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Vol. 2 N0. 414 Monday, July 30, 2012 N150
AZA MSUE AND SINA FADARE
The presidential can-didate of the Action Congress of Nige-ria,
ACN, in the 2011 polls and former Chairman of Economic and
Finan-cial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mallam Nuhu Rib-adu, has called
for a cred-ible opposition to the rul-ing Peoples Democractic
Party, PDP, in 2015.
He spoke at the week-end in Kaduna during the
7th annual Ramadan lec-tures organised by the Ni-geria
Television Authori-ty, NTA, and Federal Radio Corporation of
Nigeria, FRCN.
Ribadu, who is the Chairman, Presidential Task Force Committee
on Petroleum, noted that the nation was in dire need of a credible
alternative to the PDP.
He said the ongoing merger talks among op-position political
parties would be the only option
Nigeria needs alternative to PDP, says Ribadu
Subsidy fraudsters are govt sponsors Bakare
Insecurity:
2015:
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2>>
Energy Bank gets top ratings in Ghana
BUSINESSTHE SECTION
P.A2, P.12 Free insidensinsisisiideddededede
Heirs Holdings unveils new structure
OBJ, IBB call for dialogue with militias P.7Editors express
concern over high spate of crime
P.5
P.11,12
P.2
Dana crash: Family feuds delay compensation paymentAirline
13 die in Ore-Benin Expressway auto crash
Subsidy fraud: My son is answerable for his actions
Arisekola
P.6
Onolememen
Oduah
Quit now, ACN tells Tukur
Air Force officer, orderly killed as police battle
terrorists
Nigerias Alade Aminu (right) blocks Tunisias Marouan Kechrid (8)
during their Olympic basketball game in London yesterday. Nigeria
won 60-56
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Nigeria needs alternative to PDP, says Ribadu CONTINUED FROM
PAGE 1
Insecurity: OBJ, IBB call for dialogue with militias
for Nigerians to confront the PDP.
His words: I am 100 per cent in support of the merger move by
the op-position political parties in Nigeria. I believe that there
is the need for all the political parties in Nigeria to come
together particu-larly those who are in the opposition.
Nigeria is in dire need of a credible alternative to PDP. If the
parties come together, chances are that they would be able to have
a formidable party that will confront PDP and un-til that is done,
hopefully, it will bring relief to Nige-rians.
The former EFCC boss, who was retired prema-turely as Assistant
Inspec-tor-General of Police, also noted that the Nigeria Po-lice
Force is in tatters and should be urgently fixed for the nation to
overcome its security and internal challenges.
The police must be re-formed for peace to reign in Nigeria,
Ribadu said.
The issue of security is very clear. We have a constitution in
Nigeria that says the organ or the government agency that is
responsible for ensur-ing that we have security, peace and
stability is the Nigeria Police Force. Work on the Nigeria Po-lice
Force, fix the Nigeria Police Force, it is their own
responsibility, no one else.
Today, however, the Nigeria Police Force is tat-tered. It is in
bad shape. If we want to have peace, if we want to have a genuine
sustainable peace in this country, law enforcement, rule of law,
then fix the Nigeria Police Force, he said.
Commenting on the fuel subsidy scam, the former anti-corruption
czar said only the Petroleum Prod-ucts Pricing Regulatory Agency,
PPPRA, could tell Nigerians the true posi-tion of the much-talked
about oil import fraud, saying that the organisa-tion is directly
responsible for importation of all pe-troleum products and sub-sidy
payments.
The problem of oil subsidy fraud we are fac-ing today is
directly the responsibility of the PPPRA, as the regulatory
agency in the petroleum sector.
If you want to know what really happened in the whole oil
scandal you just have to go to the PPPRA because they are the ones
that approves the licences for people to im-port petroleum
products, he said.
Meanwhile, Pastor Tunde Bakare of the Lat-ter Rain Assembly,
Pastor Tunde Bakare, has said that his message against perverse and
corrupt lead-ers has not changed and that he would not tone down
his message despite his being grilled by the State Security
Service, SSS, last week in Lagos on the matter.
Bakare said: Whenever you ask the prophet to tone down his
message, his God will respond on his behalf. The answer to tone
down is tone up.
In the days of Presi-dent Olusegun Obasanjo, the message that
shook the nation was titled No more walls preached on March 7,
1999. Today the message is stronger and bolder.
The convener of the Save Nigerian Group, SNG, said that those
who are in the helm of affairs of the nation are set of deceitful
and insincere leaders who lacked the wisdom and political will to
do what is right.
My message has not changed since the days of the military. A
corrupt, perverse, wasteful, direc-tionless and clueless
gov-ernment is offensive to me and should be offensive to every
intelligent patriot in this nation.
The messages I preach are only biased in favour of
righteousness, justice and truth. To this, I plead guilty because
there is nothing anyone can do against truth, but for the
truth.
If I am being asked to tone down my message be-cause of
perceived parti-sanship, those asking me to do so have only
succeeded in precipitating a tone up and examples abound in
scriptures which I encour-age our security service agents and men
of the armed forces and the police to read and meditate on in the
pursuit of their lawful duties, he added.
Bakare also said that the recent arraignment of those involved
in the oil CONTINUED ON PAGE 5>>
L-R: Acting Minister of Defence, Erelu Olusola Obada; guest
lecturer, Prof. David Mba and the Commandant, Air Force Institute
of Technology, Air Vice-Marshal Olusola Oshoniyi, at the 41st
graduation ceremony of the institute in Kaduna at the weekend.
subsidy scandal was a mere charade, stressing that the brains
behind the scam were those who sponsored the election of President
Goodluck Jonathan and top members of his cabinet.
The cleric, who spoke yesterday while deliver-ing the second
part of his sermon in his church tagged, How to change government
peacefully and make society better, said that what was going on in
the arraignment of the so-called subsidy fraudsters was a mere
window dressing, and, therefore, would not tone down his preaching
but tone it up.
The shenanigans and the charade going on in respect of the
subsidy thieves, in my consid-
ered opinion are that the efforts of this gov-ernment cannot
deliver justice, neither are they meant to.
Bakare also berated the wife of the President for her
activities. Can you imagine that as the nation is burning, Dame
Patience Jona-than, the First Lady, is busy pursuing and obtaining
the status of an absentee Permanent Secretary? Does this make any
intelligent sense except to politi-cal morons and imbe-ciles?
The cleric warned the security agencies to re-channel their
en-ergies towards doing their primary assign-ment of
maintaining
peace and providing se-curity for Nigerians in-stead of
arresting people for saying the truth.
Otherwise they are going to see the wrath of God.
Be careful how you carry out your assign-ment against genuine
servants of God by any label, Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor
and Teacher. Be careful not to obey the last order, es-pecially if
the last order is evil or against natural justice, you cannot obey
such without bringing damnation upon your own head.
He challenged the se-curity men to always obey the voice of God
in their assignments be-cause it is wise to obey a
wise counsel than a fool-ish order that will lead to double
condemnation.
Dont assume you will get away with the evil you perpetrate
against the priests when you turn to do same with the prophet. Just
remem-ber that judgement even-tually fell upon King Saul, his sons
and servants, he noted.
Bakare likened a few in-telligent technocrats who are sincere
but find them-selves at the corridor of power with somebody who put
on a white garment and falls inside a pit.
He noted that they had the opportunity to get out of the mess
now before they were also consumed by the imminent prophet-ic
revolution.
AYODELE OJODEPUTY EDITOR, POLITICS
Piqued by parlous state of insecurity in the country, for-mer
President Olusegun Obasanjo and ex-military President, Ibrahim
Baban-gida have called for urgent steps to address the
situa-tion.
Violent activities by various armed groups, es-pecially in the
North, have claimed dozens of lives in the past months threaten-ing
the continued peaceful co-existence of Nigeria.
The ex-heads of state called for a process to kick-start
dialogue with armed belligerents.
Obasanjo and Baban-gida in a joint statement titled, A call for
peace and dialogue made available to National Mirror yester-day
lamented the state of insecurity and loss of lives in the
country.
They described the se-curity situation as unac-ceptable and
unbearable.
Obasanjo in an inter-view with National Mir-ror yesterday
confirmed that he met Babangida last week to review the state of
the nation. He said their position represents that of the countrys
former presi-dents and heads of state.
Yes, Babangida and I met where we took the decision to issue the
state-
ment. We are concerned about the development in the country. We
cant fold our hands and allow the situation to degenerate, Obasanjo
told National Mirror.
According to them: Unfolding events in our dear motherland,
Nigeria, over the last few years are threatening to unravel the
nearly a century old labour of our founding fathers and subsequent
generations in building a strong, united, peaceful nation that can
accom-modate and cater for the needs and aspirations of our diverse
communities.
Internecine crises are raging across the land
unabated with damaging consequences on the so-cial, political
and econom-ic life of the nation. And in the process, untold
hard-ships are being visited on all citizens in one form or another
on a daily basis.
The loss of innocent lives being experienced by the day across
the nation is simply unbearable.
Currently, the nation is gripped by a regime of fear and
uncertainty that virtually all citizens have difficulties going
about their normal day to day lives without great anxi-ety and
trepidation. This cannot be allowed to con-tinue!
