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The national
chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), Okwesilieze Nwodo, has
asked Nigerian leaders at all levels to ensure that good ideas aimed at
improving the nation’s economy is not allowed to suffer any setback.

He stated this on
Tuesday while on a visit to an indigenous telecom company, NetVisa GSM
Secured Nigeria Limited, which is licenced by the Nigerian
Communications Commission (NCC) to help improve telecom security.

Mr. Nwodo urged the
NCC to ensure that the good idea is not allowed to die by ensuring that
all necessary impediments are removed.

“It is not good
enough that this type of programme exists, and I am not aware and many
Nigerians are not aware. Whoever is holding this back from Nigerians
should please act in the interest of the public,” he said.

The PDP boss noted
that it is curious that the NCC set up such laudable body to check
phone thefts in the country, yet it is not doing much to bring the
awareness to the populace.

While welcoming Mr.
Nwodo to the company, its chief executive, Prince Uchendu, said it was
an initiative of the NCC to curtail the theft of mobile phones and
ancillary crimes in Nigeria.

He said that to
access the service, any user that falls victim of mobile phone theft
simply has to report to the service providers, namely MTN, Zain, and
Glo and others, adding that they have all received relevant training
from and interfaced with NetVisa through the CEIR technology.

Mr. Uchendu also disclosed that following the operations of the
company, which commenced 1st July 2009, a significant decrease in the
theft of mobile phones, crimes associated with it like assault, has
been recorded.

Nigerians should
insist on credible polls so that they would have the moral right to
call leaders to order once they are elected, Edo State governor, Adams
Oshiomhole said yesterday in Ekpoma.

Mr Oshiomhole, who
spoke during the commissioning of heavy capacity drilling rigs that
could go as far as 1,400 metres, said his administration promised the
people of the area that he will deploy the latest technology that would
give them water since they have suffered from low water level for a
long time.

“We have said in
Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) that power must return to the people,
the people shall never again be held in captive and no one godfather
shall ever again be permitted to depose the political fortunes of
individuals,” he said. “Politicians who want power must respect their
people. As they say in a democracy; if the people are like dwarfs,
whoever wishes to be a king must go to the level of the dwarfs
otherwise he will not be crowned. The beauty of what we are doing today
is that we recognized that our political future is in the hands of our
people. If our people are happy, we are happy, if they are not happy we
cannot be happy.” He advised the people of the area to be ready to
defend their rights and not be taken for granted. He said his
administration will not just lament the poor state of facilities but
work with the people to find means to correct them.

“We want people to
challenge them on what they achieved in the 10 years of their rule and
we want to tell them what we have achieved in two years of our
administration; the facts must speak for us,” he said. “Wherever they
said there is no water, we have said there must be water. Water is life
and therefore every responsible government, whether of the right or of
the centre or of the left must see water as one of the key things
government must provide for its people. We tried to understand how we
got here. After all here in Esan land, water flowed before.”

Fulfilled promise

He said it was a
tragedy that places like Uromi, which had potable water some years ago,
no longer enjoyed access to clean water as things simply degenerated.
“The only people who now have water are people who are highly placed
who create boreholes for themselves or at the very best extend it to
their hotels but certainly not for the community,” he said. “I did
promise that government will not join the people in lamenting the
impossibilities of getting water to our people, but government will
find the will and the resources to deal with that problem on a
sustainable basis, today I am here to fulfil that promise.”

The National
Executive Committee of the National Movement of Progressive Party
(NMPP) has approved the sale of its presidential nomination form for
N1.5 million.

It also fixed the
forms for the governorship election at N1million; Senate N800,000;
House of Representatives, N500,000; and state houses of assembly
N200,000. Lawrence Atuana, the party’s National Chairman, who announced
this in Abuja yesterday, said that female aspirants are exempted from
the fees as a way of encouraging them to vie for elective positions in
the country. He stated that the committee, which met on Tuesday, urged
eligible Nigerians to participate in the January 2011 voters’
registration as “power resides with the people”. “The outcome of the
elections must reflect the wish of the electorate,” he said.

