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Tag: Row

  • Row in Kwara varsity over unionisation

    Row in Kwara varsity over unionisation

    Authorities of the Kwara State University (KWASU), Malete, in Moro Local Government and academic workers are quarelling over a plan to form the institution’s branch of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

    The academic workers recently inaugurated KWASU’s ASUU Caretaker Committee, preparatory to the beginning of ASUU activities.

    The Chairman of the committee is Dr. Dauda Adeshola and the Secretary is Dr. Shehu AbdulGaniyu Salau.

    The institution management described any form of unionism as illegal.

    Dr. Adeshola urged members to be resolute in their determination to bargain for better conditions of service.

    He assured that the association would not contravene laid-down rules and regulation of the institution.

    The committee later officially informed the management of the formal inauguration of KWASU ASUU.

    A letter dated August 17 and signed by Adeshola said: “This is to officially inform the university management and the academic community that ASUU, KWASU chapter was inaugurated on August 13. A Caretaker Committee was set up for the take-off.”

    The letter entitled: ‘Inauguration of ASUU, KWASU chapter,’ was addressed to the registrar.

    It added: “The inauguration held at E-place Plaza, Malete had five protem officers after a keenly-contested election. They were elected to run the affairs of the union until a new exco is elected.

    “We pledge the loyalty of the union to the university authorities and the Kwara State government. KWASU, established in 2009, is about to witness union activities after a five-year waiting period stipulated by the National Universities Commission (NUC) and KWASU Condition of Service and Regulations.”

    A circular by the Principal/Protocol Officer, KWASU, Hamidat Yusuf, described the meetings, which resulted in the emergence of the Caretaker Committee, as “illegal and combative unionism.”

    The circular reads: “This is to inform the university community that the management is aware of groups of KWASU workers holding clandestine meetings in odd venues in Malete in the name of cultism or combative unionism.

    “The university warns all concerned that this is illegal under KWASU rules. No nefarious, clandestine group, no matter by what name it disguises itself, will be recognised by the university. KWASU only recently attained five years of peaceful and purposeful academic calendar.

    “An acceptable legal unionism for students, academic and non-academic workers will be ushered in within an open framework with the participation of management and all concerned. No amount of effort by the handful 17 workers, who met outside the campus and held cultists’ meeting to create chaos in the school will succeed.

    “The police, office of the university safety and other security agencies have been put on the alert to monitor these nefarious individuals and each of the 17 officials or any other who may be misguided is hereby warned.

    “A timetable will be published at the appropriate time for a peaceful unionism. Some gangs are obviously sad about the peaceful nature of KWASU in the face of national difficulties and seek to cause disaffection with the government.”

     

     

     

  • Row over Ayangburen stool

    Row over Ayangburen stool

    •Ruling house rejects kingmakers’ choice
    •‘I was validly selected’

    A row has broken out over the selection of Odofin of Ikorodu, Chief Kabiru Adewale Shotobi, as the Ayangburen-designate.

    Some members of the Lasunwon Ruling House to which he belongs are claiming that he emerged the oba-elect in breach of an existing pact.

    Under the agreement which was entered as consent judgment in a 2007 suit before an Ikorodu High Court,  Shotobi and the Adegorunshen branch of the ruling house were said to “have conceded that they would have no right in future to the next chieftaincy title that is due and available to Lasunwon ruling house.”

    The ruling house became eligible to fill the Ayangburen of Ikorodu stool following the death of Oba Salaudeen Oyefusi last August.

    Despite the challenge from some quarters, Shotobi is insisting that he was validly chosen by the kingmakers with his family’s support.

    The ruling house’s General Secretary, Chief Mukaila Adekogbe, and aggrieved members of its Lambo Lasunwon, Odujumo Araba/Ewejube and Odusajo branches, accused Shotobi of breaching the said agreement.

    In a statement, they said: “Consequent upon the demise of Oba Oyefusi on August 2, 2014, the chieftaincy stool of Ayangburen became vacant. Succession to the throne is governed by the declaration made under Section 4(2) of the Chiefs Law 1957 regulating the selection to the Ayangburen chieftaincy.

    “One of the aspirants to the throne is Chief Shotobi, who succeeded to his present title of Odofin of Ikorodu upon the terms of settlement signed by the parties in suit No IKD/57/2007. Chief Shotobi was the defendant while the Lambo branch of Lasunwon ruling house was the claimant.

