Nigeria Content Online

The Democratic People’s Party (DPP) said
on Monday that the defection of former governor of Sokoto State,
Attahiru Bafarawa, to the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), has not
shaken the party.

Mr. Bafarawa, the chairman, Board of
Trustee (BOT) of DPP, has since forwarded his letter of withdrawal to
the party’s national chairman, Jeremiah Useni, the national secretary of
the party, Mohammed DanAzumi, said in Abuja yesterday.

Mr. DanAzumi claimed that Mr. Bafarawa
had the constitutional right to move to any party of his choice, so long
as the constitution had given him the freedom of association.

“It’s worthy to note that a wrong defection can ruin a politician and it is better to look well before leaping,” he cautioned.

The DPP scribe said it was natural that
Mr. Bafarawa’s supporters would join him, adding that the chunk of DPP
faithful would remain.

He, however, described the defection as
expected, claiming that Mr. Bafarawa move to ACN was not a surprise to
the party, adding that discussions had been on for quite a long time.

The job creation
committee of the National Economic Management Team (NEMT) yesterday
submitted a framework to facilitate the realisation of an ambitious
target of creating 15 million new jobs in the country in the next five
years.

Chairman of the
Committee, Aliko Dangote, said in line with its specific mandate of
developing an action plan for interventions towards increased job
creation, the committee recommended priority areas in three core
sectors with strong and natural comparative advantage.

But the exercise is
already generating a conflict in responsibility among agencies of
government, as the representative of the Federal Ministry of Labour gave
indication during the ceremony that the ministry would, at the
appropriate time, express its concern over the ‘creation of another
office to do a job already assigned to the Federal Ministry of Labour –
making sure that unemployment is removed in the country.’ The official,
who represented the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chukwuemeka
Wogu, said: ‘I think Labour is well positioned today to drive and
coordinate the activities that would generate employment, whether from
the private or private sector.’ But Mr. Dangote identified the areas the
committee intends to focus its attention on to include agriculture and
agro-allied industries, manufacturing as well as building and
construction, though he also acknowledged the strategic importance of
the micro, small and medium-scale industries.

The framework
submitted yesterday focused on creating the environment that would
support entrepreneurs effort to set up new businesses; provide
opportunities for existing businesses to grow, as well as help mobilize
the informal sectors into the mainstream of the economy to enable them
benefit from government and private sector supports.

The committee
identified the entertainment and sports industries as emerging sectors
where the country has strong and natural advantages, where opportunities
to create jobs are immense, pointing out that as an extremely creative
and competitive nation with abundance of young people, these would be
natural areas of growth and focus.

At the core of the
overhaul, the committee explained, is the need to resuscitate
structured, credible and respected vocational programmes to provide the
skills that would fuel the growth of local industries and improve the
attractiveness of vocational careers.

Wait and see The
committee therefore asked government to appoint a Special Adviser to the
president on Job Creation, who would also be a member of the NEMT as
well as establishment of an Agency for Job creation responsible for
gathering, analyzing and disseminating information on job creation.

“The agency will be a
public-private partnership, but with independent leadership and
thinking to ensure that performance on job creation takes centre stage
in the assessment of the tenures of successive governments,” the
committee said.

Minister of Finance,
Segun Aganga, emphasized the importance of creating jobs for the
people, particularly for the youths who have the highest rate of
unemployment among the age bracket of 15 to 24 years, at 41.6 percent.
He said despite the growth of the economy, projected at 7.7percent this
year, unemployment has continued to outstrip the economic growth.

Though the Minister
was unable to explain how the committee would achieve its mandate
differently than the existing job creation agencies like the National
Directorate for Employment (NDE) and Ministry of Employment of
Productivity, he urged Nigerians to “wait and see” as said government is
determined to ensure its impact is felt as felt as possible.

The Abia State
Government, yesterday, said it has uncovered a plot by some people to
smuggle 50 suspected kidnappers out of the country.

Kingsley Emeruwa,
the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, who disclosed this while
briefing journalists at the government house, said the state government
has reported the case to the inspector general of police. According to
him, a member of the group, who he said is a relative of the former
personal assistant to the impeached Deputy Governor, Chris Akomas,
impersonated the substantive Deputy Governor, Eric Nwakanma, to ask for
a waiver from the South African Embassy for entry visas for 50 persons
who they claimed were to undergo training on project management and
window server. The state government’s spokesperson said a letter from
the South African embassy to the government asking for confirmation
drew attention to the scam.

Reduced crime rate

Mr Emerua, who also
said kidnapping in the state has reduced following the invitation of
soldiers to the state, said the state Governor, Theodore Orji, has
banned any form of reception party by any group for the soldiers. He
also said the governor has requested that nobody should place any
advertorial for him on his birthday, but instead donate the money that
would have been used for such venture to charity.

