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The Federal
Government has concluded efforts to ensure that HIV/AIDS has its own
budget provision in all the ministries, to further enhance its position
in the fight against AIDS, President Goodluck Jonathan said yesterday
in Abuja, on the occasion of the 2010 World Aids Day.

He also explained
the urgent need to scale up significantly towards the goal of universal
access to comprehensive prevention programmes, treatment, care, and
support by 2015.

“The federal
government is making every effort to ensure that HIV/AIDS has its own
budget provision in all the ministries and that adequate budget
provision is made for National Agency for the Control of Aids (NACA) to
further enhance its position in the fight against AIDS,” he said.

President Jonathan,
who was represented by the minister of health, Onyebuchi Chukwu, said
statistics have shown that only 14 percent of Nigerians have ever been
tested for HIV/AIDS, and that everybody needs to know his/her own HIV
status and take appropriate decision based on it, to cherish and guard
a negative result or to take steps to live positively with the virus.

“The sad thing,
however, are that many people still go about in ignorance, without the
benefit of knowing their status. I would like to seize this opportunity
to encourage every Nigerian, young and old, who has not yet known his
or her status, to heed the call to go for HIV counselling and testing,
to determine his or her status,” he said.

He said that in
order to stem the tendency to stigmatise and discriminate against one,
a bill on stigma and discrimination has passed through the House of
Representatives and is currently with the Senate.

Bill against discrimination

He expressed
confidence that the bill will be passed by the National Assembly, “and
l assure you l will sign it into law as soon as it reaches my office.”

The director
general of NACA, John Idoko, said there is increased funding for HIV,
with round 9 GF HIV grant recently signed worth $320 million for five
years, and an additional $3 million for quick wins PMTCT.

“World bank credit
of N225 million dollars for four years recently approved by the
government of Nigeria, and the USG and GON partnership framework for
2010-2015, also recently signed by the SGF, on behalf of the FGN,” said
Mr. Idoko.

He said that the
common goal of the agency is to halt and reverse the spread of HIV by
2015 and in so doing, also contribute to the developmental goals of the
nation, including vision 20/20/20.

Mr. Idoko said that
the HIV situation in Nigeria is already improving, as a result of the
progress already made, as recorded in the United Nations General
Assembly special session country report.

Members of the
National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
yesterday met for several hours with the party caucus in the House of
Representatives.

This is coming just
after President Goodluck sought the approval of the National Assembly
for the extension of the implementation period of the 2010 Budget till
March 31, 2011.

Although the agenda
of the meeting between the lawmakers and the PDP leadership, led by its
national chairman, Okwesilieze Nwodo was not made known to reporters,
it was gathered that the controversial bill seeking to include the
lawmakers as members of their national executive committees of their
parties, was discussed.

It was further
learnt that the issue raised by the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor,
Sanusi Lamido Sanusi about the salaries and allowances of the
lawmakers, also came up.

Our correspondent
learnt that the leadership of the ruling PDP was desirous to be on the
same page with the parliamentarians on the issues, which it considered
could destroy the image of the party.

Before the meeting
went into closed-doors, Mr Nwodo commended the roles the PDP lawmakers
have played over the years on national issues, but observed that there
was an urgent need for them to close ranks in order with each other.

According to him,
with the impending general elections, it is imperative to keep all
party members, particularly the lawmakers informed of the challenges
facing the party.

Mr Nwodo noted that
such interactive sessions will allow members of the party to understand
the rules and guidelines which the party will adopt in the process of
conducting its primaries.

He praised the
lower legislative chamber for its intervention during the national
crisis arising from the absence of President Umaru Yar’Adua from the
country before he (Mr Yar’Adua) finally died.

According to the PDP boss, the intervention was historic because it sustained the unity of the country.

He also called for
the cooperation of the lawmakers on the issue of the national budget,
which has created rancour between the executive and the legislative
arms over the years, and urged the lawmakers to be ready to do their
best for the party and the country.

In a letter to the
National Assembly, Mr Jonathan said that the proposal to extend the
implementation of the budget was informed by the delays many of the
Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) have encountered in the
course of meeting the demands of the Bureau of Public Procurement
before projects are executed.

If the request is granted, the budget cycle will have been extended by an extra quarter for the second consecutive year.