More requests

The committee also
asked the National Assembly to expedite action on the minimum wage bill
to avert further national strike by the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC).
It, however, expressed dismay that the National Assembly members have
applied delay tactic in handling crucial national issues and bills,
contrary to the lightening speed in which they pass bills affecting
them including their jumbo pay that made them the highest paid
legislators in the world. The committee also called on the federal
government to review and increase the pension being paid to the
nation’s senior citizens who had served the country. “The recent
screening of pensioners in the country showed the extent the government
has neglected these retired civil servants.”

It also frowned at the rate of poverty in the country in the midst
of abundance, and urged various governments to take steps to alleviate
the sufferings of the citizenry in accordance with section 14 (2)b of
the 1999 Constitution as amended which provides; “the security and
welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.” It
also condemned the high rate of corruption in the country and urged the
anti-corruption to intensify efforts with the view to “arresting and
prosecuting those who looted our common patrimony and use the
ill-gotten wealth to oppress the masses.”

The 15-Seater Toyota Hiace Bus presented by Edo
State governor, Adams Oshiomhole to the Students Union of Auchi
Polytechnic to ease the movement of students of the institution has
turned out to be a curse than a blessing.

Just a few hours shortly after Mr Oshiomhole
presented the bus to leaders of the polytechnic’s Student Union
Government, the vehicle was said to have been involved in an accident
along the busy Benin-Abuja expressway, killing two persons in the
process.

Amongst those killed are a former student of the
school and a Health Technologist.It was revealed that the SUG
President, Musa Kazeem Abiola had insisted on driving the new bus back
to school from the government house in Benin City, against the advice
of other excutive members that the official driver who took them to
Benin should take charge of the vehicle, as he was not a qualified
driver.

When the SUG president insisted on having his way,
it was gathered that his colleagues opted to travel back to Auchi in
the vehicle that brought them to Benin.

Unhappy school leaders

Reports said while Mr Abiola was driving the
Toyota Hiace bus to Auchi, he ran into an on-coming vehicle and two
persons were said to have died in the accident. Mr. Abiola himself
reportedly fractured his hands and a leg, while the vehicle was said to
be seriously damaged.

A source at the Auchi Polytechnic who spoke on
condition of anonymonity said the school authority was planning to take
stern disciplinary measures against the student leader for flouting
procedure in the method he adopted in receiving the bus from the Edo
State government.

According to him, while the SUG President informed
only the Secretary of the Student Union body, the other exco members
were not put in the picture. He also said the normal procedure would
have been for the SUG President to inform the Dean of Students’ Affairs
of the donation, and the Dean would in turn inform the school authority
who would then make preparation to travel to Benin to receive the bus
and bring it to school.

The Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) says it has established strong political base in the three geo-political zones in the South just as it has done in the north ahead of the 2011 general elections.

The party also said that its leader, Muhammadu Buhari will soon begin a tour of the states in the south to commission its secretariat and meet its supporters. CPC spokesperson, Dennis Aghanya, who stated this in a statement on Tuesday, said that not only have some clergymen in the south begun to campaign for Buhari, elites and community leaders in that part of the country have also accepted the party’s programmes and manifesto. He added that it was as a result of this general acceptance in the south that the party is consolidating its alliances with all the political parties it has entered into talks with.

The CPC,which was founded early this year by Mr Buhari after he left the All Nigerian People’s Party (ANPP), has reportedly gained wide acceptance in the northern part of the country. Mr Buhari, who is also the chairman of the party’s Board of Trustees, will soon embark on tour of the southern part of the country to commission its secretariats as well as meet its supporters in the zones. “As steps towards consolidating our presence in the south, our leader and chairman of Board of Trustees, Gen. Buhari, will soon embark on tour of the south to commission our party secretariats and also meet with the teeming supporters of the party in the zones of the south,” the CPC spokesman, said.

“The Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, has a very strong political spread in the South just as it does in the North. Very recently, fire brand clerics from the Southern part of the country are the ones now canvassing support for our party and our leader Gen Muhammadu Buhari because of the truth and the commitment which is evident in our party’s programs and manifesto,” Mr Aghanya said.

“We as a political party are committed to the cause of impacting positively on the life of Nigerians. The deceit by other political parties, especially the PDP, is something that requires urgent attention if actually we meant well for our society. This is why the elites, clergies, community leaders and an average Southerner have whole heartedly accepted ‘the gospel according to the CPC’.