National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net2 Monday, July 30,
2012News
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National Mirrorwww.nationalmirroronline.net 3Monday, July 30,
2012
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National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net4 Monday, July 30,
2012 Photo News
L-R: Priority Account Supervisor, DHL Express Ghana, Mrs. Emelia
Egeme-Ari; Customer Care and Quality Manager, Anglophone Africa,
Mr. Joseph Aghogban; Head of Customer Service, Sierra Leone, Mrs.
Francess Sawyerr and Head of Customer Service, Liberia, Mrs. Juno
Gono during the Companys training for Anglophone Africa in Lagos at
the weekend.
L-R: Vice-Chancellor, Osun State University, Prof. Sola
Akinrinade; Governor Rauf Aregbeso-la; his Deputy, Mrs. Titi
Laoye-Tomori; Chief of Staff to the governor, Mr Gboyega Oyetola
and Ogiyan of Ejigbo, Oba Omowonuola Oyesosin, during the
commissioning of College Library and Information Technology
Building of the University, Ejigbo Campus, yesterday in Ejigbo.
L-R: Corporate Communications and Public Affairs, Nestle Nigeria
Plc, Dr. Sam Adenekan; Category Business Manager Milo, Mrs. Doja
Ekeruche; Managing Director, Mr. Martin Woolnough; President,
Nigeria School Sports Federation, Mallam Muhammed Ibrahim and
Secretary, National Collegiate Sports Federation, Mr. Lanre
Balogun, during the 14th Milo Secondary Schools Basketball
Championship press conference in Lagos at the weekend. PHOTO:
BAYOOR EWUOSO
L-R: Special Guest, Mr. Moses Onuwe; Deputy Director, Federal
Ministry of Water Resources, Mrs. Boade Akinola; Author, Mr. Udeme
Akpan; Guest Speaker Prof. Hilary Inyang and Editor, National
Mirror, Mr. Seyi Fasugba, during the presentation of a book
Fundamentals of Energy and Environmental Journalism in Lagos at the
weekend. PHOTO: ADEMOLA AKINLABI
National News
Govts borrowing spree linked to real sector crisis TOLA
AKINMUTIMIABUJA
Despite claims by the Federal Govern-ment that it is com-mitted
to revitalising the real sector of the economy by a combination of
fis-cal and monetary policies, indications are that the 15 months
of President Goodluck Jonathans ad-ministration have left the
manufacturing and other productive sectors of the economy worse
than they were two years ago.
Investigations by Na-tional Mirror showed that the increasing
scrambling by the Federal and state governments for available funds
in the banks through the sale of long term secu-rities like bonds
and Trea-sury Bills to fund their projects has continued to
aggravate the crowding ef-fects on the private sector, with its
negative implica-tions for manufacturers efforts to revive ailing
com-panies in the country.
For instance, with in-terest rates on bank credit hovering
around 22 per cent and 28 per cent currently depending on the
tenure of
loan, manufacturers are no longer capable of borrow-ing even as
the banks prefer to stake the available funds on government
securities in view of the prospects of returns and certainty of
re-payment.
The government secu-rities have returns of be-tween 13 and 17
per cent, which make them more at-tractive to lenders, who are
shunning loan applications by manufacturers due to perceived risks
associated with lending to them.
As at now, the domes-tic debt profile occasioned by sustained
borrowing stands at about N5.21trn as the federal and state
gov-ernments continue their borrowing drive to bridge the revenue
shortfalls in their budgets.
A reflection of the crip-pling effect of the high cost of funds
in the real sec-tor is that despite efforts of government to create
enabling environment for businesses, total installed capacity
utilisation in the sector based on figures by the Manufacturers
Associ-ation of Nigeria, MAN, for the for the second quarter of
2012 stood at about 49 per
cent, compared to the 47.5 per cent in the preceding
quarter.
The value of industrial production showed similar marginal
improvement, rising from about N130bn to N150bn at the end of the
second quarter.
Analysts, however, point-ed out that the statistical growth has
yet to reflect in job creation and other positive performance
in-dicators that are crucial to financial stability and sustainable
growth of the economy.
The growth largely re-mains exclusive to the extent that the
multiplier effects are lacking as the nations poverty level ranks
among the highest in the world today.
A financial expert, Dr. Boniface Chizea, argued that it would be
self-delu-sion for policy makers to ex-pect growth in the real
sec-tor when cost of funds is too high for manufacturers to afford,
adding that govern-ments propensity to bor-row from the same market
remains a major factor why banks are not always eager to lend to
real sector, which is perceived to be riskier.
The fact is that many of the banks prefer to lend to the public
sector enti-ties because it is safer and repayment period is short.
The banks know that when the monthly allocation is disbursed to the
tiers of government, they will get paid and by implication make
more profit as against the real sector, which has a longer
repayment cycle.
There is no gainsaying the fact that high interest rate is not
healthy for any economy or business. So, as long as governments
con-tinue to source money from the market and because there is
minimal risk in lending to them, the banks would also prefer to do
busi-ness with them, he said.
The Director General of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and
Industry, LCCI, Mr. Muda Yusuf, said the credit and interest rate
structure would continue to create distortions in the economy and
undermine governments efforts to make its growth inclusive.
He said: The credit situ-ation has been further com-pounded by
the fact that government treasury bills and bonds have returns
of
between 13 and 17 per cent. The consequence is that available
funds are being mopped up by government. It is clearly more
attractive now to invest in govern-ment securities than invest in
ventures that would cre-ate jobs.
Even banks now would rather buy treasury bills and government
bonds than give loans to investors. This credit and interest rate
structure would con-tinue to create distortions in the economy,
which will only perpetuate the phe-nomenon of jobless growth and
further depress the stock market.
Also reacting a leading industrialist, Chief Mo-lade Okoya
Thomas, said things are very tough gen-erally now
The business mogul however said he would not like to comment
further since he was carrying out some study on the business
environment after which he would be in a position to speak
elaborately on issues in the economy.
Minister of Finance, Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala had warned during
the 2012 budget briefing in Abuja
that government was be-coming uncomfortable with the domestic
compo-nent of the countrys debt in the light of the rising interest
rates and other micro and macroeconomic indices that could threaten
current drive toward mac-roeconomic stability of the economy.
She said in view of the negative implications of the rising
domestic bor-rowing for the health of the economy, government was
determined to ensure that domestic debt, which cur-rently stands at
N5.96 trn is reduced to about N500bn in the Medium Term by
2015.
The National Assembly has also lent its voice to the current
clamour for reduc-tion in government borrow-ing as a means of
achieving the broad policy objectives of stimulating economic
growth and fiscal stability.
The Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts had last
November raised the alarm over the growing domestic debt portfolio
and called on the Executive to halt the drift towards eco-nomic
strangulation and total collapse of the real sector.
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Dana crash: Family feuds delay compensation payment Airline
Insecurity: OBJ, IBB call for dialogue with militiasL-R: Former
Lagos State Governor Asiwaju Bola Tinubu; Ekiti State Governor
Kayode Fayemi and Ghanaian President, Dr. John Dramani Mahama,
during a condolence visit over the death of President John Atta
Mills, in Accra, Ghana, at the weekend.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2
OLUSEGUN KOIKI AND TOBORE OVUORIE
The management of Dana Air has said that disagreements among
some of the families of the June 3 crash victims were part of the
reasons for the delay in the payment of the initial $30,000
compensa-tion that was due by July 3.
Speaking with National Mirror at the weekend, the airlines Group
Media Man-ager, Mr. Tony Usidamen, said that internal wran-glings
among victims fami-lies and incomplete docu-mentation were part of
the reasons the airlines insurer was yet to complete the
part-payment.
He explained that some family members had ten-dered unverified
documents which identified them as the next- of-kin to claim the
money but were later ex-posed through its verifica-tion
processes.
Usidamen insisted that the airline had adequate insurance cover
for the aircraft, adding that funds were also available to pay
compensation.
He could not, however, tell when the remaining balance of $70,
000 would be paid in line with the International Civil Aviation
Organisation, ICAO, recommended stan-dards and practices. The media
manager said that the airline would follow strictly the ICAO
convention on pay-ment of compensations to
victims families. Usidamen explained that
the airline had paid more than the seven families it ini-tially
advertised, but refused to give a definite figure.
He said: We have paid more than seven families, but as Im
talking to you now, I dont have the exact figure with me and I dont
want to be misquoted in the media.
Definitely, we have paid more than 30 families. I will find out
later from the in-surer, but I can tell you that more people have
completed the legal verification. I can confirm with the legal
de-partment.
It is the legal verification that is delaying the final pay-ment
to some families. Most people did not come out on time and we had
some situ-ations whereby two people came out from the same family,
laying claim to the next-of-kin, which is why this legal
verification is very important.
Some people will bring fake documents only for you to realise
that the right per-son comes out later. We want to be sure that the
right next-of-kin is paid.
Again, you must under-stand that a lot of people started coming
close to the end of the 30 days deadline for the commencement of
payment. The legal docu-ment is very necessary in or-der to ensure
that the money goes to the right family. The money is there, it is
not an issue, it is just to ensure that its gets to the right
family.
The former leaders not-ed that the spate of inse-curity had made
people to question the rationale for the continued existence of
Nigeria, but insisted that the continued existence of Nigeria is
not negotiable.
Part of the statement reads: For us, and we be-lieve for
millions of other Nigerians, the continued unity of this nation is
not only priceless but non-ne-gotiable.