    “To avoid an imminent defeat in the said suit, Chief Shotobi and the Adegorunshen branch of Lasunwon Ruling House conceded that the claimants would have no right in future to the next chieftaincy title that is due and available to Lasunwon ruling house. The present tussle is caused by the misconception of Chief Shotobi and his supporters as to what the word “chieftaincy” embraces. His view is that the stool of Ayangburen is not included in the word “chieftaincy”. He is in error.

    “We, the Lambo branch; Odujumo Araba/ Owujebe branch and Odusajo branch of Lasunwon Ruling House, predicate our stand on the definition of the word “chieftaincy”. We therefore hold that the kingmakers who are fully aware of the consent judgment quoted above are desirous to upset the applecart. This is mischievous and we urge the government of Lagos State to call the Ikorodu kingmakers to order so as to avoid a repeat of the disaster of 1952 which engulfed Ikorodu after the demise of Oba Adenaike Alagbe.”

    Dismissing the allegations as baseless, Shotobi said: “The kingmakers have confirmed me as the Oba-elect. If the kingmakers have chosen me as the candidate for the stool, who else would say anything contrary to upturn their decision?

    “The Lasunwon Ruling House is made up of four branches and I come from Adegorunshen branch of the ruling house. It was a keenly contested race as other branches presented their candidates to the kingmakers; at the end of the selection exercise I was picked by the kingmakers as the best candidate for the throne.”

    A member of his family, Chief Sunday Ogede, said due process was followed in selecting Shotobi.

    The outcome of the exercise, he said, had been forwarded to the state government through Ikorodu Local Government, describing the controversial agreement which allegedly disqualifies Shotobi from the stool as being misrepresented by the aggrieved party.

    “The purported agreement mentioned by those against Shotobi does not encompass ascension to the stool of Ayangburen because there are other chieftaincy titles members of the family are entitled to occupy such as Adegoruwa and Otunba of Ikorodu. Obas and Chiefs Law of Lagos State, Cap 02,1979, defines a chief as a person whose chieftaincy title is associated with a native community but lower than of an Oba. An Oba, as defined by the same section of the law says that an Oba “is the paramount traditional ruler of a native community recognised as such by the government under any law and includes Aholu (of Badagry). Besides, the progenitor of the ruling house, Lasunwon, was once the holder of Odofin title and he later became the monarch of Ikorodu and he did not relinquish the former title. Another instance was that of Oba Ladega, who was the Adegoruwa of Ikorodu and did not resign from office before he later became the Ayangburen of Ikorodu, “he added.

  • Row over seminar

    Row over seminar

    There is controversy over a seminar organised by graduating students of Pharmacy Department of the University of Benin (UNIBEN) and the Students’ Union Government (SUG) to educate youths on the consequences of drug abuse, reports EZEKIEL EFEOBHOKHAN (400-Level Pharmacy).

    THE symposium whose objective was to promote a drug addiction-free generation and to sensitise undergraduates on the adverse effects of drug abuse may have been organised in good faith. But, the seminar, organised by graduating students of the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Benin (UNIBEN) and the Students’ Union Government (SUG), started and ended in controversy.

    Some of the graduating students alleged a scam in the organisation of the event. The immediate past president of the Pharmaceutical Association of Nigerian Students (PANS), Samuel Ugwumba,  petitioned the security department to investigate why the programme should be held during the Yuletide.

    The security officers stopped the event, which was to hold in the university’s Banquet Hall, with the theme: The youth cankerworm 2014.

    Samuel alleged that PANS’ name was being dropped by the organisers, saying there was no time the association was contacted for the event. He accused his predecessor, Henry Makinde, conniving with the Students’Union members, alleging foul play in the appropriation of funds for the event.

    He said: “Henry connived with some Students’ Union parliament members to organise the event, which I was rightly informed was purportedly being held by the Substance Abuse Committee of the parliament to enlighten students on the negativities of drug abuse. But, how can an event, which is meant for students, be organised in a period when 90 per cent of the would-be participants have already gone home for Christmas holiday?

    “I have decided to expose the organisers. After contacting most of the dignitaries at the event, most of them denied knowledge of it. I also met with the Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy, Prof John Akerele, who should be the chief host at the event. To my greatest surprise, the dean denied knowledge of the event and wondered why his name was being used for the event without being informed.”

    Reacting, one of the organisers, Unachukwu Odera, described Samuel’s conduct as unprofessional.

