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Tag: Mohammed

  • Mohammed takes over as ICAN helmsman

    Alhaji Kabir Mohammed has been installed as the 49th President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN).

    The installation took place at the Institute’s council chambers in Lagos.

    While thanking his predecessor, Mr. Adedoyin Owolabi, for his invaluable services, Mohammed promised to take ICAN to higher heights.

    He said: “The council under my leadership will reinforce its mechanism for monitoring and enforcing compliance to professional ethics and practice standards.

    “We will continue to lead the drive for high quality financial reporting, benchmarked on global best practices and deliver more on our public interest mandate by meeting and surpassing expectations.”

  • Mohammed: We’ll be no pushovers against Eagles

    Harambee Stars midfielder Jamal Mohammed insists they are not intimidated by African champions Nigeria ahead of Wednesday’s World Cup qualifier in Nairobi.

    Mohammed, who plays for Al Nasr in Oman, said their opponents now have a lot of respect for Kenya after the famous 1-1 tie against Nigeria in the March 23 World Cup qualifier in Calabar.

    He said the result has given Harambee Stars a lot of confidence and self-belief going into the return match.

    “The Super Eagles will come here with a lot of respect well aware that we are no long push-overs to be run down as it used to happen previously. We can afford to believe for a positive result at home,” said Mohammed. He predicted that victory over Nigeria would put them firmly on the way to next year’s World Cup in Brazil.

    “If we beat Nigeria, there will be no team to stop us and we can start thinking about playing in the World Cup next year because we know we can easily beat Malawi on June 14,” he predicted.

  • Mohammed, Ningi head race for Bauchi governorship

    Mohammed, Ningi head race for Bauchi governorship

    The scheming in the race to succeed Governor Isa Yuguda of Bauchi State in 2015 is on with three candidates in the lead, reports Assistant Editor, Remi Adelowo

     

     

    Not even his closest aides can accurately read his mind on his plans for succession. For the Bauchi State Governor, Mallam Isa Yuguda, he has kept this agenda close to his chest and only waiting for an auspicious time to make his move.

    In the last few months, opinions have been divided in the North East state among major political stakeholders over who succeeds Yuguda, whose second term in office lapses in 2015.

    And from all indications, the next governorship race in the state would likely be a re-enactment of the election in 2007, which brought in Yuguda. Full of drama and intense political maneuverings, the climax of the election was the defeat of the governorship candidate of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Nadada Umar, by the candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Yuguda.

    The then governor, Adamu Muazu Umar, had backed his Secretary to State Government, Umar, who defeated Yuguda in the PDP primaries. Not satisfied with this outcome, Yuguda defected to the ANPP and was handed the governorship ticket on a platter of gold.

    He further proved his political worth by defeating Umar in the 2007 general elections. It was a fatal blow to the Muazu’s assumed larger-than-life political image in the state.

    Though Yuguda has since returned to PDP, the question many stakeholders in the state are asking is, will the 2007 scenario repeat itself in 2015?

    At the last count, three prominent politicians, Abdul Ningi, the Senate Deputy Leader, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Bala Mohammed and Nadada Umar, Chairman of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises of Nigeria (SMEDAN), are reportedly interested in taking over from Yuguda in 2015.

    The general consensus in the state is that the central zone should produce the next governor in 2015. If this unwritten policy is followed, the coast seems clear for Ningi and Mohammed, who both hail from the zone.

     

    Ningi leads the race

    He has been a major player in the politics of Bauchi State since 1999 when he was elected into the House of Representatives, culminating into his election as the Deputy Leader of the lower House in 2007.

    For Ningi, his election as governor will be a fitting climax to a political career that has seen him rising from relative obscurity to national prominence.

    In the last one year, sources revealed that the senator has been intimating important stakeholders in the state of his intention to succeed Yuguda. The positive responses he reportedly got, according to a source, prompted Ningi to set up an interim organisation to coordinate his governorship campaign.

    For now, there are strong indications that the lawmaker stands out among the other aspirants in the race to succeed Yuguda in 2015.

     

    It’s dicey for Mohammed

    The minister has not formally announced his interest in the race, but sources disclosed that he has embarked on a surreptitious campaign to win the support of those that matter in the state.

    An elected senator until he was appointed by President Goodluck Jonathan to run the Federal Capital Territory in 2010, a cold war had reportedly ensued between Mohammed and Yuguda over sundry issues, ranging from the former’s alleged subtle moves to undermine the governor’s hold on the state chapter of the PDP.

    Mohammed was also accused by the governor’s associates of discreetly dispensing patronage to certain influential indigenes of the state, including traditional rulers and religious clerics, in order to curry their favour ahead of the 2015 elections.

