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Archive for the tag “Lagos”

09 May 2012
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Buhari, Tinubu move to revive alliance

Written by Abbas Jimoh

A meeting on Sunday between Buhari and Tinubu in Lagos was meant to revive alliance moves between the Action Congress of Nigeria and the Congress for Progressive Change, party officials told Daily Trust in Abuja yesterday.

Retired General Muhammadu Buhari visited ACN leader Bola Tinubu at his residence in Lagos, where they met behind closed doors.

Sources close to the two leaders said they discussed the political future of the two leading opposition parties, especially how to restart consultations towards merger or alliance ahead of 2015.

The meeting came as, according to one source, some People’s Democratic Party leaders who are angry over the outcome of the party’s recent convention consider working with the opposition parties to confront the ruling party.

Sources in CPC and ACN said the Buhari-Tinubu meeting discussed a possible alliance that would include the other main opposition party, All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP).

National secretary of CPC, Buba Galadima, told Daily Trust yesterday in Abuja that the two leaders had “fruitful discussions” on alliance and workable plans ahead of the next general elections. He said they also reviewed some of the issues that scuppered previous alliance moves before the 2011 elections.

For his part, CPC spokesman Rotimi Fashakin said, “The visit is part of the ongoing cooperation among progressives in breaking the primordial barriers of yore and ensuring that the yearnings of the people for a stable, virile and just nation are satisfied.”

Spokesman for the ACN, Lai Mohammed, was not available for comment yesterday.

But two top ACN officials told Daily Trust that there had been moves for Buhari and Tinubu to meet and that a birthday event both of them attended in Abuja last week was used to facilitate the Sunday meeting.

“We are starting early to avoid the pitfalls of previous meetings and talks,” one ACN official said. “We want to be sure we got it right this time around, dotting our i’s and crossing our t’s; moreover that we have some aggrieved PDP members giving us vital information on their parties internal wrangling and how we can overcome our own differences.”

ANPP’s spokesman Emma Eneukwu, was not available for comment; he had however told our reporter earlier in an interview that the party “is in serious talks with other opposition parties ahead of the 2015 elections.”

Source: Daily Trust

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09 May 2012

‘Why doctors were fired’

Gov Fashola Gov Fashola

 

The Lagos State government yesterday defended its decision to lay off striking 788 doctors.

It said the decision, though painful, was necessary and taken for the public good. The government also ruled out any further negotiation with the sacked doctors, saying those interested in abiding by the rules could appeal for consideration.

Commissioner for Health Dr. Jide Idris who spoke yesterday denied that hospitals in the state were totally grounded by the doctors’ strike, saying 746 doctors were at work providing qualitative medical service and saving lives. Those ones are to be joined by the newly employed 373 medics, he added.

Dr. Idris, who spoke at the  secretariat in Alausa said: “though every employee has a right to down tools to call attention of his employer to his plight, that shouldn’t be at the expense of the laid- down rules and at the expense of innocent people’s lives,” adding, “we must restore health services back to our facilities and prevent deaths.”

He said the government bent over backwards to accommodate the excesses of the striking doctors while exploring all avenues for dialogue. He regretted that the striking doctors remained adamant.

The Commissioner said as part of the avenues that was employed to resolve the differences, the leadership of the House of Assembly held a meeting with both parties, noting that the striking doctors insulted members of the panel and the meeting ended abruptly.

He said newly employed doctors would blend with the others to provide qualitative and efficient service.

Idris said government was open to dialogue but noted that preserving  the lives of Lagosians was paramount.

Dr. Idris said the government would not be intimidated by the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) with its utterances and threats of legal action against the government.

He said having taken a bold step to employ new doctors to take over the vacant positions, there are presently about 1,059 doctors to attend to patients in need of medical attention.

Dr. Idris described the threat by the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) to revoke the licences of the newly recruited doctors as mere intimidation; saying only the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) has the power to decide on discipline in the the medical profession. . “The NMA does not grant Medical licences; it is the MDCN that grants medical licensces. And granting of the Medical licences is subject to your qualification in the medical school”, he said.

He added that the NMA ought to be an association of medical professionals who should uphold the dignity of the profession.

Head of Service (HOS) Adesegun Ogunlewe  said officers dismissed from service have no place for negotiation. He said they could only appeal to the governor for reconsideration.

Ogunlewe said it was “cruel and callous” of the doctors to neglect their patients and embark on an illegal strike. He said government had met some of the issues they raised.

The HOS said the doctors by their action, violated rules and regulations, leaving the government with no option but to salvage the situation. He said: “If you go on an illegal strike, it is as good as someone who absented himself from work without permission and there are laid down rules for that.

“I released a circular to bring the attention of all workers to the Trade Dispute Act and it was clear that government intended to henceforth enforce the content of that Trade Dispute Act, the consequence of the illegalities of their actions is what they are reaping now.

“The state government holds all health workers in very high esteem including doctors. However, in a democracy, the rule of law must always prevail , particularly in a public service where we have age-long rules and regulations that have been guiding the performance of every member irrespective of their performance within the service”.

