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The minister of
health, Onyebuchi Chukwu, on Monday in Abuja, restated the federal
government’s commitment to fight against leprosy.

Speaking in
commemoration of the World Leprosy Day, with the theme ‘Nigeria at 50:
Celebrating Success in Leprosy Control’, Mr. Chukwu urged Nigerians to
join in the cause to eliminate the disease from the society.

“Let me
re-emphasise that leprosy is curable; its treatment is free and it is
unfair to stigmatise or discriminate against people affected by
leprosy.

“I will like to
assure the nation that we remain fully committed to the idea of a
country without leprosy, and we intend to continue to fight against
this disease as long as it is necessary,” he said.

The minister, who was represented by Philippa Momah, the head of the
family health department of the ministry, noted that the ministry has
introduced leprosy services in secondary and tertiary health
institutions.

The Supreme Court
on Monday has set March 1 as the date to entertain the main appeal
filed by the Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, Ado Ibrahim, against a judgment that
ordered his vacation of the stool in 1996.

The presiding
judge, Aloma Murthar, adjourned hearing on the appeal to enable all
parties with sundry motions to file and serve the relevant parties.

“We must create
time to deal with all pending motions before we commence hearing on the
main appeal. All these arguments will be sequentially done on March 1,”
the judge said.

Mr. Ibrahim had
approached the court to vacate a judgment delivered by the Ayangba High
Court on April 5, 2006 in Kogi State and upheld by the Appeal Court in
Abuja. The trial court had in that judgment ordered Mr. Ibrahim to stop
parading himself as the Ohinoyi or Attah of Ebiraland. The judgment
also ordered members of the Ebira Traditional Council to take steps to
appoint a new paramount ruler to replace Mohammed Sanni, who died in
1996.

Ahmodu Anivassa and six others had instituted the suit against Mr.
Ibrahim; the former military administrator of Kogi, Lassa Afariya; the
attorney-general of the state; and two others.

The governor of
Borno State, Ali Sheriff, on Monday, formally reported the killing of
Modu Gubio, the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP) gubernatorial
candidate for the state, to the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) in Abuja.

Mr. Gubio was one
of a number of ANPP leaders who was killed on Friday in Maidugari. Also
killed were Goni Sheriff, the younger brother of Governor Sheriff, and
five others.

Mr. Sheriff told
journalists, after meeting with electoral boss, Attahiru Jega, that his
mission to INEC was to notify the commission of the death of “their
governorship candidate.”

He, however, said that while security operatives were doing their
work to uncover those behind the killing, “we will not be deterred.”

President Goodluck
Jonathan yesterday said that he will not contest in the 2015 elections
and that he will ensure that free and fair elections are conducted
during the April polls. Speaking during an interactive session with
Nigerians, primarily diplomats working in the United Nations Economic
Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the African Union (AU), the president
assured them that if he is voted for the next four years, he will
ensure significant improvement in key sectors of the economy like
security, power, education, road, health among others.

“Without security
there is no government so it is not debatable, it is something we have
to address and we are working towards that with vigour. But if I am
voted into power within the next four years, the issue of power will
become a thing of the past. Four years is enough for anyone in power to
make significant improvement and if I can’t improve on power within
this period, it then means I cannot do anything even if I am there for
the next four years” he said.

Fielding questions
from those present at the session on whether Nigerians abroad will
vote, Mr Jonathan said “I would have loved that the Nigerians in
Diaspora vote this year but to be frank with you, that is going to be
difficult now. Presently, the law does not allow voting outside Nigeria
and so this year, Nigerians in Diaspora will not vote but I will work
towards it by 2015 even though I will not be running for election”, he
said.

On the issue of
security in the country, Mr Jonathan said the government is doing
everything possible to arrest the situation adding that all those
involved in the October 1st bombing have been arrested and are
currently being prosecuted. He also said he ordered the release of the
car dealers because they were just businessmen who could not have known
that the vehicles were to be used for such heinous crime.

