Nigeria Content Online

The federal
government has approved the sum of N1.319 billion for the purchase of
anti-retroviral drugs for HIV/AIDs patients in the country, in a bid to
sustain its policy on free treatment of people living with HIV/AIDs,
minister of state for information and communications, Labaran Maku, has
said.

There is an appropriation in the 2010 budget for the ministry to procure the ARV drugs.

Mr. Maku, who
briefed journalists on Wednesday’s federal executive council meeting,
said for the sustenance of government policy, as well as the health of
its citizens, council approved the contracts, which is expected to be
executed in eight weeks.

The drugs to be
procured include “100,000 packs of Tenofovir (30’s), in the unit price
of N3,150.00 and in the total sum of N31.5million; 200,000 packs of
Zidovudine/ Lamivudine (60’s), in the unit price of N1,352.00 and the
total of N270.4million; 371,091 packs of Zidovudine/ Lamivudine/
Nevirapine (60’s), in the unit price of N1,629.00 and the total
contract sum of N604.5million; 247,000 packs of Efavirenz (30’s), at
the unit price of N850.00 and the total contract sum of N209.9million;
and 300,000 Nevirapine (60’s), at the unit price of N676.20 and in the
total of N202.8million.”

Government started
the free treatment with Anti-Retroviral drugs in 2001 and, through 262
centres, provides service to about 6500 people.

Mr. Maku also said the council approved a five-year national health
plan that will gulp N3.997 trillion. Funding for the new policy, which
the minister said is aimed at upgrading the nation’s health facilities
and giving value for money, is expected to be sourced from proceeds
(tax) from the sale of tobacco and alcohol.

The Nigerian Police have commenced the recruitment of retired officers as lecturers in their training institutions.

A News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
correspondent who visited the Rivers Police Command headquarters in
Port Harcourt on Thursday found that a recruitment interview was going
on. There were indications that only 20 ex-police officers of Rivers
State origin applied for the exercise.

The command’s spokesperson Akin
Fakorede, told NAN that there was no rank or age barrier in the
recruitment exercise, but noted that the only barrier was if the
applicant had a bad record while in service.

Mr Fakorede said the recruitment was in
line with the recommendations of the Police Service Reform Committee
headed by former Inspector-General of Police, M.D Yusuf. Office from
the force headquarters in Abuja came in for the interview.

A bill to repeal
the Federal Immigration Act, one of the oldest in the country which
dates back to 1963 passed second reading at the House of
Representatives yesterday.

The immigration law
has several defects, including a lack of provision for the use of arms
by immigration officers. However, officials of the service have borne
arms illegally, lawmakers said yesterday and the overhaul, coming after
many amendments, will authorise such use and empower the Service other
areas.

The new law for
instance, will touch on the expatriate quota – a touchy labour issue,
particularly in the oil sector and other issues of immigration of
foreign nationals. It will also replace the present headship of the
service (Comptroller General) with a Director General.

Lawmakers noted
that most of the provisions of the 47-year old Act were no longer in
tune with present day challenges and therefore needed a long due
overhaul.

“This is why most
nations of the world take their immigration law very seriously to the
extent that it a very big issue during campaign for election into
public offices”, said Femi Gbajabiamila, (AC Lagos state.) The Nigerian
Immigration Service presently administers the Expatriate Quota system,
which outlines procedures and the size of foreign personnel working in
the country, particularly in the oil and gas sector.

Now new agency

Trade unions in the
sector have consistently raised complaints of domination by the
foreigners and have called for increased quotas for Nigerians and
technology transfer.

A proposal last
year to set up an Expatriate Quota Administration Agency, was opposed
by the federal government, which argued that it would amount to a waste
of funds since the Nigerian Immigration Service can function in that
regards if well funded.

Former Attorney
General, Michael Aondoakaa advised that funding to the NIS be improved
and that the proposal to establish a new Agency was “too shallow as it
is out to address on the Oil and Gas sector only.”

