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The Ondo State governor’s wife has called on Nigerians to contribute to the upkeep and welfare of the needy in the society.

Olukemi Mimiko said
this over the weekend while celebrating the end of the year party with
the inmates of Ago Ireti Leprosarium and the State Children’s Home said
the visit afforded her the opportunity to felicitate with the less
privileged particularly the children describing them as special gifts
from God.

“Anyone who is
blessed with such gifts should treat them with love and care, instead
of abandoning them. The aim of the end of the year activities is to
re-assure our children and the less privileged in our society that,
they are always being considered in government programmes and policies.”

“Let me place it on
record here that the present administration in the state is very
passionate about the present and future of our children, through
numerous programmes and policies to avail children the opportunities of
development and attaining their God given potentials in all
ramifications.” She later presented various items and cash gifts to the
inmate and the children. Items presented include: yam tubers, palm-oil,
cartoons of soya beans oil, and bags of rice among others.

Bukola Tenabe, the
Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, noted that
Governor Olusegun Mimiko has approved the construction of a new hostel
and a reception hall to solve the accommodation problems of the Home.

Mrs Tenabe therefore commended the governor’s wife on her visit to the Home.

The Disabled
Persons Empowerment Foundation (DPEF) wants more of its members to be
given the opportunity in governance to contribute their quota to
national development.

Mr Parkins Uzor,
Chief Executive Officer of the foundation made the call in an interview
with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abakaliki, Abia State on
Monday.

He stressed that the Federal Government can do this by integrating more persons with disabilities in governance.

According to him,
when people are not represented in any way in government, it is
difficult for them to influence or sponsor bills that will affect their
lives.

He said, “Any
democratic dividend from the three tiers of government without full and
total emancipation of people living with disabilities is a monumental
failure.

“Persons with
disabilities have all it takes to economic prosperity. We have the
political energy and momentum. Our strength for economic growth is
undisputable.

“There is no
provision in the constitution which says people living with
disabilities are not entitled to holding public offices or elective
positions.” Mr Uzor called for the creation of a Disabled Persons
Welfare Fund and a Ministry for the Physically Challenged where funds
recovered from corrupt officials should be kept for effective use.

He said some sections of the public are not concerned about the plight of persons with disabilities.

“They keep creating awareness that people living with disabilities should not be stigmatised.

“Our problem is not stigmatisation but empowerment. If we are being empowered, nobody will stigmatise us,” he said.

Despite ongoing discussions between two major opposition
parties, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and the Congress for Progressive
Change (CPC), findings by NEXT indicate that the parties will field separate
candidates in the 2011 elections.

Both parties have admitted being involved in negotiations which
will lead to a merger or an alliance. While the ACN negotiation team is lead by
Niyi Adebayo, former governor of Ekiti State, the CPC team is led by Aminu
Masari, former speaker of the House of Representatives.

Sources within the ACN however confirm that for reasons
including the short period before the general elections, the rigid positions of
the parties and the rejection of the alliance by top members of the ACN, the
proposed alliance would not work.

“Let me tell you that majority of our party leaders and members
do not support it. Also, there is no time for any merger. We have less than
four months to the elections, even the electoral act does not allow that,” a
national official of the ACN told NEXT. Apart from the four ACN governors
(Babatunde Fashola of Lagos, Adams Oshiomole of Edo, Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti,
and Rauf Aregbesola of Osun) who are reportedly opposed to the alliance, the
chairman of the party, Bisi AKande, is also said to be against it.

Mr Akande’s opposition is based on the insistence of the CPC
that Muhammadu Buhari, a retired General and former military ruler, should be
made the presidential candidate of any alliance that was formed. Mr. Buhari is
not only the CPC’s only presidential aspirant, the party was primarily formed
to help him achieve his presidential ambition.

“The CPC was founded on my authority by my political associates
as a solution to the debilitating ethical and ideological conflicts in my
former party, the ANPP,” the former head of state stated on the party’s
website.

Prior to the formation of the ACN, the Action Congress had
stated that its presidential candidate for the 2011 elections would be a young
man, a child of independence, who has demonstrated competence and integrity and
is untainted with corruption allegations.

Party for the young

After his unopposed re-election at the ACN convention in Benin
on Tuesday, Mr. Akande again restated this position in his acceptance speech.

