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Testing the
intelligent quotient of aspirants on the platform of the PDP in Cross
River State is now a precondition to receiving the party’s nomination
form, the party’s leadership has said.

Those who fail the
aptitude test are barred from even picking nomination forms, following
the resolve not to give power to those that are barely lettered. The
test, which includes both written and oral, is administered by the
caucus members for each of the 18 local government chapters.

This exercise, it
was understood, is also to screen out those who are members of the
numerous cult groups bestriding the political landscape of the state.
This is in line with state governor, Liyel Imoke’s resolve to bar
cultists from holding political office in the state.

“Most of the
politicians in the state know those who are cult members,” said a
member of the party leadership who asked to remain anonymous. “Those in
the know have been feeding the state government and security agencies
with information on such members with a view to disqualifying them and
thus save the state from further embarrassment of violent cult clashes
during and after elections.”

Calabar South
chapter of the PDP took the lead in administering aptitude tests on
aspirants into the council’s political offices. The test was meant to
assess the mental capability of the aspirants in view of the fact that
most outgoing councillors in the area are school dropouts. Party
leaders say poorly educated persons in political positions in the state
have proved to be pawns in the hands of the educated ones.

In 2007, during an
informal screening by the party of those seeking office of councillor,
two aspirants did not know what the three arms of government meant. The
two told the panel that the three arms of government were Mark Four, AK
47 and Pump Action, all referring to the guns that they were familiar
with in fighting rivals.

This stunned the
panel, yet the duo still made it into the council because they had
godfathers to see them through. It is these so-called godfathers that
sponsor street urchins-turned-cultists to fight their enemies on their
behalf during electioneering campaigns.

Prominent PDP
chieftains in Calabar South who conducted the aptitude test include
MGershom Bassey and two members of the state House of Assembly, Orok
Otu Duke and Maurice Orok Edem. The test, which commenced in the
afternoon of last Saturday, ended in the early hours of the following
day.

Local government
chairman aspirants who participated in the test include: the incumbent
council chairman, Andem Ekpo Bassey; his deputy, Majorie Eyo Asuquo;
Charles Effanga; Edem Bassey; Ewa Henshaw and two others. All the over
50 aspirants for councillors also took part.

Not a witch-hunt

The result was
announced on the floor after the tests had been marked by the panel of
examiners, which included a few academics. Mrs Asuquo came first,
followed by Messrs Henshaw and Effanga. The incumbent chairman came a
distant fifth position. Those outside the first three positions stand
disqualified.

Mr Duke said the
result of the first three persons has been forwarded to the state
secretariat of the PDP, as aspirants qualified to contest the primary
for the party’s ticket for the August 28 local government elections in
the state.

The same situation
applied to councillor aspirants. The test, he said, showed that most of
the aspirants do not know simple current affairs or what the offices
they are seeking entail.

“This exercise,” he
said, “is not meant to witch hunt anybody, but to the test the IQ of
those aspiring to lead. We can no more allow illiterates to lead us. We
want to bring sanity to bear in public office. We want leaders that
know their onions and councillors who can make robust legislation, to
stand for elections.”

He said the
aptitude test proved that the standard of education in Nigeria has
truly fallen, as most of the candidates showed that they cannot spell
simple words, yet they parade good grade certificates.

Other Local Government Areas across the state will also conduct
aptitude tests for those aspiring on the platform of the PDP.
Councillors in Cross River State, on assumption of office, are given a
brand new car, receive a furniture allowance running into millions of
naira, are supposed to quarterly organise constituency meetings and
deliver lectures, among other things “All this,” Mr Duke says, “demands
that councillors and council heads should be up and doing academically
so that they don’t embarrass their people when they meet their
counterparts from other parts of the country.”

Ogun State Government yesterday appealed to the
federal government to revive the Oyan Dam which has a Hydro Power
station that could generate about nine Megawatts of electricity to the
national grid.

The state’s commissioner for water resources and
rural development, Kola Onadipe, made the call after energizing the
dedicated line for the Arakanga Water Works at the Power Holding
Company of Nigeria station, Ojere, Abeokuta. He reiterated the state
government’s efforts at improving power supply, noting that necessary
measures had been taken to resuscitate dedicated lines which were
abandoned over 30 years ago when the water plant was commissioned. Mr
Onadipe said the authorities have been working round the clock to
ensure adequate supply of potable water to the residents, a development
which remain a herculean task for the management.

