Category Archives: Nigeria News
Vacate flood-prone areas now, Delta Commissioner warns farmers
Already, report from Abari community in Patani Local Government Area of the state, has it that coastal erosion has gradually started to wash away houses into the Forcados River as this year’s rain gathers momentum.
Ashiedu gave the advice in Asaba, during the issuance of certificates to 108 cluster groups in Oshimili South Local Government Area of the state who benefited from the state government’s free-interest loan Micro Credit Programme, DMCP.
She said that the advice became necessary because a good number of clients of the programme were affected in last year’s national flood disaster, lamenting that some of them were either internally displaced or lost their wares to the flooding.
It will be recalled that during a recent stakeholders forum on Territorial Approach To Climate Change, TACC, in Asaba, while giving an overview of the Territorial Approach to Climate Change programme in Delta State, the Permanent Secretary/Head, Climate Change Unit in the state Ministry of Environment, Mrs. Felicia Adun, warned against impending danger, explaining in detail the vulnerability of Delta State to flood
I contested 2007 presidential election to preserve sanctity of democracy — ATIKU
FORMER Vice President Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has said that he contested the 2007 presidential elections in the face of defeat, to preserve the sanctity of democracy.
He also noted that he would never go back to the vow he took on the night late Gen. Sani Abacha allegedly sent hit squad after him, never to allow another despot rule Nigeria again.
The former Vice President, who said this in a statement yesterday, stated that after his first term as Vice President, he was faced with a fundamental question of remaining loyal to his boss, party or constitution.
His words: “This might sound strange because that was two nights before the 2007 Presidential elections, and we were about to lose. It was my first, and only, run in a general election for president, and I knew it would be a heavy loss.
“At that point I knew if I did not run in that election, all those battles over the years would be lost. People in the future could potentially be banned from contesting elections because petty personal vendettas outweigh legitimate court rulings. I also ran because, win or lose, I would have given a gift of legitimacy to our democracy, even if I was not going to enjoy the results.
“So the next morning, I went out, voted, went home and waited for my loss as expected. I knew that while I was going to lose a battle, I had won the war – a war to preserve the sanctity of our democratic process.’’
In addition, he said, “Over the preceding four years – at great risk to my own political future – I had engaged in long, tough battle to maintain the viability of our young democracy by preserving the presidential term limits prescribed by the constitution. The issues that led to these battles were rooted in principle. The key element was that after a productive first term as Vice President, I was faced with a fundamental question of loyalty: should I remain loyal to my boss and party, or should I remain loyal to our constitution and democracy?’’
Continuing, Atiku said, “And Abacha went so far as to send a hit squad to open fire on my family and me at our home in Kaduna. That was the very night I vowed that when we defeated this military junta, I would never allow another despot to sit and rule over the people of Nigeria.
“This gift of life and of dreams is why I stay in the fight for justice, in the hope it will eventually bring the kind of government Nigeria truly deserves. This is what democracy means to me – freedom, opportunity and dignity for Nigerians.’’
Lord Lugard Created Nigeria to Last for 100 Years Only-IBB
The self acclaimed evil genius said this in Lagos yesterday at the presentation of 2 books in honor of his foreign affairs minister, Bolaji Akinyemi.
Speaking yesterday Babangida had said “As Nigerians, we are aware of the great doubts that have been cast about what 2014 portends for the continuing existence of our nation. I am aware that Nigerians have taken great umbrage at these predictions. Even Lord Lugard who founded what has been called Nigeria gave it a life-span of 100 years. I regard it as a challenge to our intelligence to ensure that these portends and prophesies do not become self-fulfilling.
“We should engage these predictions on an intellectual level, testing whether the facts justify the conclusions.
“But on a practical and public policy level, we must import honesty into our public policy assessment. First, we must identify the problems that need to be addressed. Secondly, we must address these problems honestly. Thirdly, we must identify the most current and the most appropriate mechanism for addressing these issues.
“Let me make this clear. My position is not dictated by the fact that foreigners are making these predictions. We don’t even need foreigner sources as a reference point. The Nigerian media is awash with alarming news about our problems.
“My position is dictated by my conviction that Nigeria is precious enough to be saved. It deserves an investment of our time and resources to make Project Nigeria a success. But the starting point has to be an admission that we need to fix things.”
