FOR three of Nigeria’s foremost literary giants, it is time to take the pulse of the nation, assess its challenges and alert the leaders and the led to the dangers these threats pose not only to individual citizens but to the corporate existence of the country.
The writers who stressed the urgent need to address these challenges and warned against the insecurity in the country that has led to killings and massive destruction included Prof. Chinua Achebe, Prof. John Pepper Bekederemo-Clark and Prof. Wole Soyinka.
In a statement entitled “Let not this fire spread!!! An Appeal to the Nigerian Nation Community,†the writers who identified themselves as “Three survivors of the pioneering writer/teacher generation of a half-century, post-Independence Nigeria, in her continuous struggle for a viable Nation-Being†said: “The fears we have all secretly nursed are coming to realisation. The nightmare we have hugged to our individual breasts, voicing them only in family privacy, or within trusted caucuses of friends and colleagues – lest they become instances of materialising evil thoughts – has finally burst through into our social, physical environment. Rumblings and veiled threats have given way to eruption, and the first cracks in the wall of patience and forbearance can no longer be wished away. Boko Haram is very likely celebrating its first tactical victory: provoking retaliation in some parts of the nation.
“We insist however that this need not be, and should not be so. And as long as any part, however minuscule, opts for the more difficult path of envisioned forbearance, we are convinced that its responses will find neighbour emulation between homesteads, between towns and villages, between communities on all levels and indeed – states. This hard, demanding, but profoundly moral and heroic option will be recognised and embraced as the only option for the survival, and integrity of the whole. All who claim to be leaders must lead – but in the right direction!
“We urge a proactive resolve in all such claimants to leadership. It is not sufficient to make pious pronouncements. All who possess any iota of influence or authority, who aspire to moral leadership must act now to douse the first flickers of ‘responses in kind’ even before they are manifested, and become contagious. We urge that, beginning from now, leaders become true leaders in all communities, utilise the platforms of their associations, professions, clubs, places of instruction and places of worship, NGOs (Non-Governmental Organisations and other civic orgnisations, that they relentlessly spread the manifesto of COMMUNITY – capital letters! – as an all-embracing human bond, and refuse to be sucked into the cauldron of mutual attrition that is the purpose of the religious warmongers among us…
“Calls have been made in the past – sometimes in response to a crisis within the nation, other times as an objective necessity even in the most tranquil of times – for the convening of a National Conference to debate just how the nation should proceed in reinforcing civic and political life, and decide, in full freedom, the terms of her integrated existence. The government is urged to stop shying away from this project, pretending that those who happen to have been elected into the nation’s legislatures are best qualified to undertake the exercise, largely through piecemeal tinkering. This surely begs the question, since the very system and terms under which these – often dubiously – elected, serve, including the intolerable strain these institutions place upon the nation’s resources – are all at issue. That last indeed, the very inordinate exaction of running a presidential system, forms part of the impatience of the public, as new avenues for economic hardship are opened in a people’s struggle for survival, such as the recent crisis of the removal of petroleum subsidy. We call upon the government to re-think this measure. We warn the security forces to recall that their primary duty is to protect all citizens, and most especially those in opposition to government policies, in the exercise of their democratic rights.â€
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
THE Federal Government’s offer of palliatives after it has removed the fuel subsidy has been described as “medicine after death†by Prof. Wole Soyinka.
In a statement at the weekend entitled, ‘Back To The Trenches, Predictably,’ the Nobel laureate said: “Rarely has government alienation from the people it is meant to serve been so pronounced as demonstrated in the recent removal of the so-called oil subsidy. The bruited palliatives, as illusory as electoral promises, belong to what Nigerians routinely describe as ‘medicine after death.’
“A serious government would have emplaced the ‘palliatives’ first, worked assiduously to ensure that they were effectively enforced, with, at the very least, a guaranteed stabilisation of the existing level of Nigerian subsistence – which was nothing to crow about in any case. Nothing remotely approaching this protective measure has taken place, only – business as usual.â€
Describing as incongruous government’s attempt to stop organised labour from embarking on its strike today to protest the removal of the fuel subsidy, Soyinka stated: “If Labour therefore chooses to ignore the order, it has impeccable precedents – it is merely the chickens coming home to roost.â€
Also, a group of Nigerian writers led by Prof. Chinua Achebe issued a statement yesterday pledging solidarity with the Nigerian people.
