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Tag: North

  • North rejects oil Bill

    North rejects oil Bill

    •Document suffers setback at Senate

     

    The North has rejected the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) – the much vaunted magic pill that is expected to clean up the oil sector.

    The bill contains some provisions, which are against the North’s interest, according to the Northern Governors Forum, senators and members of the House of Representatives from the region.

    They also protested against the establishment of the Host Community Fund and asked the North to use its majority in the National Assembly to scrutinise the bill and protect the North’s interest.

    The planned debate on the bill suffered a setback at the Senate yesterday.

    Other key grouses of the North border on the new institutional structure being proposed for the country’s oil and gas industry; the fiscal provisions; divestment of equity and gas supply to the North and alleged arbitrary discretion given to the Minister of Petroleum Resources to determine royalty

    The grouses of the North are contained in a document prepared for the Northern Governors Forum, Northern Senators Forum and Northern Caucus in the House of Representatives.

    The document, which was obtained by our correspondent, showed that the North is angry that the PIB’s provision for divestment could “lock the people of the region out” of ownership of oil and gas resources.

    The North said any plan to divest equity in the new National Oil Company and the National Gas Company may favour the South because most businesses and communities in the North are not active players in the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

    The three key bodies also alleged that the establishment of the Host Community Fund is being skewed to give oil producing states, especially those from the Southsouth, more revenue than all the 19 Northern states.

    They added that the PIB does not create a framework for any serious or effective exploration for hydrocarbons in the frontier acreages of the country’s six sedimentary basins, four of which are in the Northern sections of the nation.

    The document reads in part: “On top of the 13.5 per cent statutory derivation from the Federation Account, the mandatory Federal budgetary allocation to the Ministry of Niger Delta, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) levy of 3 per cent of oil operations and the massive amount of Federal funds being spent on the Niger Delta Amnesty programme, the new PIB is adding 10 per cent of the profit of all oil and gas companies to the Niger Delta States and Communities.

    “Currently, without this new addition, four states (Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers) earn more than the 19 Northern states combined. One wonders what kind of federation we would end up with, if this situation is escalated by the new PIB. In any case, what really is the constitutional standing of this particular provision in the Bill?

    “These and many other issues in the Petroleum Industry Bill need very close scrutiny by the Northern Governors Forum. Without this exercise, it is very possible for the states in the region to be legally short-changed through the process of legislation despite having the majority membership in the two chambers of the National Assembly.

    On plans to divest equity in the proposed new National Oil Company and the National Gas Company, the Northern leaders said there is no provision for safety net to protect the interest of the region.”

    They said the PIB ought to protect the North’s right to invest in these two companies because of its low participation in the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

    The document said: “The plan to divest equity in the new National Oil Company and the National Gas Company is not in itself an issue, the problem is to implement this provision of the law without any safeguards for equity and national spread.

    “The communities and businesses in the Northern States are not very active players on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. In this regard, simply off loading the equity of these national assets on the stock market could lock the people of the region out of ownership of these critical resources.

    “The region must, therefore, insist on legislating guarantees for equity and national spread on whatever divestment plans there are for oil and gas assets.

    “The new institutional structure being proposed for country’s oil and gas industry does not create a framework for any serious or effective exploration for hydrocarbons in the frontier acreages of the country’s six sedimentary basins, four of which are in the Northern sections of the nation.

    “The New Petroleum Technical Bureau to be located in office of the Minister of Petroleum, which takes over the responsibilities of NNPC’s Frontier Exploration Services, cannot really be a substitute for the National Frontier Exploration Services (NFES) that was earlier proposed in the version of the Bill sent to the National Assembly by the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.

    “While the need to attract the required investment into the sector through the fiscal device must be recognised, it should not be at the expense of an appropriate and legitimate Government take of the total petroleum income.

    “The scaling down of the Hydrocarbon Tax and the reinstatement of many incentives and allowances, among other things, would certainly impact negatively on the inflow into the Federation Account and further stress the already overburdened treasuries of the State Governments.”

    The North also faulted the PIB for leaving the issue of royalty to the discretion of the Minister of Petroleum Resources.

    They said such a discretionary power will breed corruption.

    The document said: “Of great concern, however, is the issue of royalty or lack of it in the Bill. Leaving the question of the determination of royalties to the regulatory discretion of the Minister of Petroleum is not only dangerous for the nation, but also an open invitation for phenomenal corruption in the future.

