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Apathy and lack of
sincerity by the developed countries was undermining global efforts to
tackle the impact of climate change, African countries participating in
the Bonn Climate Change Talk have said.

Victor Fodeke,
Nigeria lead negotiator, and one of the spokespersons for the African
Group at the summit, stated that what the world is currently
experiencing the impacts of climate change which are the result of
activities that occurred more than 50 years ago. He also warned that
the world should be prepared for the worst in the years ahead.

“In the last 50
years the world witnessed tremendous growth and development, more coal
and thermal power plants have come on stream, more cars, ships, and
aeroplanes have being manufactured so we should brace up for the
calamity ahead,” he said. “But, in all this, Africa and other
developing countries that are only responsible for about four per cent
of climate change will suffer the most due to their inability and
capacity to cope or adapt.”

Time for change

Mr Fodeke said it
was time African countries started working on self protective measures
as developed countries continue to frustrate efforts that would lead to
a legally binding treaty that would force them to cut their CO2
emission.

“We should start
developing strategies that will ‘climate-proof’ Africa and prepare her
to tackle the challenges of climate change,” he said. “We should start
working on adaptation strategies that will boost agriculture, bring
about energy efficiency, and renewable energy so that we are not caught
napping. To be fore-warned is to fore-plan, as we don’t need any
prophet to warn us on the antics being deployed by developed countries
to stall efforts to have a legally binding treaty.”

The scientist, who
is head of Nigeria’s Climate Change Unit, also suggested the formation
of regional climate change blocks that would conduct regular
vulnerability assessment, and advice national governments on actions
needed to cushion the impact of climate change on their citizens.

“Through such blocks, indigenous capacities can be enhanced to
enable the continent compete with others in attracting clean
development mechanism projects,” he said.

Ebiredelu Bako, an Edo State high chief has been apprehended by the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) for human trafficking.

Mr Bako, according to the immigration service, was
apprehended at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA),
Lagos, on his way to Turkey last week, and was found to be with two
ladies that he could not reasonably account for.

“The chief that we have here was travelling to Turkey
and he was travelling with these two ladies. We discovered during our
interrogation that he could not give us any convincing reason for
travelling with the two ladies,” said Lasun Olaitan, State Controller
NIS, during a press briefing at the Service’s headquarters in Lagos.

Mr Olaitan disclosed that it is an onus due the
Service to stop people from travelling out of the country with children
and ladies without credible explanations, stressing that this is
because human traffickers are on the prowl.

“We don’t allow people to travel out with these young
ladies unless they give us genuine reasons before we can allow them to
travel and this is mainly because of the issue of human trafficking,”
he said.

The State Immigration boss disclosed that the
suspect, with the Ebiredelu of Emuhi title from West Local Government
Area of Edo State, was in possession of an official passport which is
not expected of him, adding that the Service is investigating the
matter.

“We discovered that the chief is travelling with an
official passport, and an official passport is supposed to be held by a
government official of the country,” he said. “It is not something that
members of the public can hold, unless they are working with the
federal or state government. In short, they must be working with the
government for them to hold an official passport. We are trying to
investigate how chief came about the official passport.” According to
Mr Olaitan, the chief had been arrested in the past by the Service with
some ladies, as he further disclosed that the NIS has decided to hand
over the case to the right quarters.

“On checking our records, we discovered that in
January 2009, Mr Bako had a case to answer with (the) NIS, and our
investigations showed that he was travelling with some girls and when
interrogated, he said they were his helpmates,” he said. “We suspected
very much a case of human trafficking and we have now decided that we
are going to hand them over to the appropriate statutory authority
which is NAPTIP (National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking In
Persons).”

Suspect refutes

Reacting to the allegations, the Edo State chieftain
disclosed that he was in possession of the official passport owing to
his high status in the state, as he argued that he was nabbed because
he refuse to give the officers money.

“I am in possession of an official passport because I
am a first class chief in Edo State. It was not given to me by anybody;
it is by the federal government and I can’t travel without the
knowledge of the federal government,” he said. “It is because I refused
to part with some money at the airport that is why they said they are
going to deal with me.”

