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Archive for the month “May, 2012”

01 May 2012

Mimiko has failed the people, says Boroffice By Joseph Jibueze, Ayodeji Olaosun and Damisi Ojo

•Boroffice...yesterday.
•Boroffice

•’Agagu’ll work for ACN’

 

A governorship aspirant of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Ondo State, Senator Ajayi Boroffice, yesterday delivered a damning verdict on the  Olusegun Mimiko administration. It is a failure, he said.

He said the Mimiko administration is wasting public funds on projects that should be executed by local governments, such as the building of markets and town halls.

Boroffice spoke at the Lagos headquarters of The Nation during a visit to commiserate with the company on the fire, which razed its photo and cartoon sections.

He was received by the company’s management.

Boroffice said the Mimiko administration has spent over N3 billion on an events centre called “the Dome” and it is still uncompleted, adding that “the dome has become a doom”.

Boroffice faulted an alleged plan by the government to have its Sunshine Football Club partner Arsenal Football Club of England, saying the government is confused and does not know the right thing to do.

He said the government ought to concentrate on building viable industries and institutions that will create jobs for thousands of youths.

“Our people lack potable water and the government is busy building a fountain in the middle of a road. We have had enough; our people are tired,” he added.

The senator representing Ondo North District said he has a vision to transform Ondo into an industrialised and socially secure state, where people can fully exploit their potentials.

Boroffice said he would focus on the development of infrastructure; ensure good governance, justice and equity; ensure transparency in institutions and harness other natural resources in the state, such as coal, by building an industrial cluster around its location and generating energy from it.

He said: “If we are talking of Vision 20:20, we must begin to work towards it. The ceramic industry established by the late Chief Adekunle Ajasin, the cocoa and glass industries are foundations that should be built on.”

The senator said he would move the state away from being an agrarian economy to an industrialised one and would provide affordable housing.

Boroffice said the integration of the Southwest will speed up development in the region. He said: “A good transportation system is one of the ways to facilitate economic development. Southwest states can collaborate, as well as partner investors to develop a rail system and other shared infrastructure. That way, rich states can help the poor ones. States will not lose their autonomy and they will all gain a lot.”

On his transition from science to politics, Boroffice said it is a continuation of his service to the nation and a way of giving back to the society and humanity.

He said he dumped the Labour Party (LP) on December 28, 2011, for the ACN when he discovered that LP’s machinery had become personalised.  The senator said: “With many chieftains resigning and many factions emerging in the LP, I needed to join a truly progressive party. I found it difficult to operate as a senator in a party divided against itself.”

He said his conscience could not allow him remain in a party where the leaders have been accused of looting the treasury and cited the example of the chairman of the Ondo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (OSOPADEC), who has been accused of mismanaging the commission’s funds.

Boroffice said the Nigerian Constitution allows him to switch parties.

He said: “It is a matter of conscience for me, not a moral one. After due consultation, I feel satisfied that I have taken the right step. People are defecting from the LP in their thousands. LP is gradually going into a coma and it will soon go into extinction.”

Boroffice said contesting against an incumbent governor is not a problem for him, nor is he fazed by the high number of ACN aspirants.

According to him, historically, no governor has ever won a second term in the state.

He said: “There is a pattern already, so I am so confident we are going to win, because the LP has not performed very well. No governor has gone two terms in Ondo State. If it is warfare, we will fight it.

“Ondo is not the first state where a party has many aspirants. All aspirants will rally round him whoever gets the party’s ticket.”

Boroffice said he has spent over 15 years in public service and understands the bureaucracy involved in governance.

He said his qualifications and experience as a university lecturer, acting vice-chancellor, head of the national space agency and member of various international organisations give him an edge over other aspirants.

Boroffice said he has no personal problems with Mimiko, except ideological differences.

