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The Akure division of the Appeal Court commenced
proceedings yesterday with the inaugural sitting of the appellate
court, five months after approval was granted.

At yesterday’s proceedings, six criminal appeal
cases were attended to by the three judges posted to the division by
the president of the Court of Appeal, Justice Ayo Salami. They are the
presiding judge, N. S. Ngwuta, C.E. Iyizoba, and M.A.A. Adumein.

The Ekiti State governorship election appeal that
was heard at the Court of Appeal, Ilorin, Kwara State, would have been
heard at the Akure court if it had commenced sitting at that time.

Speaking before the beginning of proceedings, Mr.
Ngwuta remarked that the taking off of the Akure division of the court
was the fulfillment of people’s aspiration in the state to bring
administration of justice nearer to the people.

“I want to warn that in fulfillment of every
desire, there is an obligation created. It is our duty to lay proper
foundation for the new Court of Appeal division in the state, but to do
that better, we seek the co-operation between the Bench and the Bar.

“It is going to be joint responsibility. I urge you to be diligent
in your work, and you should not file frivolous petitions and
applications. Moreover, be honest in your dealings and in doing that,
you owe the court a higher duty,” the presiding justice stated.

Africa needs a coordinated multi-country response to
tackle the menace of cross border diseases, President Goodluck Jonathan
said yesterday in Abuja.

Presenting a keynote address to declare open the
Inter-Country meeting on Cross-Border Public Health Issues, at the
Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, Mr. Jonathan said, “Diseases that cross
borders need a coordinated multi-country response. You are therefore
challenged to deliberated and agree on best practices in addressing
cross-border public health issues.”

The president who was represented by the Vice
President, Namadi Sambo, also said he was delighted that “we sister
African countries are meeting together to solve our major health
problems,” adding that as a sub region, health issues in one country
are bound to affect the neighbouring countries unless guidelines on
prevention and control are developed and implemented.

“The world is only secure if all of us are safe,” he said.

The President commended the Ministers of Health from
the various countries “for conceiving this idea of cross-border
discussions.” He also stated that with the calibre of delegates at the
deliberations, he was sure that “the outcome of the meeting would
appreciate Africa’s health challenges with a view to building bridges,
including networking and creating workable partnerships to tackle
them.”

Mr. Jonathan further disclosed that Nigeria has
placed health as a cardinal objective, stressing that a healthy nation,
creates a healthy human capacity needed for national development.

“We as a country are committed to creating an
enabling environment to ensure smooth implementation of the
recommendations from this meeting in line with the dictates of our
National health policy.”

He, therefore, directed the Ministry of Health and
the Millennium Development Goals’ office to setup a Regional Centre for
Disease Control in Nigeria as soon as possible.

The President also used the opportunity to commend
the Ministry of Health, the World Health Organisation and other
development partners for the successes achieved in the eradication of
polio and guinea worm in the country, adding that such efforts should
also be geared towards controlling diseases such as cholera,
cerebro-spinal meningitis and malaria.

Speaking earlier, the Minister of Health, Onyebuchi
Chukwu, said cross-border public health issues have persisted despite
the existence of guiding resolutions, adding that to this end countries
represented at the meeting had decided to jointly consult and
deliberate on an effective way of implementing these resolutions.

In his remark, the WHO Regional Director for Africa,
Luis Sambo, commended Nigeria for hosting the meeting, which he said
gives the countries the opportunity to share experiences and strategies
to overcome their health challenges.

He used the occasion to commend Nigeria on her
efforts to eradicate polio in the country, disclosing that Nigeria had
achieved 98 per cent reduction in polio cases, with only eight cases
recorded as at June, 2010.

Countries at the meeting include; Benin Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Niger, Chad, Cameroon and Central African Republic.

The Federal
Government says it is committed to the development of more gold mines,
as part of efforts to broaden the country’s economic base and diversify
revenue sources away from oil.

Mohammed Sada, the
minister of mines and steel development, who disclosed this yesterday
in Abuja at the 2010 ministerial briefing, said a lot of progress has
been recorded with the ongoing reforms aimed at creating the desired
economic impact and contribution to the country’s gross dometic product
(GDP).