A bill seeking the
alteration of the 1999 Constitution to create absolute financial
autonomy for the 774 local government areas in the country scaled
through second reading yesterday in the House of Representatives.

Leading the debate
on the general principles of the bill, its sponsor, Barnabas Bala (PDP,
Kaduna) said that in spite of the 20.6 percent revenue allocation from
the federation account to the councils, not much has been achieved in
the transformation of the rural areas.

The lawmaker stated that between 1999 and 2008 alone,

about N5 trillion
was disbursed to the councils from the Federation Account, adding that
this figure does not include the internally generated revenue of the
councils.

Mr Bala, who
wondered why there have not been commensurate developments in the rural
Communities, called for the alteration of section 162 of the
constitution to substitute subsections 5 and 6 with new paragraphs.

According to him,
subsection 5 should be altered to read: “The amount standing to the
credit of local government councils in the federation account shall be
distributed among the local government councils in a manner to be
prescribed by the National Assembly,” while section 6 should read “Each
local government council shall maintain a consolidated local government
account into which shall be paid all allocations to the councils from
the federation account, state allocations and locally generated
revenue.” The lawmaker also called for the deletion of subsection 7and
8 of section 162.

He argued that the
proposed amendment when achieved, will grant the local governments
autonomy from the state governments, which he said have been running
the councils like government departments under their jurisdictions.

Slot for women

Also on Wednesday,
the House rejected another amendment to the constitution seeking to
make it mandatory for 35 percent to be reserved for women in all
federal government ministerial and other appointments.

Binta Garba (PDP,
Adamawa) who sponsored the amendment wanted the alteration of sections
14(3), 147(3) and 223(2b) by inserting relevant words to give the 35
percent reserved slot to women in government appointments.

She argued that if
the sections are amended it will be in tandem with various treaties and
conventions the country was signatory to.

Abike Dabiri-Erewa
(ACN, Lagos), Khadijat Bukar Abba-Ibraim (ANPP, Yobe) and Saudatu Sani
(PDP, Kaduna), all female, supported the bill.

Ita Enang (PDP,
Akwa Ibom), however, advised the House against passing the bill,
pointing out that it was contrary to the spirit of section 42 of the
1999 Constitution, which he said was against all forms of
discrimination.

The bill was defeated when the Speaker, Dimeji Bankole put it to vote.

Bisi Akande, the
national chairman of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) yesterday
said a committee has been set up by the ACN and the Congress for
Progressive Change (CPC) in a bid to merge the parties into a single
platform that can present a formidable opposition to the Peoples
Democratic Party in the 2011 general elections. The CPC is founded by
former head of state Muhammau Buhari.

Mr. Akande
confirmed this in Lagos while briefing journalists after the party’s
final National Executive Committee meeting prior to its national
convention.

“It is true that
General Buhari wants ACN to merge with CPC. After the meeting we had,
we set up a committee comprising members from the two parties. The
committee has advised that both political parties can operate on the
same platform. But we have not reviewed the recommendation made by the
committee since then. We have not taken any decision on whether to
merge with any political party or not,” he said.

Also, the party’s
publicity secretary, Lai Mohammed, said the national chairman of the
All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) has met with ACN’s leaders with the
sole aim of forming a bigger platform that can challenge the ruling PDP.

“Our talk is not
limited to one political party but we have not reached any concrete
agreement with any political party,” he said.

Mr. Mohammed
announced that the ACN will hold its national convention from December
2 to 16. According to him, ward congresses will hold in each ward on
December 2, local government congresses will hold on December 6, state
congresses, with the exception of Bayelsa, Sokoto, Akwa Ibom, and Cross
Rivers, will hold on December 11, while the national convention will
hold at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City, Edo State, on
December 16.

Former Lagos State
Governor Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, said people should vote the ACN
into power in 2011 because it is a party that is consistent with its
principles.

“You have a party
like the Peoples Democratic Party that has been in power since 1999,
today you can summarise this government and party. They have not been
able to provide stable electricity, there is increasing poverty and
unemployment among our youths. There is no steady education programme,
education is regarded as the greatest weapon against poverty in this
country, yet it is not making any progress. No principle of
constitutionalism and federalism being adhered to, There is
interference all over the place,” he said, adding that there must be a
change of power in 2011 if Nigeria must change for the better.