    Unachukwu said: “I was surprised to hear somebody describing the event as a scam. Samuel has been devising means to drag the name of his predecessor, Henry, into the mud. The event was expressly put together with the approval of the management. The venue was given to us free of charge.

    “However, Samuel made several attempts to stop the programme from holding and he mobilised hoodlums to destroy the publicity banners, misinformed the security officers and also made a Facebook post that the event was a scam. He contacted all the invitees to disregard the invitation to the venue, while impersonating the incumbent president.”

    Unachukwu said the targeted audience was final year students, who were still on campus because of their projects’ submission. He added that the event was organised by PANS but by the graduating class in collaboration with the SUG.

    Responding, Henry, who spoke to our correspondent on telephone, said: “Don’t mind Samuel; he has been targeting me to destroy my image and personality. Do your own investigation and find out if the event was a scam.”

    Efforts to reach the dean of the faculty for comments proved abortive as he was said to be on an official assignment.

    After the security officers investigated the alleged scam, the event  was allowed to hold. The current PANS president, Darry Emazor, stayed away from the event, saying the association was not part of it. He described the controversy that trailed the event as unfortunate, urging PANS executive to stay away from it.

    A 400-Level Pharmacy student, who pleaded anonymity, urged the parties to sheathe their swords and promote unity within the union. He said: “I know that one of the major objectives of PANS is to foster unity among pharmacy students. We must not sacrifice this objective on the altar of selfishness and personal differences.”

    Guests at the event, included Mr Tunde Akamu, Mr Isidore Ayojei, Mr Kayode Dada and Mr Ayo Olusanya, who are all pharmacists.

    Speaking on the topic: Navigating the corporate world, Olusanya said everyone, at some point, would need direction and someone must show them the path to take. His words: “Work is an integral part of human existence, even the richest man in the world would still want to work in order to earn more money. That is the same reason why we sell ourselves to the world. As young pharmacists, we have to be branded and espouse professionalism.”

    Advising the participants, Dada said: “The service you will render in life is beyond your certificate; it is in you. You do not have an excuse to fail; you just have to increase in standard.”

    The guests were presented awards. Henry, the chairman of the organising committee, thanked the guests and participants who graced the event.

  • Bonus row affected Eagles, says Wenger

    Bonus row affected Eagles, says Wenger

    ARSENAL manager Arsene Wenger has opined that Nigeria failed to progress to the last eight of the World Cup, which came to a climax last night, because of administrative lapses.

    Although this has been played down by team officials, the Super Eagles were involved in a bonus row with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) before they took on France in the second round, with the players refusing to train four days before the clash in Brasilia.

    Wenger failed to hit the nail on the head, but hinted that these squabbles over money contributed to the African champions exiting the tournament in the last 16.

    ‘I don’t think it’s purely down to quality. I think it comes down to organisational problems before the World Cup and during the World Cup,” the Frenchman told the online edition of British newspaper, the Daily Mirror.

    He added: ”I think what hurt football fans both in Cameroon and Nigeria – two big footballing nations – was not that their countries did not reach the quarter-finals, it was the fact that both teams had no solidarity and they had problems that were exposed all over the world before the competition and that’s the main reason.

    ”Football is difficult enough when you are united but if you are not united at that stage then you have no chance.”

    It has been reported that the players were awake till 2.30am on the day of the meeting with France, sharing funds that had been flown in from Nigeria by the Federal Government the previous day.

  • Boko Haram: North’s, Igbo’s elders in row over Ihejirika

    Boko Haram: North’s, Igbo’s elders in row over Ihejirika

    ELDERS of the North and the Southeast were locked yesterday in a brickbat over the military’s battle against the Boko Haram insurgency in Borno State.

    They both talked tough at separate fora in Abuja, the nation’s capital, over the plan by the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) to take former Chief of Army Staff Lt.-Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged war crimes.

    NEF spokesman Prof. Ango Abdullahi said there was no going back on the decision to call in the ICC over the massacre of hundreds of people in Baga, Borno State.

    To Abdullahi, a former vice chancellor of the Ahmadu Bello University, it is “stupid to insinuate that we are dragging the former Chief of Army Staff to the ICC because he is an Igbo man.”

    Gen. Ihejirika, who was replaced last week by Major Gen. Kenneth Miniimah, was the first officer from the Southeast extraction to head the army since the civil war ended in 1970.

    But Senator Uche Chukwumerije, who spoke on behalf of Igbo elders, criticised the “blatant selective search for who is responsible in Baga and Why so personal?”

