The Nation Newspaper

Tag: settle

  • Settle rift with Ansbury, shareholders urge Oando

    The Lagos State government yesterday said finished goods valued at over $735.8million (about N264billion) have so far been exported from the Lekki Free Zone (LKF) project in the last three years.

    Commissioner for Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives, Mrs Olayinka Oladunjoye who spoke at the annual Ministerial Press Briefing to mark the third anniversary of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s administration at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre, Alausa, said the government was totally committed to the development of businesses in the Zone. She added that measures had been taken to ensure that the goods meet international standard before they are exported out of the country.

    She said the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) and other supporting agencies coordinated the exporting process of the goods in conjunction with the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), saying that it was a testament to the fact that the Zone was living up to expectation.

    She said the LFZ, among other things, was conceptualised to develop an offshore economic growth zone, attract foreign investments, promote export, create jobs, transfer technology, minimise capital flight and establish a one-stop business haven. It currently has 22 Free Zone Enterprises (FZEs) and 18 manufacturing enterprises in operation.

  • Kwara communities settle differences

    Kwara communities settle differences

    Feuding Offa and Ijagbo communities, in Offa and Oyun local government areas of Kwara State, have settled their differences at a meeting in Ilorin, the capital.

    The communities last week engaged in bloody brawls over land.

    One person was feared dead; many were injured.

    President of Offa Descendants Union (ODU) Najeem Yasin, and President of Ijagbo Descendants Union (IDU) Tunde Agboola Oyawoye, addressed reporters after the meeting.

    Oyawoye spoke through Chairman of the Ilorin branch of IDU, Samuel Ebun Akinola.

    They announced a 14-man committee to ensure implementation of decisions reached at the meeting.

    They directed the re-opening of schools, which were shut following the mayhem.

  • ‘My office doesn’t settle commercial disputes’

    ‘My office doesn’t settle commercial disputes’

    Lagos State Attorney-General, Mr Adeniji Kazeem, has warned that he would not allow his office to be used to settle commercial disputes.

    He spoke at the public presentation of a manual developed for ‘Plea and Sentence Bargaining’ as part of efforts to speed up criminal justice administration and decongestion of prisons in the state.

    “It is important to reiterate that my office understands and indeed is constantly mindful of the unbargainable need to exercise its discretionary powers to prosecute, not to persecute, take over or discontinue criminal cases within its jurisdiction as entrenched in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) with a great sense of responsibility devoid of any bias, prejudice, fear or favour.

    “Therefore, prosecutorial powers of this office will not be used as a platform for settling commercial disputes, family quarrels or land tussles and we will not be pressurised to act in the interest of one party against the interest of another party or any party where no criminal offence has been committed.

    “To do otherwise would be against the constitutional responsibilities of my office. Therefore we are fully committed to the tenets of justice and our prosecutors discharge their duties with professionalism while operating within the parameters of clearly defined and transparent prosecution policy guidelines,” he said.

    The Commissioner for Justice reiterated that his office was committed to ensuring speedy and fair dispensation of justice.

    He said his commitment to speedy dispensation of justice involves providing a secure environment for commercial and other economic activities to thrive.

    “We will not hesitate to prosecute defendants who have been found to have committed commercial or financial related offences which are contrary to offences created by statute”.

    He said the plea and sentence bargaining manual, the first if its kind in the country, “provides practical information about what plea bargain entails, the procedure for applying and general information that would make the process less complicated for all stakeholders”.

    According to him, Section 75 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Lagos State, 2015 empowers his office to consider and accept plea bargain proposals from and on behalf of a defendant.

    Although plea bargaining is not new to criminal justice system of the state, Kazeem lamented that its applicability has been poorly utilised by lawyers more than a decade after it came into being.

    “Given that the length of time awaiting trial inmates and detainees remain in prison custody is mainly dependent on the length of court proceedings, it is important as stakeholders to embrace creative provisions in our law to decongest the prisons. It is against this backdrop that the plea bargain protocol and manual was designed,” he stressed.