    “One of key challenges in the management of the Petroleum Industry in Nigeria is the consistent inability to prioritize gas supply to the North. While many of the other sections of the region enjoy the benefits of cheap, clean and effective energy source, the North continues to wallow in extreme energy poverty.

    “For instance, out of the sixteen thermal power stations in the country only one (Geregu) is located in the region. The Ajaokuta – Kano gas pipeline has consistently remained in the back burner of all gas utilisation plans in the country.

    “The only way to ensure that gas supply to the North is prioritized over more export oriented gas projects by operators in the industry is ensure that the terms of the Domestic Supply Obligations and Pricing Regulations signed by the late President Umaru Yar’Adua administration are incorporated in the new Petroleum Industry legislation.”

    They queried why all the states were not consulted for broader input before the bill was drafted.

    The document said: “The new Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) that was recently forwarded to the National Assembly by the Presidency is one piece of legislation that would impact on the constituents’ part of the federation in a very profound manner. It is, in fact, truly remarkable that a key legislation that only affects assets of the whole federation, but would also seriously impact on the inflow of revenue into the Federation Account could be drafted and forwarded to the National Assembly without the input of, or due consultations with, the federating states.

    “More specifically, there are many provisions and issues in the document that should be of serious concern for the Northern States in particular.”

     

  • The North and Boko Haram

    The North and Boko Haram

    Violence and insecurity is not peculiar to northern Nigeria. Nigeria as a whole is at a point where perhaps its security apparatus needs a radical surgical overhaul in order to better guarantee the safety of the lives and property of the people who, in addition to coping with crippling poverty, have had to also contend with progressively worsening levels of insecurity through successive years, especially since the return to civilian rule on the eve of the 21st Century. What, however, seems to be increasingly peculiar to the north as far as violence and insecurity is concerned is the brazen terrorist toga the violence continues to don. And since mid-2009 when, starting from the then-hotbed of Bauchi State, a radical group first engaged security forces in gun battles across some states of the north, things have hardly let down. From gun duels and attacks with crude war material that group is now the infamous face of violence in Nigeria as its tactics get ever more sophisticated. That group – Boko Haram – continues to thrive in spite of consistent chest-thumping by the government that somehow the government is prevailing in the war against insecurity and violence.

    No doubt, Nigeria’s borders with other states contributes to the problem as some of the foot soldiers carrying out the violence have been found to be from some of these West African countries. Perhaps, this means that the efforts at border patrol and security measures in border towns have not been concerted enough. However, security forces may ransack compounds, and even invade and kill whole towns. This would no doubt, have its own success. Still, we would only just be scratching the surface of the issue at best because sheer, outright force does not seem like the only viable solution to the problem.

    Which is why it ought to (emphasis on “ought to”) be heartening that some people across both sides are beginning to consider dialogue in all this. But you wonder how feasible dialogue, productive dialogue in the interest of peace, is here considering the unrealistic nature of the group’s demands. If dialogue happens, that would be great. However, there are a few things that are beyond the direct control of the government that need to happen in order to have a chance of bringing about peace to the north.

    The staying power that the Boko Haram ‘brand’ continues to demonstrate in the north, especially in its two strongholds of Borno and Yobe states is, arguably attributable to the attitudes of indigenes of the two states, side-by-side the suspected membership composition of the group. There was talk across town recently especially in Yobe, that some of the recent success enjoyed by the Joint Task Force in identifying members of the group and their lairs in Damaturu and Potiskum was down to the fact that a few more people in those cities came forward to blow the whistle on suspected Boko Haram elements, leading security forces to more precise targets rather than having blanket information. This sort of ‘snitching’ is what has to happen more with Boko Haram. Such attitude to violence is one of the things that had not happened often enough in the past especially in Borno State, which has allowed the group to continue to spread its violent tentacles as though its members were aliens with superhuman ability to completely evade attention until Violence Hour strikes. In truth, however, sentiment and lineal affinity has always interfered with the people’s thinking as far as Boko Haram is concerned. As many families are inextricably tied to the group one way or another with having a deviant family member on the group’s payroll, innocent members of the public usually feel compelled to play the unwitting accessory as the family ties that bind them force them not to expose their family member as belonging to the group. But as demonstrated with the relative success of the security forces in the two Yobe towns where this attitude changed, be it for a split second, fighting the group’s brand of warfare is every peace-loving person’s responsibility.