The new bill is to capture those areas according to Jerry Manwe, the
chairman House committee on Interior, because it touches on key issues
such as national security, labour, revenues and taxes among others.

Raymond Dokpesi,
the director general of Ibrahim Babangida’s presidential campaign
organisation, maintained at a Federal High Court in Abuja yesterday
that he had no connection with the Independence Day bomb blast which
killed 19 people.

The State Security
Service (SSS) had detained Mr Dokpesi shortly after two car bombs
exploded in Abuja on October 1. The service defended its questioning of
Mr Dokpesi, saying he had exchanged texts messages with some of the
persons suspected of complicity in the twin blasts.

Mr Dokpesi is suing
the service over the interrogation, which lasted several hours. He is
seeking a declaration that his arrest and detention were unlawful and a
violation of his rights. The SSS warned that if the court intervened in
the matter, it would tie up the hands of the service and impede its
efforts to promote national security.

Counsel to the SSS
and the Attorney General of the Federation, Alex Izinyion, said the
service was statutorily empowered to invite any person for questioning
on matters of national security. He said Mr Dokpesi had been invited to
clarify a statement made by Edmond Ebiware, a suspect arrested in
connection with the attack. Mr Ebiware said he had met Mr Dokpesi some
days before the attacks and claimed he received N4 million from him.

“In the process of
his investigation, Mr Dokpesi was granted bail and requested to show up
for further investigation,” said Mr Izinyon.

Dokpesi lays it bare

However, Kanu
Agabi, counsel to Mr Dokpesi, said his client was not aware of the
person referred to in the text messagse, noting that there were several
persons bearing the name Dokpesi.

“As such he is
seeking a declaration that since he is not involved in or in any way
associated with the person or persons, organisation or organisations
responsible for the bomb blast … He has committed no offence to
warrant his continued arrest or detention or questioning or harassment
or intimidation by 1st Respondent as a suspect in that connection,”
said Mr Agabi.

He urged the court
to dismiss the suit as “frivolous and constituting gross abuse of
judicial process.” Furthermore, Mr Agabi wanted a declaration that the
service’s arrest, detention, harassment and undue questioning
constituted a gross violation of Mr Dokpesi’s rights and was unlawful
and unconstitutional.

At the resumed
hearing of the matter on Thursday, Mr Agabi, said that he needed more
time to file a response to an earlier affidavit filed by SSS
challenging Mr Dokpesi’s claim that the service had violated his
fundamental human rights. Mr Izinyon also sought an extension of time
to file his objection and written addresses, in opposition to Mr
Dokesi’s claims. The presiding Judge, Abdullahi Kafarati adjounrned the
matter to December 8, for adoption of addresses.

Traditional rulers and prominent indigenes of the
nine local government areas that make up the Akwa Ibom North East
Senatorial District, have pledged to ensure that any senator
representing the district spends no more than two terms so that
indigenes of all the local councils take their turns for the seat.

The Oku Ibom Ibibio, Edidem Robert Obot 11, told the
Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Rules and
Business and a senatorial aspirant, Ita Enang, who visited his palace
yesterday that the traditional rulers will do everything within their
powers to ensure that what is right for the people is done. Effiong
Bob, who currently represents the Uyo senatorial district, is spending
his second term in the upper house and has since declared his intention
to run for the seat a third time.

But Mr. Obot 11, who is also the Paramount ruler of
Nsit Ubium Local Government Area and who spoke on behalf of seven other
traditional rulers in the area, noted that though the royal fathers are
non-partisan, political aspirants ignore their opinions at their peril.

He praised Mr. Enang for being “a worthy
representative in the National Assembly”, and noted in particular, his
role in the struggle to abolish the onshore/offshore oil dichotomy
principles in the constitution.

“As royal fathers who should not be seen to be
partisan, let me, on behalf of the other traditional rulers in the
council, wish you success in your future aspirations, even though only
God knows the man who will win at the end, given that three persons are
vying for the same position from Ibiono Ibom,” he said.

