Nigeria Content Online

Shocked by the
state of the equipment used by the Nigerian soldiers on peacekeeping
operations in Liberia, the House of Representatives committee on
defence, yesterday, stated its determination to continue with its
investigation into how N23 billion was spent by the ministry of defence
on equipment for the operation.

The renewed plan to
launch the investigation is coming after a tour of the committee to
Liberia. The committee was accompanied on the tour by the Speaker,
Dimeji Bankole.

Consequently, the
defence minister, Adetokunbo Kayode, is billed to appear before the
committee to explain how the money was expended.

A source in the
committee said that during the visit, the lawmakers discovered to their
chagrin that in spite of the huge sum expended on peacekeeping
operations in Liberia since the minister assumed duties, the Nigerian
contingent is the least equipped among the nations that contribute to
the United Nations peacekeeping operations in that West African country.

It reportedly
discovered that the paucity of the equipment was the main reason the
reimbursement from the UN to Nigeria has greatly reduced. The committee
also found out that Nigeria has so far lost about 1000 soldiers, and
spent over $40 billion on peacekeeping operation in Liberia since 1990.

The legislators
were also said to have demanded the total overhauling of the Memorandum
of Understanding (MoU) between Nigeria and the United Nations on her
involvement in peacekeeping operations.

Next stop, Sudan

The committee
chairman, Wole Oke, confirmed the visit of the committee to Liberia
during a telephone interview yesterday. He also said Mr. Kayode will
appear before the committee to discuss the issue with its members,
adding that they will visit Dafur, Sudan, soon to check on Nigerian
troops there.

Meanwhile, Mr. Oke
has urged the Liberian House of Representatives to legislate to ensure
permanent peace and unity in the country, even as he promised to convey
the country’s request for further assistance on its 2011 poll to
President Goodluck Jonathan.

He stated this when he paid a visit in company of defence committee members to the Speaker of the Liberian parliament.

Activities of the
Ogun State government were yesterday paralysed, following the
commencement of a three-day warning strike embarked upon by the civil
servants across the state. The first phase of the strike will last till
tomorrow, before further action by the workers.

The workers, under
the aegis of Joint Public Service Negotiating Council had, on Monday,
expressed its intention to embark on the strike, following allegation
against the state government over non-remittance of pension funds
totaling N3.8billion, as well as other unpaid allowances meant for them.

The state chairman
of the Joint Public Service Negotiating Council, Emmanuel Sunday
Adeegbe, had, at the press conference, accused the state government of
additional non-payment of leave bonus from 2009 to date.

The allegation also
includes non-payment of gratuity to senior citizens {retired civil
servants} since September 2008, and non-release of running cost to
ministries and parastatals since January 2010.

Investigations
revealed that the strike took place as scheduled, as many of the
offices were under lock and key. The governor’s office, located at
Oke-Mosan, which accommodates secretariat of the civil servants, was
deserted. In fact, the giant gate leading to the governor’s
office/secretariat, which is located along the Golf Course way, was not
opened for any passage, just as the vicinity was like a ghost town.

Insistent on strike

Similarly, public
schools were shut. Students who were not aware of the strike had to
return home, because of the absence of both the academic and
non-academic staff in their various schools.

The workers’
leaders said their colleagues should stay at home for the three days of
the warning strike, as all avenues to ensure the payment of items have
failed.

“Workers should
discountenance the government appeals, threat, and coercive tendencies
and await further directive from labour,” he said.

At 5pm, when NEXT visited the Nigeria Labour Congress {NLC}
secretariat, located within the Government Reservation Area, Abeokuta,
top officials and principal officers of the union were still holding
meetings, apparently for the next line of action.

A U.S. aircraft
carrier group set off for Korean waters on Wednesday, a day after North
Korea rained artillery shells on a South Korean island, in a move
likely to enrage Pyongyang and unsettle its ally, China.

South Korea said
the bodies of two civilians were found on the island after Tuesday’s
attack, which is likely to stir up more resentment in the country
against its prickly neighbour.