The statement said: “We are troubled by the turn of events in Nigeria, and hereby call on President Goodluck Jonathan and the rest of the country’s political leadership to take immediate steps to tackle the state of lawlessness in certain parts of the nation and address the trepidation and rage that has reached dangerous levels within the Nigerian populace.
“Nigeria is witnessing a new escalation of sectarian violence, culminating in explosions that have killed or seriously wounded scores of people at churches and other centers of worship and local businesses.â€
The statement further said: “Clearly, the sophistication and deadly impact of the terrorist attacks suggest an agenda to create widespread fear and, possibly, to foment anarchy or war. President Jonathan has no greater duty than to ensure that Nigerians are safe wherever they live or visit within the country. He should demonstrate his recognition of that solemn duty, in our view, by doing the following:
(a) Outline both short and long term plans to comprehensively address the scourge of terror,
(b) Appoint competent and committed officials to head the various security agencies, and
(c) Serve as an agent to heal the many divisions plaguing Nigeria, and persuade all well-meaning people to enlist in the fight against festering violence.
“President Jonathan’s decision to remove fuel subsidies in the country at this time was ill-advised. Coming at the advent of the New Year, and barely a week after the gruesome Christmas Day attacks on worshippers, the policy has forced many Nigerian citizens to perceive his leadership as one that is both insensitive and possibly contemptuous of the mood of its people.
“We stand with the Nigerian people who are protesting the removal of oil subsidy which has placed an unbearable economic weight on their lives.
In another statement entitled, ‘The pilchard is broken’, a group led by eminent lawyer, Tunji Braithwaite, said: “There is now, a hue and cry, indeed, an uproar across the country over a 125 per cent increase in the price of petrol in one fell swoop decreed, by the Nigerian imperial majesties (they number over a thousand) for their Nigerian subjects. Why now this hue and cry!! And, why is the uproar only on the petroleum increase? What about the widespread bloodshed, the insecurity, the corruption, the unconscionable and oppressive Nigerian constitution?
“All these must be addressed and resolved by the people.
“This is because, the price increase is the symbolic last straw that breaks the camel’s back.
“What about the cost of governance and the financial burden to the people of Nigeria of Nigeria’s brand of democracy – the undeserved super jumbo wages, allowances and perks for every so-called “elected†(though not elected) of the cartels in the executive and the legislative arms of government in Nigeria? It is our position that any belated effort to cancel the price increase at this late hour will not even assuage the justified anger of the long-suffering Nigerian people. The entire comprehensive political and social oppression, threatening the corporate existence of the country MUST be tackled NOW.â€
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
We are troubled by the turn of events in Nigeria, and hereby call on President Goodluck Jonathan and the rest of the country’s political leadership to take immediate steps to tackle the state of lawlessness in certain parts of the nation and address the trepidation and rage that has reached dangerous levels within the Nigerian populace.
Nigeria is witnessing a new escalation of sectarian violence, culminating in explosions that have killed or seriously wounded scores of people at churches and other centers of worship and local businesses.
As a people who lost two million citizens in a civil war, Nigerians must bring an urgent sense of history to the gloomy events. The country’s leadership should not view the incessant attacks as mere temporary misfortune with which the citizenry must learn to live; they are precursors to events that could destabilize the entire country.
We applaud President Jonathan’s declaration of a state of emergency in certain local government areas in four states. However, we have seen little indication that the country’s security and law enforcement agents are up to the task of protecting the lives and property of citizens in all parts of Nigeria.
Clearly, the sophistication and deadly impact of the terrorist attacks suggest an agenda to create widespread fear and, possibly, to foment anarchy or war. President Jonathan has no greater duty than to ensure that Nigerians are safe wherever they live or visit within the country. He should demonstrate his recognition of that solemn duty, in our view, by doing the following:
(a) Outline both short and long term plans to comprehensively address the scourge of terror,
(b) Appoint competent and committed officials to head the various security agencies, and
(c) Serve as an agent to heal the many divisions plaguing Nigeria, and persuade all well-meaning people to enlist in the fight against festering violence.