A deeply worrying trend that is emerging from this terrible
situa-tion is that a pervasive cynicism is beginning to set in, so
much so that mil-lions of true Nigerian pa-triots are starting to
ques-tion the platform upon which the unity of this
country rests. This is simply unten-
able. The people of this country must not allow whatever sense
of frustra-tion, fear and despair we are experiencing now to
supersede our hopes for a collective destiny which lies in our
continued exis-tence as a nation.
They also urged the Federal Government to be-gin dialogue with
armed militias.
As the holy month of Ramadan commences, Nigerians, wherever they
are and whatever religion they profess, are accorded a great
opportunity to turn the tide against insecurity, violence and
hatred.
Religious leaders, in particular, have an even greater challenge
to use
the immense virtues of this holy period to incul-cate among the
millions of citizens the spirit of mutual respect, humility and
forgiveness.
Ample opportunities are, therefore, at hand to bring all armed
bellig-erents to table for mean-ingful dialogue with the
authorities for our future and that of our children and
grandchildren, they said.
The leaders said that no development could take place in an
atmo-sphere of violence and hatred.
We need to reiterate that no meaningful de-velopment can ever
oc-cur in an atmosphere of violence and hatred. His-tory has shown
that any
society that is built on the structures of violence and
intolerance cannot prosper.
We need to appreciate that God in His infinite mercy has blessed
our country with abundant re-sources and talents, but we need peace
and harmony to harness them not just for our own well-being but
also that of our children and grandchildren. We owe this future
generations of Nigerians this much.
On our part, we are ready to do whatever is possible to promote
the quest for peace and har-mony. And we are ready to join hands
with all patri-ots to sustain and further enhance the unity and
progress of this country.
The former presidents
called on governments at all levels to scale up efforts at
addressing the security challenges confronting the nation.
The statement added: While we are very much aware of the efforts
vari-ous governments in the country are making to confront the
escalating security challenges across the country, we believe that
it is time that these efforts are scaled up to be more involving
and inclu-sive.
In this regard, what-ever robust security mea-sures are put in
place to contain the situation, as is normal in such cir-cumstance;
they must be complemented with an equally intensive process of
community involve-
ment. We, therefore, urge all governments in the country,
starting with all the 774 local councils to comprehensively engage
their communities at the various levels, including elders, youth
organisa-tions, trade unions and as-sociations, women bodies, the
clergy and other com-munity stakeholders.
We also call on the federal and state govern-ments not only to
encour-age these grassroots en-gagements for peace and beneficial
coexistence but should work out the framework to sustain the
engagement. In all these efforts, it is important to emphasise that
our diver-sity is a cause for celebra-tion not a cause for
lamen-tations.
Had people come in earlier, we would have finished pay-ment, but
we understand why some people did not come out on time. Some of
them were still mourning.
On when the final pay-ment would be paid, he said: I cant
immediately ascer-tain that but I know that based on the
convention, it is supposed to be paid only after the bodies have
been properly identified. The funds are here in Nigeria and we are
ready to pay the final amount when all the laid down procedures
have been completed.
The payment is not an issue at all. We want to fulfill our
obligations to the fami-lies as soon as possible. But some
processes have to be
followed if not, it will cre-ate problems for us and the
families in the future.
The Managing Director of Prestige Assurance, Mr. Anand Mittal,
confirmed last night that additional compensation payments had been
made but could not give an exact figure of the number of
beneficiaries.
When our correspondent called the office of Danas solic-itors,
Yomi Oshikoya and Co, in Lagos on Friday, a lawyer who claimed to
be in charge of the payment declined to com-ment on the matter.
Meanwhile, families of some of the victims of the crash have
accused the La-gos State government and officials at the mortuary
of the Lagos State University
Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) of not being straightforward.
Speaking to National Mirror, some of the fami-lies, who did not
want their names mentioned, said that if care is not taken, this
whole Dana mess will end like other plane crashes in which the
truth was not re-vealed, bereaved families denied access to the
corpses of their loved ones and com-pensations were never paid.
The families, therefore, requested the state govern-ment and its
officials at the LASUTH morgue to investi-gate why some corpses
were released to some families even when the DNA results were not
yet out, while oth-ers who had identified their dead relatives
beyond rea-
sonable doubts were told to wait for the release of the DNA
results.
Other allegations were that some families allegedly paid money
to collect the corpses of their relatives while those who had
identi-fied theirs beyond every rea-sonable doubt were denied
collection.
The Commissioner for Information, Mr. Lateef Ibi-rogba, said
Lagos State was only out to help the families of the victims.
He said: I dont think anyone in his right frame of mind will say
such. What would we gain? We are not Dana, were just the
govern-ment on ground and dont want anyone to be short-changed.
National Mirrorwww.nationalmirroronline.net 5Monday, July 30,
2012 News
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National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net6 Monday, July 30,
2012 National News
L-R: Assistant Director, Home Finance, Federal Ministry of
Finance, Mr. Nasiru Nabage, Sokoto State Accountant General, Alhaji
Aminu Abdullahi and Secretary, Federation Account Allocation
Committee, Mr. James Nongo, at a sensitisation workshop for
stakeholders in the North-West zone, in Kaduna, at the weekend.
PHOTO: NAN
Hold Okonjo-Iweala for 2012 budget breach Reps
Fuel subsidy: My son answerable for his actions Arisekola
Panel proposes $10bn leasing fi rm for aviation industry
Presidency reconsiders Otehs recall, seeks independent
opinion
TORDUE SALEMABUJA
The House of Repre-sentatives yesterday accused the Presi-dency
of breaching the Ap-propriations Act, even as it said that the
Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, should be held
re-sponsible for the breach.
The House also dis-missed a statement attrib-uted to the
minister that the 2012 budget was yet to be fully implemented
be-cause the National Assem-blys Constituency Proj-
ects stood as an obstacle. The House spokesman,
Hon. Zakari Mohammed, said in a statement that the minister was
breaching the budget law by using her own discretion to decide
which aspect of the budget was implementable.
He said: The House of Representatives will like to restate its
concern on the poor and selective im-plementation of the 2012
budget by the executive arm of government and the attitude of
officials of government saddled with the responsibility of im-
plementing the Appropria-tion Act.
For the avoidance of doubt, Sections 6 and 7 of the 2012
Appropriation Act clearly say what officials of government and in
this case the honourable minis-ter of finance is permitted to
do.
Section 6 of the Appro-priation Act, 2012, states that: The
minister of fi-nance shall ensure that funds appropriated under
this Act are released to the appropriate agencies and or organs of
government as and when due, provided
that no funds for any quar-ter of the fiscal year shall be
deferred without prior waiver from the National Assembly.
Mark and note the choice of the word shall, which is mandatory
un-der the circumstance, not discretionary. This is what the
minister is expected to do. It is not within her powers to pick and
choose projects and programmes to fund as has been the case with
the Appropria-tion Act 2012. Her piece meal and discretionary
re-lease of funds for projects
contrary to the schedule approved in the Appro-priation Act is
unlawful. She is, in fact, apparently breaking the law.
What the law requires the minister to do is en-sure that all
funds appro-priated for projects within a particular quarter are
re-leased to all the Ministries, Departments and Agen-cies, MDAs,
as at when due without preference. If the revenue target is not
achieved in any particular period, it is the responsi-bility of the
Hon. Minister to seek for waiver from the
National Assembly. This has not been the case.
This is not to say that funds should be released and accessed by
MDAs without due process and actual execution of proj-ects. In
other words, there should be value for money.
In disagreeing with the minister on the delay in the full
implementation of the budget, Mohammed noted that constituency
projects constituted just 10 per cent of the entire budget and
could not be a hindrance to its implemen-tation.
AYODELE OJODEPUTY EDITOR (POLITICS)
The Ibadan-based business mogul and Aare Musulumi of Yorubaland,
Alhaji Azeez Arisekola-Alao, yesterday said that his son,
Abdullahi, being tried by the Economic and Financial Crimes
Com-mission, EFCC, for fuel sub-sidy fraud was answerable for his
actions.
Abdullahi, the Manag-ing Director of Axenergy, is being tried
for illegally ben-efitting from subsidy pay-ment running into
billions of naira.
Abdullahi Alao is an adult and a businessman do-ing business
like every Ni-
gerian. He is answerable for his actions and transactions under
the law of the land.
As an adult and a true Muslim, there is no doubt that he knows
what is wrong and what is right, Arisekola-Alao said in a
statement.
The younger Alao was docked at a Lagos High Court on
Thursday.
Also, the National Chair-man of the Peoples Demo-cratic Party,
PDP, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, had dis-tanced himself from the
involvement of his son, Mahmud, the Managing Director of Eterna Oil
and Gas, in the fuel subsidy scam.
Meanwhile, the Action
Congress of Nigeria, ACN, has called on Tukur to step aside for
now.
The party, in a statement issued yesterday by its Na-tional
Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said there was a moral
burden on Tukur if he continued to stay in office.
The party said: It is im-portant to say here that the fuel
subsidy scam trial will be held in two courts: the court of law and
the court of public opinion. While Al-haji Bamanga Tukur is not
facing any charges in the court of law over the scam, he is
definitely a star sus-pect in the court of public opinion. That is
why many Nigerians are already in-
sinuating that nothing will come out of the trial, especially as
far as his son is concerned. This is an allusion to the influence
bestowed upon him by his high office.
While we have nothing but absolute confidence in the ability of
the judicial process to ensure justice, we believe that anything
that can reinforce the impres-sion of thwarted justice in the fuel
subsidy scam trial should be removed. Tukurs continued stay in
office is one of such.
