Nigeria Content Online

The trial of Temple Nwankawoala, a
police chief based in Benin, Edo State, on corruption charges, that
started three years ago, continued yesterday at a Federal High Court in
Benin.

Mr. Nwankawoala, a Deputy
Superintendent of Police (DSP), is being charged by the Independent
Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) for
demanding one million naira bribe from a suspect in a case he was
investigating, an act that is contrary to Section 28 of the ICPC Act
2000.

The police chief was investigating the
case brought by Monday Ebohinmen against his employer, Alex Okiye, over
the latter’s refusal to pay him his entitlement worth two million naira.

However, sensing that both parties were
about settling the dispute without him profiting from it, Mr.
Nwankawoala demanded a sum of one million naira from Mr. Okiye before
he could close the case.

“The DSP was alleged to have threatened
to arrest and detain the trailers which the respondent (Mr. Okiye) uses
for lifting fuel, being a petroleum dealer, as well as threatened to
arrest his staff working with the NNPC depot, if he failed to give him
the N1 million,” stated Folu Olamiti, the media consultant to the ICPC,
who explained that it was the persistence of the DSP for the money that
made Mr. Okiye report him to the ICPC.

“A string operation was carried out,
during which the suspect agreed to collect the initial sum of N500,
000, being part payment of the bribe of N1 million,” the ICPC spokesman
explained.

Carrying the loot

The police officer, who is on bail, was
arrested while transporting the initial sum, which was in N500
denominations, along with someone he had hired to help him carry the
money.

While explaining the reason for the
delay in getting a conviction, Mr. Olamiti stated that “the case, which
commenced on June 26, 2007, has suffered several adjournments.”

He, however, stated that “the
prosecution (ICPC) has closed their case after calling on all its
witnesses, while the defence (Mr. Nwankawoala), is yet to close its
case.

The Speaker of the
House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole yesterday said members will
work hard to ensure that marriages to underage girls are stopped in the
country.

At a meeting with
members of the Nigerian Children Parliament in Abuja who came to
present their resolution to him, Mr Bankole, who did not mention any
names, said the House has received about eight petitions on the
controversial marriage of a 13 year old girl by a Senator.

“You see, this is
not the first time it is happening; it has happened so many times in
this country and it is not necessary members of the National Assembly,
but even with people from different parts of Nigeria and I say again
people from different parts of Nigeria. It is not peculiar to a
section. But this time around, we are not having it, we are not taking
it lightly. I know that about seven to eight petitions in the House are
calling that we investigate it. And when it comes to the floor of the
House, we will also look into it. I know that the Human Rights
Commission is working hard on this issue and we hope that maybe, for
the first time, people should put a stop to that kind of attitude.”

Mr Bankole said
that he has always passed on the resolutions of the Nigeria Children
Parliament to the appropriate quarters and assured that he would
continue to do so in the interest of Nigerian children.

Unhappy children

The Speaker,
however asked the young parliamentarians not to be discouraged if their
resolutions do not receive immediate attention, adding that from his
experience, not all resolutions passed receive quick treatment. “It is
not everything you asked for you that you get but you have to make sure
that you keep asking believing that one day the executive will listen
to you. Don’t ever stop; keep passing those resolutions. The history of
being Senate President or Speaker is not that of a pleasant one,” Mr
Bankole said.

On the recurring crisis in Jos, the Plateau State capital, the
Speaker said he has visited the city about four times to commiserate
with the families of the victims, some of whom are children. Earlier,
the Senate President of the Nigerian Children Parliament, Esther
Afolayan, called for an increase in the budgetary allocation relating
to children’s welfare while the Speaker of the Parliament, Emmanuel
Attah regretted the slow domestication of the Child Rights Act and
asked Mr Bankole to help.

Half a dozen
members of the House of Representatives, who are staging an event to be
chaired by former military ruler, Ibrahim Babangida, have denied
fronting for the retired general’s 2011 presidential ambition.

The Initiative, a
relatively long-standing representatives’ group, which has existed
aloof of contentious national issues, stirred controversy Wednesday
after announcing its plan for inauguration, that will be chaired by Mr.
Babangida in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state.

Responding to
journalists queries on why Mr. Babangida was chosen to lead the May 27,
2010 event, Eseme Eyibo, the group’s leader, said the former ruler was
named after three other shortlisted names were unavailable for that
date.