Source: The Nation

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08 May 2012

Army Promises to Stamp out Boko Haram

0303F02.Azubuike-Ihejirika.jpg - 0303F02.Azubuike-Ihejirika.jpg

Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika

 

By Chiemelie Ezeobi

The Nigerian Army Monday reiterated its commitment to stamp out the menace of the dreaded sect, Boko Haram, even as it said its personnel are equipped to counter the growing insecurity in the country.

Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika, who disclosed this at a seminar organised by the Nigerian Army College of Logistics (NACOL), Lagos, said: “Before now, Nigerians perceived terrorism as a malady afflicting far off nations and lands but unfortunately, some misguided elements have brought this evil home to us.”

Represented by the General Officer Commanding (GOC), 81 Division, Major General Kenneth Minimah, Ihejirika said the theme ‘Evolving Counter Terrorism Strategies for Enhances National Security and Development’ is germane going by the security challenges in the country.

“Since the Boko Haram sect started this campaign of terror, hundreds of lives and property worth millions of naira have been destroyed. Schools, places of worship, private properties, paramilitary and military locations have also not been spared.

“The sect has orchestrated attacks which are deliberately targeted at causing disaffection amongst the diverse people of the country but we praise the resilience of Nigerians and their capacity to discern the divisive undertones of these attacks and have deliberately refused to take retaliatory steps,” he said.

Ihejirika said the Army had taken steps to checkmate the activities of terrorist groups and other criminal elements in the state by improving inter-agency co-operation in terms of intelligence gathering and sharing.

He said several units are currently undergoing counter insurgency and counter terrorism training nationwide, adding that the force structure will be further expanded to effectively counter growing insecurity in the country.

On his part, the state Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, pledged his support in achieving maximum security for the citizenry.
Fashola who was represented by the Special Adviser on Political and Legislative Matters, Hon Muslim Folani, said: “The country is going haywire and we all need to join hands together to nip it in the bud before it consumes us. To achieve this, we need state policing to police our borders which are notably porous. Although it may be difficult at the onset, we will succeed if we put our minds to it.”

In his address, the Commandant NACOL, Major General Thomson Oliomogbe, said: “On our part, we promise to continue to strive to achieve excellence in line with COAS objective of transforming the NA into a force better able to tackle contemporary challenges.”

Source: Thisday

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04 May 2012

#Nigeria States should not depend on handouts from FG — Aregbesola

Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola

Osun State Governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, in an interview with journalists in Osogbo bares his mind on the style of his administration and other sundry issues.TUNDE ODESOLA was there

What is your reaction to people, who believe that you are arrogant?

Am I really an arrogant person? You can say I am unusual. I am not your conventional governor. I don’t have the attitude of people you traditionally find in this position. If you say I do not behave like a classical public functionary I will say yes. Since 2004, I had prepared what would be my programme in government. I developed a six-point integral action plan. Everything we are doing today is in strict compliance with the provision of that agenda. Three of them are basically agricultural. We say we would banish hunger, poverty, unemployment. All those are based on agriculture. If there is serious food production, hunger will be history, unemployment and poverty will reduce.

Some think that you don’t give the Osun State University the deserved attention?

Education has lost its focus. People are just going to school, especially at the basic level. What is the total population of Uniosun? At best, it will be 5,000. In the basic education phase, we have at least 750,000 pupils without any future who are certainly doomed in terms of the school that they go and the quality of education. I put together an education summit with clear a guideline on how to make education functional and beneficial to the society. We realised that virtually all the public schools in the state were constructed by the late Pa Obafemi Awolowo. The schools were built with mud.

Mud in this part of the world has a lot of iron which gets oxidised and leads to big cracks. The buildings are already collapsing. We have no choice but to clear the debris and weak structures to build functional infrastructure for education. I intend to build within the next 24 months, 20 high schools with each having capacity for 3,000 pupils and 50 middle schools with capacity for 900 pupils each. I will also build elementary schools (100) with 1,000 capacity at urban centres and as low as 50 in the very rural communities.

It is not just infrastructure alone, we also want to assess out teachers and prepare them in terms of giving the students the best guide. We are re-orientating and motivating our teachers. But I have no problem with the university teachers. But, I do not come to terms easily with the philosophy that fund should only be pumped to the university or that school fees be increased. If you have basic education that is in doldrums and you have no provision to improve it while you focus on tertiary education, who will attend the university? The second is the high fee regime.

There was no one living and working in Osun State that could afford to send their wards to that university because of the high fee. If the highest paid worker and business men could not afford to sponsor their wards to the state university whose interest is the university serving? Our university is well supported. But my commitment is on strengthening the basic education though I will not abandon the tertiary education.

You were reported to have promised to capture 80 per cent of Lagos food market in your agricultural programme. What steps have you taken in the last one year to achieve this?