The minister, who
spoke on the theme, ‘Revitalising the Nigerian minerals and metal
sectors’, said government is working seriously towards establishing
more mines in the country.

The mines are
expected to help the country produce about 650,000 ounces of gold per
annum, considering the ongoing high level of exploration for the
mineral at various locations in the country.

“In the next two or
three years, the country is going to have more gold mines. Currently,
government is assisting in the establishment of the first major gold
mine in the country in Osun State.

“But, we have to
focus attention on the reforms and ensure that operators avoid those
things that would drive away potential investors in the industry,” he
said.

Effective regulation

As a prelude to the
effective regulation of operations in the sector, the minister said
about 10,000 cumulative applications have been processed for various
mineral titles between 2008 and 2010, out of which 6,000 have already
been approved and granted, while the ministry has supervised the
successful reclamation of two abandoned mine sites in Badawa, Kano
State, and Nsukwe, Abia State.

Besides, he said a
comprehensive mining inspectorate template has been created for proper
supervision of mining activities in the country, while a fully
automated cadastral office has been established to ensure that adequate
information about the various mineral resources available in the
country are put online at the disposal of potential foreign and local
investors.

As part of effort
to help the government diversify solutions to the perennial power
supply problems, the minister said the ministry is working with the
presidential task force on power to ensure that coal is considered a
veritable alternative source to the existing sources of power
generation and supply.

Strategy for poverty reduction

Describing Nigeria
as a country known globally for tin, columbite, and tantalite
production and export, as well as coal exploited as local energy source
and for export, the minister said the development of the nation’s
minerals has been adopted as a strategy for poverty reduction and rural
wealth generation.

In line with this
strategy, he said government has disbursed and managed a World
Bank-assisted micro grant to 86 mining co-operatives and communities,
valued at about $3million (about N450million), saying government is
targeting about 250 beneficiaries before the end of the project.

He identified lack
of reliable geological infrastructure for data generation and
dissemination as one of the problems the industry is facing, assuring
that under the reform dispensation, government has divested interest in
mining business, and concentrate on being administrator/regulator, to
allow the private sector to drive mining operations in the country.

“In view of the critical importance of steel, the steel department
is currently undertaking a critical study on ways to revamp the steel
sector, so that it can play its role in the nation’s
industrialisation,” he said, adding that government should help
mobilise the necessary funding required for the acquisition of
geosciences data, sustained mineral exploration, and institutional and
human capital development.

The Goodluck/Sambo
Campaign Organisation restated yesterday that the plan by four
presidential aspirants, under the banner of Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP), to pick a consensus candidate to run against President Goodluck
Jonathan, would fail.

Sully Abu,
spokesperson of the organisation, said in Abuja that it has faith in
the ballot box as the only viable means through which Nigerians would
determine who their next president would be.

Four presidential
hopeful from the north, namely Ibrahim Babangida, Atiku Abubakar, Aliyu
Gusau, and Governor Bukola Saraki of Kwara State have being pursuing a
consensus arrangement, which might end in one of them being picked to
contest the primaries. The supporters of the aspirants constituted a
17-member committee last month to achieve that purpose.

But Mr. Abu derided
the consensus arrangement, saying it was a gang up that would fail
because it was not based on any principle or programme, neither was it
in the interest of the Nigerian people, who, according to him, have
seen such gang-ups in the past come to nothing, in spite of the
unnecessary dust raised.

“The consensus
arrangement being pursued is based on sheer opportunism and driven by
an undemocratic and illiberal spirit. That is why they have continued
to be at pains to explain that they are at work, irrevocably committed
to the success of the arrangement,” he said.

The organisation’s
media chief noted that Nigerians would pick their president during the
forthcoming elections based on their conviction as to who best
represents their hope for fundamental change against the disastrous
policies and politics of past leaders.

Nigerians wish

Nigerians,
according to him, are by overwhelming evidence, rooting for the
Goodluck/Sambo ticket, and alleged that “this is what is making our
opponents desperate, so desperate indeed as to contemplate a gang up of
people who are otherwise very strange bedfellows.”

