meaning organisations in combating the Ebola virus, which broke out early 2014 in Nigeria.

    Bimbo Akintola portrays the late Dr. Stella Adadevoh who worked with her younger colleagues, and whose early detection of the disease in a patient and insistence on treating him contributed greatly to limiting the spread of the disease in Nigeria.

    The film also highlighted the rapid response of the Lagos State Government and its collaboration with other well-meaning organisations in combating the deadly virus which was aptly themed: ‘The Power of COLLABORATION.’

    Speaking on The House on the Rock Partnership with these notable bodies, the Senior Pastor of all House on the Rock Churches, Pastor Paul Adefarasin said, “House on the Rock’s mission is to work together with everyone that is invested in building a transformed nation, a better Nigeria, and this essence ties strongly into the courage displayed by Dr. Stella Adadevoh and her colleagues who brought hope to a nation that was being threatened by devastation, at the expense of their own lives. This is the kind of love and sacrifice that can truly bring transformation to all.”

    93 Days is also among the selected Nigerian films to be screened at The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in September.

  • Jibrin links Omisore to House budget padding controversy

    Jibrin links Omisore to House budget padding controversy

    Embattled former House of Representatives Appropriation Committee Chairman Abdulmumin Jibrin has linked Senator Iyiola Omisore with the budget padding controversy.

    Omisore, who represented Osun East, was the chairman of the seventh Senate’s Appropriation Committee.

    In a letter to All Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman John Odigie-Oyegun in which he urged him to advise House of Representatives Speaker Yakubu Dogara to resign, Jibrin alleged an unholy alliance between Dogara and Omisore.

    In the letter, dated August 12, Jibrin said Dogara’s exit would enable the House “nominate a Speaker Pro Tempore and mobilise our members to support him to take over and adjourn the House until when we are due for resumption in September”.

    “This will give room for consultations on the election of a new Speaker when we resume,” he said.

    He urged the party “to discuss on the possibility of returning the N100 billion constituency component of the budget under any of our laws so that all stolen money can be returned, particularly the N40 billion naira and equitably distributed to all constituencies.”

    The office of the speaker declined to react to Jibrin’s letter yesterday.

    On Omisore’s role, he said: “His godfather is Senator Iyiola Omisore. During the build up to the appointment of committee chairmen, I had a terrible disagreement with him (Dogara). While in  London, before the appointment of committee chairmen, Jibrin claimed that Dogara “pleaded with me to join him at a house in London. I went and I saw him seated very comfortably with Senator Omisore. It was there he said he was going to appoint me as chairman, Appropriations and I should be reporting to Omisore

    “I was completely shocked. A nice lunch was served; we ate and we left. At least, there are CCTVs in London. I confided in a highly-placed person who I wouldn’t want to mention his name. He advised me to remain calm and concentrate on my job. My refusal to comply with such questionable instructions largely accounted for the anger of Mr. Speaker towards me.

    “It was much later that I realised that Senator Omisore had adopted Speaker Dogara as a godson since their days as Chairman Appropriations and House Services in the sixth Assembly respectively.”

    Jibrin also accused Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal of not supporting his appointment as Appropriations Committee chairman.

    Jibrin said Dogara was “more interested in telling me about the forces who didn’t want me to be appointed chairman, appropriations as if I cared. He mentioned former Speaker and present Governor of Sokoto State Aminu Waziri Tambuwal as one. That is how narrow-minded Dogara can be.”

  • House: his allegations are wild

    House: his allegations are wild

    The House of Representatives yesterday described the alegations made by Hon Abdumimin Jubrin as “wild”.

    It warned him not to distract the lawmaking body from its duty of addressing the numerous challenges the country faces.

    In a response to Jubrin’s statement, House Media and Publicity Committee Chairman, Abdulrazak Namdas, said in a statement: “Our attention has been drawn to media statement made by the former Chairman of House Appropriation Committee, Hon Abdulmumuni Jibrin wherein he made wild allegations against the House of Representatives and it’s leaders.

