Seven days mourning has been declared by the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, for the three journalists who lost their lives in an auto crash on Friday evening.

The national president of the NUJ, Garba Mohammed, who addressed journalists in Osogbo, said the accident occurred at about 7p.m. on Friday evening, when one of the rear tyres of the bus that conveyed the journalists burst along the Ilesa-Ile-IfeHighway, resulting in several somersaults.

Thirteen journalists in all were said to be returning from Abuja after a meeting of the union.

Among the dead are Kafayat Odunsi of Nigerian Television Authority, NTA; Adolphus Okonkwo of Voice of Nigeria, VON andTunde Oluwanike of Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, FRCN.

The remaining ten other journalists sustained injuries in various degrees and were immediately rushed to the Ladoke AkintolaUniversity Teaching Hospital, Osogbo, for treatment where the remains of the dead were also deposited.

Two of the wounded, whose conditions were critical have been transferred to Ibadan for treatment.

In his address on Saturday, the NUJ President directed that all activities of the union at the chapel, state and national levels be suspended throughout the mourning period and that condolence registers be opened in all the states and at the national headquarters.

Mohammed condoled with the families of the deceased and members of NUJ. He reiterated the need for national insurance scheme for every journalist, saying the nature of the job required a comprehensive insurance for practitioners.

The NUJ president in company of the Osun State NUJ chairman,Abiodun Olalere, the national vice-chairman, South west, DeleAtunbi; and the Osun State commissioner for information, SundayAkere, visited the injured at the hospital.

Meanwhile, the Osun chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, commiserated with the NUJ over the death of three journalists.

The state’s PDP chairman, Gani Olaoluwa, said in a statement inOsogbo that “the untimely death of the professionals was a great loss to the NUJ family and the country at large.”

Also, the Kwara State governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed, described the death of three journalists as unfortunate, shocking and devastating.

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An Abuja High Court on Friday, vacated the interim order restraining the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP’s special convention slated for August 31, as the plaintiffs applied for the suit to be struck out.

The plaintiffs, Abba K. Yale, Yahaya Awira Sule and Bashir Maidugu, through their lawyer, F. N Nwosu, told the court that they had resolved to table their grievances before the national reconciliation committee constituted by the party.

Although both counsels to the party and its chairman did not oppose the application for withdrawal of the suit, they insisted that contrary to the request by the plaintiffs that the case be struck out, the appropriate order the court ought to make in the circumstance was to dismiss the matter in its entirety.

“This suit is struck out and the effect of the earlier order restraining the 1st defendant from holding its convention loses its potency. That order is hereby discharged as it crumbles with the striking out of this case,” Justice Belgore said in his brief ruling.

He said “consequently, the order restraining the defendant and its agents or any group of persons acting on its behalf, from convoking, convening or holding any convention, special or ordinary, for the purpose of electing its national officers for any office, is hereby vacated.”

The judge maintained that in view of the fact that the plaintiffs filed their motion for discountenance under Order 27 rule 3 of theFCT high court rules, the court had no choice than to strike out the originating summons, adding, “no judge will insist that a plaintiff must continue with a suit against a named defendant, that will fall against common sense.”

He noted that he had earlier enjoined the warring parties to pursue an amicable settlement of their dispute out of court.

“It is in the interest of all concerned, at least, on the part of this court, it will help to decongest the docket and allow the court to concentrate on other matters,” he said.

Bagega, the Nigerian village in Zamfara State that suffered one of the world’s worst recorded incidents of lead poisoning is now habitable  and more than 1,000 contaminated children can now start receiving treatment, a doctor and a scientist from two international agencies said Friday.

For some, it already is too late to reverse serious neurological damage, Michelle Chouinard, Nigeria country director for Doctors Without Borders, told The Associated Press.

“Some children are blind, others paralyzed and many will struggle at school with learning disabilities,” she said.

Doctors Without Borders discovered the scourge in 2010 but nothing was done until this year because the federal government did not provide a promised $3 million, the group said.

The poisoning caused by artisanal mining from a gold rush killed at least 400 children, yet villagers still say they would rather die of lead poisoning than poverty, environmental scientist, Simba Tirima, said.

“The Villagers make 10 times as much money mining as they do from farming in an area suffering erratic rainfall because of climate change,” he said.

“Managing five landfills with some 13,000 cubic meters (nearly 460,000 cubic feet) of highly contaminated soil, and teaching villagers how to mine safely are major challenges to prevent new contamination,” he added.

At the peak of the gold rush, Tirima said, more than 1,000 itinerant miners and followers were camped around the village – deep in the countryside, beyond the reach of paved roads and electricity and quite cut off in the rainy season when dirt roads become impassable.

