The Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo has said that Nigeria would deploy extreme measures to curb violent extremism which has stunted economic growth over the years.

The Vice President made this disclosure at a special dialogue session on democracy, human rights and countering violent extremism in Abuja on Monday.

The dialogue, which had the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, as the special guest,  formed part of activities lined up for his two-day visit.

Osinbajo said the government must intervene directly in some cases in providing job opportunities and also offering an alternative narrative to the one of extremism and violence.

“All positions, no matter how exposed, ride upon some modicum of truth though often perverted which the poor and the rejected may well find convincing. Government must seek progressive allies to ensure the radical strain does not grow and predominate. We must acknowledge, expose and provide convincing reasons and in a language understandable by the target audience as false or misleading,’’ he said.

The Vice President further said that government needed to be held accountable to promote sustainable development.

He also added that there was need to introduce a bottom-up social and economic planning approach to strengthen democracy and build a transparent and inclusive society.

He gave assurance of Nigeria’s support to the provisions of the sustainable development goals, SDGs, and the country’s commitment to support smaller countries in line with the Addis Ababa Action Agenda.

The UN scribe in his response, while urging Nigeria to support the SDGs, said the global body would continue to support it in its stride towards economic growth and development of human capital.

President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, yesterday in Abuja said Nigeria would be able to produce enough rice and sugar in the next four years for local consumption and export.

He added that this was in addition to other commodities presently being produced locally.

Dangote made this declaration during a meeting he held with the Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon, in the company of other Nigerian major entrepreneurs.

Dangote noted that Nigeria would be a global hub for massive food production in the next couple of years if its huge potentials were tapped.

He added that the country would soon become the largest exporter of petroleum products and fertilizer going by the massive financial investment his companies were making into the country.

He said Nigeria’s full potential would only be reached if the war on corruption being prosecuted by the current administration was allowed to be effective.

“The war on corruption will enable government to have better outcome on any naira or dollar earned or spent,” he said.

He, however, advised the government and local business players to focus more on the non-oil sectors of the economy which he said were veritable revenue spinners.

The UN scribe, earlier in the parley advised Nigerian business men support the rapid achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, SDG, in Nigeria.

He also said the nation should harness the huge global goodwill it was enjoying at present to solve its developmental challenges.

“No country or institution can solve its challenge alone; we must harness the power of the private sector and civil society for share of solution to the complex challenges. We need to build all-inclusive global partnership with the future of accountability and for share of responsibility; we must leverage on our comparative strength, capacities and resources to achieve meaningful result,” he said.

By Musdapha Ilo, Maiduguri

At least six people are feared dead and 22 others injured in twin bomb explosions at a motor park in Damaturu, Yobe State capital, the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, and the police in the state have confirmed.

The injured are said to be receiving treatment at the General Hospital in the town while the corpses have been deposited at the morgue.

Bashir Idris Garga, NEMA’s head of response in the state, told our correspondent on phone, that the blasts occurred at the Central Motor park in the centre of the town, and at the Pompomari area.

He added that the blasts occurred around 7am when a teenage girl detonated an improvised explosive device tied around her. “The girl was accosted by those manning the entrance to the motor park and while they were trying to search her, she detonated the bomb, which had a major impact on an already loaded bus that was taking off. This killed four persons instantly and resulted in the injuring of 22 others, six of which were critical injured,” Garga said.

The NEMA chief said the second blast took place at Pompomari area of the town when a man suspected a little boy of carrying a bomb but in the process of taking the boy to security agents, the bomb went off, killing the two.

The police spokesperson in the state, Toyin Gbadegesin, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, DSP, confirmed the death of six persons in the two bomb blasts.

Meanwhile, the Yobe state governor, Ibrahim Gaidam has described the explosions as callous, senseless and condemnable.

He called on residents to be more prayerful and vigilant as the state wrestles with insurgency.

The governor, who said this via a press statement issued by his spokesman, Abdullahi Bego said he had been fully briefed on the latest twin tragedies.

Bego said the governor was heartbroken over the incident and had promised to foot the medical bills of the injured persons.

By Liberty Oseni

Nigeria’s Millennium Development Goals (MDG) office spent N154.2 million to construct a single borehole in Abuja, in what appears a shocking example of contract inflation that has helped undermine the country’s ability to achieve its MDG goals.

Drilling a single borehole in Abuja averages N1.5 million. A hydrology firm told PREMIUM TIMES that amount should cover drilling and casing, installation of a solar-powered submersible pump, steel tower for the tanks, tanks, pipes, joints & suckers, installation and labour.

