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A three-day workshop organized by the Small And
Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria, in Abeokuta, Ogun
State, was disrupted at the weekend as participants engaged each other
in a brawl over the alleged smuggling of ghost participants’ names into
the payment list by the organizers.

Trouble broke out at the end of the workshop, held at the Iwe-Iroyin
Press Centre, when the participants, drawn from all local government
areas in the state, were collecting their transport fare back to their
various destinations. While the disbursement of the money was being
carried out, some participants from the Ijebu axis of the state said
they observed that some names on the participants list include those
who failed to attend the workshop.

They, therefore, accused the
organizers of plotting to pocket the extra money. The participants
stated that there was no basis for the organizers to budget fares for
those not present at the programme, and demanded that the excess funds
be shared evenly among the remaining people. Similarly, they also
protested what they alleged were discrepancies in the disbursement of
the fare. The protest and name-callings lasted for about one hour
before it was brought under control. The organizers refused to comment
on the protest.

The decision of an
Abuja court to strike out a suit on the legality of the executive of
the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Oyo State was to prevent the
abuse of court processes since the same matter is before an Ibadan High
Court, counsel to a faction of the party, Adeniyi Akintola, has said.

Mr Akintola
described as ‘erroneous’ the interpretation given to the verdict by a
local media that the court had validated the party’s executive council
in the state.

He said the
opposition leader, Lekan Balogun, was not aware of the existence of the
Ibadan suit earlier instituted by the other party, saying the Abuja
court had to strike out the case because the one filed in Ibadan
preceded it.

The state’s media
regaled its audience with news of the Abuja court decision last week,
but with the impression that the court had cleared the executive of the
allegation of illegality hanging on its neck since its inception.

Mr Akintola noted
that the news misled the public, saying the Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC) had also maintained that the state
executives of eight states, including Oyo, were mere sham as their
emergence did not comply with the provision of law.

“The present INEC
cannot be intimidated by any party and any party that feels otherwise
is doing so at its own peril and my candid advise for the ruling party
in Oyo State is to tread the path of honour by doing that which is
right, so that other parties will have not have undue advantage over
it,” he said.

Nigeria’s
Ambassador to the U.S, Adebowale Adefuye, has defended the sustenance
of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) even after the
creation of the Niger Delta Ministry.

The late President
Umaru Yar’Adua announced the creation of the Niger Delta Ministry on
September 10, 2008 to deal with the problems of the oil-rich region.

Mr Adefuye was
responding to accusations at the 2010 Achebe Colloquium on Africa over
the weekend in Providence, Rhode Island, U.S., that the government was
duplicating efforts with the continued existence of the Commission.

Supporting the
diplomat, Isidore Udoh, an official of the Niger Delta World Congress,
argued on the relevance of the Commission during a panel discussion on
the Niger Delta crisis at the Colloquium.

“The government
doesn’t need to fold up the NDDC. Just like every other ministry, the
Niger Delta Ministry has extra-ministerial agencies attached to it.

“Yes, NDDC might need to be reformed but it is still serving some useful purposes,’’ he said.

Mr. Adefuye said
many countries, including the U.S had expressed interest to partner
with Nigeria in the development of the region, which accounts for the
country’s huge crude oil reserves.

He said Nigeria is
willing to enter into bilateral treaties with other nations on the
Niger Delta, in addition to strengthening the existing U.S.-Nigeria
Bi-National Commission, “which has the region as one of its mutual
area of cooperation.’’

Meanwhile, the
governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, who was also at the
Colloquium, said there is no truth in the allegation that NDDC Managing
Director Chibuzor Ugwuoha transferred $30 million dollars in the
Commission’s offshore account to his private account in the U.K.

Mr. Amaechi was responding to a question from a participant who
alleged that Mr. Ugwuoha, who was the governor’s nominee to the
position, was involved in the illegal transfer of fund.