    “Every citizen (including Prof. Ango Abdullahi) knows that the anti-terrorism campaign in the North is a joint military operation under the command of the Chief oF Defence Staff.

    “In singling out Lt.-General Ihejirika, the then Army boss, the likes of Prof. Ango Abdullahi are merely betraying old prejudices and embarking on new hazardous search for bad names to hang hated dogs.

    “Besides, the fact that Prof. Ango Abdullahi and co sprung into action immediately Lt.-General Ihejirika and ‘six others’ left their commands has revealed the depth of long-smoldering resentment of the campaign against Boko Haram by the self-proclaimed leaders of the North.

    The position of the Northern Elders Forum, he said, “raises a question about where their sympathy lies in this battle” against Boko Haram.

    Chukwumerije asked: “Why single out Bama (Baga) incident for Hague’s adjudication?”

    He said: “We have seen, in the past, cases of wholesale massacres which were not only more gruesome than Bama’s (Baga) but proven as true, unlike Bama (Baga). Ango Abdullahi and co kept silent.

    “There was the case of Odi in which a whole community was decimated. There was the case of Zaki-Biam. There was the case of Katsina Ala.

    “If Odi did not arouse the conscience of Ango Abdullahi because the people do not belong to his hallowed Northern enclave, how about Zaki-Biam and Katsina Ala?

    “In the magisterial judgement and imperial political wisdom of the Ango Abdullahis, when is a Nigerian, their type of Nigerian, worthy of national attention and respect of the law, and when is a Northerner, their type of Northerner, worthy of attention and protection of the law? Why only Bama (Baga)?

    According to him, “if Ango’s criterion for selection of cases for Hague is a gruesome use of force against unarmed civilians’, ‘extra-judicial killings’ and ‘acts of strangulating civilians’ (unproven or exaggerated as the allegation may be), then our learned professor ought to know that the prime candidate is genocidal atrocities of the civil war against the people of former Eastern Region, especially Ndigbo”.

    Chukwumerije added: “As Ango Abdullahi’s team opens the doors and walks into the hall of the World Court, let them realise that they have at last opened the Pandora’ Box”.

    “The indigenes of Odi, Zaki-Biam and Katsina-Ala will, in quick succession, file into the hall. At the same pace, Ndigbo of Southeast and Anioma will dust their files and head for The Hague.”

    He said Nigerians must cling to the hope that Abdullahi and co “wish long-lasting peace and stability to our troubled federation”.

    According to Chukwumerije, the only path to long-lasting stability of the federation is the path of equity-”an understanding by all of us that the irreducible necessity in a multi-national state like our federation is a secular state soundly based on rule of all, on equality of rights and obligations of all citizens”.

    He said the Igbo-speaking citizens observed with disquiet that the present constellation of security chiefs has none from the Igbo ethnic nationality.

    Ndigbo, he said, views the omission with concern “because it means that at the highest level of consideration of the security challenges of the country, the voice of Ndigbo will be missing”.

    He said: “A society that has no respect for human life is nearer the status of a community of animals. But the situation in the universally acknowledged difficult terrain of a borderless war, such as terrorism, counter terrorism and guerilla-like conflicts offers a unique challenge.”

    Chukwumerije, who spoke at the National Assembly, added: “The motives of Prof. Ango Abdullahi and co are obviously beyond concerns about violations of human rights. This is so because the incident of Bama (Baga) has been investigated and put to rest long ago.

    “For instance, the Senate sent a strong team to the area in June 2013 after the incident. After a thorough on-the-spot investigation, which extended to interviews with all concerned officials (Director of SSS, State Governor, Commander of the Multi-National Joint Task Force, and stakeholders of the community) and visit to the graveyard, the Senate Committee concluded as follows: ‘The death toll of 185 was exaggerated but there may be more than 37 deaths….

    Chukwumerije, who said that the Senate endorsed the report, noted that “definitely, there were no massacres to the scale that demanded the judicial sanctions of The Hague”.

    He said: “Why the blatantly selective search for responsibility in Bama (Baga) and why so personal?

  • Okonjo-Iweala, IMF chief: US budget row may hurt Nigeria

    Okonjo-Iweala, IMF chief: US budget row may hurt Nigeria

    FROM the International Monetary Fund (IMF) meeting in Washington yesterday came a warning that the budget row in the United States (US) may hurt Nigeria if it deepens.

    Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said the consequences of the row would be dire for Nigeria and other countries which rely more on foreign trade for sustenance.