“Now that the Action Congress of Nigeria and the entire people
of this country are happy with the services of these young men (four ACN
governors), I think you will all cooperate with me to ensure that we return
another young man as the President of Nigeria,” the party chairman stated while
surrounded by the four governors.

Unlike Mr. Buhari who is 68 years old, all the presidential
aspirants of the ACN are around 50. The Action Congress presently has three
presidential aspirants. They are Uba Saidu Malami (46) a businessman; Attahiru
Bafarawa (56), former governor of Sokoto State; and Nuhu Ribadu (50), former
Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

Usman Bugaje, the former National Secretary of the party, is
believed to have dropped his presidential ambition and will instead run for
governor of Katsina state.

“We can say boldly that our party has the youngest and brightest
presidential aspirants in the country,” Lai Mohammed, the national publicity
secretary of the ACN stated while commenting on the relatively young
presidential aspirants of the party.

Another senior official of the party said barring last minute
political upheavals, Mr. Ribadu will likely emerge the presidential candidate
of the party.

Some of the factors believed to be working for Mr. Ribadu, apart
from meeting the criteria the party set up, are his popularity not just within
the ACN but also across different political parties, and his acceptance and
popularity among young Nigerians.

Mr Ribadu proved his political acceptance when leaders gathered
at the Thisday dome in Abuja on Tuesday, December 14 to launch his
autobiography, “My Story, My vision.” Describing the former EFCC boss, Ken
Nnamani, former senate President and PDP chieftain stated that “Nuhu is one of
the few Nigerians that I consider a good example.

The type of courage he has is the type of courage Nigeria needs
if we indeed want to join the committee of Nations in the year 2020.” Another
PDP leader who clamoured for a Ribadu presidency is Femi Fani- Kayode, the
former aviation minister.

“If a man like Ribadu emerges as your candidate, many many
people from PDP, from APGA, will join your party,” Mr. Fani-Kayode stated.

The National Chairman of the All Progressive Grand Alliance
(APGA), Victor Umeh, as well as other APGA chieftains are also said to be
rooting for a Ribadu candidacy if they are to join any alliance.

The Tinubu factor

One person who many believe is going to influence the decision
of whether the ACN picks Mr. Ribadu or joins forces with the CPC to pick Mr.
Buhari as the presidential candidate is Bola Tinubu, former Lagos State
governor and the most influential ACN chieftain.

“Asiwaju wants an alliance of progressive political parties to
defeat the monster called PDP, that is why he is encouraging the talks. But
definitely he supports that all presidential aspirants go for primaries,” one
of his aides said.

The Federal Road
Safety Commission (FRSC) recorded low accident rate during the yuletide
period, an official of the commission, Mr Kayode Olagunju, who is the
Commander in charge of Okene-Lokoja-Abaji and Abuja for the Christmas
and New Year period, said this on Monday in an interview with the News
Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, but did not give any figures to
buttress his claim.

He added that the
commission has recorded some crashes on the road, “but, as said earlier
by the Corp Marshal few days ago, we are not where we wanted to be but
the rate is lower than what it was last year.

“Today, the road is
better than it was three days ago, and yesterday, traffic was very
heavy because a lot of people delayed their movement till Christmas
Day,” he said.

He also said that
the major problem the commission had on the road was that of some
senior government officials “who have the privilege of using siren,”
disrupted the traffic arrangement on ground.

“They put on their
siren and their convoy disorganise the traffic control arrangement and
when they move many other road users followed them.

“However, we were
able to get some of them to comply by force, while the number plates of
those who proved aggressive were captured in our video coverage of the
operations,” he said, but that “we shall definitely release their names
which we compiled, under what is known as the roll of shame.”
Meanwhile, NAN correspondents who visited some parks in Abuja report
that some people were seen relaxing with their family members.

At the Millennium
Park in Maitama, Chinonso Uka told NAN that she came to relax with her
kids as part of the Christmas celebration.

On his part, Ikechukwu Ole expressed regret that there was no money for “the masses to celebrate the Christmas.”

“We are hoping that
by the grace of God when our man, President Goodluck Jonathan is there
he will provide for us to celebrate next year’s Christmas in style,” he
said.

Also speaking to
NAN, Abdulahi Kaku, the General Manager of Maitama Amusement Park, said
about 2,478 people visited the Park in the past three days.

“We brought traditional dance troupe to entertain people; there was
also dancing competition and many people won various prizes,” he said.