    He pointed out that in many jurisdictions, plea bargaining has served as an important tool for keeping the wheels of justice moving.

    The Attorney-General  said: “Private counsel should imbibe the culture of advising their clients appropriately especially in the face of overwhelming evidence rather than the usual practice of encouraging them to plead ‘not guilty’.

    To prove effectiveness of plea bargaining, he said between last January and now, the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) filed 1,086 cases in the High Court and 56 charges in the Magistrates Court.

    According to him, the volume of criminal cases underscores the need for exploration of alternative methods of resolving criminal cases without going through full trial.

    “To ensure maximum transparency and objectivity in the bargaining process, a Plea Bargain Committee was set up last April to consider/review cases in which proposals for plea bargain were made to my office and to make appropriate recommendations on them.

    “The committee has considered 14 cases so far and the plea bargain process has been successfully concluded in the cases,” he said.

    He listed the offences in which plea bargaining was considered to include conspiracy and murder, armed robbery, robbery, manslaughter, causing death by dangerous driving and forgery.

    He said he was mindful of the fact that the law places the burden on the prosecution to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt, noting that the defence has a pivotal role to play in the scheme of things.

    Towards this end, he said all proposals for plea bargaining will be considered by the review committee.

    The High Court of Lagos State Acting Chief Registrar, Mrs Abiola Soladoye, said she believed in prison decongestion and plea bargaining.

    She said the courts, particularly at the magistracy level, would collaborate with the government to ensure the manual’s success.

    Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Bolaji Salami and Lagos  State Controller of Prisons Tunde Ladipo  promised to collaborate with the government to ensure the manual’s successful implementation.

  • Cabotage levies: NIMASA, NLNG settle out of court

    Cabotage levies: NIMASA, NLNG settle out of court

    FRESH fact emerged at the weekend that the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) had withdrew its lawsuit against the Nigeria Liquified and Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited.

    The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister for Justice, Mr. Mohammed Adoke (SAN) was reported to have prevailed on the NIMASA to withdraw the suit.

    It would be recalled that NIMASA had taken the management of the NLNG to court following arguments over whether or not the latter ought to pay 2 % cabotage and 3 % freight levies for shipping by Bonny Gas Limited, a subsidiary of NLNG, estimated at over $400million to NIMASA from September 2007 till date.

    The case which had began under Dr. Ade Dosunmu, the erstwhile Director-General of the agency and was further pursued by his predecessor, Temisan Omatseye, has been a hotly debated issue and reportedly led to the abrupt exit of Omatseye who has been on suspension in the last two years, sources said.

    The Nation can authoritatively report that the matter hitherto under Justice Nyako of the Federal High Court, is presently before Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia of the Federal High Court, Lagos, and initially billed for further hearing in February will not be heard as both parties are returning to the negotiation table anytime soon.

    The Nation reliably gathered from informed sources that the AGF who seemed not comfortable with the turn of events, had issued a directive to the management of NIMASA to have the case withdrawn without further delay in order to settle out of court.

    Sources further told The Nation that Adoke had made frantic moves to have the matter withdrawn in court by the NIMASA management under the former DG, Omatseye, since 2010 but could not have his way because the then management insisted that he had to follow the due process.

    It was learnt that the minister may have arm-twisted the current management into doing his bidding.

    However when our correspondent got across to the Agency through its Head of Media, Hajia Lami Tumaka, she insisted that the matter was still pending in court.

    According to her, “The case is still in court and as such I cannot comment and as to whether NIMASA has settled out of court, it is only the Executive management board that can have a position on that. The case, I understand is coming up for further hearing in February.”

    Speaking with our correspondent yesterday, Professor Itse Sagay (SAN), the counsel representing NIMASA in the case confided in The Nation that both parties had taken the option of an out-of-court-settlement.

    Probed further, the professor of constitutional law reiterated that the case had been withdrawn but emphasised that due to client-confidentiality he would not be persuaded to give further details on the matter.