President Jonathan’s decision to remove fuel subsidies in the country at this time was ill-advised. Coming at the advent of the New Year, and barely a week after the gruesome Christmas Day attacks on worshippers, the policy has forced many Nigerian citizens to perceive his leadership as one that is both insensitive and possibly contemptuous of the mood of its people.
We stand with the Nigerian people who are protesting the removal of oil subsidy which has placed an unbearable economic weight on their lives. This action has clearly imposed an untenable and unfair burden on those segments of Nigerians who are already impoverished – subsisting on less than $2 a day. We call on President Jonathan to immediately change course. By reverting to the old prices of petroleum products, President Jonathan can work to diffuse tension in the country and exemplify the true servant leader who not only serves but also listens to his people. To insist on having his way, and to deploy state security and legal apparati to crush growing popular uprisings is to stamp on a highly valued tenet of democracy – the right to peaceful assembly – and to inadvertently promote greater violence in the country.
President Jonathan’s administration has made a persuasive case that a few highly connected Nigerians have corruptly profited from fuel subsidy. The government should swiftly bring to justice those corrupt profiteers as well as the bureaucrats who aid and abet their unconscionable parasitic activities and economic sabotage.
We acknowledge President Jonathan’s recent announcement of 25% cut in the basic salaries of political office holders. But we believe that the move merely scratches the indefensible bloated salaries and allowances paid to Nigerian political officials. The president should also champion significant cuts in the huge cost of running the various tiers of government and the luxuries that have become the signature of those who ought to protect the commonwealth, serve the people, and not exploit them. Besides, the culture of corruption and impunity in official quarters constitutes a grave threat to national security and to the country’s effort to establish a democratic culture and meaningful economic development.
Nigeria needs a return to relative calm to enable its people, and the Jonathan administration in particular, to focus on the task of combating the incubus of corruption, poverty and home-grown terrorism.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Abuja, Jan. 9, 2012 (NAN) President Goodluck Jonathan has launched the first phase of mass transit support scheme involving 110 buses, in fulfillment of his promise on palliatives for the fuel subsidy removal.
In his remarks during the launching in Abuja on Sunday, Jonathan said besides ameliorating the suffering of commuters, the scheme would help develop a mass transit culture for the country.
“There is the need for the country to have a robust mass transit scheme to bring down the cost of transportation as it is obtainable in developed countries,†he said.
Jonathan disclosed that there were various programmes in the offing by the government to subsidise the transport scheme in the country.
The President however said the buses would not be managed by government as perceived in some quarters.
“The scheme will be run by private transporters, with government subsidising the scheme to bring down transportation cost,†he said.
Jonathan disclosed that the three tiers of government, namely the federal, state and local governments, were also involved in the scheme with the support of the transport operators.
The President also used the occasion to re-assure Nigerians that the deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector was in their overall interest as government could not inflict pains on the masses.
“I urge our people to ignore the campaign of calumny against the policy by some group who have politicised the issue,†he said.
Earlier, the Minister of Trade and Investment, Dr. Olusegun Aganga, had said the federal government approved N15 billion for the mass transit scheme at zero per cent interest rate.
“The buses will be handed over to mass transit operators in order to make transport available and affordable,†he said.
Aganga disclosed that 50 per cent of the buses were sourced from local manufacturers with a 10-year maintenance agreement.
The Minister said government’s decision to patronise local manufacturers was to encourage industrialisation and provide job opportunities.
“Government is partnering with local automobile manufacturers to increase their capacity to about 5,000 units in the next eight months,†he said.
Aganga also said government was working on a new automotive policy to encourage Foreign Direct Investment in the sector.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the National President, National Union of Road Transport Workers(NURTW), Alhaji Usman Nazif, led his members and leaders of affiliate unions to the event.
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Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Members of the All Progressives Grand Alliance Europe-United Kingdom, UK Chapter have commended the recent verdict of the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja for upholding the election of Governor Rochas Okorocha.
The General Secretary of the group, Sir Onyeka Mbaso in a statement said that the verdict has shown the courage and transparency of judiciary.