    “We wish to say that it is the prerogative of the Selection Committee of the House  to appoint and remove Committee Chairmen.That power has been so exercised in the case of Hon. Abdulmimin Jibrin as chairman of Appropriation Committee.

    “Most of the allegations on the 2016  budget process and his opposition to immunity of Presiding officers  are non issues and mere afterthought manufactured simply because the House relieved him of his position.

    “If he had all these ‘facts’ before ,why didnt he make them public? Why is he doing that now?

    “Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin, like any other member of the House knows that there are conventions and precedents as it relates to budgets and projects for principal officers of the National Assembly . Why is he making it an issue now? In any case, he is entitled to his opinion as a Nigerian and as a legislator while acting within the laws ol Nigeria and rules of the House.

    “We must make it abundantly clear that he was not removed because of his support or otherwise on immunity bill. Afterall he is not the only one who opposed the bill.

     ”The bill is still pending before committee on review of constitution and it has to be voted upon by each and every member of the House, get Senate concurrence, endorsed by two-third of the 36 State Houses of Assembly and be assented to by the President. It is a cheap blackmail on the part of Hon. Jibrin to even insinuate that he was removed because he opposed immunity bill.

    “He should not distract the House from giving legislative support on  important issues facing the government concerning the revival of the economy, insecurity in the country, pursuit of anti-corruption measures, poverty alleviation, infrastructural development etc.

    “The Nigerian people are simply not ready to waste their time on personal issues and personal egos of our leaders. We should face the urgent tasks before us for which we were elected.”

  • ‘Economic crunch is reason you must own your own house’

    The Executive Directors (EDs) of Pertinence Limited, owners of ABC and VIP Gardens, have charged low income earners in the country to be resolute and not relent in their efforts to own their own homes, irrespective of the current downturn in the nation’s economy.

    They expressed this view at a recent land ownership promo launch organised by the firm at the International Trade Fair Complex in Lagos.

    One of the EDs, Mr. Sunday Olorunsheyi, noted that shelter, after food, ranked second in man’s hierarchy of needs and as such required serious attention.

    This thinking, he explained, is the reason the company usually holds promos to offer affordable price regimes for low income earners to own plots of land, while also giving some plots out for free to lucky participants.

    He contended that the economy may be distressed, but rents are rising higher; hence,  what is wise, according to him, is to start thinking of how to own personal homes rather than keep paying high rent.

    “So, despite the economic crunch, real estate investment is still the way to go. Again, this is not just about now, but also for posterity. Some people, who had plugged into real estate years back, can’t  feel the crunch because the prices of their properties are not depreciating,” he said.

    Olorunsheyi added that his firm operates by the core value of empowering people to own their homes by providing required motivation through promo launch and free land offers.

    On the firm’s foray into the southeast region of the country another ED of the firm, Mr. Wisdom Ezekiel, said the new Southeast estate locations being offered to customers at the Trade Fair Complex was both an expansion drive and in response to customers’ calls.

  • House begins probe of Reps’ ‘sex misconduct’ in U.S.

    House begins probe of Reps’ ‘sex misconduct’ in U.S.

    The House of Representatives yesterday commenced a probe into the allegations of sex misconduct leveled against three of its members during a visit to the United States.

    Speaker Yakubu Dogara while instituting the Investigation, mandated the House Committees on Ethic and Privileges and Foreign Affairs to ensure a detailed investigation into the issue to allow the House make an informed decision.

    The Speaker however said Nigeria expects from America the Standard investigations it’s known for and the adherence to the Principle of fair hearing in which an accused is adjudged innocent until proven guilty.

    “The standard in the US is that an accused person is adjudged innocent until proven guilty. The standard in the US is the standard in Nigeria,” he said.

