Home Blog Page 3403

Borno Assembly Passes Vote Of No Confidence On Jonathan

Editorial
-
2
Borno Assembly Passes Vote Of No Confidence On Jonathan

The Borno State House of Assembly has passed a vote of no confidence on the President Goodluck Jonathan-led administration over the ongoing Boko Haram crisis in the state, insisting that the situation has deteriorated.

Leader of the Assembly, Idrissa Jidda, while expressing displeasure over the handling of the security situation by the federal government, hailed the state governor, Kashim Shettima, for his approach to the impending security challenges.

Jidda said the governor has done creditably well in giving hope to the people of the state and could have performed better if he had received the necessary support from the federal government.

Another lawmaker, Abubakar Tijjani, representing Maiduguri metropolitan council in the state House of Assembly, said it was time for the federal government to shun politics and take the necessary steps that would bring a lasting solution as well as give hope to those who have been affected.

Meanwhile, the death toll from the last attack launched in the Benishiekh area of the state has risen to 150, as the army remains mystified about  the ambush which has left the most number of soldier casualty since the fight against insurgency began in the region.

Property destroyed in the two-day attacks by the suspected insurgents include 15 trucks, 18 cars, eight motorcycles, six bicycles and more than 280 houses and shops of residents who had fled into the bush on the directives of soldiers deployed in the town.

Army spokesman, Mohammed Idriss Yusuf, said on Wednesday that over 300 Boko Haram insurgents invaded the town by 5p.m. and started to attack houses and shops with Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and petrol-bombs for about 10 hours.

He added that as the soldiers ran out of arms and ammunition to face the firing powers of the insurgents, some of the soldiers had to take cover in the nearby bush, after the residents were directed to flee also for their safety.

Saidu Yakubu, of the Borno State Environmental Agency, BOSEPA, said at least 150 dead bodies had been recovered.

He said besides the torching of people’s houses and shops, the office complexes of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), boarding primary school and the council’s secretariat were also set ablaze by the gunmen.

 

Jonathan Sacks Emordi, Olagunju

Editorial
-
0
Jonathan Sacks Emordi, Olagunju

Barely a week after he laid off nine ministers. President Goodluck Jonathan on Friday terminated the appointment of two of his special advisers,

This was disclosed in a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on media and publicity, Reuben Abati.

The statement said the appointment of Joy Emordi, who was special adviser to the President on National Assembly matters, and that of Tunji Olagunju, his special adviser on the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, NEPAD, had been terminated with immediate effect.

“President Jonathan thanks Mrs. Emordi and Dr. Olagunju for their services and wishes them success in their future endeavours,” the statement further added.

Olagunju had served as special adviser to the President on NEPAD since June 2007 while Emordi was appointed in 2011.

Anambra Commissioner Resigns Over Fraud Allegation

Editorial
-
0
Anambra Commissioner Resigns Over Fraud Allegation

The Commissioner for Special Duties in Anambra State, Vincent Ezenwajiaku, who was declared wanted by the police over a N10.6 million fraud has resigned.

Ezenwajiaku was declared wanted by the police on Wednesday after an unnamed petitioner accused the commissioner of inducing him to part with the said sum which he claimed he paid through instalments between 1996 and 2002.

The commissioner said that his resignation was to give him room to prove his innocence as he was prepared to do all it takes to clear his name.

Narrating his own side of the story, Ezenwajiaku accused the complainant whom he referred to as his former business partner of taking the matter too far.

He admitted he was owing the complainant, his former business partner, the sum of N6 million and not N10.6 million as claimed, adding that he could not meet up with the payment because of an illness that kept him bedridden.

“The issue of owing this man came up in 2004 after the meeting of the board of the company and it was agreed that I should pay him N7.5m which I agreed to do. We have never quarrelled,” he said.

The ex-commissioner has also filed a N250 million libel suit against the commissioner of Police in charge of the Special Fraud Unit, SFU, as well as one Chuks Mgbemena of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA and Okposiakpo Elolor, a Chief Superintendent of Police.

70 Percent Pass Recorded In NECO Exam

Editorial
-
0
70 Percent Pass Recorded In NECO Exam

The National Examinations Council, NECO on Thursday announced the June/July 2013 result with a total of 719, 593 out of the 1, 034, 263 candidates who wrote the exams, scoring at least  five credits.

The result this year is some cheery news coming after three consecutive years of mass failure at Senior School Certificate Examination SSCE.

Appraising the result in Minna, the registrar and the chief Executive of the Council, Promise Okpala, said that 681,507 candidates representing 66.63 per cent made credit pass and above in English Language while 668,314 candidates or 65.50 percent recorded same in Mathematics.

In Biology, 66.88 percent had credit and above while 66.68 per cent of the candidates that wrote Physics and 66.41 percent Chemistry candidates equally made credit pass and above.

In all, 128 blind students sat for the examination.

Giving a comparative analysis of students’ performance in the last three years, Okpala said the council witnessed “rises in performance from 15.84 per cent in 2011 through 51.66 per cent last year to this year’s 69.57 per cent”.