    But reason soon prevailed following a reconciliation between the two political gladiators some months ago. Many of the minister’s supporters viewed the development as a signal that the governor may be favourably disposed to Mohammed’s governorship aspiration.

     

    Umar’s albatross

    His emergence as the PDP governorship candidate in 2007 left in its wake controversies and divisions in the party, which has remained unresolved till date.

    This albatross, it was learnt, continues to be a major handicap for Umar in his ambition to govern the North East state.

    The Nation gathered that many PDP members in the state, for fear of getting into the bad book of Yuguda, have not bought into Umar’s governorship project. What has further made Umar a hard sell is his close links with ex-governor Muazu, whose influence in the politics of the state has allegedly waned considerably in the last six years.

    Sources close to Umar, however, told The Nation, “He (Umar) knows the deep seated animosity against him by many PDP members in the state and is already mending fences with the aggrieved party members.”

     

    Yuguda and Muazu yet to reconcile

    Until they fell apart in 2007, Yuguda and Muazu, according to sources, were quite close. The incumbent governor had taken Muazu, then the governor, into confidence of his governorship ambition, but felt betrayed that Muazu, after assuring him of his support, decided to back Umar.

    Reports had it that Muazu threw his support behind his erstwhile SSG on the premise that Yuguda, who had served at the federal level as a two-time minister, should concede the governorship seat to another candidate.

    Till this moment, both Muazu and Yuguda have avoided each other like a plague.

    Attempts by influential elders in the state to reconcile the two men in the past have also come to naught.

    One of these efforts involved the late Emir of Bauchi, Alhaji Suleiman Adamu, who reportedly made several concerted efforts in this regard but failed. His successor and son, Ibrahim Adamu, has also tried and failed in this regard.

    So frosty is the relationship between the two men that since 2007, they have not seen eye-to-eye, according to sources in Bauchi.

     

    Yuguda holds the ace

    While the governor has reportedly told close aides interested in the 2015 governorship race to wait until next year before starting their campaign, aspirants already touted as frontrunners are said to be aware that the governor holds the ace on who succeeds him.

    Besides the fact that Yuguda is perceived to have performed, a factor that has put him in a good stead to have a huge say in who succeeds him, he is also in the good books of the Presidency and the leaders of the party at the national level.

    For now, the governor has not given any hint on his preference for succession, but there are strong indications that he may not back any of those already touted as front-runners in the race.

  • 2015 may be Nigeria’s last election –Junaid Mohammed

    2015 may be Nigeria’s last election –Junaid Mohammed

    National Coordinator of the Coalition of Northern Politicians, Academics, Professionals and Businessmen, Dr. Junaidu Mohammed said yesterday that unless efforts are made to ensure that the 2015 general election are free and fair, it may turn out to be the last election in the history of the nation.

    Mohammed also said that the promoters of the All Progressive Congress (APC) must learn to imbibe democratic tendencies and ensure that the leadership of the party emerge through a truly democratic process and not toe the line of the PDP whose leadership are not elected, if they want the confidence of Nigerians.

    Speaking on a programme, Guest of the Week, on Kaduna based Liberty Radio monitored in Kaduna, Mohammed hit out at northern leaders whom he said are no longer of use to the north, but are feeding fat on the region while the average northern suffer in abject poverty.

    While saying that the issue of whether President Jonathan should contest the 2015 elections, he said “I would rather we subject that to constitutional interpretation by the highest court in the land; but the president does not want to subject the matter to constitutional interpretation.

    “The National Assembly are not interested, the governors are more interested in who become president after Goodluck must have been hounded out of power. As far as I am concerned, all three are making serious mistakes.

    “The only thing to do in a democracy is to subject the whole thing to constitutional interpretation and the rule of law because there can be no democracy without the rule of law. I believe that the governors in the north are making serious mistake.

    “They will be shocked by the way they will be willing to give in to blackmail. I want to assure you that the Nigerian people will continue to put pressure on them. All those people who are talking right now cannot make Jonathan president.

     

  • Lai Mohammed: Potent voice of opposition

    Lai Mohammed: Potent voice of opposition

    On Saturday, January 19, 2013, when the National Association of Igbomina Students launched an almanac to commemorate the fourth anniversary of its existence, there were reasons to show that an important event was on. The premises of Igbomina House, along Ilorin-Lokoja Highway were occupied with many vehicles; the expansive hall was filled to capacity.

    One name re-echoed throughout the period the occasion lasted. That name was Lai Mohammed, the National Publicity Secretary of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

    Today, anywhere the name is mentioned, it is always followed with thunderous applause that goes on for minutes. Perhaps many wonder why his image looms large everywhere. He is the potent voice of the opposition.