The ACN noted that the continued stay in office of Tukur would
have negative effect on the outcome of the investigation.
TOLA AKINMUTIMIABUJA
The Technical and Ad-ministrative Review Panel on Domestic
Airlines, TARPDA, has pro-posed the establishment of a leasing
company with an initial investment capital of $10bn (about N1.62tn)
to provide long-term fund-ing support to operators to upgrade the
quality of air-craft in the industry.
The panel, which sub-mitted its report to the government at the
week-end, specifically put the re-sponsibility of establishing the
company on the Fed-eral Government, even as it urged the Central
Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to also create windows of improved long-term
lending to operators at low interest rates, among other revival
palliatives recommended for the ail-ing sector.
The Chairman of the panel, Group Captain John Obakpolor, while
present-ing the report to the Min-
ister of Aviation in Abuja, Princess Stella Oduah, be-moaned the
decay of criti-cal infrastructural facilities among other
constraints identified in the sector and called for the overhauling
of the systems through a state of emergency pro-gramme.
According to the docu-ment which summarised its recommendations,
in all, the panel held a total of 35 sittings during which 98
persons were interviewed from the Nigerian Civil Aviation
Authority, NCAA, the domestic airlines, other stakeholders in the
sec-tor and studied copious documents from both the enabling Act as
well other relevant documents locally and internationally, before
arriving at its 41 recom-mendations contained in the final
report.
The report says: The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, should
empower com-mercial banks to create a window for long-term low
interest funding for direct
lending to aviation. The in-dustry will require at least N500bn
for this purpose.
An aircraft leasing com-pany with an initial invest-ment of
$10bn should also be set up by the Federal Government to acquire
modern aircraft directly from major manufactur-ers and lease to
qualifying Nigerian air operators at preferential rates. This will
help in the reduction of op-erating cost and improve-ment of
efficiency and com-petitiveness.
Specifically, the panel disclosed that its investi-gations on
Dana Airline revealed that the manage-ment of the airline failed to
observe standard and recommended practices, particularly the use of
Technical Logbook, in the maintenance of its aircraft, adding that
it was also found out that in some in-stances, the surveillance by
NCCA inspectors on the airlines maintenance prac-tices were below
expecta-tion.
ROTIMI FADEYI AND TORDUE SALEMABUJA
The Presidency may have rescinded its decision to reinstate the
Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC,
Ms. Arunma Oteh, as it has asked for an independent
opinion on the challenges facing the commission.
A source at the Presiden-cy told our correspondent that the
decision was based on the workers outrage that greeted her return a
fortnight ago, following the report of Price Water Coo-pers
Limited, a renowned audit firm, on the accounts of the
commission.
The President gave the directive for a fresh comprehensive
report on Oteh in order to have a well-informed opinion of the
matter and to be fair to everyone including the employees of the
commis-sion who protested her re-turn as DG of SEC. This fresh
comprehensive report would finally determine the fate of Oteh as to
whether she would remain as DG of SEC or vacate the seat finally.
So, the matter is not closed yet as her reinstate-ment is not the
end of the matter, the source said.
It added that President Goodluck Jonathans direc-tive for a
comprehensive report on the SEC was not because of the impeach-ment
threat by the House
of Representatives.In the same vein, the
House of Representatives has said it was maintaining its stand
on its recommen-dation that Oteh face trial for alleged capital
market offences.
The spokesman of the House, Hon. Zakari Mu-hammed (PDP/Kwara),
who made this known, said whereas the Presiden-cy was free to
review the House report; its decision on the matter remained
un-changed.
He said: I dont really want to comment on the Presidents
decision to set up a committee to pro-vide details on the Oteh
matter, but all I can say as the spokesman is that the President
has the right to look at the issue adminis-tratively.
It is the normal practice for the executive to do that, but that
does not affect our decision as a House (that Oteh be tried).
The House had two weeks ago, before its ad-journment for an
eight-week recess, called for the removal of Ms. Oteh.
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National Mirrorwww.nationalmirroronline.net 7Monday, July 30,
2012 National News
The bridge at Shoyinka street in Oko-Oba area of Lagos, washed
away by flood at the weekend. PHOTO: NAN
Dr. Adesina
OLUSEGUN KOIKI
The National Union of Air Transport Employees (NU-ATE) has
raised the alarm over the poor state of com-munication gadgets
with-in the Nigerian airspace, warning that if not prop-erly
rectified, over-flyers will continue to avoid the country and might
lead to another avoidable acci-dent in the sector.
NUATE also said that the inadequate commu-nication gadgets lead
to revenue loss to the coun-try and further expose the countrys
security situa-tion to the outside world.
A petition written to the Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella
Oduah, on July 18, 2012 and signed by NUATE President, Com-rade
Mohammed Safiya-nu, complained about the state of the Total Radar
Coverage of Nigeria fa-cilities and safety of the airspace, which
it said had deteriorated over the years.
The current situation, the petition noted affects the
communication be-
tween Air Traffic Control-lers in the control tower and pilots
in the air.
The petition with ref-erence number NUATE/NP/001/28/05/2KI2 and
made available to Na-tional Mirror over the weekend was received by
Oduah on July 20, 2012.
NUATE, in the petition called for the provision of
Controller-Pilot-Data-Link Communication (CPDLC), which it said
would have been a remedy to the situation, stressing that the
countrys neigh-bouring countries like Ghana have such facili-ties,
which further made their airspace more valu-able and safer.
He emphasised that absence of CPDLC in Ni-geria has made over
flyers to abdicate the countrys airspace for other coun-tries
despite their longer distance to their final des-tinations.
Safiyanu said over fly-ers avoiding the coun-trys airspace
include Air France 889 from Kin-shasa to Paris, Air France 995 from
Johannesburg to Paris, Air France 900 from Yaound to Paris,
Air France 928 from Lu-anda to Paris, Air France 896 from
Brazzzaville to Paris.
Others are South Af-rican Airways 237 from London to
Johannesburg, SAA 260 from Johannes-burg to Frankfurt, SAA 261 from
Frankfurt to Johannesburg, SAA 264
from Johannesburg to Munich and SAA 265 from Munich to
Johannesburg.
The NUATE president, in the petition advised the minister to
call for the World, African and Nigerian navigational chart routes
for details and urged her to consult foreign carriers involved
for more details on the de-grading state of the safety
tools.
He also urged Oduah to contact the International Air Transport
Association (IATA) for up-to-date in-formation on the current
situation while he equally urged her to call for all the air
traffic control closed
logbooks for Lagos, Kano, Port-Harcourt and Abuja from January,
2012 till date.
He explained that sev-erally, air traffic control-lers through
the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) do receive Air
Safety Reports from airlines flying Nigerian airspace.
Aviation workers raise the alarm over poor gadgets
MESHACK IDEHEN
The Federal Govern-ment has said it will soon commence moves to
improve the pro-duction of fish in the coun-try, in order to bridge
the gap between the demand and supply of the product.
Speaking in Lagos at the weekend, the Minister of Agriculture
and Rural De-velopment, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, said Nigeria is
currently spending a huge amount annually on the importation of
fish, adding that the practice will soon come to an end with the
schemes the government is putting in place.
The minister, who visited
several fish farm projects, including the Nigerian In-stitute
for Oceanography and Marine Research (NI-OMR), said that the
country cannot continue to support the economy of other coun-tries
through the importa-tion of fish despite the enor-mous local
opportunities available in the country.
The minister, while charging the management of NIOMR to play the
role expected of it as the only research institute with ma-rine
fisheries mandate in Nigeria, said the importa-tion of fish to
Nigeria must stop to enable the nation strategise and get to the
level of exporting cultured shrimps and other seafood.
Adesina disclosed that the Federal Government has already
committed 50 percent of the cost on the building of oceanography
and fisheries deep sea re-search vessel for the pur-pose of
exploring deep sea resources, saying also that the vessel will
enable Nige-ria improve in the produc-tion of fish beyond the level
of 50 metres to 200 metres ocean depth.
SAM OLUWALANA
The Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) has expressed shock at the
state of insecurity in the country, particularly the armed robbery
attack on one of its members, Mr. Steve Nwosu, the Editor of Daily
Sun who was robbed and shot by some hoodlums
last week in Lagos. The Editors said this in
a communiqus issued at the end of its 2012 second quarter
Standing Commit-tee Meeting in Lagos, last Friday where it reviewed
the Guilds activities for the first and second quarters of 2012 and
its programmes for the rest of the year.
It also examined the state of the nation, espe-
cially in the areas of secu-rity and other burning na-tional
issues and expressed concern about the situation and other issues
of na-tional importance despite repeated assurances by the
government.
The editors, however, were happy with the will shown by the
Federal Gov-ernment to prosecute those indicted in the oil
subsidy
scam, urging the govern-ment to observe due dili-gent in this
direction.
It also commends INEC for the peaceful conduct of the recent
governorship election in Edo State while also advising it to note
the noticeable lapses in the ex-ercise to avoid recurrence in the
forthcoming guber-natorial poll in Ondo State later in the
year.
KUNLE AZEEZ
The National Lottery Regulatory Com-mission (NLRC) has projected
that Nigeria has the potential to generate N300bn annually through
lottery activities by tele-coms companies and other business
organisations if the rules and regulations guiding lottery are
followed and lottery activities are rid of fraudulent
practices.