    They spoke at separate meetings at the on-going IMF/World Bank meeting.

    Dr Okonjo-Iweala, who addressed the world press with the Secretary-General of Commonwealth, Kamalesh Sharma, and the Prime Minister of St. Kitts, Densil Douglas, on the outcome of the Commonwealth Finance Ministers’ Meeting, said what was happening in the US could create uncertainty for people in developing and emerging countries. The face-off, she said, could affect Nigeria’s $500million Bond and the Euro Bond, adding that if the crisis lingers, it would also affect interest rates.

    She said there was need for a stable and regulated international system, adding that the US government’s budget debate and the debt must be “urgently “resolved so that we can have stability in our financial system.”

    Earlier, Lagarde said the US government’s shutdown, if not quickly solved, would create volatility and uncertainty in the rest of the world, warning that Nigeria, as an oil exporting country would be affected. “The shutdown will affect price of oil, and because Nigeria is an oil exporting country, she’ll be affected.”

    While admitting IMF’s constraints in intervening in the face-off between President Barack Obama and Congress, she urged the parties to put their house in order because “the failure to raise the debt ceiling will cause severe damage to the US economy, as well as have global consequences.”

    She said was not for the IMF to interfere, adding: “we look at the economic consequences of actions taken elsewhere, we engage in dialogue and look at the potential risks.

    Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala, who spoke on a wide range of issues on the outcome of the Commonwealth Finance Ministers’ Meeting, said the body was considering looking inwards in sourcing for funds to address some of the region’s development concerns.

    She said there was need for Domestic Resource Mobilisation, adding that such efforts would require, in the case of Nigeria, the strengthening of tax collection.

    She said the Federal Inland Revenue Service was doing a great job in this regard, stressing that there was need to do a proper audit on whether companies that provided for tax in their books duly remitted such to the government as required.

    On the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), she said its passage would provide an environment for the oil companies to operate in a more certain and clear terms of engagement, arguing: “Even if it is not perfect, it will provide an environment for our oil companies to have more certainty. I know the oil companies don’t like it too much because the fiscal regime is tougher on them in that PIB than what they had before, but we are urging them to support it, so that we get it through, and then later on, we can begin to amend, but the way we have it now, we really need it to go through.”

    She said the PIB’s passage would enable the government to commercialise the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), and make the sector to be more transparent.

  • Row over Kwara cargo terminal

    •ACN urges residents to be vigilant 

    The Kwara State Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) yesterday described as ‘worrisome but typical of the PDP-led state government’ the revelations on twitter about the non-completion of the Ilorin Cargo Terminal, which was inaugurated as a complete project.

    The party urged the residents to “open their eyes as the Kwara State Government just confirms our worries and suspicions that projects gulping billions of naira of public funds may soon be turned to private property when the governor’s spokesman, Femi Akorede, confirmed on the social media, Twitter, that the government ‘will eventually sell 70 per cent of its stake’ in the Aviation College to some private investors.”

    In a statement in Ilorin, the state capital, ACN Chairman Kayode Olawepo recalled that confusion and anger reigned on Twitter at the weekend after the Information Commissioner, Tunji Moronfoye, contradicted the claims by a pro-Bukola Saraki blogger, Rotimi Ogungbola, that the Ilorin Cargo Terminal was bringing revenue to the government.

    He said Ogungbola had claimed in an opinion article posted on a website, Ilorin.info, entitled: Economic Boost Through cargo Terminal, that the cargo terminal was up and running.

    Ogunmola reportedly added that the Federal Government was eyeing the facility, which he claimed “has offered Kwarans the benefits of secured handling, speed and geographic advantage with low cost of road or ocean container freight which are relatively expensive”.

    The statement reads: “The article, coming a few days after Moronfoye (@TunjiMoronfoye) told some Kwarans on Twitter that the terminal is still under construction and was never inaugurated, saw @kwhistleblower leading other Kwara indigenes to question the claims in Ogungbola’s article, which they dismissed as ‘one of the many lies of Bukola Saraki and his publicists’.

    “Pressured to clear the air on Ogungbola’s article, because of his claims a few days earlier, Moronfoye declared in a tweet on Friday: ‘Oga whistle, can you give this a rest? Is the facility there? Yes. Is it inaugurated? No. Is it operational? No. Go there, work is still on’.

    “Although Moronfoye insisted the project was never inaugurated, Ilorin.info posted a tweet showing President Goodluck Jonathan and Saraki, the former governor, at the official inauguration of the project.