    Confirming this development, Dr. Kudo Eresia-Eke, Acting General Manager, External Relations, Nigeria LNG Limited, in an exclusive interview with The Nation yesterday said, it was true that NIMASA had indeed withdrew the case from the law court.

    While giving insight on what led to the litigation between his organisation and NIMASA, Eresia-Eke said: “Basically not much has transpired between the NLNG and NIMASA. As you know, what happened was that there were some levies and we argued that those levies were not meant for us because of our Act and they (NIMASA) went ahead to court.”

    Pressed further, he said: “I think later on, they decided to suspend the whole thing. I believed they did so because they had good intentions and we have no problem with that.”

    Expatiating, he said: “My understanding is that they have withdrawn the case and we are going to have a discussion. The negotiations we are going to have would be subject to how they approach us and what the issues might be and we can only respond based on the fact and information we have on ground. It is not what you can conjecture.”

    On insinuations that the AGF may have influenced the outcome of the matter, the NLNG spokesman said the decision to withdraw the case in the instance of the minister was well-intended and may have been taken to actualise peaceful settlement.

    The litigation between the NLNG and NIMASA had been ongoing in the past few years. The Nation gathered that the NLNG management under the former Managing Director, Chima Ibeneche, had asked NIMASA to go to court to contest the NLNG Act, which granted the NLNG and its contractors a tax holiday and several other incentives.

    However, following discussions with NIMASA and NLNG, both parties had agreed that the latter should carry out some projects in lieu of payment.

    The communiqué issued at the end of the parley in 2009 tagged: “Proposal on Projects that will Assist the Development of the Safety Administration in Nigeria”, addressed 14 critical areas of need namely: purchase of two number surveillance helicopters at the cost of $18.0million; four number pollution monitoring, control boats at $20.0m; five number defender, bullet proof patrol boats at $30.90m; two number offshore patrol boats with fire fighting capability at $30.0m; funding of PICOMMS projects at $26.0m to mention but a few.

    But The Nation gathered that the meeting called at the instance of NIMASA to ratify the proposal ended in a deadlock

  • Cabotage levies: NIMASA, NLNG settle out of court

    Cabotage levies: NIMASA, NLNG settle out of court

    FRESH fact emerged at the weekend that the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) had withdrew its lawsuit against the Nigeria Liquified and Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited.

    The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister for Justice, Mr. Mohammed Adoke (SAN) was reported to have prevailed on the NIMASA to withdraw the suit.

    It would be recalled that NIMASA had taken the management of the NLNG to court following arguments over whether or not the latter ought to pay 2 % cabotage and 3 % freight levies for shipping by Bonny Gas Limited, a subsidiary of NLNG, estimated at over $400million to NIMASA from September 2007 till date.

    The case which had began under Dr. Ade Dosunmu, the erstwhile Director-General of the agency and was further pursued by his predecessor, Temisan Omatseye, has been a hotly debated issue and reportedly led to the abrupt exit of Omatseye who has been on suspension in the last two years, sources said.

    The Nation can authoritatively report that the matter hitherto under Justice Nyako of the Federal High Court, is presently before Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia of the Federal High Court, Lagos, and initially billed for further hearing in February will not be heard as both parties are returning to the negotiation table anytime soon.

    The Nation reliably gathered from informed sources that the AGF who seemed not comfortable with the turn of events, had issued a directive to the management of NIMASA to have the case withdrawn without further delay in order to settle out of court.

    Sources further told The Nation that Adoke had made frantic moves to have the matter withdrawn in court by the NIMASA management under the former DG, Omatseye, since 2010 but could not have his way because the then management insisted that he had to follow the due process.

    It was learnt that the minister may have arm-twisted the current management into doing his bidding.

    However when our correspondent got across to the Agency through its Head of Media, Hajia Lami Tumaka, she insisted that the matter was still pending in court.

    According to her, “The case is still in court and as such I cannot comment and as to whether NIMASA has settled out of court, it is only the Executive management board that can have a position on that. The case, I understand is coming up for further hearing in February.”