The owner of a
building in Agbado, Ifo Local Government Area of Ogun State, Tunde
Alabi, has been arrested by the police for allegedly killing the wife
of one of his tenants following a brawl which ensued between him and
the husband of the deceased.

The 46-year-old
suspect, who was paraded weekend at the Eleweran Police Headquarters,
Abeokuta, was, according to the police, said to have engaged his
tenant, Adelabi Dehinde, an official of the Nigerian Immigration
Service, in a fight in the house, located at 6 Kadiri Avenue, Oluwo
Ope-Ilu. The Commissioner of Police, Musa Daura, said the accused, who
resides in the same compound, hit Mr Dehinde on the head with a plank,
in the course of the fight. The wife of the tenant, Tolake Akinola,
came to the rescue of her hubby. Mr Alabi allegedly hit the 40-year-old
woman with the plank on her forehead, following which she collapsed and
was taken to the Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta, where she reportedly
died some hours later.

Mr Daura said the suspect has confessed to the crime and will be
charged to court on completion of investigation. Mr Alabi said that he
regretted his action, adding that explaining that he did not mean to
kill her. “The husband and the wife descended on me, and the only way
to react is the use of the plank available, but I don’t know it can
kill,” he said. “I want to beg for forgiveness. I know that who kills
will be killed, but I don’t mean to kill the woman. Please the
authority should temper justice with mercy for me.”

The Ondo State
governor, Olusegun Mimiko has advised security operatives to be alert
to their responsibilities during the forthcoming general elections to
prevent outbreaks of violence.

The governor gave
the warning while welcoming the Flag Officer Commanding, Western Naval
Command, Emmanuel Ogbor to Akure. The officer was familiarisation tour
of the Nigerian Navy Forward Operations Base (FOB) at Igbokoda. Mr
Mimiko said a repeat of the security challenges experienced by the
electorate during the 2007 general elections is capable of truncating
the hope of conducting free and fair elections in the country in the
country.

The governor, who
referred to the security situation during the bye-election held in
Ilaje Local Government Area July this year, told the Naval Chief that
the 2011 polls is also a security matter as it will go beyond the realm
of politics.

“It is important to
be pro-active because having credible elections in this country depends
largely on the security situation,” he said.

“It behoves on the
armed forces to ensure that the 2011 elections and subsequent ones are
free and fair as we normally have security challenges during
elections…

“The last
bye-election we had in Ilaje, we had real serious security challenges.
As a matter of fact, it was your men that went to rescue INEC officials
who were held hostage by some hooligans who wanted to attack them and
perhaps they could have had a fatal encounter with those hoodlums, but
your men rose to the occasion. So, we hope that during next year’s
election, you will beef up security in the water ways, policing the
water ways is very important in conducting free and fair election in
the riverine areas. As a nation, Nigeria is regarded as the giant of
Africa and must prove that leading position. It must perform or lead by
ensuring the conduct of successful free and fair elections and everyone
in Nigeria have a role to play if the next elections must be credible.”

Mr Ogbor commended the state government for its commitment to the
welfare of Naval officers and men in the state and called for
government support in ensuring the movement of the FOB to its permanent
base.

The premises of
Edo State Specialist hospital is now a beehive of activities as some of
the hospital wards are being pulled down in preparation for the
construction of an ultra-modern hospital ward, with state of the art
equipment.

The State
Government had recently signed a contract with a construction company,
Messers Sincies Chiementin International (Nigeria) for the construction
of the accident and emergency ward and a 120 bed in-patient ward in the
hospital.

Edo State
Commissioner for Health, Moses Momoh who signed the contract on-behalf
of the State Government, said the projects will cost the government the
sum of N2bn . He confirmed that the project will be completed within 18
months.

When completed, the
120-bed capacity wards will help meet with the growing challenges in
the health sector, and will also provide relief for the already over
stretched wards now in use at the hospital, as well as giving an
improved service to the patients and reducing the work load on other
tertiary health institutions in the State, especially the University of
Benin Teaching Hospital, (UBTH).