As regards road
network and transportation in the country, he assured the audience that
the railway system will soon be revamped because presently, heavy duty
vehicles are destroying the roads. “Why we cannot have continuous road
maintenance for now is because no contractor wants to go into it
because of the continuous pressure on the road by heavy duty vehicles.
That is why we are working to ensure that we revamp the rail”.

Care for Nigerian Diaspora

The president also
addressed issues raised on having a database of Nigerian experts in the
Diaspora, Mr Jonathan assured them that he is working on creating a
forum for interaction between them and that the government will also
develop a database, where experts needed to address the various
challenges of the economy will be drawn from. He hinted that this is
why the Diaspora Commission is being set up and the bill is already
before the National Assembly.

The President also
disclosed that the government is planning to review the country’s
foreign policy to ensure that Nigeria gets maximum benefit from its
roles and contributions to international organisations like the AU, UN
and ECOWAS.

He further lamented
that right now, Nigeria’s contributions are not being recognised adding
that “there is need for Nigeria to have something in return for our
investments. We are investing so much but it is not being noticed and
there is need to reverse that trend.”

The President
further assured that Nigerians working in international organisations
and institutions will be issued diplomatic passports. Following this,
he directed the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Odein Ajumogobia to submit
the list of those qualified within the shortest possible time to him.

The expected
emergence of former governor of Anambra State, Chris Ngige, as the
senatorial candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria for Anambra
Central will not cause sleepless nights for Dora Akunyili, the All
Progressives Grand Alliance candidate said yesterday. Mrs. Akunyili who
stated this at a meeting with the opponents she defeated in her party’s
primary said she was prepared to take on any opposition.

“I’m not worried by the emergence of anybody,” she said. “Everybody is free to vie for any position. The more the merrier.”

Mr. Ngige who
governed Anambra State for three years before being thrown out of
office by the courts has been rumoured to harbour senatorial ambitions
although he is yet to make a public declaration. But indications that
he was going to contest emerged when he allegedly had the name of his
political son put in for the Anambra Central senatorial slot for
Senate, prompting political analysts to speculate that Mr. Ngige’s name
will be put in as a replacement for the current candidate on the last
day for substitution of candidates.

But Mrs. Akunyili
said she was not bothered, whether Mr. Ngige was going to run or not.
She said that the paramount thing was to put her house in order by
mending fences with those who ran against her before the primary.

“You don’t expect
people that didn’t make it in the primaries to be rejoicing, you don’t
expect them to be happy,” she said. “It is natural and it is our
responsibility as people that won to call them and their supporters
together and appeal to them to sheathe their swords so that together,
we can work to achieve victory.”

Of the three people
that contested against Mrs. Akunyili, two — George Ozodinobi and Emma
Nweke — have declared their support for her, with Mr. Ozodinobi showing
up in person at the venue of the meeting.

According to Mr.
Ozodinobi, he was present at the occasion in order to help salvage the
APGA in the state. Describing Mrs. Akunyili as a woman of substance, he
said it was now time to come together to ensure victory for the party.

“What I’m saying
today is that the contest is over,” he said. “In the game of football,
there are provisions for gold, silver and bronze but in politics, the
winner takes all. Akunyili is our gold, she’s our choice and it is our
duty to support her. If she fails, everybody has failed and it will be
our collective shame.”

Earlier in the day, Mrs. Akunyili, in the company of her husband
John Akunyili, a medical doctor, had opened her campaign office in Awka
and paid a courtesy call to the traditional ruler of Awka thereafter.
The Awka monarch, Igwe Gibson Nwosu, praised Mrs. Akunyili and noted
that “never in the history of politics in the state had such a popular
candidate come out”, and urged the people of the state to support her.
The contestant restated her commitment towards giving her people
unparalleled representation in the Senate and promised to resign if her
impact was not felt within a year.

The charges of
illegal arms shipment leveled against one Iranian and three Nigerians
before a Magistrate Court in Abuja, was yesterday struck out, following
the filling of a similar charge against the accused persons before a
Federal High Court sitting in Lagos.