The nuclear-powered
USS George Washington, which carries 75 warplanes and has a crew of
over 6,000, left a naval base south of Tokyo and would join exercises
with South Korea from Sunday to the following Wednesday, U.S. officials
in Seoul said.

U.S. Forces Korea said the exercise was defensive, and had been planned well before Tuesday’s attack.

“An aircraft
carrier is the most visible sign of power projection there is … you
could see this as a form of pre-emptive deterrence,” said Lee Chung-min
of Yonsei University in Seoul.

A foreign ministry
spokesman in Pyongyang said in a statement it had responded in
“self-defence”, and accused the South of firing shells into its waters
near the disputed maritime border.

“The DPRK that sets
store by the peace and stability of the Korean peninsula is now
exercising superhuman self-control, but the artillery pieces of the
army of the DPRK, the defender of justice, remain ready to fire,” said
the North’s KCNA news agency, referring to North Korea by its official
name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

It said the South
was driving the peninsula to the “brink of war” with “reckless military
provocation” and by postponing humanitarian aid.

The government in
Seoul came under pressure for the military’s slow response to the
provocation, echoing similar complaints made when a warship was sunk in
March in the same area, killing 46 sailors.

Defence minister,
Kim Tae-young, was grilled by lawmakers who said the government should
have taken quicker and stronger retaliatory measures against the
North’s provocation.

“I am sorry that
the government has not carried out ruthless bombing through jet
fighters during the North’s second round of shelling,” said Kim
Jang-soo, a lawmaker of ruling Grand National Party and a former
defence minister.

Tuesday’s attack
was the heaviest in the region since the Korean War ended in 1953, and
marked the first civilian deaths in an assault since the bombing of a
South Korean airliner in 1987.

The United States
and Japan urged China to do more to rein in North Korea after the
reclusive nation fired scores of artillery shells on Tuesday at a South
Korean island near their sea border.

China’s foreign
ministry urged the two Koreas to show “calm and restraint” and engage
in talks as quickly as possible, to avoid an escalation of tensions.

Joint exercise

The joint
U.S.-South Korea drill in the waters between the Korean peninsula and
China will likely enrage Beijing, which has said such previous
exercises are a threat to its security and to regional peace and
stability.

“China will not
welcome the U.S. aircraft carrier joining the exercises, because that
kind of move can escalate tensions, and not relieve them,” said Xu
Guangyu, a retired major-general in the People’s Liberation Army, who
now works for a government-run arms control organisation.

The joint exercise
was reminiscent of a crisis in 1996 when the then President Bill
Clinton sent an aircraft carrier group through the Taiwan Strait, after
Beijing test-fired missiles into the channel between the mainland and
Taiwan.

Seoul calm

Seoul, a city of
over 10 million, was bustling as normal on Wednesday, a sunny autumn
day, although developments were being closely watched by office workers
on TV and in newspapers.

“My house was burnt to the ground,” said Cho Soon-ae, 47, who was among 170 or so evacuated from Yeonpyeong on Wednesday.

“We’ve lost
everything. I don’t even have extra underwear,” she said weeping,
holding on to her sixth-grade daughter, as she landed at Incheon.

Despite the rhetoric, regional powers made clear they were looking for a diplomatic way to calm things down.

U.S. President
Barack Obama, woken up in the early hours to be told of the artillery
strike, said he was outraged and pressed the North to stop its
provocative actions.

South Korea’s armed
forces, technically superior, though about half the size of the North’s
one-million-plus army, warned of “massive retaliation” if its neighbour
attacked again.

Reuters

The All Nigeria
Peoples Party (ANPP) is to form alliance with other parties against the
ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the forthcoming general
elections.

The ANPP chairman,
Ogbonnaya Onu, disclosed this yesterday when the national chairmen of
16 opposition parties visited the party’s national secretariat in Abuja.

Mr. Onu, who
criticised the PDP for giving Nigerians poor leadership in the last 12
years, said if the ANPP collaborate with the other parties, Nigerians
will have the desired change they are yearning for.

“By the time they
see us, they will know that something is happening in Nigeria and that
people are ready for change. Let us never doubt what we can achieve if
we work together. The time has come for change in Nigeria, and we are
the apostles of that change,” Mr. Onu said.