He said: “We are friends and Christian brothers, but I think Mimiko has been avoiding me cleverly. We have not met in a while, but I will love to meet him and register my disappointment on some issues. One of them is the presence of LP thugs at the Fifth Adebayo Adefarati Memorial Lecture.”

At the weekend, when former OSOPADEC Chairman Chief Adewale Omojuwa defected to the ACN at Igbokoda, Ilaje Local Government Area, Boroffice said former Governor Olusegun Agagu would align with the party to unseat Mimiko in the October election.

He said Omojuwa’s entry into the ACN would compel Agagu to support the party to rescue his administration’s legacies.

-The Nation

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01 May 2012

I held no meeting with Jonathan, says Tinubu By Kelvin Osa-Okunbor

Tinubu

•Calls for solution to insecurity

 

Former Lagos State Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu yesterday said he did not hold any meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan.

He said he was not even in town when the supposed meeting took place.

The frontline politician said there was no meeting between Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fasshola (SAN), the Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu, and Jonathan.

Asiwaju Tinubu spoke against the backdrop of a report that the trio met in Lagos when the President visited last weekend.

He said he would meet Dr Jonathan, if their discussion would centre on proffering solutions to the lingering insecurity and other national challenges. But he insisted that this should be at the President’s request.

The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) National Leader said much as any of such meetings are called by the President without politicising issues, it would enable stakeholders in the Nigerian project to solve the nation’s problems.

Tinubu addressed reporters at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, on his way to visit Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole on the Saturday road crash involving the governor’s convoy.

He was accompanied by ACN National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande; former Ekiti State Governor Niyi Adebayo; and ACN National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

Tinubu said: “That report is not correct. To tell you categorically, I did not attend any meeting with the President in company of the Oba of Lagos. I wasn’t even aware that the President was coming to Lagos until after the visit of the Oba at night. So, there was no meeting between myself, the President and the Oba of Lagos. I am very sure that the governor did not attend any such meeting with the President.

“We have all been meeting on national issues. We have met several times. So, if the party leadership across board is invited to a meeting to solve the problems of the country, why not?

“This is a critical time when all hands must be on deck to help solve the security problems of the country. This is the time to get together to develop ideas. All necessary steps that can help the nation’s security should be less politicised. Advice should be solicited in good faith. If ideas are solicited in good faith, we must offer them. Those in authority should not reject the ideas outright. But these have to come through the political parties’ leadership.”

On Boko Haram and insecurity, the ACN leader said: “You have touched on a critical issue confronting the nation. It is reaching a phenomenal dimension that we all cannot afford to sleep with our eyes open or ignore the national security.

“The President, as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, is the first person who probably should begin consultations with the people and must not politicise this problem.

“Since 1999, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been ruling this country. It claims to have the wisdom and the apparatus, but each time it reacts to this question of national security, the tragedy confronting the country, it has not gone without blaming one political party or the other. That is passing the buck.

“Those in the PDP are the ones saying they are in government; they are in power. So, if they cannot solve the problem of security, why blame it on others?

“Now, there is a clear line and ideological difference between us. But Nigeria belongs to all of us. The best is the PDP-led Federal Government should do is to cry for help and, if they do, they will get it, instead of putting blames or categorising one party as one-man party. They are running around like headless chickens,” Asiwaju Tinubu added.

TheNation

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01 May 2012

“Now, there is a clear line and ideological difference between us. But Nigeria belongs to all of us. The best is the PDP-led Federal Government should do is to cry for help and, if they do, they will get it, instead of putting blames or categorising one party as one-man party. They are running around like headless chickens,” Asiwaju Tinubu added.

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01 May 2012

Police grill Saraki over N9.7bn loan

Saraki

• Supporters besiege SFU, as ex-governor gets bail

 

Former Governor of Kwara State Bukola Saraki was yesterday a guest of the Special Fraud Unit (SFU) at the Force Headquarters, Abuja where he was quizzed by investigators over a N9.7 billion loan.