At the resumed
hearing of the case, the prosecutor, Moses Idakwo, informed the court
that a fresh charge has been filed before a Federal High Court in Lagos
due to the fact that the court in Lagos can easily be moved to inspect
the exhibits (The arms containers).

Also, the Federal
Government withdrew charges against two of the accused persons, Aliyu
Wammako and Mohammed Tukur, as the prosecutor said that the proof of
evidence does not directly link them with the commission of the crime.

The application for
withdrawal by the prosecution was contested by the lawyer representing
the Iranian, Chris Uche, who argued that it is a ploy to further
infringe on the right of the accused persons. One Iranian and three
Nigerians were last year charged before a Magistrate Court in Abuja for
allegedly conspiring to import and importing containers loaded with
assorted calibers of prohibited fire arms into Nigeria.

The charge against
the accused persons, Azim Aghajani, an Iranian; Ali Usman Abbas Jega;
Aliyu Oroji Wamako; and Muhammed Tukur Umar was yesterday withdrawn by
the federal government. Magistrate Hafsat Soso, in her ruling, granted
the application of the prosecution, saying they cannot be forced to
proceed with the trial.

But the joy of Azim
Aghajani and Ali Abbas Jega were short-lived as they were re-arrested
by men of the state security service shortly after stepping out of the
court.

“The nature of
information is importation of prohibited firearms, contrary to section
27 (1) (a) (11) (111) of the Firearms Act Laws of the Federation of
Nigeria 2004. Attempt to export prohibited firearms, contrary to
section 27 (a) (1) (11) (111). That between 7th and 15th July 2010,
Azim Aghajani and Ali Usman Abbas Jega conspired to import and did
import thirteen (13) twenty feet (13×20) containers loaded with
assorted calibers of prohibited firearms consisting of 60mm mortars,
120m HE mortars, 81mm mortars, 107mm rockets, and 23 mm Apit fot gmzu
23 into Apapa Port, with the jurisdiction of this court. This is
contrary to section 27 (a) (1) (11) (111) of the firearms Cap. F28 Laws
of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

“Also, that between 12th and 25th October 2010, Azim Aghajani, an
Iranian, Ali Usman Abbas Jega, Aliyu Oroji Wamako, and Muhammed Tukur
Umar conspired to import and did import thirteen (13) twenty feet
(13×20) containers loaded with assorted calibers of prohibited
firearms, consisting of 60mm mortars, 120m HE mortars, 81mm mortars,
107mm rockets, and 23 mm Apit for gmzu 23 into Apapa Port, with the
jurisdiction of this court, to Banjul, Gambia. This is contrary to
section 27 (a) (1) (11) (111) of the firearms Cap. F28 Laws of the
Federation of Nigeria, 2004.”

Few weeks after the
campaign director of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Musa
Iilu was granted bail by the Chief Magistrate court 111 over the
alleged destruction of the billboards of the Nasarawa State Governor,
Aliyu Akwe Doma, his billboards at the Keffi and Karshi axes of the
State went up in flames.

NEXT gathered that
the razing of the bill boards was due to the recent People’s Democratic
Party (PDP) primaries which was marred with some irregularities as some
of the delegates who participated in the elections were worried with
the manner in which the primaries was conducted.

An eye witness told
our reporter that the youth are not happy with the governor and his
deputy for their inability to consider their plight.

Recently, the
governor’s billboards in Wamba Local Government Area were also brought
down in anger when irate youth claimed the governor restricted his main
contender, Tanko Almakura from constructing roads in their Council
Headquarters. Mr Almakura had rolled in bulldozers and graders to the
council area as part of his campaign plan to start road constructions
when he was asked to stop the projects immediately by the State Urban
Development Board.

In Doma, the
governor’s home town, his billboards were also torched down by
protesting youth who said the governor failed to honour his earlier
pledge of citing the new Federal University allocated to the State by
the President in the town.

The youth who were
initially happy that the university will be located in Doma were
disappointed when the governor announced that the state College of
Agriculture should be relocated to Doma while the University be taken
to the state headquarters in Lafia.

Our correspondent who visited Doma yesterday confirmed that all the
billboards set ablaze by the unhappy youth have since been replaced.

