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President Goodluck Jonathan will today constitute a board for the Asset Management Commission of Nigeria (AMCON).

He disclosed this at the weekend while receiving a report of the World Bank research on the state of the Nigerian economy.

An elated Mr.
Jonathan while receiving the report assured the Bank and other key
players in the financial sector that the board of the Asset Management
Commission of Nigeria (AMCON) will be constituted as provided for by
the Act which he has signed.

The president
recently signed the AMCON bill which he said is meant to stimulate the
recovery of Nigeria’s financial system from recent crisis by boosting
the liquidity of troubled banks through buying their non-performing
loans, helping in the recapitalization of banks in which the Central
Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was forced to intervene and increasing access to
restructuring/refinancing opportunities for borrowers.

According to the
President, the initial delay was caused by the need to conduct due
diligence on some of the nominees in view of the importance of AMCON in
the resolution of the challenges facing the financial sector.

In the World Bank
report, which was presented at a presidential meeting with stake
holders, the global apex financial institution certified Nigeria as a
non credit crunch economy.

Isma’il Rodwan of
the World Bank Nigeria Country Mission, told Mr Jonathan that the
research conducted by the bank on the Nigerian financial sector showed
that “contrary to perception in certain quarters, there is no evidence
of credit crunch in the Nigerian economy”.

Mr Jonathan said
even though some of the outcomes of the reforms are painful, “we have a
better opportunity to put the economy, real sector, financial and
capital markets on a structurally sounder footing through a well
coordinated reforms”.

Also present at the
meeting were the Ministers of Finance, National Planning, Shamsudeen
Usman, Petroleum Resources, Deziani Allison-Madueke and Governor of the
CBN, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi represented by Kingsley Moghalu.

Others were the
Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission and
representatives of other players in the financial sector as well as
selected members of the Organized Private Sector (OPS) and captains of
industries.

In his
contribution, the Managing Director of First Bank of Nigeria, Bisi
Onasanya, commended the CBN for its reforms saying they were necessary
and have the effect of repositioning the banking system.

The repositioning,
according to him, has serve as an effective intermediary to the real
sector, adding that the banks had learnt their lessons.

He added that
“agric business must be made profitable in order for banks to lend to
them and that the businesses need to be de-risked”.

The CBN
intervention funds for the Nigerian Small and Medium Enterprises
(SMEs), Power/Aviation; Agric etc were commended by the World Bank and
other participants at the dialogue.

However, the World
Bank said the 80 per cent risk guarantee given by the CBN for the
funding of SMEs was “too generous” and recommended a 50-50 split of
risk sharing between the CBN and commercial banks.

The President of
the National Association of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (NASME),
Godwin Abugu, in his presentation to the President commended the CBN
credit guarantee scheme to the SMEs.

Ugandan President
Yoweri Museveni will contest next year’s presidential poll, trying to
extend a presidency that started in 1986, a statement from his office
said on Sunday.

He will also seek
election as chairman of his National Resistance Movement (NRM) party at
its national conference in mid-September, the statement added.

It quoted Museveni
as asking a crowd in western Uganda to support him in both races,
confirming widespread expectations in the east African country, which
discovered commercial oil deposits in 2006, that he would stand.

“People with
disabilities are embracing my candidature for chairman and Presidential
flag bearer for NRM, I put in my nomination forms, so I can now ask for
your support,” he said.

One of the
longest-serving presidents in Africa, Museveni rose to the top of
Ugandan politics when his then National Resistance Army (NRA)
insurgents seized power from a short-lived military junta.

The early years of
his presidency drew wide praise from the west and effusive support from
Ugandans for its respect for the civilian population, prudent and
liberal economic management and commitment to the rule of law.

In the past decade,
support among the people has begun to ebb and relations with the west
have frayed on mounting accusations by the opposition and human rights
observers that his leadership has turned despotic and corrupt.

