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Julius Berger Ltd
was handed a reprieve yesterday after the Federal Government withdrew
all charges against the construction giant in the ongoing Halliburton
bribery scandal.

The Attorney
General and Minister of Justice, Bello Adoke who confirmed this
yesterday said a secret agreement had been reached with the
construction firm.

This adds another
twist to the ongoing saga and comes less than a month after a Federal
High Court judge, David Okorowo, disqualified himself from hearing the
$180 million Halliburton scam.

Mr. Adoke told
journalists yesterday in Abuja that following media reports, the
federal government has had to effect amendments to the charges brought
against certain persons in connection with the matter.

“After a further
review of the investigation reports as well as the totality of evidence
available, I have approved the request of the prosecution team that the
charges against the Julius Berger parties be withdrawn,” he said.

“Consequently, the Julius Berger parties have entered into an agreement with the FGN.”

Secret deal

Mr. Adoke said
whilst the agreement is subject to confidentiality, “the Julius Berger
parties entered into the agreement on the basis of no admission of
liability, culpability or guilt.” He added that Julius Berger Nigeria
Ltd will institute a scheme of corporate compliance monitoring to
improve and strengthen its internal controls and mechanisms for a
period of two years.

Furthermore, the
minister said the company will publicly affirm and restate its
commitment to the dictates of good corporate citizenship through
advertorial messages in electronic and print media outlets with
national coverage. “Julius Berger Nig Ltd will make an ex-gratia
payment to the Federal Government.” He also said he was confident that
the terms of settlement and release agreement are prudent and practical
taking into account the available evidence and the potential hurdle of
the evidentiary burden of proof.

“As a corollary,
let me add that the FGN intends to file a civil action against
Halliburton Corporation in the United States to seek compensation and
restitution within the next 14 days.” However, Mr. Adoke refused to
take further questions from journalists and dashed to his office
immediately after the briefing.

At the last hearing
of the case, the government’s counsel, Olu Fatunde, informed the court
that he had yet to serve the suspects with court processes.

Mr. Okorowo said
the matter could not be mentioned if the suspects were not in court and
had not been served yet, and sent the case file to the chief judge for
re-assignment to another judge and adjourned the suit, pending when it
is assigned.

“I have no jurisdiction to entertain this matter,” declared Mr. Okorowo.

History

Several foreign
companies, most notably the U.S. oil and gas giant, Halliburton, are
accused of paying bribes worth millions of dollars to high-ranking
government officials during the process to award the contract for
Africa’s first liquefied natural gas plant in 2002 and 2003.

The suspects
include some of the nation’s most powerful people, but Mr. Adoke
assured Nigerians that the trial would be conducted without bias, as it
would boost President Goodluck Jonathan’s anti-corruption credentials
as the 2011 elections approached.

Suspects expected
to be arraigned are George Mark, the former personal assistant to
ex-president, Olusegun Obasanjo ; Ibrahim Aliyu, a former federal
permanent secretary; Hans George Christ; Heinrich J. Stockhausen;
Julius Berger Nigeria Plc; Bilfinger Berger GMBH; AVM Abdullahi Dominic
Bello; Mohammed Gidado Bakare; Urban Shelter Limited; Intercellular
Nigeria Limited; Sheerwood Petroleum Limited; Tri-Star Investment
Limited; Maizube Holdings Limited; TSKJ Nigeria Limited – (a) Technip
S.A.; (b)Snamprogetti Netherlands B.V.; (c) Kellog Brown and Root Inc.;
(d) Japan Gasoline Corporation of Japan.

Following the
recent appointment of new General Officers Commanding the various
Divisions of the Army, the new General Officer Commanding 81 Division,
Nigerian Army, Kenneth Minimah has assumed command.

Mr Minimah, a
Brigadier General, was born on July 27, 1959, at Minimah in Opobo
Kingdom in Rivers State, and joined the cadet training in 1979 as a
member of 25 Regular Course. He was commissioned on December 18, 1981,
into the great Infantry corps.