According to Mr.
Eyibo, who faced reporters with five other members of the group, former
military rulers, Yakubu Gowon, Abdulsalami Abubakar, and the former
Chief of Defence Staff, Awoye Azazi turned down invitations because of
other engagements.

He explained that
Mr. Babangida received the group’s invitation, and assured of his
attendance, months before making public his plans to contest the
presidential elections next year.

“We served the
invitation, and got assurances of his presence during the mourning days
of his late wife, Maryam Babangida six months ago,” he said.

As a group of
lawmakers, The Initiatives, regularly conducts sessions that brings
together commentators within and outside the legislature.

It has recently
completed an incorporation process-the first of such in the National
Assembly- with board members including, retired Chief Justice of the
Federation, Mohammed Uwais, former Senate President, Anyim Pius Anyim,
FCT minister, Sanusi Daggash and former Attorney General of the
Federation, Kanu Agabi.

Its inauguration is
to hold in Akwa Ibom and will have in attendance, Mr. Babangida, human
activist, Femi Falana, Sultan of Sokoto, Abubakar Sa’ad and the host
governor, Godswill Akpabio.

Right to contest

Asked if the
planned inauguration, at a time Mr. Babangida is facing severe
opposition to his ambitions, would not viewed as a platform intended to
prop up support for him, Mr. Eyiboh said the group supports no personal
ambition, but aims at helping to evolve good governance. However, he
said as a Nigerian, Mr. Babangida has the right to contest.

“Ibrahim Babangida
has the right to contest any election in this country that is his
private ambition, but The Initiative will not and is not a platform for
political parties, platform for any personal ambition different from
what would serve the interest of Nigeria,” he said.

He said the spread of the invitees indicates that the group has no such intention.

On the possibility
of a repeat of what occurred in Benin, Edo state, “One Man, One Vote”
campaign where the former ruler was openly told he was not qualified to
be in attendance, Mr. Eyiboh said “Falana will be present and Falana is
aware that General Babangida will be in attendance.

“We invited IBB and also invited Falana,” he said. “Babangida knows
Falana will be there, and Falana knows Babangida will be there. We did
not hide anything from anyone.”

The World Service Trust of the British
Broadcasting Corporation {BBC}, has inaugurated a Media Committee for
Ogun State, towards enhancing the state’s response to HIV/AIDS.

Members of the committee include Dimeji
Kayode-Adedeji, NEXT Newspapers; Tunde Sodeke, Gateway Television;
Temitope Ugbechie, Gateway Radio; Timilehin Akinbode, Paramount F.M;
Afolabi Lawal, Nigeria Television Authority; Mojisola Solaja, Gateway
Television; and Kehinde Akinyemi, Daily Trust.

The BBC World Service Trust representative, Nasir
Nluazu-Isa, while inaugurating the committee, said they should
prioritise HIV issues to ensure that an appropriate HIV campaign,
relevant to the state, is developed and promoted.

The committee, he said, should also plan media
{radio and television} deployment for special events and seasons on a
thematic basis. He also called for effective design news feed for the
HIV news coverage by newspapers in the state.

“In this area, synergy will be encouraged between
civil society organisations and newspaper columnists for full
exploration of the state-relevant HIV issues under columns. Regular
meetings with the media committee members in all the states will help
track the progress of writing,” he said.

He stated further that the BBC World Service Trust will provide regular updates about HIV news and the campaign of the trust.

With the official
launch of the Information and Communications Technology for
Development, ICT4D plan document yesterday in Abuja, all the federal
government ministries, departments and agencies have been urged to
start full implementation of the ICT agenda relevant to them.

President Goodluck
Jonathan gave this directive at the opening of the e-Nigeria 2010
summit in Abuja. He said this was necessary, considering the place of
Information Technology in achieving sustainable socio-economic
development in the current global economy.

“We must bear in
mind that this document cannot implement itself,” he said. “It requires
that stakeholders should embark on specific actions and initiatives as
outlined in the plan for us to achieve the desired objective of
mainstreaming ICT into our national development agenda.”

On the part of the
government I direct that all ministries, departments, and agencies
should commence immediate implementation of areas of the Nigerian ICT4D
plan that are relevant to their respective mandates.”