Director-General, NLRC, Dr. Peter Igho, said this dur-ing a
recent visit to the Com-missioner of Police, Special Fraud Unit,
Mr. Tunde Og-unsakin.
Igho, who said the aim of the visit was to strengthen
partnership with the po-lice towards ensuring that
fraudulent activities in lot-tery business is addressed, said
Nigeria can earn huge revenue for good cause from lottery.
He said unlike gambling, which is illegal and only benefits a
few individuals, lotteries, all over the world, are legitimate and
have been a reliable source of revenue for many countries to
imple-ment social projects that ben-efits the whole citizens.
He, however, said that Nigeria has yet to enjoy the full
benefits from ongo-ing lotteries in the country because many people
do it fraudulently and they dont do it with transparency and
honesty.
He said a survey car-ried out by the commission
had shown that Nigerias telecoms revolution had opened a new
vista for or-ganisations to engage in lottery without recourse to
the provision of the Nige-ria Lottery Act, NLA, 2005, which give
NLRC the power to regulates transparency in lottery business. He
said only people with credible characters should run lot-tery
business.
He said it was amazing how companies had left their primary
business to focus on running promos and lotteries to make money for
themselves rather than doing so in a mutually-bene-ficial
arrangement as stipu-lated by the law.
While explaining part of the ongoing restructuring at
the NLRC, the DG said the body has increased the size of its
headquarters in Abuja and increased regional of-fices to 14,
coupled with the education of the businesses on the rules and
regulations guiding lottery business while ensuring close
moni-toring of lotteries by tele-com firms and other ogan-isations
in the country.
He also stated that though, NLRC had contin-ued to enjoy the
cooperation of the police; the commis-sion wanted such coopera-tion
strengthened in order to tackle fraud in lottery business.
Reacting, Mr. Ogunsakin promised to partner with NLRC in
ensuring transpar-ency in lottery business.
Nigeria must cease importation of fi sh Minister
Telecoms lottery, others can earn Nigeria N300bn annually
Editors express concern over state of insecurity
Partners police to tackle fraud
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L R: Former Minister, Commerce and Tourism, Chief Bola
Kuforiji-Olubi; Dr. Harold Sodipo; Ogun State Governor Ibikunle
Amosun and the deceaseds son, Mr. Dapo Sodipo, during the Memorial
Service in honour of the late former Minister of Youths, Omooba
Adedamola Harold Sodipo, held at the Holy Trinity Anglican Church,
Diocese of Egba (Anglican Communion), Ikereku, Abeokuta...
yesterday.
Oyo to dredge 38 streams to check fl ood
Emulate Awolowo, HID charges politiciansFEMI OYEWESOABEOKUTA
Wife of the late sage and the ma-triarch of the Awolowo dynasty,
Chief H. I. D. Awolowo, has asked Nigerian leaders in all strata to
ensure that they leave good legacies behind which generation yet
un-born would be proud of.
She gave the charge while hosting the National Chair-man of the
All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP, Og-bonnaya Onu, who paid her a
courtesy visit at the week-end in her Ikenne residence in Ikenne
Local Govern-ment Area of Ogun State.
Mrs. Awolowo urged those in position of au-thority, particularly
politi-cians, to emulate her late husband, Chief Obafemi Awolowo,
who left the good legacy of a united Nigeria.
Earlier in his speech, Onu had blamed the myriad of problems,
particularly the insecurity challenges which he described as
self-inflicted, on those in posi-tions of authority.
WALE FOLARINOSOGBO
Governor Rauf Aregbesola has re-stated the commit-ment of his
administra-tion to the development of qualitative and sound
education in Osun State.
He said this at the in-auguration of a library of the College of
Agriculture, Ejigbo campus of the Uni-versity of Osun, UNIOSUN.
The governor also de-bunked the allegation that his
administration was planning to reduce or can-cel any of the six
campuses of the university.
Aregbesola said the era of empty political prom-ises to the
people had gone for good, adding that he had reservation on the
es-tablishment of the univer-sity at the time it was es-tablished
by the immediate past government because at
the time, the state had chal-lenges with basic education at the
primary and second-ary levels.
The governor promised that the government would use the
available resources at its disposal judiciously to develop and
promote all the campuses of the uni-versity.
He said: The cost of running a university is enormous. It is a
money-guzzling institution with-out corresponding revenue coming to
the covers of the government.
We will join you to make the university great. We have many
things to do. We must ensure that we equip pupils from primary and
second-ary schools with sound edu-cation before sending them to
this university.
That is why we ear-marked N30bn to make basic education
functional and appreciative.
The ANPP chairman, who eulogised the virtues of Chief Obafemi
Awolowo, also disclosed that his party was already considering
adopting the progressive philosophy of the late sage, particularly
on the convic-tion that Nigerians must enjoy free, qualitative and
compulsory education at all levels.
Onu, who attributed inse-curity and religious acrimo-ny as the
major challenges facing the country to poor level of education,
called
for the adoption of the five cardinal programmes of the defunct
Unity Party of Nige-ria, UPN,
He said: With these, the country may be free from the myriad of
problems facing it.
The chairman prom-ised that the political class would do
whatever it could for the unity of the country, adding that Nigeria
had the potential to lead the world.
Our governors have been working; we have vi-able economy, arable
land and wonderful Nigerians.
Self-reliant graduates, our target FUOYE VC
Well provide sound education, says Aregbesola
ABIODUN NEJOADO EKITI
Products of the newly-established Federal University, Oye-Ekiti,
FUOYE, would be job-cre-ators and self-reliant.
The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, said this during the
orientation programme organised for the students at the weekend on
the campus of the insti-tution at Oye-Ekiti.
However, to achieve these objectives, he said all the students
must take courses in entrepreneurial or skill acquisition
pro-grammes, irrespective of their disciplines.
The students, according to him, must also be comput-er literate
and proficient in Information and Communi-cation Technology, ICT,
to be able to interact and compete favourably with their peers in
any part of the globe.
KEMI OLAITANIBADAN
The Commandant General of the Nige-ria Security and Civ-il
Defence Corps, NSCDC, Dr. Ade Abolunrin, at the weekend charged
Nigerias leadership to develop a sus-tainable national agenda which
would move the country forward.
He gave the charge while delivering the second per-sonality
lecture of the Faculty of Education, Uni-versity of Ibadan,
entitled; Civil Populace, Internal Security and National
De-velopment: Any Hope?
Abolurin said such an agenda and development plan would work
only if it reflected the wishes and as-pirations of Nigeria,
Nigeri-ans and the federating units.
He said only people-
Leaders must drive Nigerias growth
KEMI OLAITANIBADAN
Oyo State Govern-ment said it would dredge 38 streams across the
state to prevent flood, following warning by the National
Emergen-cy Management Agency, NEMA, that the South-West would still
experi-ence a lot of rain.
The Commissioner for Environment and Habi-tat, Mr. Wasiu Dauda,
who
made the disclosure while speaking with journalists in Ibadan at
the weekend, said the dredging would cost over N300m.
He said the government had already dredged 43 streams in its bid
to ensure a flood-free period through-out the raining season.
The commissioner said the government was leav-ing no stone
unturned to prevent a repeat of the Au-gust 26, 2011 flood disaster
in any part of the state.
Dauda disclosed that Governor Abiola Ajimobi held a meeting with
stake-holders last week on how to curb flooding in the state.
The decision to dredge 38 more streams, according to him, was
taken at the meet-ing.
The commissioner add-ed that the World Bank had also signified
its intention to assist the government in finding lasting solution
to the problem of flooding in the state, especially in
Ibadan.He said that the appro-
priate authorities in the state would soon commence the removal
of structures blocking free flow of water in the flood prone
areas.
Dauda said that officials of the ministry were mov-ing round
markets and other important places across the state to educate the
people on the need to stop dumping refuse in the streams.
On the threat by the
women sweepers to stage a nude protest over alleged cut in their
salary and the non-payment of their June salary, the commissioner
denied the allegation.
According to him, there are two categories of sweep-ers
totalling 1,500.
Sweepers in the first category, he said, were employed by the
Sanitary Inspection Unit of his ministry, while those in the second
category were employed by contractors
handling the supervision of some routes in the state
capital.
He disclosed that while those directly employed were earning
N7,200 month-ly salary, those in the other category were being paid
N6,000 per month by their supervising contractors.
Dauda attributed the non-payment of their June salary to the
recent trans-fer of the sweepers to the State Waste Management
Authority.
oriented policies could en-sure security which had eluded the
country, adding that there must be sincere efforts to wipe out
corrup-tion, eradicate poverty and make human beings the central
concern in the quest for national development.
The NSCDC boss linked the insecurity challenge in the country to
the grad-ual erosion of core values among the people.
He said: I do not see it as a failure of governance or
ineptitude of our secu-rity agencies, rather this menace crept in
through a gradual erosion of our core traditional values; a
col-lapse of our collective ide-als and belief systems. We are no
longer our brothers keepers, problems are no longer shared;
communal living is no longer fashion-able as we drift towards
in-dividualism.
HID Awolowo
Nebo said one of the major policies of the uni-versity was the
focus on the character and all-round development of students in
addition to learning.
He said: We encourage their lecturers to post as-signments for
the students on the web, while students are expected to access them
through the same process and go a little bit by doing a lot of
researches on their own through the internet.
Our problems are self-in-flicted; we can solve them if we are
serious, Onu added.