Despite its remote location, the booming economy attracted people from Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger to Bagega, which also drew many locals as a regional commercial centre with a primary and high school, a hospital and weekly market.

“The entire human population of 6,000 to 9,000 was exposed, including some 1,500 children under the age of 5,” he said.

“The more basic methods used to get at gold helped cause the poisoning. Some women used hammers to beat open rock ore. Others used some of the 60 grinding mills at a processing area adjacent to the village and water reservoir,” Tirima said.

Many also took the rocks that carried high concentrations of lead into their homes for processing and that the poisoning was facilitated because the particular lead compounds are very toxic and easily absorbed into the body, unlike other forms of lead.

Human Rights Watch said the death toll of 400 was only an estimate as villagers initially tried to hide the deaths, fearing the government would stop their illegal mining. The group said it was the worst epidemic of its kind in modern history.

“The government released money for the cleanup in February, Doctors Without Borders began prescreening in March and found that nearly every one of 1,010 children tested need therapy,”Chouinard said.

Of these figure, 267 are severely contaminated and will getchelation – where medication binds the lead to a child’s blood and helps them to eliminate it faster from their system.

All the children had more than the international standard maximum of 10 micrograms per deciliter of lead in their blood. Some had as much as 700 micrograms per deciliter, she said, adding that the children will have to be treated for one to two years.

Government officials initially reacted by trying to enforce a ban on illegal mining. When that did not work, they promised to find other sources of income for villagers, but so far nothing has happened.

Floods destroyed crops worth millions of naira on Friday following the collapse of Kankia dam in Kankia local government area ofKatsina State.

The News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, reports that rice and maize farms have been washed away following the collapse of the dam.

Some of the victims said that the situation could affect irrigation farming, which could further lead to food security problem, unemployment and rural-urban drift.

Abba Almu, a farmer, told NAN that the incident, which was the first of its kind in the history of the town, had destroyed crops worth millions of Naira.

Almu urged the state and federal governments to come to their aid as many of them would not have food for their families.

He also called for the immediate re-erection of the collapsed dam’s embankment.

Another victim, Abdulkadir Mai’unguwa, said the disaster would negatively affect the over 500 irrigation farmers in the area who relied on the dam for irrigation activities.

Mai’unguwa also said that herdsmen had to move to nearbylocalgovernments following the collapse of the dam.

The chairman, caretaker committee of the council, AbubakarLawal, disclosed that the dam was purportedly rehabilitated recently by the federal government under the constituency project of the member representing the area, Ahmed Babba, noting that “yet, it collapsed.”

He appealed to the lawmaker to as a matter of urgency call the contractor back to site to reconstruct the embankment and widen the water spillway to avert future occurrence

The Plateau State House of Assembly on Friday expressed worry over the inability of the state government to access funds from the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme, SURE-P.

The member representing Pigana constituency, Gondina Sambo, raised a motion that the state was yet to access funds from the SURE-P since its inception, noting that other states had since received money from the programme.

He said that the development is worrisome since the funds were needed by the state government in the effort to work out its peace strategies, adding that Plateau State had not gone beyond the level of screening, short-listing and opening of accounts for beneficiaries.

“Nothing has happened in relation to the programme in Plateau State,” Sambo said.

However, as the matter was debated, another member, ZainabDogo, representing Quanpan South constituency, requested for a special committee of the House to look into the matter.

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She said that funds from the programme were needed to douse tension in the southern part of the state by restive youths.

Following a voice vote, the Speaker, John Dabwan, announced a special committee of the house, headed by the chairman of the House Committee on Finance, Dalyop Mwansat, to look into the matter.

The committee was given until Tuesday to submit its report.

Why North’s senators lag behind – Smart Adeyemi

Halfway into the tenure of the Senate, 34 senators have not sponsored any bill since coming to office, according to official records released by the Senate, Daily Trust has reported.
The Senate’s Mid-Term Assessment Report shows that of the total 109 senators, 74 have sponsored at least a bill during the period starting June 2011 while the rest initiated none.