    Though the irrepressible spokesman of the opposition was represented by this writer, being one of his political associates, that did not lower the recognition accorded him.

    The applause was even more deafening when a donation of a hundred thousand naira (N100,000.00) was presented on behalf of Lai Mohammed. It later turned out to be the highest donation for the day. That is Lai Mohammed, friend of the students and defender of the common man. And above all, he is reputed as the compass of Nigeria’s democracy; because if not for the virility of the ACN-led opposition, the story of democracy would have been far from normalcy.

    In the Presidency, he is easily referenced as a vociferous critic of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan. This is simply because he sees Mr. President as being highly-partisan and easily excitable on issues he ought to have deep reflection on.

    The name Lai Mohammed has been registered in the subconscious of Nigerians as the thorn in the flesh of the Peoples Democratic Party-controlled government, fearless and forthright in his analysis of national issues.

    He once advised the President, in a statement issued on behalf of ACN, to always show deep introspection in his public comments because he is not just presiding over any country, but one with the largest concentration of black people on earth which bestows a lot of responsibility on him.

    This was when Mr. President said “PDP is the only truly democratic party” and that other parties are a one-man show. He faulted the claim, saying: “This same President brushed aside the constitution of his party and single-handedly installed the governor of his state.”

    According to him, the disparaging of other political parties by President Jonathan may have been tolerable if made by the chairman of his party or any other PDP official, rather than the President, who is the father of the nation.

    He also threw brickbat at the PDP Chairman, Alhaji Bamaga Tukur over the insecurity and developmental challenges when Tukur said his party wasn’t a security agency and should not be blame for the challenges.

    His words: “For saying that the PDP is not a security agency and should not be blamed for the insecurity in the country, what the PDP chairman is saying, in essence, is that his party is no longer fit to rule and that Nigerians should look elsewhere if indeed they want a government that will ensure the security of their lives and property.”

    He once advised the Federal Government to stop feeding Nigerians with lies and fake promises over job creation, electric power supply and security. According to him, “no one needs a rocket scientist to know that 4,500MW cannot ensure stable electricity supply in a country of 160 million people, when South Africa, with less than a third of Nigeria’s population, generates over 40,000MW!”

    He advised that Nigerians should put their generators in order, noting that the government’s promise of a stable power supply in 2013 was as not viable.

    Lai Mohammed came to limelight politically when he was appointed the Chief of Staff to the former Lagos State Governor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, an office in which he served diligently between 1999and 2003. Thereafter, he tried a shot at the governorship seat in his home state, Kwara, under the banner of Alliance for Democracy (AD) during the 2003 general elections.

    The 1975 University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) graduate of French Language and Literature was with the University of Dakar, Senegal and Centre Audio Visuelle des Languages Modernes in France to horn his skill in French.

    He later went to the University of Lagos to study law where he obtained LL. B. Honours degree. He bagged Barrister-at-Law from the Nigerian Law School and registered as a Solicitor in Nigeria in 1986.

    The fellow of the Nigeria Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) is a political strategist and administrator. Before he became visible in the political arena, he started out as Graduate Assistant at the University of Ilorin in 1978. While in the practice of the legal profession, he co-founded a law firm, Edu & Mohammed (Legal Practitioners) in 1989 and was Senior Partner for many years.

    Though well known as a politician, he has a bold presence in the corporate world. Over the last 25 years, he had several high-level corporate board appointments and positions. He is the Chairman, Knightsbridge Dredging Limited where he exhibits a higher level orientation and sustenance of corporate vision, integrity, values and ethics.

    For over a decade, he had various ranking appointments in the government of Lagos State, Nigeria. And as a reward for his sterling and untiring contributions to the party in his first term as the ACN’s National Publicity Secretary, he was returned unopposed.

    What he is doing as the spokesman of the major opposition party in Nigeria shows that he is no doubt fully prepared to serve the nation at a greater level and capacity with high sense of patriotism.

     

    •Atolagbe, a legal practitioner and politician, writes from Ilorin.

     

  • Mohammed Adoke, Minister for Justice and Attorney General of the Federation

    The Ministry of Justice has performed very terribly this year. I will simply say the lacklustre performance of the minister is a replica of the performance of the government itself. Given the fact that President Goodluck Jonathan is always talking about his commitment to rule of law and fighting corruption, one would expect that the Justice ministry would be active all through the year. But it was not so. The ministry performed terribly in my opinion.”

    With the above words, retired Police Commissioner and critic, Alhaji Abubakar Tsav, described the performance of the Minister for Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Adoke (SAN), as below par. According to the Benue-born ex-serviceman, with so much expected from the minister when he took over on April 6, 2010, very little could be said positively about his activities in office since then.