    Speaking with our correspondent yesterday, Professor Itse Sagay (SAN), the counsel representing NIMASA in the case confided in The Nation that both parties had taken the option of an out-of-court-settlement.

    Probed further, the professor of constitutional law reiterated that the case had been withdrawn but emphasised that due to client-confidentiality he would not be persuaded to give further details on the matter.

    Confirming this development, Dr. Kudo Eresia-Eke, Acting General Manager, External Relations, Nigeria LNG Limited, in an exclusive interview with The Nation yesterday said, it was true that NIMASA had indeed withdrew the case from the law court.

    While giving insight on what led to the litigation between his organisation and NIMASA, Eresia-Eke said: “Basically not much has transpired between the NLNG and NIMASA. As you know, what happened was that there were some levies and we argued that those levies were not meant for us because of our Act and they (NIMASA) went ahead to court.”

    Pressed further, he said: “I think later on, they decided to suspend the whole thing. I believed they did so because they had good intentions and we have no problem with that.”

    Expatiating, he said: “My understanding is that they have withdrawn the case and we are going to have a discussion. The negotiations we are going to have would be subject to how they approach us and what the issues might be and we can only respond based on the fact and information we have on ground. It is not what you can conjecture.”

    On insinuations that the AGF may have influenced the outcome of the matter, the NLNG spokesman said the decision to withdraw the case in the instance of the minister was well-intended and may have been taken to actualise peaceful settlement.

    The litigation between the NLNG and NIMASA had been ongoing in the past few years. The Nation gathered that the NLNG management under the former Managing Director, Chima Ibeneche, had asked NIMASA to go to court to contest the NLNG Act, which granted the NLNG and its contractors a tax holiday and several other incentives.

    However, following discussions with NIMASA and NLNG, both parties had agreed that the latter should carry out some projects in lieu of payment.

    The communiqué issued at the end of the parley in 2009 tagged: “Proposal on Projects that will Assist the Development of the Safety Administration in Nigeria”, addressed 14 critical areas of need namely: purchase of two number surveillance helicopters at the cost of $18.0million; four number pollution monitoring, control boats at $20.0m; five number defender, bullet proof patrol boats at $30.90m; two number offshore patrol boats with fire fighting capability at $30.0m; funding of PICOMMS projects at $26.0m to mention but a few.

    But The Nation gathered that the meeting called at the instance of NIMASA to ratify the proposal ended in a deadlock.

  • Cabotage levies: NIMASA, NLNG settle out of court

    FRESH fact emerged at the weekend that the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) had withdrew its lawsuit against the Nigeria Liquified and Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited.

    The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister for Justice, Mr. Mohammed Adoke (SAN) was reported to have prevailed on the NIMASA to withdraw the suit.

    It would be recalled that NIMASA had taken the management of the NLNG to court following arguments over whether or not the latter ought to pay 2 % cabotage and 3 % freight levies for shipping by Bonny Gas Limited, a subsidiary of NLNG, estimated at over $400million to NIMASA from September 2007 till date.

    The case which had began under Dr. Ade Dosunmu, the erstwhile Director-General of the agency and was further pursued by his predecessor, Temisan Omatseye, has been a hotly debated issue and reportedly led to the abrupt exit of Omatseye who has been on suspension in the last two years, sources said.

    The Nation can authoritatively report that the matter hitherto under Justice Nyako of the Federal High Court, is presently before Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia of the Federal High Court, Lagos, and initially billed for further hearing in February will not be heard as both parties are returning to the negotiation table anytime soon.

    The Nation reliably gathered from informed sources that the AGF who seemed not comfortable with the turn of events, had issued a directive to the management of NIMASA to have the case withdrawn without further delay in order to settle out of court.

    Sources further told The Nation that Adoke had made frantic moves to have the matter withdrawn in court by the NIMASA management under the former DG, Omatseye, since 2010 but could not have his way because the then management insisted that he had to follow the due process.

    It was learnt that the minister may have arm-twisted the current management into doing his bidding.