There was never a time we targeted capturing 80 per cent of Lagos food market. One would be extremely selfish and uncaring to take 80 per cent of the entire food exchange value in Lagos. I believe that if states in the South-West states take 10 per cent each, and they are five, outside Lagos itself, that is 50 per cent. The remaining can be left to other states to have their own share. Why must we have such desire? In terms of location, the states are the closest to Lagos. As such, we should take a maximum advantage of that. That was my projection.

Before I set out for the governorship seat, I made it a primary objective to develop the agricultural potential of Osun to capture just 10 per cent of the food market value in Lagos. Immediately we assumed office, we declared to the world that it would be totally wrong for any entity — be it human or geographical — to claim independent existence and still be dependent on others. When a territory depends absolutely on others, it is no longer independent but a possession of that authority that gives it life.

What exists at present is that most of the states are in this sort of derogatory relationship whereby without the handout of another government — whether federal or central — they cannot survive. Our goal is first of all to ensure that we reverse that ugly trend. We want to be like Lagos, which in the worst scenario can still survive on its own. We have looked around and there is no other way we can have independent survival outside agriculture. After all, the majority of our people, aged though, are into subsistence agriculture. Our primary objective is to help subsistence farmers multiply their production through expansion of their farming capacity, improvement on the techniques of farming and assistance to move their goods to railway terminal for upward movement to Lagos free of charge.

Toward this end, we went to the Nigeria Railway Corporation to finalise agreement to ensure free freight of agricultural produce from Osogbo to Lagos. This is not limited to produce of Osun alone. If yours is from Sokoto and it gets here, for as long as it is agricultural produce, we will transport it for you free. Essentially, this is to motivate our farmers. We are clearing land for potential farmers who could come from any part of the world. We produce improved seedling for high yield free of charge and give fertiliser at subsidised rate. As I am talking to you, we have over 300 metric tons of fertiliser in our store.

Agriculture is the primary focus of our administration. We invest most in agriculture and commit more of our time and energy to it. We have cleared 3,000 hectares of land for agriculture, including land for rice cultivation. If you know, it costs a lot of money to clear 1,000 hectares of land. We are equally opening access roads to farms and providing electricity and water. We are being supported by France and World Bank in the rural accessibility programme where we are targeting a total of 500 kilometres of rural roads to service farmers in various locations.

What it means is that we may not tar all the roads but we shall ensure that all the water crossings are with bridges and gutters so that there will be no reason for farmers not to be able to move their goods from the farm to the nearest centre. But farmers have yet to take advantage of the free freight because they are still held down by the old method of transportation. There will be no discrimination on sources of produce. If produce gets to Dagbolu, which is the centre, the Osun State Government will move it free of charge to Lagos.

The railway is not functioning well, how will you ensure transportation of produce when farmers eventually subscribe fully to your programme?

I have moved people free of charge from Lagos to Osun on a daily basis. I want to tell you that I am improving on the Memorandum of Understanding between our government and the Nigerian Railway Corporation.

The railway has its own challenges and the corporation won’t move beyond its challenges. I don’t worry myself with the problem of the corporation; I only use the railway. I need wagon and locomotive engine and operate at will. If I have enough commodities to move, I can move every hour. You worry about how I do it; that is the creativity. That is why I am different. But the truth is that as of today, my facilities are not fully ready. I have not completed Dagbolu (the food hub) to the level I want and I am still working on Osogbo station.

My Lagos depots are not fully ready. I am looking at having 57 Osun markets in each of the 57 local governments and development centres so that this products on getting to Lagos will be transported straight to the food marts and whoever is interested will get them at Osun prices. The goal is to make farm produce available at farm gate prices in Lagos. What determines the frequency of my rail is the availability of produce.

Source- The Punch

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04 May 2012

#Nigeria Police detain journalists to prevent access to Saraki

May 4, 2012 by Eniola Akinkuotu
Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, Mr. Umaru Manko

No fewer than six journalists were locked up in the office of the Police Public Relations Officer of the Special Fraud Unit in Lagos on Thursday when former Kwara State Governor Bukola Saraki visited the unit to respond to allegations of a N9bn loan scam levelled against him.

Saraki, who  was  supposed to be at the command at 10am on Thursday, arrived an hour later.

He drove into the SFU premises in black Mercedes Benz Sports Utility Vehicle with Abuja number plate CH 165 RBC amid tight security.

His aides shielded him from journalists, who had stormed the premises before he alighted, to meet with the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Tunde Ogunsakin

The governor’s aides appealed to journalists not to take photographs of the member of the Senate but the pleas fell on deaf ears.

Journalists then gathered at the office of the PPRO, Mrs. Ngozi Isintume, but two hours later, as Saraki exited the building, the journalists were locked inside the office of the PPRO to prevent them from taking pictures of Saraki.

“I have been given orders that no journalist must come out. Stay in there until Saraki leaves,” a policeman said as journalists attempted to force the door open.

Sources said Saraki was given preferential treatment by the police as opposed to other persons who had been invited to the SFU over the same allegations.

The senator was supposed to have reported to the SFU on April 20 but pleaded for an extension by three days. But on April 24, he obtained an injunction at an Abuja High Court to restrain the police from arresting him.