Mr Minimah has
attended 13 courses, including the 81mm Mortar, Jungle Warfare and
Combat Survival, Young Officers Course Infantry, Basic Airborne Course,
Advanced Airborne Course, Junior and Senior Division Staff Courses, the
National War College. He has held several appointments, including
Commanding Officer, 149 Infantry Battalion, Directing Staff, Armed
Forces Command and Staff College and Colonel Administration, 82
Division Nigerian Army. Outside Nigeria, Mr Minimah was the Commanding
Officer, Nigeria Battalion 2, United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone,
Commandant Depot Nigerian Army. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in History
and International Studies and Masters in Strategic Studies and is a
recipient of the Forces Service Star, Meritorious Service Star,
Distinguished Service Star, the passed staff college dagger and fellow
of the war college.

Notable amongst his
achievements with the Nigerian army is the first Nigerian Armed Forces
officer of the rank of Brigadier General to jump from the aircraft as a
highly respected Jump Master. He has commanded the Infantry Battalion
in peace, for peacekeeping and in war.

He is happily married to Mrs Felly Minimah and has two sons and a daughter.

Nigeria’s problems
after 50 years of nationhood rest on failure of the leadership, the
Itsekure of Benin Kingdom, Nosakhare Itsekure, has said.

The chief, who
spoke in Benin City, said apart from the late Murtala Mohammed, who was
murdered in 1976, Nigerian leaders have failed in taking the country to
the pinnacle of its dreams.

He said the only
thing to celebrate as the country marks 50 years of independence is the
fact the country has remained one indivisible entity despite its myriad
of maladministration, leadership recklessness and political corruption.

Mr. Itsekure,
renowned for his outspokenness and struggles during the days of the
military juntas, said both military and political leaders have looted
the country dry.

He noted that the
country as it is today was not the dream of its founding fathers,
regretting that democracy has been hijacked by selfish politicians who
see politics and governance as a means of acquiring wealth

He lambasted the
political class and the parties for lacking ideology on how to move the
country forward as practiced in developed countries.

The only way
forward, he said, is for the youth of the country to take their own
destiny into their hands by insisting on accountability and
transparency in government.

Governors’ messages

Meanwhile, the
governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole, has congratulated the people
of the state and other Nigerians on the occasion of the nation’s
anniversary, saying the people should focus on the positives rather
than lament the failures of the past.

“On the occasion of
the 50th anniversary of the attainment of Independence by Nigeria, I
join the good people of Edo State and other Nigerians to celebrate this
milestone in the annals of the nation,” he said.

“Despite the
seeming challenges facing the nation, there is a lot to celebrate as
the country remains one indivisible entity despite having passed
through many trials, including a civil war. While there is no doubt
that the nation could have developed far better that it is now, I urge
the good people of Nigeria to focus on the positives as the challenges
facing the nation are surmountable.”

Ogun State
governor, Gbenga Daniel, asked Nigerians to count their blessings,
recommit themselves to national development, set new goals and work to
actualize the immense potentials of the nation.

In a press
statement made available to newsmen in Abeokuta, Mr Daniel said despite
the failures of the past and the challenges of the present, Nigeria
remains one indivisible nation with promising prospects, stressing
further that the fact that democracy has endured for 11 unbroken years
was another sign of progress and a reason to celebrate fifty years of
nationhood and thank God for his mercies.

Ondo State indigenes, including the state governor,
Olusegun Mimiko, have called on Nigerians to remain focused as the
nation celebrates its 50th independence anniversary.

Mr Mimiko, in his goodwill message, noted that though
the promise of independence has not been fully realized, this should
not be allowed to diminish the value of freedom and the significance of
becoming a sovereign nation.

The governor’s message which was released by his
spokesperson, Kolawole Olabisi, described Nigeria as a great nation
with great potential.

He said rather than engage in recrimination over our
misses and woes, today’s celebration of Nigeria’s golden Jubilee should
be a forceful reminder of the promises yet to be fulfilled and of
dreams yet to be attained.

He said the attainment of that is the task that must
be done to take the nation to the heights desired for her by her
founding fathers.

While positing that the nation must be re-tooled to
take its pride of place among the comity of nations, Mr Mimiko said for
Nigeria to be given its dues, its leaders must ensure that credible
election hold next year.