The loan was said to have been obtained from the defunct Intercontinental Bank by Joy Petroleum Company, a firm which the former governor is said to have substantial interest.

The senator, who is assisting the police to clear certain grey areas in the said loan which was obtained by Joy Petroleum during his tenure as Governor of Kwara State, was released on bail last night.

The Special Fraud Unit had declared him wanted last week over his failure to honour an invitation  by the SFU in respect of the loan.

Access Bank, which has taken over Intercontinental Bank, is believed to have initiated the investigation as part of the bank’s loan recovery drive.

It was like a political rally at the Police Special Fraud Unit (SFU)Milliverton Road, Ikoyi Lagos as political associates, party leaders, and supporters of Saraki  from  Kwara  came to show solidarity to the former  governor.

Saraki was supposed to appear at the SFU yesterday morning in Lagos. He later appeared in Abuja.

It was alleged that the ex-governor used three of his companies to secure the loan, which was later allegedly fraudulently written off by the  management of Intercontinental bank under Mr.  Lai Alabi.

His supporters  were led by Mr. Ishola Fulani, the Kwara State chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) . They urged the police to handle the investigation with care and ensure that justice is done.

According to them, Saraki is a transparent man and can never be involved in any fraud.

The supporters, who stormed Ikoyi in over 20 buses from Ilorin,  insisted that the police must treat their political leader fairly.

Mrs. Ebun Owolabi, a member of Kwara State House of Assembly who was part of the protesters warned that police should not allow anyone to use them.

Owolabi said: “I am speaking on behalf of women in Kwara State. Nothing must happen to this man who is a man of integrity and honour. We are not saying that police should not do their job, what we are saying is that he should be treated fairly and that nothing must happen to him.”

Commissioner of Police in charge of SFU, Mr. Tunde Ogunshakin  said  his command would bring all the culprits in the alleged loan scam to book.

Chief Press Secretary to Governor Ahmed, Alhaji AbdulWahab Oba, yesterday said Kwara government was not paralysed as a result of the solidarity protest held by the ex-governor’s supporters for him at SFU.

Oba said: “We want to place it on record that the Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed was in Lagos on Sunday 29th of April 2012 with some top government functionaries to interact with Kwara professionals resident in Lagos.”

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01 May 2012
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#Nigeria #Taraba 11 die as suicide bomber hits police chief’s convoy

Posted in Security & Crime News and tagged , , , , , , ,
01 May 2012
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NLC demands probe of Oshiomhole’s convoy crash

•Edo State Governer Adams Oshiomhle discussing with (from left) Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, National Chairman of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) Chief Bisi Akande, Aremo Olusegun Osoba and Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo during the visit to the Government House, B •Edo State Governer Adams Oshiomhle discussing with (from left) Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, National Chairman of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) Chief Bisi Akande, Aremo Olusegun Osoba and Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo during the visit to the Government House, B

•ACN leaders visit governor, accident victims •NUJ declares one-week mourning •Fayemi, Alaafin condole with reporters

 

ORGANISED Labour yesterday condemned last Saturday’s ‘attack’ on the convoy of Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole.

The Labour’s call came on a day Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) leaders, including former Lagos State Governor Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and National Chairman Chief Bisi Akande, visited the governor.

Three reporters in the travelling party were killed and several others injured.

In a statement in Kaduna by its Vice President, Issa Aremu, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) called for an investigation into the incident.

Aremu said the ‘attack’ on the convoy is coming after what he called “cyber-orchestrated personal attack” on the governor as well as open threat to him by the opposition party in the state.

The statement entitled: “Attack on Comrade Oshiomhole: We must de-militiarise our polity” reads: “We read with great shock an unprovoked seeming orchestrated attack on Governor Oshiomhole.

“His convoy was attacked on the Warrake–Auchi road. Three reporters were reportedly killed with many others injured, including security details.

“We condemn personalisation of political discourse.  We need contestation on policies and issues rather than attack on persons.