The state government also promised to further
develop its tourism and hospitality industry, saying it has identified
this as capable of generating revenue. Commissioner for commerce and
industries, Gbenga Osinowo, said in Abeokuta that tourism was connected
with providing accommodation and entertainment as well as making people
comfortable to create a memorable experience at all times.

Fighting poverty

Director-General of the National Institute for
Hospitality and Tourism, Munzali Dantata, said the training programme
for tourism operators, with the theme “Adopting International Best
Practices,” was organized to train middle level personnel in the
Southwest as manpower development was a vital ingredient to qualitative
tourism development.

Managing Director of Gateway Tourism Development Corporation,
Bimbola Alagbe, said the tourism industry was capable of creating
employment opportunities for the skilled and unskilled workers and as a
mechanism for protecting natural environment. Mr Alagbe said as a
sector that could fight against poverty, many governments had placed
tourism on their development schemes, reaping bountifully through
financial returns from tax on tourists and products.

The Ekiti state governor, Segun Oni, has suspended
the chairman of Emure Local Government Area, Sesan Aruwaji, over
alleged financial impropriety.

A statement by the secretary to the state
government, Dare Bejide, on Thursday said the suspension was to pave
way for a thorough investigation into the allegations levelled against
Mr Aruwaji. The statement also says that the vice-chairman has been
directed to take over the administration of the local government.

Mr. Aruwaji was elected chairman in December 2008 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party.

The state’s House of Assembly had, two weeks ago
in a resolution, advised the governor to suspend Mr. Aruwaji for three
months because of its ongoing investigation into the alleged financial
impropriety. The House constituted a committee in May, headed by Deputy
Speaker Saliu Adeoti, to investigate the financial allegations brought
against Mr. Aruwaji in a petition filed by some councillors.

While, submitting its interim report to the
Assembly two days ago, the committee accused Mr. Aruwaji of wrong doing
and recommended his suspension. It also recommended that some principal
administrative officers in the council be transferred to the local
government service commission office in Ado-Ekiti.

Public support

Meanwhile on May 20, a traditional ruler, the
Elemure of Emure-Ekiti, Oba Emmanuel Adebayo, also accused Mr. Aruaji,
of being the brain behind a series of violent attacks in the community.
The chief, who spoke at a press conference addressed by the
Emure-in-Council, said that the council boss was behind the crises in
the town. Some of the indigenes of the town however described Mr.
Aruwaji’s suspension as a feat that is long overdue. According to them,
he has been running the affairs of the local government like a personal
business, which he never thought could be checked by anybody.

Toyin Adefemi, a PDP member who said he was abandoned after he had
worked for the chairman to ensure his victory at the poll, said: “the
vice-chairman should also be warned now that he is in charge. The fact
that Aruwaji is no more there does not mean he cannot still misbehave,
but they should just tell us what exactly he has done and if he stole
any money and needs to refund, let him do so.”

Anti-narcotics
operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on
Thursday disclosed the discovery of 1kg cocaine hidden in sandals by a
Nigerian based in Spain.

According to the
agency, the suspect, Ezeugha Sunny, was detected on an Iberia flight at
the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos on Wednesday
attempting to smuggle the drugs to Europe.

“The cocaine was
carefully packed in two 500g parcels and neatly hidden in a pair of
sandals he was putting on at the time of screening,” said Mitchell
Ofoyeju, spokesperson for the agency.

Mr Ofoyeju
disclosed that three other suspects also tested positive to drug
ingestion, adding that two of them, Abuku Kennedy, 26, and Oparaji
Anthony, 40, live in Spain, while Tochukwu Okeke, 35, lives in
Monrovia, Liberia.

Ahmadu Giade,
chief executive of the agency said that drug barons have nowhere to
hide the illegal substance, stressing that the agency is determined to
deal with the peddlers.

“The seizure is
unique and the dedication of the officers must be commended. Drug
barons will have their drug concealment methods discovered because we
are prepared and committed to our duty of drug control,” he said.
“Regular training in both interdiction techniques and passenger
profiling is also our strength.” The suspect, who claimed to have got
the sandals from a resident in Lagos, said that after losing his job in
Europe, things became tough and he had no choice but to delve into
crime.

“I work in Spain
but I lost my job some months ago. Though I am single, it is difficult
to cope in Europe without a job. It is joblessness that led me into
drug trafficking. I needed money for my upkeep and when they told me
that the drug will be inside my sandals, I felt it was a good plan to
escape arrest but my desire did no work out,” he said.