The Special Adviser to the governor on security matters, Awa Agwu,
denied media reports that between 12 and 15 persons were kidnapped in
Aba last week. According to him, kidnapping in the state has dropped to
the barest minimum. Mr Agwu said political opponents of the government
are using the press to write things that are not factual, and urged
journalists to crosscheck their facts before publication. “The
prevalence of crime in Abia is below 15% and we commend the Army for a
job well done in the fight against kidnapping,” he said.

The Chief Judge of
the Federal Capital Territory, Lawal H. Gummi, has announced that he
will deliver his judgment on a suit challenging the party on the issue
of zoning on November 24.

Mr. Gummi fixed the
date after listening to arguments by the parties in the suit filed by
Sani Aminu Dutsinma, a presidential aspirant of the Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP), yesterday.

Mr. Dutsinma had
sued both the party and its national chairman, Okweselize Nwodo,
contending that the party had deliberately ignored its constitutional
zoning arrangement to make room for Goodluck Jonathan to contest in
2011.

In an originating
summons deposed, Mr. Dutsinma had asked the court to force the party to
adhere to the provisions of its constitution and zone the presidency to
the Northern zone of the country.

The PDP’s defence

The PDP refuted the
allegations that it had previously zoned the presidency to the north,
and maintained that it would be discriminatory to exclude anyone from
contesting election in a democratic setting on the basis of religion or
place of birth.

“It is our
submission that nomination of candidate of a political party has always
been regarded as a domestic affair,” said Olusola Oke, the party’s legal
adviser.

“If internal
democracy must be deepened, no individual aspirant should be given
advantage over the other by reason of his place of origin,” Mr. Oke
said.

He asked the court
to strike out the matter for lack of jurisdiction, saying that Mr.
Dutsinma was not a bona-fide member of the party, having failed to pay
his dues for the past 3 years.

Furthermore, the
party said that its constitution never specified that any zone will
serve for two consecutive terms as president.

He, therefore, asked the court to discountenance Mr. Dutsinma’s claim that a zone is entitled to two terms.

The deputy chairman
of the Board of Trustees of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC),
Sule Hamma, on Tuesday, said the party sympatises with the northern
elements within the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who felt
betrayed by the alleged zoning arrangement agreed upon some years ago.

Speaking with
journalists in Abuja, Mr. Hamma, who was also the director general of
The Buhari Organisation (TBO), however, ruled out the involvement of the
CPC and its leader, Muhammadu Buhari, in the search for a consensus
candidate among the presidential aspirants on PDP platform from the
north.

“We see (Adamu)
Ciroma as a friend and as an honourable person, as a very conscientious
senior Nigerian citizen that is committed to ensuring justice within his
own party,” he said.

“So far as that is
concerned, we sympathise with anybody that has been betrayed by a
political partner or associate, no matter which party he is in, because
we stand for principle and we insist that people must be responsible and
must also discharge obligations freely entered, irrespective of what
are the circumstances,” he said.

Mr. Hamma dismissed
reports that Mr. Buhari distanced himself from the search for a
consensus candidate because he would rather prefer to face Goodluck
Jonathan in the election to a candidate from the north. According to
him, the retired military general is not afraid of contesting against
any candidate.

The CPC chief urged Nigerians to ignore the PDP, which he said, does not respect agreements freely entered into.

“There is no doubt
about the fact that the issue that has created this wave within the PDP
is one of treachery and betrayal by the PDP dominant group that is in
power today, that is unwilling to recognise and accept the provisions of
the constitution of the party, and the agreement that was entered into
between the northern elements within the PDP and their southern
brothers,” he added.

He admitted that
there is a group of people in the country who are determined to deny Mr.
Buhari the opportunity of returning to power.

“First, the issue of
a cabal; no matter how enlightened they may be, is completely
objectionable to us. We insist that Nigerians are capable of electing
their leaders.

“We insist that in
the twenty first century, Nigeria will be defined in terms of the
strength and stability of its democracy, its openness, and its
transparency, and its participation and responsiveness to the need of
its own people.

“Nigerians will not be accepted or judged as a civilised democratic country if it is controlled by a cabal,” he said.

The rains which
started at about 5.30 a.m., lasted for three hours, flooding many parts
of the town except Summit and Nnebisi Roads, as well as the Asaba-Benin
highway.

The flood also
affected the Government House and Okpanam Roads where the House of
Assembly, Police headquarters, Legislators Quarters Federal and State
Secretariats are located. Vehicular movement was disrupted on many roads
while residents were seen wading through their flooded homes and
streets.

When contacted on
telephone to comment on the development, the state Commissioner for
Environment, Bello Orubebe, declined comments, saying he was busy with
political matters.

The National
Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has confirmed that, as of October,
about 500,000 were displaced due to the devastating floods in many parts
of the country.

