The Nation Newspaper

Tag: office

  • Four Kwali chiefs get staff of office

    Sequel to the upgrading of four traditional rulers to resolve the lingering chieftaincy crisis in Kwali Area Council, the chiefs of Pai, Wako and Gomani have been presented with staffs of office.

    Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Senator Bala Mohammed presented the staff of office to the newly upgraded chiefs.

    The new chiefs are Alhaji Audu Sha-aban Nizazo III-Kwali; Alhaji Abdullahi Bala-Pai; Alhaji Ibrahim D. Usman-Wako and Alhaji Adamu M. Saba-Gomani.

    Mohammed said that the delineation of new chiefdoms in Kwali Area Council became necessary in order to do justice to the multi-ethnic nature of the indigenous populations of the Area.

    The minister stated that this was pursuant to the recommendations of the ministerial committee set up to look into the issue of chieftaincy disputes in Kwali Area Council.

    He remarked that the ministerial committee confirmed the appointment of the Etsu of Kwali into an already existing graded chiefdom as second-class chief, while delineating and upgrading three new chiefdoms in Wako, Gomani and Pai as third class chiefdoms.

    The Minister explained that though their respective kingmakers select traditional rulers, the ratification of their appointment rests with Mr. President through the FCT Administration.

    According to a statement issued by the Asst. Director/Chief Press Secretary to the FCT Minister, Muhammad Sule, the minster called on all the traditional rulers in the FCT to continue to show responsibility by maintaining law and order in their respective domains together with ensuring harmonious coexistence among all Nigerians living within their communities.

    He reminded them to always keep in mind the vision of Abuja as the centre of unity, a home to every Nigerian.

    He therefore called on traditional rulers and the entire people of FCT to continue to show the same support and loyalty to the incoming Administration because governance is a continuum.

    Also speaking at the occasion, the FCT Minister of State, Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide said that the upgrading, installation and presentation of staff of office is to fulfill the campaign promises.

    Responding on behalf of others, the new Etsu Kwali,  Alh. Audu Sha-aban Nizazo III promised to live up to expectation and thanked the Minister for this uncommon gesture.

    The FCT Permanent Secretary, Mr. John Obinna Chukwu, Emir of Lapai in Niger State, Alhaji Umaru Bago II and other top government functionaries of the FCT Administration also attended the occasion.

     

  • Fire guts INEC’s office

    Fire guts INEC’s office

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) office at Nworie-Ubi in Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo State has been gutted by fire.

    The building, surrounded by bush at the council headquarters, was set ablaze by yet-to-be identified people on Saturday, resulting in the loss of vital documents.

    A witness said the fire started about 1am, adding that efforts by fire fighters to put it out failed, as the building was in flames before their arrival.

    Police Commissioner Austin Evbakhavbokun confirmed the inferno.

    He said the incident occurred when a generator exploded, igniting the jerry cans of fuel stored in the building.

    The police boss said the generator operator has been arrested.

    The Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr. Gabriel Adah, could not be reached for comments.

  • Who set INEC’s office on fire?

    SIR: There is certainly more than meets the eye about the fire outbreak at the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Abuja. It is either somebody deliberately set the office on fire or there was negligence on the part of INEC and its staff. This fire is certainly connected with the forthcoming elections.

    I imagine agents of destabilization are working towards forcing another postponement or tampering with electoral materials. But I am glad they failed.

    INEC and Nigerians are ready to go to the polls come March 28 and April 11. Nigerians should be patient and pray to Almighty Allah to give us good leaders. I pray that we have peaceful, free, fair and credible elections this year.

     

    • Comrade Abdulbaqia Aliyu Jari, Abuja.
  • Buhari’s first 100 days in office

    Buhari’s first 100 days in office

    SIR: It is a tradition that leaders of countries from around the world do celebrate their first 100 days in office. The first 100 days of a new leader of a country is crucial and determines how his administration will be. In Nigeria, the first 100 days of Mohamadu Buhari, if elected, will be celebrated by Nigerians.