Present at the
meeting held at the party’s state secretariat in Lagos were former the
incumbent Lagos State Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola, former Anambra
State Governor, Chris Ngige, former Sokoto Governor, Attahiru Bafarawa,
former Oyo State Governor, Lam Adesina, among others.

For Nigeria to
become a competitive player in the world, the country needs to do away
with the 1999 constitution which was imposed on Nigerians by the
military, a professor of sociology, Peter Ekeh has said.

Mr Ekeh, who
delivered a lecture on “Military rule and the damage to the spirit of
Nigerian constitution,” blamed the nation’s declining fortunes and poor
governance on the military and their decrees. Noting that the
post-independence constitutions of 1960 and 1963 ensured that “Nigerian
tribes fully co-existed,” the professor from the New York State
University, Buffalo stated that the present constitution ensures
“enforced co-existence.” “The 1999 constitution is against the spirit
of the people’s constitution,” he said.

Other problems
identified with the 1999 constitution is that “it is an imposition of
centralization of governance by the military,” which puts enormous
power and resources at the centre rather than encourage the federating
states/region to generate their incomes and make them economically
competitive and viable.

Mr Ekeh said the
local government has suffered as a result of the over-centralization of
power at the federal level. “There is a growing delineation of people
from the local government and this is encouraging wide-spread
corruption,” he said, adding that centralisation of policing denies
locals of the power to secure themselves.

The prohibition of
the creation of police by the state and local governments in the
constitution, he said, means that “these tiers of government cannot
provide security for their citizens.” He, called for “a dispassionate
review of the constitution which must be done and most include the
reversal of states and local governments receiving ready-made largesse
from the federal government.” Reclaim the country

The lecturer
expressed worries with the manner of governance seen in the last 12
years of the return of civil rule to the country and condemned the
ongoing moves by the national assembly to create more states
irrespective of their economic viabilities.

“Creating more
states will cripple Nigeria’s participation in the global economics as
some of these states and local governments will collapse without
subventions,” he said. “A new constitution should challenge all the
tiers of government and all government agencies to use their onus to
contribute to our commonwealth otherwise Nigeria will be left behind in
the race of survival in the 21st century.” The former Lagos State
governor, Bola Tinubu decried the preponderance of top soldiers in the
nation’s politics. He said former president, Olusegun Obasanjo (a
retired soldier) has “proved to be the most unsuited to lead the
country into democracy.” He further condemned the former leader for
going against the federalism preached by the constitution by
withholding funds allocated to Lagos state to fund its local
government, even in face of a Supreme Court ruling that said such
withholding was illegal.

He enjoined Nigerians to select leaders without military mindsets in
the next elections. “We say we are a federal republic, we are not
federal. We are unitary and over-centralised because all the power lies
with the federal government at the centre. We say we are a republic,
yet the royal fathers draw funds from the state treasury. We say we are
a secular state, yet we sponsor people to Israel and Saudi Arabia every
year. We are in self denial,” he said. “If we want to reclaim our
country, and democratise it, we must all vote for the right people and
protect our vote in 2011.” He concluded.

President Goodluck Jonathan last night met with senators of the People’s Democratic Party as part of his drive to recruit sympathizers to his 2011 presidential ambition.

The meeting was held behind closed doors at the Apo Mansion official residence of the Senate President, David Mark with almost all the PDP senators in attendance.

Mr Jonathan, who arrived at the Senate President’s residence at about 7.13 pm, went straight into the meeting with the senators after he was received by the Mr Mark and his Deputy, Ike Ekweremadu. He also left briskly without a word to the press. The senators, however, stayed back a little longer.

NEXT, however, learnt the meeting largely discussed the ambition of the president ahead of the PDP’s national convention and the 2011 general election. It was gathered that the meeting took off with issues of internal democracy within the party but, shortly after, veered into campaign for the President.

Mr Jonathan was quoted by a source at the meeting as having said that it is necessary for him to meet with the Ssenators, considering their role in the party as well as the country.

