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The governor of
Nigeria’s central bank, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, has criticized the
Federal Government’s continued spending on reducing fuel cost, renewing
the call for the removal of a subsidy programme that has gulped
trillions of naira but has failed to reach ordinary people as intended.

Mr. Sanusi was
speaking on Monday at a meeting of the House of Representatives Ad Hoc
Committee on Nigeria’s local and foreign loans. He said he supports a
full stoppage of the “immoral” subsidy because its intent has been
diverted from the target masses to a “cabal of elite.”

“This subsidy is going to a small group of people. The greater Nigerian people are not benefitting from it.’’ Mr. Sanusi said.

According to him,
‘‘the subsidy is creating a pool of funds for a cabal. These are the
same people who borrow from banks and do not pay; the same people who
are rigging elections.”

Mr. Sanusi is the
latest in line of a number of government officials who have made it
clear they would like to see the removal of the oil subsidy but the
first such public declaration by a member of President Goodluck
Jonathan’s administration.

Recent governments
have complained of channelling huge finances that could have helped
develop infrastructure, into minimizing domestic fuel cost, and have
proposed a deregulation programme which is severely opposed to by the
Labour union.

The CBN governor said the continued existence of the subsidy has significantly raised Nigeria’s debt profile.

According to Mr.
Sanusi, “last year, we spent over a trillion of which we are
borrowing,” he said. “Why should we be paying a N570 billion subsidy
that small elite are enjoying at the expense of the Nigerian people?”
he said.

The sort of
borrowing Mr. Sanusi referred to, internally and externally, including
those applied for other purposes, have soured to a peak figure, raising
federal debts to the highest level in four years. According to the
Minister of Finance, Olusegun Aganga, who also attended the event, the
country’s debt profile stood at $35.94 billion before the exit of
Nigeria from the Paris Club.

At the end of 2006,
the amount was $3.54 billion; by December 2007 it had risen briefly to
$3.67 and hovered at $3.72 at the end of 2008.In 2009, the figure stood
at $3.62 and has already clocked $4.3billion by ending of March 2010.

Mr. Aganga,
however, said the current debt level of the country was below the
international debt sustainability ceiling if it is compared to compared
to Nigeria’s peer countries. This is more so since over 85 percent of
the total debt was obtained from concessionary sources, and with a long
repayment period, he explained.

But the two officials both warned against a relapse into unbridled borrowing.

“The problem is not about borrowing but what the monies are being applied for,” Mr. Sanusi said.

“There’s a limit to
which you can cut down on expenditure; salaries have to be paid, roads,
hospitals and other infrastructures must be done. What we should focus
on is an increase in government revenue,” he added.

The Nigerian Guild
of Editors has urged Nigerians to support the federal government’s
post-amnesty programme so as to maintain stability in the Niger Delta
region.

The call was part
of a communiqué issued at the end of the guild’s sixth All Nigerian
Conference of Editors in Port Harcourt. Such support, the Guild said,
was necessary to prevent any resurgence of militancy in the oil-rich
Niger Delta.

The editors
acknowledged that the amnesty programme initiated by late president,
Umaru Yar’Adua, remains a positive development that has impacted on the
oil and gas industry, especially with the arrest of militancy in the
region. The editors also commended the incumbent president for the
sustenance of the programme and urged all editors to promote the
programme to forestall a possible resurgence of militancy which they
said almost took the nation to the brink of bankruptcy.

Diversify the economy

They also
commended Mr. Jonathan for signing the Local Content Bill into law and
for setting up the Local Content Monitoring Board. They urged the media
to publicise the provisions of the law and the activities of the board,
adding that the law provided opportunities for empowerment of Nigerians
in the oil and gas sector. Stressing the need for transparency,
accountability and probity in the allocation and utilisation of oil and
gas resources, the editors said they believe such attitude would
engender growth and development and eliminate restiveness in the
oil-rich Niger Delta region.

They, however,
criticised the over-dependence on oil and advised the government to
develop other sources of revenue such as solid minerals and
agriculture.

On the Freedom of Information Bill before the National Assembly, the
editors re-echoed their earlier demand for the passage of the bill to
allow people to hold the government accountable.

The bubble finally
burst on Wednesday last week. After a long time, Speaker of the House
of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole and a member of the House,
Independence Ogunewe, came close to boxing each other openly that day.
But for the intervention of some members, perhaps, there would have
been bloodshed that day.

But let’s look at
the genesis of the enmity between Messrs Bankole and Ogunewe, a member
representing Ahiazu Mbaise/Ezinihitte federal constituency of Imo State
on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). In October 2008,
the Speaker redeployed Mr Ogunewe from the Committee on Aviation to the
Committee on Cooperation and Integration in Africa as chairman. Bethel
Amadi, another Imo lawmaker from Imo State who had been the Chief Whip
during Patricia Etteh’s tenure as Speaker, was named chairman of the
Aviation Committee. The redeployment angered Mr Ogunewe for two reasons.