    The three lawmakers, Hon. Mohammed Garba Gololo (APC, Bauchi), Hon. Samuel Ikon (PDP, Akwa Ibom) and Hon. Mark Gbillah (APC, Benue) were part of 10 legislators invited by the U.S. government for the International Visitor Leadership Programme held between April 7 and 13, in Cleveland, Ohio.

    The United States Ambassador to Nigeria, James F. Entwistle had via a letter dated June 9, 2016, to the Speaker of the House accused the three lawmakers of sexual impropriety while in the U.S.

    The three members have consistently denied the allegations

  • House investigates TCN for alleged fraud

    House investigates TCN for alleged fraud

    The House of Representatives has raised the alarm over the fleecing of the economy by eight expatriate managers of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) that earns about N168million monthly among them.

    The lawmakers have consequently mandated its Committees on Power and Public Procurement to investigate alleged massive corruption being carried out by the management of Manitoba Hydro International Nigeria Ltd.

    Manitoba was engaged by the Federal government to manage TCN.

    The decision of the House followed the adoption of a motion by Gaza Gbefwi (APC, Nasarawa), who regretted that Manitoba was able to carry out the fraud through validation of contracts without due process as well as foreign exchange manipulation among others.

    He said: “While the consideration of the management contract includes emoluments for 15 expatriates, only eight  expatriates are working at the TCN.

    “In these harsh economic times, the Managing Director of TCN, a public corporation, draws a monthly salary of N35,500,000 while other expatriates and the Managing Director, ISO earn monthly incomes of N20,500,000  and N19,100,000  respectively.

    “Although the official exchange rate of the dollar to the naira four years ago was around N160 which is now N199,  the exchange rate being used by the management company since 2012, has been N395, a rate that was and is still higher than both the official and parallel market rates

    “As a result of the unlawful exchange rate being used by Manitoba Hydro International Nigeria Limited in the last 13 quarters, the transmission company of Nigeria has fraudulently and illegally lost N3,769,000,000 over and above its entitlement under the management contract

    “Although Manitoba Nigeria Limited, a Federal Government Nigeria through the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), it recoups the amounts from the funds of the market operators of the ISO in the TCN and has so far recovered over N1, 680,000,00  to date.”

    Gbefw said in April this year, the management company unlawfully revalidated a 2010 contract worth N1,900,000, 000 and awarded it to ABB India without due process, in flagrant violation of the Public Procurement Act, 2007

  • Anambra PDP: A divided house

    Anambra PDP: A divided house

    The division in the Anambra State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has not abated. At the recent ward, local government and state congresses, the stakeholders refused to find a common ground. Correspondent NWANOSIKE ONU examines the impact of the protracted crisis on the future of the chapter. 

    Members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Anambra State have been at daggers drawn for many years over seemingly inconsequential issues. Their troubles are yet to abate, because they are many. It is as if the epic novel written by the late Prof. Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart, mirrors the crisis-ridden chapter.

    Unity has become elusive for the Anambra PDP, because its gladiators are in disarray. The balkanisation of the party has bought more pains to its members at the grassroots and they are now at the crossroads. Despite the verdict of the Supreme Court last year that ceded the leadership of the party to Ejike Oguebego, the party’s problems have continued to grow.

    Since that Supreme Court judgment, neither the faction led by Prince Ken Emeakayi, nor that of Oguebego has rested. Rather than uniting the party, ahead of the 2017 governorship and 2019 presidential elections, it has brought more divisions among its members. As a result, some of the bigwigs are now looking for greener pastures, either in the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA). Some have even quit politics.

    Those who have already joined the APC include: business mogul, Chief Dr. Obinna Uzo and governorship candidate of the party in the 2013 election, Dr. Tony Nwoye. Right now, Nwoye, who is the former President of National Association of Nigeria Students (NANS), is representing Anambra East and West at the House of Representatives. He was elected on the PDP platform.