“The court of appeal verdict has restored the public confidence in the law and it reminds us that the victory is not only for the Imolites but for the whole eastern region
“This is an indication that democracy is a very good system of governance and has proved that the jurisdiction of the Imo State citizens has determines its ruling authorityâ€, he stated stressing that Okorocha’s good governance was a determinant of the sustainability and strength of democracy.
The group also advised the Imo State governor to use his election victory as a motivation to work for the people of his state. They also urged the governor to probe the activities of his predecessor, Chief Ikedi Ohakim when he was the governor of the state.
“Okorocha should invite EFCC to check the activities of the ex Governor Ikedi Ohakim and his lieutenants while in office. Democracy is all about transparency, accountability and the rule of law.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Residents of Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital Monday shunned civil society groups protest against the removal of fuel subsidy by the federal government.
The civil society groups under the aegis of Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) Bayelsa chapter had weekend called for public protest against the subsidy removal and had even gone ahead to sensitize the public not to sit on the fence but to come out en mass to protest against the Federal Government policy which they considered as “anti Nigerian people.â€
While the leaders of the civil society groups in the state blamed the failure of the street protest to hold on the refusal of the police to grant them permit for the rally, a senior police source dismissed the claim as untrue saying the command even deployed policemen to provide the civil society groups protection which informed presence of security operatives at take off point of the rally and other strategic locations in the state capital so as to prevent miscreants from hijacking the process.
According to the police source, the refusal of residents to heed the call of the civil society groups stage a street protest may have cause their leaders to turn around to say they were denied permit for the rally.
Informed sources told Vanguard that contrary to claims that the protesters were stopped from holding their rally, some pro subsidy lobbyists Sunday night succeeded in infiltrating the rank of the anti subsidy removal camp and the result was the failure of residents to turn out for the rally.
Aside the pro subsidy removal loyalists dividing the rank of the civil society groups’ members to scuttle the street protest, most residents of the capital city were not prepared to be seen as kicking against the policy of Mr. President whom they considered as one of their own by protesting on the streets.
Though all government offices, commercial banks and schools which were billed to resume yesterday were under lock and keys in deference to the organized labour stay at home directive, market women, retail outlet owners and transporters defied the directive.
It was business as usual in the few markets in the capital city as the traders were going about their normal in spite of poor turn out of customers most of whom stayed in the comfort of their homes to monitor the national strike on television.
Also some of the filling stations defied the stay at home directive of the NLC and TUC by selling to members of the public.
As at press time some of the supermarkets that close shop in the early hours of the day had opened to customers while security patrol of the streets was intensified by the state police command.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
An American man in Iran has been sentenced to death after a court convicted him of spying for the CIA, state radio reported Monday.
Iran maintains that Amir Mirzaei Hekmati, a former U.S. Marine, underwent special training before heading to the Middle Eastern state on an alleged intelligence mission.
Under Iranian law, the 28-year-old has close to three weeks to appeal the sentence.
“He has 20 days to appeal but this is a pretty dramatic situation and the Americans are quite worried,” said CTV’s London Bureau Chief Tom Kennedy.
The court convicted Hekmati of working with a hostile country, belonging to the CIA and attempting to accuse Iran of terrorism, a Monday report said.
His death sentence comes against the backdrop of deteriorating ties between Iran and the United States.
As the two nations clash over Iran’s nuclear program, which Washington has long been suspicious of, Kennedy said the U.S. is worried that existing animosity will carry over into Hekmati’s case.
“What worries them is it could be a factor in whatever Mr. Hekmati’s fate is going to be,” he told CTV News Channel on Monday.
Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department has demanded Hekmati’s release.
It’s unclear when the former military translator was arrested, but some reports have pegged the date as late August or early September.
Access to information, said Kennedy, has been a problem throughout Hekmati’s detainment.
“There was no consular access given to Mr. Hekmati during this process,” he said. “It’s one of the Americans’ premier complaints.”
While the U.S. doesn’t have diplomatic ties to Iran, the country has asked Iran to allow Swiss diplomats access to Hekmati.
“As to what specific evidence the Iranians had, we don’t know,” said Kennedy.
