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Nigerians should
strive to put the nation first rather than their sectional interest,
President Goodluck Jonathan said yesterday when he received former
Minister of Information and Ijaw leader, Edwin Clark, who visited the
State House with associates.

Mr Jonathan used
the occasion to extol the values of nationalism and cohesion that Mr
Clark has promoted over the years, and described the him as a
de-tribalized man who has friends and contacts in all parts of the
country. A former Inspector General of Police, M.D Yusuf thanked Mr
Jonathan for the reception, noting that while Mr Clark’s comments could
sometimes be hard pills to swallow, they do not detract from his sense
of devotion to national integration. A former PDP chairman, Solomon
Lar, also described Mr Clark as a bridge-builder who believes in one
Nigeria and puts the nation first in all he does. He commended Mr
Jonathan for his tradition of hosting elder-statesmen who have
contributed to nation-building, saying the gesture should be emulated
by future leaders.

More eulogies

Former chairman of
the Board of Trustees of Peoples’ Democratic Party, Tony Anenih, also
extolled the virtues of Mr Clark, whom he described as a man of his
words. He also called on Nigerians to always speak against oppression
and stand for the truth at all times; something he said Mr Clark has
always done. A former Minister of Finance, Nenadi Usman, described Mr
Clark as one of the fathers of the nation who abhors injustice and who
always speaks up no matter whose ox is gored.

Mr Clark thanked the president for receiving him and his associates
in spite of his tight schedule, noting that Mr Jonathan’s assumption of
office is the handiwork of God and the Nigerian people. Others who were
present include Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo; Delta State
Governor, Emmanuel Uduaghan; Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godsday
Orubebe; former Chief of General Staff, Mike Akhigbe; former Deputy
Speaker, House of Reps, Chibudom Nwuche; and Mr Yusuf. Others include
former Bayelsa State Governor, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha; Chukwuemeka
Ezeife, Frederick Faseun, Doyin Okupe, Ledum Mitee, and John Fashanu.

The senate has decried the high population of illiterate drivers manning several wheels and causing havoc across the country.

The condemnation
follows on a motion by Idris Umar (PDP, Gombe State) and supported by
nine other senators on the tanker fire tragedy in Gombe metropolis that
claimed the lives of over 15 persons last weekend.

“We have too many
illiterate drivers in this country,” the senate president, David Mark,
complained. He blamed most of the incidences of road accidents in the
country on the inability of most drivers to interprete road signs.

Thirteen people
were reportedly burnt to death and eight others were critically
injured, following a fire outbreak as a result of an accident by a
petrol tanker in the Gombe metropolis on Friday last week.

About forty houses
and properties estimated at over N1 billion were razed in the fire,
which started directly in front of the Specialist Hospital, Gombe,
after a tanker carrying diesel toppled.

The driver was said
to have travelled from Lagos with the diesel and was less than 20
minutes away from his destination when he lost control of the vehicle.

“What has happened
in Gombe has thrown up the failure in the system, which we have been
talking about in the senate,” Ayogu Eze (PDP, Enugu State) said.
“Something has gone wrong with our driving culture in Nigeria.”

He recommended that in addition to driving skills, drivers should also pass psychiatric test before they are given licences.

“Our basic
infrastructure – including roads – are in shambles and everybody is
stressed up and this stress reflects on our driving,” Mr. Eze argued.

The deputy senate
president, Ike Ekweremadu, however, blamed the incessant accidents on
poor planning of urban centres in most cities.

Give them fuel

Following the
motion, the senate had its traditional one minute silence for the
victims of the accident, and urged the federal government to supply
adequate fuel to depots across the country.

According to the
senate, building a fuel pipeline down to all the state capitals would
help to checkmate avoidable accident on the highways involving tankers
carrying fuel.

The senators also
suggested the federal government use rails to transport fuel to various
states, rather than the current method where tankers haul petroleum
products for long distances on bad raods.

Records show that
several petroleum product tanker accidents had occurred within the
Gombe metropolis in the past, but none has been as grievious and
monumental as this last accident.

The lawmakers also
decried the emergency response staged by the fire service, National
Emergency Management Agency, and the Federal Road Safety Commission.

“Our emergency response is poor, if it even exists at all,” the senate president said.