    So, the people have to decide whether they will continue to allow their affinity towards family members who do not give a hoot about the safety and security of their innocent brethren becloud their sense of longing for peace. The people must simply wean themselves of that rather misplaced allegiance and realise that self-preservation and the preservation of innocent lives is infinitely more golden than protecting the interest of murderous, suicidal family members. They don’t have to go too far to find precedence to follow. In 2009, when a teenage Umar Farouq Abdulmuttallab attempted to blow up an American aeroplane, some attributed his behaviour to his privileged upbringing. But it turned out that his father, having watched him closely for a while, had been worried enough to alert the authorities that his son was showing extremist inclinations. In the end, although that act was not directly responsible for the botched bombing attempt, it vindicated his father and the family. It showed that not even a father could be swayed by filial ties to stand in the way of the safety and security of other people, even if his actions meant he was discrediting his own flesh and blood. Similarly, every well-meaning northerner has to accept that the safety and security of the innocent should be superintendent to their rather primordial considerations of filial protection over those whose actions directly and indirectly deepen their misery and make their own kith and kin endangered species in their own land.

    Another primordial factor that seems to be hindering the fight against violence in the north is the attitude towards religion. And by religion here, this writer means the interpretation of Islam by most northerners as against practically everything else, including contrary religious views and religions. If we chose to be naĂŻve we can say that the Boko Haram problem is not a religious cancer. We can also elect to be simplistic and call it a sole problem of religion. Either way, we may not be doing justice to the issue. Simply, as it is today, violence in the north has a socio-religious touch to it, fuelled by political elements here and there. In the midst of this, other criminals of various ilks have exploited the situation to their own diabolical ends such that what we now have is a hydra. But this is one hydra with stronger tentacles of religion and politics – politics feeding on religious fervour to ignite an all too inflammable social canister.

    So, a good way to go is for people in the north to start looking at religion differently, stop seeing everything through the vaunted superiority of the religious compass. What if the people become less uptight and sensitive about religion? What if they start to look at religion honestly as a life journey encompassing tolerance, understand others and allowing other opinions to precede even when this may not be in their own best interest? What if religion is no longer a struggle between faiths or beliefs to them? What if they begin to see Islam as not a fragile Masonic doctrine that must be protected aggressively from others? How about they begin to see religion as a pattern of a series of interconnected faiths each with their peculiarity that might not always seem linked or pleasing to one set in the series, but then the one set does not harm the other set? I tell you what might happen: there would be less room for anyone or institution to attempt to mess with the sanity of individuals or groups by colouring everything as a religious struggle in which every man has to protect his own corner.

    That way also, the people would begin the process of extricating themselves from ‘personality-institutions’ and instead embrace ‘institutional-institutions’ and authority – learning to give their allegiance to rules, social contracts with all, as well as institutions, rather than subjecting themselves to being (mis)led by individual or group of individuals only, no matter how wealthy or ‘knowing’ the individuals may claim to be.

    But then considering the poverty level, the level of ‘unletteredness’ and the depth to which person institutions and religion has already sunk into the psyche of the people in the north, who will bell this cat?

     

  • ‘North must key into national agenda’

    President of Conference of the Northern States’ Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (CONSCCIMA), Dr Ahmed Rabiu, yesterday urged state governments and other stakeholders in the North to key into national agenda.

    He said this would enhance accelerated development of the region.

    Rabiu spoke in Kano when he delivered a lecture at a forum organised by an online non-governmental organisation (NGO), Ra’ayi Initiative for Human Development.

    He was optimistic that the future of the region would be bright, despite the numerous challenges it is facing.

    Rabiu said: “There’s hope for the North. We are only troubled. But we must key into the national agenda, taking advantage of programmes, such as the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment (SURE). Unfortunately, we are lagging behind because of lack of information.”

    The academic noted that the elite in the region were using media for their selfish interests instead of the development the region needs.

    A renowned columnist and blogger, Dr Aliyu Tilde, blamed the region’s backwardness on educated northerners.

    He said they ought to show the way for the others.

    “They, unfortunately, think like those who have never gone to school. They think like roadside tea sellers. Yet, we can never run away from Western education; it’s now the yardstick for gauging development. And the North will never develop until the educated ones lead the way,” Tilde said.

