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The Minister of State for Finance, Yabawa Lawani Wali, may have learnt early to tread cautiously where her predecessor, Remi Babalola, dared, as she appears determined to limit her official relationship with the media on critical issues.

Mr Babalola, before his reassignment last month to the Ministry of Special Duties in the wake of his controversial statement on the insolvency of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), had cultivated the habit of interacting extensively with reporters at the end of every meeting of the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC).

During such meetings, the former minister, who resigned from his new office last Thursday, usually fielded questions on all issues discussed during the closed door sessions, as well as provided factual details about resolutions that appeared controversial.

However, from the way she has handled the two FAAC meetings so far since she assumed office in August, Mrs Wali appears to loathe any opportunity that will bring her in close contact with journalists, apparently to avoid being asked questions on some sensitive issues capable of running her into ‘trouble’.

At the FAAC meeting for the month of August held in Abuja last Friday, the minister not only arrived more than one and half hours later than the scheduled 10am time, but also ordered journalists to clear the press gallery, before going straight into the meeting without the usual introductory remarks on the day’s agenda.

At the end of the meeting, which lasted about two hours, Mrs Wali, in the company of the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), Ibrahim Dankwambo; Chairman of Commissioners’ forum, Usman Rebo, as well as other top officials, spent less than three minutes to brief reporters on deliberations and outcomes of the meeting.

The minister, who described the meeting as “very successful”, told reporters that “everything was well understood, and went down very well with everybody. The meeting deliberated about outstanding issues, and at the same time distributed the resources for this month.

“In summary, we distributed the statutory amount of N362.379 billion; VAT of N46.581 billion, making it a sub-total of N408.960 billion. We also shared the augmentation arrears from January to July, of N24.738 billion. There was no exchange gain. Therefore, the total distributed for this month was N433.698 billion. Thank you.”

Unwanted journalists

Just as the reporters were settling down for questions, the Information Officer to the minister, Abel Nakorji, who had earlier declared that his boss would not entertain more than “three good questions”, hastily called off the briefing.

A Finance Commissioner from one of the northern states, who attended the meeting, told NEXT in confidence that the issue of the controversial N450b illion NNPC debt to the Federation Account, which the journalists were anxious for an update on from the minister, was one of the issues that topped the agenda of deliberations. We gathered that the meeting also discussed a similar issue pertaining to the investment in the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) project.

Meanwhile, Mr Dankwambo explained that the distributable statutory revenue for the month increased by about N946million, or 26 per cent, when compared to the allocation for July, pointing out that the increment was attributed to the revised monthly approved budget revenue benchmark from N365.888 billion to N369.422 billion.

Last June, the FAAC created a new excess revenue account where monthly revenue in excess of the about N365.888 billion pegged as the ceiling for allocations for sharing among the three tiers of government and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, would be saved.

>The International Monetary Fund said on Friday it had raised $8 billion in new
resources for poor countries from four donors, including China which has a
growing presence in Africa.

The IMF said in a statement it had signed financing agreements with Britain,
Japan, China and France as part of fund-raising efforts that would allow it to
offer low-cost loans to the world’s poorest countries.

In July last year the IMF unveiled a plan to help developing nations hard hit
by the global financial crisis and recession by boosting lending by up to $17
billion through 2014. It also suspended interest payments on loan payments
through the end of 2011 to temporarily free up resources for
governments.

Funds for the effort have already been received from Norway, Spain, the
Netherlands and Canada. The IMF is also raising money for poor countries by
selling 403.3 tonnes of its gold holdings.

IMF lending to poor countries rose sharply to $3.8 billion in 2009 from $1.2
billion in 2008, and just 0.2 billion in 2007.

So far in 2010 commitments of $1.7 billion have been made to developing
countries under the low-cost lending program.

The announcement on funds for poor countries comes days before a meeting of
140 world leaders at the United Nations to assess goals launched in 2000 to cut
global poverty by 2015.</

The kidnappers of Olubunmi Agbana, father of Gbenga
Agbana, a Punch editor, have reduced the ransom placed on the
74-year-old man to N15 million, almost a week after he was abducted on
his way to the farm at Irele, Ikole Local Government Area of Ekiti
State.

The kidnappers had initially demanded a ransom of N20 million to free the man.