The nation’s
economy will continue to be in the doldrums if the education sector is
not adequately funded, the zonal coordinator of the Colleges of
Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), Femi Keshinro, has said.

Mr Keshinro, who
spoke yesterday at the opening ceremony of South West Zonal COEASU
conference held at Adeyemi College of Education in Ondo, said poor
funding of education is affecting the kind of graduates being churned
out by the tertiary institutions in the country.

Speaking on the
theme, “Teacher Education in a Democratized Nigeria. Challenges and Way
forward”, he linked the failure of the nation’s economic system to the
collapse of the educational sector.

“Education is the
substratum of national growth as well as socioeconomic growth of any
country. For several years, the nation’s educational sector has been
torpid due to poor funding of education by government at all levels,”
he said. “Over the years, employers of labour and other stakeholders
have continued to complain on the poor quality of the average Nigerian
graduates from various tertiary institutions, without providing funds
to give the sector a face-lift. It is not an understatement; some
institutions do not have enough equipment in their library to give
students qualitative education. Some cannot even boost of a standard
library let alone having up-to-date books.”

Failed leaders

The College’s
COEASU Chairman, Smart Olugbeko, said the present situation in the
educational sector has shown that our country does not run a democratic
government and the leaders have failed woefully.

Mr Olugbeko said
the government has relegated teachers’ education to the lowest level,
adding that this has made it to fall short of public expectations.

The Provost of the
Institution, Adeyemi Idowu, said tertiary institutions, which were
meant to produce human capital in order to achieve and develop the
nation, have been bedevilled with several problems that hindered such
opportunities.

He urged the union to deliberate on issues that would solve the
problem of the educational system in the country rather than what would
fetch them money.

Three
weeks after they received copies of the harmonised version of the
proposed constitution, state legislatures will today submit their
resolutions on the document to the National Assembly, the deputy senate
president, Ike Ekweremadu, announced yesterday.

“The conference of
Speakers of states Assemblies will present the resolutions of the
states assemblies on the constitution (first amendment) bill 2010 to
the leadership of the NASS on Thursday July 8, 2010 at the conference
hall 231, House of Representatives at 12 noon,” Mr. Ekweremadu said in
a statement on Wednesday.

The two chambers
of the National Assembly will be expected to collate the differences
that have been raised by the 36 states over the 60 proposals.

Many state
legislatures have rejected key recommendations of the National Assembly
on contentious sections of the constitution such as independent
candidacy, party defection and qualification for elections.

The states’
decisions surprised earlier expectations that they will promptly grant
block approval or disapproval to the document, without considering
detailed sections of the constitution.

Mr. Ekweremadu did not say which approach will be adopted by the
National Assembly in finalizing the document, but it is expected that
the states’ positions will be considered individually for each section,
in seeking a mandatory 24-state support to win final passage.

The federal
government has ordered a comprehensive review of the 376 bilateral
agreements that Nigeria has entered into with other foreign countries
and agencies, following its dissatisfaction of the outcome so far.

Nigeria has in the
past forged a total of 376 bilateral ties, which the Federal Executive
Council (FEC) meeting said the country has nothing positive to show for
it.

Addressing
journalists yesterday after the meeting, presided over by the vice
president, Namadi Sambo, in the absence of the president, Goodluck
Jonathan, who was attending to the D8 heads of state, the minister of
information and communication, Dora Akunyili, said the government is
worried that so far, there is nothing to show for all the international
agreements.

She said the review
has become very essential so as to re-strategise and reposition the
nation’s focus towards more fruitful and rewarding international
engagements.

“Council has
approved the comprehensive review and negotiation of many of the
agreements as well as the need to develop a well-articulated national
policy on joint commissions,” she said.

“Joint/Bilateral
commissions are convenient legal framework for the negotiation,
elaboration and implementation of instruments covering various sectors
of activities for the benefit of the nationals of contracting parties.

“Nigeria has
concluded a total of 376 bilateral joint agreements in various sectors
of the economy and concerns have been generally expressed about the
unsatisfactory level of implementation and Nigeria’s ability to derive
maximum benefit from those agreements, memoranda of Understanding
(MOU), and related instruments concluded under the joint commissions’
framework,” she further said.