The national
leadership of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday ordered the
transfer of the screening of aspirants in the 2011 general elections in
Enugu State to Abuja due to poor security situation in the state.

This is just as the party deferred the appeal by some gubernatorial aspirants earlier scheduled for yesterday.

The national
organising secretary of party, Uche Secondus said in a statement in
Abuja that the security situation arose as a result of the inability to
hold the exercise few days ago.

Mr Secondus said
though the screening of some of the aspirants to the state House of
Assembly and the appeal have taken place, those who missed the exercise
should report at the national secretariat of the party in Abuja for the
exercise.

Mr Secondus also
said the screening of the National Assembly aspirants will take place
between December 29 and 30, 2010 at the national secretariat.

“We hereby enjoin
all State Assembly aspirants who are yet to present themselves before
their committee to do so immediately,” he said. “These arrangements are
done in view of the security situation in Enugu State arising from the
botched screening exercise.” It will be recalled that the Enugu State
chapter of the party was one of the eight state chapters which the
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said the elections of
the state executive committees were inconclusive.

As a result, the
party’s National Chairman, Okwesilieze Nwodo, who incidentally is a
former governor of Enugu State, ordered the dissolution of the state
executive committee led by Vitalis Abba, last October.

The chairman’s
action, however, pitted him against the state governor, Sullivan Chime
and the dissolved executive members, who not only accused him of acting
unilaterally, but also challenged the dissolution in court.

There have been
attempts to reconcile Messrs Nwodo and Chime. Last Friday, the governor
visited the national chairman in his office in Abuja during which they
held discussions for hours.

The transfer of the screening to Abuja, it was learnt, was not unconnected with the discussion both men had.

Meanwhile, the hearing of the appeal filed by some aspirants in others states were also held as scheduled yesterday.

Out of all the
governorship aspirants that appeal the decision of the committees that
went round the zones to screen the aspirants before the Tunde Ogbeha
led committee; those that were cleared include Obiora Ene of Enugu
state, Anayo Onwuegbu of Abia, Ben

Fiabema of Rivers, Moore Chinedu of Rivers, Imoh Udo of Akwa Ibom and Peremobowei Ebebi.

Those that were not
cleared are Ike Ibe of Enugu, A. Atuloma of Abia, Suleiman Hunkoyi of
Kaduna, Adamiu Suleiman of Kano, and Frank Daniel of Akwa Ibom. They
were claimed not to be cleared because of not meeting up with tax
requirement and not paying tax at when due or incomplete tax payment.

Also on Monday, Mr Nwodo reportedly met with the two factions of the PDP in Oyo State as part of the effort to reconcile them.

This is coming a
few days after President Goodluck Jonathan and his deputy, Namadi Sambo
visited the South West geo-political zone.

In attendance were some members of the National Assembly from the state, state lawmakers and other stakeholders.

But the Governor, Adebayo Alao-Akala was not present at the meeting.

Dotun Oyelade, the
governor’s senior adviser on public communications, explained that Mr
Alao-Akala did not attend because it would be demeaning for him to do
so.

“We understand that
some disgruntled so-called members of PDP from Oyo State came to Abuja
for a meeting to resolves issues. We insist that as far as Oyo is
concerned we are poised for the April election.

“In any case, the
cat is already let out of the bag when the so called leaders said it is
a taboo for any governor to aspire to rule Oyo State twice as if a
myopic norm is a product of the constitution. To grace such meetings
with our presence is demeaning and an insult to the founding fathers of
our great party.

Let them fight the popularity battle here not in Abuja,” the statement said.

When contacted on the matter, a member of the House of Representative, Depo Oyedokun refused to comment.

A Kano-based
Islamic Scholar, Muhammad Dauda, has decried the growing rate of
divorce in the state, describing the situation as “worrisome.” “The
rate at which marriages are crashing in Kano these days is alarming,”
Mr Dauda told the News Agency of Nigeria in Kano on Sunday.

He said it is more disturbing that the practice is common among young couples who divorce few months after their marriage.

Mr Dauda, who is the Imam of FRCN FM Pyramid Radio, Kano, identified
poverty as the major cause of the development. He said that some young
men were finding it difficult to feed their wives shortly after
marriage, and described the situation as “unfortunate.” “I have
witnessed times without number the collapse of new marriages in Kano
due to the inability of the husbands to feed their wives,” the Imam
said. He said the situation was now discouraging both bachelors and
spinsters from marriage.

The Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related offences
Commission (ICPC), is currently investigating the suspended managing director
of the Federal Housing Authority (FHA), Terver Gemade over allegation of
diverting N400 million belonging to authority.

The investigations are sequel to a petition written by a
non-profit group, Transparency and Anti-Corruption Vanguard and signed by its
Executive Director, Obioma Ugochukwu.

The petition alleged that the group’s investigations have
uncovered a massive fraud at the housing authority allegedly perpetuated by Mr
Gemade who is currently on suspension as an internal investigation to ascertain
his culpability begins.

“We have no faith in the so-called internal investigation. Our
investigations have revealed all manner of cover-ups are being done by his cronies
at the FHA and that is why we implore you to act expeditiously,” the petition
said, in parts. One of the allegations was the diversion of N400 million
belonging to the FHA into an escrow account without first obtaining approval of
the authority’s Executive Management Committee (EMC) or the FHA Board of
Directors as required by law.

Escrow account

“We have it on good authority that he pocketed the tidy sum of
N25 million as kickback for allowing the contractor to have access to the
N400million. Even though a query was issued to him by the Board of the FHA over
this transaction, he ignored the query,” the group alleged in the petition.

They also said Mr Gemade went further to transfer N140 million
from FHA escrow account to the Tangent Nigeria Limited project account, without
board approval and was allegedly rewarded with N10 million for his efforts.

“His bank details would reveal the staggered payments into the
account. He did not pay in the lump sum of the kick back, but paid in small
instalments. We urge you to obtain his bank statement from March 2010 in proof
of this allegation and you would see how he hides his proceeds of corruption,”
the petition said.

Mr Ugochukwu said the group is demanding a thorough investigation
into the allegations, alleging that since assuming office, Mr Gemade has
acquired a fleet of expensive cars and converted many buildings belonging to
the FHA to himself.

To the court

“While we have absolute faith in your organization to carry out a
thorough investigation, we shall be compelledto approach the law courts for an
order of mandamus to compel you to prosecute Gemade if no action is taken
within seven days,” the petition to the ICPC said.

All attempts to get Mr Gemade to react to the allegations, proved
abortive. One of his aides said he was away from the city, but did not reveal
where he travelled to.

The Federal Government recently suspended Mr Gemade for alleged
gross misconduct.

Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Nduese Essien
confirmed the suspension. The Special Assistant, (Media) to the minister,
Ibanga Isine, said government wielded the big stick based on allegations of
gross misconduct levelled against him by members of the board.

“The board had accused the former managing director of gross misconduct and
called on the government to constitute a panel to investigate him (Gemade),” Mr
Isine said. “After careful consideration of the matter and in view of Mr
President’s commitment to transparency, due process and the rule of law, the
former MD has been suspended for an initial period of three weeks to pave way
for his investigation.”

With the redeployment of the permanent secretary in the ministry
of education, Oladapo Afolabi as the Head of Service of the federation, staff
of the ministry have been apprehensive over who takes over his job.

Their concern took on a new dimension when they recently met for
prayers to seek divine help for a competent hand to be deployed to the
ministry.

One of the participants at the prayer meeting, who did not want
to be named, said they gathered to pray as soon as the government announced the
appointment of Tunji Olaopa, former coordinator of the Education Sector
Analysis of the ministry as a permanent secretary. Before his appointment, he
was the Director of Programmes at the Bureau for Public Sector Reform, BPSR.

Some staff of the ministry express confidence in the ability of
Mr Olaopa to drive the ongoing reforms in the sector. “He has been there all
along and I was working in the publication unit of the ministry at that time,”
one of the praying staff said.

“He was driving the Education Sector Analysis process and he
drove it well, nurtured the project to a stable level before he left. Some of
the outcome of the project is what you see all over. Talking about quality
assurance, it was an offshoot of ESA, institutionalization of school based
management in all the schools was part of, it even UBE as it is being operated
now is a spin off. Before they started talking about reform, he had started
it.”

The prayer group said it was of the opinion that Nigerian
education sector needs to be pioneered by reformers who will ensure the
implementation of quality initiative. Not long after the Jomtien Conference,
Nigeria took specific measures aimed at translating the declaration on
Education For All into reality.