Run-off

Political analysts
say Museveni — expected to win the party leadership contest easily —
will probably face off against Kizza Besigye, who is expected to be
picked by a coalition of opposition parties, the Inter-Party
Cooperation (IPC).

Besigye, who fought
and lost elections against Museveni in 2001 and 2006, is the leader of
the biggest opposition party, the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC).

Museveni’s victories in both polls were marred by accusations of widespread rigging and violence.

A unified
opposition, analysts say, will give Museveni the most formidable
challenge yet and is likely to send the poll into a run-off.

“Going by the trend
of Museveni’s electoral fortunes, he got 76 percent in 1996, 69 percent
in 2001 and 57 percent in 2006, there’s a real big chance that he will
get anywhere between 45 and 50 percent in 2011,” said political analyst
Bernard Tabaire.

“That’s not enough
because to win outright, the constitution requires you to have above 50
percent.” Museveni defended his years in power, denounced by critics as
evidence of a life-presidency ambition, saying it was necessary to keep
Uganda’s development on track.

“Some elements of
the historical team need to be kept in leadership so as to provide the
much needed expertise and experience to propel the country ahead,” he
said in the statement.

Nigeria and Britain
are set to strengthen their partnership on migration, the Permanent
Secretary in the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Martin Uhomoibhi, said on
Sunday in Abuja.

He told the News
Agency of Nigeria that officials of both countries would meet in London
in September to discuss migration issues “as part of constant dialogue
to strengthen the partnership.”

Mr Uhomoibhi
described the bilateral relations as vibrant, saying that Britain had
the largest concentration of Nigerians in Europe. He said the
partnership was aimed at resolving migration and consular issues, which
could threaten the cordial relations between both nations.

“Dialogue is needed
to improve migration partnership. Our bi-national agreements are strong
and prosperous, and we must do nothing to endanger these relations.

“It is not only in
Nigeria’s interest but also in Britain’s interest that we must remain
constantly engaged to address these little irritants that can pose a
threat to our relations,” the permanent secretary said.

Uhomoibhi said the issue of Nigerians serving jail terms in Britain would be addressed, among other migration issues.

Nigeria and Switzerland in July also concluded plans to strengthen
their policy on migration, with a view to addressing immigration and
other consular challenges.

Following the
warning from the ministry of health on a cholera outbreak across our
nation, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has blamed the epidemic on
the failure of governance at all levels to ensure the provision of
portable drinking water.

The party blamed
the outbreak on the lack of potable water, which it claimed “is the
major cause of the disease”. It noted that, had the various governments
lived up to their responsibility by ensuring that people have access to
potable water and good health care, many of those who have died from
the disease so far this year would have been alive.

Recent figures from
the Ministry of Health stated that 352 deaths and 6,437 cases have been
recorded. While the cases have so far been limited to 11 states in the
north, the ministry said the entire country is at risk.

“It is a shame that
cholera is killing our people like chickens in the 21st century,
despite the fact that it is cheap to treat, using oral rehydration
solution, a gauged mixture of sugar and salts to be mixed with water
and taken in large amounts. It is even more shameful that this is
happening in a resource-rich country like Nigeria,” the ACN said in a
statement on Sunday.

It further
condemned the government’s insensitivity on the epidemic, stating that
“the federal executive council is busy churning out – on a weekly basis
– billions of naira in contracts that barely touch on the lives of the
people, while the so-called representatives of the people are busy
sharing the spoils of office.”

Failed governance

The ACN also noted
that the failure of our nation to attain any of the eight Millennium
Development Goals (MDG) in the target year of 2015 is the biggest
indication yet that no governance is going on in most parts of our
country. “That is why we said the cholera epidemic points to failure of
governance,” the party said.

It further added
that measles has also killed 83 people this year and infected 5,073
others, also pointing out the needless deaths from malaria and other
diseases. “One begins to wonder whether we remain a part of humanity.