NEXT also learnt that Dalhatu Sarki Tafida, Director General of the Jonathan/Sambo Campaign Organization, who was on the president’s entourage did most of the talking which centered mainly on the campaign.
The president, it was gathered, solicited for the support of the senators and assured the leadership of the senate that he would put in a word with the national leadership of the PDP over their ambitions to return to the senate.

It is however unclear if the meeting discussed the mounting opposition to the amendment of the 2010 Electoral act, which seeks to give the senators an overwhelming power in the party structure and an automatic voting delegate ticket at voting congresses of the party.

It was also gathered that the meeting could not discuss the ill-feeling of the national assembly over what they considered a deliberate attempt by some members of the Executive to demonize them. The meeting, which ended at 8.27pm, was also attended by former Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the PDP, Tony Anenih.

African health and environment ministers, at the
weekend in Angola, agreed to advocate for and monitor an allocation of
15% of government budgets to the health sector, as stated in the 2001
Abuja Declaration by African heads of states.

The two-day meeting in Luanda, Angola, with the
adoption of the Luanda Commitment, which outlines the continent’s
health and environment priorities and commits countries to take actions
to address them, also agreed on accelerating the implementation of the
Libreville Declaration and a substantial increase of allocations of
government budgets to the environment sector.

“The Luanda Conference is a milestone, as the health
and environment sectors become credible and strategic partners. I leave
this meeting further convinced that the future of Africa is not cast
anywhere. It is we who determine this by our commitments, our
determination, and our actions,” the regional director and
Representative of UNEP in Africa, Mounkaila Goumandakoye, said.

The meeting, which was the second Inter-Ministerial
Conference on Health and Environment, was held at the initiative of the
World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP), in collaboration with the government of Angola.

According to a communiqué issued at the end of the
meeting, which was also attended by Nigeria delegates, the priorities
listed in the Luanda Commitment include “provision of safe drinking
water; provision of sanitation and hygiene services; management of
environmental and health risks related to climate change; sustainable
management of forests and wetlands; management of water, soil, and air
pollution; as well as biodiversity conservation.

“Other priorities are vector control and management
of chemicals, particularly pesticides and wastes; food safety and
security, including the management of genetically-modified organisms in
food production; children’s health and women’s environmental health;
health in the workplace; and the management of natural and
human-induced disasters.”

Breaking grounds

Following its agreement that a proper implementation
will have the right impact on the attainment of MDG goals 4, 5, 6 and 7
relating to child health, maternal health, communicable diseases, and
environmental sustainability, the ministers resolved to complete the
Situation Analyses and Needs Assessment (SANA) in all African countries
and the preparation of National Plans of Joint Action by the end of
2012.

So far, SANA has been completed in 17 African
countries. The ministers also established the Health and Environment
Strategic Alliance (HESA), which they said is “a novel mechanism that
will stimulate policies and investments in favour of enhanced joint
actions for health and environment in Africa.”

Also, for the first time, African ministers of health
and environment made their strongest pronouncement ever on climate
change and health in the region, with the adoption of a Joint Statement
on Climate Change and Health, which will be tabled before the ongoing
16th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change in Cancun, Mexico.

“The three tools that we have adopted at this conference are clear
and consistent, and the decisions we have taken will serve us well in
the implementation of the Libreville Declaration,” the WHO regional
director for Africa, Luis Sambo, said.

The Nigeria Labour
Congress (NLC) has called on the National Assembly to redress the
current rate of employers contributions into the contributory pension
scheme, asking that it should be reviewed upward whenever the Act comes
up for review in the parliament.

The congress, in
communiqué issued at the end an interactive session it held with the
National Pension Commission (PenCom) in Ibadan, said it reviewed the
most pertinent issues affecting workers in relation to the
implementation of the Pension Reform Act (PRA), 2004.

The general
secretary of the Labour group, John E. Odah, said that the group has
accepted and would continue to support the Contributory Pension Scheme
(CPS), but said “that there were still some challenges in the
implementation of the CPS.”

At the conclusion
of the meeting, the Congress said “the clarification by PenCom that the
PRA has not abolished gratuity and that it (gratuity) was a matter of
collective bargain that must be respected by the employers, in
accordance with agreed terms and conditions of employment.”

It, however, called
for government intervention in pension management for public sector
workers, claiming that “existing pensioners in the public sector were
not paid their pensions, as and when due. Government should take
necessary steps to ensure that pensions are paid timely.”