     

  • Southsouth in government, North in power, yet…

    If anyone needed evidence that President Goodluck Jonathan panders unduly to the North, the recent sale of the Nigeria’s power plants is sufficient proof. While one may not begrudge them their ‘good fortune’, what galls most other Nigerians is that some of the people from the North would still not be appeased. If bombs are not going off, uniformed security personnel and innocent people are being gunned down at will, for no just cause. If it is not senators of the Federal Republic being accused of aiding and abetting this senseless carnage, it is former governors or other members of the privileged elite. Perhaps the only condition for peace is for the rest of us to scurry across the border into the hills of the Cameroons, and the hinterlands of Benin and Togo? Almost everything we have in Nigeria has been conceded to the North yet it won’t be appeased.

    First, the recent sale of Nigeria’s electricity distribution companies by the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) shorn of the technical details and the little devils inherent in them, one must say that the broad ground norms required for fair and equitable bidding process are flawed. If we are privatizing, let it be truly private and competent companies (not transferring from federal to state governments); no private company should get more than one facility(they should build more in the future if they are so capable); no former head of state should be allowed to buy utilities they were instrumental to their failure.

    But what did BPE do? It allowed state governments to throw in all sorts of bids by proxy; thus while some states won, some did not win. That is bound to breed rancor. Second, it allowed a company chaired by former Head of State, General Abdulsalam Abubakar (rtd) to bid. Now Abubakar’s firm, Integrated Distribution Marketing a Company (IDMC) did not only bid, it got the three biggest facilities in the North, East and West. This is utterly unacceptable. The North will never accept this inequitable arrangement. Even the gentleman governor of Anambra State well known for pandering to the dictates of the Presidency raised his voice saying the action was ‘shocking’. Says Obi: “It was more shocking because Akwa Ibom, Cross River and Bayelsa succeeded, but the South-Eastern states totally lost out.”

    Yes, the South-East seems to always lose out in everything especially in this dispensation. South-East has the worst power facilities in the land. What about road network, federal presence, not to mention the vexatious state and local government allotment deliberately skewed to eternally hurt the South-East. But we digress.

    What the BPE led by Mr. Atedo Peterside has done in doling out all the key power distribution companies to Gen. Abubakar, we dare say, is an extension of the appeasement of the North which has gone on so rather nauseatingly under the Jonathan Presidency. The result is that while Jonathan is in government, the power and influence in all arms of government are firmly secured in the North. The South-East and the West are the sorry losers.

    Let us take a quick roll call: barring the president himself, the next five positions down the pecking order of protocol in our federation today is held by the North viz; vice president, senate president, speaker of the House of Representatives, chief justice of the federation, attorney-general of the federation. It must be put on record that this is unprecedented in the history of Nigeria. Thus apart from having a leg in the Presidency, they control the National Assembly and the judiciary effectively. It is particularly overwhelming in judiciary as the North also heads the Court of Appeal, the High Court and indeed all other positions down the judiciary chain.

    The North also dominates most of the strategic positions in the land. In defence, it holds the defence minister’s slot, the Chief of Defence Staff, the National Security Adviser and the inspector-General of Police; three most important position in the security and defence of any nation. These are complemented with headship of the Customs, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, (NDLEA), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Other key positions held by our brothers from the North include governor of the Central bank of Nigeria,(CBN), headship of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, (NNPC), and chairmanship of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, (FIRS), Petroleum Trust Development Fund, (PTDF), Nigerian Ports Authority, (NPA) and the Pensions Commission, (PENCOM). There are so many other no less important positions like headship of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Education Trust Fund (ETF), the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC), among others.

    We must state it clearly that there is no prejudice whatsoever towards the various gentlemen and ladies occupying these important positions; most of them are well qualified for the positions they occupy and most important, some of the positions are elective and hierarchical. In fact there is no grudge towards the North over what can be considered their good fortune; what we say is that they must appreciate that they have the upper hand in the polity today, they must do a lot more to contain the raging violence in their part of the country. They must also remember that when the fortunes change tomorrow and the pendulum swings to other parts of the country, they should show equal magnanimity and the desired equanimity. They must remember that equity and justice are the bases of peace in any society.