National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.netMonday, July 30,
20128 South West
ANPP chair seeks adoption of UPN programmes
-
L-R: Chairman, Ojokoro Local Council Development Area, Hon.
Benjamin Olabinjo; Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr.
Aderemi Ibirogba; his Environment counterpart, Mr. Tunji Bello,
during the environmental sanitation monitoring exercise in Lagos,
at the weekend.
464 Lagos retirees to get N2.8bn
Ogun restates commitment to infrastructural developmentFEMI
OYEWESOABEOKUTA
Ogun State govern-ment has reiterated its commitment towards
creating an en-abling environment even as it pledged to build
nec-essary infrastructure for business to thrive in the state.
State Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Otunba Bimbo
Ashiru, gave the assurance over the weekend during a meeting with
the members of the Ogun State Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines
and Agriculture (OGUNC-CIMA) led by their Presi-dent, Bayo
Ikujenyo.
The commissioners assurance was coming against the backdrop of
the alleged threat by in-dustrialists in the state to close
factories and relocate their businesses due to the sorry state of
infrastruc-ture in the state.
Ashiru said the pres-ent administration in the
HAKEEM GBADAMOSIAKURE
The Anglican Bishop of Owo Diocese, Rt. Rev. James Oladun-joye,
has urged President Goodluck Jonathan to ar-rest the sponsors of
the dreaded Islamic sect, Boko Haram, to save the nation from
disintegration.
The cleric said the in-ability of the Federal Gov-ernment to
arrest the spon-sors of the sect with a view to bringing them to
justice may spell doom for this ad-ministration.
Oladunjoye stated this in a charge he read at the weekend during
the third session of the 10th Syn-od held at the St. Pauls Church,
Ijagba in the Ose Local Government Area of the state.
He said even if the coun-try breaks up, members of the deadly
sect would still be terrorizing Christians and southerners in their
midst and the problem could lead to a full blown war when the
attacked de-cides to carry arms against their aggressor.
state was not oblivious of its promise of creating what it
called Ogun Stan-dard which ensures the survival of every business
through the provision of necessary infrastructure.
Speaking further, the commissioner said con-trary to the claims
in some quarters, the bad roads leading to the Ag-bara Industrial
Estate
and such other areas belonged to the Federal Government;
stressing that the state government had taken it upon itself to
rehabilitate such roads in order to make them mo-torable.
The commissioner also disclosed that the state government has
embarked on the rehabilitation of other federal roads in the
state as part of its efforts to attract more investors.
He, however, enjoined investors and companies already operating
in the industrial estates within the state to pay their taxes and
levies regularly to en-able the state government raise funds for
the provi-sion of needed infrastruc-ture in such industrial ar-eas
and the state at large.
Monarch commends Aregbesola on council creation
Cleric urges Jonathan to arrest Boko Haram sponsors
WALE FOLARINOSOGBO
The Ataoja of Osogbo, Oba Jimoh Olanipe-kun, has commended the
Osun State governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, for em-barking on the
process of creating more local govern-ment councils in the
state.
The monarch, who gave the commendation in his palace while
addressing members of the Osogbo Solidarity Support Group (OSSG),
who paid him a courtesy visit, described the move as a welcome
de-
velopment which would further enhance the growth and development
of the state.
His words: The gover-nors intention to create more local
government council is a laudable one. It is a unique move that must
be commended and we must salute the governor for his vision and
foresight.
The royal father also commended the governor for the
construction of the Ayegbaju international market in Osogbo, the
state capital, saying that the move showed the commit-
ment of the governor to the growth of the state.
Describing the move as a step in the right direction, Oba
Olanipekun said the market will go a long way in transforming the
state capital from a glorified lo-cal government area to a modern
state capital.
Speaking on the occa-sion, the President of the OSSG, Alhaji
Kamorudeen Yusuf Efe, urged the mon-arch to impress the need to
contribute to the progress and development of the town by the
indigenes both at home and abroad.
August 1, 2012. Hussein said the exer-
cise is a follow-up to the fifth Retirement Bond pre-sentation
ceremony, adding that the Retirement Bond Certificate represents
ac-crued pension rights made up of gratuity and pension
entitlements before March 31, 2007 when the Contribu-tory Pension
Scheme com-menced in the state.
He added that payment into the Retirement Bene-fits Bond
Redemption fund set aside for the redemp-tion of accrued pension
rights is also religiously pursued.
The Director-Generals words: In the same vein, a pension fund
was also creat-ed and was funded monthly with a view to ensuring
that funds are made avail-able to meet unforeseen pension
liabilities that may arise when, for example more than those
projected to leave service voluntarily choose to do so.
Stressing the commit-ment of the state govern-ment to the
administration of the Contributory Pen-sion Scheme in Nigeria, the
director-general em-phasised that the state had already redeemed
the Re-
WALE FOLARINOSOGBO
Renowned Ifa priest, Chief Ifayemi Ele-buibon, has recom-mended
traditional oath taking for public officers as a panacea to
corruption in the country.
Elebuibon, who made the recommendation while speaking with
jour-nalists at the inaugura-tion of Araba palace and the
installation of chiefs of Araba palace at the House of Culture,
Elebui-bon Estate Osogbo, said the move would go a long way in
curbing corrupt practices among public of-fice holders.
According to him, the rate at which corrup-tion pervades every
fac-ets of our society makes it imperative to compel civil servants
and politi-cal office holders to take their oath of office the
traditional way, adding that the move would in-still fear into such
office holders and make them to serve the people sin-cerely.
He lamented that cor-ruption has dented the
Corruption: Priest wants traditional oath taking for public offi
cers
MURITALA AYINLA
Lagos State gover-nor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN) will redeem
Retirement Bond Certificates worth N2, 788,368,394.27 to 464
retir-ees who have served the state diligently for the bet-ter part
of their lives.
Director-General of the Lagos State Pension Commission, Mr.
Rotimi Adekunle Hussain, who re-vealed this, said the 464 re-tirees
would be presented with the Retirement Bond Certificates on
Wednesday,
tirement Bond Certificates worth N7, 544, 922, 856, 70k into the
Retirement Sav-ings Accounts of 1, 471 re-tirees in five
batches.
Hussain encouraged the retirees to endeavour to fol-low and
understand fully, the procedure of retire-ment benefit
documenta-tion in order to facilitate quick access to their RSA,
urging them to carefully weigh the two exit options of Programmed
Withdraw-al by the Pension Fund Ad-ministrators and Annuity for
Life by Insurance Com-panies and make the best choice.
National Mirrorwww.nationalmirroronline.net 9Monday, July 30,
2012 South West
image of the country to the extent that Nigerians abroad and
those holding important international positions as well as other
hard-working and honest Nigerians can no longer walk with their
shoulders high.
The traditionalist, who is the Araba of Osogbo also pointed out
that since independence, corrup-tion has contributed im-mensely to
the lack of growth and development in the country. He added that
rather than helping to curb corruption, the civil service has
contrib-uted to the perpetration of the shameful act through their
collaboration with politicians in their bid to corner the resources
of the people.
His words: The situa-tion in the country is very disheartening,
you wake up daily and hear of bil-lions that are misappro-priated
and the people are living in abject poverty. If we want to
eradicate the menace, we should go back to our root and make
traditional oath taking into public office a nation-al affair.
Oladunjoyes words: The sponsors of Boko Ha-ram are no longer in
gov-ernment or in the corridors of power which they believe is
their birthright. They are those that had been pushed away from
controlling the national cake.
We have said it with all emphasis, that the sponsors of this
sect are well known to those in government es-pecially the
President.
What the President seems to have forgotten is that the country
does not belong to the Muslims alone and if he continues to keep
quiet on these atroci-ties, it can lead to disinte-gration under
his tenure.
Jonathan
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National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net10 South East
Monday, July 30, 2012
Gunmen abduct Anambra traditional ruler Gunmen yesterday
kidnapped Robert Chukwudilim Eze, the traditional ruler of Ukpo
community in Du-nukofia Local Government Area of Anambra State.
Eze, who is also related to Chief Arthur Eze, a business
magnate, was ab-ducted around 11.20a.m. in
his palace, after attending a church service at St. Marys
Anglican Church, Upko.
A witness told the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, that the
traditional ruler had just alighted from his black Hilux security
van when the assailants ab-ducted him.
The witness said that
four gunmen stormed the palace in a green jeep and shot at the
vehicle when the traditional ruler, his driver and his personal
assistant refused to open the vehicles door.
The Hilux van was rid-dled with bullets, while two of its tyres
were de-flated, apparently punc-
tured by the bullets.Besides, there were
also some royal beads scattered on the ground, while some bullet
shells had been picked by the Divisional Police Officer in-charge
of the area, who was conducting prelimi-nary investigations.
Confirming the inci-
dent, the state Police Pub-lic Relations Officer, Mr. Raphael
Uzoigwe, said the command had launched an investigation into the
matter.
He said: The kidnap was carried out by four men who operated in
a jeep after the traditional ruler attended a church
service at St. Marys Church.
Nobody was shot or killed; the gunmen only shot sporadically
into the air to scare people away.
We are making ar-rangements to liberate the traditional ruler;
we have begun combing the area.
DENNIS AGBOENUGU
All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, said at the weekend that
the crisis rocking the party was not a signpost to its breakup.
The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Ber-nad Akoma,
who said this in a statement, disclosed that the crisis would make
the party stronger, focused and more united at the end.
