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A Joint Nigeria-Brazil Energy
Cooperation Working Group was yesterday inaugurated by the Vice
President, Namadi Sambo. The group is to enhance bio potentials in the
country.

Speaking at the inauguration of the
committee in the State House, Abuja, Mr Sambo noted that this is part
of the policy of the current administration to develop the key sectors
of the economy, stating that to attain Vision 20:2020, adequate
infrastructure must be put in place.

He noted that since the federal
government is seeking to accelerate development of the hydro potential
in the country, exploring synergies with Brazil was a welcome idea, as
it has comparative advantage in a variety of areas, including hydro
power generation, renewable energy and deep water exploration.

Need for coordination

He urged the committee to “fast track
the process of preparing the final position of the agreement as Brazil
will be going to elections soon”, noting that “in the past, bilateral
agreements have suffered delays due to lack of proper coordination”.

The vice president noted the need for
raising a technical team to proceed to Brazil, stressing that “to
express our determination toward the success of the Joint Cooperation,
our actions should determine our seriousness.” He disclosed that Brazil
had indicated interest in partnering with Nigeria toward ensuring an
accelerated completion of the Zungeru Hydro Power plant and that the
Mambilla hydro power plant has been incorporated into the bilateral
agreement, which Brazil is willing to bankroll from the scratch on a
turnkey basis.

He added that they are also interested in oil and gas, including bio-fuels, power and capacity building.

The agreement for Nigeria-Brazil Energy
Cooperation was signed in July, 2009 and President Goodluck Jonathan
had urged that the joint working group be set up to work on the
agreement.

The members of the Joint Working Group
include Ministries of Power, Petroleum, Finance, Water Resources,
Environment, Nigerian Energy Commission, Nigeria National Petroleum
Corporation (NNPC) and National Electricity Regulatory Commission.

In another development, the Vice
President also had a briefing session with the Debt Management Office
(DMO) which was centred on the recruitment and promotion of staff in
the organisation.

The VP in the meeting approved the
request submitted by the Director General of the DMO, Dr. Abraham
Nwankwo, to promote and employ new staff in the organisation.

Earlier, the Director General said 120 officers of various categories are needed in the organisation.

He also sought the approval of Mr
Sambo, who is the Chairman of the DMO Board, including seven senior
officers to be promoted as Chief Operating Officers and Assistant Chief
Operating Officers respectively.

He said the posts will soon be advertised.

Building on its
agenda to advance and deepen regional integration and strengthen its
institutional capacities, the Economic Community of West African States
(ECOWAS) Commission has granted about €1.2 million (about
N227.4million) to 17 regional non-state actor (NSA) member-states.

The 17 recipients,
which include: five of the 62 private sector organisations that
responded to a previous call for proposals from the NSAs issued by the
two ECOWAS and UEMOA Commissions in 2008, are drawn from Liberia,
Senegal, Ghana, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, Togo and Niger
Republic.

ECOWAS was created
with the primary objective of promoting cooperation and integration in
the region, leading to the establishment of an economic union to raise
the living standards of its people; maintain and enhance economic
stability; foster relations among member-states, and contribute to the
progress and development of the African continent.

Integration policy

The grants, which
will be presented to the benefitting states on Wednesday in Abuja,
would help the beneficiaries play their roles, particularly to enhance
their capacity to participate in the formulation of policies,
strategies and plans related to the integration process.

Besides, the
support would help in popularizing regional integration issues as well
as rights issues among the West African population as well as
facilitate the creation of a network of NSAs working on regional issues
pertaining to the people concerned.

Director,
Gender/Child Development, Youth/Sports Civil society, Employment and
Drugs Control, Siritiki Tarfa Ugbe, said at the orientation workshop
and contract award for successful grants applicants that direct support
to NSAs with regional agenda at the grassroots, national or regional
levels remains largely limited despite the enormous potential of NSAs
in assisting the people embrace regional integration.

The lack of
support, she said, is responsible for the inability of the NSAs to
mobilize and coordinate their constituencies; establish a vibrant
regional network to voice their opinions and to constructive engage
with regional organizations, as well as access information that would
enable them be relevant in the integration process.

To broaden the
support and participation of NSAs, it was gathered that the European
Union Commission (EUC) and ECOWAS Commission launched a the Regional
Integration Programme (RIP) two years ago to facilitate the creation of
linkages on issues concerning women/child rights protection, free
movement of people and investment promotion as well as cultural respect.

