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Kaduna House Sacks Speaker, Deputy

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Kaduna House Sacks Speaker, Deputy

The Speaker, Kaduna State House of Assembly, Usman Gangara, and his deputy, Dogara Mato, were today impeached by 19 out 34 members of the Assembly.

A new speaker, Shehu Usman Tahir, representing Giwa West Constituency was immediately elected while Peter Adamu representing Kagarko Constituency was elected as new deputy speaker.

Tahir, who addressed journalists shortly after his election, said the impeachment was done out of the desire for change and debunked claims that it was influenced by Vice President Namadi Sambo.

Moves to remove the leadership of the House started last month following allegation of poor leadership and failure to carry members of the Assembly along.

Only 26 lawmakers witnessed the event as the former speaker, his deputy and six other principal officers were absent when the impeachment proceeding presided over by Philemon Usman was carried out.

The aggrieved members had last month issued the former speaker and other principal officers of the house a 30-day ultimatum to resign on grounds of incompetency and alleged gross misconduct.

In January, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC,  arraigned Dogara before a Federal High Court in Kaduna on a six-count charge bordering on contract over-invoicing and criminal diversion of funds to the tune of N17 million.

Ex-FBI Agent Confesses To Leaking Confidential Information

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Ex-FBI Agent Confesses To Leaking Confidential Information

An ex-FBI agent, Donald Sachtleben, has pleaded guilty to leaking national defence information to a reporter about an al-Qaeda bomb plot and to child pornography charges.

The plea agreement calls for him to be sentenced to a total of 140 months in prison – 43 for the national security offenses and 97 for the child pornography charges.

In May 2012, the Associated Press, through the help of Sachtleben, published an article describing a successful effort to disrupt a plot by Yemen-based al-Qaeda militants to bomb a US-bound airliner.

The ex-FBI agent according to a court document signed, said he disclosed secret information to a reporter on May 2, 2012.

Nine days later he was arrested on separate charges of trading images of child pornography online, having been identified during an investigation into another man accused of possession of child pornography and after seizing phone records of the news agency.

Official said the information jeopardised an international intelligence operation and put lives at risk.

“It put the American people at risk, and that is not hyperbole,” US Attorney-General, Eric Holder said, ranking the national security disclosure as among the most serious he had ever seen.

“This unauthorized and unjustifiable disclosure severely jeopardized national security and put lives at risk,” deputy Attorney-General, James Cole said in a statement.

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He added that: “To keep the country safe, the department must enforce the law against such critical and dangerous leaks, while respecting the important role of the press.”

The Associated Press declined to comment on its relationship with Sachtleben, but reported he had pleaded guilty “to revealing secret information for an Associated Press story”.

Sachtleben worked for the FBI as a bomb technician from 1983-2008 and held top secret security clearance.

 

Peace Direct seeks correspondents in Lebanon, Nigeria and Somalia

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Peace Direct seeks correspondents in Lebanon, Nigeria and Somalia

Peace Direct, an international Non-Governmental Organization that supports local peacebuilding in conflict zones worldwide is currently seeking ‘Local Correspondents’ to report on peacebuilding work in Lebanon, Nigeria and Somalia & Somaliland for the Insight on Conflict website.
Nigerian Local Correspondent will be expected to focus on the north of the country.
Peace Direct requires someone with contacts in the Non-Governmental Organization, NGO or peacebuilding sector, a strong interest in the media and reporting, and excellent written and spoken English.
The role is ideal for someone pursuing a career in journalism or within the NGO sector. Local Correspondents should be based in the country they cover; those with exceptional links to the peacebuilding sector in that country may be considered.
The role is not full-time and is not salaried, though Local Correspondents do receive a small stipend and payment for work published on the website.
The work is best suited for people with a passionate desire to share information on peacebuilding with a wide audience.
Local Correspondents are expected to:
– Investigate and supply information on local peacebuilders.
– Submit posts to the Insight on Conflict blog. The blog gives space to Peace Direct and the Local Correspondents to respond instantly to developments in conflicts around the world. It also offers a place for more personal reflections by the Local Correspondents on their work.
– Reply to any enquiries relating to their work, for example, requests for further information on peacebuilding in their region.
– Ensure that information on peacebuilders in their section is up to date – Peace Direct updates this information every 6 months.
Interested correspondents for Lebanon, Nigeria or Somalia & Somaliland should send a CV, writing sample, and a short covering letter outlining your suitability for the role to joel@peacedirect.org before October 1, 2013.