Before departing the Oku Ibom’s palace, the king and
other traditional rulers performed the symbolic anointing of the
aspirant. “As this oil is poured on your head today, you shall shine
and win in all your endeavours,” he said.

Elders seek equity

The chairman of the Uyo Senatorial District Elders
Council, Edet Akpan and other prominent indigenes of the district, had
last month said that none of their representatives will be allowed to
spend more than two terms of four years in the legislature.

Mr Akpan, a retired military general and former director general of
the National Youth Service Coprs (NYSC), also argued that considering
that each of the nine Local Government Areas (Uyo, Uruan, Nsit Atai,
Nsit Ubium, Nsit Ibom, Ibiono Ibom, Ibesikpo/Asutan, Itu and Etinan)
that cut across three federal constituencies has equal stake and right
to serve in that capacity, it would neither promote equity nor enthrone
fairness among all stakeholders if Mr Etinan is allowed another
four-year term in 2011. Also, about 456 village heads from all the nine
Local Government Areas also met under the umbrella of the Conference of
Village Heads of Akwa Ibom State to urge the state governor, Godswill
Akpabio, to ensure their decision is respected “in the interest of
equity and justice.”

A former vice
president and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential aspirant,
Atiku Abubakar has cautioned members of the National Assembly on the
proposed amendments to the Electoral Act 2010, saying that the
lawmakers should avoid a situation where excessive powers will be left
in one arm of the government.

Mr Atiku, who stated this on his
facebook page, urged the lawmakers to critically study the
amendments,especially the one seeking to make them members of the
National Executive Committee (NEC) of their respective parties before
approving them.

A bill which seeks
to amend the Electoral Act 2010 to allow the 469 senators and members
of the House of Representatives become party decision makers is
currently before the two chambers of the National Assembly.

The bill was
sponsored by Cyril Maduabum (PDP, Anambra).However, a similar bill in
the Senate sponsored by the deputy senate president, Ike Ekweremadu and
24 others, requires that all committee chairmen and the deputies as
well as the principal officers should be members of the NECs of their
parties.

While acknowledging
that the lawmakers are trying to avoid a situation where the parties
will be hijacked by a clique, Mr Atiku however advised them to weigh
the pros and cons of the amendment before passing it. “Excessive powers
and advantages in the hands of either the executive or legislative
branch of governmentmay lead to tyranny, which may in itself stifle the
growth of democracy,” he said. “Therefore, while welcoming the current
effort to amend the Electoral Act, seeking to make federal legislators
automatic members of their parties’ NECs, I urge the lawmakers to
examine the pros and cons of this amendment in order to sustain public
confidence in the legislative process.” The presidential aspirant noted
that one of the fears being expressed about the proposed amendment is
that it may be unwieldy to have all the members of the National
Assembly in NECs of their parties, which are the highest decision
making bodies.

Personal advantage

He asked the
lawmakers to allay public fears that they are not seeking personal
advantage by the proposed amendments, noting that it could undermine
the credibility of their efforts.

Mr Atiku, however,
admitted that the politics of exclusion and the hijacking of parties by
a clique may have compelled the intervention by the federal lawmakers.
“In doing so, however, I urge the National Assembly to debate the issue
clinically, critically and dispassionately so that in our efforts to
avert dictatorship, we don’t end up entrenching it in disguise,” he
said.

The former vice president said that democracy is a dynamic process
and that at every stage when challenges emerge, new initiatives also
evolve, designed to entrench democratic culture and ethos in the
country and among the existing political parties.

The UK’s International Development
Minister, Stephen O’Brien has announced that its government will double
the coverage of existing project across four northern states in
Northern Nigeria to improve the health of two million women of child
bearing age.

Mr Brien made this known in Jigawa on
Thursday saying “I am proud to announce this expansion of the UK’s
support to maternal and child health in Northern Nigeria. In this visit
I’m seeing with my own eyes the challenge, but also the success of our
support in saving lives. We must all continue to work together to bring
on these encouraging results – and there is a lot more that needs to be
done” he said.