“In a related development, there was also alleged threat by former Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriation, Iyiola Omisore,  to “attack, stop and disarm” the convoy of the Osun State Governor , Rauf Aregbesola.

“All these call for urgent and thorough investigation by the security agencies.

“We call on all political actors to play to the rule.  We need battle of ideas and not personal attacks.”

The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Edo State has declared a week of mourning for its three members.

It directed its members to wear a customised wrist-band throughout the period.

Besides the three reporters who died in the accident, another reporter, Chukwudi Ogu, was killed by unknown gunmen three weeks ago.

The victims are: Olatunji Jacob and George Okosun both of the Independent Television and Radio Benin and Fidelis Ohani, a camera man with the Africa Independent Television (AIT).

A statement  by the chairman of the council yesterday, Friday Obanor, said a mass will be conducted by Rev. Angel Nwankwo today at the NUJ Press Centre.

Prayers will also be offered for the protection of reporters in the state.

At the NUJ Press Centre,  sympathisers called yesterday to condole with the union.

Those who visited  included a member of the House of Representatives, Rasaq Belo-Osagie, Speaker of the House of Assembly Uyi Igbe and the Coalition of Save Nigeria and Youth Coalition Bodies for Oshiomhole.

Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi commiserated with his Edo counterpart,  over the accident  in which some reporters died.

Fayemi in a condolence letter issued in Ado-Ekiti, urged Oshiomole not to lose faith in God or be discouraged by the incidence.

The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III,  also commiserated with Oshiomhole and the NUJ.

A statement by his Media Assistant, Azeez Fehintola, quoted the monarch as describing  the incident as unfortunate and a big blow to the government of Edo and the NUJ.

The Alaafin said: “I use this medium to commiserate with the governor and the NUJ on the unfortunate auto crash.

In the ACN team were former governors of Ogun and Ekiti states, Chief Segun Osoba and Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo as well as the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed. They were conducted round the wards at the Central Hospital, Benin City, where some of the victims are being treated.

Oshiomhole and the ACN leaders asked the medical personnel doctors and nurses on the state of health of the victims. Other patients, who were elated at the visit of the governor used the opportunity to present their own litany of demands.

The governor thanked his guests and told them the incident smacks of foul play and a premeditated plan to harm him.

His words: “Just a little over eight minutes after leaving the Afuze venue of the rally, where many PDP members joined ACN, a lorry suddenly emerged, heading straight for my car.

“Only providence saved me from being hit. The lorry hit the vehicle conveying security details, which immediately somersaulted and then hit the bus conveying the press crew.

“It’s unfortunate that we have lost three young men with young families. We are determined to get to the root of the matter. Our opponents will expect that we’ll be frightened by this incident but we’ll take our report card to every village and every hamlet to ensure that the reporters do not die in vain”, he said.

Akande said: “We see democracy as a thing of joy but we now see that the other side is resorting to killing and maiming. We pray that the good work you are doing in Edo State is not allowed to come to nought”.

-TheNation

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01 May 2012
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Clive Palmer (Australian Mining Magnate) plans to build Titanic II

Queensland billionaire mining magnate Clive Palmer has unveiled his plans to build the Titanic II to add to his tourism portfolio.

Mr Palmer said his new company Blue Star Line Pty Ltd had commissioned the state-owned Chinese company CSC Jinling Shipyard to build a near replica of the ill-fated Titanic. The cost is unknown.

He made the announcement on the same day he revealed his hopes to contest the next federal election in the Queensland seat of Lilley, held by Deputy Prime Minister and Treasurer Wayne Swan.

The Titanic.The Titanic. Photo: AP

Mr Palmer said the companies had signed a memorandum of understanding to build the cruise liner in China, with the ship’s maiden voyage from England to North America scheduled for late 2016.