Senate President David Mark sponsored no bill but, by convention, he is not expected to table any bill in his capacity as presiding officer of the Senate.
A Daily Trust analysis of the assessment report issued last month reveals that senators who did not sponsor any bill constitute about one-third of the upper chamber.
This is coming amidst public debate on the emoluments of Nigerian federal lawmakers, who a recent report by the Economist ranked top in a global chart of Economist ranked top in a global chart of legislators’ salaries.
Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) records in possession of Daily Trust show that each senator is entitled to N35 million in yearly salaries and allowances.
Based on this alone, the 34 senators would have collectively received more than N1 billion in wages, apart from other hefty allowances received in quarterly installments.
No bills
Senators who did not sponsor any bill in the two years under review, according to the assessment report, include JibrillaMohammed Bindowo (PDP, Adamawa), Chris Ngige (ACN, Anambra),Babayo Garba Gamawa (PDP, Bauchi), George Akume (ACN, Benue),Maina Ma’aji Lawan (ANPP, Borno), Mohammed Ali Ndume (PDP,Borno), Ahmad Zannah (PDP, Borno),  Nwanko Christopher (PDP, Delta), Oguji Sunny (PDP, Ebonyi) and Babafemi Ojudu (ACN, Ekiti).
Other senators with no bills are Mohammed Danjuma Goje (PDP,Gombe), Abdulazeez Usman (PDP, Jigawa), Ahmed Makarfi (PDP,Kaduna), Mohammed Sani Saleh (CPC, Kaduna), Kabiru Gaya (ANPP,Kano), Sadiq Yar’Adua (CPC, Katsina),  Mohammed Magoro (PDP,Kebbi), Suleiman Adoke (PDP, Nasarawa), Solomon Ewuga (CPC,Nasarawa), Obadara Olugbenga Onoalapa (ACN, Ogun), KunlereBoluwaji (LP, Ondo), Robert  Boroffice (LP, Ondo), Olusola Adeyeye(ACN, Osun) and Hosea Agboola Ayoola (PDP, Oyo).
Also on the list are Magnus Abe (PDP, Rivers), Wilson Asinobi Ake(PDP, Rivers), Mohammed Maccido (PDP, Sokoto), Abubakar UmarTurare (PDP, Taraba), Aisha Jummai Alhassan (PDP, Taraba), AlkaliJajere (ANPP, Yobe), Bukar Abba Ibrahim (ANPP, Yobe), Ahmed SaniYarima (ANPP, Zamfara), Sahabi Alhaji Ya’u (PDP, Zamfara) andKabiru  Garba Marafa (ANPP, Zamfara).
Since the inception of the seventh Senate on June 6, 2011, a total of 342 bills were introduced, with the first bill being tabled on June 28, 2011 by Senate leader Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba (PDP, Cross Rivers) who also sponsored a total of 24 bills, placing him on top of the chart among senators. The last bill during the period was sponsored by Senator Ibrahim Gobir (PDP, Sokoto), tabled on June 5, 2013.
In terms of highest number of bills sponsored by an individual,Ndoma-Egba is closely followed by Senator Benedict Ayade (PDP, Cross Rivers), who introduced 18 bills in two years under review. Next is Senator Ita Enang (PDP, Akwa Ibom), who sponsored 12legislations.
Three senators came fourth on the chart with 11 bills each to their names. They are Senators Smart Adeyemi (PDP, Kogi), DomingoObende (ACN, Edo) and Ifeanyi Okowa (PDP, Delta).
Ganiyu Solomon (ACN, Lagos) introduced nine bills, while Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan (ANPP, Yobe), Odion Ugbesia (PDP, Edo) and Aloysius Etuk (PDP, Akwa Ibom) sponsored seven bills each during the period.
Hope Uzodinma (PDP, Imo) had six bills, Barnabas Gemade (PDP, Benue) six, Chris Anyanwu (APGA, Imo) five, while nine others sponsored four bills each.
The two senators who died within the period, Gyang Dantong (PDP, Plateau) and Pious Ewherido (DPP, Delta), had sponsored one and four bills respectively.
Some of the senators on the list, including Sadiq Yar’Adua and Solomon Ewuga, only came to the Senate last year after winning tribunal judgements.
Deputy Senate Leader Abdul Ningi’s name did not appear on the list of senators who sponsored bills during the period, but he told Daily Trust that this must have been an omission because he initiated the NYSC bill in July last year.
Northern senators lag behind
An analysis of the midterm performance report show that although senators from the North are in the majority with 57 out of 109, they performed less than their counterparts from the South in terms of bills sponsorship.
Only 33 of the 57 Northern senators sponsored at least one bill in the two year-period under review while the remaining 24 had no single bill.
Of the total 342 bills introduced, 191 were sponsored by senators from the South, 85 bills sponsored by northern senators, 42 were Executive bills submitted by President Jonathan while 23 were forwarded from the House of Representatives for Senate’s concurrence.
Speaking to Daily Trust in Abuja on the apparent lesser performance by Northern senators, Senator Smart Adeyemi, who is vice chairman of the Northern Senators Forum, said northern lawmakers performed less because most of them are inexperienced.
“It’s because they are new and do not have experience, they spent two years learning and discovering what they should do,” he said.
“But by the time we come back in the next six months they will graduate. Each time we say people should return their legislators is because without experience they do nothing.”
Adeyemi added: “Nigerians need to be educated because even in the process of passing laws inexperienced person may not be able to quickly interpret what the law is intended for and how it will affect his constituents. So in making of laws, experience of legislators counts. If he is not experienced he may even raise his hand against a policy that may even help his people.”
Adeyemi, who sponsored 11 bills in the past two years, argued that although southern senators may be new, they are more experienced and educated than their colleagues from the North.
“If you take a look at most of the southern senators even though they are new, but they have legal background, many of them are lawyers and have been in administrations over the years,” he said.
“For me, one is my experience and also because I am a journalist. These give me a lot of advantage. The media must educate our people to appreciate the need to look at the calibre of people they elect into the National Assembly.”
“We’re not short of laws”
Some of the senators who sponsored no bills during the two-year period gave explanations to Daily Trust on why this has been the case.
Kabiru Marafa said: “It’s a matter of priority. Firstly, it’s my first time in the Senate so I give myself time to learn the ways of the Senate. Secondly, I focused more on the primary needs of my constituents like unemployment, good governance and representation, security and the like. I will start thinking about bills when I see a genuine desire to implement or enforce the ones we have now.”
Makarfi said: “I don’t believe in unnecessary sponsoring of bills or motions. We are not short of laws but implementation of laws. How many such sponsored bills have become laws? I believe we are missing the point and will not join in such futile projects.”
Zanna said: “We are preoccupied with what is happening in Borno State where we have been losing our people every day. Therefore, my attention is on my people and how to solve their problems.”
Ndume said: “Some bills and motions do not make sense at all. Some bring bills just to be credited to them. It does not make sense to bring bills seeking establishment of agencies and commissions at a time when government is trimming them down. I am sponsoring a bill on Constituency Development Fund which has been around for the past 10 years without legal backing.”
Ewuga, who came into the Senate after a court ruling last year, said: “I am just one year in the Senate now and the process of bill making is tedious even before it comes for first reading. I am conceptualising some bills but I don’t rush my things.”