    LAST MUG(S): why is NASS hounding Oteh? The story of the delectable Ms Arunma Oteh, the director-general of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), is well known to enlightened Nigerians. After exposing the corruption of members of the Committee of the House of Representatives who deigned to be probing her activities at SEC, the members of the National Assembly would not give her a breathing space. The fact that the lawmakers probing her office compromised themselves, insisting that she must be dismissed sounds like sour grapes. The fact that they could not establish any solid case of corruption against her and the fact that the Presidency which appointed her still finds her worthy of that seat, the wise thing for our law makers to do is to back off for the moment. Well, they are allowed to have their searchlight quietly trained on her if they insist on their vendetta by all means. They should look for something better to do and allow the executive do its job.

    Gov. Fashola’s mishandling of the Okada riders: does the Lagos State Government know the number of commercial motorcycle riders in Lagos state? Is there any unit or department of government managing this huge block of an economic unit? Did anyone do a thorough analysis of the cost of taking this group off the Lagos roads? Apart from the huge opportunity to be tapped from this horde of hapless city transporters if we looked carefully, it is disheartening that the LASG is growing into the habit of throwing ill-digested laws at the people; laws motivated by anger and intent to punish punishment are often flawed laws. Laws should not distabilise, frustrate and damage people, it should on the other hand, support the populace, cooperate with them and enrich their lives. What callousness informed the crushing of the property, the basic livelihood of the lowliest class? What manner of law permits us to confiscate and crush other people’s property? We must rethink such a law. LASG must show more rigour and humanness in managing a social ferment manifesting as okada.

  • south south leaders warn north over violence threat

    south south leaders warn north over violence threat

    South South leaders under the auspices of Southern Mandate (SM) have lambasted former Governor of Yobe State, Senator Bukar Ibrahim, over his threat that there would be violence should President Goodluck Jonathan fail to increase budgetary allocation to the North East geo political zone.

    Senator Ibrahim, in an interview, deplored what he called the paltry allocation of N50billion to the North East in next year’s budget proposals.

    However, Southern Mandate, comprising political and business leaders from the South-East, South-south and South-West, after an emergency meeting in Effurun, Delta State, cautioned the former governor that such pattern of intimidation and harassment of President Jonathan would no longer be tolerated by the President’s kinsmen.

    They declared that no single region has a monopoly of violence.

    Dr. Godwin Omene, who addressed journalists after the meeting, said: “We note with dismay the recent threat issued by Senator Bukar Ibrahim that if President Goodluck Jonathan does not allocate more resources to the North East zone, a more violent insurgency than Boko Harm would be unleashed on Nigeria. We state that this has gone beyond mere agitation, intimidation and blackmail and has entered the domain of treasonable felony.

    “He (Senator Ibrahim) should note that the North East or any part of the North for that matter, does not have exclusive right to the use of violence.

    “We too, in the South and the Niger Delta in particular, are prepared to protect our son President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, in this unenviable task of a nation building, transformation and national unification,” the group added.

    Omene said the group and other Niger Deltans would resist any attempt by the National Assembly and some northern leaders to impeach the president.

    “It is common knowledge that the Boko Haram insurgency was deliberately masterminded to create a scenario of insecurity and portray President Jonathan as incompetent to govern the country.

    “President Jonathan is today considered weak and impeachable on account of the Boko Haram insurgency, and non-implementable resolutions from a confused National Assembly, because he has not ordered the killing of innocent people and total destruction of a town in the north over the activities of a few misguided criminals as was the case in the past,” the group added.

    “We hereby state that in the face of relentless provocation by these elements of disunity, the Southern Mandate has reviewed its earlier stance of not responding to development in the interest of peace, stability and national unity. We affirm that henceforth, we shall take commensurate measures in response to any form of attack on the interest of the South and South-South in particular.”

     

  • Why North is re-opening on-shore/off-shore issue

    Why North is re-opening on-shore/off-shore issue

    • Says it’s far from being settled

     

    The on-shore/off-shore oil dichotomy is far from being settled, regardless of the Supreme Court’s pronouncement on it, Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger State, has said.

    Aliyu, who doubles as Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum (NGF), insists that the Federal Government’s position that the matter remains closed on account of the apex court’s ruling, is also unconvincing.

    “If it had been settled why are some people talking about it?” he wondered in an interview with The Nation on Sunday in Lagos.

    He said while the North aligns itself with the centre in putting in place some corrective measures in the Niger Delta in view of the problems associated with oil exploration, it does not regard the on-shore/off-shore issue as part of those corrective measures.

    He said: “You have a Ministry of Niger-Delta, you have NDDC, derivation, then this little one that other people, as part of the citizenship of a country should be enjoying, they have not been enjoying.