On April 28, the SFU declared the lawmaker wanted but he responded by saying he would be at the SFU at 9am on Monday.

On Monday however, Saraki refused to go to the SFU, instead went to the Force Headquarters, Abuja, where he was quizzed by Ogunsakin after being ordered by the Acting Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar to come to Abuja.

Our correspondent learnt that Mohammed had served as CP of the Kwara State command when Saraki was governor.

The SFU had alleged that a group of companies — Joy Petroleum Limited, Skyview Properties Ltd, Dicetrade, and Limkers Nigeria Ltd — were given loans by the bank under the management of former Managing Director of Intercontinental Bank, Mr. Erastus Akingbola.

The loans were allegedly promoted by Saraki between 2004 and 2009 when he was the Governor of Kwara State.

The SFU noted that the loans/facilities worth billions of naira were used to purchase shares in blue chip companies and choice landed properties in Lagos and Abuja, some of which were used to secure the loans.

However, Akingbola’s successor following the shake up by the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Mahmood Alabi, granted a waiver of N9,97bn, representing about 82 per cent of N11.97bn indebtedness.

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04 May 2012

#Nigeria PHCN workers on strike over ‘unpaid salaries’

May 4, 2012 by Stanley Opara
Minister of Power, Prof. Bart NnajiMinister of Power, Prof. Bart Nnaji
| credits: File copy

Workers of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria in Lagos State commenced another round of strike on Thursday due to the non-payment of four months’ salaries to those who were not cleared after the recent biometric verification exercise.

Our correspondent learnt from some of the workers that the result of the biometric exercise conducted by the Ministry of Power for PHCN members of staff categorised some of them as ‘ghost’ workers, a situation that led to the stoppage of their salaries since February.

Some of the workers, who spoke to our correspondent at the Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company, said the ministry had promised to pay them the outstanding salaries, but had consistently defaulted.

The General Secretary, National Union of Electricity Employees, Mr. Joe Ajaero, who spoke to our correspondent on the telephone, said the aggrieved workers, whose names were omitted from the result of the biometric verification exercise, had not been paid since February.

He said Lagos had the highest number of those affected, hence the commencement of the strike in the state.

Ajaero said, “The chief executive officers of the PHCN firms once said they had been asked to pay the affected workers. But when asked recently, they said they were asked to stop the payment.

“We are currently meeting in Abuja. The issue was raised and we are working towards resolving it.”

The Chairman, NUEE, Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company Zone, Mr. Lawal Adewale, also confirmed to our correspondent that affected members had not been paid salaries for four months.

“About 153 workers were affected at Ikeja and Oshodi distribution. The consultant that did the biometric exercise labelled them as ghost workers. I can authoritatively tell you that there is no ghost worker at the Ikeja distribution zone. The strike will definitely continue until we are answered,” he said.

When our correspondent contacted the ministry, a media aide to the minister, Mr. Cdon Adinuba, said some of the workers refused to partake in the biometric verification exercise.

“That was why we appealed to them on several occasions to submit themselves to the exercise. The minister even told them that he had to submit himself to the exercise to get his pay. Despite all these, some refused to do it,” he stated.

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04 May 2012

#Nigeria VIPs spent N29.7bn on chartered flights in 2011!!!

May 4, 2012 by Oyetunji Abioye
Director-General, NCAA, Dr Harold Demuren

Nigerians, notably public office holders and businessmen spent about N29.7bn on chartered flights in 2011, investigation by our correspondent has revealed.

Statistics obtained from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria and Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, showed that the nation’s airports handled an average of 50 chartered flights per day in 2011.

The Director-General, NCAA, Dr. Harold Demuren, in a paper presented two weeks ago, confirmed that the nation’s airports handled 50 chartered flights daily last year.

Some chartered flight operators, who spoke to our correspondent in Lagos on Thursday, said politicians, state governors and other clients paid an average of $7,000 per hour for each flight.

Chartered airline operators at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, said each of the chartered flights took an average of one and a half hours; hence, the operators generated about $10,500 in revenue from each flight.

From the foregoing, it means the eminent Nigerians who patronised the services of the operators must have spent about $525,000 (N81.38m) on chartered flights each day last year at $10,500 multiplied by 50 flights.

Consequently, the Very Important Persons must have spent about $191.625m (N29.7bn) on chartered flights in 2011 at $525,000 multiplied by 365 days.

The chartered aircraft operators are Kings Airlines, Top Brazz Aviation, Wings Aviation, Associated Airlines, Overland Airways, Arik Air, Vistajet and Aero Contractors.

According to industry analysts, chartered airline operators are currently engaged in an intense competition over the VIP market in the country, which they said had been rated as one of the fastest growing in the world.

Different VIPs from the corporate world and government circles usually throng airport terminals daily to patronise the services of the chartered airline operators.

Nigeria’s aviation market is regarded as one of the most robust in the world, bringing huge revenue and profit to foreign airlines.