He attributed the improved performance to the resolve by federal and states governments as well as stakeholders to improve the quality of teaching and learning in the country, adding the improved performances over the years were “empirical indications that the efforts of the President, Ministry of Education are yielding positive results”.

Okpala pointed out that the Council has zero tolerance for examination malpractices as the number of candidates involved in examinations malpractices dropped to 8,308  or 0.80 percent.

“We have sanctioned schools and candidates involved in examination malpractices through de-registration or cancellation of results, and we have de-registered 36 schools for a period of two years,” he added.

Six Commissioners Sacked In Yobe

Editorial
-
0
Six Commissioners Sacked In Yobe

Six commissioners were Thursday sacked by governor Ibrahim Gaidam of Yobe State for inefficiency.

The governor who announced the commissioners disengagement at the weekly executive council meeting at Government House said they were found wanting in the performance of their duties.

The commissioners are Bala Haladu, (Transport and Energy); Yusuf Yahaya, (Sports); Musa Maina Dumburi, (Ministry of Youths); Fatsuma Talba, (Health); Ahmed Wakil Sarki, (Environment) and Aji Yerima Bularafa, (Higher Education).

READ ALSO:

Governor Gaidam, however, said the commissioners should see their removal from the cabinet as normal routine exercise done to allow his administration meet the expectations of the people.

He thanked thanking the commissioners for their service to the state and observed that some of them might be called upon to serve the people again if the need arises

Northern Governors Will Not Support A Sovereign National Conference – Aliyu

Editorial
-
1

By Nma Shekwolo

Chairman of the Northern States Governor’s Forum, NSGF, Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, has said that the region will not support calls for a Sovereign National Conference, arguing that such a demand will mean that all elected politicians give up their positions as “you cannot have two sovereignty in one state”.

On the other hand, the Afenifere renewal group (the pan-Yoruba Socio-political group) backs a Sovereign National Conference, saying, “what this nation needs is a fundamental political reform that will overhaul the present bloated governance structure. And we believe such fundamental reform can only come about through an instrument of a Sovereign National Conference”.

Speaking at the opening of a one day workshop organised by the Niger state Ministry of Tertiary Education for Niger state students, Aliyu said that those calling for a sovereign national conference must understand its implication.

“If anybody says he is going to organise a sovereign National Conference all of us in government must resign our jobs and then transfer the sovereignty of the country to a committee that is going to discuss the sovereignty of the country,” he said.

The governor however added that the forum would approve a national conference which in his view will move the country forward.

His words: “I will love a National Conference that will look at our constitution and really give us justice, equity and fairness in our body politics and in our national life.”

He said contrary to popular views, the Northern states are not afraid of organising a conference as it will promote constructive deliberations that will lead to the progress and development of the country.

The Nigerian Senate on Tuesday renewed calls for a National Conference.

“A conference of Nigeria’s ethnic nationalities, called to foster frank and open discussions of the national question, can certainly find accommodation in the extant provisions of the 1999 Constitution which guarantee freedom of expression, and of association,” Senate President David Mark said.

While noting that it is welcome development, Mark said nonetheless that the idea of a National Conference is not without inherent and fundamental difficulties.

“Problems of its structure and composition will stretch the letters and spirit of the Constitution and severely task the ingenuity of our constitutionalists,” he stated.

142 Corpses Recovered From Borno’s Latest Attack

Editorial
-
0
142 Corpses Recovered From Borno’s Latest Attack

By Musdapha Ilo

At least 142 corpses have been evacuated from the Maiduguri/Damaturu highway and its surrounding bushes after an ambush laid by some Boko Haram members on Tuesday, an official of the Borno State Environmental Protection Agency, BOSEPA, has said.

Saidu Yakubu, the agency’s spokesman told journalists in the presence of the State Governor, Kashim Shettima, that on Thursday alone 87 corpses were evacuated from the road and bushes even as the evacuation continued.

Three swollen corpses were seen lying on the highway just as two compactor waste evacuation trucks fully loaded with corpses stood by as at this afternoon during a visit to the area.

Initial reports said at least 40 soldiers were killed and 65 others went missing in the attack. The military have since denied this, while failing to state the number of their men who were killed or missing.

A detachment of soldiers under the 134 Battalion of the 12 Brigade under the Multi National Joint Task Force, MNJTF, stationed in Kangarwa village in Kukawa local government, had conducted a reconnaissance to gather intelligence around the area, during which they established the presence of previously unnoticed Boko Haram camps.

The soldiers returned to their base and filed a report recommending aerial bombardment of the area, preparatory for a ground operation by troops, our sources who declined to be named for security concerns said.

But that plan was cancelled at the final minutes by an unnamed top official without formal communication to the more than 100 troops that had already advanced on the area as a result of the communication ban imposed on the state.

The soldiers were allegedly trapped in the ambush under heavy fire from the militants who had surrounded the area, leaving at least 40 soldiers killed.