    Others that are hobnobbing with the APC, as a result of the disunity in the PDP include: oil magnates, Prince Arthur Eze and Sir Emeka Offor, businessman Chief Cletus Ibeto and Chief Ernest Obijesie. Furthermore, other chieftains Ibeto former Vice President, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, have decided to sit on the fence, by having nothing to do with the platform, even though they are still card-carrying members.

    During its last congress, it became obvious that the party has sunk deeper into the mire. The 11-man congress committee sent to Anambra by the National Working Committee (NWC), led by Hon. Ladi Edun, was divided.

    While Edun, who was accused of absconding to an unknown destination on arrival in the state, resurfaced after the ward and local government congress to conduct the state congress.

    He was cornered by Senators Stella Oduah and Andy Uba, while the splinter group of four members, led by Alhaji Abubarka Mallam, pitched its tent with the Board of Trustee’s (BoT) member, Chief Chris Uba, Senator Annie Okonkwo and others.

    The intrigues led to further division in the party during the congress. This led to the declaration of Ejike Oguebego as chairman of the Chris Uba camp and Ken Emeakayi as the chairman of the Oduah, Andy Uba camp.

    Before then, Edun had told The Nation that he was the person mandated by the national headquarters of the party to conduct the congress and that he is not aware of any parallel committee as being speculated. He added that members of the committee went to the police, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Directorate of State Security (DSS), to announce their presence on arrival in Anambra.

    He said: “We know there is crisis in the state chapter, but our appeal is that members should come together to make the party strong again, as the governorship election approaches.”

    The melodrama did not end there. The person who conducted the parallel congress, Alhaji Abubakar Mallam, told The Nation that he decided to go ahead with the congress because none of them knew the whereabouts of Edun, since his arrival in the state.

    He said it is the duty of the party at the national level to determine which group is authentic. He also called for the stakeholder’s meeting before the congress.

    Many observers are of the view that the PDP has many rivers to cross in Anambra State. The party leaders have refused to come together because of their selfish interests. For instance, since the Supreme Court judgment, the Chris Uba and the Andy Uba camps have been at loggerheads, fighting against the INEC on who should represent their constituents at the National Assembly.

    Following his travails with the authorities over monies paid to him, prior to the last general elections, the National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, is not finding things easy with the present administration. So, he has stayed out of the crisis. Other members of the party, including Oduah, are also facing similar charges of alleged corruption with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    Given the cat and mouse relationship among its members, the people of Anambra are now disenchanted with the performance of their representatives, both at the state and National Assemblies. They are being accused of selfishness.

    As far as Senator Okonkwo is concerned, his group followed the party’s guidelines and constitution in conducting its congresses. He added that the congress was done and supervised by the administrative secretary of the party in the state. He said the impunity being unleashed by some members will eventually come to naught.

    Apart from the two chairmen that emerged after the congresses at Emmaus House and Marble Arch Hotels, both in Awka, a third group, led by Mr. Ngozi Agudosi, has emerged. Agudosi, who caused confusion within the group that elected Emeakayi, alleged that he was short-changed, because he accepted the court order that backed Emeakayi.

    The order by Ihiala High Court procured by Emeakayi sought to use the list of old party delegates to conduct the congresses.

    The scenario suggests that the problems of the Anambra PDP are too numerous to be resolved in a jiffy. To solve them, the factions must harmonise and chieftains must throw away their ego to work as one family.

    If these issues are left unattended, the PDP may as well forget the 2017 governorship election and other elective positions in the state for the APGA and the APC in future elections.

  • House probe stalls talks on MTN’s N1.04tr fine, says minister

    The Federal Government asked telecoms service provider,  MTN Nigeria to pay N50billion not as part payment of the N1.04trillion fine but as a demonstration of the telcos commitment to its out-of-court settlement of the matter, Communications Technology Minister, Adebayo Shittu has said.

    He said the telco was sanctioned for violating the  Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) card registration laws.

    MTN was fined N1.04 trillion by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for having improperly registered active SIM cards running millions on its network.

