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Governor of Anambra
State, and Chairman of the South East Governors’ Forum, Peter Obi, said
at the weekend he is pushing for the Igbo to support President Goodluck
Jonathan in next year’s presidential election because of the increased
federal presence in the south east zone.

Mr Obi, who spoke
at a ceremony to mark the commissioning of a multi-purpose hall built
and donated to the Nnewi Sports Club by a philanthropist, Emeka Offor,
said key projects such as the second Niger Bridge which, over the
years, had become a subject of political propaganda had been duly
designed and awarded by the Mr Jonathan administration, while work
would soon commence on some erosion sites as well as the Sakamori
project in Onitsha. “These are projects which hitherto had been
receiving lip service from previous administrations,” he said.

The governor, while
commending Mr Offor for the philanthropic gesture, promised residents
of the state that his administration would continue to encourage those
who contributes towards community development in any form. While noting
that the state had grown beyond party politics to that of development
with necessary stability and steady progress, he called for the
election of credible candidates in future elections.

The Minister of Defence, Adetokumbo Kayode, described Mr Obi as a
high profile leader who had made the country proud. He recalled that
the on-going comprehensive fencing of the Onitsha Military Barracks was
initiated and by the governor, and urged the people to give Mr Obi all
necessary support to complete his vision.

The premises of
Edo State Specialist hospital is now a beehive of activities as some of
the hospital wards are being pulled down in preparation for the
construction of an ultra-modern hospital ward, with state of the art
equipment.

The State
Government had recently signed a contract with a construction company,
Messers Sincies Chiementin International (Nigeria) for the construction
of the accident and emergency ward and a 120 bed in-patient ward in the
hospital.

Edo State
Commissioner for Health, Moses Momoh who signed the contract on-behalf
of the State Government, said the projects will cost the government the
sum of N2bn . He confirmed that the project will be completed within 18
months.

When completed, the
120-bed capacity wards will help meet with the growing challenges in
the health sector, and will also provide relief for the already over
stretched wards now in use at the hospital, as well as giving an
improved service to the patients and reducing the work load on other
tertiary health institutions in the State, especially the University of
Benin Teaching Hospital, (UBTH).

Five star clinic

Some patients who
spoke to NEXT at the hospital commended the State Governor, Adams
Oshiomhole for embarking on the project which they said was long
overdue. They pointed out that the reconstruction of the wards will
create room for the increasing number of patients. They also urged the
state government to extend the gesture to all hospitals across the
state.

Mr Oshiomhole had mentioned during his 2011 budget presentation that
the demolished hospital wards will give way to a “five-star hospital”
with facilities that could compare with any best hospital in the
world.‘‘Upgrading of other hospitals across the State will also takes
priority in the 2011 budget,’’ Mr.Oshiomhole said.

The Ondo State
governor, Olusegun Mimiko has advised security operatives to be alert
to their responsibilities during the forthcoming general elections to
prevent outbreaks of violence.

The governor gave
the warning while welcoming the Flag Officer Commanding, Western Naval
Command, Emmanuel Ogbor to Akure. The officer was familiarisation tour
of the Nigerian Navy Forward Operations Base (FOB) at Igbokoda. Mr
Mimiko said a repeat of the security challenges experienced by the
electorate during the 2007 general elections is capable of truncating
the hope of conducting free and fair elections in the country in the
country.

The governor, who
referred to the security situation during the bye-election held in
Ilaje Local Government Area July this year, told the Naval Chief that
the 2011 polls is also a security matter as it will go beyond the realm
of politics.

“It is important to
be pro-active because having credible elections in this country depends
largely on the security situation,” he said.

“It behoves on the
armed forces to ensure that the 2011 elections and subsequent ones are
free and fair as we normally have security challenges during
elections…

“The last
bye-election we had in Ilaje, we had real serious security challenges.
As a matter of fact, it was your men that went to rescue INEC officials
who were held hostage by some hooligans who wanted to attack them and
perhaps they could have had a fatal encounter with those hoodlums, but
your men rose to the occasion. So, we hope that during next year’s
election, you will beef up security in the water ways, policing the
water ways is very important in conducting free and fair election in
the riverine areas. As a nation, Nigeria is regarded as the giant of
Africa and must prove that leading position. It must perform or lead by
ensuring the conduct of successful free and fair elections and everyone
in Nigeria have a role to play if the next elections must be credible.”

Mr Ogbor commended the state government for its commitment to the
welfare of Naval officers and men in the state and called for
government support in ensuring the movement of the FOB to its permanent
base.

The owner of a
building in Agbado, Ifo Local Government Area of Ogun State, Tunde
Alabi, has been arrested by the police for allegedly killing the wife
of one of his tenants following a brawl which ensued between him and
the husband of the deceased.