The firm allowed an expanded estimate of N10 million if a water treatment facility is included alongside other optional accessories.

The Abuja borehole, constructed at Gwarinpa, an expansive estate in the federal capital, had no such fittings. Indeed, the borehole had long become dysfunctional and was no longer dispensing water to the residents when PREMIUM TIMES visited in June 2015.

Still, the Abuja MDG office told this newspaper it was more concerned with service delivery to the people, than the amount it takes to do so.

The eight target goals of the MDGs, set at the Millennium Summit of the United Nations in 2000, are eradication of extreme poverty and hunger; achieving universal primary education; promotion of gender equality; reduction of child mortality; improvement of maternal health; combating HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases; ensuring environmental sustainability and developing a global partnership for development.

In 2010/2011 alone, N249.26billion was channelled through Nigeria’s federal ministries, departments and agencies, “Quick Wins” (Constituency projects, but now called Special projects), Conditional Grants Scheme (CGS) to state governments, and Special presidential interventions for MDGs programmes and projects.

Analysts say poor execution of projects, racketeering, inflation of contracts, and other contractual breaches are some of the factors responsible for Nigeria’s inability to achieve its MDG goals.

The Gwanrinpa borehole, constructed at N154, 242,200, according to the contract and budget papers obtained by PREMIUM TIMES, is located at Galadima ‘I’ community of the estate.

The contract was awarded to Zarm Global Service on March 28, 2008. The company has no address, contact person or telephone number.

Another N110.6 million was paid for the construction of a borehole at Tungan Nasara community of Jiwa Ward in Abuja Municipal Area Council. The contract was awarded to Global And Global Venture Limited on March 29, 2008. Also, the company has no address or contact person.

When our reporter visited one of the project sites supposedly executed by the MDG office at a primary school in Dutse Alhaji community and another in Kubwa area of Abuja, there were no signs of any projects in the areas.

Residents of the area told PREMIUM TIMES that the borehole had stopped working immediately after its completion. According to budget details, N8, 802,185 was paid for the construction of the borehole.

Obinna Okafor, a representative of the company in charge of the project, Hunnigdale International Limited, provided no details beyond saying the project was moved from its initial site to Gbazango West Layout of Kubwa.

At Nanda Community of Agyana Pandagi Ward in Abaji Area Council, Abuja, a borehole constructed at N8.1 million was also not functional.

Ochiez Signature, which won the contract, has no office address. Its manager, Onu Clement, told our reporter the firm operates from his house at New Nyanya in Nasarawa State.

Investigation revealed that a greater percentage of the 1,333 projects executed by the Abuja office of the MDGs between 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2011 in Abuja communities, were either below the set standard or had been abandoned by contractors.

When PREMIUM TIMES sought the response of the MDGs office regarding the construction of a single borehole at the cost of N154, 242,200, and the poor state of the projects, the director of projects at the office, Mr. Dalhatu, said he could not discuss issues of contract or speak for the companies.

Although an official who spoke on the condition of anonymity faulted the payment of N154 million for drilling of a single borehole, he said they were more interested in seeing the projects working, and that they will check available records, and consult with the MDGs focal person to find out what the problem was.

This report first appeared on Premium Times. We have their permission to republish.

By Musdapha Ilo

Switzerland has promised to partner with countries affected by Boko Haram insurgency in reconstructing insurgency ravaged areas and resettling displaced persons.

Switzerland’s Charge de Affairs and acting Ambassador to Nigeria, Daniel Cavegn, stated this on Monday when he visited Maiduguri, Borno state, the worst hit state in the six years insurgency, adding that one of the areas of collaboration, especially with the state government, is agriculture because of its job creation potentials.

Governor Kashim Shettima, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Usman Jidda Shuwa, welcomed the partnership, saying the state needs any help it can get to get back on its feet, as the destruction caused by the war is beyond the resources of both the state and federal governments.

“Considering the situation in which we found ourselves and the meagre resources at our disposal, there is the need for foreign partners and international organisations to come to the aid of the state especially in the reconstruction, rehabilitation and resettlement of the destroyed communities,” he stated.

The governor observed that “Infrastructures such as schools, hospitals, roads, bridges, electrical facilities, public and private residential houses, water facilities, telecommunication facilities, Army and Police barracks and many more have been completely destroyed and require reconstruction and replacements.”

Apart from affecting Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Gombe and other states in the north, including Abuja, the nation’s capital, the insurgency has also caused problems in neighbouring the countries of Cameroon, Chad and Niger, a development that necessitated the creation of a regional force to end and stem its spread.

