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Petty crimes and corruption constitute
serious obstacles to conducting business in Nigeria, a study jointly
carried out by the European Union, United Nations Office on Drugs and
Crime and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and National
Bureau of Statistics, has shown.

About 50 percent of Nigerian businesses
were victims of crime in the last one year, while a third have to pay
bribes when coming in contact with the public sector, particularly the
Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and Nigeria Customs Service (NCS). The
report of the survey, ‘NBS/EFCC Business Crime and Corruption Surve,’
was presented in Abuja yesterday by the National Bureau of Statistics.
It was carried out in 2007 as part of the project “Support to EFCC and
the Nigerian Judiciary” funded by the European Union with 25 million
Euros.

Serious obstacles

“The survey reveals
that for more than 70% of Nigerian businesses, crime and corruption
constitute the most serious obstacles to conducting business in
Nigeria,” stated the report. “Indeed it turned out that on average more
than 50% of Nigerian businesses become victims of crime at least once a
year. At the same time more than a third of business seem to be forced
to pay bribes when coming into contact with the public sector. In
particular, police and customs appear to be affected.” According to a
statement by the EU in Nigeria yesterday in Abuja, the survey covered
over 2000 businesses across the country and sectors of the economy and
was aimed at gathering the perception and experiences of businesses
with regard to corruption and crime, as well as their opinion regarding
the efforts of the Nigerian government.

Ugo Sokari, public relations officer for the US, said that the
presentation of the report was attended by large group of stakeholders,
including representatives of anti-corruption agencies, public sector
institutions, academia, civil society as well as the private sector and
media. The participants discussed the findings of the survey and
reaffirmed the key importance of the data for the purpose of policy
development as well as benchmarking the performance of government
initiatives and institutions in the fight against crime and corruption.

The Debt Management Office (DMO) should
seek for potential sources of cheap funds for national economic growth
and development, Vice President Namadi Sambo has said.

Mr Samadi gave this charge yesterday
while chairing the meeting of the DMO supervisory board at the State
House, Abuja. “The need for potential sources of cheap funds, the
amounts available as well as the terms and conditions of such funds
which poses a challenge must be surmounted and a strategy evolved for
sourcing of funds for national growth and development,” he said,
charging the DMO to solicit the services of specialist consultants that
can assist them. The DMO is saddled with the responsibility of devising
ways of reducing Nigeria’s debt burden, exploring options of sourcing
cheaper long term capital and encouraging inflow of additional
resources. The meeting of the board also discussed a wide range of
issues ranging from staff promotion, FGN bonds for Nigerians in
Diaspora, to debt data re-structuring for states. On the issue of the
promotion of staff, the meeting advised that it should wait until the
full appraisal of staff exercise currently ongoing is completed in the
organization.

Meeting Nigerians abroad

The DMO, at a forum
organized in London earlier in the week, presented FGN bonds to
Nigerians in the United Kingdom with the aim of broadening the investor
base for the bond market. Such interaction with Nigerian professionals,
who participated at the forum, afforded the organisation the
opportunity of meeting with registered Primary Dealer Market Makers
(PDMMs). The DMO says it also intends to organize similar fora in other
countries with high concentration of Nigerians. It also said the
ongoing Debt Data Reconstruction exercise in the 36 states of the
federation is targeted at equipping the officers of the agency to
acquire sufficient skills to correctly collate and validate Domestic
Debt Data and Information from Ministries Departments and Agencies.

The Domestic Debt Data Reconstruction exercise has been carried out
in six states of the federation: Ekiti, Kaduna, Niger, Imo, Oyo and
Osun. Attendance at the meeting included the finance minister, Segun
Aganga; director-general of DMO, Abraham Nwankwo; solicitor-general,
Federal Ministry of Justice, Abdullahi Ahmed Yola; accountant-general
of the Federation, Ibrahim Dankwambo; director-general, CBN, Suleiman
Bardu; and director, DMO, A. M. Mohammed.

Clearing and
forwarding agents at the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO)
premises on Thursday, criticised the Federal Airports Authority of
Nigeria (FAAN) for not being able to provide a cargo village for
employees.

