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The Ministry of Interior has generated
a total of N59.3 billion since the inception of the e-passport system
project, said the minister of Information and Communication, Labaran
Maku, yesterday.

Speaking after the Federal Executive
Council meeting which was chaired by President Goodluck Jonathan, the
minister, flanked by the now-acting minister of Interior and the
ministers of Police Affairs and National Planning, Humphrey Abbey and
Shamsudeen Usman, respectively, said the money generated has gone into
the national treasury.

During the FEC meeting, which lasted
for about three hours, the council ratified the contract awarded for
the production of six million e-passport booklets and 3.5 million
wafers and laminate, to a total of N13.9 million.

“The minister of Interior, in
continuation of his programme to deliver e-passport as part of the
internationally agreed deadline of April this year to cross over to
e-passport across the world, today brought a memo to council for
ratification for the award of contract for the production of six
million e-passport booklets and 3.5 million wafers and laminate in the
total sum of N13,950,280,000 to Erin Smart Nig. Ltd.”

He said the company that won the
contract has been the one involved in the production of e-passports for
the Ministry of Interior since the inception of the e-passport system.

He also said the award of the contract
will help the immigration service meet the demand for e-passports for
Nigerians at home and in the diaspora.

“Also this contract involved
maintenance services for the entire e-passport infrastructure at home
and in about 53 e-passport centers domiciled in Nigerian embassies
abroad. This project has been on for some years on the public-private
partnership. Government does not budget for it at all; it is a
contractor-financed programme which indeed has been generating
resources for the Ministry of Interior.”

Developing the Niger DeltaMr Maku also
said during the council meeting that the Niger Delta received lot of
attention. In the first memo that came to the FEC, the NDDC gave
contracts for the construction of six key roads in the region. The
minister noted that the purpose of these roads is to improve
infrastructure in the region and enhance development in line with the
government priority of bringing development in the Niger Delta to a
level that is commensurate with the resources that the region has
brought to the nation.

“As part of the amnesty programme,
government has made it a key national priority to facilitate the speedy
development of the oil producing strata,” he said. Roads worth a total
of N20,978,585,691.74 were ratified by council. He explained that these
contracts had earlier been approved by the president but because of the
work and value involved, “traditionally, the council ought to approve.”

The roads to be constructed as part of
this package include Ididep Ikot Odiong Ikot Ibiono Road, as well as
the construction of roads and a major bridge in Akwa Ibom State.
Erosion control project in Ibiono Ibom also in Akwa Ibom state. The
third road construction project is the road from Ayan Ikot Ikpayak to
Ikot Offiong, and Ikot Enine to Ikot Iboanam, also in Akwa Ibom State.
The fourth is the construction of Ama Oboke Eze Ofia Isu Nzerem Ikpe
Road in the Isiokwe Ehime Mbano local government area in Imo State.

The fifth road to be built is the Asa
Obile Road also in Imo State, and the last is the Mbiama Junction West
road in the Igbogene Ahoada West LGA of Rivers State. The roads are
expected to be completed at various period ranging from one to two
years.

The minister said the second memo was
presented by the president on the ratification of contracts for
infrastructure projects in the Niger Delta. “The total cost of project
is N27,560,764.525. Again, these projects that range from roads
construction to hospitals are allocated in various part of the Niger
Delta,” he stated.

The projects include: the construction
of Afia Nsit Ikot Mbang Road in Akwa Ibom State; the Ibaka Bati Jetty;
and Ibak Ikot Akoedo Ibom Ikot Road located in Akwa Ibom State. In
Bayelsa State, construction will commence on two 50-bed coastal
hospital complexes at Ekowe and Ekeremo, as well as the Akogbene Esama
Ogbenama road. Imo State will receive funding for the Ughelli flood
remediation, the construction of the Oguta Lake bridge, and the
construction of the Umudike international drainage system. Finally,
construction in Rivers State will comprise of Kula International Road
and the construction of Akujagu Ama forestry protection.