To conquer the South

“Our party is moving very swiftly into the Southern part of the country to consolidate our presence just the way we have done in the North. That is why we are consolidating our alliances with all the political parties that are discussing with us, especially those with strong political base in the South.” Mr Aghanya also said that in the South East geo-political zone, more prominent politicians have joined the CPC, but added that their identities would not be revealed now for fear of being hunted by the governments in power in the zone.

According to him, in Enugu State, apart from the governorship and state house of assembly aspirants, the party also has over five senatorial aspirants while nine others planning to go to the House of Representatives.

In Anambra State, the CPC spokesman said over 50 candidates have picked expression of interest forms to contest the councillorship election in the forthcoming local government elections while 19 others have indicated their intention to contest the chairmanship election. Mr Aghanya also said that the party has not only established offices in the South West and South-South geo-political zones,it has candidates for all the elective positions in most of the states in the zones.

I magine a British citizen arriving in Nigeria on Friday night for the first time. He is perhaps welcomed by an immigration officer whose name is Charles, then has his baggage inspected by a customs official, William and later checked into Newcastle Hotel, but has been told there are other good hotels in the country – Liverpool, Chelsea, Bolton, Bristol and Hawthorne. Coming from Manchester, he feels somewhat left out.After a beer by the poolside next morning, our visitor is alarmed by loud noises from cursing and fighting nearby. Frightened, he quickly requests the hotel management to check him out.

The manager calms him down, “Oh it’s these hooligans, these football fans, Manchester United supporters fighting with Arsenal fans! We see that every Saturday.” The visitor is shocked beyond belief, cannot comprehend what he has just heard – Arsenal and United fans fighting in a place called Nigeria! And maybe none of these guys had ever been to England before, never visited Old Trafford or the Emirates! What kind of people are these Nigerians! Later, Henry, the steward brings in his tea, but cheekily hangs around for a minute, watching the football match on the TV in his room, then leaps in the air, overjoyed, as Sunderland score against Chelsea.”So, who are you supporting?” the Englishman inquires. “Sir, I’m a Man U fan!” The visitor is totally lost for words, but still makes a call to his family back in the UK to tell them what is going on.

Reading about Nigeria before falling asleep, he makes a stunning discovery that keeps him awake – the country has been a sovereign state, independent from British colonial rule for 50 years! When foreigners come here, they are actually disappointed and disgusted at the painful attempts by Nigerians to measure themselves blindly by the culture and norms of the former colonial master without any sense of decency and self-respect.Festivals of art and culture in Nigeria were started by the British during colonial times, in appreciation of the people’s rich heritage which dates back over 2000 years. The partial result is that some of Africa’s most famous writers, sculptors and painters come from Nigeria. Ignorant post-colonial administrations have turned the country into a caricature of Europe or anything else but Africa.

We are yet to see the dividends of the 1977 FESTAC.In the early 1990s, Wole Soyinka commented that Abuja was disappointing in not reflecting Nigerian culture. The Nobel Laureate may be interested to know that Bala Mohammed, Minister for the Federal Capital Territory is presently preparing the award of a contract for the construction of the Abuja Town Centre to a US firm in Dallas.

Is this minister telling us there are no artists and architects in Nigeria to design and execute anything purposeful and culturally unique?

Know thyself

Bala Mohammed and our other leaders must also understand that for security reasons, it is not prudent to have the detailed architectural designs of built-up environments in a country – airports, air force bases, naval yards, highways, power stations, factories, central banks, mints and security printing, radio and telecommunications stations, ministries, presidential lodges, and prisons in the safe-keeping of foreigners.Most of such documents on Nigeria are already in the vaults of Julius Berger at their head office in Wiesbaden, Germany.

If the objective of development in this country is to emulate the industrialized world, Nigerians would prefer our governments to provide healthcare, water, electricity, food, jobs and schools, just like in Europe and America, instead of constructing massive concrete and glass houses in anci

More opposition parties have condemned the proposed
amendment of the Electoral Act 2010 to include members of the National
Assembly in the National Executive Committee (NEC) of their respective
parties.

Two separate bills are currently before the Senate
and the House of Representatives seeking the amendment of Section 87 of
the Act to make the 469 federal lawmakers part of the NECs of their
parties. The NEC is the highest decision-making organ of the 63
recognised parties.