The ANPP national
chairman said that most of the problems confronting the country are
self-inflicted and can be solved, saying “we are asking Nigerians to
give us the opportunity to lead the country. If one party (PDP) has
failed the nation, there are 62 other parties.”

He told the
delegation not to look at the party’s past, and stated that its new
national executive, headed by himself, is poised to provide the
required leadership , not only in providing Nigerians with an
alternative government, but also to ensure that the general elections
are transparent.

Earlier, the leader
of the delegation, Maxi Okwu, had challenged the ANPP to provide
quality leadership for the opposition groups to ensure that Nigeria
does not become a one-party state, which he said could truncate the
nation’s democracy.

“I believe that
ANPP should go back. When you have one way rule, democracy will die.
Try to energise your party, we urge you to do more,” he said.

“The next contest
must be a clear contest. If PDP is on one goal post, please come and
help us to man the other goal post. Democracy must grow, and we must
make it grow,” Mr. Okwu said.

Mr. Okwu, who is
also the national chairman of the tCitizens Peoples Party (CPP), said
the chairmen of the political parties have a common platform on which
they interact and ensure that the country’s democracy does not suffter.
According to him, the former caretaker chairman of the ANPP, Governor
Ali Modu Sherriff of Borno State had accepted to lead the forum, but
left the office before he could do so.

Among the parties
whose chairman were at the event were Liberal Democratic Party;United
Nigeria Peoples Party ; Alliance for Democracy; Mass Movement
Progressive Party ; Change Advocay Party; Nigerian Masses Progressive
Party; Action Alliance; and Peoples Progressive Party. The others were
Movement for Democracy and Justice ; Action Party of Nigeria; Nigerian
Peoples Congress ; Republican Party of Nigeria; United National Party
for Development; Masses Movement of Nigeria; and Citizens Peoples Party
.

The Patriotic
Electoral Alliance of Nigeria, PEAN, an alliance of thirty-five
political parties, has adopted Rasheed Shita-Bey, a second republic
legislator and national chairman of the Mega Progressive Peoples Party,
as its chairman.

The adoption took
place at the stakeholders’ meeting of the alliance, which took place in
Abuja yesterday. Mr. Shita-Bey leads a national committee of the
alliance, which is expected to provide a formidable platform for the
2011 general elections.

Other members of
the national committee included Shitu Mohammed, of the Republican
Party, who was adopted as the vice chairman, and Sam Onimisi of the
Democratic People’s Alliance, who occupies the position of secretary.

Mr. Shitta-Bey
thanked his counterparts in other political parties for the trust
reposed in him to lead the alliance, and solicited for their support.

“I have no new
dream to set forth today, but rather urge a fresh faith in the old
dream of the founding fathers of Nigeria project, Chief Obafemi
Awolowo, Dr. Nnamdi Azikwe, Sir Ahmadu Bello, and Sir Tafawa Balewa.
among others,” Mr. Shitta-Bey said.

“You have given me
a great responsibility to stay close to you all and to exemplify what
we stand for. l believe that your strength can compensate for my
weakness and your wisdom can help to minimise my mistakes, so that
together, we can forge ahead for the betterment of our nation Nigeria,”
he added.

Progressive ideals

He said he is
convinced that the “progressive ideals” that have remained elusive to
Nigerians are achievable if all progressive politicians unite under one
platform.

“Our strength is
based on the nobility of ideas and commitment to fulfil the good
ideals. I, therefore, urge all other people with common interest and
progressive principles to join us, without delay, as all plans have
been concluded for a successful campaign,” he said.

The national chairmen of 22 political parties were present at the meeting.

Mojisola Dada, a judge of a Lagos High Court in Igbosere,
yesterday, admitted as evidence, a statement dated September 10, 2000, made by
Lateef Shofolahan, a former aide of late Moshood Abiola in the on-going trial
of Hamzat Al-mustapha, the former Chief Security Officer to the late military
head of state, Sani Abacha, and former head of the Police Mobile Unit at the
Presidency, Rabo Lawal, over their alleged roles in the murder of Kudirat
Abiola, wife of the acclaimed winner of June 12, 1993 presidential election.