Mr Agbana, who the kidnappers have been in contact
with, told journalists in Ado-Ekiti that his father’s abductors
threatened to kill their captive if the family failed to pay the ransom
before the end of the day.

“I spoke with my father again and those holding him
have reduced the ransom demanded to N15 million,” he said. “They also
threatened to waste him if we refuse to pay the money by 4pm. But where
can I get such money from?”

Full of hope

Mr Agbana said members of the extended family are
running round to see how the money can be raised, but he said that it
is almost impossible to raise such a huge sum of money.

“I offered to pay them N200,000, but they became very
angry and threatened to kill him. They also told me that he might die
in their hideout because of his ill health. They said that his legs had
swollen and he was very sick,” he said.

Mr Agbana said his father left the hospital a day
before he was abducted by some armed youth. He said the drugs given to
his father at the hospital were still at home, and the septuagenarian
had relapsed in the kidnappers’ den.

Despite this, he expressed hope that his father would soon regain
his freedom because “security operatives have identified some suspects.”

Worried by the incessant abduction of
its members, the Edo State chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association
(NMA) has petitioned Goodluck Jonathan on the state of insecurity in
Edo State, particularly kidnappings, with the doctors apparently being
the main targets.

No fewer than four doctors have been
kidnapped in the state within the last four weeks, with the abduction
of a couple, Olabisi Ihenyen, the Chief Medical Director of the Federal
Psychiatric Hospital, Benin, and her husband, Lionel, last week being
the latest. The doctors blamed the porous security situation in the
country on insensitivity on the part of government officials at all
levels.

In a petition signed by the
association’s chairman, Philip Ugbodaga; Secretary, Emmanuel Ighodaro
and the Public Relations Officer, Kennedy Alohan, and made available to
NEXT yesterday after it was presented to the president through the
state government, they suggested that the federal government should
also review and redeploy heads of security apparatuses in the states as
he has done at the federal level.

“Kidnapping, which started like child’s
play a few years ago in Port Harcourt, has since assumed a life of its
own and has defied all solutions,” the doctors said. “It has now gone
beyond a remote trend to become a constant part of our existence. As
doctors, we are extremely worried that we are unable to practice our
profession in an atmosphere of fear, anxiety and insecurity.

“In the past couple of months, at least
18 medical/dental doctors have been abducted in Edo State, creating
fear and anxiety in the minds of doctors practicing in the state.
Clearly, Edo is now tops in the despicable crime of kidnapping of
doctors.”

Constant fear

The statement said the security
situation has put doctors in constant fear, as they are unable to
engage in call duty and emergency services rendered after normal work
hours. They, therefore, called for the convocation of a national
conference on kidnapping, to find a way forward.

“The sweeping changes in the top
echelon of the nation’s security apparatus you undertook recently
should be immediately extended to the security establishments in all
states of the federation, and especially Edo State,” he said. “There is
a need to restructure Nigeria to accommodate state and community
policing. The security agencies should stop kidnapping now. We believe
they are capable of doing it if they are ready to work. The general
feeling of the people now is not whether it will happen but when, where
and who the next target would be.”

The doctors said the effect of kidnapping on the state is too
enormous, as it scares away potential investors and robs the state of
the benefit of development opportunities. “It clearly appears to us
that the only safe place to live in Nigeria is Aso Rock,” they said.
“We therefore urge you to deploy the same security arrangement in the
villa to the rest of Nigeria. That is the only way we can be assured
that you are truly working in the interest of the people of this
country.” The NMA also said the scourge of kidnapping is a direct
result of the “long-standing irresponsibility of successive Nigerian
leaders,” resulting from bad governance and corruption. It also blamed
Nigeria’s “sad culture that venerates wealth without regard to its
source”.

Property worth millions of naira, and about 10 shops,
were destroyed in a fire that started at around 1am at the Kasuwar Waya
Market, Bauchi, before it was controlled by officers of the fire
service and assistance from members of the public.

The chairman of the market, Baba Uba, who spoke with
the press at the scene of the incident, said the fire emanated from an
electrical fault from a shop that sells electronics.

“Businessmen and traders must always switch off their
electrical appliances when closing for the day, to avoid future
occurrence of such an incident,” he said. “If we observe this principle
of turning off all electrical gadgets, we will prevent disasters, not
only in our shops, but also in our homes.” He called on the government
and private individuals to come to the aid of the affected victims, as
the shops were their only source of livelihood.

