A book: Hon. Justice J.A. Fabiyi: Landmark judgments (being selected leading decisions of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal) will be presented on November 26 at the Court of Appeal Ceremonial Courtroom, Three Arms Zone, Abuja.
Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Justice Mahmud Mohammed will chair the event, while Dr Arthur Eze will be the chief presenter. Katsina State governor Bello Masari will be a guest of honour.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has denied making any presentation to President Muhammadu Buhari on fuel subsidy removal.
Its factional President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, who spoke to reporters on the controversial statement made by the Comrade Joe Ajaero faction of the NLC said: “We would want to state unequivocally that at no time has any one consulted us on the issue of the removal of fuel subsidy.
“We are certainly not party to this and no one should put words in our mouth. Our position on the issue of the removal of fuel subsidy is unwavering. We recognise the corruption in the downstream sector of the petroleum industry orchestrated by government agencies in collusion with big-time business persons together with whom they have formed a cartel.”
He said labour strongly beleives that in order to deal with this situation effectively, government needs to break up the cabal by opening up the downstream sector to fair competition governed by ethics.
He recalled that the mass protest in January 2012 against an increase in prices of petroleum products opened up a can of worms in the sector, prompting legal proceedings against some of the culprits. “Till this moment, in spite of overwhelming and incontrovertible evidence against the culprits, nothing has been heard about the case(s); yet it was a prime opportunity for government to demonstrate its fight against corruption through diligent prosecution,” he said.
Comrade Wabba urged Buhari to muster the political will by not only opening up the sector to fair competition, but also ensuring diligent prosecution of all the accused. He said labour remained convinced that the real solution to the crisis in the sector lies in ensuring that domestic refining is promoted.
He noted that this could only be achieved if new refineries are built and the four existing ones made to produce at installed capacity, thus doing away with the need for importation of refined petroleum products. He also said new pipelines should be laid and the old ones refurbished to efficiently channel the products to all parts of the country instead of relying on carriage by tankers on the already over-burdened roads.
The jobs of workers in the oil and gas industry, he said, must not be adversely affected by the removal of subsidy. “And, of course, there must be clear and well-thought-out palliatives relating to transportation and other social services as would be necessary for ameliorating the effects of subsidy removal on the masses,” Wabba added.
The National Water Resources Master Plan review now at its final stage, will be presented to the Federal Ministry of Water Resources for implementation on January 20, an Assistant Director in the Department of Allocation and Authorisation, Federal Ministry of Water Resources, Mr Kenneth Sumonu, has said.
He spoke in Abuja.
Sumonu, the Deputy Manager of the Master Plan Project, said every area in the country was captured in the plan.
He added that the master plan would serve as a guide to the country’s development from last year to 2030.
He noted that the country’s water resources were not properly harnessed, thereby necessitating implementation of the master plan for adequate utilisation of these resources.
“The final stage is so important because now, we can say we have a national water master plan that every sector can key into for their development agenda.
“It is very important that the master plan is a guide to ensuring sustainable development within our present demand and it’s from 2013 to 2030.
“Any development that has to do with water, you have to consult the master plan for availability of water.
“We have abundant water supply resources; we have huge potential even up to 2030; but they are not properly harnessed because water is not evenly distributed,’’ he said.
He said the weather data, meteorological data, hydrological data and population growth were the major areas captured in the plan.
According to him, the master plan also made reference to Nigeria’s Vision 20:2020, National Water Road Map, MDGs and the Africa Water Vision in developing the plan.
He explained that the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the organisation in charge of the review, developed the first master plan in 1995.
He said the Federal Government requested the organisation to update the document for effective management of the country’s water resources.
The assistant director com-mended the organisation for the job, stating that the plan was part of the support from the Japanese Government to Nigeria.
A repackaged quarterly magazine, Omenka, published by Revilo Company Limited, will be presented to the public on Saturday, at the Wheatbaker Hotel, Ikoyi, Lagos.