“The palliative
measures being embarked upon by our clueless state and federal
governments is nothing but a mere tokenism. Only a development-oriented
approach can rid our country of these diseases,” it said.

The ACN said the need to prevent such cheap deaths and ensure better
life for Nigerians should prod people to register en masse, vote
massively and defend their votes stridently during the 2011 general
elections, so that leaders who have the interest of the people at heart
can be voted into the various offices.

The state of
insecurity in Bauchi State manifested yesterday with an attempt made on
the lives of security aides to the state’s governor.

Unidentified gunmen
shot Sule Giwa, a police sergeant who serves as orderly to the state’s
governor, Isa Yuguda, within the metropolis on Saturday in what seems
like an assassination attempt on the state’s helm’s man.

The state Police
Commissioner, Danlami Yar’Adua, confirmed the report to the News Agency
on Sunday. Mr Yar’Adua, described the incident as part of the “routine
crime” in the state and dismissed insinuations that the attack was an
assassination attempt. He, however, gave assurance that his command was
doing everything possible to curb criminal activities in the state.

This incident is
coming barely one week after the son of the governor’s special adviser
on pilgrims’ matters, Mahmud Dahiru, was abducted by unknown persons.
Master Dahiru, 10, is yet to be released by his abductors.

It will also be
recalled that the Vice Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP)
Caretaker Committee in the state, Bala Hadis, was recently shot and
wounded in his house in the state. Mr Hadis is currently reported to be
recuperating in an Indian hospital.

Also, a
gubernatorial aspirant of the CPC, Sarki Muktar, popularly known as
‘Dan China’ narrowly escaped an attack when a group of unknown
assailants recently raided his house at Narabi Village in Toro local
government area of the state. One of Dan China’s security guards was,
however, killed while another was injured during the attack.

Reacting to the
latest incident, the Senior Special Assistant to the state’s governor
on media, Sanusi Mohammed, described the new wave of criminal
activities in the state as “unfortunate” stating that the government
was taking every step to secure the lives and property.

“The government is collaborating with relevant security agencies to
introduce new security measures with a view to stopping the ugly trend
in the state” he said.

Lagos State
governor, Babatunde Fashola, has appealed to the Federal Government to
re-visit the revenue allocation formula which according to him
“currently favours the centre.”

Mr. Fashola made
the appeal at the Annual Ramadan Lecture organised by the Arabic and
Islamic Institute, `Markaz’, Agege, in Lagos on Sunday.

He said that
necessary constitutional amendments should be made to correct what he
described as the present straight jacketed lumping of all local
governments in one category.

The governor
justified his submission by explaining that the 774 local governments
in the country had different priorities to address to make life
meaningful to their people. “While some local governments are endowed
with mineral resources and deposits, some are riverine while those in
the north are preoccupied with cattle rearing and milk production.

“It is ironic that each one gets the same allocation, irrespective of its different features,’’ he explained.

Also at the event,
the governor said that the Lagos State Government was committed to
equipping public schools with laboratories and Information Technology
equipment to enable the schools compete favourably with products of
private schools.

He explained that
teachers in public schools would also enjoy continuous training to
enable them to impact adequate knowledge on pupils and students. He
implored Nigerians to participate actively in politics and to always
collaborate with their elected leaders through proffering constructive
suggestions and advice.

Also speaking, the
Director of the institute, Habeebullah Al-Ilori, commended the Lagos
Government for its achievements in the provision of infrastructure.
“An average resident of the state is happy to pay his or her taxes
now, because he or she feels the impact of the government more than
ever before,’’ he said.

The management of
the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, Oyo
State, has directed all students to resume for academic activities
today.

The directive was
contained in a statement by the institution’s spokesperson, Yomi
Akintunde, which stated that lectures and other academic activities
will commence.

The resumption,
which comes after a short break earlier announced by the university’s
management, may create another logjam for the institution owing to the
ongoing crisis between the owner states, Osun and Oyo.