Meanwhile, the Immigration Service boss gave the names of the girls
travelling with the suspected human trafficking chief as Queen
Ebiredelu, 22, a student of Edo State polytechnic; and Egharevba Helen,
22, an alleged maid to the chief.

More
details have emerged of how German auto-maker, Daimler AG, distributed
bribes to public officials in Nigeria in exchange for government
patronage. The automaker had, in April paid $185 million (N28 billion)
to settle allegations that it had violated U.S. anti-bribery laws by
giving bribes to foreign government officials to win contracts.

A complaint filed
against the company by the United States’ Security and Exchange
Commission and obtained by NEXT yesterday indicated that the bribes
were distributed to top Nigerian government functionaries through
officials of the Anambra Motor Manufacturing Company (Anammco) with
which Daimler had a joint venture agreement. The foreign company made
the payments, amounting to N2.3 billion, between 1998 and 2005, to
corner sales contracts worth approximately $73 million, from at least
seven different government customers.

The bribe money
given to Nigerian officials comprised of DM 3.9 million, $1million and
230, 000 Euros. Daimler dished out the slush fund – exporting some of
it in raw cash from its headquarters in Germany – while unnamed ANAMMCO
officials help funnel the money to corrupt government functionaries who
approved the contracts. In one instance, the document stated, “Daimler
employees withdrew DM 400,000 and $150,000 from the cash desk (in
Germany) and transported the Marks. and US dollars to Nigeria to pay
bribes to government officials.”

Daimler, ANAMMCO
and Nigerian officials involved in the scandal were not named in the
document because they are not U.S. citizens. But analysts say if
Nigeria has the political will to get to the bottom of the case, it can
get full details of the investigation from the US Department of Justice
by virtue of the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty it has with the States.
While the names of the allegedly corrupt officials remain under wraps,
their crimes and modus operandi are clear.

Investigators made
the following findings regarding the corrupt payments to Nigerian
officials: Daimler made the bribe payments and kept funds that were not
properly recorded on its books through four TPAs (third party accounts)
that were held by Anambra Motor Manufacturing Company (“Anammco”), a
then Daimler-controlled joint venture between Daimler and the military
government. Daimler later sold its interest in the joint venture in
2007.

Moreover, a portion
of Daimler’s proceeds from the sale of vehicles in Nigeria was credited
to the Anammco third party accounts. Senior executives of Daimler then
used a portion of these credits to fund improper payments to foreign
government officials. Between 1998 and 2005, Daimler made approximately
N2.3 billion in improper payments to Nigerian government officials.
These payments were either improperly recorded in Daimler’s books and
records or were not recorded at all and were made as a result of weak
internal controls.

The third party
accounts were controlled by a former head of overseas sales, and the
former head of Daimler’s Nigerian office through which Daimler carried
out its business in Nigeria (the “Nigerian representative office”); he
was also the managing director of Anammco.

These two former
executives had decision-making authority over the sales operations in
Nigeria, and they were able to direct large-scale bribe payments. For
example, in order to obtain a deal to sell armoured vehicles to the
Nigerian government, the former head of overseas sales authorized the
former head of Daimler’s Nigerian representative office to debit an
Anammco TPA and pay DM 200,000 and OM 50,000, respectively, to two
senior Nigerian government officials, who had decision-making authority
over the contract. Daimler employees then wired the funds to the
personal foreign bank accounts of these two officials in England and
Germany.

Similarly, in order
to obtain another deal involving the sale of commercial vehicles to a
Nigerian state-owned entity, the former head of the Nigerian
representative office effectuated a debit of nearly €200,000 from an
Anammco TPA and had the funds wired from a Daimler bank account in
Germany to a bank account in England held by the entity’s managing
director.*The former head of Overseas Sales and the former head of the
Nigerian representative office also routinely withdrew large sums of
cash in various currencies from Daimler’s corporate cash desk in
Germany to make bribe payments to secure business in Nigeria.