Passengers who used Nigerian airports in 2011 spent a total of $1.5bn (about N225bn) on the purchase of tickets, the Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah, had recently said.

Oduah, in a keynote address she delivered at an interactive forum with aviation stakeholders in Abuja a fortnight ago, also said that 90 per cent of the total revenue from the airports came from the Lagos and Abuja airports.

The minister said 14.6 million passengers used the airports scattered across the country within the year, while 122,700 tonnes of cargoes were moved by air within the one-year period.

According to the minister, the nation’s airports handled 50 chartered flights and 300 scheduled flights per day during the period under review.

The aviation sector, she said, employed a total of 60,000 workers in 2011, including 1,835 cabin crew, 934 pilots, 325 air traffic controllers, 865 aircraft maintenance engineers and 250 meteorology personnel.

She said, “Aviation is pivotal to the growth of key economic sectors, such as travel and tourism, agriculture production and distribution, rural development, trade and commerce, manufacturing and other non-oil sectors, which are critical to economic transformation of any nation.

“The value chain of creation by aviation is enormous. In order to reposition the Nigerian aviation sector for this role, we consulted widely with industry stakeholders and relevant ministries, departments and agencies to develop a common mission and vision.”

Source : The Punch

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04 May 2012

ACN slams PDP over comment on Fashola’s celebration

Lagos State chapter of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) blamed the criticism of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on the governor’s celebration of his days in office on ignorance.

The party accused the opposition party of afflicted by misplaced belief that it will exert non-existing strength and acceptance with the people of the state.

In a statement, the party’s Publicity Secretary, Mr Joe Igbokwe, berated the PDP -led Federal Government of having nothing to show more than 12 years in the saddle. He noted that with resources of over N100 trillion it had not better the lots of the people.

He said: “Thinking it will gain relevance by denying that the ACN government in Lagos has recorded immutable milestones in its stay in power, the party advises the PDP to first go and atone to Nigerians for prosecuting the destruction of a rich and vibrant country than making ignorant statements with the hope that it will make impact in capturing Lagos is a wild dream.

“We know that in making that spurious allegation, Lagos PDP misconstrued these celebrations, which are no more than fruitful engagement with vital stakeholders in Lagos, the PDP was ruled by the belief that the celebration was tantamount to the many revelries and wild orgies the party has made of a fundamental principle of state policy since 1999. “We want to educate them that what they are childishly labouring to criticise are meaningful forums that offers the governor an opportunity to report to select stakeholders and take their feedback.” It is understandable why such would not appeal to a party that sees power merely as opportunity to wine, dine, make merry and share booty.

“While we insist the PDP that has excelled in ruining Nigeria these past thirteen years of unrestrained destruction, is the least qualified to talk about performance in government, we want to let Lagos PDP know that Fashola is celebrating milestones Lagosians will ever see as a golden era in the annals of the state’s history. “We want to let the PDP know that unlike their party and its so-called governments that are seized with unending profligacy, the celebration of days by Fashola’s government are only meant as strategic engagement forums between the governor and different segments of the Lagos society.” We want to educate them that what they call celebrations are no more than sessions of strategic engagement where the government renders account and takes important input from these critical stakeholders for the betterment of Lagos.

“In the celebration of his first 100 Days, Fashola engaged the youths, in his 900 Days, he engaged the Artisans. In his 1,000 Days, he engaged the Public Service, while in the 1,100 Days, he engaged members of the diplomatic community. In the 1,200 Days, Fashola engaged the Organised Private Sector, while in the 1,300 Days to 1,700 Days, he engaged the general public. in the 1,800 Days, he engaged the professionals and we dare say these meaningful engagements has improved transparency in the governance of Lagos.”

Igbokwe further said: “Lagos ACN wondered how the PDP, which recently exported the culture of idleness and slothfulness to Lagos by closing down the city on a busy working day for a meaningless jamboree where public fund was freely lavished, now feeling so uncomfortable about such periodic engagements, as Fashola’s celebration of his days in office . “We know that reporting back to the people does not matter to the PDP. Neither does it care about drawing input from the people to improve governance. “We know that the Lagos PDP is struck by a credibility crisis and the complete lack of home support it enjoys in Lagos, has led it to believe that ranting ignorantly over issues it hardly understands will give it electoral currency that will engineer a miraculous takeover of Lagos. “Lagosians know so well about PDP to fall for its antics. At least the wreckage they have left in Nigeria these past thirteen years is enough to warn any person that would wish to give the PDP hemlock a second look. We want to assure them that Lagosians are wiser to their antics.”

Source : The Nation


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04 May 2012
1 Comment

#Nigeria Fayemi: My worries about the Nigerian polity

• Fayemi
• Fayemi

Governor Kayode Fayemi is not just a politician, but also a scholar. In this interaction with journalists in Lagos, the Ekiti State governor addressed controversies surrounding the West’s attempt to integrate the region, the security report on Osun State and the Ondo State political imbroglio. Group Political Editor BOLADE OMONIJO was there.

 

Is regional integration possible with the altercation between ACN and Labour Party in Ondo?