As part of moves to
discourage currency speculation and protect the value of the national
currency, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is creating a currency
futures market.

A currency futures
markets trade futures contracts, which specify that the underlying
index, in this case, the US dollar, will be bought or sold for a
specific price, on a specific date, in the future (known as the
expiration date).

In the recently
released guidelines, ‘Foreign Exchange Derivatives and Modalities for
CBN FX Forwards’, the regulator hinged this on its mandate to develop
the Nigerian financial markets and assurance of financial system
stability.

“The reforms cover
products, practices, regulation and supervision. The objective of the
CBN is to make our financial markets global, organised, liquid and
diversified. The development of the financial markets will enhance the
transmission of the monetary policy and minimise the risk to financial
system stability,” the CBN said.

Maximum tenor

The guidelines
states that, “The maximum tenor allowed for FX Forwards, and by
implication FX Swaps and Cross-Currency Interest Rate Swaps, is now
extended to five years. Authorised Dealers may seek specific approval
for longer tenors.”

The guidelines
stated that authorised dealers are allowed to offer to their customers
and the modalities under which the CBN intends to boost the trading
liquidity in these products. “Authorised dealers are expected to be
professional in their conduct in ensuring the efficient operations of
the Foreign Exchange (FX) market. Also, unprofessional conduct by the
staff of the Authorised Dealers shall not be tolerated.”

According to the
CBN, the approved hedging products are FX Options, Forwards (Outright
and Non-Deliverable), FX Swaps, and Cross-Currency Interest Rate Swaps.

CBN governor,
Lamido Sanusi, hinted last October that he would consider introducing
products that would discourage currency speculation.

“Part of what we
are trying to do in the Central Bank is introduce a forward market so
that people can hedge that risk and then don’t feel any urge to
pre-liquidate outstanding dollar exposure,” Mr. Sanusi told Reuters.

Frontloading

According to him,
there were indications that some people might be frontloading some of
their dollar obligations, resulting in the huge demand for foreign
exchange, a situation that would be ameliorated by a currency futures
market. The naira has shed 0.77 per cent since the beginning of the
year, closing yesterday at N150.31, compared to 149.16 at which it
closed last year at the official market.

The naira traded at N126.48 per dollar at end-December 2008.

According to the
CBN guideline which was released yesterday, the minimum allowable bid
amount by authorised dealers for each tenor shall be $500,000.

“The maximum spread
of 50 kobo is allowed on the sale of forwards with less than three
months tenor, whilst 75 kobo is allowed for tenors above three months.”

To further
discourage speculation in the futures market, the guideline disallows
forwards bought from the CBN to be traded in the inter-bank market.

“FX purchased from
the WDAS-SPT cannot be sold forwards to customers, as it must be
utilised within five (5) business days after settlement as per the
WDAS-SPT guidelines.”

Also, as incentive to encourage participation, “Forward contracts
will be recognised as off-balance sheet exposures in the books of
Authorised Dealers. Authorised Dealers are expected to bid on behalf of
their customers.”

The Vice-Chancellor of the University
of Jos, Sonni Tyoden, has said that the school will resume classes on
Thursday, February 3.

“With the restoration of peace and
order, normal academic activities will commence this Thursday,” Mr
Tyoden told journalists in Jos on Monday. The Vice Chancellor said that
the management is satisfied with the security measures put in place to
ensure the safety of the university community. He expressed regret that
17 students sustained gunshot injuries in the fracas with some
miscreants. “Happily, none of the 17 students has died; I think it is
necessary to make that clarification to assuage anxious parents, who
are naturally curious about the welfare of their wards.” “The
management has visited the hospitals where the injured were being
treated and can confirm that some have been discharged.” The
Vice-Chancellor said that there has been high level security talks with
the Special Task Force (STF) to secure the inhabitants of the
university community. “Our assessment of the security situation shows a
great improvement. Moreover, we now have a reinforcement of the STF
guarding our environment. Last week’s encroachment into the institution
remains the first time we were directly attacked,” he said.