Meanwhile, the
organisation has said that the nation’s economy is right on track, as
testified by the finance minister, Olusegun Aganga, last week.

Mr. Abu, in a
statement, alleged that the opposition groups are now resorting to
scare mongering on the state of the economy after failing dismally with
their scare tactics to frighten Nigerians about the nation’s political
space.

“The alarm by the
Atiku Campaign Organization and their use of selective information on
the state of the economy flies in the face of the evidence of robust
growth being recorded.

“The minister of
finance, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, this week, stated categorically that the
economy enjoyed a 7% growth in the first half of this year. Indications
are that a double digit growth could be recorded by the end of next
year,” he said.

Mr. Abu also stated
that the organisation’s optimism about the economy was fuelled by the
Jonathan administration’s commitment to massive investment in power and
infrastructure, designed to transform the way Nigerians live and work.

He said that investors were responding enthusiastically to the new
climate, as indicated by the massive interest in the opportunities
presented in the power roadmap drawn up by the administration.

The
Senate president, David Mark, has declared that the May 29 handover
date is sacrosanct and crucial under the current process of
constitution amendment.

He made the
declaration on Monday in Abuja during a public hearing organised for
the second amendment to the 1999 Constitution. He cautioned the
leadership of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to
be guarded about the new time line and ensure that the elections do not
overflow into a date beyond 30 days before the May 29 handover date.

He also debunked allegations that the lawmakers were embarking on the second review with skewed interest.

“We don’t have
ulterior motives and we do not need to have,” Mark said. “What we are
doing is in the best interest of the nation and whatever we need to do,
we will do because it is in the interest of the nation.” The second
amendment to the 1999 Constitution is basically to alter the
constitution so that elections will be held not earlier than 90 days
and not later than 30 days before the end of tenure of the running
office. It is an amendment to the current constitutional time frame
which stipulates that elections should hold not earlier than 150 days
and not later than 120 days.

Atahiru Jega,
chairman of INEC, who was at the public hearing said the body was
satisfied with the pace and tone of the amendment being done by the
lawmakers.

He confirmed that
the new 90/30 time line proposed by the bill was the time frame the
election management body requested earlier.

“We are sure that
when this is concluded, the coast will be clear for us to deliver to
Nigerians the credible elections we promised,” Jega said. “So far, we
are satisfied.” Joseph Dawodu, the president of the Nigerian Bar
Association (NBA) who also attended the hearing, said the bar was happy
with the lawmakers’ progress on the amendment. He supported the time
line but warned that if the new one fails, “we might have a situation
which will not be pleasant.”

Corruption in courts

The second
amendment to the 1999 constitution is in two parts. The first covers
the election time line while the second proposes a solution to the
inconsistent judgments on governorship elections arising from appeal
courts and the rising corruption at that level of jurisdiction.

The new amendment
seeks to make the Supreme Court the court of finality in governorship
election cases, with another tweak, which gives the chief judges of
states power in the appointment of appeal court judges to seat in
governorship cases in their respective states.

The bill also proposes to make magistrate court judges appoint-able as members of governorship election tribunals.

Mr Dawodu, however,
warned that contestants shouldn’t be given a blanket right to take
their cases up to the Supreme Court, except in cases where the issue
for determination is not fact but law.

Femi Falana, the
former chairman of West African Bar Association (WABA) was the only
dissenting participant. He was of the opinion that the vices which the
lawmakers are trying to avoid at the lower courts also exist in the
Supreme Court.

He also argued that if governorship cases are allowed to go that far, some of the cases will linger for too long.

The amendments are expected to be concluded before the end of the month.

Henry Okah has
denied that he is the leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of
the Niger Delta (MEND), the militant group which claimed responsibility
for the October 1st dual bombings in which about 16 people were
reportedly killed.

Mr. Okah was
speaking when he was being questioned by prosecution lawyer, Shaun
Abrahams, at his bail application hearing at a Johannesburg court
yesterday.