Mohammed Sani-Sidi,
the director general of the agency, disclosed this today during a Rapid
Assessment tour of flooded communities in Bayelsa State.

“The country has witnessed the debilitating effects of flooding in states like Sokoto,

Jigawa, Kebbi,
Nassarawa, Lagos, Ogun, Cross River and Akwa Ibom,” Mr Sani-Sidi said.
“We are now victims of this fate wherever you go: North, South, East or
West.”

He blamed the floods
on weather patterns in the country, and all over the world, which have
resulted in adverse ecological imbalances.

“Although flooding
in communities along the Niger trough and coastal communities is not new
to us, what is worrisome is the severity of these cases as we have
witnessed, and the extreme weather conditions experienced globally due
to climate change.”

Disaster prevention

Mr Sani-Sidi said
there was a critical need to make communities more resilient by funding
disaster and risk-reduction activities, safer building methods and
protecting critical infrastructure. He said disasters do not occur in a
vacuum and advocated more communal action to prevent them.

“There is also a
need to imbibe the culture of disaster prevention,” he said. “This can
only be done if we all know that it is wrong to build on water channels,
blocking drainages with refuse, felling trees indiscriminately without
even planting new ones. We all must come together to right the wrongs we
have all individually and collectively brought on our environment.”

Mr Sani-Sidi said
while his agency will do all in its capacity bring relief to the victims
whose livelihoods were washed off by the flood, there is a need for the
establishment of well structured and properly funded state emergency
management agencies to manage disasters in their localities.

“The environment remains our most valued possession and legacy which
we must all strive to protect. Let us all join hands in protecting our
common interest,” he said.

The State Security
Service (SSS), yesterday, defended its questioning of Raymond Dokpesi,
the Director General of Ibrahim Babangida’s presidential campaign
organisation, shortly after the Abuja bomb blasts on October 1.

The service had
accused Mr. Dokpesi of exchanging texts messages with some of the
persons suspected of complicity in the twin blasts. Counsel to the SSS,
Alex Izinyon, said the service was statutorily empowered to invite any
person for questioning on matters bordering on national security. “The
issue in this case which led to the invitation of the applicant by the
first respondent relates to bomb blast where several innocent Nigerians
lost their lives,” he said. “It has to do with state security which the
[service] is legally empowered to investigate.”

According to the
service, Mr. Dokpesi had been invited to clarify a statement made by
Edmond Ebiware, a suspect arrested in connection with the attack, who
said he had met Mr Dokpesi some days before the bomb blast 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.

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. Mr. Izinyon
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. He urged the court to dismiss the suit for as “vexatious,
frivolous and constituting gross abuse of judicial process.”

A witness, Sunday
Medugu, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the accident occurred
at 12.30am stating that the car, was coming from Dutse town through the
Gaya-Kano road before colliding with the bus at Fanisau junction.

The witness said the
loaded fuel tanker was coming from Kano when it ran unto the accident
scene, “It swerved off the road into the bush and caught fire
immediately,” he said.

The FRSC Commandant in Jigawa, Malam Mohammed Hussaini, told NAN that
officials of the road safety commission got to the scene after he was
informed. He said they evacuated seven victims to Rasheed Shekoni
Specialist Hospital and the General Hospital, Dutse.

One out of every six persons will suffer stroke across the world, a U.S-based Nigerian neurologist, Olajide Williams, has said.

Speaking at the
first Nigeria-Florida Neuroscience Partnership Conference on Tuesday in
Lagos, the neurologist noted that there was low public awareness on how
to recognise the symptoms of stroke.

He said that the
symptoms of stroke included sudden weakness, weak eyes, sudden
imbalance, and catastrophic headache, adding that the utmost time to
treat stroke is the first 90 minutes of attack.

Mr. Williams, an
associate professor at Columbia University, said that there were two
types of stroke – hemorrhage, which is too much blood in the brain, and
ischemic, which is low blood in the brain.

According to him,
Nigeria has only 50 neurologists to manage its 150 million
population,while Florida has 800 neurologists to take care of 16 million
people.

He urged the Federal Government to invest in telemedicine in order to link up with foreign-based neurologists.

“Health workers need
to involve people from other sectors, including school children,
musicians, and artistes on how to recognise symptoms of stroke,” he
said.

Michael Finkel, a
professor and president, World Neurology Foundation, said that the
partnership would provide opportunity to create a model for neurological
services and that the foundation’s objective was to serve as a
catalyst for thepromotion of neurological care and education in
countries in need.

The four-day
conference was organised by the Nigeria Stroke Society (NSS), World
Neurology Foundation, Florida Society of Neurology, and Nigeria Society
for Neurological Sciences (NSNS). It would focus on stroke, movement
disorder, headache, epilepsy, and clinical neurology, said the
organisers.