“These projects on completion are expected to add value to the Niger
Delta development area in terms of provision of infrastructure and
improvement in health and medical services in the region. Also, it is
expected to generate thousands of jobs for the youth, especially those
that have joined the amnesty programme as well as other unemployed
youths across the Niger Delta region,” Mr Maku said.

The Kaduna State
government yesterday adjusted the 24-hour curfew that was imposed due
to the post-election violence in many parts of the state. In a
statement signed by the special adviser to the governor on media,
Reuben Buhari, the government said people would be allowed to move from
8am to 4pm on Thursday, noting that the restriction will be suspended
completely as soon as the security situation normalises. While
explaining that the adjustment was made to enable people have access to
food and other needs, the government also advised people to comply with
the directive.

Meanwhile, the
traditional ruler of Kagoro, Ufuwai Bonet, yesterday appealed to the
people of Kaduna State to embrace peace and desist from engaging in
violence and instability which would compromise development.

The ruler spoke
passionately to the people of southern Kaduna after touring the areas
affected by the crisis, saying, “We must embrace peace and our people
should know that we cannot progress without [the] peace and stability
of our state and country at large. Development and growth that we all
are aspiring for cannot be realised without peace and harmony and so I
am begging you to desist from all forms of violence and instability.”

He urged the people to remember the future of the country, saying,
“We should remember our past and as well the present, because we have
no reason to resort to violence.”

The traditional ruler of Ibadan, Samuel Odulana, Odugade 1, has called on security agencies operating in Oyo State to be more prepared as the nation goes to elects state governors on Tuesday.

The ruler made the request in Ibadan, the state’s capital, on Wednesday, in a statement signed on his behalf by I.A. Akinpelu and made available to journalists.

He also denied the rumour that voting took place in his Ibadan residence during the last presidential election, blaming ‘mischief makers’ for spreading the speculation.

He specifically urged the security agencies to provide adequate security for the people of the state before, during and after the poll, to enable the eligible voters exercise their right.

According to him, if adequate security is provided, the electorate would be encouraged to come out in large numbers to vote the candidates of their choice.

Ahead of the governorship election, the state is already engulfed with fear of possible breakdown of law and order as the candidate of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the sitting governor, Adebayo Alao-Akala, bids to return to office, while his opponents mobilize to rebuff him.

No voting in the palace

The ruler said the rumour of voting in his house prompted security agencies to storm his residence on the election day to verify the claims, but had to go back without finding any incriminating item in the yard.

“For the past four decades, His Royal Majesty has not engaged in partisan politics. People should please recall that immediately on his ascension to the throne, one of his first pronouncements was that members of Olubadan-in-Council should not participate in partisan politics. For the avoidance of doubt, that is still his stand,” the statement read in parts.

The governorship
candidate of the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP) in Kwara State,
Khaleel Bolaji has declared his support for the candidate of the
People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Abdulfattah Ahmed, putting an end to
his own gubernatorial ambition. Mr Bolaji, a one-time commissioner for
water resources and rural development, made this announcement yesterday
in Ilorin while speaking with journalists.

He says it was the
party’s decision to support the PDP after several meetings, not to
mention pressure from traditional and community leaders and interest
and opinion groups from his senatorial district, especially in Ifelodun
local government where he and Mr Ahmed hail from.

Right time for change

He also argued that
he had been in the struggle to govern the state since 1999, aiming to
create the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. He
said having been guided by the principle of justice for all, it was
high time he gave his support to the PDP, whose zoning system has
produced a flag-bearing candidate from the Kwara South senatorial
district.

“I, therefore, call
on all members of my party, my supporters and admirers across party
lines in the state to vote for Mr Ahmed, the gubernatorial candidate of
the PDP in the governorship election scheduled to hold in Kwara State
on Tuesday April 26. I wish Mr Ahmed and his party a resounding victory
in the gubernatorial race,” he added.

Others in attendance at the occasion such as the party’s public
relations officer, women’s leader and other members of the ANPP
executive pledged their support towards the PDP in the forthcoming
election.