Explaining that
they remit all necessary charges to the authority as at when due, the
clearing agents argued that the airports authority has failed to uphold
its part by making available enabling environment for efficient
delivery of cargo business activities at the Murtala Mohammed
International airport (MMIA), Lagos.

“In a year, we
generate well over N600 million for FAAN and this we endeavoured to
remit promptly, yet FAAN has failed to give us a cargo village or space
for full cargo operations,” said Ambrose Eke, public relations officer
for the Association of Nigerian Customs Licensed Agents (ANCLA) during
a one-day symposium at MMIA with the theme: ‘Promoting a safe and
secure air cargo business in Nigeria.’

Mr. Eke disclosed
that the absence of an approved and constructed cargo shed for workers
at the aviation handling company premises is the sole reason why
workers roam about the vicinity, as they try to find a convenient place
to carry out their business.

The freight
forwarders’ spokesperson maintained that most of the persons seen at
the airport cargo handling section are not miscreants, stressing that
the airports authority is to blame, rather than referring to the
workers as “jobless touts.” “What people see as touts are not all
touts. They don’t have a place to stay, so when the rain falls and
there is sunshine they move around in search of a place to do business
without losing their clients,” he said.

Airports users and
passengers on various occasions have complained of the increasing
number of touts at airports in the country, especially at the Murtala
Mohammed Airport, Lagos. The development has led to series of arrests
by the airport police, as employees at the airport without valid
identification are occasionally apprehended, detained, and arraigned.

Arguing that cargo
sheds are meant to be at airports across the country, Mr. Eke disclosed
that most airports in the world today have cargo villages but there is
none in Nigeria. However, he assured that the association has ensured
that unregistered employees are jettisoned from the airports.

FAAN promises

Assuring the
clearing agents that the authority will look into the matter, Temitope
Tobi, director of operations, FAAN, who represented the managing
director of the authority, Richard Aiseubeogun, said the authority has
taken into cognizance the complain.

“We are being faced with a lot of challenges at FAAN, but I can
assure you that we are going to look into the matter with utmost
concern,” he said.

Media organisations
in Nigeria are corrupt and do not report events if they are not bribed
to do so, Rotimi Akeredolu, the President of the Nigerian Bar
Association, said in Lagos on Thursday.

Mr. Akeredolu, who
was guest speaker at the distinguished Management Lecture organised by
the Nigeria Institute of Management, said, “Our journalists must strife
to strike the realistic balance between the demands of their profession
and the parochial interests of money bags.

“I know a number of
them are here. If you don’t give them money, this thing would not be
published. You can say I said so. Quote me in the paper. ”

During the lecture,
titled ‘Management of the Electoral Process: An imperative for
government of the Nigerian state,’ Mr. Akeredolu called for a reform of
the electoral process in a way that election tribunals would conclude
all cases before victorious candidates are sworn into office.

“No candidate must be allowed to deploy the resource of the state to fight opponents,” he said.

New electoral process

Another lecturer at
the event, Jonah Elaigwu, a professor of political science at the
University of Jos and President of the Institute of Governance and
Social Research, condemned the number of political parties in Nigeria.

“We must
re-register political parties. Any party that does not win 10% in any
election at the three levels of government put together should be
de-registered immediately,” he said.

Mr. Elaigwu advised President Goodluck Jonathan not to contest in next year’s presidential election.

“President Jonathan
has a right to contest like any Nigeria, but let me advise him. In
spite of people pushing him to run, I would suggest that President
Jonathan should not… let him give us regular electricity; he would
have written his name in gold. Secondly, President Jonathan should not
contest, not because of zoning; but as an umpire who is not a
participant.”

Speaking, the
United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Robin Sanders, said the US is
looking towards the achievement of free and fair elections in Nigeria
in 2011 and would be partnering the country to achieve the objective.

She, however, said that despite the appropriation fund allocated to
the commission in 2010, “what we are hearing is that the money has not
been released into the election account.”