He said that APGA, from inception, was a party built on a solid
spirit of being ones brothers keeper.
Akoma also disclosed that contrary to specula-
tions in the media of a grand design to do away with some of the
party leaders, APGA had no intention to expel the arrowheads of the
party, es-pecially Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State.
He said: The leadership of the party has not at any level
discussed, conceived nor muted the idea to sus-pend not to talk of
expel-ling Mr. Peter Obi from the party, despite the seeming
disagreement now rocking the party.
We, the members, recog-nise the fact that APGA as a party has
stood on a tri-pod of three personalities which include Mr. Peter
Obi, our late leader Dim
Chukwuemeka Odimegwu Ojukwu and of course our National Chairman,
Sir Victor Umeh.
The party, at all times, has accorded due regard and maximum
respect to its leaders and this does not include rewarding them
with expulsion. The crisis in the party now, which is a mere family
squabble, has not degenerated to the level of throwing over board
the huge contributions invested by these individuals as to
denigrate them with threats of suspension or expulsion from the
party.
Akoma noted that publi-cations in some media about plans to
expel Obi from the
party could best be described as the figment of the writers
imagination, stressing that Obi remained a strong fac-tor and a
pillar of the party from which APGA drew its strength and
inspirations.
Even in the face of the present bickering in the par-ty, the
National Chairman, Victor Umeh, in a show of large heart, has
continued to extend invitation to Obi for the partys forthcoming
National Executive Coun-cil, NEC, meeting sched-uled for
August.
This further demon-strates that the party has no problem with
its gover-nor in Anambra State, he added.
No plans to expel Obi, says APGA
UNN moves to boost livestock production
L-R:General Manager, Interfact, Mr. D. Deshmanker, Anambra State
Governor Peter Obi, Managing Director, SABmiller, Nigeria, Mr.
Johan de Kok and Business Development Manager, Peter Stuttart,
during the inspection of ongoing work at the site of the brewery
construction in Onitsha, Anambra State, at the weekend.
DENNIS AGBOENUGU
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the Uni-versity of Nigeria,
Nsukka, UNN, will soon acquire diagnostic equip-ment to boost
sustainable livestock production in ru-ral areas.
The institutions Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Barth Okolo, said at a
workshop organised by the faculty that his administration had
approved the purchase of
new diagnostic equipment for the Veterinary Teaching
Hospital.
He said every step made to improve livestock was a step in the
right direction.
The Vice-Chancellor, who spoke through the Dean of the faculty,
Prof. C. N. Uchendu, said the work-shop was timely consider-ing the
great potentials which the university had in the area of research
and personnel.
He described the Veteri-nary Teaching Hospital as
a one stop facility which helps to teach farmers the current
trends in livestock production and the only channel through which
the public can benefit and improve their livestock pro-duction.
The Director of the Vet-erinary Teaching Hospital who is also
the Coordinator of the workshop, Dr. C. A. Eze, noted that this was
the first time the hospital was organising the event.
He said the workshop came at a time when vet-
erinary profession and other allied professions as well as
stakeholders in the livestock industry were re-quired to partner to
make agriculture a business for sustainable economic de-velopment
nationwide.
SOLA ADEBAYOWARRI
Oil workers under the aegis of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum
and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, yesterday resumed opera-tions,
hours after the sus-pension of the nationwide strike embarked upon
in solidarity with indepen-dent petroleum products marketers over
unpaid subsidy claims, among other issues affecting the oil
industry.
The strike was called-off after a meeting between the Federal
Government del-egation and labour leaders in Abuja on Friday
night.
Consequently, the Pe-troleum Tanker Drivers, PTD, a strategic
wing of NUPENG, resumed normal loading of petroleum prod-ucts
across the country yes-terday.
Also, members of De-pots and Petroleum Prod-ucts Marketers
Association of Nigeria, DAPMAN, and Jetty and Petroleum Tank Farm
Owners of Nigeria, JEPTFON, have returned to their duty posts.
Investigation showed that all public and private loading depots
and jetties, which were deserted since Thursday when the strike
commenced, came alive yesterday.
In Warri, Delta State, our correspondent, who visited Warri
Refinery Depot, oper-ated by the Nigerian Nation-al Petroleum
Corporation, NNPC, reported that tanker drivers and oil dealers
re-sumed normal loading and supply of petroleum prod-ucts across
the country.
However, in-house engi-neers yesterday continued the battle to
bring Warri Refinery and Petrochemical Company, WRPC, back on
stream, five days after it was shut down.
Meanwhile, the Chair-man of the Independent Petroleum Marketers
Asso-ciation of Nigeria, IPMAN, Delta State chapter, Chief Akpos
Edafevwotu, hailed the speedy resolution of the impasse.
Edafevwotu, in an inter-view with our correspon-dent, confirmed
that IP-MAN had resumed steady supply of petroleum prod-ucts to the
public.
Oil workers resume, as Warri Refinery remains shutPTD begins
loading of petroleum products
WALE IGBINTADE
The National Indus-trial Court, NIC, sit-ting in Lagos will
today begin hearing in a N970m suit filed by former employees of
the Zenith Bank over alleged termina-tion of their
appointments.
The presiding judge, Jus-tice F. I. Kola-Olalere, had, in a
ruling, dismissed the request of the bank seek-ing stay of
proceedings and described the application as an abuse of court
process.
The bank had, in a pre-liminary objection, chal-
lenged the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the suit,
contending that the case did not disclose any reasonable course of
ac-tion.
But, Mrs. Kola-Olalere held that the court had ju-risdiction to
hear the suit and declared that the ob-jection raised by the bank
lacked merit.
Counsel to the bank, Mr. Kola Awodeyin, SAN, then appealed
against the ruling and urged the court to stay proceedings, pending
the hearing and determination of the suit at the Court of
Appeal.
Court hears N970m suit against bank today
Education Minister, Prof. Ruqayyatu Rufai
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National Mirrorwww.nationalmirroronline.net 11Monday, July 30,
2012 South South
Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, during the
inspection of the de-flooding process in Warri, at the weekend.
13 die in Ore-Benin Expressway auto crash
Dickson canvasses private-sector driven economies in Africa EMMA
GBEMUDUYENAGOA
Bayelsa State governor, Seriake Dickson, has advocated for
private sector driven economies to foster rapid development among
African countries.
Dickson said economic relations in the continent should go
beyond the for-mal government to govern-ment framework, stressing
that diplomatic relations should support and deepen economic
policies.
The governor, who spoke at the weekend in Yenagoa, at a business
meeting with a South African delegation led by the wife of its
President, Nompumelelo Zuma, rea-soned that the essence of Afri-can
unity would be lost, if the process of economic regional
integration was not targeted in making life meaningful for an
average man.
While stressing the need for mutually beneficial trade relations
between Bayelsa State and South Af-rica, Dickson called for the
harnessing of Africas re-
The Delta State govern-ment yesterday said it will step on toes
in its bid to de-flood the oil city of Warri and other flood-prone
areas of the state.
To this end, the state gov-ernment said it will demol-ish houses
and other struc-tures on natural waterways to achieve this.
Speaking to journalists at the weekend in Warri while monitoring
the last sanitation exercise, Gover-nor Emmanuel Uduaghan said: We
will step on toes of anybody in our desire to de-flood Warri and
other parts of the state; we must get it right this time around,
hence we are ready to step on toes of anybody obstruct-ing the free
flow of water in our cities and towns.
According to the gover-nor, If you have built on natural water
channels, we will come after you and pull down your structure. I
have directed the Commissioner
for Environment, who is go-ing around with me in the monitoring
exercise to bring down all structures blocking easy flow of water
and no-body can intimidate us.
I am happy with the way the environment com-missioner is going
about the directive I gave him. What we are doing is for the good
of our people and there is no stopping us.
Addressing the residents of Otirikpen Street, off Odion in the
McDermott Road area of Warri, Gover-nor Uduaghan said: Most of the
flooding that we have in this environment is man-made. People just
open their eyes and build structures on natural waterways. Others
dump their refuse right on the drainage. Of course wa-ter will
always find a way to go through and that is what has been
happening. And it has no way to pass that is why the whole place is
get-ting flooded.
sources to liberate the con-tinent from the shackles of
under-development.
His words: My deci-sion to visit South Africa shortly after my
election was informed by the fact that Africa has come of age
.There is nothing the conti-nent cannot achieve if both Nigeria and
South Africa agree to work together. My administration is
commit-
ted to encourage private sector participation and di-versify the
states economy by veering into tourism, ag-riculture and
aqua-culture.
A bill seeking to estab-lish the Bayelsa State De-velopment
Corporation to manage the assets of gov-ernment will be forwarded
to the legislature within the shortest possible time to underline
the states com-
mitment to making mas-sive investments in every sector of the
economy.
The governor said when established, the corpora-tion would
establish offices in South Africa, Brazil, United States of
America, United Kingdom and India, to adequately explore busi-ness
opportunities in these countries to the full advan-tage of the
state.
Development in aviation sector, vindication for Akpabio
Delta govt to demolish structures on waterways
The massive ongoing development proj-ects being embarked upon by
the Akwa Ibom State governor, Chief God-swill Akpabio, especially
in the aviation sector, have been described as world class and of
immense na-tional interest with great relevance to the people.