    For a minister overseeing important government agencies and departnments like the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), the National Agency for Prohibition of Traffic in Persons (NAPTIP), the Council for Legal Education, the Legal Aid Council, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the National Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, the Regional Centre for Commercial Arbitration and the Nigerian Law Reform Commission, much was indeed expected from Adoke.

    Tsav’s sweeping condemnation of his performance is obviously not unconnected with the many controversies stirred by the minister in the outgoing year. The minister who replaced the controversial Michael Aondoakaa, following the death of President Umar Yar’Adua, in the view of some Nigerians, did little to change the situation he met on ground.

    Starting from the role he supposedly played in the decision of the government not to appeal the Bakassi judgement, to allegations of spearheading an alleged plot to cripple the anti-corruption agencies as well as the controversial withdrawal of corruption charges against prominent Nigerians, politicians and multi-national agencies, the minister had been in the eye of the storm all through the year.

    “Tell me of a single major conviction the ministry recorded out of the multitude of corruption cases he inherited over two years ago. Thieves and looters continue to walk the streets free. Corrupt politicians and their friends continue to enjoy their loot without any challenge and the Attorney-General wants us to believe he delivered. That is impossible. In a situation where only petty thieves and pickpockets get punished by the state for corruption, while the real looters walk free, the Minister of Justice has failed woefully,” says Tsav.

    But at the end of its annual convention held in Owerri last weekend, the Coalition for the Advancement of Democracy (CfAD) singled out the Justice Ministry for praise among government agencies.

    The group said in the outgoing year, the judiciary has displayed exemplary bravery and commitment to the rule of law. While attributing the development to the recent restructuring carried out by the ministry, CfAD also applauded the lack of interference by the ministry in the activities of the judiciary.

    In his own submission, Dr. Fredrick Fasheun, founder of the Odua Peoples Congress (OPC) said the Justice Ministry performed well below expected standard during the year in review. According to him, many of the problems that confronted the country during the year are traceable to the failure of the office of the Attorney-General.

    “The minister performed far below expected standard. He is not getting praises from Nigerians as the year end. I watched a programme on television recently and I was not surprised to hear lawyers like him condemning his performance in office.

    The judiciary has not performed too well in the year. The truth must be told all the problems of overcrowded cells, corruption in the judiciary, lack of commitment to the war against corruption and the likes are as a result of the failure of the Justice Ministry,” Fasheun said.

    RATING: D

  • Threat of violence:US  embassy, facilities cut work hours

    Threat of violence:US  embassy, facilities cut work hours

    The U.S. Embassy in Abuja and all associated facilities in the country   shut down  as early as  11:30 a.m. yesterday as a precautionary measure following outrage in many parts of the world over a film said to have insulted Prophet Mohammed.
    Its  Consulate General in Lagos was  closed at 11:00 a.m.
    The Embassy in a statement said : “ Protests against a controversial film may occur in Jos, Kano, and other parts of Nigeria.  U.S. citizens may wish to limit their travels beyond their residential compounds during the afternoon of September 14.
    “The Embassy continues to work closely with Nigerian Police and security agencies, which continue to take proactive security measures to ensure public safety.  U.S. Citizens in Nigeria should consider their personal security and to keep personal safety in the forefront of their planning.
    “This year, extremists have attacked many locations in Nigeria, killing and injuring hundreds of people.  They have threatened churches, mosques, media houses, police stations, immigration and customs offices, financial institutions, large hotels, shopping malls and markets, state government offices, communications centers, beer gardens, and nightclubs.  Attackers have also burned and destroyed several public and private schools in Borno, and targeted several educational institutions in Kano and churches in Plateau, Bauchi, Kaduna, Niger, and Borno states.  Additionally, extremists continue to target westerners for abduction.  As such, the situation in the country remains fluid and unpredictable.
    “All U.S. citizens should use caution and discretion when deciding to attend large functions or visit establishments identified as potential targets, and respond appropriately if they detect suspicious activities.  Because of ongoing security concerns within the Federal Capital Territory, U.S. citizens should continue to expect heavy traffic congestion, road blocks, and significant police/security force deployments.  All U.S. citizens should remain vigilant, pay attention to their surroundings, limit exposure to large crowds, and keep their cellular telephones in close proximity for use in cases of emergency.
    “U.S. citizens traveling to or residing in Nigeria are strongly advised to enroll in the Department of State’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP).  U.S. citizens without Internet access may enroll directly with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate.  By enrolling, you make it easier for the U.S. Mission in Nigeria to contact you in case of emergency.”