Umar Hamza,
airport commander for the agency, said that Tochukwu Okeke, one of the
other arrested suspects, swallowed 45 pieces of narcotic substances on
his way to Liberia.

According to him, the suspect was to board an Arik flight when he tested positive to drug ingestion.

“Oparaji Anthony ingested 71 wraps while Abuku Kennedy swallowed 45 wraps,” he said.

Mr Hamza added that the suspects are still on observation to expel the drugs in their stomachs.

“The suspects will be charged to court as soon as investigation is completed,” he said.

The former governor
of Plateau State, Joshua Dariye, yesterday, failed to get the Court of
Appeal to transfer the case against him by the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission (EFCC) from the Federal High Court, Abuja to Jos,
Plateau State.

Mr. Dariye had
approached the court seeking the transfer of his trial on the grounds
the Abuja High Court has no jurisdiction to hear the matter since the
charge against him claims the money laundering offence was committed in
Plateau State. He was appealing the ruling of an Abuja High Court
judge, Abimbola Banjoko, that the court has jurisdiction to hear the
case because some elements of the alleged offence in the proof of
evidence were committed within the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

Delivering judgment
in the matter, the Court of Appeal unanimously dismissed the appeal as
lacking in merit, stressing that the arguments canvassed by Mr.
Dariye’s counsel, Emanuel Toro, in support of the appeal were
misconceived.

The presiding
judge, Uwani Musa Ab-aji, directed that Mr. Dariye should go back to
the lower court and answer his case, adding that elements of the
alleged crime were committed in the FCT within the jurisdiction of the
court.

Specifically, the
appeal court held that the EFCC, which was established by an Act of the
National Assembly, has adequate locus standi to charge Mr. Dariye to
court and that it has established a prima facie case against the
appellant in the proof of evidence and the proper place to try Mr.
Dariye is the Abuja High Court.

“The applicant has a case to answer before this court because a prima-facie case has been established against him,” she said.

“The federal
government or any of his agencies can initiate criminal charges against
anybody once a prima-facie case has been established.

“The 23 count
charge against the applicant is in order because due process was
followed. Some of the offences were committed in Abuja. The applicant’s
claim the federal government is not the owner of the money and that
they cannot complain is strange and has no basis in law. The
applicant’s application has no merit as it fails and it’s hereby
dismissed.”

The initial case

Mr. Dariye was
arraigned before the FCT High court by the EFCC on a 23-count charge of
stealing money belonging to Plateau State during his tenure as governor.

Mid way into the
trial, Mr Dariye, who is currently on bail, challenged the jurisdiction
of the high court to adjudicate over the matter on the grounds and
prayed the court to quash the charges against him as there is no prima
facie case established by the EFCC against him.

He also said the
Federal government was not the owner of the money allegedly stolen by
him and could not therefore have a locus to institute the case against
him.

Nwodo promises

Mr Nwodo said that
the process of choosing candidates for the 2011 election would be
subjected to internal democracy and that his leadership would ensure
that the scope of delegates to party primaries is reviewed in order to
have more elected delegates than statutory ones. The reform wing of the
party has been campaigning for exactly this, as they blamed the grip
which elected officials have on the party on their power to nominate
delegates.

“We must return the
choice of our candidate to the people and not to individual godfathers
and godmothers,” Mr Nwodo said. “The party shall, in the selection of
candidates for public office, and in appealing to the public, emphasize
ability, commitment to the common man’s welfare, and accountability in
the conduct of our politics. A new type of leadership must develop; it
must be forward looking and it must be inspiring and possessing a sense
of mission.

“In essence, the
country must learn once more to choose the honest and not the selfish.
We are committed to fight, by all means necessary, the twin evils of
mismanagement and corruption in our national life to restore public
morality.” The new party leader said the PDP has not kept its covenant
with the Nigerian people and its structure had been handed over to
godfathers at different levels with reckless abandon.

He listed the ills
afflicting the party to include imposition of candidates with
questionable characters and clearing the way for them to run for
elections.

“Such people
elected under our party banner have consistently brought public odium
on our great party, to the chagrin of our party members and the nation
at large,” he said. Our members aspiring to carry our banner in future
elections must start now to market themselves and canvass their
programmes aggressively to our party members and the Nigerian
electorate.”

Mr Nwodo also promised to update the party’s manifesto, which he said will be the new face of the PDP.