The insurgents further moved to confiscate a huge cache of weapons from the soldiers after the attack which makes history as one of the most fatal for the Nigerian army since the state of emergency declaration.

Army authorities have already ordered investigation into the matter.

Niger State Arrests 120 Persons For Rejecting Polio Vaccine

Editorial
-
0

The Niger State Government has arrested 120 persons for refusing to immunise their children against polio, as part of efforts to enforce the law that forbids rejection of the polio vaccine.

The Director of the State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Shehu Yabagi, told newsmen in Minna that the arrested persons were those who had consistently opposed the polio vaccine immunisation exercise in the state.

Yabagi said some of the suspects had already been arraigned before various courts in the state, while some of them had been convicted and compelled to pay a fine for their actions.

He said the state government had also sent another bill to the state assembly to make any cleric who preaches against the acceptance of the polio vaccines in the state to be jailed or pay huge fine.

The director said that the agency had embarked on the cross-border immunisation exercise in a bid to halt any further transmission of the disease.

Niger State is one of the only nine States struggling to stamp out the virus from the country so as to meet the World Health Organsation, WHO, target of a polio-free globe by 2014.

The other states are: Borno, Adamawa, Kano, Gombe, Nasarawa, Bauchi, Yobe and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT.

Yabagi said his agency would continue to work hard to ensure that polio was eradicated in the state and, by extension, the whole country through advocacy and enforcement of the various laws enacted by the state government.

 

No Power Plant Will Be Handed Over Uncompleted – NDPHC

Editorial
-
0
No Power Plant Will Be Handed Over Uncompleted – NDPHC

The Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited, NDPHC, has assured the nation that no power plant will be handed over to the private investors uncompleted.

James Olotu, the managing director of the company, gave the assurance on Wednesday at a transaction review conference with relevant stakeholders and private investors.

“Before handing over, every power plant will be completed and fit for the purpose intended in line with how the contracts were designed. The completion of the power plant will not hinder the privatisation process in any way,” he said.

Olotu added that government was fully committed to ensuring that it met with the dates stipulated for the handing over.

“We have a timeline that by June next year, all the power plants will be handed over,” he said.

Reacting to requests by some of the investors for an extension of date for the submission of bid, Olotu said that the extension was subject to the decision of the government.

He stressed that no matter the level of extension of date some contractors would still not be ready, adding that government would only deal with the serious ones.

“Examination time is examination time, there is no time that you set for an examination that all the students will be ready,” he said.

The director promised that full capacity and availability of power will come with the privatisation as the issue of unavailability of gas would have been resolved.

He explained that by the time the whole system was private sector-driven, issues of non-availability of gas would not arise, adding that gas suppliers would ensure adequate supply of the product and make profit.

Olotu expressed optimism that at the end of the process, Nigerians would be able to reap the real benefit of competition and best business practice just like the telecommunication industry.

Anambra Commissioner Declared Wanted Over N10.6 million Fraud

Editorial
-
0
Anambra Commissioner Declared Wanted Over N10.6 million Fraud

The Anambra State commissioner for special duties, Vincent Ejikeme Ezewajiaku, has been declared wanted by the Special Fraud Unit, SFU, of the Force Criminal Investigation Department, for allegedly obtaining the sum of N10.6 million by false pretence and forgery.

According to the Unit’s spokesperson, Ngozi Insitume-Agu, the commissioner has been invited twice by to answer questions bothering on the allegation, but he failed to show up each time.

Insitume-Agu said the unit had received a petition from an undisclosed businessman, who alleged that sometime between 1996 and 2002, the commissioner who was then managing director of BIO Plastic limited, invited him to invest in his company as a co-director with an agreement that he (complainant) would acquire 34% of the equity at the end of investment.

She said the complainant in the petition claimed that he paid the sum of N10,582,540.00 in instalments, alleging that he was “induced by the commissioner to part with his hard earned money by writing several letters promising and indicating huge potentials of the company’s expected turnover and profitability”.

However, after making the payments and with promises unfulfilled, he discovered that he had invested in a non-existent company as the company was not registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC.

During the investigation, Insitume-Agu said some detectives from the unit travelled to Anambra State with an invitation letter which was duly served on the suspect.

“The suspect was expected to report to the office on April 16, 2013 but he failed to honour Police invitation.  Again on August 4, 2013, detectives went to Awka with a warrant of arrest and he resisted arrest and maintained that he must see the governor of the state or commissioner of Police,” she said.

READ ALSO:

Ezewajiaku was later taken to state CID where he made cautionary statement and was subsequently released on bail to one Obi Damian Okwudili who promised in writing to produce the suspect on August 15, 2013 but this did not happen.

The statement said the surety has been arrested and will soon be charged to court.

“Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police, Special Fraud Unit has declared Vincent Ejikeme Ezewajiaku wanted. Anybody with useful information on how to arrest him or his whereabout, should contact the Commissioner of Police, Special Fraud Unit, 13 Milverton Road, Ikoyi, Lagos,” the unit’s spokesperson said.

1...3,4023,4033,404...3,440Page 3,403 of 3,440