Funding the project

The President, who
was represented at the event by Mohammed Abubakar, minister of science
and technology, said adequate budgetary provision should be made for
various projects and programmes in the implementation of the plan,
adding that the projects should be people oriented and will be
implemented in accordance with best practices and laid-down due process.

Other tiers of
government are to study the document and design mechanisms for active
participation in order to ensure that the process does not widen the
digital divide between the federal and other tiers of government. This
will ensure that all Nigerians play active role in the global
information society and the digital economy.

The ICT4D plan, according to him, is a major tool for driving the Vision 2020 target set by the federal government.

Mr. Jonathan called
on the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) to
develop the mechanism, including key performance indicators, for proper
coordination and monitoring of the different programmes to be embarked
upon in the implementation of the Nigerian ICT4D plan.

“This will enable
us have regular reports and updates of progress made in the
implementation process,” he said. “This is in addition to the concerted
efforts to be put in place by all stakeholders in order to marshall
adequate resources for effective implementation.”

Bridging the digital divide

Cleopas Angaye,
director general of NITDA observed that the three-tiers of government
have integrated IT into their various functions with different level of
compliance.

“It is however
apparent that much is left to be done especially in the area of people
oriented IT programmes and initiatives in Nigeria,” he said. “It is in
pursuit of this people oriented programme that NITDA has developed the
Nigerian Information and Communications for Development action plan
which is expected to position Information Technology as engine of our
national development and by so doing, integrate the country into the
current global economy driven by technologies.

NITDA is therefore
using eNigeria 2010 to create awareness and present the document to all
Nigerians in order to aid the use of information technology in every
sector on Nigerian economy. All successful economies of the world are
knowledge based and technologically-driven. Nigeria cannot afford to be
left behind in working towards the globally shared vision of an
information society that enables people to fulfil their potentials,
enhance sustainable growth, accountability and transparency in
governance.”

Clement Dzidonu, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa’s
coordinator for Nigeria ICT4D plan said formulating appropriate ICT4D
plan will help move Nigeria to right side of the digital divide.

The
Bankers’ Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday
resolved to effect some amendment to the prudential guidelines issued
early this month, detailing criteria by banks for classification of
non-performing loans.

Though the full
amended guidelines is expected to be released in the next two weeks,
Sterling Bank’s managing director, Yemi Adeola, told journalists at the
end of the committee’s meeting in Abuja that members decided to expunge
the provision that makes it mandatory for banks to set aside two
percent of their loans portfolio for general loans provision.

“We believe with
the level of cleanup that has been done in the industry so far, there
is really no need for such general loan loss provision,” he said,
pointing out that removing such provision would make it easier for
banks to grant credits to the real sector of the economy as well as
facilitate continuous extension of credits to the general public.

The committee,
which also reviewed the performance of the economy in the last quarter,
the financial market operations and regulatory issues, also resolved to
evaluate current impact of the automated teller machine (ATM) on the
banking penetration in the economy.

Managing director
of First Bank Nigeria Limited, Bisi Onasanya, said a sub-committee was
constituted to re-evaluate the capacities and competencies of the three
licensed outsourcing companies selected to manage the machines to
ensure uninterrupted services prior to the proposed shared
infrastructure and services phase in the industry.

Due to the
multiplicity of ATMs in some off site locations across the country, Mr.
Onasanya said a decision was taken that banks should limit their
deployment of the facility to their branches, while allowing
professional outsourcing companies to handle the deployment of ATMs in
off site locations.

Deliver better value

However, following
concerns by most banks about the need to verify the capacities of the
out sourced agencies to maintain the facilities, he said the
re-evaluation became necessary not only to ensure discipline and
effective coordination, but to also guarantee adequate maintenance and
management of the facilities to ensure that the final model that would
be rolled out would be able to deliver better value to the banking
public.

“The committee has
been given two weeks to re-evaluate the proposed model to identify
issues that need to be resolved before the deadline for banks to hand
over their ATMs to these outsourcing companies. The sub-committee will
evaluate the capacities and financial strengths of the three licensed
ATM outsourcing switch company – Corporati, Interswitch and Chams –
with a view to ensuring that they possess the necessary muscle to not
only continuously maintain the ATMs, but also to replace them when the
need arises.