The World Bank has provided Nigeria with the sum of
$46 million for the upgrading of airport facilities across the country,
the bank’s team leader, Noro Rabefanirana, said yesterday in Abuja.

The official, who was accompanied by the bank’s
country director, Owlo Ruhl, said the money was to bring the airports
up to international standards where passengers can board planes without
any fear of technical deficiencies.

Ms Rabefanirana expressed happiness that, within a
short while, the federal government has moved the functionality of the
airports from 11 per cent to 36 per cent and stated that Nigeria will
move higher very soon. She said airports are critical to the economy of
any nation, and any country that plays with her aviation industry is
doing that at her own peril.

The Minister of Aviation, Fidelia Njeze, expressed
appreciation for the assistance of the World bank. She said this was
the sixth in the series of the bank’s mission to Nigeria to supervise
our aviation component of West and Central African Transport Safety and
Security, since inception in 2007.

Intervention measures

She disclosed that in order to avoid unforeseen
circumstances such as air mishaps in future, the federal government has
put in place some intervention measures to enhance the facilities and
services at the airports, with a view to meeting the challenges of the
21st century and building a truly modern Nigeria aviation sector in
compliance with international standards.

“The federal government decided to join the West and
Central Africa Air Transport Safety and Safety Project (WCAATSSP) after
due consideration of activities of the World Bank in providing
financial assistance to execute projects that will have positive direct
bearing on the people, spread over 23 nations in the West and Central
Africa countries,” she said.

Ms Njeze said having met eligibility criteria for
lending, a total of $46.65 million credit facility was granted by the
bank to Nigeria for the implementation of aviation safety and security
projects in the four major international airports and at the College of
Aviation Technology, Zaria.

Under the Government Economic Reform Agenda, the minister disclosed
that the bank also granted the sum of $15 million to the aviation
ministry to fill infrastructural gaps that exist in the sector,
including the provision of operational fencing projects for Abuja and
Port Harcourt international airports.

Ahead of Saturday’s
visit by Jonathan Goodluck to Oghara, the hometown of James Ibori,
embattled former governor of Delta State, the Urhobo ethnic group wing
of the Delta Elders and Stakeholders Forum has described as hypocrisy
the planned commissioning of the Nigeria Navy logistic base and the
Delta State teaching hospital by the president.

The elders said
most of the projects are not priority projects, as they are not
necessarily essential to the people of the state, and that the state
government squandered tax-payers money on the projects.

Addressing a press
conference in Warri, Delta State, yesterday, the elders, led by their
Chairman, Patrick Ideh; Deputy Chairman, Godwin Ogbetuo; and Sam Kowho,
said it amounted to great hypocrisy for a state government to build a
logistics command for a federal government parastatal when the people
are dying of hunger.

“The federal
government is richer and stronger to bear the weight of expenses than
Delta State,” they said. “Yet, at the expense of Delta State which is
lacking in almost everything, the administration undertakes the
exercise of investing on the Nigeria navy logistic command which is
being handed over to the richer federal government.” The elders also
expressed displeasure aboutthe siting of the teaching hospital in
Oghara, despite the expert advice from the Nigeria Medical Association
(NMA) which warned of the long distance students have to travel between
the university campus in Abraka to Oghara.

No meaningful project

“Since the
beginning of this administration, no meaningful project has been
undertaken in the state. The projects being commissioned by the
president are old projects executed by earlier administrations,” they
said.

The elders also
cited the case of the commissioning of the Olomu and Okpare bridge,
which attracted hostile reactions from the people when the governor and
his deputy were chased away by youth in Out-Jeremi, as one example of a
meaningless exercise.

While pledging to support Mr Jonathan’s reform agenda, the group
called on the president to overhaul the current electoral system in
order to forestall electoral fraud and guarantee free and fair
elections; with one man, one vote.

Nigeria’s flag carrier, Air Nigeria, on Wednesday in Lagos formally made public its first re-branded aircraft.

Unveiling the
airplane on the tarmac of the new domestic terminal, Murtala Mohammed
International 2 (MMA2), the management of the carrier told aviation
correspondents that the new name will be on all its fleet in due course.

“We told you a week
ago that the aircraft will arrive and to the glory of God, we have it
here, this is the first aircraft that will be named Air Nigeria and
this is to demonstrate how far we are progressing in the turn-around,”
said Jimoh Ibrahim, group managing director for the airline.

Congratulating
Nigerians on the feat, Mr. Ibrahim promised that the rebranded Nigerian
Eagle Airline, formerly known as Virgin Nigeria, that is now Air
Nigeria has come to stay, adding that more aeroplanes are going to be
added to the airline’s fleet.