    In my opinion, the following will likely be among the first major effects of Buhari’s first 100 days in office.First, after his swearing-in on may 29 if he emerged victorious in the March 28 election, petroleum, kerosene and other oil products will stabilise and be abundant in the market. This is because the scarcity of the products is deliberate and unnecessary. Also, filing station owners will be afraid to close their stations for no reason as they are aware that Buhari was once a petroleum minister and he is well conversant with the nature of the market.

    Secondly, general availability of products and service will manifest in his first 100 days. From network services, power providers, civil service, marketers and retailers etc, God willing, everything will start to be doing well as they all fear Buhari because of his anti-corruption stand.

    Thirdly, there will be relative currency stability, security and discipline. This is due to the fact that, most of the corrupt government officials and business tycoons will run into exile or quickly jettison their corrupt practices. Corruption is directly related to security. Most of the money budgeted for security in Nigeria is mis-used by corrupt government officials. Of course, the naira will stabilise against the Dollar relatively.

    Fourthly, respect for the office of the President, other official government positions and confidence in governance will greatly increase. This is because Buhari is courageous and will not tolerate controversy and corruption.

    Lastly, Nigeria’s image and the respect for Nigerians will be redeemed. The world will respect Nigeria because it has good leaders voted in by the people. The world will respect Nigerians for their maturity, peaceful and legal change of a corrupt government. That will be in the first 100 days.

    That will not be the only thing to happen God willing. Among some other things to happen are: There will be no office of the first lady, no extravagant spendings in Aso Villa; unity and trust among Nigerians will start to increase, and there will be no claim and counter claim by different government officials and agencies. I can’t wait to see Nigeria change.

     

    • Comrade Abdulbaqi Aliyu Jari,

    jariabdubaqi@gmail.com

  • INEC secretary now to hold office for four years

    INEC secretary now to hold office for four years

    he National Assembly yesterday pegged the tenure of office of the Secretary of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) at four years.

    This is contained in the report of the conference committee on the Bill for an Act to amend the Electoral Act, 2010 to provide for the tenure of office of secretary, power to issue duplicate voter card, determine voting procedure and for other related matters, 2015.

    The conference report, which is the harmonisation of different versions in the clauses of the Bill passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives, was adopted by the Senate yesterday.

    Section 8(1) of the Electoral Act which deals with the appointment of the secretary and other staff of the Commission states in the amended Act: “There shall be a Secretary to the Commission who shall (a) be appointed by the Commission; and (b) have such qualifications and experience to be determined by the Commission as are appropriate for a person required to perform the functions of his office under this Act.”

    The Act did not stipulate any tenure for the Secretary.

    The National Assembly however reasoned that the office of the Secretary of INEC is so sensitive that it should be tenured.

    The Senate and the House of Representatives jointly held and adopted Section 8(1)© which states that INEC secretary should “hold office for a period of four years from the date of his appointment which may be renewable for another period of four years only.”

    Section 18(1) of the Act states “Whenever a voter’s card is lost, destroyed, defaced, torn or otherwise damaged, the owner of such card shall, not less than thirty (30) days before polling day, apply in person to the Electoral Officer or any other officer duly authorised for that purpose by the Resident Electoral Commissioner, stating the circumstances of the loss, destruction, defacement of damage.”

    The National Assembly increased the period the owner of lost voter’s card should report from 30 days to 60 days.

    On Postponement of election, Section 26(1) the principal Act states “ Where a date has been appointed for the holding of an election, and there is a reason to believe that a serious breach of the peace is likely to occur if the election is proceeded with on that date or it is impossible to conduct the election as a result of natural disaster or other emergencies, the Commission may postpone the election and shall in respect of the area, or areas concerned, appoint another date for holding of the postponed election, provided that such reason for the postponement is cogent and verifiable.”

    The Senate proposed that the clause in the Principal Act should be retained.