 

 

Holden Charge: Major Cause Of Prolonged Court Cases – CJN

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The persistent use of the ‘Holden Charge’ by security agencies to detain awaiting trial suspects, is a major contributor to the high number of cases pending in our courts, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Mariam Mukhtar, has said.

The CJN spoke Monday in Abuja, at a special session organised by the Supreme Court to mark the commencement of the 2013/2014 Legal Year.

Holden charge allows security agencies to charge suspects to court before investigations are concluded, a practice which the CJN says has caused undue delays in the criminal justice administration system of the country.

“It is common knowledge that our security agencies usually rush to the courts with suspects, before looking for evidence to prosecute them…This procedure is a far cry from what obtains in other democracies, where discrete surveillance is placed on crime suspects who are painstakingly stalked by security agents, until such a time when enough evidence would have been obtained for their arrest, arraignment and prosecution,” she said.

In addition, she expressed concern over the slow pace of administration of justice in the country.

“To exhaust complete remedy in a case, that is from trial court to Supreme Court, could take up to 20 years with the original litigants dead and substituted and in some cases the substitutes also dead and substituted,” she said.

The CJN therefore called for an overhaul of the country’s criminal laws, which she described as “archaic and culturally irrelevant.”

Also speaking at the event, the President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Okey Wali, drummed up support for the inclusion of a representative of the Nigeria Bar Association, NBA, in the National Judicial Council’s disciplinary proceedings against judges.

Wali also called for increased funding for the judiciary.

 

Issues On The Electricity privatisation

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Issues On The Electricity privatisation

BY EZE ONYEKPERE

Nigerians are looking forward to the promises of improvements in electric power provisioning as we move towards the eventual handover of the privatised Distribution Companies and Generating Companies to the new operators. The National Council on Privatisation has promised that the handover will be done in October 2013. Money realised from the sale of the DISCOs and GENCOs will be used to clear the full severance payment of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria workers.  With the hurdles that had bedevilled the management contract of the Transmission Company of Nigeria fully cleared and the experts in place, the expectations are hitting the roofs. Nigerians have also played their own part by not opposing the introduction of a new tariff regime under the Multi Year Tariff Order since 2012. We have been paying more in anticipation of a better tomorrow despite the fact that services have not improved.

It is imperative to recall some of the promises of the post-government ownership and management era. They include the fact that the new owners and operators will be coming in with increased technical expertise, having successfully managed similar power sector businesses in other parts of the world. Implicit in this is the expected new leadership and managerial acumen that will bring innovation, greater staff commitment and the touted efficiency of the private sector to excel where the government would normally fail.  Like the telecommunications companies, they are expected to pay very good salaries to their staff which will motivate them to excel in service delivery. The companies will bring in boundless financial capacity to invest and improve the system with new platforms for tariff collection, new equipment and accessories and eventually lead to 24 hours of electricity every day.

But there are clear challenges on the horizon. Although the new companies are coming with technical partners, most of the companies do not have any iota of experience in the management of electricity concerns. Most of them are Special Purpose Vehicles packaged for the privatisation exercise. They are coming to learn on the job. And learning on the job is a process that may take some time thereby delaying the realisation of the anticipated benefits. The second is that the financial capacity to turn around the fortunes of the privatised companies seems to be in doubt if the first test these companies faced is anything to go by. Virtually, all the companies borrowed to pay the cost of acquisition. Even the last company to pay found it difficult to raise the money. The fact of borrowing does not seem to support the idea of financial capacity in these takeover companies unless we interpret financial capacity to mean the credit worthiness to borrow. It is admitted that a company needs to be credit worthy to be in business; even if that becomes the meaning of financial capacity, one would have expected the companies to come forward with a substantial part of the funds, say 50 per cent of the funding like Alhaji Aliko Dangote did in his new refinery project while the rest comes from financial institutions.

However, the cost of paying for the takeover is infinitesimal compared to the finances required to be invested to turn around the technical and operational components of the DISCOs and GENCOs. The companies will require more than 10 times the amounts they have so far paid to government to make any meaningful impact in improving electricity supply. So, where would they raise the money from? I assume they will all go back to the financial and capital markets. This recourse to borrowing to finance everything, it must be emphasised, has obvious implications. For every kobo borrowed comes with its interest and service charges which will then become part of the cost of electricity provisioning and this will be passed onto the consumer at the end of the day in the form of tariffs. In the prevailing high interest regime, this is not good news and will lead to requests for a tariff hike in the next couple of months.