Controversy has
continued to trail the recent general meeting of the Ondo State chapter
of the Nigeria Labour Congress. The meeting which took place a few
weeks ago was almost marred by protest. Although, Bosede Daramola,
emerged the new chairman of the labour union in the state, workers from
the private sector have rejected the outcome of the election, insisting
that its candidate, Kayode Sotire, was the elected chairman. The
private sector workers described the emergence of Mr. Daramola as a
farce, saying those in the public sector had ruled the union for eight
years, arguing the private sector ought to have produced the next
chairman of the union in the state.

The group claimed
Mr Daramola was a stooge imposed on the union by the outgone chairman,
Momodu Braimoh. They wondered why the congress was allowed to hold when
they had agreed to postpone the election.

Mr Braimoh, however said the election was duly conducted in the
presence of the two officials from the National Secretariat, Abuja, who
served as returning officers. He noted that five unions out of 26
pulled out of the election on the pretence that the election had been
postponed through a radio announcement by the state government. But the
former chairman said they could not take directive from the state
government, stressing that only the National Executive Council of the
union could order postponement of the election.

The Nigerian Bar
Association (NBA) yesterday called on the Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC) to postpone governorship elections in
states where cases of violence were recorded following the presidential
election of last week.

President of the
Association, Joe Daudu said in Abuja yesterday said “In the past three
days, hundreds of innocent Nigerians have been brutally and savagely
killed, churches in Katsina, Kano, Kaduna, Bauchi, Yobe etc have been
torched/burnt down. Shops and other businesses of Nigerians referred to
as strangers in their own country have been looted. The highways are no
longer passable as Christians and other identifiable non indigenes are
pulled out of vehicles and slaughtered,” he said.

“Part of the
objective of the masterminds of this purge is to intimidate
non-indigenes for the last election as well as punish them for daring
to vote according to their choice and conscience. It will be a travesty
of the electoral process if the remaining election is conducted under
this very ominous cloud in the affected states,” he said.

Demand for justice

Mr Daudu also
described the security approach to the crisis as deplorable and advised
that the episode must not be swept under the carpet.

“The cold-blooded
murderers must be brought to book and justice served to the memory of
all that untimely lost their lives in this crisis,” he said.

Furthermore, he
said if government omits to bring the culprits to justice, the
association shall be left with no option than to approach the
International Criminal Court of Justice for warrants to issue against
the leaders of organisations that gave platform for these crimes.

He said
government needs to constitute a high-powered commission of inquiry to
collate the extent of loss of lives and property and every opportunity
given to aggrieved or affected persons to speak out.

Mr Daudu also
said such commission should be empowered to pay compensation for lives
and property lost, with same to be deducted from the accounts of states
where the losses or deaths occurred.

He also called on
the National Assembly to consider enacting stiffer laws to protect the
lives, liberty and property of every Nigerian regardless of where he
resides in the country.

The NBA, however, said INEC must be congratulated for conducting a transparently credible election.

“It is on record
that this is the first general election where alarming reports of
disenfranchisement in the way of subserviced polling stations,
inability of registered voters to vote, violence at polling stations
and the hijacking of ballot boxes were recorded at the barest minimum,”
Mr Daudu said. “There is a consensus among all observers, local and
international and men of repute that covered the election so far that
the whole process was free and fair. The NBA has therefore been proved
right when we refused to join others in castigating INEC during the
botched election.”

Mr Daudu said NBA congratulates all those that won in the two elections, including President Goodluck Jonathan.

The Ogori-Magongo
Diocese of the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, in Lokoja, Kogi
State has lined up a series of activities to celebrate its 100 years
existence.

The Bishop of the
diocese, Odimtan Davis, said in a statement in Lokoja on Wednesday that
the celebration would start in May with vocational training/seminar and
crusade, outreach rally/carnival and lighting of centenary fire in
June.

The statement
signed by Emmanuel Boro, the Diocesan Communicator, said the
celebration will peak in July with the foundation laying ceremony of
the bishop’s court, centenary service/award and the launching of a N1
billion developments and endowment fund.

According to the release, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, will be the special guest at the grand finale.