Babangida also stated that mistakes of past administrations are putting pressure on the country today though he refused to identify the mistakes or the past administrations that made them.
Said he “Some of the mistakes of the past have now come to haunt us. But let me make one thing clear. Not all these mistakes were made out of callousness or bad faith or malice.
“Most people in office do their best. They act to the best of their ability. Unless we think that our leaders have divine ability, we have to admit that even with all the best of their abilities and even with the best faith and with the best of all intentions, human beings will still make mistakes,”
In his own comments, ProfessorAkinyemi called for a national dialogue saying “Zoning, federal character, rotation, marginalisation of the brightest and the best will only make the much prophesied collapse of Nigeria in 2014 a self- fulfilling prophecy. We cannot build a nation on a system that takes care of the few while condemning the many to penury. A system that cannot take care of the many that are poor cannot save the few who are rich."
APC kicks against blockade of Rivers Govt House
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has put the blame for last week’s blockade of the Rivers State Government House squarely on President Goodluck Jonathan. The party said what he called Dr. Jonathan’s unbridled disposition toward cheap political vendetta has pushed him to commit impunity and unconstitutionality perhaps more than any other President in the country’s history.
In a statement issued in Lagos yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party also said the police could not have blocked Governor Chibuike Amaechi and his guests from his residence if they were not assured of support from higher authorities.
It, however, warned that giving presidential backing to the police – or any national institution at all – to commit impunity and violate the Constitution is the fastest means to destroy such institutions and erode public confidence in them.
‘’In the case of the police, what is happening in Rivers is sending a wrong signal to the polity concerning the role of the force in 2015.
“How can a malleable police be trusted to be neutral and to help ensure the conduct of a free and fair election – with the President as a candidate – in 2015?’’ the APC queried.
The party said the Police under President Jonathan has increasingly become a lawless Force whose allegiance is only to the President and not to the Constitution, a Police Force that has become a tool in the hands of the President to harass, intimidate, arrest and persecute all his real and perceived political enemies.
Said the APC: ‘’Since the outset of the President Jonathan-inspired political logjam in Rivers State and the implosion of his party, the PDP, the President has been depending on the Police to shore up his dwindling political fortune. The insubordination of the Rivers State Super Police Commissioner Mbu; the police-sponsored fracas in the Rivers State House of Assembly; the assault on the five visiting governors by thugs working under the direction and protection of the State Commissioner of Police and the unlawful occupation of the new PDP secretariats at Abuja and Lagos are clear examples.”
‘’President Jonathan, however, should be told in clear and unambiguous language that Nigerians will resist all machinations by him to turn Nigeria into a police state,’’ it said.
The APC also said those who have been struggling to distance the President from the crisis in Rivers are being clever by half, since it is clear to all Nigerians that the President is the puppeteer in the crisis from day one, hence it has festered despite all efforts to end it.
‘’As far as the crisis in Rivers is concerned, the buck stops on the President’s desk. Here is a President who decided, unwisely, to make the election of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum a referendum on his administration’s credibility. Even after he lost woefully, he has failed to learn his lessons, as he has continued in his hot pursuit of a fellow-elected political leader.
‘’Today, no thanks partly to his political vendetta in Rivers and elsewhere, the President’s political empire has collapsed completely and no amount of police repression, subversion of the constitution or reign of impunity can savage it.
‘’President Jonathan has proven himself to be incapable of managing success. A President who presumably won a pan-Nigerian mandate, whose party controls 23 out of 36 states and has an overwhelming majority in the National Assembly has, in a period of less than 30 months, frittered all away and is today left with less than 16 state governors and lost control of the National Assembly.
‘’President Jonathan today holds the unenviable record of being the first sitting President of the country to suffer the indignity of being walked out upon by governors and federal legislators elected on the platform of his own party; as well as senior members of the same party at its National Convention in the full glare of local and international media.
‘’Under his watch, his party which at the height of its self delusion pride itself as the biggest party in Africa that is destined to rule the country for the 60 years has now imploded and the fallout of this implosion is threatening the fragile unity of the country. President Jonathan, more than any other President in the history of the country, has promoted and encouraged impunity and unconstitutionality, encouraged divisive policies and exploited religious and ethnic differences – all in his attempts to cling to power till 2015 and beyond,’’ the party said.