Based on the above,
she said, council considered and approved a comprehensive review and
possible re-negotiation of the non-performing agreements to ensure that
Nigeria derives maximum benefits from them.

The minister added
that the council also approved the creation of an inter-ministerial
committee, under the leadership of the ministry of foreign affairs, to
develop a well-articulated national policy on joint commissions, that
would be monitored by the National Planning Commission. All existing
agreements are to be reviewed and submitted to the council in the next
eight weeks.

New kits for schools

The minister of
education also brought a memo before council, seeking approval for the
award of contract for the procurement and distribution of 2,544 science
kits for selected public junior secondary schools (JSS) nationwide by
the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC).

Council had, at its
meeting of 5th May 2010, approved the contract for the procurement and
distribution of 2,331 science kits, but directed the ministries of
education and science and technology to re-examine the procurement
process, with a view to allowing the National Agency for Science and
Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) to execute it through sole sourcing
method.

The project will be
financed by the UBEC, from the balance of the funds for the school
feeding programme approved for the utilization of instructional
materials for the basic education sub-sector.

The minister of
state for power also presented a memorandum seeking approval for the
award of contract for the construction of 2X60MVA, 132/33KV substation
at Igangan and 132KV switching station at Igbo-Ora.

She added that the
project is one of the initiatives aimed at facilitating the anticipated
increase in the nation’s electricity generation capacity. When
completed, the project will strengthen and improve the transmission
system reliability.

“Council,
therefore, considered and approved the award of contract for the
construction of 2X60MVA, 132/33KV substation at Igangan and 132KV
switching station at Igbo-Ora, in the sum of £7,3million, plus
N885.6million.”

Completion period is 18 months.

Journalists in Ondo State are mourning the death
of one of their colleagues, Funsho Muraina, who died at the Akure
Specialist Hospital on Monday.

Mr. Muraina, a former correspondent of the Punch,
later became the Ondo State chief correspondent of Thisday, before he
was transferred to Abuja as a senior editor. He was buried on Tuesday,
in his hometown, Iseyin, Oyo State.

The Ondo State governor, Olusegun Mimiko, and the
Ondo State Council of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) expressed
shock over the death of Mr. Muraina. They also condoled with Fatimah,
Muraina’s wife, also a journalist, the children, and the entire Muraina
family of Iseyin.

“Funso was a quintessential journalist, brilliant,
fearless, dedicated, and hard working. He was a true lover of the pen
profession; so much so that even when he qualified as a lawyer, he
still stuck to his first love, journalism,” Mr. Mimiko said.

The chairman of the Ondo State Council of the
Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Dele Atunbi, said Mr. Muraina’s
death has once again dealt a major blow to journalism in Nigeria.
Chairman of the Correspondent Chapel, Tunde Raheem, and secretary,
Tunji Adediran, noted that the chapel received Mr. Muraina’s death with
sadness.

“Late Funso Muraina, a former chairman of the
chapel, was known to be a hardworking and fearless journalist,
committed to the ethics of the profession. He will be remembered for
his doggedness and perseverance, which saw him through the study of Law
while still engaged in active journalism,” the chapel said.

The federal government will continue to support the Nigerian
Army as it deepens the professionalism of its officers and works to strengthen
democracy and freedom in the country, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan said
yesterday at this year’s Nigerian Army Day Celebration (NADCEL), which held at
the Eagle Square, Abuja.

Mr. Jonathan, who warned that ethnic and religious bigotry in
the nation’s army could compromise its integrity and virtues, and endanger the
nation’s democracy, if not checked, cautioned officers and soldiers of the Nigerian
Army to shun all forms of ethnic and religious sentiments in the discharge of
their duties.

“In defending the peace today, we are faced with new challenges
as exemplified in skirmishes within the nation,” he said. “We must remember
that some of the greatest dangers to our democracy and freedom are shrouded in
the perils of ethnicity and religious intolerance. These evils threaten our
very existence as one sovereign and indivisible nation.”

The president, who urged the leadership of the Nigerian Army to
“discourage such sentiments and encourage our men to see each other as brothers
in the pursuit of a common destiny,” commended the Nigerian Army for its
loyalty and subordination to civil authority, while pledging that his
administration will do more to improve the welfare of its officers and men.