It is in the interest of the new owners to explore the model of raising equity by opening up their companies to public ownership so that Nigerians who have the resources will be free to invest and provide them with long term funds that will not attract interests and service charges but only attract dividends when profits are declared. In this way, the cost of borrowed funds as a component of overall costs will reduce and give the management enough peace of mind to concentrate on improvements to service delivery.

Another important issue is the need for the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission not to remove its eye from the ball. Private sector operatives are adept at cutting corners based on the profit motive. The experience of Nigerians with the regulation of the telecommunications sector is still a virtual disaster. The regulator has been more concerned with the profits of the operators to the detriment of customers enjoying value for money. The electricity market is even a bigger and more lucrative market. One can make a decision not to use a cellular phone but I doubt if anyone can avoid electricity. So, the stakes and the profits will be higher, hence the need to rein in individual and corporate greed. Regulation must therefore be very scrupulous and meticulous to balance the interests of all stakeholders.

One sore issue is still outstanding. In many parts of Nigeria, especially in the South-East zone, communities mobilised and raised funds running into tens of millions of naira to bring electricity to their communities. Launchings were held, levies were imposed on both the old and the young and age grades went about collecting these levies from community members at the pain of punishment. Individuals who had a large heart contributed as they deemed fit. The writer is from one of these communities and made his own contribution to one of such projects. All the contributions were done in the spirit of service to the community and community ownership of the electricity assets. And if the government and its electricity corporation had been alive to their responsibilities, the communities would not need to task themselves. So, all these community assets have become part of the property of the owners of the new DISCOs! Can someone tell me it is not true? It is my submission that these communities need to be compensated by government because the NCP could not have transferred title to a property or assets it did not own in the first place. In law, you can only transfer what belongs to you or what you have a legal title over.

Finally, Nigerians should know that the new companies will not enjoy immunity from suit and legal process in the event they cause harm or inflict damages on electricity consumers. The full weight of the law is available to descend on them. So, let no one shy away from using the legal system to hold them accountable. Consumers will pay their bills and in return they expect good service that will not expose anyone to bodily harm or damages to property.

•Follow me on twitter @censoj

Kenya Claims Upper Hand Over Mall Terrorists

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Kenya Claims Upper Hand Over Mall Terrorists

Local media in Kenya reported Monday night that there was a possibility all hostages held by terrorists in the Nairobi shopping mall have been freed, even as the police were doing a final sweep of shops early on Tuesday.

An overnight silence outside the large, upmarket Westgate mall was broken at daybreak with a loud burst of gunfire from inside, suggesting the complex had not yet been fully secured. A lone military chopper circled above.

The Kenyan government has repeatedly assured citizens that it had the situation under control.

“Our forces are combing the mall floor by floor looking for anyone left behind. We believe all hostages have been released,” the Ministry of Interior said on Twitter early on Tuesday, adding his forces were “in control” of the building.

Interior Minister Joseph Ole Lenku, told the press that three militants died and more hostages were freed in the efforts to end the ongoing siege waged since Saturday by al-Shabab, a Somali group with ties to Al Qaeda.

For more than two days, Kenyan forces have struggled to vanquish the militants, who, after killing about 68 shoppers, holed up in various corners of the mall with military-grade weaponry.

Hundreds of the best of Kenyan troops, backed by armored personnel carriers, helicopters, planes and security officials from Israel, France, Britain and the United States, were deployed to the scene, but the militants, estimated to number from 10 to 15, refused to surrender.

Lenku said evacuation of hostages has gone “very, very well” and that Kenyan officials are “very certain” that there are few if any hostages left in the building as the number of hostages trapped remains unknown.

Meanwhile, U.S. authorities are urgently looking into information from the Kenyan government that residents of Western countries, including the United States, may have been among the militants.

“We do monitor very carefully and have for some time been concerned about efforts by al-Shabab to recruit Americans or U.S. persons to come to Somalia,” White House deputy national security adviser, Ben Rhodes said.

 

Benue State Owes Retirees N7.4 billion

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Benue State Owes Retirees N7.4 billion

Retired civil Servants in Benue State have an outstanding gratuity worth N7.4 billion owed them by the state government.

The Head of Service, Terna Ahua, who disclosed this to newsmen in Makurdi, said that the debts dated back to 1995.

He said that the amount represented unpaid gratuities, owed either to retired civil servants or their next of kin.

Ahua said that it was unfortunate that during the military era, many public servants were relieved of their jobs, even when there were no resources to settle their benefits.

“Ever since, the debt stock has continued to grow, with little attention being paid to it by successive administrations,” he said.

The head of service said that the implementation of the new minimum wage in the state had also compounded the problems “since civil servants now retire with enhanced benefits”.