APC, therefore, said President Jonathan should be held responsible for the current climate of impunity, unconstitutionality and overheating of the polity that is threatening the peace and stability of the country.
Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission: Extortion by another name
Among its many highlights, one that perhaps stands out is the new regime of levies imposed on different categories of imported generators. Henceforth, a unit of 100KVA generator would attract a N25,000 levy; those between 25kva and 100kva – N3,500. For the smaller generators with capacities ranging between 5kva and 25kva, theirs is a levy of N1,000; and for those between 2.5kva and 5kva, it is N250; even those between 0.45 Kva and 2.5 Kva are not left out; theirs is a levy of N150.
NERC also set the fee for the renewal of import licenses at 10 per cent of the fee paid on the initial certificate.
The guidelines, according to NERC chairman, Sam Amadi, cover every import from fully assembled generators to knocked-down parts, either for domestic assembly or retail as spares. To qualify for generator-import license, NERC expects importers to submit annual report of generating sets or knocked-down parts imported by them in the last 12 months. The report is expected to cover details about capacity and the number sold.
Considering the lack of regulation in the trade, the new guidelines would seem inevitable. And, to the extent that the country has today become a huge dumping ground for all kinds of generators, with scant considerations for quality and environmental standards, such measures are most welcome to sanitise that sub-sector of our foreign trade.
But the more fundamental question is whether the NERC guidelines are altogether altruistic – borne of concerns for safety, consumer interest or the environment. This is very much in doubt. Indeed, it seems driven more by revenue than anything else. To start with, the much we know is that the responsibility for enforcing quality and environmental standards does not reside with NERC – that responsibility, with due respect, lies with another agency – the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON).
What does the measure seek to achieve? To discourage importation of generators? If it is – we consider it flawed – to put it mildly. The point to note here is that generator-trade didn’t become big business in the country because Nigerians love the purring of their generators; or that they hated the inept Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN). Nigeria became the world’s leading importer of generators because the government failed to guarantee public power supply. For the power-starved citizens forced to purchase generators, either for business or pleasure, the levy amounts to double jeopardy –in the event of being forced to pay additional costs without guarantees of improved public power supply. Perhaps, only NERC can afford to revel in the folly of imagining that the levy is a disincentive to the trade without the government seriously addressing the demand-supply gap.
Much as NERC needs funds to run its operations, we do not think that the way to go is the extortionate path that seeks to take from the citizens in return for nothing. The idea that NERC can impose just about any levy because it has the powers to do so – without considerations for what is fair, equitable and just, is wrong. Nigerians didn’t ask to be rid of their corrupt and inept PHCN only to find themselves in the bosom of an inconsiderate regulator. It would be a good idea for NERC to shelve the levy until when electricity consumers are availed the clear choice in public electricity supply. At this time, it is still premature.
PDP peace talks continue on October 7
President Goodluck Jonathan, Vice President Namadi Sambo and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors failed last night to resolve the crisis rocking the ruling party.
The meeting, also attended by PDP Board of Trustees Chairman Chief Tony Anenih was adjourned after five hours to October 7.
All seven aggrieved PDP governors – Murtala Nyako (Adamawa), Babangida Aliyu (Niger), Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers), Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara), Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto), Sule Lamido (Jigawa) and Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano) attended the meeting held at the First Lady’s Conference room at the Presidential Villa.
There were three Pro. Jonathan governors Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom), Idris Wada (Kogi) and Liyel Imoke (Cross River).
Amaechi, wearing a white shirt, drove himself to the venue around 5:14 p.m. in a Black Range Rover marked Nasarawa AE 153 NBB. He drove behind the Niger State governor’s vehicle.
At the end of the meeting, Aliyu told reporters that the meeting was inconclusive and stood adjourned till October 7. He said both parties had agreed to stop making inflammatory statements.
He said: “Sequel to the number of meetings convened by leaders and stakeholders. The governors of Adamawa, Niger, Rivers, Kwara, Sokoto, Jigawa, Akwa Ibom, Kogi, Kano and Cross Rivers states met with the President, the Vice President and the chairman of the Board of Trustees and extensively deliberated on various issues.
“The meetings were cordial and deliberations fruitful with a clear commitment on all sides to resolve all issues raised at the meeting.
