Nigeria Content Online

The N2.2 billion fraud case against Joe
Musa, former director general of the National Arts Gallery, was stalled
on Monday by the absence of the judge, Olukayode Adeniyi, at the
Federal Capital Territory High Court.

An officer of the court, who requested
anonymity, told the open court that Justice Adeniyi had commenced his
official leave. The move stalled further prosecution witnesses
testimonies on the case.

Mr Adeniyi was made a vacation judge in
August, when all the judges at the FCT judicial territory were on their
sabbaticals. All the cases listed for his hearing have been shifted to
further dates. Mr Musa’s case was adjourned to sometime between October
30 and November 4.

Case history

The Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) on January 29 instituted an eight-count charge
against Mr Musa and three other senior officials of the gallery. The
four were accused by Festus Chidi Orji, the gallery’s chief internal
auditor, of pocketing about N40 million meant for staff training.

The accused, who jointly pleaded not
guilty to any of the allegations, said that no funds were particularly
voted for staff training during Musa’s tenure. According to them, the
account books of the office under Mr Musa were kept clean for the first
time in the history of the organization.

Mr Musa said the allegations were baseless and orchestrated to replace him.

The other accused persons are: Olusegun Ogunba, director of finance;
Kweku Tandoh, director of research and education; Elizbeth Oparagu,
deputy director of administration and Chinedu Obi, special assistant to
Mr Musa.

President Goodluck
Jonathan yesterday commissioned the Total Radar Coverage for the
Nigerian Airspace (TRACON) seven years after the contract for the
project was signed.

The contract to
execute the project was signed in 2003 between the Nigerian Airspace
Management Agency (NAMA) and Thales S.A of France under the Ministry of
Aviation in the sum of 66,500,870 Euros.

The equipment has been installed in nine airports across the country.

The project
comprises 4 Primary Radar and 5 Secondary Radar Heads co-located in
Nnamdi Azikwe, Murtala Muhammad, Malam Aminu Kano and Port Harcourt
International airports. TRACON has 5 relay stations which serve as
standalone Secondary Surveillance Radar located at Talata Mafara,
Maiduguri, Numan, Obubra and Ilorin.

During the
commissioning, Mr. Jonathan noted that this was another stride by the
present administration to overhaul the aviation system and raise it to
international standards.

“This is another
deliberate stride by this administration to provide safe and secure
airspace across the country. The sector is currently undergoing
transformation from its past state of disrepair to conform with
international standards” he said.

He also noted that
this is coming shortly after Nigeria received the category 1 status in
the aviation sector, adding that this was a befitting gift for
Nigeria’s 50th anniversary.

“The TRACON equipment installation is a good milestone and a good 50th anniversary gift to Nigeria” he said.

Mr. Jonathan
commended the Minister of Aviation, Fidelia Njeze and her team as well
as the officials NAMA for the success of the project.

The Minister of
Aviation, Mrs. Njezeh, is the seventh minister to work with the seventh
project team and Mr. Jonathan is the third President to commission the
project before its completion according to the Acting Managing
Director, of NAMA, Nicolas Udoh.

Mrs. Njezeh in her welcome address admitted that the journey towards the realisation of this milestone was not an easy one.

She also noted that
the project was birthed to give surveillance to the airspace and “to
ensure the safety of all aircraft within the Nigerian airspace to avoid
collusion”.

“This will make Nigeria a force to be reckoned with”, as it is the third after Egypt and South Africa to attend this status.

The architectural
design of TRACON consists of Voice Communication Systems, Voice
Recording Systems, Very High Frequency Transceivers, fibre optic,
Display Consoles, Integrated Aircraft Billing systems and spares while
radars at the international airports comprise of both the primary and
secondary radars.

Between 2005 and 2006 alone, Nigeria witnessed two ghastly air crashes that claimed several lives.

Following the
tragedies, one of the projects embarked upon to address the safety
needs of the industry was the TRACON Project aimed at providing total
coverage for the Nigerian airspace to enhance civil and military
surveillance of aircraft (s) operating within the country.

The project was awarded by the Federal Government in 2003 and was supposed to be completed within 36 months.

Dignitaries present at the occasion include the governors of Delta
and Rivers, members of the National Assembly, Head of the Civil Service
Federation, some members of the Federal Executive Council, the Chief of
Defence Staff and Service Chiefs amongst others.

On Monday, the
Chief Judge of Kogi State, Nasiru Ajanah, advocated for the financial
autonomy of the state’s judiciary as a vital element in maintaining its
independence.

Justice Ajanah made
the appeal while speaking during the commencement of the 2010/2011
legal year at the State High Sourt in Lokoja.

“It is important to
reiterate here and strongly emphasize that the judiciary is not seeking
autonomy for its own sake, but in the interest of the government and
generality of the people.” The state chief judge said the court’s
financial independence was supported by section 121[3] of the 1999
constitution, which states that money from the consolidated revenue
fund belonging to the judiciary should be paid directly to the heads of
the courts.

“The truth remains
that the Nigerian system of government involves checks and balances
between the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary,” he said.
“The independent judiciary has a vital constitutional role to ensure
that the acts of the Executive and the Legislature comply fully with
the basic law and that the fundamental rights and freedoms which are at
the heart of the Nigerian constitution are fully safeguarded.” Mr
Ajanah also appealed to the state governor, Ibrahim Idris, to ensure
the implementation of the constitutional provision.

Staff welfare

Mr Ajanah said that
the state judiciary was the first to implement the new salary structure
for judicial workers. He also said that within the year, laptops were
provided to all 60 magistrates manning the various courts.

“This has greatly improved the quality of judgments coming from those courts,” he said.

Mr Ajanah said that
the effect of the implementation of the new salary structure meant an
improvement in the welfare of the workers and a reduction of corruption
to the barest minimum. He promised to extend the arrangement to the
area courts in the coming year.

“We are also working towards acquiring verbatim reporting equipment
to reduce the issue of recording proceedings in long hand,” he said.

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.