What is wrong, if Aregbesola one of the leaders of the Action Congress of Nigeria wants his party to produce the governor of Ondo State? I have already told you about style and language. Is there anything fundamental about Aregbesola’s involvement in politics? Will he be promoting other parties? If we go as far as Adamawa, we sent people to Kogi, we sent people to work with our party in all the states we have potentials to win, what is wrong with that. The people you say people are not harassing, Adams in BRACED, don’t they come to campaign in Edo for PDP, do they get harassed? Has their rally been disrupted? Let us be fair about it. If we have a problem with Aregbesola language or style there is nothing wrong in advising him to moderate his style. I still insist that Ondo believes in regional integration. In regional integration everywhere it happens, you will have leaders who are uncomfortable with one another. Take the European Union, at the beginning, Britain stood out, they said they didn’t want to be part of it, Germany and France pushed on for some time till it became economically unwise for Britain to stay out of it as they realised that the market, that big European market, is there for them. This is an economic and development issue, it is not a political issue. It is not about the governors, it is about the economic necessity. Can we survive on our own? Can we remain in our silo? What happens to us when this handout from Abuja, that we call allocation stops? How do we want to organise our society? It is a futuristic agenda, it is not even an agenda for now.

What is your view on recent development in Osun State and its effect on the image of your party?

Our party, the Action Congress of Nigeria, has a manifesto. Our manifesto is not apologetic in any way about how we see the Nigeria state today. We believe in the promotion of equity. We have offered what we consider to be the mechanism for re-ordering state, federal and local government relations. That is properly documented. Whether it is called in some sectors devolution of power or it is called by another decentralisation or it is called true federalism. There are all sorts of names that are used for what we believe in. We all have our styles of governance. It may be easy for me because of my nature to relate with an Ayo Fayose who is my brother, regardless of whatever his political position is or Oni or any of the other people in my state in a manner that Governor Aregbesola may find difficult, if not impossible, to relate with Iyiola Omisore or even his predecessor; Governor Oyinlola. That is personal style but we must not elevate that personal style to the level of fiction because that is exactly what is happening with the so called security report. I come from a security background as many of you know. I know how security reports are put together and when you put together a report that is mishmash of discussion, I don’t want to say beer parlour or pepper soup joint discussion, with no head no tail, I have my worries. Governor Aregbesola is seen as fiery and fearsome, but he is quite soft at heart. It may be difficult for some to believe that is really what he is. Because he is a shy person, his own mental defence mechanism may be to put a wall between himself and those who he doesn’t want to relate to but when you really subject it to logic what is in that report that is worthy of a second look from any serious minded person. As I said in my statement, we had a flag before Osun had a flag. Lagos had a flag 20 years ago. It was the only state that remained when the other states were balkanized. We have an anthem. If you come to Ekiti, we don’t sing just the national anthem, we sing our own Ekiti anthem and if you come across any document from Ekiti State, you will see that it is not the federal government coat of arms that we have in the state. We don’t even have the Federal Government’s coat of arms on our document. That is not to say that we are not a constituent part of the federal state called Nigeria, and we are proud to be, but we believe that we need an identity that speaks to the core value of our state, that our people can relate to and when you see the Ekiti crest, if no name is written on it, if you have 10 crests put together and you see the Ekiti crest you will not be in any doubt. You will actually say this must be Ekiti without being told. I think that is what Governor Aregbesola has done.

What about Omisore’s threat to stop and search the convoy of Aregbesola?

How is it going to be done? Some of the people fighting him, where were they in the politics in their state. You have my brother who claimed to be the South West Chairman of their party.

It will not be news to you that he has no place at home. He couldn’t even go home. He is settling quarrel all over the South West, he could not go home to his party to resolve the conflagration that is there.

Is it feasible for a state to champion secession?

Is Osun State championing secession? One, it is not feasible. We have our own design, our own grand dream about what we want to achieve for our state. I have just come from the opening ceremony of the Lagos Economic Summit. Lagos is still a sub nation in Nigeria but it is the fourth largest economy in Africa. It is not a sovereign state, but many of the things that Lagos wants to do, many sovereign states in Africa cannot do. It is a matter of choice. If Osun has a vision of building a state that is self sufficient, that has food security, that can respond to the needs of the people and you then find that difficult, then it is not secession that you are worried about. You are worried about what the performance level will do to the fortune of your own party, if he was to achieve all of those elements. It is the same old age battle between the reactionaries and the progressives. That is what is happening. Don’t let us kid ourselves. I dare say it has some level of Abuja connection in it. We are not worried. We have no issue with the Federal Government. The issue that we have with the Federal Government, we have put them on the table, the lopsidedness of the relation between the centre and the state. That is open; people know our position on that. We want our regional bloc to serve the people of this region. We are unapologetic about that and nobody can accuse us of going into our siloh because that is a model that is being represented everywhere. As we speak some people are gathered in Asaba called BRACED meeting on South South agenda and working on the South South development. Let us not mix development with politics. They are not meeting on South South sharing of money, they are meeting on how to bring development to the region. Peter Obi, my brother and his colleagues gather time to time to organise in response to the economic challenges in the South East and unless we do that how am I going to access the N3 billion food market in Lagos, if I don’t work within the regional hub and discourage Lagos from even venturing into Agriculture so that I can bring the food here? That, for us, is the issue. The time for governance is for governance. It seems to be in their own views which are being parroted by the media, Aregbesola is the most recalcitrant of the lot. If you can crush him, Fayemi is easy, Amosun used to be with us we can get him back, Ajimobi is a nice man, Fashola is a technocrat. That is their own estimation and that is what is driving what they are doing. Unfortunately for them they are on the wrong track. 