The crisis rocking
the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Edo State chapter, reared its ugly
head again yesterday, as Ehigie Uzamere (senator, Edo South) hit back
at Owere-Dickson Imasogie, the Edo South PDP leader (Tony Anenih’s
faction), who had earlier berated Mr Uzamere for his role in the
clearance of the Edo State representative on the Niger Delta
Development Commission (NDDC) board.

Mr Uzamere had
aided the hitch-free clearance at the Senate, of Don Omorodion, an
Action Congress candidate, for the NDDC job. This, however, did not go
down well with Mr Imasogie who, in an interview granted to a
Benin-based weekly magazine, said, “Uzamere must explain” his apparent
romance with an opposition party’s candidate.

But Osaretin
Enogieru, an aide of the senator, said in a press statement issued
yesterday that it is curious that Mr Imasogie did not complain when Mr
Anenih nominated three commissioners into Adams Oshiomhole’s cabinet.

The statement also
made reference to Mr Anenih’s call to the other two senators from Edo
State to support the nomination of Jude Ise Idehen, also of the Action
Congress, by the presidency for the NDDC job, which Mr Imasogie never
complained about.

“If you castigate
the senator for clearing Mr Omorodion, an AC candidate, what will you
do to Mr President who is the party’s number one leader?” Mr Enogieru
said.

He further stated
that Mr Omorodion, who was nominated by Goodluck Jonathan, has no
established or proven legal or constitutional impediment to warrant his
rejection, as was the case with the first nominee (Jude Ise Idehen).

Diabolical wickedness

“It would have
amounted to diabolical wickedness on the part of the senator to lobby
for Omorodion’s reject without a good cause,” Mr Enogieru said.
“Senator Uzamere had a duty to honour and respect the wishes of senior
citizens of Edo South who symbolize the sociopolitical and cultural
conscience of Benin Kingdom and who wanted Omorodion cleared, and to
Edo State which was losing out in the affairs of the NDDC during the
period because the state had no representative on the board and a Delta
State representative was overseeing Edo.

“The electorate and the people of Edo South remain the centrepiece
of Senator Ehigie Uzamere’s sociopolitical policy, as his mandate is a
cross-partisan mandate freely given by indigenes and residents of Edo
South, irrespective political bias, religious affiliation and sex. His
responsibility, therefore, is to all without let or hindrance.”

The Federal
University of Technology Akure (FUTA) Alumni Association has donated a
set of laboratory equipment worth N10 million to the institution, to
aid teaching, learning and research.

The research
equipment, a total of 47, included: cooled incubator, RMS Lauda, Vacuum
Drying Oven, Dehumidifier and over head projector that were acquired
free of charge from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture
(IITA) Ibadan, where there are some old students of the institution.

While presenting
the equipment to the school, the National President of the Association,
Gbenga Gbarada, said the association was geared up to give back to the
institution that had trained them to reach limelight.

“It all started in
Lagos when we came together and asked ourselves what should we do for
our school, FUTA–because we believed we must assist the institution
that made us what we are today–that we came about the idea of these
equipment,” he said.

Mr Gbarada, who
commended the management of the institution for being endowed with good
human resources, said “We have absolute confidence in the leadership of
FUTA to use the equipment to bring up more intellectuals.” He assured
that the association would not stop assisting the university, recalling
that last year it organised a N4.5 billion capital launch for the
school and also organised a seminar for the final year students.

Grateful school

“Last year, the
association organised a N4.5 billion capital launch for the school and
this is one of the follow ups. We are still looking for other ways we
can assist the school,” he said. “It may be in agriculture because this
is a university where agriculture is fully on ground; we are trying to
get companies that can give us tractors and farm implement for the use
of the school.

“Also, last year,
we organised an empowerment summit for the final year students of this
school to enable them stand on their own after graduation so that they
will be employers of labour and not employees of labour. These are some
of the ways by which the association is helping the university.

The Vice Chancellor
of the institution, Bisi Balogun, said the association has done
wonderfully well. He said the gesture was beneficial, especially when
the university system had declined owing to under-funding.