Mr. Jonathan enjoined the nation’s Armed Forces to continue to
maintain the high level of professionalism, which has earned Nigeria a good
name and enhanced her status in the international community.

He said that with the high expectation from African nations in
peacekeeping, Nigeria remains committed to international security and will
continue to work in close collaboration with these nations to promote peace,
stability, and development on the African continent and the globe.

The president, who urged the Armed Forces to forestall any
breach of the nation’s territorial integrity at all times, said it must be
vigilant and alert to support the police in maintaining peace when called upon.

Awards presentations

He added that government will build on the peace efforts of
late president, Umaru Yar’Adua, in the Niger Delta region by providing
infrastructural development, but called on the Armed Forces to “guard against
economic saboteurs and their international collaborators who constantly plot to
deny the nation of her resources and heritage.”

President Jonathan presented 14 Distinguished Post Service
Medals to deserving awardees, comprising seven retired and seven serving soldiers.
Some of the awardees are the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar; the Primate of
the Anglican Communion in Nigeria, Nicholas Okoh; and anti-corruption activist,
Ishola Williams (rtd).

He also later commissioned the Nigerian Army Headquarters
Command Officers’ Mess in Asokoro District.

The Chief of Army Staff, Abdurahman Dambazau, thanked Mr.
Jonathan for his “deep commitment” to the efficiency and professionalism of the
Nigerian Army and the Armed Forces in general and pledged the army’s unalloyed
loyalty to the president and the Nigerian people.

The occasion witnessed colourful parades and regimental
displays by battalions of the Nigerian Army, as well as the presentation of the
Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Commendation Award to six officers and nine soldiers.

“We are recognising the post-service achievements of some
retired officers and discharged soldiers. These are also part of the efforts
toward motivating our personnel who have disengaged from military service,” Mr.
Dambazau said. “The NADCEL is a period earmarked in retrospect to assess our
achievements vis-à-vis our constitutional duties. This year’s celebration is
indeed grand, and rightly more so, as we enjoy the spirit of our growing
uninterrupted democracy.”

He added that the army had contributed immensely to the
provision of “security ambience” for national values to thrive.

“The past 11 years of our nascent democratic experience had
very profound challenges on our status as the oldest and most versatile
component of the national instrument for ensuring the inviolability of
Nigeria’s territory and the maintenance of internal peace and security. The
challenges within the context of international dynamics are helping to reshape
our focus and form, as amplified in our transformation programme,” Mr. Dambazau
said.

He said the focus of the army’s leadership was currently on
effective utilisation of available resources, adherence to military values,
effective command and control, observance of the rule of law, and excellent
civil-military relations.

The House of Representatives yesterday passed a resolution
granting staff of the National Assembly a Consolidated Salary structure
(CONLSS).

With the resolution, all workers of the federal legislature will
be entitled to 100 per cent increase in their salaries. The Senate had passed a
similar motion last month.

The chairman of the Committee on Rules and Business, Ita Enang,
while introducing the motion in the House, said it approved the structure in
May and transmitted to the Senate for concurrence, adding that the upper
chamber passed it with some differences.

As a result, Mr Enang
stated, the two chambers met on June 22 and adopted a harmonised version of the
structure, which he said will encourage commitment and dedication to work.

The increment was based on the agreement between the National
Assembly Service Commission (NASC) and the Parliamentary Staff Association of
Nigeria (PASAN). Interestingly, the increase is coming at a time when the
representatives and senators are demanding an increment in their allowances to
N27.2 million and N80 million respectively.

However, the new National Assembly (NASS) staff structure will
be deployed in batches, with 50 per cent being paid immediately while the
remaining 50 per cent will be spread over the next eight years.

The immediate implementation of the first 50 per cent will gulp
about N11 billion annually, about N4.65 above the N6.3 billion which is the
current salary of the NASS staff.

Two more bills

At present, the NASC has a total of 317 workers while the
legislative aides are 2,942.