    “Moronfoye’s tweets triggered a flurry of reactions from Kwara indigenes on the social media, with one of them, @omo_baba_kaduna, declaring that “the cargo terminal was one of the many uncompleted projects Bukola Saraki inaugurated before leaving office.” One such project was the recently inaugurated Ilorin Central Mosque, which the former governor inaugurated in the run-up to the April governorship election in 2011.

    “It is unclear why Ogungbola painted the picture of a cargo terminal already running and profitable even when the facility has not been completed, as the information commissioner confirmed, but the Kwara State Government is believed to be pestering the Federal Government to take it over.

    “Asked if there was any sense in government committing public fund into a project it knows was not sustainable or economically viable, Dr Femi Akorede (phemmmy), who is special assistant to Governor Abdulfattah Ahmed on Media and Communications, confirmed the project was conceived with the intention of selling it to the central government to recoup the money spent on it.

    “Akorede’s tweet read: ‘Govt recognised the potential economic benefit of the terminal and built it with the expectation that the Federal Government will take over and refund it.’ In another tweet on Friday, he said: ‘That we are securing Federal Government’s interest in cargo terminal is consistent with the original intention in establishing it.’

    “He was reacting to an earlier tweet from @kwhistleblower that “come to think of it, which business concern will let go or canvass the takeover of its profitable venture? That KWSG wants it taken over says it all.’

    “Femi also provoked further controversy on twitter on Saturday afternoon after he confirmed that the government ‘will eventually sell 70 per cent of its stake (to a private investor) and use the proceeds for development’.

    “Akorede’s tweet followed plans by the government to buy additional 10 aircraft for the Aviation College, minus those Governor AbdulFatah Ahmed claimed the Federal Government promised to buy for the school.”

     

     

     

  • Budget 2013 row grows

    Budget 2013 row grows

    A fresh row has broken out between the Senate and the House of Representatives over the passage of the 2013 budget.

    The Senate is ready to pass the budget before the end of the month, but the House of Representatives is insisting on full implementation of this year’s budget before passing the 2013 Appropriation Bill.

    The House wants the Executive to extend the 2012 fiscal year to January for it to implement this year’s budget effectively.

    Attempts to iron out the differences have not succeeded. The House is insisting that the execution of this year’s budget has not reached 65 per cent.

    Besides, there are fears over the likely mismanagement of the fourth quarter allocation, which is just being released.

    Only N170billion of the N300billion fourth quarter allocation has been cash-backed by the Ministry of Finance.

    A principal officer of one of the chambers, who spoke in confidence, said: “We are back in the trenches, with the Senate and the House taking different positions on the passage of the 2013 budget.

    “Although all members of the National Assembly are aggrieved over the poor implementation of this year’s budget, Senate President David Mark has urged committees to fast track the passage of the budget. He met with the chairmen.

    “Mark, who admitted that the Executive has a lot of shortcomings on the implementation of this year’s budget, said the country has to move forward.

    “So, the Senate has decided to pass the 2013 Appropriation Bill – in the interest of the nation and in line with the rectification of the appropriation calendar which will now run from January to December.”

    Despite Mark’s intervention, the Northern Senators Forum on Tuesday night met in Abuja for about two hours on the budget.

    It was gathered that most senators at the session were unhappy that the Executive had been misleading the nation on the percentage of the budget implementation for 2012.

    It was learnt that the senators identified their grouses as follows: poor execution of the 2012 budget; non-release of funds for capital projects and mounting debts, which has risen to $10billions; among others.

    A member of the Northern caucus, who spoke on the session by Northern Senators, said: “ We are all not happy at all with the Executive. We took note of the plea by the President of the Senate but we are watching what the House of Representatives will do. At the end of the day, we might pitch tent with the House members if they have convincing reasons.

    “Do not forget that the two chambers must harmonise their positions before the budget can be passed.”

    A principal officer of the House, who confided in our correspondent last night, said: “We won’t subject the House to the blanket passage of the 2013 Appropriation Bill into law.

    “We want to measure significant implementation of the 2012 budget before passing the 2013 bill into law. We are calling for a window of one month to extend the fiscal year to January 2013 to monitor the use of the fourth quarter allocation and comprehensively evaluate the 2012 budget.

    “If the Executive and the Senate can agree to one month extension of the fiscal year, we will pass the 2013 Appropriation Bill into law. At present, we have a situation whereby fourth quarter funds will go into unauthorised hands.