The judge, who had earlier fixed Tuesday to determine whether
the statement was made voluntarily or by means of torture, held that the
statement by Mr Shofolahan was not confessional in nature. “The statement,
according to available facts before the court, showed that the 3rd defendant
made the statement voluntarily and not under duress as earlier canvassed by the
defendant and it is hereby admitted and marked exhibit A6,” she said. “The fact
that the defendant’s were legs and hands were chained whenever they appear
before the Special Investigation Panel (SIP) and even after, does not in any
way translate to torture.”

The defence argument

Olalekan Ojo, counsel to the defendants had on September 22,
2010, while adopting his 22-page written address, urged the court to refuse the
purported statement since it was not made voluntarily.

The essence of the trial within trial is to determine whether
the statement was made voluntarily or by means of torture. Part of the
submissions of the defence counsel is that the cuffing of the legs and hands of
suspects in detention is against their fundamental rights.

He argued that suspects in custody should not be subjected to
torture or any dehumanising treatment by the detaining authority. Mr Ojo also
submitted that no suspect should be hand-cuffed or leg-chained in the
interrogation room either routinely or to gratify the pleasure of the
interrogator.

He maintained that it is settled in law that any departure by
the interrogators or investigator from acceptable rule has to be justified by
the prosecution. The matter was adjourned to December 20, 2010 for continuation
of trial.

The National Drug
Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), on Tuesday, announced the death of one
of its officers, Abdullahi Idris, 41, who was killed by a mob that
attacked a joint team of operatives from the agency and the Nigerian
Police Force at Owo Town in Ogun State, during a recent raid of a
cannabis joint.

According to the
agency, the deceased, who was an Assistant Superintendent of Narcotics,
was said to have sustained a fracture in the raid that led to the
seizure of 2,300kg of cannabis and the arrests of two drug suspects,
but died in a hospital while receiving medical attention. “His death
brings the number of officers that have died this year to 31,” said
Mitchell Ofoyeju, the spokesperson for the agency in Lagos.

Describing the
death of its officer as “painful,” the NDLEA said that it would fish
out the perpetrators of the crime, stressing that the culprits have no
place to hide in the country. “In all, five police officers and one
NDLEA officer sustained gunshots during the attack, said Walter
Nicholas, the Ondo State Commander of the agency. “They were
immediately rushed to the hospital for intensive care, and most of them
recovered except Abdullahi, the Superintendent of Narcotics, whom we
lost. It is very sad but we are not giving up.”

Until his death, the deceased, who was a native of Potiskum, in Yobe
State, had a National Diploma in Business Administration and was born
on March 27, 1969. Mr Idris worked briefly in the Department of
National Civic Registration with the Federal Ministry of Internal
Affairs, Maidugur, Borno State before joining the NDLEA in 1994. He is
survived by a pregnant wife.

A Federal High
Court sitting in Abuja yesterday said that the 2009 National Convention
of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) under the leadership of
Chekwas Okorie was in order.

Last September, a
factional chairman of the party, Victor Umeh, had approached the court
for an order to stop the convention organised by Mr. Okorie. During the
convention, the National Working Committee of the party expelled Mr.
Umeh, Sani Shinkafi and Peter Obi as members and officers of the party.

Mr. Umeh’s faction
had also asked the court for an order restricting the Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC) from implementing the resolutions
of the convention.

However, Justice
Tanko Soba said that Mr. Okorie had complied with the necessary
requirements before the convention was held and therefore the
convention could not be nullified.

After the court
decision, Orji Okorie, media representative of Chekwas Okorie, said the
dismissal of Mr. Umeh’s suit was the last obstacle in the party’s
preparation for the 2011 general election.

‘’Consequently, the
party has scheduled its National Working Committee meeting and National
Executive Committee meeting on Tuesday, 30th November, and Wednesday,
1st December 2010, respectively at Abuja to approve the party’s
programme for its nationwide congresses/primaries,” Mr. Orji Okorie
said.