    However when our correspondent got across to the Agency through its Head of Media, Hajia Lami Tumaka, she insisted that the matter was still pending in court.

    According to her, “The case is still in court and as such I cannot comment and as to whether NIMASA has settled out of court, it is only the Executive management board that can have a position on that. The case, I understand is coming up for further hearing in February.”

    Speaking with our correspondent yesterday, Professor Itse Sagay (SAN), the counsel representing NIMASA in the case confided in The Nation that both parties had taken the option of an out-of-court-settlement.

    Probed further, the professor of constitutional law reiterated that the case had been withdrawn but emphasised that due to client-confidentiality he would not be persuaded to give further details on the matter.

    Confirming this development, Dr. Kudo Eresia-Eke, Acting General Manager, External Relations, Nigeria LNG Limited, in an exclusive interview with The Nation yesterday said, it was true that NIMASA had indeed withdrew the case from the law court.

    While giving insight on what led to the litigation between his organisation and NIMASA, Eresia-Eke said: “Basically not much has transpired between the NLNG and NIMASA. As you know, what happened was that there were some levies and we argued that those levies were not meant for us because of our Act and they (NIMASA) went ahead to court.”

    Pressed further, he said: “I think later on, they decided to suspend the whole thing. I believed they did so because they had good intentions and we have no problem with that.”

    Expatiating, he said: “My understanding is that they have withdrawn the case and we are going to have a discussion. The negotiations we are going to have would be subject to how they approach us and what the issues might be and we can only respond based on the fact and information we have on ground. It is not what you can conjecture.”

    On insinuations that the AGF may have influenced the outcome of the matter, the NLNG spokesman said the decision to withdraw the case in the instance of the minister was well-intended and may have been taken to actualise peaceful settlement.

    The litigation between the NLNG and NIMASA had been ongoing in the past few years. The Nation gathered that the NLNG management under the former Managing Director, Chima Ibeneche, had asked NIMASA to go to court to contest the NLNG Act, which granted the NLNG and its contractors a tax holiday and several other incentives.

    However, following discussions with NIMASA and NLNG, both parties had agreed that the latter should carry out some projects in lieu of payment.

    The communiqué issued at the end of the parley in 2009 tagged: “Proposal on Projects that will Assist the Development of the Safety Administration in Nigeria”, addressed 14 critical areas of need namely: purchase of two number surveillance helicopters at the cost of $18.0million; four number pollution monitoring, control boats at $20.0m; five number defender, bullet proof patrol boats at $30.90m; two number offshore patrol boats with fire fighting capability at $30.0m; funding of PICOMMS projects at $26.0m to mention but a few.

    But The Nation gathered that the meeting called at the instance of NIMASA to ratify the proposal ended in a deadlock.

  • Cabotage levies: NIMASA, NLNG settle out of court

    FRESH fact emerged at the weekend that the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) had withdrew its lawsuit against the Nigeria Liquified and Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited.

    The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister for Justice, Mr. Mohammed Adoke (SAN) was reported to have prevailed on the NIMASA to withdraw the suit.

    It would be recalled that NIMASA had taken the management of the NLNG to court following arguments over whether or not the latter ought to pay 2 % cabotage and 3 % freight levies for shipping by Bonny Gas Limited, a subsidiary of NLNG, estimated at over $400million to NIMASA from September 2007 till date.

    The case which had began under Dr. Ade Dosunmu, the erstwhile Director-General of the agency and was further pursued by his predecessor, Temisan Omatseye, has been a hotly debated issue and reportedly led to the abrupt exit of Omatseye who has been on suspension in the last two years, sources said.

    The Nation can authoritatively report that the matter hitherto under Justice Nyako of the Federal High Court, is presently before Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia of the Federal High Court, Lagos, and initially billed for further hearing in February will not be heard as both parties are returning to the negotiation table anytime soon.

    The Nation reliably gathered from informed sources that the AGF who seemed not comfortable with the turn of events, had issued a directive to the management of NIMASA to have the case withdrawn without further delay in order to settle out of court.