    “While the fourth quarter allocation has not been fully released, the Executive just sent in a N162billion supplementary budget which is late in the day. How can the fiscal year end on December 31, 2012? Who will monitor the use of these funds? The funds may end up in private accounts of those milking the system. We want to assert our constitutional rights to appropriate and ensure judicious use of funds.

    “There is no meeting point with the Senate on this extension of the fiscal year by one month.”

  • Onitsha traders deny row with Anambra officials

    Traders at William Street Market in Onitsha, Anambra State, have denied fighting government officials over the reported plan to relocate it to its permanent site at Ogbunike, Oyi Local Government Area.

    There have been speculations that the Acting Chairman of the market, Mr. Solomon Maduike, and his principal officers, quarrelled over the alleged refusal to relocate the market.

    But Maduike yesterday in Onitsha described the rumours and report as misguided and unfounded.

    The businessman said those spreading the rumours are unscrupulous elements, who want to tarnish the good image of the market.

    He said: “There was no shouting match or brawl between me and my principal officers or agents of government over the alleged refusal to conduct an election or relocate the market to Ogbunike.

    “The report was intended to engender disaffection among the tranquil traders at William Street.”

    But the Chairman of the government’s caretaker committee Mr. Gabriel Momegha said the committee was at the market to meet with its executives.

    The committee chairman said the committee wanted to persuade the market executives to deliberate on the need to relocate to the permanent site.

    He said: “The visit was to seek the possibility of the executives of the market to dialogue on how to relocate to the permanent site. The place has been completed and inaugurated by the Anambra State Government.

    “By the mere mention of Ogbunike Building Material Dealers’ Market in the introductory speech, Maduike started shouting on top of his voice, saying he was not interested in Ogbunike Market.

    “Efforts to explain the need to relocate to the new site, where he also has a shop, failed. We tried to tell him the need to relocate because William Street Market is no longer big enough to accommodate their goods. But he refused.”

  • Rivers, Bayelsa row grows over oil wells

    Rivers, Bayelsa row grows over oil wells

    THE war of words between Rivers and Bayelsa states over some disputed oil wells continued yesterday.

    Bayelsa accused Rivers of insulting the Presidency in a statement containing frivolous allegations, claiming that the disputed Soku/Oluasiri oil wells belong to it.

    In a statement by its Commissioner for Information and Orientation Deacon Markson Fefegha, Bayelsa alleged that Rivers intended to instigate crisis among the Ijaw brothers in Kalabari and Nembe communities.

    It said despite the provocation, Bayelsa would ensure a peaceful resolution of the issue.

    In an advertorial last week, the Rivers State government said: “The Rivers State Government wishes to state that it has and will continue to accord the highest respect to the person and office of His Excellency, the President, but will never ever submit to any attempt, as is being orchestrated now, to be intimidated in its responsibility of preserving the property and resources that rightly belong to the people of River State.

    “The 11th edition of the administrative map, clandestinely prepared by the National Boundary Commission and the Federal Surveyor-General’s office in 1999, but published in 2000, strangely shifted the boundaries between Rivers and Bayelsa states from the initial boundary between Kalabari and Nembe, west of the Santa Barbara River, to San Bartholomew River, contrary to the delineation by all preceding administrative maps of Nigeria and all historical records.

    “The Supreme Court Judgment is clear-that it could not decide jthe boundary based on the erroneous 11th Edition Map the Bayelsa State Publication is heavily relying on, but that it will await the final delineation to be heralded by the promised 12th edition of the Map.”

    Fefegha said: “For all intents and purposes, the said press statement of the Rivers State Government on the above issue was obviously intended to create crisis amongst the peace-loving Ijaw people in Rivers and Bayelsa states and garner public sympathy for Rivers State.

    “The said statement, which was signed by the Rivers State Commissioner for Information, on the instruction of the Rivers State Governor amongst others, accused the presidency of mischief.

    “This is not only disrespectful and insulting, it also smacks of insubordination and arrogance on the part of the leadership of the Rivers State Government.

    “While this matter remains in the front burner of public discourse, it is advisable for the Rivers State Government to stop denigrating the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria because the Office of the President is the highest institution in the land.

    “Public Office holders must at all times protect the sanctity of public institutions and not to desecrate same the way the leadership of Rivers State did and is still doing.

    “The government of Bayelsa State therefore urges the Rivers State Governor and his appointees to refrain from making inciting and inflammatory remarks capable of triggering off inter communal crises among our people.”