Advancing development

Under the
programme, about 67 NSAs were identified following the evaluation of
the proposals and validation of their eligibility in line with
stipulated guidelines, while 17 applicants were recommended for the
grants.

The Regional NSAs
are non-governmental organisations from the 15 ECOWAS member States who
are advancing development, promoting change and helping in building
sustainable development in the region. As members of the civil society,
they focus on the defence of the interest of social groups To ensure
that the grants are properly put to use to promote the objectives, Mrs
Ugbe said a monitoring and evaluation mechanism has been put in place
to facilitate the implementation of specific actions in line with
approved work plans for the benefits of the communities.

“The success of
this pilot scheme would strengthen further proposals by the ECOWAS
Commission as a strong commitment to strengthen the engagement of civil
society organizations in the regional integration process in line with
the ECOWAS vision 2020,” she said.

Kenneth Ndubuisi Okoh, the executive director of
Queens World Network, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) based in
Lagos State, will be joining a panel of discussants at the ongoing
United Nations 63rd DPI/NGO Conference in Melbourne Australia.

Mr Okoh will be speaking in Roundtable III on ‘Strengthening an Integrated and Systems Approach to Achieving the Health MDGs.’

Other speakers include: Michel Sidibé, executive director of the
Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), Sakena Yacoobi,
Founder and Executive Director of the Afghan Institute of Learning
(AIL), an Afghan women-led non-governmental organization and Samina
Naz, the health coordinator of Godh “mother’s lap”, a non-governmental
organization based in Lahore, Pakistan.

The Vice-Chancellor
of the University of Ilorin, Is-haq Oloyede, has explained why the
university stopped conferring honorary doctoral degrees on people.

Speaking with
journalists on Monday in Ilorin, Mr Oloyede, who is also the President,
Association of African Universities (AAU), said the process of awarding
honorary doctorate degrees had been abused.

According to him,
all sorts of characters, including those without honour, are being
accorded such recognitions across the country.

Mr Oloyede deplored a situation where merit is sacrificed at the altar of gold.

He said such
personalities often rub the shine off the graduating students during
convocation and the University of Ilorin will not be associated with
such a practice.

He described the
success of the University of Ilorin as foundational, saying right from
its inception, the university had always been privileged to have
quality men and women at the helm of affairs.

He said he knew of universities that had problems and controversies
at inception and rather than build and develop such universities, their
officers were saddled with managing crisis.

Regular supply of
petroleum products to Edo State has been threatened, as the tanker
drivers association, Benin Depot branch, yesterday embarked on an
indefinite strike that they intend to continue until the chairman of
the task force committee on pipeline vandalism, Osakpanmwan Eriyo, is
removed.

The tanker drivers
accused Mr Eriyo of extortion and incessantly harassing, arresting and
detaining members of their association without valid reasons.

They also vowed not
to lift any petroleum products at the Benin depot until they meet with
Adams Oshiomhole, the state governor, and ensure the removal of the
committee chairman.

As at the time of
going to press, Chairman of the tanker drivers union, Godwin Asemota,
and his team were said to be in a closed door meeting with government
officials on the matter.

One of the tanker
drivers, who simply gave his name as Charles, alleged that Mr Eriyo and
his men have been a thorn in their flesh since their appointments.

Neglect of duty

He said that the
task force has abandoned its primary assignment of protecting petroleum
pipelines for harassing and molesting their members, in collaboration
with the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Evbotubu Police Station,
where their trucks are always detained and not always released until
they part with as much as N200, 000 and above.

Mr Eriyo, however, described the allegations of the tanker drivers as mischievous and untrue.

He said that the
drivers have on several occasions tried to lure him into conniving with
them to move products from vandalized pipes to the market. He tendered
several waybills of arrested drivers who altered documents of other
trucks to move their products.

“They get waybills
from other marketers, alter it to suit their own vehicles. Do you blame
me for arresting them for the police to do their work of investigation
to ascertain whether it is a product vandalized pipe or not? You don’t
expect me to honour such waybills.”

Mr Eriyo, who confirmed that over 20 persons have been arrested for
their involvement in pipeline vandalism, and about 10 vehicles
impounded, reaffirmed his committee’s resolve to tackle pipeline
vandalism to the logical end.

Following alleged
high rent by the management of the operators of the Murtala Mohammed
Airport 2 (MMA2), Lagos, banks using the facility are beginning to
vacate the terminal.