Also, on Tuesday, the House passed two bills into law. They are
‘A Bill for an Act to Regulate the Conduct of Federal, State and Area Council
Elections and to Repeal the Electoral Act 2006, and for Other Related Matters,
2010,’ and ‘A Bill for an Act to Confer Exclusive Original Jurisdiction in the
Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, on Chieftaincy Matters on the Customary Court
of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, and to Provide for Matters
Related Thereto, 2010.’

Another one ‘A Bill for an Act to Amend the Institute for Democratic and
Legislative Studies Act, 2007 and for Other Matters Connected Therewith, 2010,’
scaled second reading.

Six days after the June 30 deadline for compliance with
international standards in the war against terrorism and money laundering, the
anti-terror bill made it through public hearing, half way to becoming law.

The bill seeks to provide for international standard measures to
combat terrorism in Nigeria. Adoption of the bill marks Nigeria’s full
compliance with the international requirements for combating terrorism,
recommended by Financial Action Task Force (FATF), established by the G7 Summit
held in Paris in 1989.

The anti-money laundering bill, a complement bill based on
similar recommendations by FATF, is already being considered for final passage
by the Senate.

According to a letter President Goodluck Jonathan wrote the
National Assembly in April to expedite action on the bill, Nigeria may be
blacklisted again by the FATF, if the bills are not passed into law by the end
of June.

The public hearing, a major milestone in law making, gives the
public an opportunity to criticise or contribute to the law. However, the
anti-terror bill hearing was attended only by a few civilians and
representatives of the police anti-terror unit, who asked to be heard in private.

David Mark, the Senate president, said the bill was not targeted
at any group, given the religious intonation given to most acts of terrorism.

“Our cultures and religions forbid the taking of lives of our
fellow human beings,” the Senate president said. “For the avoidance of doubt,
this bill is for the general interest of all Nigerians, and not targeted at any
group. Terrorism is gruesome and evil, and must not be condoned. I condemn
terrorism in its entire ramification.” Also, Nuhu Aliyu, the Senate committee
chairman on security, argued that terrorism is not a faith-based act.

“Terrorists are people without faith,” he said. “No religion
tells people to kill each other,” he said.

The Bill

The bill has five essential parts covering acts of terrorism and
related offences, terrorism funding and terrorist properties, mutual assistance
and extradition, investigation and prosecution.

The acts of terrorism covered by the bill include attacks upon a
person’s life, which may cause bodily harm or death, kidnappings, destruction
of government or public facility, or private property in manner likely to
endanger human life or result in a major economic loss.

The bill also covers seizure of aircrafts, ships, or other means
of public transport. The manufacture, possession, acquisition, transport,
supply or use of weapons, and explosives – nuclear, biological, and chemical
weapons inclusive -are also covered by the bill.

The propagation and dissemination of information in any form calculated to
cause panic, evoke violence, or intimidate a government, person, or group of
persons, also falls within the radar of terrorism the bill seeks to deal with
or prevent.

The men of the Ondo State Police
Command yesterday paraded a 29-year-old man, Akinmoladun Emmanuel, who
has allegedly duped several people seeking for job with the Nigerian
Police Force.

Mr. Emmanuel was arrested based on the tip off given by some members of the public who were his victims.

The man, a native of Ode-Irele, in
Irele local government area of Ondo State, was arrested at Isaac
Adebanjo Hotel, along Oke Ijebu area of Akure metropolis.

He had lodged in the hotel for about
two weeks, claiming to have been officially sent from the Inspector
General of Police’s office in Abuja to assist applicants for
recruitment.

Parading the suspect in Akure
yesterday, the spokesperson of the command, Adeniran Aremu, said the
suspect was arrested on Monday around 11am.

He added that the suspect, after he was
interrogated, said he had collected various sums of money ranging from
N20, 000 to N50, 000 from the victims, who were desperate to secure
police job.

Some of the documents found in the
possession of the suspects, according to Mr. Aremu, were: leg chains,
police buttons and Lanyard, documents from Police Service Commission,
Police Applicant forms, and other documents.

The state commissioner of police,
Ballah Magaji Nassarawa, urged applicants seeking job with the Nigerian
Police to be wary of fraudsters.

“I want to tell the applicants that ongoing recruitment into the
Nigeria Police as recruit constables is free of charge. They should be
wary of fraudulent ones that may want to dupe them in the guise of
getting police job for them,” he said.