“What we have here will go a long way in enhancing the research
capacity of the lecturers, research capacity of our doctorate students,
research capacity of our undergraduate students. We are grateful about
this,” he said

No fewer than 150
workers of Skyways Aviation Handling Company (SAHCOL), Lagos, were on
Thursday sacked, Isaac Orolugbagbe, the managing director, announced.

This is coming
after the recent sack of the company’s immediate past managing
director, Chike Ogeah, and some workers after the new owners, Sifax
Group, took over.

The Bureau of
Public Enterprises (BPE) had in 2009 sold SAHCOL, the only subsidiary
of the defunct national carrier, Nigeria Airways, to Skyways, with a
six-month ultimatum to settle labour-related issues.

Speaking with
journalists at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Mr.
Orolugbagbe said the sack was part of the ongoing restructuring of the
company, noting that those sacked were workers who had “bad records”
and who had served for over 25 years.

“The new management
inherited an over-bloated staff after acquiring SAHCOL, and it is not
possible for us to continue with the large number,” he said.

All former military
heads of state and their deputies since independence in 1960 are to
enjoy monthly salaries and allowances, like their elected counterparts.

This was agreed by
members of the House of Representatives, who passed into law a bill
amending an Act on the remunerations of the former Presidents and heads
of state.

The bill is titled,
“A Bill for an Act to Provide Remuneration of former Presidents, Heads
of Federal Legislative Houses and Chief Justices of the Federation and
other Ancillary Matters, 2010.” It was recommitted to the Committee of
the Whole in order to enable the House debate the constitutional and
incidental matters pertaining to the bill.

The former military
leaders are Yakubu Gowon, Muhammadu Buhari, Ibrahim Babangida,
Abdulsalami Abubakar, all of who are still alive. Those dead are
Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, Murtala Muhammed and Sani Abacha.

Others who are to
benefit from the salaries and allowances are former vice presidents;
former Senate Presidents and their deputies; former Speakers and their
deputies; and former Chief Justices of the Federation.

The allowances are
to be worked out by the Revenue Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal
Commission (RMAFC). The position of the representatives is, however,
opposed to that of the senators, who last March, while passing the
bill, excluded former heads of state who seized power through coups,
from enjoying the remunerations.

Senate says no

By this development, the two chambers will now set up a conference committee to harmonise their positions.

During the debate
on the executive bill, the chairman of the Committee on Rules and
Business, Ita Enang, argued that the constitution has already given the
former military leaders a role by making them members of the Council of
State. He said there was nothing wrong with allowing them the salaries
and allowances paid to the former leaders of executive, legislative and
judicial arms of government.

Also contributing,
Cyril Madubum (PDP, Anambra) supported the argument, saying Section 316
(2) of the constitution has, by implication, recognized the former
military rulers as once occupying the office of the head of state.

“Any person who
immediately before the date when this section comes into force holds
office by virtue of any other constitution or law in force, immediately
before the date when this section comes into force, shall be deemed to
be duly appointed to that office by virtue of this constitution or by
any authority by whom appointments to that office fall to be made in
pursuance of this constitution.”

In justifying the
removal of the former military leaders from the list of beneficiaries
last March, the senators had argued that including them would amount to
encouraging future coups.

The Senate
President, David Mark, a retired Brigadier General and governor under
the military regime of Ibrahim Babangida, had said during the debate
that it would discourage people from coming to power unconstitutionally.

“This is to
discourage other ways of getting into power through unconstitutional
means; the only way recognised by the constitution is through the
ballot box and not through the barrel of the gun,” he said.

Some army personnel
can now work in a more conducive environment, following the
construction and rehabilitation of office facilities at the MHYOUNG
Barracks at Yaba, Lagos, on Thursday.

The Chief of Army
Staff, Abdurrahman Dambazzau, the Minister for State for Defence,
Murtala Shehu Yar’Adua, the Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu, and other
senior government officers were present at the commissioning of nine
structures which include: administrative blocks, three warehouses, a
general store, a dental lab store, canteen, RSM office, guard house and
stores offices, as part of the flag-off of the 2010 Army Day
celebration.