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“As at June 2013, the backlog of unpaid gratuities stood at a staggering sum of N7, 403,108,037.94,” he said.

Pointing out that the state government spent N245 million monthly on the payment of pensions, Ahua
disclosed that the state government was exploring the possibility of implementing the contributory pension scheme as one of the ways of addressing the problem in the future.

Zamfara Begs For More FG Troops To Tackle Insecurity

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Zamfara Begs For More FG Troops To Tackle Insecurity

Governor of Zamfara State, Abdulazez Yari, has urged the federal government to send more troops to the state to ensure the security of lives and property, saying 160 people had been killed and another 10 abducted by gunmen in the last three months.

Yari made the appeal when he addressed members of the House Assembly in Gusau, on the security situation of the state.

He said the hoodlums, who continued to terrorise villages in parts of the state, stole no fewer than 6,000 cows and 4,000 sheep within the period.

The governor said the situation had caused disaffection between residents of the affected villages and the state government which has already committed a lot of its scarce resources on security issues.

The Speaker of the House, Sanusi Rikijin, assured the governor of the assembly’s support,

“We will consult with other state houses of assembly and the National Assembly to ensure justice, equity and fair play in the country,” Rikijin said.

 

Benue Govt Shuts Down Three Tertiary Institutions

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Benue Govt Shuts Down Three Tertiary Institutions

The Benue commissioner for education, Elizabeth Ugo, announced on Monday that the state government had closed down three colleges of education for poor staffing and infrastructure.

Ugo made the announcement in Makurdi at a news conference on the activities of the ministry.

She named the colleges as Emmanuel Ebije Ikwe College of Education, Otukpa, Ityiav-Gar College of Education, Mkar and Malamin College of Education, Gboko.

The commissioner regretted that the schools were being managed solely for commercial gain.

Ugo said that the standard of the colleges had fallen below the expectations of the National Commission for Colleges of Education, NCCE.

She added that the closure of the schools was to ensure that tertiary institutions in the state complied with the minimum requirements of the NCCE.

Ugo, however, disclosed that the commission granted approval to seven other Colleges of Education at Oju, Katsina-Ala, Aidogodo, Otukpo, Adoka, Naka and Luga.

She said that provisional approval was given to two colleges of education at Lessel and Aliade in the Ushongo and Gwer Local Government Areas of the state.

The commissioner said that the ministry was determined to deal with examination malpractices to restore the fallen standard of education in the state.

She said that the ministry was also collaborating with law enforcement agencies to deal with the malpractices.

Ugo warned that examination centres involved in examination malpractices would be dealt with.

She said that a committee had been inaugurated to oversee the conduct of examinations in the state and to ensure compliance with policies of government.

The commissioner said that the state government had provided infrastructure in several schools to create conducive environment for both teaching and learning.

 

 

Ex-Commissioner Says The Police Wants To Torture, Humiliate Him

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Ex-Commissioner Says The Police Wants To Torture, Humiliate Him

The Anambra Commissioner for Special Duties, Vincent Ezenwajiaku, declared wanted by the Nigeria Police for fraud said he refused to honour the invitation of the Special Fraud Unit SFU for fear of being tortured.

Ezenwajiaku was accused of defrauding one Chuks Mgbemena of the sum of N10 million using an inexistent company.

The SFU of Nigerian Police in Lagos declared him wanted on September18 for refusing to honour its invitation.

The commissioner told newsmen in Awka on Monday that the fraud unit and the complainant, Mgbemena, were not after the money owed them.

“They want to arrest, detain and torture me and if possible maim me for life as a way of humiliating me,” he alleged, while restating that he only owed N6.5 million.

He reiterated that there was no truth in the report that he defrauded Mgbemena using an inexistent company.

The commissioner said Mgbemena ran the necessary checks on the company and found it to be duly registered before making the payment of a total sum of N8.2 million.

“The amount was for the acquisition of 34 per cent share in the company which he paid within three years. The allegation against me that I duped him with an inexistent company is not true. It is sheer fabrication and falsehood,” he said.

He reiterated that the company was duly registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission with registration number RC 278625 by a law firm A.C. Ezenduka and Co. in 1995.

“The certificate of incorporation is there and the law firm is still in existence till date,” he added.

The Commissioner said that the disputed company, Bio Plastic Manufacturing Limited, was a member of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, MAN, while it existed.

He said that he had instituted a libel suit against the SFU and Mgbemena demanding  N250 million for alleged defamation of his character.

It would be recalled that Ezenwajiaku was appointed commissioner in June 2012.

 

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