According to the British High
Commission, the country’s development agency; DFID, support for routine
immunisation in four states in Northern Nigeria has seen the number of
children fully immunised double from less than 5% to nearly 10%. It
also raised the proportion of children vaccinated against polio from
14% to 38% leading to a 98% case reduction in polio in the past year.

It’s noted that DFID (with additional funding from the Norwegian
government) is working with state agencies to improve maternal and
child health services, and making these services more accountable by
involving communities and neighbourhoods.

An opponent to the
senatorial ambition of Ogun State governor, Gbenga Daniel, emerged
yesterday as a flight engineer; Tahib Adetunji Odunowo anounced his
interest to tackle Mr. Daniel for the Ogun East senatorial ticket of
the PDP.

Some supporters of
Mr. Daniel recently purchased a form of intent for him. But Mr.
Odunowo, who belongs to the Omo-Ilu faction of the party, has said he
is prepared to slug it out with the governor.

The candidate, who
made this known at Ijebu-Igbo while addressing party supporters who
were beneficiaries of his {Odunowo} empowerment programme, assured his
supporters of a better life if voted into office.

Accompanied by the
financier to the well attended ceremony and leader of the Omo Ilu
group, Buruji Kashamu, the candidate said he has age and experience on
his side to represent the senatorial district at the National Assembly.

He said the
emergence of Omo-Ilu Foundation is to bail out party members and other
state residents from the slavery inflicted on them by the state
government.

“It is high time to vote Daniel out of power, in view of his dictatorship style of governance,” Mr. Odunowo said.

“I brought myself
out to you today as a member of Peoples Democratic Party{PDP}, which is
affiliated to the Omo-Ilu Foundation, and to tell you of my desire to
contest the senatorial seat from the Ogun East district,” he added.

He expressed optimism that if given the party ticket, he would win the general election.

The House of
Representatives Committee on Aviation has confirmed that the country’s
airspace is under the full surveillance of the Total Radar Coverage of
Nigeria (TRACON).

Describing
reservations and criticisms by some people who faulted the radar
commissioning on the grounds that the system does not operate in some
locations as “political statements”, the committee, on Thursday,
asserted that the multi-billion naira project is functional. “We want
to confirm that the material scope for the project has been completed
and we have the report of ASECNA, the calibrating aviation firm which
carried out the flight check on these equipment and affirmed to its
functionality, especially that of Kano that was tested on October 21,
2010,” said Bethel Amadi, the Chairman of the committee, in a statement
made available to journalists at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos.

Mr Amadi, who was
accompanied by other members of the committee, on a fact-finding
mission to the Kano Radar Site, said that the operation of the newly
commissioned TRACON has confirmed the committee’s position on the floor
of the House as pertaining the completion and operation of the Kano
radar and other eight stations across the country.

Project beyond politics

Two weeks ago,
President Goodluck Jonathan, commissioned the complete and operational
Total Radar Coverage of Nigeria project in Abuja; a development which
is viewed by some as deception on the side of the Nigerian Airspace
Management Agency, as they alleged that the system does not fully cover
the country’s entire airspace. The radar enables air traffic
controllers to efficiently and accurately place, manage, control, and
direct aircraft and helicopters in motion within the airspace as well
as those on ground.

The committee chairman advised that the project should not be
politicised, adding that the country’s image should be the first thing
in every right thinking mind. “This project should not be used for
political games,” he said. “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.”

Mr Amadi
also noted that Nigeria had a history of abandoned projects and that
the TRACON could have suffered the same fate, if not for the commitment
by the federal government on safety in the aviation sector, following
the mishap of 2005 and 2006. “The United States Federal Aviation
Authority Category One Status could not have been achieved without the
new surveillance system,” he said.