The 46-year-old
suspect, who was paraded weekend at the Eleweran Police Headquarters,
Abeokuta, was, according to the police, said to have engaged his
tenant, Adelabi Dehinde, an official of the Nigerian Immigration
Service, in a fight in the house, located at 6 Kadiri Avenue, Oluwo
Ope-Ilu. The Commissioner of Police, Musa Daura, said the accused, who
resides in the same compound, hit Mr Dehinde on the head with a plank,
in the course of the fight. The wife of the tenant, Tolake Akinola,
came to the rescue of her hubby. Mr Alabi allegedly hit the 40-year-old
woman with the plank on her forehead, following which she collapsed and
was taken to the Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta, where she reportedly
died some hours later.

Mr Daura said the suspect has confessed to the crime and will be
charged to court on completion of investigation. Mr Alabi said that he
regretted his action, adding that explaining that he did not mean to
kill her. “The husband and the wife descended on me, and the only way
to react is the use of the plank available, but I don’t know it can
kill,” he said. “I want to beg for forgiveness. I know that who kills
will be killed, but I don’t mean to kill the woman. Please the
authority should temper justice with mercy for me.”

Nigeria’s
Ambassador to the U.S, Adebowale Adefuye, has defended the sustenance
of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) even after the
creation of the Niger Delta Ministry.

The late President
Umaru Yar’Adua announced the creation of the Niger Delta Ministry on
September 10, 2008 to deal with the problems of the oil-rich region.

Mr Adefuye was
responding to accusations at the 2010 Achebe Colloquium on Africa over
the weekend in Providence, Rhode Island, U.S., that the government was
duplicating efforts with the continued existence of the Commission.

Supporting the
diplomat, Isidore Udoh, an official of the Niger Delta World Congress,
argued on the relevance of the Commission during a panel discussion on
the Niger Delta crisis at the Colloquium.

“The government
doesn’t need to fold up the NDDC. Just like every other ministry, the
Niger Delta Ministry has extra-ministerial agencies attached to it.

“Yes, NDDC might need to be reformed but it is still serving some useful purposes,’’ he said.

Mr. Adefuye said
many countries, including the U.S had expressed interest to partner
with Nigeria in the development of the region, which accounts for the
country’s huge crude oil reserves.

He said Nigeria is
willing to enter into bilateral treaties with other nations on the
Niger Delta, in addition to strengthening the existing U.S.-Nigeria
Bi-National Commission, “which has the region as one of its mutual
area of cooperation.’’

Meanwhile, the
governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, who was also at the
Colloquium, said there is no truth in the allegation that NDDC Managing
Director Chibuzor Ugwuoha transferred $30 million dollars in the
Commission’s offshore account to his private account in the U.K.

Mr. Amaechi was responding to a question from a participant who
alleged that Mr. Ugwuoha, who was the governor’s nominee to the
position, was involved in the illegal transfer of fund.

The decision of an
Abuja court to strike out a suit on the legality of the executive of
the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Oyo State was to prevent the
abuse of court processes since the same matter is before an Ibadan High
Court, counsel to a faction of the party, Adeniyi Akintola, has said.

Mr Akintola
described as ‘erroneous’ the interpretation given to the verdict by a
local media that the court had validated the party’s executive council
in the state.

He said the
opposition leader, Lekan Balogun, was not aware of the existence of the
Ibadan suit earlier instituted by the other party, saying the Abuja
court had to strike out the case because the one filed in Ibadan
preceded it.

The state’s media
regaled its audience with news of the Abuja court decision last week,
but with the impression that the court had cleared the executive of the
allegation of illegality hanging on its neck since its inception.

Mr Akintola noted
that the news misled the public, saying the Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC) had also maintained that the state
executives of eight states, including Oyo, were mere sham as their
emergence did not comply with the provision of law.

“The present INEC
cannot be intimidated by any party and any party that feels otherwise
is doing so at its own peril and my candid advise for the ruling party
in Oyo State is to tread the path of honour by doing that which is
right, so that other parties will have not have undue advantage over
it,” he said.

A three-day workshop organized by the Small And
Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria, in Abeokuta, Ogun
State, was disrupted at the weekend as participants engaged each other
in a brawl over the alleged smuggling of ghost participants’ names into
the payment list by the organizers.

Trouble broke out at the end of the workshop, held at the Iwe-Iroyin
Press Centre, when the participants, drawn from all local government
areas in the state, were collecting their transport fare back to their
various destinations. While the disbursement of the money was being
carried out, some participants from the Ijebu axis of the state said
they observed that some names on the participants list include those
who failed to attend the workshop.

They, therefore, accused the
organizers of plotting to pocket the extra money. The participants
stated that there was no basis for the organizers to budget fares for
those not present at the programme, and demanded that the excess funds
be shared evenly among the remaining people. Similarly, they also
protested what they alleged were discrepancies in the disbursement of
the fare. The protest and name-callings lasted for about one hour
before it was brought under control. The organizers refused to comment
on the protest.

The Nigerian
Airspace Management Agency has condemned criticisms faulting the
nationwide functionality of the Total Radar Coverage of Nigeria
(TRACON) project.