In a December interview, Hekmati’s father told the Associated Press that his son went to Iran about four months earlier to visit his grandmothers.
That same month, Iranian state television broadcast footage of Hekmati reciting an alleged confession in which he admitted to trying to infiltrate Iran’s Intelligence Ministry.
Hekmati is a dual U.S.-Iranian national who was born in Arizona and graduated from high school in Michigan. His family has fervently denied Iran’s accusations.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
LAGOS, Nigeria — A national strike paralyzed much of Nigeria on Monday, with more than 10,000 demonstrators swarming its commercial capital to protest soaring fuel prices and decades of government corruption in the oil-rich country.
At least one person was killed in the unrest in Lagos, and a large mob of people pushed the body in a wheelbarrow down the street. And in the northern city of Kano, 18 people were wounded when security officers used tear gas and fired at a crowd protesting the fuel price hikes.
Protesters in Lagos took gasoline from motorbikes to set tires ablaze. And some demonstrators waved placards bearing an effigy of President Goodluck Jonathan with devil horns and fanged teeth, and showing him pumping fuel at a gas station.
“Our leaders are not concerned about Nigerians. They are concerned about themselves,” said protester Joseph Adekolu, a 42-year-old accountant.
Police carrying Kalashnikov rifles and gas masks in Lagos largely stood by as the demonstrators marched on the first day of an indefinite strike called by labour unions. Protesters also took to the streets in Nigeria’s capital of Abuja.
However, at least one person died following an altercation in the Ogba neighbourhood, according to a witness who spoke on condition of anonymity fearing police reprisals. The police officer accused of shooting him has been arrested, said Lagos state police spokesman Samuel Jinadu.
Gas prices have risen from $1.70 per gallon (45 cents per litre) to at least $3.50 per gallon (94 cents per litre) since a government fuel subsidy ended on Jan. 1 at the orders of Jonathan’s administration. That spurred a spike in prices for food and transportation across a nation of more than 160 million people, most of whom live on less than $2 a day.
While lawmakers on Sunday rebuked the president’s decision, the unions said they would continue their strike.
Bola Adejobi, 53, said she’s protesting against more than just fuel costs. For her and many others in Africa’s most populous country, the strike represents anger that much of the nation remains without electricity and clean drinking water after more than 50 years of oil production.
“It is high time to take Nigeria into our hands,” Adejobi said. “It happened in Egypt. It happened in Libya.”
Nigeria’s finance minister said the country has been using borrowed funds to maintain the subsidy.
“Greece got where it is now because for years, they didn’t do the right thing. They kept borrowing and borrowing to finance development,” Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told local television station Channels TV on Monday. “We can’t keep borrowing to finance our development.”
Two major unions have said they will maintain the strike despite a court restraining order. A similar situation occurred in 2003, when strikers over eight days attacked shops that remained open, took over air traffic control towers and caused a drop in oil production in a country vital to U.S. energy supplies.
The strike comes as activists have begun a loose-knit group of protests called “Occupy Nigeria,” inspired by those near Wall Street in New York. Their anger extends to the government’s weak response to ongoing violence in Nigeria by a radical Muslim sect that, according to an Associated Press count, killed at least 510 people last year.
Famous Nigerian authors, including Chinua Achebe, issued a statement Monday saying they support the strike, and warning that if left unattended the violence by the extremist group could sweep the country.
“The country’s leadership should not view the incessant attacks as mere temporary misfortune with which the citizenry must learn to live; they are precursors to events that could destabilize the entire country,” their statement read.
The government has so far failed to calm public anger over the spiraling gasoline costs. The government has promised that the $8 billion in estimated savings a year from the end of the fuel subsidies would go toward badly needed road and public projects.
One protester in Lagos held his protest sign upside down.
“Our life is already turned upside down,” he told a reporter. “It is not how it’s supposed to be.”
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
NLC, TUC, ACN hail House, say President’s gesture not enough
AFTER a marathon debate on the removal of fuel subsidy and the consequent declaration of a nationwide strike by organised Labour, the House of Representatives yesterday urged President Goodluck Jonathan to suspend the implementation of the policy.