While sending goodwill message to the Muslims in the
country on the occasion of the Eid-el-Kabir celebration, the Citizens
Popular Party (CPP) said the proposed law is an attempt to undermine
the democratic process.

A statement by the CPP’s national chairman, Maxi
Okwu, said the bill, which has scaled through second reading in both
chambers, is not only provocative, but an affront on the collective
will of the people. It asked Nigerians to resist the bill because it is
self-serving.

“CPP condemns the National Assembly attempt to
undermine our democratic process by pushing for a Bill that will make
them automatic members of the National Executive Committee of their
respective political parties,” the statement said.

The party also called on all eligible Nigerians to
participate in the January 2011voter registration, stating that a
credible voter register is the foundation of a transparent and
acceptable election. It added that the 2011 polls will provide
Nigerians another opportunity to vote for credible, purposeful, and
responsible candidates who will govern the country with the fear of God.

Also in a statement yesterday by its national
chairman, Ngozi Emioma, the Nigerian People Congress (NPC), condemned
the proposed bill, describing its introduction as legislative
rascality. It noted that while Nigerians are yet to recover from the
huge pay rise the lawmakers got, they are planning to impose themselves
on their parties as members of the NECs.

“It is outrageous and should be condemned and stopped
before our legislators turn themselves to tyrants and oppressors of the
people they were elected to serve,” Mr. Emioma said.

The NPC national chairman asked the lawmakers to withdraw the bill
immediately, just as he reminded them that leadership is a serious
responsibility and the distraction must stop. The party, which
congratulated Muslims on the celebration of Eid-El-Kabir, urged
“Nigerians to use this occasion, which coincides with the country’s
Golden Jubilee and the forthcoming general elections, for sober
reflection and prayers for a united and prosperous democratic nation.”

Approaching
eateries and banks in Lagos and other parts of the country, security
operatives in uniforms, popularly known as corporate guards, have
resorted to making ends meet by asking customers for tips.

Some of the guards told NEXT this was to help them cope with their pay.

“We are still here
because there are no other jobs for us to do”, one of the guards said
last week in Lagos on condition of anonymity.

“I have worked for
over 20 years. My salary was 300 naira when I started. Everything was
good then. They even negotiated with clients to increase guards’
salary. Now, all of that had stopped, especially now that they have
more clients. No medical and retirement benefits. You are not allowed
to go on leave, and nothing is given to you when your appointment is
terminated. It took me over twenty years to be able to earn N20,000 as
monthly pay. For over five years now, some guards have not received
increase in pay. This is modern slavery.”

The complaint of
the guards is almost the same. It is either of poor salary as a result
of their company taking too much percentage from what the clients are
paying, or absence of benefits.

Some of the guards
working with Real Assets, Halogen Security Limited, and Prudential
Guard also complained of late payment of salary and jostlings to be
posted for proximity advantage.

A former corporate
guard, Ejiro Abuwa, mourned what he called “marginalisation of
corporate guards in the country.” Mr. Ejiro, who divided the private
security companies into two: namely, downstream and upstream sectors,
said there is no future for any one working as a corporate guard under
private contract agreement.

‘I worked with two
security outfits for 16 years. I started with Amnesty Security and I
was with them for five years; I later left to join Prudential Guard,
for which I worked within the capacity of security operative to
supervisor until the time I left,’ he said.

‘One of the reasons
I left was poor condition of service. No matter the time you put in,
there is no pension; there is no gratuity. Up-stream simply means: the
owners of the security outfits who handle the administrative
departments where you have the CEOs and the Managers.

“And then you the
down-stream, where you have the guards and their supervisors. Wherever
the guard is posted, the client has no interest in him. If he sustains
injury in the line of duty, he is on his own. Whatever the client does
for him is on a compassionate ground,” Mr. Ejiro said.

One major issue
that is pathetic in Mr. Ejiro’s story is the high level of
confidentiality between the security outfits and their clients in
concealing vital information from the guards in order to deny them due
benefits.

According to him,
some unscrupulous officials of both the security outfits and their
clients connive in disguise of confidentiality in order to rub the
ignorant guards of their entitlement.