“I can assure that
on this project, I am committed and I want to congratulate Nigerians
for having an airline of their own that they can be proud of. Whether
you like it or not, it has come to stay, I have no apology for anyone
that doesn’t like it,” he said.

“More aircraft will
start coming in from now, we expect the arrival of two aircraft in the
livery of Air Nigeria in the next 15 days, thereafter another four will
arrive and then we will have a dozen aircraft by the 1st of October;
and by then we would have finished with the first phase of the
turnaround, we will then move to Human resources.”

Early this month,
Air Nigeria at a briefing held at its headquarters in Lagos, disclosed
that the new name of its carrier became necessary in order to make the
airline fully indigenous, adding that the change was effected sequel to
the resolution of the board on May 14, and that the name has been
approved by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and has been
registered with a certificate number RC501975.

Indebtedness to banks

On the airline’s
debt with Guarantee Trust Bank, the NICON group boss disclosed that Air
Nigeria has cleared all that it owed the financial institution, and
that the case in court has been closed.

“On GTB, I am sure
that you know that the issue has been rested, but don’t ask how it was
rested, that is the job of the turnaround. That has come to an end, all
those unwanted criticism that GTB is a problem will not happen.

“The GTB case is
dead and it has been discontinued, for what we did was to pay after
having a meeting; we did not restructure the debt, we fully discharged
the debt and we are not indebted to Guarantee Trust to one Kobo again,”
said Mr. Ibrahim.

The airline’s boss
promised that its indebtedness to another bank in the country will be
cleared shortly, adding that loans are necessary for a company’s
survival.

“We are dealing with two banks, we’ve paid one, the other one will
get its pay in the next two weeks, for we are to pay them hundred per
cent and they will give us a letter of non-indebtedness and their debt
will become zero,” he said “It is not as if you should not take loans,
you can take it and then pay back, we will still take more loans but we
want to know the capacity of paying back what we have taken.”

Should the
political class not clean up its acts during the upcoming elections,
Nigerians should opt for open protest rather than wait for judicial
decisions which might waste time and not ensure justice, President of
the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, has said.

Mr. Akeredolu, who
said he was expressing his personal opinion and not that of the bar,
was the guest lecturer at a lecture series organized by the League of
Veteran Journalists, Oyo State, in Ibadan, on Wednesday.

In a lecture
titled “Leadership As Albatross: The Nigerian Experience”, the guest
lecturer explored the history of Nigeria from the time of amalgamation
to explain the country’s many problems as well as proffer solutions.

While emphasizing
the need to reform the electoral process for the next elections, he
explained that if the country could institute a mechanism that would
ensure credible elections, there would be no need for election
tribunals.

According to him,
politicians take Nigerians for granted by rigging elections and
manipulating election tribunals since the people have not been taking
serious actions against them.

“No amount of
tribunal can challenge election riggers. People should go to the street
and fight their cause, otherwise, the mess will continue. If elections
are rigged in 2011, people should go to the street to protest. There is
no other due process than that”, he said.

“Our recent
experience clearly shows that we are still far from achieving
greatness. What is of utmost importance and urgency now is the process
which will throw up the desired representatives of the people. Unless
the much anticipated electoral reforms become reality, we continue to
grope in the dark,” he said.

Support Jega’s appointment

The NBA boss
absolved President Goodluck Jonathan of any wrong doing in his manner
of appointing the new Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)
chairman, Attahiru Jega, saying the appointment is in line with the
existing law.

Against the
argument from some quarters that the recommendation on the appointment
of INEC chairman in the Justice Mohammed Uwais-led Electoral Reform was
breached, Mr. Akeredolu said the recommendation was yet to be ratified,
adding that the president made the appointment in consonance with the
law of the land.

Despite the much
celebrated pedigree of the new INEC boss, Mr. Akeredolu said Nigerians
should be cautious of jumping to the conclusion that Mr. Jega’s
leadership of the electoral body would give the country credible
elections.

He also said
advised the country to stop recycling leaders when the youth who are in
tune with the modern day realities abound for the jobs.

“To enable a
leader realize his set goals, ambition and objectives, he needs the
services of a crop of dedicated young men and women with vision and
high sense of imagination, not discounting the invaluable experience of
the veterans in all relevant fields of human endeavour. He must lead a
team that is articulate and full of initiative,” Mr. Akeredolu noted.