Daimler failed to
adequately monitor the amount of cash that could be withdrawn through
the cash desk or understand the purpose of the withdrawals. The former
head of the Nigerian representative office, for example, was authorized
by the former head of Overseas Sales to debit an Anammco TPA to obtain
DM 400,000 in cash from the cash desk for use towards the hotel stay,
travel, dining and shopping of a senior Nigerian government official,
his delegation and their relatives. In connection with the contract to
sell buses to a Nigerian state-owned entity, the former head of the
Nigeria representative office withdrew $110,000 in cash from the cash
desk and delivered the funds from Germany to Nigeria to make bribe
payments to government officials affiliated with the entity.

At one point, the
former head of the Nigerian representative office and a senior sales
manager for Anammco opened up at least two Swiss bank accounts, which
were funded by credit balances in Anammco TPAs. The former head of
Overseas Sales authorized approximately DM 2.1 million to be
transferred from Anammco TPAs into these Swiss bank accounts for
payment to government officials to obtain sales contracts with various
agencies of the Nigerian government. In all, Daimler is believed to
have made improper payments totalling at least $56million to secure
business in 22 countries, including Nigeria.

Nigerian probe

Chairman of the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Farida Waziri, on Monday said
her agency had commenced investigations into the matter. cials and
representatives of Daimler and Anammco in Nigeria,” Mrs Waziri said.
“We have equally gone ahead to seek the assistance of the
Attorney-General to obtain the certified true copy of the US judgment
from the America authorities. We are working hard to see how we can
crack some of these high profile cases with international dimensions”.

Bakassi returnees at the Ekpri Obutong
resettlement camp in Bakassi Local Government Area of Cross River State
have been assured of the state government’s assistance to make life
comfortable for them. Liyel Imoke, the state governor, made this known
while on a working visit to the area.

Accompanied by his deputy, Efiok
Cobham, and the director-general State Emergency Management Agency
(SEMA), Vincent Aqua, Mr. Imoke urged the returnees to send their
children to the nearby primary school and directed Saviour Nyong, the
local government chairman, to supply the pupils with books and uniforms.

He also urged the Bakassi Local
Government council to move its legislative arm to the area, as well as
keep the surroundings clean.

Innocent Asuquo Bassey, one of the
returnees, said they are stranded in the area, as they have no means of
livelihood “because the sea is no longer safe for us to fish, following
the harassment by Cameroonian gendarmes”.

Mr. Bassey subsequently appealed that
they be given some financial assistance to start businesses, as they
are no more into fishing, their primary occupation.

He also asked for the provision of a
health centre, primary school, electricity and pipe borne water, to
enable them live a comfortable life.

Mr. Imoke said though the state government could not give all of
them money for business, the government will ease their burden by
providing them with water, electricity, a health centre and financial
assistance, to ease their burdens.

Muhammadu Idrissa, the emir of Fika and
chairman of Yobe State Council of Chiefs on Monday called on the
federal government to accord traditional rulers the privilege of being
recognised in the Nigerian constitution.

Speaking to aviation correspondents at
the General Aviation Terminal of the Murtala Mohammed Airport (MMA),
Lagos, the emir, who is also the chancellor of University of Uyo,
disclosed that the development will enable the local leaders to
efficiently assist the government in daily governance.

“As an advocate of rural development,
it is my considered opinion that traditional rulers should be accorded
constitutional recognition such that they should assist in their
advisory capacity to help in the day to day running of government,” he
said.

The monarch stated that traditional
rulers were closer to the people, and where therefore better positioned
to address their needs. “They are very close to the people, they know
their problems, and they will advise government on how to dispense the
funds appropriately with a view to seeing to all round development of
the areas,” he said.

“Government should think about giving
constitutional recognition to the role of traditional rulers so that in
their advisory capacity they can urge elected leaders on how to
dispense funds meant for community related projects judiciously.”

The emir regretted that traditional
rulers currently do not have much impact in their domain because they
do not have the required political backing, stating that they
subsequently concerned themselves only with traditional matters.

“If given the chance, traditional leaders can influence a lot of
things,” he said. “But at the moment there is not much control
politically in all tiers of government, for they are only concerned
about traditional matters and culture. If given the chance
constitutionally, they will make positive impact.”

Afe Babalola (SAN) has blamed the nation’s economic woes on the incursion of the military into political affairs.