    The downward review of the fine by 25 per cent as well as payment of N50billion by the telco later led to the investigation of the issue by the House of Representatives.

    Making presentation on the floor of the House on diversification of the Nigerian economy, Shitu said the Ministry asked the telco to pay N50billion in respect of the fine, adding however that the money was not part of the fine.

    According to him,  MTN took the matter to court but later offered to settle it out of court which was why it was asked to pay N50billion as a sign of commitment to the new deal.

    He also told the lawmakers that negotiation for review of the fine has been stalled due to ongoing  investigation of the matter by the House.

    Shitu however assured the House that, as soon as it concludes its investigation, negotiation of the fine would commence.

    Chairman, House Committee on Communications, Saheed Fijabi (APC, Oyo) took on the minister that his comment on the floor was contrary to what he told the Investigative Committee.

    According to Fijabi, the minister denied being involved in the downward review of the fine as well as the payment of N50billion.

    Further on his presentation, the minister, who said the government is set to turn the Information Communications Technology (ICT) sector into a cash cow for the country disclosed that plans are at advanced stage to reposition the Nigerian Postal Services  (NIPOST).

    He said with over 2,500 locations around the country, the government is set to go into public private partnership  (PPP) whereby post offices can perform financial services, especially in the rural areas.

    He also said the PPP model would turn most post offices into skyscrapers that would generate income for the government.

    According to Shittu, governments is considering sourcing the Chief Executive of the organisation, Post Master General from outside the system through open advertisement.

    He said that was a better option to ensure that the required expertise is got for the new NIPOST.

    He also regrtteed non patronage of indigenous ICT companies which has resulted in 70 per cent of the personal computer market going to foreign manufacturers.

    He however assured that given an enabling environment which the ministry is set to provide, the sector can drive the national economy

     

  • House of Lords Nigeria @ 50 – 3

    The need to put more emphasis on proper education is fancied by Professor Peter Okebukola who argues that with proper funding, Nigerians would reach their goal of rapid transformation of the country. He mercifully does not believe that the standard of education has fallen. I agree. The present generation has more facility to access information than any generation before them. Digesting and assimilating information accessed constitutes the basis of wisdom. The present generation may not be as “grammatical” as we are but they are knowledgeable. What Okebukola advocates is proper training of teachers, and getting the right quantum of teachers, and appropriate facilities for learning and building of good schools for primary and secondary school pupils the type one finds in Botswana, Lesotho, South Africa and shall I say in Aregbesola’s Osun State.

    Engineer Vincent Maduka claims that Nigerians can be whatever they want to be if the will is there. The ICT sector gives one reasons for optimism. When the GSM birthed in Nigeria, foreign companies said there was not enough market to attract their investment. But now with the success and size of the GSM market, it has come to stay in a big way and Nigeria remains a prize the international investors in the field are dying to win. With the right education Maduka feels Nigeria should be able to make a contribution to the future development in ICT like India is doing. This will depend on carefully planned strategy not to be left behind considering the enthusiasm of the young Nigerians not only as consumers but as agent of change in hardware and software computing. Emeagwali’s contributions to the development of the internet super highway have shown, if given the chance, what Nigerians can do.

    The girl child should also be encouraged because any country that neglects more than 50% of its population does injustice to itself. There is no mental incapacity that can be proven in women, and women all over the world in the U.K, France, Sri Lanka, Chile, Brazil, Argentina, Israel, Pakistan, Bangladesh, have become Prime Ministers or presidents. It is therefore a challenge argued Chief Solanke for Nigeria to give women a chance and their due. At the end of the day women are foundations on which nations are built.