With the likes of
Access Bank already out of the new domestic terminal since April this
year, Oceanic Bank followed suit on Monday as it pasted notices on its
doors and ATM machines located at its stand at the airport.

A source at the
bank who prefers anonymity, said that the amount collected as rent by
Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited (BASL) is “so expensive and very
high” for the bank, adding that the same situation might have prompted
the decision taken by Access Bank to quit the terminal.

The notice on the
bank’s stand at MMA2, however, directed customers on how to locate its
new place of operation, adding that transactions will not be carried
out on Monday and Tuesday, but will commence on Wednesday.

“Please be informed
that we will be re-locating from Murtala Mohammed Airport II (MMA2) to
OBI Village (BDC Complex) opposite Arik Airlines Office effective
Wednesday 1st September 2010,” the notice reads, adding “In view of
this development, our last working day in MMA II will be on Friday 27th
August, 2010. We will not be open to customers on Monday 30th and
Tuesday 31st August 2010.

The branch will resume full banking operations at our new location on Wednesday 1st of September 2010.”

Meanwhile,
passengers and airport users were seen in large clusters using the ATM
machines of Guarantee Trust and Skye Banks, the two remaining banks at
the terminal, as they expressed displeasure with the development.

“Since these are
the only machines at our disposal, we have to queue up and make
withdrawals as we hope they don’t leave like others,” said Anyaogu
Sunday, a passenger at the terminal.

Aero may also leave

Still on the same
issue, another source with Aero Contractors, the oldest commercial
carrier in the country involved in domestic and regional air transport
business and a sister company to Oceanic Bank, said that the airline
has plans to leave the new terminal for the old domestic terminal
christened the General Aviation Terminal (GAT).

According to this
source, the cost of operating from the new terminal is “far higher than
that of GAT,” stressing that though the airline has not made up its
mind on when to move out, it will vacate the airport if nothing is done
as pertaining the charges collected by the operators of the terminal.

“There are plans
by Aero to leave MMA2 and start operating from GAT because of the high
operational cost it incurs carrying out flight services from the new
terminal,” the source said.

It should be noted
that Arik Air, the country’s largest commercial carrier is carrying out
its domestic flight operations from the General Aviation Terminal, and
on different occasions, managers of the new terminal have challenged
why Arik is still operating from the old terminal.

Bi-Courtney counters

The managers of the
new terminal, however, refuted any form of high or increased rent.
According to Bi-Courtney, tenants have been called upon to renew their
rents.

“We would like to state categorically that we have not effected nor
made any demand for increase in rent from any of our tenants,” said
Femi Kolawole, chief corporate services officer for Bi-Courtney in a
statement. “On the contrary, tenants whose leases are expiring have
been invited to renew their leases, at the same prices as their
expiring leases or at reduced rates.”

The chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriation,
Iyiola Omisore, has blamed journalists for the delay of the passage of
the Freedom of Information bill.

The former Osun State deputy governor, who featured
at the guest forum of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Oyo
State council, on Monday, noted that supporters of the bill were not
ready to agree with the responsibilities that go with free access to
information.

According to him, the nation’s legislative arm could
not pass the bill after several months of its proposal because media
leaders were not ready to allow inclusion of clauses for penalties for
publishing inaccurate information and falsehood.

Freedom and responsibility

“We want freedom of information. To every freedom,
there must be responsibility. What we attached to it (FoI Bill) you
people do not want to take it. We invited the NUJ people to come and
speak with us that if you do this, this is your penalty.

“You are free to write anything, but if you write
what is not true, you go to jail. I was in detention for three years
for the lies published by Tempo magazine against me. And immediately I
was arrested, they folded up,” he said.

Speaking on states creation, Mr Omisore explained
that the National Assembly is still struggling to see how the feat
would be achieved before the current federal legislative term winds up.

He admitted that the death of the former president,
Umar Musa Yar’Adua, slowed down some of the work lined up by the
National Assembly for the current season.

He explained that the assembly had three items as paramount in its agenda and has already achieved two of them.

States creation

The three, he disclosed, are constitution amendment,
passage of electoral reform bill, and state creation, adding that among
the three, state creation is the only one left and its process has
reached an advanced stage.

On the issue of the jumbo pay the lawmakers allegedly
appropriated for themselves, the senator said the allegations were not
true, saying the constituency allowances are not given to them in cash,
but are appropriated in the budget and the projects for which they are
meant are handled by relevant government agencies.