Mr Uba, who expressed gratitude to the fire service
and members of the public that assisted in putting out the fire, said
henceforth, he would use his authority as chairman, to sensitize the
traders in the market on avoiding anything that would result to future
disasters in the market.

Permanent secretaries of the ministry for special duties and that of
state emergency have visited the scene of the incident to ascertain the
level of damage and commensurate with the victims over the fire
incident.

The All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), yesterday
shifted its national convention by one day, apparently to allow
Goodluck Jonathan use the Eagles Square, the venue of the convention,
to launch his presidential bid. The two-day convention, which was fixed
for today and tomorrow, has now been shifted twice.

The chairman of the National Convention Planning
Committee (NCPC), Ibrahim Geidam, announced at a news conference
attended by members of the two factions of the party in Abuja
yesterday, that the event would now hold tomorrow September 18 and
Sunday September 19.

Mr Geidam, who is also the Yobe State governor,
denied insinuations that the convention was shifted because of Mr
Jonathan’s declaration. He said September 17 has been set aside for
members’ arrival from different parts of the country.

“All are to note that the national convention of our
great party will hold on the 18th and 19th September 2010 as scheduled.
Accreditation will start on Saturday 18th September at Agura Hotel
while Eagle Square remains the venue of the convention,” the governor
said. Mr Geidam, also announced the reconciliation of the two warring
factions of the party, adding that their members would work together
for a common goal. He announced the lifting of the suspension placed by
the Edwin Ume-Ezeoke leadership on six members of the faction, which,
last month, organized a parallel national executive committee meeting
during which it dissolved the former national working committee. The
decisions, he said followed a letter the party received from the
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Thursday morning,
saying it does not recognize any of the factions.

Not recognised

The INEC said in the letter dated September 15, and
signed by the commission’s secretary, Abdullahi Kaugama, that it would
only relate with the convention committee until a new executive council
is elected at the convention. The commission, according to him, also
said the Transition Management Committee (TMC) set up by the party
three weeks ago is not recognized by either party’s constitution or the
Electoral Act.

The chairman said the national electoral body also
included a list of the 20-member convention committee which it
recognizes and which should organize the event. According to him, those
whose names were not on the lists despite their appointments by the
opposing faction, had been taken care of and had been given various
assignments.

“Against this backdrop and after due consultations
with stakeholders in the party, I am happy to announce that we have
resolved the issues at stake and we will work together in the overall
interest of our party, the ANPP,” Mr Geidam said.

“All factions, sides and groups within the party
stand dissolved and all of us will now work towards a common goal of
repositioning and refocusing our great party to the path of victory.

“Those who are said to have been suspended, their
suspension is hereby declared null and void. They are part and parcel
of us and they are going to participate in all the affairs of the ANPP.
And the faction which went to court when the crisis began has agreed to
withdraw the case.”

No decision on chairman

Mr Geidam said the party is yet to decide which of
the six geopolitical zones that would produce the national chairman,
following the disagreement that trailed the zoning formula adopted by
the national caucus last month.

Among those who attended the press conference are
governor of Borno State, Ali Modu Sheriff; former deputy governor of
Bauchi State, Garba Gadi; former deputy governor of Jigawa State,
Ibrhaim Hassan Hadeija; senators, Bukar Abba Ibrahim, Kabiru Gaya, Sani
Ahmad and Maiji Maina Lawan. Others are the chairman of the splinter
group, Mohammed A. Mohammed, John Odigie-Oyegun, George Muoghalu,
Vitalis Ajumbe and chairman of the Transition Management Committee,
Abdulrahman Adamu.

They had reportedly held a meeting somewhere in the
Asokoro District of Abuja before moving to the national secretariat of
the party for the press conference.

Meanwhile, a member of the party, Bashir Tofa, will
tomorrow formally declare his intention to contest the presidential
election in 2011. Mr Tofa, who was the flag bearer of the defunct
National Republican Convention (NRC) in 1993, will make the declaration
at Chelsea Hotel, Abuja.

He becomes the second aspirant on the platform of the ANPP, after Kano State governor, Ibrahim Shekarau.

Ibadan, the Oyo
State capital, experienced peace on Thursday, as the state police
command commenced a 24-hour surveillance on all the major motor parks
to forestall a repeat or escalation of Wednesday’s wee-hour
bloodletting between the two factions of the state’s National Union of
Road Transport Workers (NURTW).