When shown
documents seized from his house on October 2nd, in which his wife and
“a representative of the Okah family” wrote to Amnesty International
calling him the leader of MEND, Mr. Okah said:

“I am confused
because I don’t know where this is coming from. I don’t accept that
this letter is from my wife. The president has just made it clear that
Tompolo is the leader of MEND. I assume the leader of MEND is Tompolo.
There are lots of commanders,” he said.

When asked by prosecution who the overall leader of MEND is, he replied, “I have no knowledge of that.”

In an intriguing
twist of events, after he was shown an email sent by his wife to
international media organisations inviting them to a rally, Mr. Okah
did a backtrack.

“There are 30
international email addresses in here. Your wife says you are the
leader of MEND. You are notifying the world that you are the leader of
MEND. Yet, you are in court today saying you are not,” Mr. Abrahams
said.

But Mr. Okah
replied, “The media describes me as leader of MEND. For clarity, that’s
why I think she did it…that’s the only way the media will know what
she’s talking about.”

Okah’s ‘purchase list’

As his cross
examination continued, Mr. Abrahams read from a notebook seized from
him in which some notes were made in his own writing.

When some of the entries were read, however, Mr. Okah said he did not remember what they meant, as “it was a long time ago.”

A more recent entry
was dated September 19, just two weeks before the bombings, and read:
“we will fight to the finish.” Mr. Okah said that he had nothing to do
with the Niger Delta or MEND.

Also written in the
notebook were the following items: “Boats, Micro-uzzi, binoculars,
Jungle boots, 40mm cannon, raincoats, Surface to Air Missiles, Grenade
launchers, Land mines, Assault machine guns.”

Prosecution told
Mr. Okah that he wrote these down because he “wanted to source them for
the militants in the Niger Delta region.”

However, Mr. Okah insisted that they were notes made when he was reading war books “for intellectual purposes.”

“I’m someday planning to write a book on military tactics,” he added.

Judge Hein Louw
described the proceedings as worrying, and said to Mr. Okah; “Why write
down this list…it seems to me a purchase list…if you were in my
position, would this not look incriminating to you?”

‘Girlfriends can supply weapons’

Another document
seized from Mr. Okah’s home was said to be from the militant leader,
Asari Dokubo, who claimed to have bought N6.8 million worth of arms and
paid in advance. Mr. Okah, however, told the prosecution that:

“Asari Dokubo is
one of the numerous thugs who is acting on behalf of the Nigerian
government to destroy my image…I really don’t understand why anyone
should consider the rantings (sic) of an ant.”

When the
prosecution pointed out that an invoice from a Chinese company seized
from his home had some of the items listed in his diaries, Mr. Okah
maintained that Godsway Orubebe, minister of Niger Delta, was
instrumental to that quotation getting into his possession.

He added that; “Nigeria is so corrupt that even minister’s girlfriends can supply weapons. Everybody supplies weapons.”

Throughout his time
in the witness stand, Mr. Okah maintained that the Nigerian government
was trying to set him up by allegedly bribing journalists, and that
“even the Attorney-General was a liar” for suggesting he had links with
Hezbollah.

When asked by Mr. Abrahams to be specific in his testimony, Mr Okah replied :

“I am trying
desperately to stop embarrassing the Nigerian government.” To which Mr.
Abrahams replied: “Mr. Okah, the only person you are embarrassing is
yourself.”

On statements by
prosecution that his brother, Charles, who was arrested at the weekend,
sent MEND’s latest message of a bomb attack, Mr. Okah replied: “if you
are able to prove that he sent the email, then he should be held
responsible for that.”

Mr. Okah’s bail application continues tomorrow (Wednesday, October 20).

The bribery scandal
involving Nigerian born FIFA Executive Committee member, Amos Adamu has
been generating a lot of comments from football experts across the
world. But in Nigeria, the opposite is the case.

Most people NEXT
contacted over the scandal, either declined to comment about it, and
those who did spoke on condition of anonymity.

The scandal gained
global prominence after British newspaper, The Sunday Times, filmed
Adamu agreeing to accept $800 000 in return for his vote in the 2018
Fifa World Cup bid.