Mr. Ejiro calls on
government and the relevant agency in charge, the Nigerian Security and
Civil Defence corps (NSCDC) to, as matter of urgency, implement
policies to help strengthen the sector.

Another former corporate guard, Samuel Yenki, laments what he called “high level of corruption’ in the sector.

“I worked with a
security firm for over ten years. I left when I learnt the client was
paying N18,000 for my head, and the company was paying me N6,000. A
friend of mine suffered a similar fate,” he said.

Better monitoring needed

The managing
director of Coast Land Security Safety and Consultancy Services Nigeria
Limited (CSSSNL), Chris Utulana, admitted that some private security
companies are indeed enslaving their employees in order to enrich
themselves.

He said the NSCDC is currently working to ensure a better working environment for corporate guards in the country.

“I know that they
are working hard to establish the Association of Private Security Guard
of Nigeria (ASPN), that is going to be the umbrella body of all the
security companies in Nigeria. Very soon, the security employment
bench-mark will be out,” he said.

Mr. Otulana, who is
a retired colonel in the army, however, advised guards to bear in mind
that, in case of losses and theft, it is the security company that is
liable, and not the guards.

“A good security
company pay taxes, pay up to N500 to the Civil Defence per corps.
Including other administrative causes the guards are not aware off. In
the case of theft, the company is responsible not the guards,” he said.

The director
general of the International Institute of Professional Security (IIPC),
Tony Ofoyetan, said a professional security company should not pay a
guard less than 65 percent of what the client is offering.

“In terms of the
industry itself, we have the Private Guard Company Acts, 1996. The
essence of that Act is to tell who is qualified to run a private guard
company. The Act also prohibits foreigners from running a private guard
company in Nigeria,” he said.

Reacting to the
‘modern slavery’ allegation by some of the guards, Mr. Ofoyetan said it
was lazy for guards to say they are being enslaved and still remain in
enslavement.

“It is a bad staff
that will go to the extent of running his organisation down. Have you
ever bothered to ask yourself, what is the qualification of the person
that said he is been enslaved?”

Mr. Ofoyetan,
however, admitted that there were some bad eggs among the private guard
companies, whom he said “are not professionals, but called themselves
‘CEO’, and are in the sector to make quick returns of investment.”

In a swift
reaction, the Chief Superintendent Corps (CSC), NSCDC, in charge of
private guard company, Ray Ekwueme, said that some private guard
companies had been closed down as a result of fall in standard of the
NSCDC.

“We are working
towards a better condition for the guards. We encourage them to always
come to us with useful information that can help arrest the situation.
There are rules governing private guarding; medical benefit for guards
is compulsory. The board of a security company must have military
personnel on its board. Licences had been seized in the past as a
result of non compliance in these areas,” he said.

Be glad for the work

On the issue of
percentage to be paid out to guards, Mr. Ekwueme said a decision has
not been reached on that because the clients do not pay the same amount.

“If we should say
65 percent, how do you settle guards whose clients are paying N20,000
per month or less? It will amaze you to know what some of these big
companies pay for guard! We are currently on a structure of N10,000
minimum wage, no matter how low the client is paying. No guard should
earn less than N10,000 per month.”

The managing
director of Halogen Security Limited, Wale Olaoye, dismissed the claim
of non medical benefits by Halogen guards, adding that such guards must
be ‘‘fake Halogen officials.”

“We have Health Management Organisation (HMO) and Retaining Hospitalisation (RH) programmes,” he said.

Though some guards
with a bank complained of been given N10,000 annual medical allowance,
NEXT investigation shows they seem to be working in paradise when
compared to their counterparts serving in sectors such as telecoms,
some embassies and banks, with the exception of Zenith Bank, whose
guards are said to be well taken care off.

The Head of the
Security Unit (HSU) at GTB, Sina Borisade, said the company has a
structure on ground that would be improved on from time to time.

“We take guards from the Nigerian Legion,” he said. “We tell the
Legion what we want and an agreement is reached. I think we have been
able to manage our guards well, and we will consolidate on that,” he
said.

Angry that striking
workers of the Abia State University, Uturu have refused to shift
grounds, the state governor, Theodore Orji advised all those
dissatisfied with the conditions of service at the institution to quit.