“As we celebrate our nation’s golden Jubilee, there
is no doubt that our nation is today faced with a number of daunting
challenges, but in the face of all these challenges, our resolve and
abiding faith must remain unshaken,” he said. “These challenges, to my
mind, should however be taken as ample opportunities waiting to be
translated into stepping stones to an assured destiny of peace,
progress, and prosperity for our common posterity if we all remain
focused and do our bit.”

Tackle the problems

Human rights activist and lawyer, Tunji Abayomi, said
the celebration should serve as an opportunity to ponder how to save
the nation from the multifarious problems which has relegated it among
its peers.

“The nation has gone through a lot of difficulties
basically, the failure of leadership. In reality, the nation should not
be where it is today. Social infrastructure, the well being of the
people have been treated with levity and disdain,” he said.

“If you assess where the nation is today, you are
bound to say that the nation has failed. There is no good road, no
access to health and water, unemployment is on the increase, and
kidnapping is the order of the day and corruption is the highest common
factor.” Mr Abayomi noted that the only way the nation can be freed
from the shackles of poverty and maladministration is to ensure that
people with the genuine interest of the nation at heart are given the
chance to rule.

Leader of the Yoruba Socio Cultural Group, Afenifere, Rueben
Fasoranti blamed the nation’s woes on corruption in high places and
poor administration.

As Nigeria commemorates its 50th
anniversary today, the governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola, on
Thursday assured citizens that there is a future for the nation.

Calling on Nigerians to let go of the
failures from the last 50 years, and look forward to a greater nation,
the governor said that people should be more concerned on how to place
the country in a much better pedestal.

“There is life, there is hope and I
believe that what lies ahead of us really, is more important than what
we have to put behind us,” said Mr Fashola at the presidential wing of
the Murtala Mohammed Airport (MMA), Lagos while speaking to
correspondents.

“I think we should focus more in engaging with the present and the future rather than mourning the past.”

The Lagos State helmsman said that
residents of the city should be expectant of the dividends of democracy
come the next 50 years, adding that the economy of Lagos will receive a
positive boost.

“Expect improved quality service
delivery, safer city state, good quality of life, better life
expectancy for the citizenry, and better opportunity for prosperity in
all sectors of the economy,” he said.

Why there is a slow down

Asked what could be responsible for the
sudden slowdown in his government’s performance in recent times, Mr
Fashola argued that his administration has not relented in its work,
adding that climatic constraints have affected workflow drastically.

“The pace of work has not slowed down.
Traditionally, you must understand that we want to maximise every
distraction that we had. The weather has not helped and, therefore,
there is going to be a lot of waste. Road construction particularly is
a very technical thing that requires asphalt, bitumen to be heated up
and applied on the surface,” he said.

“Once you have bad weather, when the
road has even been prepared for laying of bitumen, you have to stop,
lose all the materials to the rain. Note that you already have labour
on site and you have to pay them even though they can’t work.”

He explained that embarking on
aggressive infrastructural development during the season tends to waste
resources and that as soon as the State government gets a sound weather
forecast it will commence work.

“It is not that the work can’t be done, but it comes with a lot of
waste and therefore we are hoping that the weather forecaster that we
have now will be able to announce accurately and therefore, we will be
able to do more with the little that we have,” he said.

Pope Benedict XVI
has congratulated Goodluck Jonathan, the federal government and all
Nigerians on the occasion of our country’s 50th Independence
Anniversary celebrations.

A personal
congratulatory message from the Pope was delivered to Mr Jonathan on
Thursday at the Presidential Villa, by the Pope’s special envoy and
personal representative, Cardinal Peter Turson. In the message to the
president, Pope Benedict conveyed his “prayerful wishes for the
continued well-being, growth and prosperity of Nigeria and its
citizens”.

Responding, Mr
Jonathan asked the Cardinal to convey the appreciation of the
government and people of Nigeria to the Pope. He said that Nigerians
appreciated the Holy Father’s prayers and will continue to have good
relations with the Vatican.

Also today at the
Presidential Villa, Mr Jonathan received the Chinese Minister of
Industry and Information, Li Yizhong, who is representing his country’s
President, Hu Jintao at the celebrations.