    Sources further told The Nation that Adoke had made frantic moves to have the matter withdrawn in court by the NIMASA management under the former DG, Omatseye, since 2010 but could not have his way because the then management insisted that he had to follow the due process.

    It was learnt that the minister may have arm-twisted the current management into doing his bidding.

    However when our correspondent got across to the Agency through its Head of Media, Hajia Lami Tumaka, she insisted that the matter was still pending in court.

    According to her, “The case is still in court and as such I cannot comment and as to whether NIMASA has settled out of court, it is only the Executive management board that can have a position on that. The case, I understand is coming up for further hearing in February.”

    Speaking with our correspondent yesterday, Professor Itse Sagay (SAN), the counsel representing NIMASA in the case confided in The Nation that both parties had taken the option of an out-of-court-settlement.

    Probed further, the professor of constitutional law reiterated that the case had been withdrawn but emphasised that due to client-confidentiality he would not be persuaded to give further details on the matter.

    Confirming this development, Dr. Kudo Eresia-Eke, Acting General Manager, External Relations, Nigeria LNG Limited, in an exclusive interview with The Nation yesterday said, it was true that NIMASA had indeed withdrew the case from the law court.

    While giving insight on what led to the litigation between his organisation and NIMASA, Eresia-Eke said: “Basically not much has transpired between the NLNG and NIMASA. As you know, what happened was that there were some levies and we argued that those levies were not meant for us because of our Act and they (NIMASA) went ahead to court.”

    Pressed further, he said: “I think later on, they decided to suspend the whole thing. I believed they did so because they had good intentions and we have no problem with that.”

    Expatiating, he said: “My understanding is that they have withdrawn the case and we are going to have a discussion. The negotiations we are going to have would be subject to how they approach us and what the issues might be and we can only respond based on the fact and information we have on ground. It is not what you can conjecture.”

    On insinuations that the AGF may have influenced the outcome of the matter, the NLNG spokesman said the decision to withdraw the case in the instance of the minister was well-intended and may have been taken to actualise peaceful settlement.

    The litigation between the NLNG and NIMASA had been ongoing in the past few years. The Nation gathered that the NLNG management under the former Managing Director, Chima Ibeneche, had asked NIMASA to go to court to contest the NLNG Act, which granted the NLNG and its contractors a tax holiday and several other incentives.

    However, following discussions with NIMASA and NLNG, both parties had agreed that the latter should carry out some projects in lieu of payment.

    The communiqué issued at the end of the parley in 2009 tagged: “Proposal on Projects that will Assist the Development of the Safety Administration in Nigeria”, addressed 14 critical areas of need namely: purchase of two number surveillance helicopters at the cost of $18.0million; four number pollution monitoring, control boats at $20.0m; five number defender, bullet proof patrol boats at $30.90m; two number offshore patrol boats with fire fighting capability at $30.0m; funding of PICOMMS projects at $26.0m to mention but a few.

    But The Nation gathered that the meeting called at the instance of NIMASA to ratify the proposal ended in a deadlock.

     

  • Dolphins to settle outstanding liabilities

    Dolphins to settle outstanding liabilities

    Allnigeriasoccer.com understands that the players of Dolphins of Port Harcourt have put on hold their planned strike over unpaid win and sign – on bonuses.

    The management of the Glo Premier League side has promised to offset some of the outstanding liabilities before the end of next week.

    It has been claimed by the higher – ups at the 2011 Nigeria champions that the funds from the sale of one of their players to a European club last summer will be used to pay the players.

    “We have still not been paid but they promised to do something about it. I think they intend to pay a certain percentage from the money received from one of the players that was sold,” one of the senior players in the Dolphins squad told allnigeriasoccer.com.

    It should be noted that Dolphins owe the players accrued sign – on bonus plus an additional seven – month win bonus which they have failed to remit since the end of last season. And this season, which began two months ago they have two outstanding win bonus yet to be settled.