    “Sometime people can make something out of nothing, so that you can come back to negotiate. That is the argument. If the federal government says it is a settled matter, but we are discussing it so that people can understand. It was a sacrifice that was made then to solve some problems. But there is still room for discussions.”

    The governor also spoke on the issue of indigenes and non-indigenes, saying it should be addressed once and for all during the proposed constitution review especially in view of the security problem it has created in the country.

    “It is not nice when a person who has been born in a place and his parents have stayed there for so long to be regarded as a non-indigene. That creates its own security problem, not to mention the psychological trauma that such a family maybe suffering,” he said.

    Besides, he wants the revenue sharing formula and the problem of insecurity reviewed.

    He does not understand why the Federal Government should be taking 52 per cent of the nation’s revenue.

     

     

     

  • North’s governors raise panel on onshore/offshore claim

    North’s governors raise panel on onshore/offshore claim

    •Senators meet today in Abuja

    In spite of the fact that the Federal Government has foreclosed the review of the Onshore/Offshore oil dichotomy, fresh facts emerged yesterday that the Northern Governors have raised a committee to advise them on the next step.

    Also, some Northern Senators are meeting today on the issue to suggest ways out for the region.

    There has been agitation and debate on the need or otherwise to review the onshore-offshore oil dichotomy, which partly forms the basis for the allocation of derivation proceeds from the Federation Account.

    Some Northern governors, who are championing the review, claimed that the formula has reduced the distributable funds from the Federation Account to all tiers of government.

    But in contrast, governors from the Southsouth are demanding a review of the derivation formula from 13 per cent to 50 per cent.

    Attorney-General of the Federation, Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN) has however foreclosed the review of the judgment of the Supreme Court on the matter.

    Investigation by our correspondent revealed that Northern governors have not given up on their agitation for the review of the Onshore/Offshore oil dichotomy.

    A Northern governor, who spoke exclusively with our correspondent, said: “I am aware that Northern Governors have set up a committee on the Onshore/Offshore oil dichotomy. The committee will look into the judgment of the Supreme Court, the current agitation for a review of the dichotomy and weigh options for the North.

    “We will make our final position known when the committee submits its report.”

    Asked why the Northern governors have raised a panel on the matter, the governor said: “It is because the nation is undergoing a fresh constitution review.”

    “There is Supreme Court judgment but it is also an issue that is not beyond political solution which can still be given a legal backing.

    “The North is certainly coming up with fresh arguments; it is left to the rest parts of the country to allow the debate to flourish.”

    It could not be immediately ascertained when the panel will submit its report, but the governor added: “Very soon.”

    Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso, who is one of the proponents for the review of the Onshore/Offshore Oil Dichotomy, said: “The AGF is talking about interpretation of the judgment of the Supreme Court; I am also talking about politics or political reality.

    “I am not talking about onshore /offshore because I wanted to abuse anybody. But this is the junction; this is the point to talk. People are going for constitution review, things are now on the table. I did not say it last year or year before but now things are on the table.”

    There were indications last night that some Northern Senators might meet today in Abuja on the demand by the region for the review of the Onshore/Offshore Oil Dichotomy.

    A Senator, who spoke with our correspondent last night, said: “We are meeting to look into all sides of the argument on the review in order to be able to advise our governors and Northerners properly on what to do.

    “ We are also taking into consideration the fact that government is prospecting for oil in some Northern states.”

    The AGF had at a valedictory session in honour of Justice Francis Fedode Tabai at the Supreme Court, Abuja, foreclosed the review of the judgment of the Supreme Court on Onshore/Offshore Oil Dichotomy.

    He said: “It is pertinent to remind all interest groups in the matter that it is too early in the day to forget that the esteemed court, in the matter of A.G. Adamawa & 21 Ors v. A.G. Federation & 8 Ors (2005) NWLR (Part 958) 581 was invited to rule on the constitutionality or otherwise of the Allocation of Revenue (Abolition of Dichotomy in the Application of the principle of Derivation) Act 2004.

    “The court, in a well-reasoned judgment, after benefiting from the submissions of some of our country’s finest legal minds, reached the reasoned-conclusion that the Act was not in conflict with the 1999 Constitution and was indeed properly made by the National Assembly to place the implementation of Section 162 of the constitution on a more certain and predictable basis.