    The House of Representatives proposed clause (i) which states “In the event of an emergency affecting an election, the Independent National Electoral Commission shall as far as possible, ensure that persons displaced as a result of the emergency are not disenfranchised.”

    The additional clause was adopted by the conference committee.

    Section 28(1) of the Act states “All staff appointed by the Commission taking part in the conduct of an election shall affirm or swear before the High Court an oath of neutrality as in the Second Schedule to this Act.

    The Senate and the House proposed that Section 28(1) of the Principal Act should be amended by substituting the wards “the High Court” with the words “any court of law or Commissioner of Oaths.”

    The proposal was adopted by both chambers.

    Section 52(2) of the Principal Act which states “The use of electronic voting machine for the time being is prohibited” was amended to read 52(2) “Voting at an election under this Act shall be in accordance with the procedure determined by the Independent National Electoral Commission.”

    The two chambers made the proposal and was so adopted by the conference committee.

    The Senate said that the Bill seeks to improve the legal framework for Electoral process by providing the tenure of office for the Secretary of the Commission, increase the number of days for application for and issuance of duplicate voter card, determine voting procedure as well as addressing related issues to facilitate electioneering in Nigeria.

    The lawmakers added that the Bill further ensures a level playing field for all participants in the electoral process, more transparent process of conducting election and to gain time to prepare voters and candidates for elections.

  • President and his love of office

    The late music maestro, Sunny Okosun, once captured the current situation in Nigeria when, in one of his hit songs, he said: “Which way Nigeria”. The situation in Nigeria now calls for a more sombre and serious concern than the way the government seems to summarise it. No doubt, this is not the best of times for the Jonathan government which seems to be getting everything wrong even in its build up to the coming election. The country has been thrown into such a frenzy since the president decided to pursue his second term ambition in such a desperate manner. The whole country is now enveloped with confusion that nobody really knows or can predict the direction the country is headed.

    From politicians to businessmen, economy watchers, industry captains, professionals to the ordinary man on the street, everybody seems to be singing the same song “which way Nigeria”.

    Indeed, Nigerians are genuinely confused, as nothing seems to be working except the agenda to re-elect the president. Our people are worried because nobody is offering them explanation on why the economy is in shambles or how long the country will continue to cope with the no security, no light, no water, no employment and no food situation. They are in the dark as to when the rebased economy of the nation will translate to better life for them. They are eager to see the 25,000 km road the Jonathan government claims to have constructed and the improved rail system the federal government says it has built. People want to see where the achievement reported in the SURE-P scorecard are situated or who the beneficiaries of the government youth employment programmes are. They want to know who are those benefitting from the much publicized agriculture programmes of the federal government when majority of Nigerians are hungry. They truly want to know why our currency has been devalued twice in less than two months if everything is alright as the government wants us to believe. They are tired of living on promises that nobody will fulfill. They find it hard to believe that our country is destined to fail and cannot comprehend why it should be the duty of the President to come and be personally involved in inducing Lagosians with money or why our Vice-President should be desperate to the extent of leaving government business in Abuja and move office to Kaduna, for one week, to go and, like his boss, personally share money shamelessly.

    Our condition is even more worrisome now as the government appears not to know what to do to stop the naira from its daily slip against other currencies. Everybody is alarmed because never in our history has the naira been so battered, not even in the dark days of the Abacha regime because the naira was stable at 83 to one dollar even in the face of sanctions against the country then.  Unfortunately, the President seems more comfortable with the deceits and concocted message of acceptance he gets from his aides and the manipulated report of upwards movement of the economy he receives from his voodoo economists who for selfish reasons, always tell him that there is no cause for alarm. That is why he is still being fooled that Nigerians want him and will vote for him. But if only the president can ponder over the precarious situation the country is in now and compare it with when he was elected four years ago, he will be able to appreciate the extent at which things have really gone bad. In 2011, the naira was 120 to one dollar and Nigerians were crying; that time, kidnapping had not become so lucrative as it is today and that time, impunity had not reached the level it is now. That time, people still looked up to government to provide them security and that time, the country was one whole entity without a Boko Haram republic. Today, because the President has used the last four years pursuing his ambition, Nigeria has attained a terrorist nation status and more people have been killed by the insurgents than even during the civil war. We have entrenched corruption as a way of life so much that even stealing, to us, is no longer corruption; our naira now exchanges for over 200 to the dollar, and everybody now virtually lives in the hand of God, as the government cannot guarantee security for anybody. In fact, the only people that are getting it right, as far as the president is concerned, are the liars who tell him that the whole country wants him to run.