The failure of the
Federal Government of Nigeria to produce Siemens AG, accused of
conspiring with others to commit the Siemens bribery scam, before an
Abuja High Court yesterday, stalled the arraignment of officials
allegedly involved in over several million dollars Siemens bribery scam.

When the matter
came up yesterday for arraignment of the accused persons, counsel to
the Federal Government, Godwin Obla, told the court that the 1st
accused (Siemens AG), is a foreign entity, and that several attempts to
serve them through the 2nd accused (Siemens Nigeria Limited) was not
fruitful.

He said the
representative of Siemens AG, just arrived from Germany Tuesday by
8p.m, and that counsel to the second accused called him that he is
making efforts to serve them.

Mr. Obla apologised
to the court for the delay in service, stressing that since prosecution
cannot be done on installment, a short adjournment should be granted to
enable him effect service on the first accused.

The trial judge,
Danlami Senchi, adjourned the matter to November 22, to enable the
prosecution produce all the accused persons for arraignment, and
further ruled that the accused persons present in court should enjoy
the administrative bail granted them by the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The accused persons
are, Siemens AG, Siemens Limited; Eduard Seidel (at large); Klaus-Peter
Gilbert (at large); Waclaw Lukowicz (at large); Maigada Shuabu, former
executive director, Power Holding Corporation of Nigeria (PHCN);
Mahmood Sadiq Mohammed, former permanent secretary, ministry of
power/steel; Emmanuel Chukwuemeka Ossai, former general manager,
finance, NITEL; and Edwin Moore Momife, former managing director, MTEL.

The thirty-five court charges read, in part:

“That you, Eduard
Seidel (at large), Siemens AG, Siemens Limited, on or about the fifteen
day of August, 2002, within the Abuja Judicial division of the high
court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria, conspire among
yourselves to give a valuable thing without consideration to a pubic
servant, Shuaibu Maigada (then executive director, Power Holding
Company of Nigeria Plc.) and to persons to whom a public servant is
related, Aisha Maigida, Yasmin Maigida, Khadija Maigida, Hassan
Maigida, Amina Maigida, and Farouk Maigida, to wit: purchasing
Lufthansa Business Class air ticket in their favour and thereby
committed an offence under section 96(1) (a) of the penal code and
punishable under section 120 of the penal code CAP 532 LFN (Abuja) 1990.

“That you,
Klaus-Peter Gilbert (at large), Waclaw Lukowicz (at large), Siemens AG
and Siemens Limited, on or about the 20th day of July, 2005, within the
Abuja Judicial division of the high court of the Federal Capital
Territory, Abuja, Nigeria, conspired among yourselves to give valuable
things, without consideration, to public servan t, Mahmood Sadiq
Mohammed (then former permanent secretary, ministry of power/steel);
and persons to whom a public servant is related: Hanif Mohmood,
Khairyyah Moahmood, Hamida Maahmood, and Yusra Mahmood, to wit:
sponsoring medical expenses in Stifung Deutsche Klinik fuer Diagnostik
Gmbh, international patient service, Aukammasl;le 33, 65191, Wiesbaden,
Germany, in their favour and thereby committed an offence under secion
96(1) (a) of the penal code and puinishable under section 120 of the
penal code CAP 532 LFN (Abuja) 1990.

Count 23,”that you,
Scroeterr Jochen (at large), Waclaw Lukowicz (at large), Siemens AG and
Siemens Limited, sometimes in 2007, within the Abuja Judicial Division
of the Federals Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria, having reason to
believe that an offence namely, giving valuable things without
consideration to a public servant has been committed, did conspire
among yourselves to cause evidence of the offence to disappear, to wit:
evacuating expatriate staff of Siemens Nigeria Limited with the
intention of screening the said Siemens AG and Siemens Limited, thereby
committed an offence under section 96 (1) (a) of the penal code,
punishab le under section 167 of the penal code CAP 532 LFN (Abuja)
1990”, count 23 stated.

Some top former officials of the government were alleged to have
received about 10 million euros as bribe from a German te
lecommunication company, Siemens AG.