Adopting a motion sponsored by Tajudeen Yusuf (PDP, Kogi State) and 60 other lawmakers, the House set up a committee to mediate between the Executive arm of government and labour unions on the matter.
It also raised another panel to verify and determine the actual subsidy requirements and monitor the policy.
The emergency session, which lasted for over three hours, was attended by 294 members of the Lower House. At the stormy, the lawmakers took passionate positions in favour and against removal of subsidy.
But the Majority Leader, Mulikat Adeola-Akande, advised her colleagues to play the role of mediators and not the role of opposition.
The specific prayers of the motion as adopted by the House read:
• we urged the Executive arm of government to suspend its decision on the removal of fuel subsidy in appreciation of the mood of the nation and allow more room for consultation;
• organised Labour and other stakeholders should suspend the intended strike and submit to further dialogue on the matter; and
• we appeal to Nigerians to exercise restraint in expressing their displeasure over the removal of fuel subsidy in order to allow more room for dialogue and consultation to resolve the situation.
Defending his motion, Tajudeen noted that “although deregulation as a policy may not be altogether objectionable, proper procedure and good timing of such policy is important in a democratic dispensation.
He noted that adequate distinction was not made between the Federal Government’s contribution to the subsidy and the contribution of the State Government and Local Councils.
Akande-Adeola, who supported the removal of fuel subsidy, said that the President did the right thing to save the economy from imminent collapse. She cautioned her colleagues against playing the roles of opposition to a government in which they were part, stressing that only constructive engagement could take Nigeria out of the present situation. In a swift reaction to the House resolution, the Trade union Congress (TUC) and the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), said if the Executive heeded the House position, it could douse the explosive tension in the country and restore it to its pre-January 1, 2012 normalcy.
“We commend the House and its exemplary leadership for rising to the demands of the times, and in a bipartisan manner, seeking to steer the country away from a path that may have disastrous consequences.
“The House displayed exemplary leadership in not just cutting short its break, but also meeting on a Sunday. If other arms of governance work with the exemplary speed, seriousness, sensitivity and patriotic zeal as the Lower House did today; our country would be a far better place to live, TUC’s Secretary-General John Kolawole and NLC’s Acting General Secretary Owei Lakemfa, said in the joint statement, they issued in Abuja.
The workers urged the Senate to rise up to the expectations of Nigerians by concurring with the House motion.
“We hope and pray that President Goodluck Jonathan will listen to the loud voice of the Nigerian people, which this motion has further ventilated by immediately suspending the fuel price hikes and allowing dialogue and consultation on the issue of fuel subsidy removal.â€
Labour, however, insisted that the indefinite strikes, rallies and mass protests would begin across the country today as planned.
There were indications yesterday that officials of the Federal Government fawned out seeking yesterday with olive branches on their hands in a bid to ensure that the nationwide strike called by organised Labour does not go beyond tomorrow.
With the TUC and the NLC supported by professional bodies and human rights groups insisting last night that the strike would still hold today, government officials The Guardian learnt, took the new measures announced by Jonathan to refuel the economy and lessen the burden of the petrol subsidy removal to the doorsteps of some labour leaders.
It was learnt that government is prevailing on Labour not to let the strike go beyond today. But sources said Labour has refused to yield to the government’s pressure as its officials allegedly gave the return to N65 a litre of petrol as the minimum condition for shelving the strike and dialoguing with the government.
A competent source said: “I can tell you that contacts have been made and are continued to be made. Talks are on with Labour leaders. The action could have been called off since Friday night if not that the unions want to use this threat as a volt face because of the bashing they received from Nigerians last time they suspended strike in the midnight. Even one of the governors who is in the middle of the negotiations told government to allow them (Labour) go on this strike first and then call it off after a few days.â€
In their reaction to Jonathan’s national broadcast on Saturday, where he announced steps to cut cost of governance and other palliatives, TUC and NLC said they fell short of their expectations from the President.
Kolawole and Lakemfa on Saturday night, said the President did not address the issues at stake.
The workers said that the speech though “very long, lacks basic ingredients that show good tiding. The President’s address follows the pattern of other documents (like the SURE Programme) by his administration; long in rhetorics and short on basic issues. For instance, the major anchor of the broadcast is that salaries of political office holders are to be cut by 25 per cent. But he failed to tell us how much this would amount to. Is this a mere symbolic gesture or a fundamental contribution to economic recovery?