    The big question is of what use is the mandate that the President is seeking when he cannot use it to better the people. Why does he need another four years when he has not justified the current term?  Why should Nigerians re-elect him when he has failed his promises to them? Why is he going back on his words that whatever he cannot achieve in four years he won’t be able to do in 100 years? One is not sure that it is the same picture of Nigeria that the people are seeing that the president is seeing. Or could it be that it is his obsession for power that is taking the best of him?

    The president has to come clean about his agenda for the country now. He has to weigh his options and take a quick decision on the direction he wants the country to head for the sake of keeping the country together. He has to now decide which friends he wants to keep so that he can take a decision on which formula to apply to stop the country from meandering like a rudderless ship as it is currently doing. The President must now accept reality that change is inevitable and that change cannot be achieved if the country will still do things the same way by the same people using the same formula and allow the Nigerian people have their way. Everybody knows that Nigeria is sick and needs deliverance but whether the President will jettison his penchant for office and allow the CHANGE pill being offered by the people to save the country depends on how patriotic he is and more importantly whether he actually sees himself as the father of the nation. Perhaps it is right for the President to know that it doesn’t remove anything from him to step down and bow to the wishes of the Nigerian masses who are clamouring for that change. In fact, doing this will portray him as a statesman who loves Nigeria and will make him go down in history as the hero of our democracy.  It will give him a global fame, increase his coast and give him respect and recognition across generations. This is the best the President can do for himself, our country and our generation so that our case will not be like Libya or Syria.

    Therefore, the president should quickly call his praise singers to sheath their swords, mellow down on their aggressive and desperate politics and stop heating up the polity. Their unguarded statements in the name of politics and their careless behaviour are not in his best interest . What Nigeria needs now is to make a statement that we are truly the giant of Africa which will always show the world the best part of us. That is why the president should move the country forward with maturity, magnanimity and understanding. By allowing the people to have their way, he too will write his name in gold.

     

    •Ibirogba is a member of Lagos State Executive Council

  • Lagos APC condemns attack on candidate’s campaign office

    Lagos APC condemns attack on candidate’s campaign office

    Lagos State All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday condemned an alleged attack on its senatorial candidate for Lagos West, Solomon Olamilekan Adeola (aka Yayi).

    The Ikeja campaign office of Adeola, a member of the House of Representatives seeking election into the Senate, was allegedly attacked at the weekend by suspected Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) hoodlums.

    The thugs shot into the air to scare away people. They were also said to have vandalised the rear windshield of a Toyota Land Cruiser Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) belonging to the APC candidate.

    The party’s state spokesman, Joe Igbokwe, urged security agencies to stop hoodlums and desperate politicians from throwing the Centre of Excellence into a crisis.

    In a statement yesterday in Lagos, Igbokwe alleged that the attackers damaged other property within the complex.

    The statement reads: “We have witnessed this awful display of impunity and lawlessness when PDP thugs and supporters attacked APC faithful in Agege and shot dead a member of our party.

    “The other day at Mosan Okunola Local Council Development Area (LCDA), grassroots supporters of our governorship candidate, Akinwunmi Ambode, who were on a door-to-door campaigns, were attacked; over 10 vehicles were damaged and many people were injured.

    “The latest attack on our candidate, Yayi and his supporters in his office is yet another assault that needs to be investigated and the culprits brought to justice.”