Describing critics
of the radar system as “detractors”, the agency, over the weekend,
stated that the country’s airspace is completely under surveillance,
adding that President Goodluck Jonathan, during the commissioning of
the project, was given the opportunity to speak with various pilots on
transit directly from the Kano Airport control tower. “The president
communicated with pilots in Nigeria’s airspace and with some other
pilots across the airspace of Niger Republic,” said Abubakar Baraje,
the board Chairman of the agency, during a briefing with journalists at
the organisation’s headquarters in Lagos.

Mr Baraje said that
the system, which is one of the best in the region, has the ability to
cut across borders. “The TRACON can capture across our borders to
countries like Niger Republic, Sudan and Cameroun,” he said. “What else
are detractors seeking? For we are aware of controversies generated
over the TRACON that it wasn’t the total radar that was commissioned,
which of course is completely far from the truth. It is not responsible
for NAMA to commission a half baked equipment or bring the president to
commission something that is not complete. The installation and
operation of the equipment comes in phases and all the phases are
completed and are superbly functioning.”

The critics’ view

Some experts in the
industry have criticised the completion and commissioning of the
project on the grounds that the system does not operate in some
locations in the country; a situation which prompted members of the
House of Representatives Committee on Aviation, headed by Bethel Amadi,
to embark on a fact finding mission to the Kano radar site two weeks
ago. “This project should not be used for political games,” said Mr
Amadi. “Those who are busy spreading this falsehood should rethink
about the implications for our national image and external investors in
the aviation sector of the economy.”

Late October, Mr Jonathan commissioned the complete and operational
Total Radar Coverage of Nigeria project in Abuja. “I hope these
detractors will have a change of heart; and if they don’t, the agency
will move ahead without them,” said Mr Baraje.

The vice president,
Namadi Sambo, has refuted claims that he is plotting to take over
President Goodluck Jonathan’s job, saying the allegation is false.

“The entire story
as reported is premised on hearsay and falsehood and smacks of
sponsorship” a statement signed by the special assistant to the Vice
President on media and publicity, Umar Sani said.

He added that the
whole episode “is clearly intended to spread mischief and cause
disaffection in the formidable Goodluck/Sambo camp.

“At no time has
Sambo ever contemplated being the vice president of the federation but
for President Jonathan who nurtured and ensured its maturity.” He said
it was therefore preposterous for anyone to even speculate that Mr
Sambo will “stab the President in the back going by the synergy they
have developed which has always been a source of nightmare to their
political opponents”.

Mr Sani also said
the Mr Sambo has never minced words in condemning the consensus
arrangement by the Adamu Ciroma led Northern Leaders Political Forum.

“He has maintained
that he is the political leader of the North going by the precedence
already established in governance by his position as the vice president
and that no such group should go on a journey of usurpation. He
believed conscientiously that such an effort was an exercise in
futility,” Mr Sani said, adding that the Vice President “holds
tenaciously and cherishes his fraternal relationship with President
Goodluck Jonathan and could not have condescended so low as to embark
on a rat race with his boss”.

Mr Sani further
noted that political battles are better fought on the political as well
as electoral turf based on issues and “not through outright falsehood
sponsored on the pages of newspapers”.

“Political opponents should be prepared to confront the formidable
team of Goodluck/Sambo train which is unstoppable rather than promote
and propagate falsehood,” he said.

As the nation
approaches another election year, former Head of State, Yakubu Gowon
said yesterday that Nigeria’s leaders need prayers for God to direct
them on the right path.

Speaking in Benin
City during a visit to state governor, Adams Oshiomhole, Mr Gowon,who
is also the converner of ‘Nigeria Prays’ said his group is in the
ancient town to pray for Nigeria and to pray particularly for its
leadership at the federal, state and local government,including
religious leaders.

“We will also pray
for the country and the well-being of the people. We will pray for the
leadership that God will guide them right to do the right things for
the people,” he said. “We are going round to sensitise the people and
ask them to join us. I assure you that the body of conveners of
‘Nigeria Prays’ appreciate what you have been doing and hope that God
will answer our prayers and wish you well in everything you do.” Mr
Oshiomhole said it is true that Nigeria needs a lot of prayers to
confront the myriad of challenges facing it.“I believe in what you are
doing sir. First is the fact that being out of office does not mean you
cannot find an enviable role to play.

Outside governance,
you have continued to impact very positively on the lives of the people
and you have continued to inspire us to recognise that we can all carve
a role for ourselves,” he said. “Secondly, there is no question in my
mind that Nigeria needs a lot of prayers for God to redirect the
thoughts of Nigerian leaders and give them courage and wisdom.”

People’s leaders

The governor
stated further that power belongs to God and the power ,leaders
exercise is on behalf of the people and can only be justified when it
is used to touch the lives of the people positively.

“At this time in
Edo State, we are facing a lot of challenges including some of our
people who have resorted to criminal activities including kidnapping.
We must continue to enforce the law and pray that the good Lord touches
their hearts to recognise that whatever challenges they face cannot be
resolved through criminal acts,” he said.

Mr Oshiomhole acknowledged that there is need for citizens to rise and challenge leaders to keep their promises.

While identifying with ‘Nigeria Prays’, Mr Oshiomhole thanked Mr
Gowon for the programme and expressed the hope that the nation would
benefit immensely from it.