Since early
Wednesday, the police have beefed up security across the town to
restore peace shattered by the fight which reportedly claimed three
lives and damaged scores of vehicles.

Convoys of police
patrol vehicles moved round the major motor parks within the city,
while Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC) and other patrol vehicles,
manned by stern-looking policemen, were stationed at various areas of
the town on Thursday.

Olabisi Okuwobi,
the state’s Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), said the effort was
on the orders of Baba Adisa Bolanta, Commissioner of Police, to ensure
that the peace of the town is not disrupted and hoodlums are not
allowed to inflict injuries on innocent citizens living in the state.

Ms Okuwobi said the
police were on top of the situation, but added that they were yet to
apprehend more suspects in connection with the incident, aside the two
arrested on Thursday.

In spite of this, unconfirmed reports of skirmishes were reported at a few of the motor parks in Ibadan on Thursday.

Hardship on commuters

Members of the
drivers’ union withdrew their vehicles from the roads yesterday,
thereby, imposing hardship on commuters. The union members said they
did that to protest the killing of their members in Wednesday’s fight.

Lateef Salako (aka
Elewe-Omo), led other members of his group to the offices of the state
governor, Adebayo Alao-Akala; the state commissioner of police as well
as the complex of the Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State (BCOS) to
display the corpses of three of his members who were allegedly killed
during the fight.

Since the fight
involved heavy exchange of fire power, doubt has been raised on the
police’s claim that the fight only claimed the three lives being
carried around by Elewe-Omo.

NEXT’s
investigation at the state police headquarters yesterday revealed that
until early Thursday, Mr. Bolanta was not privy to the fact that the
attack was provoked by the Elewe-Omo’s faction, who had used the cover
of night to dislodge the faction of the recently reinstated Lateef
Akinsola (aka Tokyo), from their Olomi state secretariat.

When the three
corpses were brought to the governor’s office late Wednesday, Taofeek
Arapaja, deputy governor of the state, who spoke on behalf of the state
governor, promised the government’s readiness to probe the killing and
bring the culprits to book.

The threat and
promise notwithstanding, many Ibadan residents believe that the
sustained mayhem inflicted on the state by the hoodlums is made
possible by the state’s politicians, who often use the hoodlums for
their selfish ends. The renewed violence is already building tension in
the state, particularly as preparations towards the 2011 elections
gather momentum.

Despite the state
government’s proscription of the union and its order that the local
government chairmen should take over the management of parks across the
state, the same old situation of thugs collecting money from drivers
still dominates parks in the state. Tokyo claims these men belong to
the faction controlled by his opponent, Elewe-Omo.

The governor of Kogi State, Ibrahim Idris, on
Thursday filed a lawsuit against the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC), seeking to stop the electoral body from holding
governorship election in the state next year.

Mr Idris is asking a Federal High Court in Abuja to
prevent the commission from holding elections for his seat until April
5, 2012. He joined his party, the Peoples Democratic Party, as
defendant in the case.

Tenure elongation

Last month, INEC announced that the tenures of
governors who were re-elected after their 2007 elections were cut short
by tribunals will end on May 29, 2011. Mr. Idris is one of five
governors who fall into the category. Others are the governors of
Ekiti, Adamawa, Bayelsa, and Cross River.

In the originating summons filed by Mr. Idris’
counsel, Lateef Fagbemi, the lawyer said “since he (Idris) was elected
to the office of Governor of Kogi State in a fresh election conducted
by INEC and took Oath of Allegiance and Oath of Office on 5th April,
2008, there would be no room for election until 2012”.

INEC is the first defendant in the suit while PDP is second defendant.

Mr. Idris’ action was commenced upon the expiration
of an ultimatum issued to INEC in a letter written by his counsel
asking it to discontinue any step towards conducting an election for
the governorship seat in Kogi State which it has scheduled for January
2011.

Specifically, he cited the provision of Section 180
(2) of the 1999 Constitution, providing for a – four year tenure of
office for a governor from the day he took the Oath of office and Oath
of Allegiance as the sacrosanct provision of the law which cannot be
abridged or ignored.