How will you describe what happened at the venue of the botched Adebayo Adefarati Memorial lecture in Ondo?

It is a worrisome development. I hope, it is not yet an ugly event. If it is an ugly event, I hope it is not going to become a process; that it will remain an event. I was surprised by what happened. I want to be as frank as possible. I found it strange because I regard the governor of Ondo State as my brother and I have said this to many of you on many occasions that in my party, I am seen as the closest link to him, even when some of the leaders in my party are not necessarily very cordial in their relationship with the governor. I have always maintained that the relationship that I have with him goes beyond the personal. We have very strong personal bond. We were in the trenches together. We fought together, even though, he was on the other side, (the Labour Party) but were both the underdogs when we went into our elections and necessarily, we exchanged notes. We did many things together, even now, particularly developmentally. He was one of the first people that I spoke to when the Adefarati family came to me that I should come and give a lecture. I told the family when they came that since this was not a partisan matter; it was a memorial of somebody who had been governor of a state, who had been a leader of the progressive movement. I don’t think it should be partisan, and I asked the family pertinent questions: who are the people that are coming? Have you told the governor of the state? What role will it play at the event? The family members made it clear to me that they had informed the governor, even though they had difficulty in seeing him but they handed over the letter to his Chief of Staff.

About two days to the event, I called him and confirmed to him that I would be coming to deliver Baba Adefarati’s 5th Memorial lecture. He said that he didn’t like the way the lecture was being handled, that he felt that there was a political undertone and all that, which is natural. Any of us could come with any impression of this matter and I said to him, well as far as I am concerned, this is an important thing to do. It is the 5th anniversary of a man in whose administration he himself was very much involved as a commissioner, even more than someone like me. I told him that I would come over to him and we would go together to the event which. But, before I left Ado-Ekiti, I received the first warning shot because my advance team was already there, and, they informed me that there was problem, altercation between the Labour Party supporters and those of the Action Congress of Nigeria, (ACN) at the venue of the event, but at that time they had not attacked Dr. Olaiya Oni. It was the early period of the day.

Did you at that point get in touch with him again?

Again, I called my brother and said this is what I was hearing about the place and I hoped it was proper for me to come and he said that he too had heard that there were problems, they were not allowing members of the Labour Party to come in. that was his own perspective. By the time I got to Akure, I discovered that it was really pointless going to the place because the feedback I was getting was not palatable. I went to the house of our party leader; the former Secretary to the State Government under Chief Adefarati; Omo Ekun, Chief Wunmi Adegbonmire. I was there with our National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande and some other chieftains, watching the development whether things would calm down or not. We eventually got a message that the situation was yet to abate. My own security team actually wanted to go, but I felt that it wasn’t proper. If I had gone, those who had been shooting and throwing all sort of things, my own security team would have found it necessary to respond and that would have escalated the entire thing beyond what later transpired. So, I decided that I was leaving town. Again I called my brother that given what had transpired, I couldn’t go to the event, I was returning to Ado-Ekiti and he said that he was in Ile Oluji at the time. We agreed to see subsequently.

Do you think this could foretell what to expect during the campaign?

What I found surprising was that an event of this nature could be turned into a redress rehearsal for the shape of things to come in Ondo State. I really do hope it is not the shape of things. It was also more shocking to me, naturally, when matters like this happen, security people will do their investigation and Ondo and Ekiti are like Siamese twins, there is very little you can do in one angle that will not filter to the other. I was surprised when I discovered from evidence shown to me later that elements close to the party and government in Ondo State were central to everything that happened. I don’t know if my brother was aware of the role they played because it is also possible as governors often find themselves in a situation where their supporters and their key actors may do things that they are not privy to. It is not impossible that he may not even know the activities of some of his men but I have it on very good authority that at least three of the drivers of the fracas are key officials in his party. It was not spontaneous. It was not accidental. It was organised and they had been there since 7am. In fact, some of the people they used had effrontery to go to an event where the governor was presented an award same evening to lodge a complaint that the money they gave to them was not enough and I don’t think that is something I really want to associate with the governor of Ondo State. I feel very strongly as earlier said that I am almost regarded as umbilical cord between my party and himself because we have close relationship. I respect him, I discuss a lot of things with him, particularly in relation to our states because hardly can one do anything without the other.