    Last summer, Dolphins disposed Chidi Osuchukwu to Sporting Braga for a fee of around $500,000 but it is unclear if their bank account was credited with the exact sum as controversial Germany based agent Emeka Ezeala and his partner in crime John Obuh planned to pocket $350,000 of the sum.

    Also, ex Nigeria Under 20 skipper Abdul Ajagun was bought by Panathinaikos for 200,000 euros.

  • We must never settle for less — Onigbinde

    We must never settle for less — Onigbinde

    As the League Management Company (LMC) continues in its desire to take standards to the next level, FIFA technical committee member and former Super Eagles coach Adegboye Onigbinde has said the country must ensure that the rules of the game are followed to the letter at all levels.

    Rules governing the round leather game according to him are universal. The Nigerian league should not be seen to be operating in a different world.

    He reasoned that those who sit on the bench of any club must have the necessary qualification to avoid celebraton of miediocrity.

    “There is no excuse for doing the wrong thing. The world soccer ruling body has provision for continous improvement courses and we must make the best use of such opportunity. For any way one to be on the bench of the league clubs, he must be seen to be qualified to be there, that is the only way you can achieve good results.” he said

    Onigbinde who took Eagles to the 2002 World Cup Korea/Japan described the game as dynamic adding that those involved in coaching must move with the trends.

    The former Oluyole Warriors sweat merchant opined that the nigerian league is capable of standing at par with any other but requires a lot of input to make it attractive.

  • Govt needs N500b to settle PHCN workers

    Govt needs N500b to settle PHCN workers

    The National Union of Electricity Employees (NUAE) has said about N500 billion would be required to pay the entitlement of workers in the power sector.

    The union’s General Secretary, Mr Joe Ajaero, spoke at the weekend at an interactive session with reporters in Lagos.

    Ajaero said that of the amount, N400 billion would be required for workers’ gratuity, while N100 billion would be use to pay pension arrears.

    He said that it was not the Ministry of Power that should announce what the Federal Government would disburse as severance package to PHCN workers.

    According to the general secretary, the Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE) was in a better position to announce the cost of settlement.

    He said it was regrettable that in industrial relation practise, implementing an agreement was always a major problem, after all issues had been resolved.

    He expressed the hope that in 2013, the entitlement of the workers would be paid to enable Nigerians enjoy the expected 5000 mega watts of electricity.

    “We are expecting about 5000 mega watts of electricity from the Nigeria Integrated Power Project (NIPP) by next year. We believe this will boost electricity supply to consumers,’’ he said.

    The union’s scribe noted that the NIPP project, which had gulped about N37 billion, should have been inaugurated before the end of last year.

    If the project had been naugurated this year, it would have coincided with the effort of the private investors to improve electricity supply, Ajaero said.

    He, however, warned those giving various interpretations to the agreement signed between the government and the union, to desist from doing so, to enable the workers get their severance benefits.

    Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) at the weekend said electricity generation in the country had reached 4,500 megawatts.

    A statement signed by Mr Dave Ifabiyi, the TCN Assistant General Manager on Public Affairs, attributed the achievement to the commitment of President Goodluck Jonathan to fulfilling his promise of improved electricity supply.

    “A new power generation peak of 4,502.2 megawatts was achieved on December 21, 2012, and was efficiently wheeled by TCN,’’ the statement said.

    It said that the generation was attained on Friday and described it as an improvement on the 4,454.1mw of December 19.

    It said that as more National Integrated Power Projects (NIPP) became functional, transmission and distribution companies would continue to harness “every available generation to ensure delivery of stable electricity supply.”

    The statement quoted the Chief Executive Officer of TCN, Mr Olusola Akinniranye, as giving an assurance that the company would not relent on efforts toward the transmission grid for greater efficiency.

    Akinniranye said that efforts were on to restore the Benin-Egbin 330kV line and complete the new transmission/distribution interface projects to further enhance the company’s power evacuation capacity.

    He appealed to energy consumers to continue to partner with TCN in protecting electricity installations and forestall vandalism, which constituted a major setback to efforts to improved supplies.