“This is part of
efforts to ensure that the handing over of these ATMs to these private
institutions does not fail, considering that it will form the bedrock
of the ongoing effort to establish the process of shared infrastructure
and services in the nation’s banking sector,” he explained.

Tenure for directors

On Code of
Corporate governance validating the tenure of non-executive directors
of the banks, CBN’s director of banking supervision, Sam Oni, said four
years of three terms was prescribed, pointing out that to qualify for
re-appointment as directors, the regulatory authorities will administer
continuous assessment of their performance every two years as a
certification process to help assess and evaluate their performance on
an ongoing basis.

“It is the responsibility of the directors to ensure that their
institutions are well run in a firm and sound manner,” he said. “The
assessment would be guided by the type of contributions by the director
as reflected in the minutes of the books of the company and the report
of the expert auditors of the performance of the director as well as
other criteria to confirm that the director can continue in office.”

The
House of Representatives yesterday named a seven-man team to inquire
into the N257 billion Abuja airport road (renamed Yar’Adua Road)
contract, less than a week after a resolution was reached to
investigate the project.

The lawmakers voted
last Thursday to constitute an arbitrary committee with members drawn
outside the House Committee on Works, to probe the terms and funding of
the project which they argue have contravened its original agreement.

They also said the
construction of the expressways leading to the city airport, recently
named after the late president, was awarded at an exorbitant cost.

House Speaker
Dimeji Bankole named an ad hoc committee for the probe yesterday, to be
headed by Suleiman Kawu, a member of the All Nigeria People’s Party,
from Kano State.

Other members of
the committee include Olaka Nworgu (Rivers), Umaru Kurfi (PDP Katsina),
Jerry Manwe(PDP Taraba), Yusuf Tuga(ANPP, Bauchi), Agboola Ajayi (PDP
Ondo), Onyeama Chukwuma(PDP Anambra state).

The committee will
find out how the former Federal Capital Territory administration under
Adamu Aliero, arrived at the whopping N257 billion for the expansion of
the twin northern outer expressways- a contract awarded to Julius
Berger Plc.

Revaluate the project

Also, they will
determine why the administration discarded earlier agreement that the
project be funded through a Public Private Partnership (PPP) with the
private sector paying 60 per cent, while the government pays the
remaining.

The inquiry will
also re-evaluate the project, re-measure the road distance, compare
charges for similar construction in other parts of the northern zone,
and recommend prosecution for those found guilty of wrong doing.

No date has been fixed for the submission of the outcome of the investigation.

The
race for the ticket of the Ondo South Senatorial district in the 2011
general elections is creating sharp division’s among the members of the
Labour Party in the state, with two aides of Governor Olusegun Mimiko
interested in the senatorial ticket.

The battle line
appears drawn between Yele Omogunwa, works commissioner, Boluwaji
Kunlere, the special adviser to the governor on political matters.
Subsequently, the supporters of both men have been pitched against one
another.

Mr. Omogunawa’s
supporters believe it is their turn to produce the next senator because
Irele community, where he hails from, has never produced a candidate
for the senatorial slot.

But the other camp argued that Irele people rejected the slot when it was willingly given to them by the Labour Party in 2007.

They further argued
that since Irele people turned down the offer in 2007, they should not
except that the ticket would be given to them on a platter of gold.

A deal gone sour

Mr. Kunlere, who
was the secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party before he pitched his
tent with the Labour Party, contested the senatorial seat in 2007 and
lost to the incumbent senator, Hosea Ehinlawo, of the Peoples
Democratic Party.

Mr. Kunlere, it was
gathered, was asked to withdraw his case at the tribunal to pave way
for Mr. Ehinlawo, who is perceived to be close to Mr Mimiko.

“It will be unfair
for anybody to stand against my ambition now because they know what I
passed through in 2007,” he said. “LP went to the tribunal and its
leader, Olusegun Mimiko, persuaded me to step down for Chief Hosea
Ehinlanwo whom he said was less harmless than those boasting that they
will emerge victorious in the election.

It was through the
order of Mr. Mimiko that I withdraw my case at the appeal tribunal,
promising me that I will be part of his government.”

Though Mr. Mimiko
has not given his words on the issue, he was quoted to have said that
due process would be allowed to take his course.

Despite the
governor’s promise to allow free and fair primaries, however,
supporters of the two politicians are trying to outsmart one another
through a campaign of calumny.