In his welcome
address, U.S. Essien, a major general, said the construction and
rehabilitation of the facilities was carried out by direct labour,
involving the Nigerian Army engineer corps.

“About six months
ago, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. A.B. Dambazzau, tasked the
Nigerian army engineers to demolish the dilapidated temporary
structures that serve as the central medical stores and reconstruct new
ones by direct labour.

“The new facility
is what we are commissioning today,” he said, adding, “Work for the
project was scheduled to last for 18 weeks but after the 15th week, we
had completed the construction, in spite of the adverse conditions.”

More projects

Lt General Dambazzau said the army will be positioned to carry more direct labour initiative in the country.

“The resources are
very limited and this is why we engaged in the direct labour project,
first to save cost, and to maximise the little resources we have. To
save time and more especially to develop human capacity, there is need
to develop our personnel, to engage them in national development not
only for the army but for the nation as a whole.

“We all know that
the importance of appropriate storage facilities for drugs and other
medical equipment until they get to the end-users cannot be
overemphasised. I am glad that this facility has met the standard of
the UN level 2 stores.”

The guest of honour
at the event, the Minister of Defence, Adetokunbo Kayode, who was
represented by Murtala Shehu Yar’Adua, the Minister of State for
Defence, said the ministry will continue to support the army and other
defence parastatals to carry out their duties effectively.

Also, Mr Yar’Adua
said the Ministry of Defence will soon meet with the federal government
to discuss the issue of the retirement of senior army officers, an
issue which has caused a rumble in the military.

“The Ministry of
Defence will continue to support government agencies both morally and
financially to carry out their functions. In regards to the retirement
of some army officers, we will have a meeting with the federal
government very soon and the issue will be addressed. Salary increment
is another issue, but we have limited funds; but the government is
looking into it,” said Mr Yar’Adua.

An army of thugs,
suspected to be members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers
(NURTW) in Oyo State, attacked some members of the Action Congress (AC)
in Ibadan, the state capital, Wednesday evening.

The victims, who
reportedly sustained serious injuries, were coming from an enlarged
rally of their party held at Idi-Arere area of the town, on the day of
the incident.

Apparently to
forestall possible breakdown of law and order, the state police command
had stationed a truckload of police personnel at the rally area, which
is just a walking distance to Beere, the most dreaded trouble spot of
the town.

However, the
attackers hung around waiting for the AC members, and intercepted them
on their way home. Four people were reportedly injured in the process.

The party faithful
at the rally freely barraged Adebayo Alao-Akala, whose government, they
said, have failed to impact positively on the state and its people.
Though NEXT could not readily establish whether the attackers are
members of the opposition party, Olubodun Rasaq, personal Assistant to
Abiola Ajimobi, an AC governorship candidate, said the hoodlums were
known members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He explained that
they had the information on the impending attack beforehand, saying
that was why they requested for police protection at the rally.

But, perhaps, the
thugs, realising that an attack in the heavy presence of officers of
the Nigeria Police, State Security Services (SSS) and the Civil Defence
Corps could be suicidal, deferred it till the end of the rally and a
distance away from the rally area.

The police authorities, have, however, dismissed the alleged attack, describing it as political.

Police denial

Olabisi Okuwobi,
Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Oyo State command, said the
rally was peaceful, adding that no attack occurred before, during and
after the rally.

She advised
politicians to always be truthful and be weary of sending wrong signals
to the world about the situation in the state, in order not to scare
way would-be investors.

Former governor of
the state, Lam Adesina, in his own speech, condemned Governor
Alao-Akala for allowing the issue of new Teachers Salary Structure
(TSS) to degenerate to the level of the teachers calling for an
indefinite strike.

“Teacher-government
face-off is getting worse because this government does not recognize
teachers; it does not take care of them. Let me warn Governor Akala not
to try sacking any teacher. If he does, God will sack him. AC
government will restore free education and free health at all levels in
Oyo State as from next year.

“In my four-year tenure, we received N48 billion but Governor Akala
has received N250 billion so far. Let him account for what he has done
with the money,” he said.