    “In the light of the unanimous position of the Supreme Court on this issue, expressed since 2005, it behooves on us all to promote the sanctity of our judicial system by recognizing that the pronouncement of this court should neither be treated with levity nor be subjected to undue politicization in the name of politics or the pursuit of particular interests.”

     

  • North kicks against new state for South East

    North kicks against new state for South East

    •Kwankwaso alleges plot to alter constitution to appoint ministers on zonal basis

    THE path to the planned amendment of the 1999 Constitution appears already mined even before the commencement of the journey.

    There are fears in the North of a plot to create a new state from the South East without recourse to the rules.

    It also believes there is a plan to alter the constitution such that the President could appoint ministers on geo-political basis as against the present state basis.

    Both allegations, if they turn out to be true, are capable of eroding the perceived political advantage enjoyed by the North over the years and put it on an equal political footing with the South.

    Governor Rabiu Kwankwanso of Kano State who raised the alarm yesterday spoke of a plan by the National Assembly Committee on Constitution Review to create a new state under the table.

    He named the Chairman of the committee, Chief Ike Ekweremadu, as the brain behind the agenda.

    He also allaged plan by the committee to alter the 1999 Constitution to empower the President to appoint ministers on the basis of the nation’s six geopolitical zones.

    Kwankwanso, who bared his mind in an interview in Abuja, said some politicians are trying to take advantage of the present weak position of the North to cheat the region.

    He spoke against the backdrop of comments attributed to the Deputy President of the Senate at a recent presidential retreat on Constitution Review at the Presidential Villa.

    The governor asked the National Assembly Constitution Review Committee to lay the criteria for state creation on the table for all Nigerians to consider and weigh.

    He said he could not understand why the South-East deserves an additional state when its population is not up to that of the North-West.

    Armed with the result of the 2006 Census, the governor said the population of the North-West alone is 35,786, 944 compared to the 37,396,384 combined population of the South-East and South-South.

    He claimed that the population of Enugu State (3, 257,298) where Ekweremadu comes from is about one-third of Kano State’s 9,383,682

    He queried why Ekweremadu would be scheming for a new state from Enugu and leave out Kano State which deserves three new states.

    He said going by the Census figures, “some states ought to be merged.”

    The governor pleaded with members of the Senate and House of Representatives from the North to be vigilant in respect of the planned constitution review.

    He also asked the Constitution Review Committee to be more transparent in state creation and other issues.

    He said: “As far as we are concerned, if we have to go for constitution amendment, all issues should be on the table. We do not want a situation where state creation would be a matter of yes or man-know- man or I have this or I have that.

    “Kano has 44 local governments because we are over 9.4million population by the last census and we have the landmass. Now if you want to change things, let us come up with criteria, don’t just do it under the table on the pretence that they have five states in the South-East.

    “They (the South-East) should not have five in my opinion. What is the population of the South-East?

    “I am saying this with all sense of responsibility; I am not playing any regional or ethnic politics. But you see, I am representing a state now. I will not allow anybody to go and make nonsense of what we have. If you want to create your state, go and create, do not call Kano anyhow.

    “Let us have criteria, there have to be criteria for creation of states. I am telling you the population of some states, local governments and some zones should be on the table. You don’t just say because you want to contest an election or make a name to create state. We have been yearning for more states in Kano; we want to have three states.

    “If you divide Kano State into three states, each state is more than Enugu State in terms of landmass, population and any criteria you can think of. They were lucky because offer at that time was from their side.

    “If you want to go and create local governments in Enugu or in the East, don’t call Kano by any name. If you call Kano, you stand the risk of getting your answer. And Ekweremadu should learn from experience. He is still a young man; hopefully he still has 20 or 30 years of politics.

    “That is why we are suggesting that they should mind their language. If they want their state, let them get it but not to be abusing Kano by claiming that it has 44 local governments.

    “I decided to speak on this issue simply because I realized that people are not being fair. I am an advocate of supporting state creation but not the way and manner these people are trying to do it because they are biased, they are unfair.

    “Go and check the 2006 census. You see, people will want to eat their cake and have it. Where they have advantage, they will say it is no go area, do not go there. We are disadvantaged. If there is any state that should be divided into more states, it is Kano.”

    Kwankwanso asked lawmakers in the National Assembly to be more careful and pay attention to constitution review.

    He added: “That is why I want to advise our own people to be more careful. They should not go to the National Assembly and do something else. You are on paper representing us and you go there and you are voting for others.