    Home training, argues Professor Tomori, is the foundation on which further training hangs, whether we embrace PDP’s “transformation” or APC’s “change”, which he says mean the same if we are to judge by our recent election and the slogans of the defeated PDP and the victorious APC. What is required is not mere slogan but root and branch change. The insane roguery of politicians is the bane of our society. But change will not come unless everybody embraces the credo of change. We must change as individuals and as a collectivity but leadership is important. The leader of a country must be like a lighted candle which cannot be hid. His goodness must be manifested by how he lifts the entire country up so that history can be fair and remember the change he has brought for the better into their lives.

    With the emergence of Muhammadu Buhari as president of Nigeria in 2015, Professor Tomori is cautiously optimistic that we may yet get the change that this country requires and needs. The question to ask is whether Buhari, borrowing a leaf from the book of J.J Rousseau, represents the general will of Nigerians. And if he does, according to Rousseau, he will be right to force us to obey the general will which Rousseau says may not be known by the majority but by the minority or even one person. The problem of Nigeria is not just that of political leadership alone. So Buhari alone cannot solve our problem. Our problem is structural and systemic and we should rather err on the side of structures and systems that are long lasting than pin all our hopes and future on the ephemerality of persons.

    At the end of the day, whether it is 70 years or 100 years as some clerics say, we are allotted by God to live on this terrestrial plain we would all grow old and pass on to eternity. A country should be judged on how well it treats its old, and I dare say, its dead. A situation, argues Chief Akinyele, in which pensioners over the age of 80 are wickedly struck off the payment schedule on the ground that they should have died calls for change. People in charge of pension steal pensioner’s funds with impunity or put pensions fund in fixed term deposits so as to earn interest for themselves while pensioners die of hunger and in penury.

    Pensioners have been known to curse heads of governments while on their dying beds and God knows there is no way such curses would not come true.

    Reading this book has been a journey of how a well-endowed country has failed miserably on every count. Most of us are eager that our present experiment in governance will succeed. But for this to happen there is a need for a new architecture of government that will reduce the financial strength of the centre where most of the looting takes place and redistribute resources to the states. The centre must remove its hands from local government creation in a new restructured country. The federation must be between the states and the centre and the anomaly of a three-tier structure must be done away with like in all federations of the world. States must be left to create as many local governments as their resources permit and their people want.

    Whatever it will take must be done to bring Nigeria into the 21st century where potable water, regular electricity, security, motorable roads, railways, health, and education will be taken for granted as in most countries of the world, including some African countries.

  • Ooni calls for ‘house manufacturing’

    How can the housing gap be addressed? It is by manu-facturing rather than building houses, says the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunnusi, Ojaja II.

    The Ooni was speaking at the launch of the second edition of “The state of Lagos Housing Market Report 2016’ compiled by Roland Igbinobia Real Foundation for Housing and Urban Development (RIRFHUD).

    Calling for the compilation of an information bank in the real estate sector, he said such data would make a positive impact on the industry, and help in turning around some strategic slums in Lagos and other states.

    “We need to all come together if we are going to work towards manufacturing homes because in Nigeria, we haven’t started manufacturing homes. What we are doing is building homes. The day we start to manufacture homes in this country, then we are serious,” he said.

    To achieve this, the Ooni, with vast interest in real estate, said there is a need for all corporate organisations, both in the financial services sector and the mortgage arm of the real estate, to invest in the sector. This, he noted, will position the industry players to be able to influence a lot of government policies in the overall interest of the sector.

    Chairman of the Foundation, Mr. Newton Jibunoh, noted that the publication of the book has given support to a fledgling sector of the economy. He explained that the need for shelter is as dynamic and universal as it gets recurring for as long as the people strive and regenerate.

    “By the year 2050, it is projected that Nigeria’s population will come to about 398million with urban population rising to 74.1 per cent. This projection emphasises one cardinal fact- shelter will continue to be in demand and Nigeria’s housing need challenges will prove to be a continual problem if not strategically addressed,” he said.

    While recommending the use of the report to industry stakeholders and other players, he pointed out that the report will fill the curious mind’s quest for knowledge and recruit measures that will see players in the sector reap dividends for their investment.