    Igbokwe urged the police to investigate PDP’s senatorial candidate, Segun Adewale’s role in the alleged attack because he had reportedly admitted visiting Adeola’s campaign office to complain about the removal of his campaign materials.

    Igbokwe said: “The questions we are asking are: What on earth is driving this frightening impunity being exhibited by the PDP in Lagos? What on earth would make Adewale to muster the temerity and audacity to lead gunmen, including the police, to Yayi’s office without caring a hoot? Who is beating the drums for the PDP in Lagos? What are the police doing? Is it only the PDP that has a monopoly of violence here in Lagos? What does PDP want in Lagos?

    “APC may be compelled to defend and protect its teeming supporters, if the police and other security agencies cannot guarantee the security of life and property at a time as this.

    “The party is asking smart and courageous Lagosians to use their phones and cameras to record such open blatant display of lawlessness and brigandage to track down these horrible offenders.

    “We appeal to Lagosians, especially our teeming supporters, to remain calm and courageous in the face of the provocation. Crushing defeat is staring the PDP in the face all over Nigeria and Lagos. This desperation is understandable. The PDP cannot go down without a fight; they may decide to pull down the house. We must not allow them to do so.”

  • The craze for public office

    MIXED feelings best describes how fans received the news of their favourite artistes delving into politics. With the likes of Richard Mofe-Damijo, Hilda Dokubo, Okey Bakassi and Tony Muonagor (Tony One Week) doing well in politics, 2014, being a year of intense politicking, witnessed a surge of entertainers seeking elective offices.

    Among those who showed interest in politics were Julius Agwu, Kate Henshaw, Desmond Elliot, Bob Manuel Udokwu, 9ice, Osita Iheme, Funke Adesiyan, Kenny St Brown, Tony Tetuila, Gift Eke, aka Muma Gee, Sola Onayiga as well as Dayo ‘D1’ Adeneye.

    However, after all the dust settled, it turned out that only Desmond Elliot, Funke Awosiyan, Muma Gee, Sola Onayiga will be running in 2015, having clinched the ticket in their respective party platforms.

    Allaying the fears of his fans that he is not seeking office for monetary gains, Elliot stated; “Just because of lack of knowledge of what to do, we are being side tracked. There are no jobs, and issues like these lead to frustration. Also the current situation is very pathetic. I feel God has helped me thus far and I want to give back through politics that will be favourable to the youths. The worst part of our national life is that the level of corruption has not allowed youths to understand what it means to live a meaningful life.”

  • Yero denies pact to leave office

    Yero denies pact to leave office

    Kaduna State Governor Mukhtar Ramalan Yero has denied signing an agreement or promising any group or individual not to contest the governorship election.

    This followed his endorsement at the weekend by the delegates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), political appointees, elected officials and party chieftains from the 255 wards and the joint ticket of President Goodluck Jonathan and Vice-President Mohammed Namadi Sambo.

    The delegates made their view public during a town hall meeting of PDP stakeholders at the Murtala Square, Kaduna. The motion for the endorsement of Jonathan and Yero was moved by former Northwest Secretary of the PDP, Baba Aliyu, a lawyer and seconded by Husseini Dembo, a party chieftain.

    Yero thanked the people for the confidence reposed in him and President Jonathan.

    He promised that they would not let the people down.

  • Fire razes NFF’s Abuja office

    Fire razes NFF’s Abuja office

    •AFCON, U-17 World Cup trophies rescued
    •Maigari, NFF Accountant rule out sabotage
    •No money was burnt, says Accountant-General

    The Glasshouse Secretariat of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) yesterday was gutted by fire. The fire, which started at about 9.30 am, started from the third floor office of the accountant.

    The inferno, which destroyed all the documents in the accountant’s office, extended to the office of the General Secretary, also destroying most of the documents in the office and all the offices on the left wing of the building.

    The General Secretary Musa Amadu, who was  on ground to salvage some of the documents in his office, said they were able to rescue most of the trophies that the  national teams most especially the African Nations Cup (AFCON) won by the Super Eagles last year in South Africa.