The activities embarked upon included a sensitization drive
mounted through the agency of the two national advisory bodies on education
policy, namely, the Joint Consultative Council on Education which brings
together various officials in Federal and State Ministries of Education, and
the National Council of Education which is composed of State Commissioners of
Education and the Minister.

The education subsector had glorious time between the fifties
and early seventies. However, by the nineties, twenty years after the national
policy on education, the sector has receded into a dark age characterized by
brain drain, campus cultism and examination malpractice.

One of the founding members of the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) in Oyo state,Yekini Adeojo, at the weekend, gave Oyo State governor, Adebayo
Alao-Akala a condition he should meet before he gets needed support for his
second term ambition.

Speaking with journalists at his Iyaganku Quarters residence in
Ibadan, Mr Adeojo said if the governor could survive a fraud-free primaries and
emerge the flagbearer of the party for the 2011 governorship election in the
state, he will wholeheartedly support his ambition.

He, however, described the feat as gargantua, saying it has
almost become a taboo going by the history of successive governors in the state
from its inception.

“It is a taboo for Akala to say he wants to do it twice.
Alao-Akala cannot do it twice. Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Chief Samuel Akintola and
Chief Bola Ige who actually performed well did not succeed.Somehow, they all
fell,” he said.

A former governorship aspirant in the state, Mr Adeojo condemned
Mr Alao-Akala for allegedly disrespecting the national leadership of the party
by not personally attending a meeting called to harmonise all factions of the
PDP within the party in the state last week.

Act unbecoming

The governor was said to have sent Olayiwola Olakojo, secretary
to the state government and one other person, to represent him at a meeting
organised by Okwesilieze Nwodo, PDP national chairman,to iron out issues on the
crisis rocking the party in the state.

“If Akala emerges after the party leadership at the national has
intervened and successfully harmonised all the groups, I will campaign for him.
But, we are not going to primaries with those old Oyo state executives because
they have been declared illegal by the INEC. The governor is not bigger than
the party because it is the party that made him. If a party called him and he
did not honour it, it shows he doesn’t have respect for the party,” Mr Adeojo
said.

The politician said the governor’s attitude is unbecoming of a
man who rose to the top through the help of the party.

Though he said he would not want to say unpleasant things about
the governor,whom he referred to as a brother, Mr Adeojo averred that it is a
bad showing for the governor to want to place himself above the party after
coming to the limelight through it.

While boasting that he was instrumental to the emergence of Mr
Alao Akala as the governor, Mr Adeojo, one of the notable members of the
coalition against the second term of the governor, said he will like to witness
a renewed harmony among the factions within the party.

To strengthen cooperation between Nigeria and Serbia, there is a
need for the establishment of the Nigeria-Serbia chamber of commerce, the
minister of commerce and industry, Jubril Martins-Kuye, has said.

Mr Martins-Kuye, who met with the Serbian Ambassador to Nigeria,
Rifat Rondic noted that Nigeria was desirous of strengthening trade and
investment relation with the Republic of Serbia and that the ministry was
willing to give everything to facilitate Serbian investment in the economy of
Nigeria.

“The proposed Nigeria – Serbia chamber of Commerce should be
proactive and be able to liaise with all departments of government in order to
ensure that Serbians desire to invest in Nigeria becomes a reality,” he said.
“My Ministry will support Serbian businessmen who want to invest in Nigeria and
will cooperate with Chamber of commerce of both countries.”

The Minister reiterated that the agreement on trade and
investment promotions, as well as ‘Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreement’ must
be signed and put into practice. “Since we have such plan, what is important is
to give nod to it and take it from the level of near agreement signed on paper
to something we can actually put on ground and precise,” he said.

Working agreement

Francis Akiniyi of the National Association of Chamber of
Commerce and Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) said Nigeria has a lot
to gain from Serbia in terms of investment in agriculture, construction,
Textile, Power generation and Technology. He said that they were at the final
stage of registering the Nigeria- Serbia chamber of commerce with relevant
government departments.

Mr Rondic pointed out that Nigeria is a leading country in
Africa and there was need for Serbia and its people to cooperate with the
country.

He also said that the Nigeria Investment Promotion Council
(NIPC) had concluded a memorandum with the Serbia Chamber of commerce and
stressed the need for both countries to finalise the bilateral agreement which
had been concluded in January 2002. The ambassador urged the minister to
facilitate the ratification of the agreement by the National Assembly.