“The meeting (last night) also called on all parties to shield their swords and avoid further inflammatory comments on issues particularly during the course of our deliberations as we have all agreed to resolve all the differences.
“In the interim, all parties have accepted to commence immediate action and agreed towards complete resolution of all matters and continue to meet until all processes toward reconciliation are totally complete.
“The meetings will continue on Monday 7th October, 2013.
“We use this opportunity therefore to thank all members of our party and supporters for their patience and understanding as we will make sure and ensure that there is progress in resolving the crisis.”
To end the crisis in PDP, the G-7 and Baraje faction had tabled five demands before Jonathan and a seven-man peace panel headed by ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo.
The conditions are:
•The sack of National Chairman Bamanga Tukur.
•Return of party structure to governors in Adamawa, Rivers, Kano and other states.
•Sticking to one-term tenure by the President by foregoing re-election in 2015.
•Resolution of NGF and Rivers crises, including the lifting of Amaechi’s suspension.
•Stop the harrassment of governors by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
UK deputy PM to stop £3,000 visa bond
Hope rose yesterday for Nigerian first time visitors to the United Kingdom, who may be affected by the planned introduction of £3,000 (about N700,000, (visa bond as British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg vowed to block the implementation of the policy.
The British Government plans a new visa policy that will see some “high risk” first time visitors deposit £3,000 in bond before being given visas.
The deposit will be refunded on departure from the UK within the stipulated period but forfeited if the applicant overstays the visa.
The pilot project is planned to start in November in six countries, including Nigeria where there has been outrage from the government and the people.
Some lawmakers have even urged the Federal Government to consider a retaliatory approach should the UK go ahead with the bond policy.
The other countries targeted for the pilot scheme are Ghana, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Clegg said yesterday he would try to block any attempt to make foreign visitors routinely pay a security deposit to come to the U.K.
Officials and business people in other affected countries have condemned the proposal, and the British government has not said how many visa applicants will have to pay the bond.
Clegg said his Liberal Democrat party and its Conservative coalition partners had “differences of emphasis” on the plan, and details were still being discussed in government.
“I am absolutely not interested in a bond which becomes an indiscriminate way of clobbering people who want to come to this country,” Clegg told the BBC. He said the bonds “are certainly not going to go ahead” on that basis.
“Of course in a coalition I can stop things,” he added.
Immigration is a sensitive political issue in Britain, especially with the unemployment and austerity measures brought on by the economic crisis. Prime Minister David Cameron has pledged to cut net immigration from 252,000 a year in 2010 to below 100,000 a year by 2015.
While that plays well with the Conservatives’ right-of-centre supporters, it has been trouble for the centrist liberal Liberal Democrats, who are holding their annual conference in Glasgow, Scotland.
The party is sagging in opinion polls, 18 months ahead of a national election, and many members have expressed unease about the compromises involved in coalition government. Earlier this month, one of the best-known Lib Dem lawmakers, Sarah Teather, said she was quitting because she felt the party no longer fought for social justice and liberal values.
Clegg defended his party’s participation in the coalition, saying it had made the government fairer and more liberal.
PDP reaches out to Tambuwal over impeachment threat
PDP Chair Bamanga Tukur has scheduled a meeting with Tambuwal, who was once considered a “rebel” by the party after several claims that he was romancing the opposition.
The meeting is to discuss ways to appeal to the members of the New PDP over the threat.
The meeting, which was at the instance of the Chairman is scheduled for 3pm tomorrow at the National Assembly.
The meeting, according to a source, comes on the heels of the failure of the desperate appeal by the PDP leadership to persuade the Speaker to postpone the resumption date of the members from the annual recess which terminates tomorrow.
Though the agenda for the meeting, according to Tukur, is to present the members of the newly-elected National Working Committee to the PDP Caucus in the House, The Nation learnt that the aim is to appeal to the PDP members to embrace peace.
A source said the Speaker was opposed to the initial plan of presenting the newly elected NWC members to himself alone, and in the alternative offered a broader participation that would include other members of the PDP Caucus.
The source said: “The Speaker was being careful considering the tension over the fractionalisation of the PDP with the new faction attacking the old faction. If he agrees to meet with the NWC members alone, that would have put him squarely in the camp of the PDP with the attendance consequences from the new PDP members who have been screaming for the impeachment of President Goodluck Jonathan and a clean break from the Bamangar Tukur- led Party.