The Bayelsa State government on Monday said that it would not relent until it uncovers the cause of the July 9, 2015, pipeline explosion that killed 14 persons in Agip oil field in the state.

The government noted that with the support of relevant agencies in the state, it had launched an investigation into the tragedy with the aim of preventing future occurrences.

This was made known the Bayelsa State Commissioner for Environment, Iniruo Will, who also said that the state government was committed carrying out an exhaustive investigation into the incident.

He said officials of the state Ministry of Environment, oil Industry regulators and the Police were providing support to the government in its bid to discover what caused the blast.

“The governor had made clear commitments to ensure that there is full accountability in this matter and there will be comprehensive investigations, there is no reason to think that either the state government or indeed the governor will back down on that,” he said.

He said that the magnitude of the disaster had shown a lot of areas where laxity on the part of some agencies was immediately apparent.

He said that the state government was in the meantime putting in place immediate measures to ensure that the tragedy does not reoccur.

However, he insisted that those found wanting in the incident would be appropriately sanctioned.

“One thing I can assure you of is that this is not a matter that that can go away just like that, the state government is fully prepared and the governor is committed to ensuring that the right thing is done. And we will expect that all parties, all stakeholders all concerned would also play their part,” he said.

He noted that the attention the issue was already generating globally would not allow the matter to be swept under the carpet.

He equally explained that the state had unveiled a policy tagged, “Lives before oil’ to ensure that safety standards are adhered to strictly by all parties involved.

It will be recalled that a regulatory official of the National Oil Spills Detection and Response Agency, NOSDRA, and 12 maintenance crew members were amongst the victims that died in the blast.

The National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno, a retired Major General, has constituted an investigative committee on the procurement of arms and ammunitions by the armed forces from 2007.

This is in line with the presidential directive given to him according to a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina.

According to the press release, the investigative committee will seek to identify irregularities in the procurement process of the armed forces and also make recommendations for streamlining the procurement process in the future.

“The establishment of the investigative committee is in keeping with President Buhari’s determination to stamp out corruption and irregularities in Nigeria’s public service. It comes against the background of the myriad of challenges that the Nigerian Armed Forces have faced in the course of ongoing counter-insurgency operations in the Northeast, including the apparent deficit in military platforms with its attendant negative effects of troops’ morale,” the statement noted.

It added also that the committee would investigate allegations of non-adherence to correct equipment procurement procedures and the exclusion of relevant logistics branches from arms procurement under past administrations, which, it observed had resulted in the acquisition of sub-standard and unserviceable equipment.

Members of the committee are J.O.N. Ode, a retired Air Vice Marshal, who will be chairman, J.A. Aikhomu, a retired Air Air Admiral, E. Ogbor, a retired Air Admiral, L. Adekagun, a retired Brigadier General, M. Aminu-Kano, a retired Brigadier General, and N. Rimtip, a retired Brigadier General.

Others are T.D. Ikoli, a Commodore, U. Mohammed, a retired Air Commodore, I. Shafi’i, an Air Commodore, A.A. Ariyibi, a Colonel, C.A. Oriaku, a retired Group Captain, Ibrahim Magu, an Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, official and Y.I. Shalangwa, a Brigadier General

Nigerian Soldiers have over the years decried the obsolete quality of weapons at their disposal which they identified as the cause of their serial defeat in the hands of insurgents.

Those who have openly expressed their grievances have been accused of mutiny by the military authorities.
The military recently reinstated hundreds of soldiers who were standing trial over charges of mutiny.

The Inspector-General of Police, IGP, Solomon Arase on Monday redeployed four Deputy Inspectors-General of Police to head various departments and formations as part of efforts to reposition the Force.

According to a statement the police spokesperson, Emmanuel Ojukwu, the deployments take immediate effect.

It listed those affected in the reshuffling exercise as Dan’Azumi Doma who is now the DIG in-charge of Department of Finance and Administration, FHQ Abuja, Kakwe Katso, now DIG in-charge of Force Criminal Intelligence and Investigations Department, Abuja, Chintua Amajor-Onu, DIG, Department of Information and Communications Technology, FHQ Abuja, and Olawale Adeniji, who was transferred to the Department of Research and Planning, FHQ, Abuja.

Those that still retained their positions according to the release are DIG Mamman Tsafe, in charge of Department of Logistics and Supply, FHQ Abuja, Saliu Argungu Hashimu, Department of Training and Development, FHQ Abuja and Sotonye Wakama, Department of Operations, FHQ Abuja.