Bashir Tofa, the
1993 presidential candidate of the National Republican Convention (NRC)
and a presidential candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP)
has advised Ibrahim Babangida, Aliyu Gusau and Bukola Saraki to remain
in their party to safeguard their status as men of honour.

Mr Tofa, who was
reacting to the decision of the Northern Political Leaders’ Forum to
pick former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, ahead of the trio, said
they should remain calm and not be deceived by sycophants that will
advice them to explore another political platform to actualize their
presidential ambitions.

Mr Tofa appeared
keen to discourage any plans by the politicians to move to the ANPP to
pursue their presidential ambitions, an eventuality that could present
problems for his own campaign.

“Following the
recent decision of the PDP northern front to anoint Atiku Abubakar as
their consensus candidate, I wish to congratulate him and wish him
well. I also applaud the magnanimity of IBB, Gusau as well as Bukola,
for the maturity and good sense they have shown in this respect,” Mr
Tofa said.

“These three
leaders have proven that they are not desperate and are true believers.
I hope they will jealously safeguard their new status as men of honour.
They must not allow any sycophant and enemies in disguise to lead them
astray by suggesting that they can continue to pursue their
presidential ambitions in another party. That will surely lead to utter
disgrace and complete loss of the enormous respect they will enjoy for
the rest of time.” He advised Mr Saraki to be patient, as he still has
age on his side.

While
congratulating Mr Abubakar, Mr Tofa reiterated his decision to pick a
nomination form and contest the presidential election under the
platform of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP).

“As for me, I will pick my ANPP nomination form at the right time,
ready for the battle and victory ahead, by the grace of God,” he said

The Senate on Tuesday withheld its approval for the nominees of
Abia and Enugu to the board of the Revenue Mobilization and Fiscal Allocation
Commission (RMFAC), while approving 21 others.

The approval for both nominees, who were selected by the
president to fill vacant positions in the commission, was held back on the
request of the Senate president, David Mark, and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu,
respectively.

According to the Senate president, Chris Adighije, the Abia
State nominee, is his personal friend, and he needed more time to clarify some
issues with him and report back to the Senate, perhaps, within the week before
his nomination is confirmed.

The Enugu State nominee, Uche Christopher Odika, also have some
outstanding issues with the Enugu State senators. Mr. Ekweremadu requested that
the Senate stand down the approval of his appointment, pending the
determination of the issues which bothers on objections to his nomination.

“We should allow the Enugu caucus to settle their issue and
report back to the House within the week,” the Senate president said.

“That of Abia; he is my personal friend, and there is information
that I want to clarify and report back to the House within the week. I have
consulted with the senators from Abia State about it,” Mr. Mark said.

The suspension of the approval of both nominees elicited
objections from members of the Senate committee on national planning, economic
affairs, and poverty alleviation, headed by Zainab Kure (PDP, Niger State),
which had earlier screened all the nominees and forwarded their names –
including the two dropped nominees – for approval.

The approval of the nomination of the remaining members of the
commission saw the emergence of Elias Nwalem Mbam, an engineer from Ebonyi
State, as the chairman of the commission, and 20 others as members. Five out of
the 20 members were, however, re-appointed for their second term on the
commission.

The reappointed nominees include Ignatius Amodu (Kogi); Otumba
Oladeji Ariyibi (Osun); Yusuf Pam (Plateau); Isa Geidam (Yobe); Muhammed Jabbi
Maradun (Zamfara); and Saidu Mohammed (Gombe).

Too old

Some senators did oppose the approval of all the nominees,
arguing that they are either too old or not just fit for the job, considering
their educational background and method of selection from the states.

“Most of the members graduated either in 1972 or 1979,” Ahmed
Lawal argued.

“I know they may say they have experience, but today’s financial
sector requires fresh brain,” Mr. Lawal said.

Abubakar Gada (PDP, Sokoto State) added that it is the politicisation of
such appointments at the state level that produces old men all the time. He
called for the review of nominees’ appointment methods “other than that, we
will continue to recycle old people who will see their nomination as a source
of livelihood.”