The governor said
this during a meeting between the state government and major interest
groups in the state seeking to find ways of ending the three-month-old
strike.

Mr Orji said
efforts by his government to ensure that striking staff unions return
to work have been rebuffed by the unions’ leadership, which was why he
decided to invite religious leaders to wade into the matter.

He said federal
institutions are there for lecturers who feel they can no longer stay
in ABSU and called on the lecturers to make concessions towards
resolving the strike in the interest of the students.

The governor said
he had promised to pay 100% of the agreement reached by the unions with
effect from January next year adding that if the unions insist that the
arrears must be paid, he would have to revert to paying only 50%.

He said other
sectors of the state economy must receive attention, adding that the
state has two other tertiary institutions that must also be attended
to. As part of efforts to resolve the impasse, the stakeholders,
including parents, students and the university management arrived at
the conclusion that the striking staff should call off the strike and
accept the state government’s offer.

No wage increase

They equally
agreed that the new wage increase would require an increase in fees
paid by students, but that the increase should not be such that parents
would be forced to withdraw their wards from school as such action
could lead to crime, prostitution and other social vices associated
with frustration and idleness.

The pro chancellor
of ABSU, Joshua Ogbonnaya gave an overview of the steps so far taken by
government to resolve the imbroglio. Bishops and other religious
leaders suggested that a meeting be convened between them and the
striking unions to try to resolve the issues involved.

Five of the six
suspended members of House of Representatives may have to wait till
November 25 to know if they can return to work or not, as the judgment
to decide their fate was yesterday stalled by the absence of the judge
handling the matter at a Federal High Court in Abuja.

The lawmakers –
Dino Melaye, Independence Ogunewe, Solomon Ahiwinahwi, Bitrus Kazeh,
Abba Anas Adamu, and Austin Nwachukwu – were accused of starting a
crisis in the House of Representatives.

After listening to
the arguments by both parties on the substantive motion of the six
lawmakers asking the court to return them to the House, the presiding
judge, Adamu Bello adjourned the matter to yesterday to give judgment.

But at yesterday’s
sitting, lawyers were seen taking new dates for their case from the
court Registrar, due to the absence of the judge, and the Melaye matter
was adjourned to November 25 for judgment.

In their joint
motion, argued by Femi Falana, the embattled lawmakers insisted that
they were elected for a tenure of four years and that the Speaker had
no right to cut the tenure short for any reason. They claimed that
their suspension has denied their respective constituencies
representation in the lower chamber of the National Assembly and the
court to set aside the suspension slammed on them on June 22 of this
year, pending the final determination of their main suit.

Mr. Nwachukwu has
withdrawn his matter against the Speaker of the House, on the premise
that his family and constituents have directed him to terminate the
case against the Speaker, Dimeji Bankole, and the House in the interest
of peace.

Two of the
suspended members of the House of Representative, Ehiogie Idahosa (Edo
State) and Olugbenga Onigbogi (Osun State), were recently recalled
after more than three months of suspension. The duo and nine other
members were suspended for asking the Speaker, Mr. Bankole, to quit on
allegation of fraud.

The House announced
that it will review the orders of suspension on individual basis on
conditions that the affected members quit litigations, and tender
apology. Messrs Idahosa and Onigbogi, who were both absent during the
violent session, turned themselves in for internal probe by the House.

Ethics and Privileges Committee

The Speaker of the
House, however, urged the court to dismiss the motion of the suspended
lawmakers for being frivolous and lacking in merit. Mr. Bankole argued
that what the suspended lawmakers were seeking was a shortcut to
justice, adding that there would be nothing left for court to
adjudicate upon once the embattled lawmakers are returned to their
seats.

Wole Olanipekun,
counsel to Mr. Bankole, told the court that Mr. Melaye and his group
were suspended from the House because of their unruly behaviour on the
day they were suspended, adding that the suspended lawmakers goofed in
their claims that the House has no power under the constitution to
suspend them.

But the national
leadership of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has directed
the 11 suspended members of the House of Representatives to withdraw
their case against the House.

At a meeting
between the group and the national working committee of the PDP, led by
its chairman, Okwesilieze Nwodo, on August 4, the suspended lawmakers
were told that the only way the party could intervene was for them to
ask their lawyers to stop the case.