Commenting on the adoption of President Goodluck
Jonathan by the southwest chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
last Saturday, Mr Omisore said the zone has not done anything against
the zoning formula entrenched in the party’s constitution.

As an aspirant in the Osun State governorship race,
Omisore admonished that all Nigerians must ensure that the next
election is free, fair, and credible, and he cautioned politicians from
playing the game against the rule.

He advised politicians to imbibe the spirit of sportsmanship in the
next election, saying they must be ready to admit failure when it comes.

The Environmental Rights Action/Friends
of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) has described the invasion of
Ogbunugbene community in Bayelsa State by the Joint Military Task Force
on the Niger Delta (JTF) as an affront which may derail the Federal
Government’s amnesty programme.

The ERA/FoEN’s caution is coming on the
heels of reports that the attack at the weekend was carried out by JTF
personnel who came in gunboats that were stationed at Agip’s Ogboinbiri
Flow Station, close to the community.

According to the group, few days before
the invasion, which left some locals wounded and houses destroyed, an
oil spill was reported at Agip’s facility in the community, following
which community folks mobilised some youth to protect the site from the
activities of individuals who may want to cash in on the situation to
steal contents spewing from the facility.

It was, however, gathered that the
soldiers invaded the community and engaged the youth in a shootout
which left some dead and others seriously injured. Houses were also
destroyed, leading to mass exodus of the people to safer communities.

Unjustified attack

“This brutal action of the JTF on the
Ogbunugbene people cannot be justified in any civilised society. These
soldiers are supposed to be responsible to the people of the Niger
Delta and should protect lives and property, and not hunt the people
down,” said ERA/FoEN executive director, Nnimmo Bassey.

Mr Bassey decried what he called the
“gradual and systematic muscling of locals” in the guise of reining in
on alleged criminals in the Niger Delta region, even as he pointed out
that the recurrent unprovoked invasion of the JTF on innocent
communities in the region was capable of disrupting the amnesty
programme and the peace process already in place.

“While we will never support any
unlawful action on the part of local people, oil corporations cannot be
absolved from neglect of their facilities. We totally reject the JTF
idea of labeling entire communities as criminals as a pretext to these
unlawful invasions, which only leave trails of destruction, maiming,
killing, and displacement of the community people,” he said.

Mr. Bassey, who condemned the invasion, demanded an immediate probe from the federal government.

“What is playing out here is the
consistent agenda of oil corporations to instigate crisis in
resource-bearing communities, where they allow their facilities to
wreak havoc so as to label the people as vandals, as a step to
unleashing mayhem and decimation on such communities,” he said.

Biofuel demand is
driving a new “land grab” in Africa, with at least 5 million hectares
(19,300 sq miles) acquired by foreign firms to grow crops in 11
countries, a study by an environmental group said on Monday.

The contracts by
European and Asian companies for land to grow sugar cane, jatropha and
palm oil to be turned into fuel will involve clearing forests and
vegetation, taking land that could be used for food and creating
conflicts with local communities, Friends of the Earth said in the
study.

Proponents of
biofuels argue they are renewable and can help fight climate change
because the growing plants ingest as much carbon dioxide from the air
as the fuels made from them emit when burned.

Critics say there
is a risk of the crops infringing on land that could be used for
growing food and that destruction of rainforests to make way for palm
oil and sugar outweighs any carbon benefits gained from the use of such
fuels.

Creating conflicts

“The expansion of
biofuels … is transforming forests and natural vegetation into fuel
crops, taking away food-growing farmland from communities, and creating
conflicts with local people over land ownership,” Mariann Bassey, a
Friends of the Earth Nigeria activist, said in a statement.

The report said
Kenya and Angola each had received proposals for the use of 500,000
hectares for biofuels and there was a similar plan to use 400,000
hectares in Benin for palm oil.

Rice farmers had been forced off their land for a sugar cane project in Tanzania, it added.

“The competition
for land and the competition for staple food crops such as cassava and
sweet sorghum for agrofuels is likely to push up food and land prices,”
the study said.

Other studies have suggested biofuel expansion would not be harmful and could even be beneficial for African agriculture.

Last month,
researchers from Britain’s Imperial College, carbon trader CAMCO, and
the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) said biofuels
would boost investment in land and infrastructure.

They said this could have a positive effect on food production, and
if properly managed would not mean destroying natural forests.