Another reason for the meeting is the belief that the there are moves by the new PDP to remove members of the leadership who belong to the PDP.
There were report that members of the New PDP would meet today meet today on how to reconstitute the leadership of the National Assembly, which is made up of PDP.
According to the source “we are meeting to primarily set a new agenda for the 7th Assembly using our large number which is hovering around 95 to 125 Reps and 55 Senators,” the source said, adding:
“We equally have the strong voices of 137 All Progressives Congress, APC, in the Green Chamber who have vowed to support our cause.
“if you add 137 to 95, we are clearly in the majority in the House of Reps and we will speak with one voice.
“This large figure of Reps will speak in one voice in all proceedings bordering on bills and motions.
“We will handle all matters as one large family to bring down those tyrants who are enemies of democracy in the old PDP.”
Nigeria PHCN’s investors grumble over assets handover
They are yet to take over the companies after paying the bid price on August 21.
The modalities for their takeover of the firms spread across the country are still being worked out.
Besides, labour issues are yet unresolved.
“The entire arrangement is unclear,” an official of one of the investing firms said at the weekend.
The companies, which paid N358.04 billion into government coffers, are: West Power and Gas, the preferred bidder for the Eko Distribution Company; NEDC/KEPCO, Ikeja Distribution Company; 4Power Consortium, Port Harcourt Distribution Company; Vigeo Consortium, Benin Distribution Company; Aura Energy, Jos Distribution Company; and Kann Consortium, AbujaDistribution Company.
Others are: Integrated Energy Distribution and Marketing Company, the preferred bidder for both the Ibadan and Yola Distribution Companies; Sahelian Power, Kano Distribution Company, Transcorp/Woodrock Consortium, Ughelli Power Plc; Amperion, Geregu Power Plc; Mainstream Energy Limited, Kainji Power Plc; and CMEC/EUAFRIC Energy JV, which made part-payment for the acquisition of Sapele Power Plc.
The pending issues which the new owners will table before the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) tomorrow in Abuja, are inability of government to pay the severance package of the PHCN workers and failure to pay their full pension to the administrators.
The National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) is yet to come up with the methodology for defining tariff and the transition market, among other issues.
Mr Ransom Owan, Chairman, Round Table Committee of the companies that bought PHCN firms, said government would regulate the electricity tariffs to protect consumer’s right.
Owan told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Port Harcourt yesterday that electricity prices were controlled and governed by NERC as the protector of the consumer.
He said the new PHCN owners would treat the consumers as “kings’’ since they stand to pay for the industry’s financial responsibilities.
“Why won’t the consumer be king when generation, transmission and distribution of power are paid for by the consumer through rates that are controlled,’’ Owan said.
The chairman said the new electricity owners were not expected to exceed the prescribed regulated price by the commission.
He urged consumers to remain confident as their interest would be protected in the regulation of tariffs.
Owan also said all existing employees of PHCN would be paid off 100 per cent by the Federal Government in line with labour unions demand.
He said the new owners of PHCN also had an agreement with the government to retain some PHCN employees for a period of six months for continuity.
“After being paid off by the Federal Government, the new electricity firms would take over from where government has stopped and pay the retained staff for the next six months,” he said.
Owan said retention of some staff would enable the new owners build up the business and try to turn it around for the benefit of the country.
He said the management of PHCN would continue its work with the equipment on ground, adding that the company had 60 per cent of the shares while the Federal Government still owns 40 per cent.
Former President, Senior Staff Association of the defunct National Electric Power Authority, Mr Godwin Ifenacho, said the reforms’ objectives might not be achieved unless urgent steps are taking to address the loopholes in the privatisation process.
Ifenacho said government had failed to provide a clear cut programmes on the handing over.
He said: “It is disheartening to note that there are problems on the handing over process despite the fact that the companies after they have fulfilled their own side of the deal. The BPE appears not ready to handover assets to PHCN’s successor companies, hence the problems we are having. Why has the government not paid the severance package in full? What is delaying it? Does that mean that the government does not have enough money to pay the workers? Are there facilities on ground for the firms to start on a clean slate? These are the questions the government must answer to win the confidence of Nigerians that have been expecting improved electricity,’
He said the government would be setting a bad precedent if it failed to allow the private operators to start on a strong footing.