This disclosure was made by the Special Assis-tant on Media to
the Akwa Ibom State governor, Mr. Jackson Udom, following the
recommendation of the Technical Administra-tive Review Panel set up
by the Federal Government to
investigate the June 3, 2012 Dana plane crash in Lagos, that
government should fast-track the completion of the Maintenance,
Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facil-ity at the Akwa Interna-tional
Airport, Uyo.
According to Udom, The recommendation of Air Commodore John
Obakpolor on the MRO facility in Akwa Ibom is a vindication of the
efforts of Governor Akpabio in the aviation sector in the
state.
The recommendation shows that all his projects are of
international stan-dard and they are impor-
AMOUR UDEMUDEASABA
The forum for Justice and Human Rights Defence (FJHD) has
condemned in its entirety the hosting of the African first ladies
summit in Abu-ja, describing it as a jambo-ree and a waste of
public funds by the Presidency.
A statement signed by the groups National Coor-dinator, Mr.
Oghenejabor Ikimi and made available to National Mirror in Asaba
said; FJHD condemned in its entirety the African first ladies
summit in Abu-ja when youth unemploy-ment, pandemic poverty,
insecurity, public infra-structural decay, hunger and official
corruption etc;
Rights group condemns African fi rst ladies summit
OLUSEGUN KOIKI AND SEBASTINE EBHUOMHAN
At least 13 people were burnt to death in a fatal accident that
occurred early yester-day morning on the busy Ore-Benin Expressway,
ac-cording to the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC).
The FRSC Deputy Corps Public Education Officer, Mr. Bisi Kazeem
and the Unit Commander of FRSC Toll Gate Office, Mr. Ameen
Adewale, said the accident occurred at about 7.45 am around
Kilometre 53 at a point before Ofosu town in Edo State.
The accident reportedly involved two vehicles: a fully loaded
Toyota Hiace bus with the inscription: Anam-bra Mass Transit
Company with registration number: Lagos YB 610 EPE and an Iveco
truck with registration number: Lagos AAA 962 XB.
The bus was heading to Awka from Lagos while the truck was
heading to Lagos
from an unknown destination. While FRSC officials at
the scene said a total of 16 people, all male and most of whom
were passengers of the bus, were involved in the accident that left
13 people dead while the life of three other passengers were said
to be hanging precariously on life support facility.
It was reliably gathered that the accident resulted from traffic
rule violation as the bus driver was said to be driving against the
traffic.
National Mirror learnt
that as the bus drove against the traffic, facing the Iveco
truck that was de-scending a slope as a result of which there was a
head on collision.
Kazzem said both the dead and the injured were taken to Shiloh
Hospital in Ugbogui town for treat-ment while the corpses of the
dead passengers were deposited at the hospital mortuary for
embalmment and identification.
He added that one of the injured passengers is being
kept alive by an oxygen sup-port machine as at the time of
filing this report.
It is unfortunate that the avoidable accident was caused by the
driver of the Anambra Mass Transit bus, who without any rea-son
drove against traffic on the Benin-Ore lane. In his violation of
road ethics, he rammed into an oncoming Iveco truck descending a
slope and that action re-sulted in a head-on colli-sion.
The bus was coming
from Lagos carrying trad-ers dealing in electronics. Thirteen
out of the 16 pas-sengers in the bus died instantly including the
driver. Two other passen-gers in the truck survived the crash,
which occurred about a kilometer away from the boundary between
Ondo and Edo State before Okada town, Kazzem said.
The accident resulted in a gridlock for much of the morning
before FRSC of-ficials cleared the road to ease the traffic.
have reached their zenith nationwide.
The group called on President Goodluck Jona-than to wake up from
his slumber by urgently roll-ing out the blue-print of its
transformation agenda for implementation for the benefit of the
downtrodden and traumatised masses of the nation or in the
alterna-tive tenders his resignation forthwith before he is
dis-graced out of office.
The group also called on all erring state governors of the
federation, whom they said have failed to democra-tise local
government areas in their various states to toe the line of Section
7 of the 1999 Constitution before they incur the wrath of the
people.
Akpabio
tant not only to the state but also the country. You will recall
that the governor not only built the airport from the scratch, he
approved the overhaul of the MRO facility and has promised that it
would be completed any time soon.
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National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net12 Monday, July 30,
2012 North
CHINEDUM EMEANAPORT HARCOURT
As the arguments for the creation of more states in Nige-ria
continued, the Tiv com-munity in the South-South has expressed its
support for the creation of a state for the Tiv from the present
Benue State.
Speaking at a civic re-ception by Mzough U Tiv (MUT) in the
South-South in honour of five of its sons who have excelled in
their careers, Engr. Ben Akaa-kar, President-General of the Tiv
group in the South-South said the creation of a state for Tiv
people is also an aspiration for Tivs in the southern part of the
coun-try.
He said Tivs are about the fifth largest tribe in Ni-geria,
scattered in several
states, but dont have a state of their own, describing it as an
anomaly.
The Tiv group in the South-South, we have an as-piration. The
Tiv people are now in five different states of the country and Tiv,
be-ing about the fourth or fifth largest tribe in Nigeria, are the
only people who dont have a state of their own.
This is an anomaly in present day Nigeria and we will like that
to be cor-rected, if the constitution is going to be amended.
He said the Tiv should have two or three states of their own so
that they can also develop the place and contribute more to the
Ni-gerian project.
Also speaking on the im-perative of a state for the Tivs, Mr.
Sebastian Hon SAN, said he supports the struggle 100 percent.
Gunmen kill Air Force officer, orderly, driver, others
Members of the Joint Task Force (JTF) stationed in Lokoja, Kogi
State, yesterday intercepted 20 vehicles conveying more than 103
children to an un-known destination.
The JTF Commander, Lt-Col. Gabriel Olorun-yomi, made this known
in Lokoja yesterday.
He said his men became curious when they discov-ered that the
occupants of the vehicles were mostly children, accompanied by some
men and women.
He said the vehicles and the occupants had been taken to the
Army Records Headquarters in Lokoja, where they would be screened
to ascertain their actual destination.
Olorunyomi, however, said that 103 of the pas-sengers were
children with ages between three and 16 years, while 79 oth-ers
were of 19 years to 53.
He said preliminary in-vestigations revealed that the vehicles
were convey-ing the passengers from different communities in Benue,
Cross Rivers and
Kogi States. Most of the passen-
gers are from Obi, Oju and Gwer Local Government Areas of Benue,
while the remaining few are from Iyala Local Government Area of
Cross Rivers and Olamaboro Local Govern-ment Area of Kogi, he
said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that all the
passengers, apart from giving similar excuses for their move-ment
from their various communities, also said that they were all
head-ing to Ondo, Ekiti, Osun, Oyo, Ogun, Lagos and Edo States.
NAN also learnt that most of the passengers conceded that they
were heading to the South-West states for the first time in search
of vacation jobs, while some said that they wanted to go and work
in the farm in those states.
Two of the drivers, Bo-laji Olusola and Adedeji Oluwaseun, told
journal-ists that they picked up the passengers at motor parks.
They said some of the passengers paid their transport fares at
the load-ing points, while some promised to pay theirs when they
got to their des-tinations.
NAN recalls that the JTF on July 27 arrested a man conveying 10
chil-dren with ages ranging between six years and 16 in an ash
coloured Camry car to Lagos.
The man, who was ar-rested on the same route, was later handed
over to the police for interroga-tion.
Also speaking to jour-nalists, the Commander of Army Records,
Maj-Gen, Alphonsus Chukwu, said the children might be victims of
child traffick-ing.
He said initial interro-gations revealed that the children would
be received at their destinations by some yet-to-be-identified
persons, who would then pay their transport fares to the
drivers.
Chukwu said the driv-ers were also suspected to be accomplices,
as they
failed to produce the pas-sengers manifest and agreed to carry
many of the passengers without collecting their transport fares at
the loading points.
The army officer said the vehicles, drivers and passengers would
be transferred to the police for proper investigations and
action.
Chukwu, however, said that the development in-dicated that many
parents had failed in their respon-sibility toward their chil-drens
upbringing.
He urged parents to take proper care of their children so as to
ensure that they did not fall into wrong hands.
Trafficking: JTF intercepts 20 vehicles with 103 children
AUGUSTINE MADU-WESTKANO
An unidentified Air Force Officer, his driver and orderly were
among five persons killed in Kano yesterday in separate operations
by suspected Boko Haram
terrorists.The gunmen, on motor
bikes were said to have ambushed an air force staff car
belonging to the Air Force Director of Fi-nance. It was, however,
not certain as at press time whether the director was in the car
when the gun-
Tivs in South-South lend support for Tiv state
L-R : Emir of Birnin Gwari, Malam Zubair Jibril; representative
of the Emir of Zazzau, Sarki Fadan Zazzau, Alhaji Abbas Ahmed
Fatikan and Sheikh Ahmed Abubakar Gumi, during the 7th Annual
Ramadan Lecture in Kaduna, at the weekend.
IGP, Muhammed Abubakar
MESHACK IDEHEN
Pan-African proprie-tary investment com-pany, Heirs Holdings,
has said it has made execu-tive level appointments in three key
subsidiaries, in-cluding the appointment of a Group Chief Operating
Officer, as part of the new operating structure of the company.
The company said also that the new appointments underscore Heirs
Holdings focus on the financial ser-vices, energy, agribusiness,
real estate and hospitality sectors, including its com-mitment to
attracting senior management talent, even as the firm continues to
de-ploy its proprietary