The two states have
been in dispute over the effort of the Oyo State governor, Adebayo
Alao-Akala, to unilaterally convert the institution to the state’s
ownership

At the heat of the
crisis, the governor directed all Oyo indigenes who are medical and
paramedical staff of the university’s teaching hospital at Osogbo, Osun
State, to resume at Ogbomoso, Oyo state.

Former President
Olusegun Obasanjo had waded into the crisis, just as the National
University Commission (NUC) threatened to withdraw the license of the
institution if it was not resolved.

Despite these and
recent meetings between the governors of the two states over the issue,
no significant progress has been made in arriving at a resolution.

Political appointees have been directed to pay five percent of
their basic salaries to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) throughout their
stay in office.

Just last week, defaulting appointees were reminded of their dues
when the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mahmud Yayale
Ahmed, sent a terse letter to all ministers demanding the payment of the dues.

Citing a section of the PDP constitution as his backing, Mr Ahmed
instructed federal ministers to act as collectors and to deposit the collected
funds into the party’s account at Unity Bank.

“…all party men and women elected or appointed at the instance
of the PDP, including ambassadors and board chairmen at the federal level, are
required to contribute five percent of their basic allowances or remuneration
to the party. The directive is effective from the day they are appointed,” Mr
Ahmed said in the memo, exclusively obtained by NEXT.

This letter has allegedly been endorsed by relevant ministers and
passed on to all or most heads of parastatals.

Paying their dues

Sources who spoke to NEXT said all political appointees have to
pay the levy, whether or not they belong to the PDP. Others conceded that they
have been paying the dues and expressed no alarm at PDP’s demand.

In some instances, the percentage is taken from the source and
the appointee need not make a trip to the bank. It is not clear how many
ministers and top-level government officials make these payments, but according
to the SGF, the ministers must not only serve as collectors but as petty
accountants. The ministers are to forward duplicate copies of all payments made
to Mr Ahmed’s office.

“Thereafter, you are required to forward a copy of payments made
in this regard to my office for information,” he instructed, adding that “all
monthly contributions subsequently collected should also be treated in the same
manner.”

The PDP vs the people

Government officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity,
condemned Mr Ahmed, accusing him of abusing his office to pursue his political
affiliations.

“Should the structure and institutions of government be converted
into a PDP funding institution?” one source asked.

“This means that only people who will dance to their tunes of 5
percent will be appointed into political office, whether or not they are
qualified.”

Kayode Ajulo, an Abuja-based attorney, believes that Mr Ahmed
should be relieved of his duties for abuse of office. He said that for him to
use the instrument of government to “fan the interest of a political party is
absurd.”

“The office of the SGF is totally different from the person of
Yayale Ahmed. The office of the SGF has its own operating manual, and writing
memos for political parties is not one of it,” said Mr. Ajulo.

Mr. Ajulo said that the party should apologise to Nigerians and
return the money they have collected to the coffers of the government. He also
called for the resignation or the sack of the SGF within seven days.

“Any sensible and reasonable president would ensure that this is
redressed,” he said.

Another lawyer and human rights activist, Obo Effanga, believes
it is a breach of public office for the SGF, who is a public servant, to use
state apparatus to collect contributions and remit them to a private and
non-state institution, such as a political party.

Mr. Effanga said the PDP was at liberty to decide how much it wants
to levy its members who may be in government, but Mr Ahmed is working for the
country, not the party.

“I don’t care what responsibility his party gives him, as far as
he is the SGF, his responsibility is based on the oath of office and oath of
allegiance he took.

“The office he holds demands him to be neutral and do good to all
Nigerians. Will the SGF be right to set up a scheme to ensure that staff under
him pay and remit zakat and tithes to their respective religious bodies, in
fulfilment of their religious obligations, which the constitution allows them?
Certainly not, for those are private matters, not state matters. It would be
surprising if the president was unaware of this,” he said.