The Abuja leg of the protest will take off at the Berger Junction at 8.00 a.m. today
A visit to the city centre in Abuja yesterday revealed that most residents are fully prepared for the action as most filling stations, markets, shopping malls and other selling outlets were besieged by residents to stock their homes with foods ad other necessities that can last them for as long as possible.
The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) also said yesterday that Jonathan’s televised speech defending his administration’s withdrawal of petrol subsidy only succeeded in deepening the people’s mistrust of the government, as it failed to address the pertinent issues.
In a statement issued in Lagos yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the deficit of trust between the Jonathan administration and the Nigerian people is the main reason why the people did not take the President’s speech seriously.
“If the President did not stand by his earlier promise to Nigerians on this issue, why should they believe him now to do all that he has promised in his speech?’’ the party queried.
ACN, therefore, restated its opposition to the removal of the fuel subsidy, saying all that the government subsidises are corruption and inefficiency. It also hailed the governors of ACN states for their courage in standing on the side of the people and Labour. The party challenged the government to counter, with facts, the conclusion by experts that there is indeed no subsidy on fuel; that the production from local refineries, even though they are functioning far below capacity, will deliver petrol at the filling stations at under N40 a litre.
Meanwhile, the government has restated its determination to complete the Sagamu-Ore-Benin; Onitsha-Owerri; Abuja-Lokoja roads and not to embark on any highway project without adequate provision for funds.
Minister of Works, Mike Onolomemen, who gave the assurance, said with the deregulation of the downstream oil sector, some critical road projects dogged by inadequate funding would be completed by 2015. He said the measure would check unnecessary cost increase in projects that usually occur when projects exceed their original completion period and subsequent review of contract sum.
Answering questions from journalists at the weekend in Abuja, Onolomemen said part of the subsidy funds would be used to complete the Sagamu-Ore-Benin Road, the Abuja-Lokoja dualism project, the Kano-Maiduguri Expressway, Onitsha-Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway, building of the Second Niger Bridge and building of Oweto Bridge.
Onolomemen said the government is not in a hurry to re-introduce toll gates on federal roads as it cannot toll any highway that is not rehabilitated or reconstructed.
He said: “We have three-four year medium-term framework to deliver on these roads. Our position is consistent with that of the President that tollgates are not likely to be in 2012 or even 2014. We are working on road sector reform and the critical aspect of the reform is the creation of a National Roads Fund and Federal Roads Authority.
“When these roads are eventually reconstructed and rehabilitated, may be by 2014 or thereabout, the governance structure will be very clear because monies generated would be pooled into the National Roads Fund.â€
The minister who explained that the deregulation policy of government is in the overall interest of the country said, “government is convinced that the current subsidy regime is not sustainable, this is the time to make sacrifice so that in three years, we will have enough refining capacity that will make us a major exporter of petroleum products.â€
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
New York – Nigerians in the U.S. have scheduled a meeting with the Federal Government in Chicago on Jan. 14 to discuss the removal of fuel subsidy.
The meeting was organised by Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation in the Americas (NIDOA), in conjunction with the Nigerian Embassy in Washington.
NIDOA is the umbrella organisation of all Nigerians living in the Americas and the Caribbeans.
NAN also learnt that a high-powered Federal Government delegation would attend the meeting, which would also enable the government to make lucid clarifications on issues relating to the removal of fuel subsidy.
In an interview in New York on Sunday, Dr Ezekiel Macham, the President-General of the U.S. chapter of Zumunta Association, confirmed the proposed meeting.
He, however, stressed that the decision of the NLC and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) to embark on a nationwide strike on Monday, Jan. 9, would not help the situation.
Macham said that even though the removal of fuel subsidy could be beneficial in the long run, there was a need to initiate discussions on the policy before its implementation.
“They should have spent more time to prepare people for the removal of the fuel subsidy; it may be something good,’’ he said.
Besides Macham, a senior official of the Nigerian Embassy in Washington, who preferred anonymity, confirmed the proposed meeting. (NAN)
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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