A former Nigerian
international described the scenario as an “embarrassment to the
country”, but hoped that Adamu will get off the hook.

Even the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) were not ready to dabble into the issue, until more facts emerge.

“We just have to
wait for the outcome of this investigation before we can issue a
statement on the matter,” said Musa Amadu, the acting secretary general
of the NFF.

The wait may be
till Wednesday when Adamu is expected to face an ethics panel at the
Zurich headquarters of the football governing body.

Adamu in Zurich

Adamu was at FIFA’s
headquarters on Monday to meet with the body’s president Sepp Blatter,
who has promised an “in-depth investigation” into allegations against
Adamu, and another FIFA official, Reynald Temarii.

Two other Africans
who were fingered in the British newspaper investigations are also
expected to face the ethics committee on Wednesday.

They are FIFA
Referees’ committee member Amadou Diakite from Mali who said the
undercover reporters should offer about $1 million, and Slim Aloulou,
the Tunisian chairman of FIFA’s disputes resolution committee, who said
they should not pay “peanuts,” suggesting bribing members 1 million
pounds each.

Adamu is alleged to have said the money will be used to build artificial pitches in Nigeria.

The video released
by the Sunday Times appeared to show Adamu asking for the sum for four
artificial football pitches in Nigeria, to be paid to him personally.

Asked if the payment would influence his vote, Adamu is heard
saying, “Obviously, it will have an effect. Of course it will. Because
certainly if you are to invest in that, that means you also want the
vote.”

The Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), on Monday,
said that errors from human performances account for over 75 per cent
of air accidents and incidents recorded globally in the aviation
industry.

The agency, at its international aviation safety
conference, organized in Lagos, explained that for air safety to be
fully achieved worldwide and in Nigeria particularly, human errors in
the aviation sector must be reduced to the barest minimum. “This
conference seeks to boost industry operators’ understanding of human
factor issues in aircraft operations with a view to reducing errors
from human performances to zero level and ultimately improve aviation
safety,” said Sam Oduselu, the Commissioner of the bureau, while
speaking at the event which witnessed the massive presence of industry
stakeholders.

According to Mr Oduselu, the conference, which seeks
to engage the industry players in cross fertilization of ideas on how
to put a complete end to any form of aircraft accident or incident,
became imperative following the recent rising cases of air mishap
experienced in the world’s aviation sector. He underscored the fact
that more than 80 per cent of aviation hull loss accidents are linked
with human factors, adding that global statistics have revealed that
human errors in aviation community has become a growing concern. “Human
factors are implicated in all incidents and accidents because each link
of the safety chain involves human beings,” he said. “Invariably, human
decisions and potential human errors are seen in accidents or incidents
involving one or more of design, maintenance, organization, the crew or
ATC (Air Traffic Control).”

The duties of the AIB

Mr Oduselu said that AIB conducts investigations and
embarks on relevant safety research and educational programmes to
emphasize on safety of the nation’s airspace, in order not to have a
repetition of the mishaps of 2005 and 2006 that saw to the untimely
deaths of hundreds of travellers. According to him, for human errors to
be reduced to a zero level, the government, airlines and agencies
should be willing to invest in manpower development. “Human errors will
reduce when capacity building is given a prime place in aviation
development,” he said.

Fidelia Njeze, the Minister of Aviation, who was
represented by Anne Ene-Ita, the Permanent Secretary, stated that human
errors in aviation is one challenge constantly confronting the sector
on a daily basis. “Although improvements in technology have reduced
equipment failure in the list of causal factors of aviation disasters,
human element as the interface among other components of aviation
operations remains an issue that is yet to be fully addressed,” she
said.

“Experts must begin to adopt a systematic approach to
investigations that take into cognizance the roles and delicate
interactions that take place between the different preventive stages
before accident or incident occurs,” she said. “To its credit,
investigative reports of incidents and accidents in Nigeria in the past
have no doubt provided valuable information that have helped shaped the
direction the sector has taken in terms of safety, but we must do more.”