At an interview
with journalists in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, over the
weekend, Mr. Babalola faulted the economic policy implemented during
the regime of former military president, Ibrahim Babangida, adding that
the country has not recovered fully from the trauma caused by the
cancellation of the June 12, 1993 elections by Mr. Babangida.

He pointed out that
the Babaginda regime should be blamed for the devaluation of the
country’s currency that caused great havoc on the country’s economy
system. He identified the discovery of crude oil as the beginning of
the nation’s problem, saying “The discovery of oil in 1970s has done a
great damage to the country. The damage was compounded by the military,
which devalued the naira and introduced IMF loan, even when a few years
earlier, we were told that money was not our problem, but how to spend
it.”

The legal
practitioner also blamed the Babangida government for the current
political upheaval, stressing that the country would have moved forward
if Babaginda had not cancelled what observers adjudged as the best
election in the nation’s history.

According to him,
he was representing the late Moshood Abiola, the presumed winner of the
elections in court in Kaduna when the judge presiding over the case
announced that the case could no longer take place as a result of the
annulment of the June 12 presidential election.

The road to nowhere

He said, “When the
judge came and announced that the case could no longer go on because
June 12 election had been annulled, I was angry. How can a man annul
the wishes of the whole nation? But I said then that we were at the
beginning of a road which nobody knew its end, and here we are today.”

Answering questions whether Babaginda should contest next year, Mr. Babalola said,

“Babangida has the
right to say he wants to come back. But you will never have the right
people voted into power as long as the majority of the voters are
extremely poor.

“So many people
don’t make up to N10 in a day and politicians seeking their votes are
aware of this; they are ready to sell their houses and other property
to buy voters’ conscience.”

He advised that the remuneration of political office holders should be made less attractive too.

The Chairman of the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission yesterday denied allegations
that the commission was shielding the principal officers of the House
implicated in the N2.3 billion car scandal.

Farida Waziri, however, disclosed that a report on the alleged scandal has been sent to the Commission’s legal unit for advice.

Mrs Waziri said
this at a briefing for journalists in Abuja to mark her second year in
office, adding that there is no sacred cow when it comes to the
anti-corruption campaign. She also denied allegations that the
Presidency was trying to use the report as a weapon of blackmail
against the House.

“I don’t think the Presidency will want to use it to blackmail. You know the Presidency believes in the rule of law,” she said.

On the alleged
royal treatment given to Nasir El-Rufai, a former Federal Capital
Territory minister, the EFCC chairman denied being influenced by
Goodluck Jonathan.

“I took into
consideration that he willingly reported to the EFCC and we arraigned
him in court accordingly. There was nothing more we could do.” She
added that the EFCC had embarked on the probe of another $15 million
transcontinental fraud case involving Daimler and ANAMMCO automobile
firm.

“We opened investigations into the Daimler/Anammco scam recently,
following a judgment in the U.S. where some Nigerians were convicted in
relation to the Daimler bribery scam. So far, we have interviewed about
four officials and representatives of Daimler and ANAMMCO in Nigeria.

The wife of the Jigawa State House of
Assembly Speaker was yesterday kidnapped at gun point in his country
home, Sarawa village, in Kafin Hausa local government, but was later
saved from the hands of kidnapers by good Samaritans.

Confirming the incidence yesterday,
Adamu Ahmad, the Speaker, said the kidnappers stormed his family house
and took his wife, Halima, away, but luck ran out of them as the
vehicle in which they were travelling got trapped on a muddy ground,
few kilometers away from the village.

Mr. Adamu said sensing danger, the
kidnapers, after making frantic efforts to get out of the car, decided
to abandon the vehicle and the kidnapped woman, and thereafter took to
their heels from the villagers who have been chasing them.

He said details of the incidence are still with the police, as the suspects were all apprehended and handed over to the police.

The Speaker commended the people of the
locality for not only daring the kidnapers and defying the sporadic gun
shots, but also for overpowering them.

Asked about the identity of the
suspects and whether it has political connotation, the Speaker said he
wouldn’t know their mission and where they came from.

“All I know, they are kidnappers and
with the support and help of the people from the area, they were
arrested and are now in police custody. I think the police are in
better position to give the details,” he said.