Drumming up funds

National publicity secretary of the Action Congress of Nigeria,
Lai Mohammed, said though paying the dues was not wrong, it should have been
done by the party itself.

“It is a problem. I see the SGF just as a minister and will it be
right for a minister to ask all his board members to contribute their dues? It
should have been the party doing that, not the SGF.”

While it is not certain that appointees who do not belong to the
PDP are required to pay the levy, an official who claims he does not belong to
any political party said he received the memo nonetheless.

The source accused the PDP of desperately trying to raise funds
for the 2011 elections.

“Are they becoming this desperate or is the SGF’s office now an
extension of Wadata house?” he asked.

All of our efforts to contact Mr. Ahmed for his response to our
findings were not successful, that is until just a few minutes before we went
to press. We then asked him why he wrote and sent the Memo. He said he
considers himself a politician and since the party constitution says members
should pay 5%, he merely wrote to remind them of their obligation. “If the ANPP
asked me to remind its appointees, I will do that for them,” he said.

Mr Ahmed however said that all payments will be done through the party.

The failure rate of students in Nigeria gets worse
by the day. Last week, the West African Examination Council (WAEC),
released the results of the 2010 West African Senior Secondary Schools
Examination and only 24 percent of the students passed, “with credits
in Maths, English and three other subjects.” The rest cannot be
admitted in any university.

In Lagos, a volunteer corps decided to organise an
ingenious forum for some of the students, to find out why they failed
so badly. They blamed their teachers, the government, and the sheer
lack of facilities that forced them to do “alternative to practical” in
school leaving examinations. Many of them have never heard of a Bunsen
Burner. All of it sounded like excuses and more excuses.

But then Chidera Ota, a 16 year old Nigerian girl
born in London led the entire United Kingdom with 15A* in the General
Certificate for Secondary School (GCSE) released about the same time as
the Nigerian results. She got the grades in English literature and
language, Mathematics, Statistics, French, German, Latin, History,
Sociology, Chemistry, Biology, Physics and an IT qualification.

Now, Miss Ota is going to King’s School,
Canterbury, on a scholarship to study Chemistry, Physics, Biology,
Maths and Further Maths A-levels.

Yet there is another story even more remarkable: A
five year old Nigerian girl, little Dee Alli, also sat for the same
examinations.

And she passed – becoming the youngest person ever
to do so. And suddenly it didn’t look like the students at the Lagos
youth forum were just sounding off. Surely, if Alli and Ota were living
here, attending dilapidated schools, they couldn’t have achieved those
feats?.

The UK authorities have recently introduced the A*
as the highest grade in the GCSE examinations when too many students
were getting As.

In Nigeria, the decline continues unabated. Last
year, 98 per cent of the 234,682 who sat for the NECO examinations
failed to get the requisite five credits. The Registrar of NECO,
Promise Okpalla, said although there was a 1.2 percent pass, Kogi,
Bauchi and Ondo excelled in another field, leading other states in
examination malpractices.

Chidera and Dee show what could be if our educational system is better managed.

Redeployment from Special Duties to the FCT

It happened swiftly. I did
not know about it. The president came into the Federal Executive
Council to swear in three new ministers to complete the gap. He made
the point that there have been a lot of rumour and that we should try
to give only information we have at our disposal, as speculation would
not help. After swearing in the new ministers, he announced our names.
So, to me it was a surprise. I think he stressed the point that it was
redeployment and on my own part, even while in the military, there is
usually a movement of officers from one post to another. I want to
assure you that if the president makes me his PA tomorrow, I will
smartly go there.