    “I want to challenge our members (from the North) to stand up. That is why I will support Northern governors to empower Arewa House, where they keep history, to go and put table in the gallery of the House of Representatives and in the gallery of the Senate. Any member of the House of Reps or Senate who is voting for any position should be recorded, his father, his constituency should be recorded.”

    Responding to a question, the governor said he raised the debate on onshore /offshore dichotomy because opinions on it are needed now.

    He said: “I am not talking about onshore /offshore because I wanted to abuse anybody. But this is the junction, this is the point to talk. People are going for constitution review, things are now on the table. I did not say it last year or year before but now things are on the table.”

    Kwankwanso also expressed concern over alleged plan to alter Section 147 of the 1999 Constitution on the appointment of Ministers.

    He said some people are pushing for the appointment of ministers on the basis of the six geopolitical zones instead of each of the 36 states having a representative in the Federal Executive Council.

    He said: “Another issue that is very important is zoning. In the review, we are aware that some people want zones to be recognized and they want appointment of ministers to be based on zone not on states. We say no to that. We cannot accept that.

    “What they want is to change the status quo where ministers will come three states in each of the six geopolitical zones. The issue is that when it comes to selection of ministers, it will be based on zone. It means the President may avoid certain states if he or she so wishes. This side of the country will not accept that.

    “We have to be careful, we have to understand the politics of now and we have to understand the politics of tomorrow.”

    He said his fears stemmed from the fact that if ministers are appointed on geopolitical zone basis a President would be at liberty to decide his preference for states or candidates.

    He gave example of the appointment of the present Minister from Kano with the state having no input.

     

  • Anambra 2014: It is Anambra North or revolution, says Rep

    Anambra 2014: It is Anambra North or revolution, says Rep

    The member representing Ogbaru Federal Constituency, Hon Afam Ogene, yesterday vowed to lead a civil disobedience march if Anambra North senatorial zone is not allowed to produce the next governor in 2014.

    Addressing political actors in a monitored media talk show in Awka, Ogene said he would do whatever it will take to fight the injustice against the people of Anambra North.

    According to him: ‘’I will lead a civil disobedience  in this state to fight the injustice of denying us from Anambra North an opportunity to govern our state after all the appeals.

    “Equity and fairness demand that somebody from Anambra North be given a fair chance of governing this state.”

    He added: ‘’Political offices must go round. It will be absurd for two political zones to continue to enjoy what belongs to the three zones of the state.

    “Anambra is 21 years old now and time has come for somebody from Anambra North to be Governor of Anambra state.

    The legislator also said: ‘’No Anambra North citizen will take the Deputy Governorship position from anybody.

    “We are serious about our agitation to govern Anambra state come 2014 and we are not kidding.”

  • North ready to negotiate 2015, says ACF

    The North yesterday made moves in the race for the 2015 presidency. It said it was prepared to negotiate with other sections of the country.

    The pan-northern socio-political organisation, Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), in a communiquĂŠ at the end of its emergency meeting, said it was in support of any political strategy that would put the North in a vantage position in 2015.

    The communiquĂŠ, which was signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Anthony Sani, reiterated its earlier stand that it was early to begin political activity towards 2015, as such was capable of distracting the Federal Government.

    It noted that the priority of the North is to restore unity and peaceful co-existence among the ethnic nationalities and religious groups through mutual trust and confidence.

    The communiqué reads: “The emergency meeting was called to receive and consider the road map for peace, unity and development in the North. The road map is an outcome of the resolutions of the Arewa Conference on Peace and Unity held on December 5 and 6 last year.

    The submission was done by the former Inspector-General of Police, Alhaji Ibrahim Ahmadu Coomassie, the Sardaunan Katsina.

    “Members resolved that the priority in the North is to restore unity and peaceful co-existence among the ethnic nationalities and religious faiths through efforts to inspire mutual trust and confidence among the people of the North and indeed, Nigeria in general.

    “To this end, ACF must enlist the support of stakeholders such as the governors, local government chairmen, lawmakers, traditional rulers and religious leaders as well as leaders of political parties for the purpose of implementing those aspects of the recommendations that are within the purview of their executive authority and sphere of influence.

    “While the forum supports any political strategy that will put the North in a position which will enable it negotiate with other sections of the country from a position of strength and secure some favourable terms, it is the view of the forum that it is too early to start political activities for 2015, because such early start is capable of distracting government from the task of governance.”