Omenka, previously known as New Awakening, has been redesigned as Nigeria’s first art, business and lifestyle magazine that boasts of the latest news, insider intelligence on the African art market as well as auction reports and art transaction prices. It is divided into sections such as antennae, focus, lifestyle, market file, report and feature.
According to the Editor-in-chief, Mr Oliver Enwonwu, the magazine aims at giving visibility to modern and contemporary art in Africa by providing updates on various art movements, show reviews and event schedules.
The magazine’s collectors issue profiles the emerging secondary art market in Nigeria featuring articles on the rising value of Nigerian art and the top 10 highest selling works on the Nigerian market as at March this year. Also, Lagos collector, Mr. Robert Mbonu shares his passion and pet project, the Art Exchange, set up to promote art as an alternative asset class and collateral for bank loans.
A report by the Director of African contemporary art at Bonhams Mr. Giles Peppiatt predicts increasing prices for modern Nigerian art explaining why contemporary Nigerian art despite its flair does not command as much as art from South Africa.
Enwonwu noted that the readership of specialised art magazine has improved tremendously adding that the feedback from subscribers of New Awakening, spurred them into repackaging of the new magazine.
“This is one sure platform of lifting the art as a serious business beyond mere decoration. It also provides forum to document our art, serves as reference material for researchers and students of art. In fact, the magazine stands to engage every stakeholder in the art,” he said.
An array of dignitaries will tomorrow converge on the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Kofo Abayomi Street, Victoria Island, Lagos for the presentation of the memoirs of Ambassador Dapo Fafowora.
The memoirs, entitled: “Lest I forget,” will be reviewed by Prof Adebayo Williams.
President Goodluck Jonathan would not be presenting the 2013 budget on October 4 as earlier scheduled before the joint session of the National Assembly, it emerged yesterday.
Speaker of the House of Representatives Aminu Tambuwal had onTuesday read a letter from President Jonathan conveying his intention to present the 2013 budget at a joint session on October 4.
The lawmakers maintained that it was impossible for them to consider the acceptance of the presentation of the 2013 budget while the 2012 budget is having issues as the President was yet to convince Nigerians on the implementation of the current budget.
The House of Representatives said it would not be able to complete the scrutiny of the 2013-2015 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy (MTEFF) paper as well as engage relevant government agencies concerned with the document before the said date.
According to the Chairman, House Committee on Information and Public Affairs, Zakari Mohammed, (PDP, Kwara), the House has also suspended plenary for next week to conduct oversight on physical inspection of infrastructural projects nationwide.
The indication of the imminent postponement was dropped by the Chairman, House Committee on Finance, Abudmumin Jibrin (PDP, Kano), who also doubled as the Chairman of the Joint Committee saddled with the responsibility of scrutinising the document at the plenary yesterday.
Saying that though the preliminary process of detail examination of the document has commenced, Abudmumin Jubrin informed the floor that “Knowing the implication and importance of the document to the presentation of the budget by Mr. president, it is practically impossible to engage all the relevant government agencies involved with the document.
“We have to invite agencies like the Ministry of Finance, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) and several others”.
Jibrin stressed that considering the limited time interval before the Presidential presentation, more time would be needed by the Committee in order to be able to do a thorough job on the document.
The Speaker, Aminu Tambuwal asked the Committee to continue with it’s work on the basis that the passage of the MTEF is a prerequisite for the presentation of the Budget by the President.
The House Spokesman, at the weekly media interaction said the importance of the oversight function cannot be overemphasized, while pointing out that the stance of the lower chamber was not a muscle flexing against the executive.
“The question of Mr. President coming to present the budget on 4th is ruled out because by next week we are not going to be available. Also, the MTEF must definitely be looked into first, by law and convention before the budget for the incoming year is considered.
“These are issues of law, it is not about the House trying to flex muscles. Maybe later, a letter of convenient day would be fixed for Mr. President to come and present the budget.
“We are considering an aspect of the 2012 budget and not yet completed, yet another one is coming. 4th October is just not realistic, we are going on the oversight and be back on 9th,” he said.