High level of youth unemployment

Unemployment has been there for quite
a while and I am particularly alarmed, considering the number of
graduates that we are turning out from our universities. When I was in
Special Duties, I had the task of monitoring all federal government
projects and carrying out the evaluation of the same. I was building a
team in each zone to carry out monitoring with a central coordinating
unit to do the same in Abuja. While doing that, I was monitoring
projects and I was also insisting that the contractors who got
contracts running into billions should employ our graduates. In my
handing over notes to my successor, I urged him to continue in that
crusade. It would be senseless for us to bring foreigners for a job
Nigerians can do. I strongly believe I would do so in the FCT, to
employ more Nigerians and enforce all those contractors who got jobs
from the Federal Government to take them. Luckily there is an enabling
law that would assist us in achieving that. What has happened in the
past is that nobody had cared or bothers to enforce it.

Controversies in PDP ahead of 2011

The coast is clear for all parties
to put their houses in order ahead the 2011 election, so they are all
mapping out strategies to do that. What is of great importance to us is
that we must, irrespective of parties, try what we can to ensure that
we have a free and fair election in Nigeria. That is of paramount
importance to the president and we would drive it to its logical
conclusion irrespective of parties. If you want to know specifically
what my party is doing, we have a plan in place and we would unveil it
as time progresses. But, by and large, what is of greatest concern to
the president is that we should have a free and fair election, devoid
of violence. It is a collective effort and I buy into that.

Controversies about national honours list

All I want to say regarding
national honours is that there is no how you nominate people that there
would not be complaints. If the responsibility is given to you to
handle, some of us here would still complain. It is always like that,
but whatever happened in the last national honours, I want to
specifically say here that the name of the nominees had already been
compiled before I got to the ministry. It was meant to be released in
2009 when the late President took ill, so that ceremony could not hold.
The only part we played was just to pass it on, either to be combined
with the one of 2010. In fact, that was our position. But the president
decided to do it separately and I played no role as far as names were
concerned. I want to say that it is an inherited complaints or problem,
as far as the ministry is concerned. There is a board set up for
national honours. That board is comprised of notable citizens who are,
in their own right, men of honour. It is a standing board. They would
take application and inputs from all over the states and see whether
they are credible people. But you know, only God is the best judge.

His
action plan

Well, I am the Minister of State. I still have a Minister
there, so I would look at the Minister’s plan and see what I can infuse
into it, so that we would have good governance in FCT, and we would do
that by
showing good leadership ourselves. Any idea I have, I would always put
it before him for consideration because I believe that in a ship, there
would always be a Captain. I would not want to play the role of that
Captain because I’m not the Minister of FCT. That is the way I would
want to go along, so that we can closely work together without rancour.
I would rather behave like an Ekiti man who is decent and easy going
and, I’m sure with that, we would be able to do a lot.

Relationship
with Ekiti State government

Segun Oni and I are best of friends. I opted to serve in his
administration as the Chairman, Project Monitoring Committee. There are
many former governors who had passed through the state but I did not
opt to serve.
That I opted to serve him is because I believe it would help my state
and I am happy that Mr Oni saw it as such. When I left, we have always
been relating well. Anytime I am in the state, I make sure that I spend
some time with him. I will never have a quarrel with any political
leader in the state, no matter his party. I will always share
experience and give any advice that would make our state a better one.

Challenges of administering the FCT

I know that Nigerians would complain at different times. It is their
right to complain. My own land was taken by El Rufai. He said I did not
develop it. I wrote him a personal letter that the land was given to me
when I was in Bayelsa State as the military administrator and that I
did not have money to develop it. I told him he should not penalize me
because I did not build it. In fact I told him that if I had stolen
money in Bayelsa, I would probably have built many houses and that he
should leave that single land for me because I don’t have two. I said
if he found out that I had two, he could take the two but he should
leave that one for me. I don’t know if the letter got to him, but up
till last week the land is still there. The man whom they gave it to
could not build it. And now I’m in FCT! I was a military administrator.
I administered a state which had nothing. Bayelsa was worse than Ekiti
when I got there. The terrain was difficult and yet we built something.
We would do what is possible to make middle class and low-income
earners to own a home. That would be my personal focus and I would beg
the minister of FCT to see it in the same light.