“It will be every bit as luxurious as the original Titanic but of course it will have state-of-the-art 21st-century technology and the latest navigation and safety systems,” Mr Palmer said.

Mr Palmer said the rebuild was a tribute to the spirit of the men and women who constructed the original Titanic.

“These people produced work that is still marvelled at more than 100 years later and we want that spirit to go on for another 100 years,” he said.

The Titanic was commissioned by the company White Star Line and was the world’s largest liner, measuring nearly 270 metres long, 53 metres high and weighing approximately 40,000 tonnes.

It sank in 1912, killing more than 1500 passengers and crew.

Asked today if the Titanic II could sink, Mr Palmer told reporters: “Of course it will sink if you put a hole in it.

He added: “It is going to be designed so it won’t sink.

“It will be designed as a modern ship with all the technology to ensure that doesn’t happen.

“But, of course, if you are superstitious like you are, you never know what could happen.”

A spokesman for Mr Palmer said the cost of the project was unknown.

“A final budget hasn’t been set and I don’t think he’ll reveal the price to be honest,” the spokesman said.

He said the design of the new Titanic would be as close to the original as possible but would have “state of the art engineering” and would run on diesel rather than coal power.

“The technology will be 100 years improved,” the spokesman said.

Mr Palmer said a historical research team was involved in the design of the Titanic II, which would have the same dimensions as its predecessor, with 840 rooms and nine decks.

The only differences would be found below the water line, he said, and would include a bulbous bow for greater fuel efficiency and diesel generation, and an enlarged rudder and bow thrusters for improved manoeuvrability.

“Titanic II will be the ultimate in comfort and luxury with on-board gymnasiums and swimming pools, libraries, high class restaurants and luxury cabins,” Mr Palmer said.

He said the new ship would also include an exhibition room, located in the space of the old coal boilers, which will showcase Queensland and its abundance of opportunities to international passengers.

The Chinese navy has been invited to escort the Titanic II on its maiden voyage across the northern hemisphere from England to New York, he said.

Mr Palmer owns the Sunshine Coast’s Coolum Golf and Spa Resort, and the Gold Coast’s Robina Woods and Colonial golf courses.

– with Daniel Hurst and AAP
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/clive-palmer-plans-to-build-titanic-ii-20120430-1xtrc.html#ixzz1tZP9YDps

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01 May 2012
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#Nigeria Boko Haram’s Onslaught On BUK: “It Was Like An Abattoir,” Says Survivor

Posted: April 30, 2012 – 17:20

Another female student at the hospital yesterday-Photo credit: The Nation
By SaharaReporters, New York

A graduating student of Bayero University Kano who narrowly escaped being killed by the Boko Haram sect yesterday has narrated a horrendous story of how members of the militia, in addition to the use of explosives, took strategic positions and gunned down worshippers who tried to flee during their attacks.

The female survivor, who doesn’t want to be identified, told SaharaReporters via telephone, “We were in the mass, eventually the Reverend Father, on hearing unusual gunshots and other laity started wondering.  Immediately explosives began to explode right in the mass and in the other chapel in the hall near sports place. We started crying and running in and out. We sighted them afar holding guns and shooting indiscriminately and all worshippers [were] running.

“They were in normal kaftan clothes of several colours, I cannot say their number but they spread across the theatre in two areas.  They were shooting and the explosion continued sporadically. Other members were shouting please, please, don’t kill us, don’t kill us, but they continued. Eventually one student held me and we sneaked out to a toilet and he crossed over too.

“I remained in the toilet and was hearing shooting and wailing and I refused to come out.

It was when shooting ended, and I heard sirens, then I came out. I saw the whole grounded littered with our dead students and staff, and it was like an abattoir where animals were butchered. From there I was taken to hospital, and treated of the bruises I had on my body. This is my worst experience of life and I cannot imagine; it was like a film [but it was] real attack on us.  We heard that none of [the attackers] was arrested.”

-Sahara Reporters

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