Five star clinic

Some patients who
spoke to NEXT at the hospital commended the State Governor, Adams
Oshiomhole for embarking on the project which they said was long
overdue. They pointed out that the reconstruction of the wards will
create room for the increasing number of patients. They also urged the
state government to extend the gesture to all hospitals across the
state.

Mr Oshiomhole had mentioned during his 2011 budget presentation that
the demolished hospital wards will give way to a “five-star hospital”
with facilities that could compare with any best hospital in the
world.‘‘Upgrading of other hospitals across the State will also takes
priority in the 2011 budget,’’ Mr.Oshiomhole said.

Governor of Anambra
State, and Chairman of the South East Governors’ Forum, Peter Obi, said
at the weekend he is pushing for the Igbo to support President Goodluck
Jonathan in next year’s presidential election because of the increased
federal presence in the south east zone.

Mr Obi, who spoke
at a ceremony to mark the commissioning of a multi-purpose hall built
and donated to the Nnewi Sports Club by a philanthropist, Emeka Offor,
said key projects such as the second Niger Bridge which, over the
years, had become a subject of political propaganda had been duly
designed and awarded by the Mr Jonathan administration, while work
would soon commence on some erosion sites as well as the Sakamori
project in Onitsha. “These are projects which hitherto had been
receiving lip service from previous administrations,” he said.

The governor, while
commending Mr Offor for the philanthropic gesture, promised residents
of the state that his administration would continue to encourage those
who contributes towards community development in any form. While noting
that the state had grown beyond party politics to that of development
with necessary stability and steady progress, he called for the
election of credible candidates in future elections.

The Minister of Defence, Adetokumbo Kayode, described Mr Obi as a
high profile leader who had made the country proud. He recalled that
the on-going comprehensive fencing of the Onitsha Military Barracks was
initiated and by the governor, and urged the people to give Mr Obi all
necessary support to complete his vision.

The abduction of a 65-year-old housewife, Juliana
Ogunleye from her residence in Akure, the Ondo State capital by three
armed bandits has sparked off protest from members the Nigerian Medical
Association (NMA) in the State.

The association has therefore given the state
government 48 hours to secure the release of the woman, who is the wife
of a Saudi-based Gynecologist, Idowu Ogunleye.

Mrs. Ogunleye was playing with her grandchildren at
her No 2, Ogunleye Street, Ijoka-Akure when she was abducted at about
7pm last month.

The three armed men, it was learnt, came to the house
on the pretext that they had come to deliver a message to the victim.
The woman was the only person kidnapped by the suspected gunmen, who
met six people in the house while carrying out the dastardly act.Her
husband, Idowu Ogunleye is at present outside the country.

A source close to the family said the abductors had
earlier placed a N100 million ransom on the woman before reducing it to
N50 million.

The family has however told the kidnappers that they
could not afford such huge amount, noting that the woman who was
neither a political office holder nor any of her siblings had been
taken away since November 25.

The Nigeria Medical Association has therefore sent a Save Our Soul letter to the state governor,Olusegun Mimiko.

The association, in the letter signed by Adetan
Oluwatoyin and I. J Adebose, chairman and the secretary respectively,
said that the latest case was the second involving wives of senior
medical practitioners in the state by criminals intent on extorting
money.

Unhappy doctors

They stated that the kidnap of doctors and their
relatives was a strange thing in the state.“Your Excellency, we need to
emphasize that as the Chief Security Officer of this state, our lives
and property are in your hand. When it concerned the politicians, the
government was there, for journalists, the whole nation was involved
and now that it involves doctors’ relatives, we do not expect anything
less”, the NMA said.

The NMA therefore called on the government and security agencies to
act fast in order to secure the release of the abducted Mrs Ogunleye,
whose abductors have now reduced the ransome to N30 million.