    He said: “It is an unfortunate incident.The fire started as early as 9.30am, and before the fire service men could come, the damage had been done. But we thank God no life was lost, we were able salvage the AFCON trophy that the Super Eagles won last year, the U-17 World Cup that we won in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) last year among others.

    “ I think the fire may have started from a power surge that happened at about that time. We tried as much as we could, but it is quite unfortunate.

    “As I have assured you, we are going to reassess those things that were burnt, and those missing. But we want to assure Nigerians that the jobs of the Federation workers would not be affected in any way, we would continue our normal duties until we get to the root of the whole thing. I once again assure all Nigerians that we would get over all these” he said.

    In his reaction on arrival at the Secretariat at about 11.45 am, NFF President Aminu Maigari gave thanks to God that no life was lost.  “We are grateful to God Almighty that no life was lost in the fire incident. We are optimistic that we would get over this incident, and I am sure  the security agencies would step in immediately to investigate what  happened. But, it is rather unfortunate. We are grateful to Almighty God that no life was lost”.

    On the immediate decision that the Board of the Federation would take, Musa said:“It is not a matter of immediate decision, it is for us to sit down as a Board and invite the security agencies to come and see things themselves and investigate it further for us to know the next step to take to see that the Federation’s activities return back to normal.

    “But, we as a board, we have to sit down and know the steps to be taken”.

    He insisted that the incident would not affect the Super Eagles as they prepare to take on their Congolese and South African counterparts in the  AFCON 2015 qualifier

    The Falconets are doing well, and they are poised to continue to do the country proud, the Super Eagles are beginning their AFCON trophy defense next month. We here are supporting them morally, financially and with prayers. We are optimistic that this would not affect them in any way”.

    Maigari appealed to  the board members to come together to salvage the ugly situation that is facing the Federation now, for the interest of the game and the country.

    Maigari  ruled out sabotage in the incident, saying it is purely an act of God. “I don’t want to blame anybody for  this. Let us take it as an act of God until the security agencies complete their job. I think that would facilitate our action”.

    Also, the NFF’s Accountant, Andelkin Christopher, ruled out any sabotage whatsoever, saying it is all a matter of co-incidence.

    “Look at it from this angle, the fire started from my office. I just resumed in the office only last three weeks. In the actual sense, no one has access to my office unless the cleaners and no one puts on any of the appliances until I come to the office. So, the incident would have to be properly investigated before we jump to conclusions”.

    The leader of the Fire Service Agency, Julius.O. Opetunsin, said  the cause of the inferno cannot be determined now, until  a full investigation has been carried out on the incident. “You cannot determine the cause of the fire now, until a full investigation has been completed.

    “This would be after sometime, because we cannot just jump to conclusions now. What I can tell you is that we were able to put off the fire which started at the left wing of the building. Due to our quick response, we were able to salvage a lot of things”.

    This, he said, was as a result of their quick response to the NFF’s distress call.

    “I got the call at exactly 9.58 am. I dispatched my men at Games village, Asokoro and another back up to the building. They got here at 10.15am, and before then, we had officials from the Federal fire service that were already on ground. It was a combined force between the FCT fire services and the federal fire services.”

    He said if the NFF needs any investigation, they would have to write to the FCT Minister who would order it. He did not fail to blame the deficiency in the building being responsible for the inability to salvage the situation before the arrival of the firemen.

    “It is quite unfortunate that in a building like this, there are no fire extinguishers and hose reels. If there were hose reels here, the staff would have been able to salvage the fire before our arrival. It is just for them to roll it out and combat the fire in whatever offices  affected,” he said.

    The representative of the Accountant General of the Federation, who is also a Deputy Director, claimed that nothing serious happened.

    His words: “We came to assess the situation here (NFF Secretariat) as we have been sent by the Accountant General of the Federation. I could see that nothing serious happened here. I was told that no life was lost and no money was lost too, so nothing happened.”