He is also praying the court for “an order of
injunction restraining the PDP, whether by itself, its agents, servants
or privies, or whosoever and howsoever defined or called from releasing
guidelines / timetable and from conducting primaries or putting
machinery into motion or from taking any decision on candidates(s) to
contest Governorship Election in Kogi State on the platform of PDP
against January, 2011.”

Matter of interpretation

Mr. Fagbemi wants the court to resolve the questions
in the governor’s favour, consequently declare that his tenure would
run until April 5, 2012 and that INEC was incompetent to abridge his
four year tenure by conducting any election into the office while his
tenure subsists.

He wants the court to declare that INEC cannot
conduct any election into the Kogi State Governorship election earlier
than sixty days before Idris’ terminal date of April 5, 2012.

No date has been fixed for hearing of the matter, as it has not been assign to any Judge.

The National Executive Committee of the PDP met on
Wednesday and ratified the guidelines for the party primaries for all
elective offices. The NEC also ratified the fees to be paid for
expression of interest/ nomination fees by aspirants.

Special congresses election at state assembly
constituencies hold nationwide on October 2, 2010, while the run-off if
any is slated to hold on October 4, 2010.

Electoral appeals arising from the exercise hold on October 5, 2010.

A gubernatorial primary is to hold from October 6-8, 2010. On
October 6, 2010 there will be special congresses (Primary Elections)
and LGAs in senatorial district 1. On October 7, 2010, it will be the
turn of LGAs in North or West 2, while on October 8, 2010, LGAs it will
hold in senatorial district 3. Electoral appeals is fixed for October
10, 2010.

The Police Command in Kano
State on Wednesday arrested 34 persons in different parts of the
state for offences ranging from armed robbery, drug peddling to
kidnapping.

Parading the suspects at the command’s headquarters, Muhammad Gana, Police
Commissioner in the state, said the Police had declared the state a war zone for
criminals.

He said the command had also put in place a house-to-house
monitoring strategy to flush out criminals
from their hiding places.

Mr Gana cited the case of a
suspect involved in kidnapping a businessman who was also duped of
more than 29,000 dollars.

The commissioner, however, said the police will
require the support of residents in information gathering until crime was
reduced to its barest minimum.

The federal government has approved the review of the Owena Dam Water Treatment Plant Project in Akure,

Ondo State, which
commenced in May 2007. An additional sum of N4.3 billion has been voted
for the project, increasing the total contract sum to N11.6billion.

The Minister of
information and communication, Dora Akunyili said this while briefing
journalists after the weekly Federal Executive Council meeting which
was initially chaired by Goodluck Jonathan, who later left to condole
with victims of the flood in Sokoto State, leaving Vice President
Namadi Sambo to chair the meeting.

Flanked by the
minister of state, Labaran Maku and the Minister of State for
Education, Mrs. Akunyili said a provision for Owena Dam Water Treatment
Plant Project has been made in 2010 Capital Budget.

“The contractor
commenced work in May 2007. However, due to foundation treatment,
changes in the final design and price escalation of construction
materials, the contractor requested for augmentation to the tune of
N4,703,236,922.69 to ensure completion of the project; but the BPP
reviewed the augmentation downward to N4,339,944,789.53” she said.

The council also
granted approval for the augmentation of contract for completion of the
Sabke Dam head work and access road project in Daura Local government
of Katsina State. The project was handed over to the ministry of water
resources by the defunct Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) in 1999.

Council approved a
total of N415 million as additional cost, increasing the total sum to
N1.2billion, with a completion period of ten months.

Mrs. Akunyili said there is an amended appropriation in the sum of N6billion in 2010 for the project.

Africa water council

The meeting also
approved the ratification of hosting Agreement and Domestication of the
African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW) and authorized the ministry
of justice to prepare the instrument of ratification.

The African
ministers responsible for water had converged in Abuja in 2002 and
adopted the Abuja Ministerial Declaration on “water- a key to
sustainable Development in Africa” and had decided to establish the
African Council on Water. The secretariat is to be established in Abuja.

FEC also approved
the ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Law of
Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses; and the Agreement
and Statute on Functioning of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF).

Other approvals are those for Nigeria to sign the Convention on
Substantive Rules Regarding Intermediated Securities (also known as the
Geneva Securities Convention) as well as the Convention on the Law
Applicable to Certain Rights of Securities Held With an Intermediary
(the Hague Securities Convention).