Written by Turaki A. Hassan

The head of civil service of the federation, Bukar Aji, has called for a review of the Freedom of Information Act, FOIA, arguing that the seven day time limit for disclosure of information to the requesting individuals was inadequate, as the nation’s civil service system is not yet fully digitalised to cope with the short timeline.
Aji made the call at a two day conference on the Freedom of Information Act, 2011 organised by the Right to Know Initiative, a non-governmental organisation, in Abuja.

“In organisations, keeping of records in the ministries, departments and agencies most of which is the analogue system of record keeping, retrieval of information within the specified time limit has been practically difficult. I recommend its review from seven days to 14 days, within which, information under the Act, may be disclosed,” he said.

The head of service also advocated a review of the Official Secret Act to conform with the FOI Act and ensure that classification of information did not endanger disclosure of information.

He, however, identified the lack of desire by public officers to shift from a culture of secrecy to that of transparency as a major factor militating against the implementation of the Act.

He said efforts were being made by his office and that of the attorney-general of the federation to encourage public institutions to establish FOI units and help lines for public use.

According to him, the lack of effective sensitisation, organisation of training and capacity building programme in the MDAs has also constituted a major setback to the implementation of the Act.

“Efforts should be made to ensure adequate provision of funds to facilitate the sensitisation and training programme on the freedom of information in MDAs and the zones,” he said.

Also speaking at the occasion, the attorney general of the federation and minister of justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke, said the failure by  parastatals, government agencies and ministries to comply with the FOI Act would frustrate the commitment of the administration to transparency.

He said the federal government remained committed to transparency and full implementation of the Act and called on government agencies to appoint information officers who would handle requests for information.

Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, ChidiOdinkalu, also noted that compliance with the Act still remained very low but expressed the hope that it would eventually produce positive impact on governance in the country.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has arrested a lawyer, Ambrose Owuru,  for allegedly obtaining the sum of N66million from one Ikechukwu Eze under false pretence.

According to the EFCC, Owuru’s arrest followed a complaint that he received the said sum as payment for a property located in Port Harcourt but has failed to make the house available to the buyer for over three months.

The was picked up after he refused to honour several invitations for questioning.

“The complainant alleged that sometime in March 2011, he paid the sum of sixty million naira (N60million) through Skye Bank, OluObansanjo Road branch, Port Harcourt, to Barrister Owuru for a property located at Nzimiro Street, Amadi flat, and Port Harcourt,” a statement by EFCC spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren said.

According to the commission, in the process of taking possession of the property, it was discovered that a portion had been sold to another person.

“At this point, Owuru allegedly asked for another N6m to settle the other buyer, one Chief Austin Omire, which Eze allegedly obliged him.

Since then, every attempt to take possession or develop the said property was met with resistance,” the commission stated.

Investigation into the matter is still on-going.