    Fefegha said Bayelsa had restrained Nembe people from responding to “the threats and drums of war” by the Kalabari people as this could lead to great disaffection between the two communities.

    “We also urge our fellow Ijaw brothers and traditional rulers to refrain from being used as tools to cause disunity between the people of Rivers and Bayelsa states over the derivation matter because derivation is purely a state matter and not a matter between communities,” he said.

    The commissioner recalled that Rivers filed two suits against Bayelsa at the Federal High Court and the Supreme Court in order to assert its purported ownership of the oil wells/ oil field but both actions were struck out.

    The statement reads: “Soku is a village in Rivers State while the oil wells/ oil field and the flow station are located in the Oluasiri clan in Nembe Local Government Area of Bayelsa State. The name Soku oil wells/oil field was wrongly given by Shell Petroleum Development Company Ltd (SPDC) since Soku village was their operational base at that time.

    “This is not peculiar to Soku. For example, the Idu oil wells/oil field is named after a town in Ekpeye land in Ahoada East Local Government Area of Rivers State while the oil field is actually located in Biseni land of Bayelsa State. Similarly, the Omoku west oil field is in Biseni land of Bayelsa State but Omoku is a town in Rivers State.

    “The Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) in its report on the Familiarisation/Verification visit to oil producing states, volume 1, Main Report, August 2006 in Chapter 3, page 30 also acknowledged the above anomaly when it stated as follows:

    “‘The Bayelsa/Imo/Abia State Governments complained that the naming of oil fields was often done arbitrarily without any regard to the culture and particular environment of the people where the wells or fields are located. This has given rise to wrong attribution by relevant agencies.’

    “Incidentally, Soku village in Rivers State is about 10 km, as the crow flies, from the flow station while the Oluasiri / Soku oil wells/ field is surrounded by various Oluasiri villages of Nembe Local Government Area in Bayelsa State.

    “The Special Presidential Committee on verification of oil wells in volume one of its report on disputed oil wells of December 2000 (P; 25/26) after a painstaking field verification process and hearing from both states stated and recommended as follows:

    “‘The team relied on the legal notice captioned: ‘The Eastern Region Local Government Law, 1955 E.R. NO 26 of 1955. Instrument Establishing the Nembe District Council’ tendered by Bayelsa State on Pages 40-41 of its submission. It should be noted that while the Kalabaris of Rivers State call the area Soku, the Nembe people of Bayelsa State call it Oluasiri which is one of the councils mentioned in paragraph 5 of the above mentioned instrument. In the light of the above, it is recommended that the production from Soku Oil Field be attributed to Bayelsa State.’

    “It is worthy of note that the Rivers State Government had in its white paper (1993) titled: Rivers State Government Report of the Judicial Commission of Enquiry into the Disturbances / Conflict between Akuku-Toru and Brass LGA of Rivers State under the Chairmanship of Hon Justice Peter B. Akere rejected the use of River Santa Babara as the boundary between the Kalabari people of Rivers State and the Nembe people of Bayelsa State.

    “The Rivers State Government in the said white paper specifically stated as follows: ‘The commission recommends that: (i) Until that stage is reached, a temporary map which reflects the Rivers Santa Barbara as an administrative boundary should replace Exhibit SG 1. Government: (a) Rejects the recommendation of the commission in B (2) (i) above…’

    “The Rivers State Government can therefore no longer claim River Santa Babara as the boundary between the Nembe people of Bayelsa State and the Kalabari people of Rivers State and hence the boundary between the two states.

    “Following dispute between the Nembe and Kalabari peoples, J.G. Cousins Acting District Officer of Brass Division acknowledged River San Bartholomew as the boundary between the Nembe and Kalabari people when in his report dated November 1952 titled KALABARI/NEMBE FISHING DISPUTE stated in paragraph 4 as follows:

    “‘…I note that Consul Hopkins fixed the boundary between Nembe and new Calabar (Kalabari). This is mentioned in the report of the commission into the Kula-Nembe boundary dispute presided over by Mr B.G. Smith acting District Officer in 1944, to which I am also referred by the Nembe Chiefs.’ The New Calabar people in the above quotation refer to the present Kalabari people of Rivers State.

    “The 11tth edition of the administrative map of Nigeria, further confirms the fact that River San Bartholomew is the boundary between Nembe of Bayelsa State and new Calabar (Kalabari) of Rivers State which has metamorphosed into the boundary between the two states. “