Eye witness account

An eye witness said that the kidnappers
were three in number and had gone to the village at about 11:00 in the
morning and headed straight to the family house of the Speaker and on
arrival, started to shoot in the air to scare everyone away.

“Initially, we were told that they
were armed robbers that took over the village and we were asked not to
go in, which we obliged. But minutes later, we were told that the
people have gone and they snatched away the wife of the Speaker of the
state Assembly,” said the eye witness.

This was the second case of kidnapping
in the state; the first was late last year when a father of a
politician and business man, Danladi Auyo, in Auyo local government of
the state was kidnapped.

Incidentally, Auyo and Kafin Hausa are neighbouring villages in Hadejia senatorial district of the state.

Abdul Jinjiri, the state police command spokesman, confirmed the incident but said that the details will be released later.

Following reports
that almost 300 people have died in Zamfara state in the past three
months from lead poisoning, the Action Congress has asked the federal
government to stop illegal mining activities in the country.

In a statement
issued in Ilorin, Kwara state on Monday by Lai Mohammed, its National
Publicity Secretary, the party also asked the federal government to
move quickly to complement the efforts of the Zamfara government in
providing medical assistance to those affected by the illegal mining
activities, in addition to helping the affected communities to restore
their devastated environment The party said some ‘powerful’ Nigerians
are behind illegal mining, and that the government needs a strong
political will to stop such activities.

“In the five
affected communities in Zamfara, according to media reports, sources of
potable water have been contaminated by lead, leading to the death of
humans and animals, while the environment has been massively degraded
by the non-stop activities of the gold diggers.

“But perhaps the
most devastating effect is the fact that the level of lead poisoning
among children in the communities has been found to be unusually high,
meaning that the children – if they survive – will be subjected to a
life of pain and mental retardation,” the party said.

The Action Congress noted that “No government that is worth its salt
will allow the lives of its future leaders to be wantonly ruined by
unscrupulous people,” and advised the federal government to act
promptly and save the future of the inhabitant of the villages and
other similar areas in the country.

The
Vice President, Namadi Sambo, has held a meeting with contractors and
other parties involved in the National Integrated Power Projects (NIPP)
to ensure they actualise the targets set for the completion of the
various power plants and projects under the scheme.

This is the first
NIPP meeting Mr. Sambo has chaired as Vice president. In the past, he
has attended the meeting as a member of the committee set up to monitor
power projects.

The meeting
apparently followed a summons from the vice president to members of the
committee and the purpose was to ensure that they understood clearly
that the administration would not relent in its determination to solve
Nigeria’s power challenges.

According to the
minister of state for power, Nuhu Wya, Mr. Sambo was able to get the
contractors involved to commit themselves to working in accordance with
the government’s schedule and targets so that Nigerians can enjoy the
improved electricity supply promised by the administration.

While briefing
journalists after the closed door discussion, Mr. Wya, declined to give
the exact current of electricity generation level in the country at
present, saying “we are managing the challenges in a better manner, so
we are bound to have better results now. It is an ongoing process”.

Review of scheme

Ekiti State
governor, Segun Oni, who was also at the meeting, told journalists that
the entire NIPP scheme including gas supply, security of installations
and contractors as well as compensation for affected communities, was
reviewed and the committee was satisfied that everything was going on
schedule.

“Today, we looked
at the overall status of the NIPP projects. We looked at gas supply, we
looked at compensation, we looked at the issue of security and on the
whole we are satisfied that the projects are going on properly and
where we have challenges we will put up programmes to overcome them and
on the whole we are satisfied that NIPP will deliver on schedule. That
is the summary,” Mr. Oni said

The governor, who
also confirmed the administration’s plan to decentralise electricity
generation, said this is so that each plant will deliver electricity to
its immediate locality to avoid waste and extra cost of linking to a
national distribution system.

The
decentralisation policy will also help to reduce the incidences of
larger blackouts in some parts of the country whenever a single power
plant suffers a breaks down.

“This is called
distributed generation; it helps you to generate where you are
consuming. It will reduce loses that you would have otherwise have had
if you were trunking over very long distances, you have better control,
if you are down, you are down only a little within the geography and it
is going to add on to the flexibility that Nigeria will have handling
the power situation,” he added.