Beyond the Fayemi/Mimiko personal relationship, what about the two states?

We are closely tied, not just because of our shared history, but also because of the practicality. There are many of my people who live in Akure and come to Ado-Ekiti, including senior functionaries of my government. I wouldn’t want a situation in which Ondo State citizens in Ekiti and Ekiti citizens in Ondo will find themselves in the line of fire which they had not caused which is driven by political machination rather than any objective animosity on the part of both states, particularly, the two of us really have nothing but I also know that in politics, friends easily becomes enemies and I will hate a situation in which that will be the case. I have seen a lot of reports in newspapers, attributing what happened to all sorts of funny things like ACN aspirants fighting among themselves, Labour people not being allowed to come into the venue.

Do you agree with those expressing fear that we may be sowing the seed that could consume the Republic?

What is much more fundamental and which I think should worry us collectively and, as leaders in the media and society I will like all of us to reflect on it together, is the potential that this holds even for the survival of our democracy. The West has a history in this country, and more often than not, the West is always the trigger of crisis. There are those, particularly conservative elements in this country who always find it necessary to arrest development in the West without considering the full implications of that on the country and more often than not when that thrives, it ends up destroying the very fabric of this fragile democracy called Nigeria and I hope we are not going down that route again with Ondo State becoming Achilles heel in our country.

There are those who will even see some of the things that I have jokingly talk about with you on development in Osun. I am an unapologetic advocate of regionalism and many of you have read my interview or comment that I do not necessarily believe that we all must belong to the same political party for regionalism to take root. I used to give example that in our lifetime Chief Kehinde Sofola came from the same community as Chief Obafemi Awolowo and he was Attorney General of the NPN, the party in government in the Second Republic. There is nothing that says that we cannot even belong to the opposing side. Let us market ourselves to the people. Let us sell our idea to the people and it is on the basis of that that we should ask for their votes and for legitimacy. None of us should be indulged in any attempt to force ourselves on our people. Once there is a legitimate product of legitimate process, the ownership comes automatically In my state I make bold to say that some may say Fayemi is a passivist. Governor Ayo Fayose was with me to greet me on my mother’s passage. When former Governor Oni’s mother died, I was one of the first people that went there, in spite of our political differences and I was at her funeral. Politically, many of you may know that Chief Afe Babalola is not exactly on my side of the divide, but at every opportunity because I recognise that he is an icon, we have a state calendar, he is one of the first people on the Ekiti state calendar as a brand ambassador for my state. That is me. I don’t see why I cannot disagree with you politically and still share bread with you. Call it naivety, lack of readiness to play politics the way it is meant to be played in our setting. I think this is an intellectual process and we can have an intellectual approach to disagreement which does not impair my personal relationship with you. That is why I am saddened by what happened in Ondo State. The lecture did not make a single reference to the impending election in Ondo State, neither did it talk about the relationship between my party and the Labour Party. It focused on how we could rebuild this society on the basis of equity, fairness and justice.

Source : The Nation

Posted in Politics and tagged , , , , , , ,
03 May 2012

#Nigeria NCC Suspends Spectrum Licences Till 2015

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Executive Vice-Chairman of NCC, Eugene Juwah

 

By Emma Okonji

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said it would not issue spectrum licences to operators until 2015 when telecoms broadcasting operators must have migrated from analogue to digital spectrum.

Executive Vice-Chairman of NCC, Dr. Eugene Juwah gave the declaration in Lagos, while responding to the shortfall in broadband penetration in the country at a broadband forum organised by Accenture.

Juwah who lamented the shortage of spectrum licenses in the country, said by the end of the migration, most of the frequency slots currently being occupied by broadcasters would become available for auction.

He said the commission was already in talks with Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) operators that are currently using the 790 Mega Hertz and the 862 Mega Hertz frequency band to free them up by migrating to Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology in carrying out their operations.

According to him, the frequencies that were hitherto auctioned to them were not being fully utilised, insisting that such frequencies are better utilised for broadband penetration.

Juwah also promised to auction the reaming slots in the 2.3 Giga Hertz spectrum band when other expected spectrums must have been made available by their current users.

Addressing the regulatory intervention to deepen broadband access in the country, Juwah said NCC had adopted the Open Access Model (OAM) that would help unbundle broadband into three layers for easy broadband deployment. “The model provides a framework for sophisticated
infrastructure sharing and it will help unbundle broadband,” he said.

He listed the three layers to include passive layer, active layer and retail layer, stressing that no single operator would be allowed to operate in more than one layer, in order to achieve even distribution of broadband.

“With the model, bandwidth will be provided by the active infrastructure providers to the retail service providers on a fair and non-discriminate basis. The active infrastructure providers will buy bulk bandwidth from submarine cable companies, which are then delivered via optical fibre owned by the passive infrastructure provider,” Juwah said, adding that the implementation of the model will bridge the gaps in broadband deployment, eliminate last mile issue, reduce the price of bandwidth for end users and unlock the market for massive broadband usage in Nigeria.

Posted in Technology (ICT) and tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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