Work with workers

The meeting also
called on state governments to carry the workers along in the
implementation of the CPS, and noted with concern the agitation by the
military to withdraw from the scheme. It calls on the National Assembly
to further examine the implications of the withdrawal.

“Even countries in
Africa that are less endowed than Nigeria, employers’ contribution are
higher than that of the employee,” the NLC said.

“The current rate of contributions in section 9 of the Act is not in tandem with international best practices,” the body added.

The Oyo State
Governor, Adebayo Alao Akala, on Tuesday, urged opposition parties to
win elections at polling booths rather than running to the courts to
claim victories.

According to a
statement released through his Special Adviser on Public
Communications, Dotun Oyelade, the governor noted that the opposition
will be doing injustice to democracy “if it depends on judicial
technicalities rather that win legitimately through popular votes as he
has done.” The governor promised the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of
winning all the elections that will hold in the state in 2011, noting
that the political events in the last three and a half years in the
state are direct testimony to his claims.

The governor
boasted that, with the lack of focus from the opposition and support
from the people, the election will be a walk over. “As a direct result
of what the administration has been able to achieve in three and a half
years, the support of the people and the lack of focus of the
opposition, his electoral performance will be better next year,” he
said. He also bragged that he will win the elections not only at the
gubernatorial level but also national and state elections for the
party. He further argued that the only strategy opposition parties in
the state will use is to “raise spurious evidence of election
malpractices against him to thwart his victory at the Election
Petitions Tribunal next year.”

The statement recalled that “when the strategy was used against him
at Election Petition Tribunal of the 2007 polls, the appellate court
restored about 100,000 votes earlier expunged from his votes by the
tribunal.” According to the governor, that was “a clear indication that
the election was won fair and square.”

The fall in the
standards of both written and spoken English language portends danger
for the employment of fresh graduates because recruitment into large
national and international companies often has a requirement for
fluency in English, experts said yesterday at a conference organised by
the British Council in Abuja.

Ben Fisher,
director of programmes at the British Council, explained the result of
a study commissioned by the agency to find quantitative indicators that
demonstrate benefits of speaking English for countries, evidence for
the value of learning the language for the individual and for Nigeria.

The study observed
that “there is a little investment in English language by the federal
and state governments, as priority is given to basic education, which
receives assistance from international donors,” he said.

The research, which
was conducted by a Euromonitor team that went round the country and
interacted with people of all classes, shows that English is widely
used in Nigeria as the language of government, business, and education,
with numbers growing faster at 5.8 percent per year than the current
population increase.

“English is more
commonly used in the south and east, with Hausa being dominant language
in the north; English is less common in the rural areas throughout the
country,” the study shows.

It also revealed that primary school teachers in public schools speak very poor English.

“Higher standards
exist in the growing private education sector, and privately educated
students are more successful in reaching university level and are
preferred by many national and international companies. However, the
cost of private education is beyond most Nigerian families. English
language is also seen as a requisite for study overseas, which is
growing due to the lack of available university places and the
perceived low quality of courses,” the study says.

Those who do not
speak English language might be disadvantaged in the long run because
recruitment for large national and international companies often has a
requirement for fluent English. Fluent English speakers can command a
salary premium of up to 25 percent, especially in higher skilled jobs.

English is also
important in career progression, as most training undertaken in English
and new business opportunities require working across regional and
national boundaries.

The British Council
officials warned that the language is important to economic development
of Nigeria, as it is useful in securing foreign direct investment on
which Nigeria’s economic development is dependent.

Tackling the challenge

Ruqayattu Rufa’i,
minister of education, explained that there has been a sharp decline in
the communication skills of students in English language.

“There is,
therefore, the need to refocus our attention on the teaching and
learning of English language as medium of expression,” she said.

She identified the
major challenges facing the teaching and learning of English language
in Nigerian schools to include the shortage of teachers of English
language and, in some cases, available ones have low proficiency in the
use of English language, especially at basic level.

Other challenges,
according to her, include absence or irregular training and retraining
programmes; apathy on the part of students to read due to poor reading
culture; faulty delivery methodology; and shortage of books and other
instructional materials.

She, however, said government has the capability to address the challenges.