First, he
identified with the Integrity Group, a pressure group in the House,
which played a prominent role in installing Mr Bankole as Speaker the
previous year.

In fact, in one of
the rowdy sessions that preceded the forced resignation of Mrs Etteh,
Mr Ogunewe almost went violent in the quest to oust the former Speaker.

Second, Mr
Ogunewe’s Aviation Committee top seat was given to Mr Amadi with whom
he had formed some form of alliance to fight Emeka Ihedioha, who had
then become the Chief Whip of the House. Mr Ogunewe had reportedly eyed
the position too, but lost to Mr Ihedioha, a fellow Mbaise man.

To break Mr
Ogunewe’s back, Mr Ihedioha reportedly used his influence with the
leadership to send Mr Ogunewe to the Committee on Cooperation and
Integration, perceived as a less influential committee, and gave Mr
Amadi the Aviation Committee to chair. Thus, Mr Amadi automatically
ceased to be Mr Ogunewe’s ally.

The result was that
Mr Ogunewe went to war against the leadership, not just Mr Ihedioha.
Indeed, he allegedly hired some people who went to town claiming that
Mr Ihedioha was not an Mbaise man.

In 2009, Mr Ogunewe
and a handful of others spearheaded the campaign for a probe of the
N2.3 billion car scandal, apparently with the hope of nailing the
leadership of the House who allegedly padded the cost of the 308
vehicles. The struggle had a short life span after the leadership was
cleared by the Ethics and Privileges Committee. But though many of the
members of the group were sacked as committee chairmen, he seemed to be
the arrowhead of the group. Even when the group fizzled out, he
continued to fight.

At the plenary
session on February 26, 2009, he was suspended for two weeks, sacked as
chairman of the Committee on Cooperation and Integration and stripped
of his membership of other committees. Since then, there has been no
love lost between himself and Mr Bankole.

Blames all round

There have been
fitful attempts at reconciliation, but promises by the Speaker to
restore him to his chairmanship position were never kept. However,
unconfirmed report say the Speaker assisted him in some other ways,
especially in the area of trips. Mr Bankole also visited him at home
but met only his wife.

But for a man who has no other work to do at the assembly except to sit in plenary, it was something too hard to swallow.

Sources say after
the two-hour meeting the Speaker had with committee chairmen and
deputies that Wednesday, Mr Ogunewe got wind of the plan by the Speaker
to name new committee chairmen and he was not considered for any of the
posts.

That, perhaps, was the reason he asked the Speaker, “is that all?” during the brawl with the Speaker.

Mr Ogunewe’s
frustration clearly drove him to do what is not honourable – harassing
the Speaker in public. Although parliaments are not immune from rows,
he did not show respect for that exalted office of the Speaker.
Besides, he was not conscious of the fact that he is the elder. At
nearly 50, Mr Ogunewe should have maintained some decorum in his
behaviour.

The Speaker has
some share of the blame too. He did not act maturely. Mr Bankole almost
confirmed that he was ‘a mad man’ by pushing to physically attack Mr
Ogunewe. Can two people be mad at the same time? Couldn’t Mr Bankole
have exercised restrain, and deal with the matter later? Does he not
have all the official powers to tame Mr Ogunewe?

Some form of
respect is expected of leaders. Mr Bankole did not behave as one. No
matter the extent of confrontation by his subjects, a leader must act
like one.

Patience is one of the greatest attributes of a leader and he is judged by it, among other things.

Now, Mr Ogunewe reportedly apologized to the Speaker during the
executive session later that day for embarrassing him. The scar of a
sore does not disappear easily even long after it has healed. The
matter is now before the State Security Services. The security
operatives grilled Mr Ogunewe for hours last week. Isn’t that a bad
image for the House, whose public perception is lamentable? Nobody can
tell really how this matter will end. It is almost certain that other
things will follow.

The leadership of
the House of Representatives might have stalled further legislative
action on the report of the committee which indicted an oil firm, Total
Upstream Nigeria Limited (TUPNI) in a $43 million contract for the
purchase of Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs).

This indication
emerged at the weekend following complaints by TILONE Nigeria Ltd,
which petitioned the House on the alleged breach of contract by the oil
giant.

The contract for
four Remotely Operated Vehicles Services for the Akpo Field Development
Project on Oil Mining Lease (OML) 130 was initially awarded to TILONE
Nigeria Limited but was later given to TUPNI.

The House Committee
on Public Procurement subsequently investigated the matter and laid its
report on December 17, 2009. However, since then the report has not
been considered.

The committee said
in the report that the management of TUPNI deliberately and willfully,
and against best business practices, disregarded the rules and
regulations governing the award of contract for the project.

It also said the
award of the contract contravenes the Public Procurement Act and local
content policy in the oil and gas industry in Nigeria.

The report also
indicted TUPNI on the falsification of the bid figures submitted by
TILONE and recommended that anti-graft bodies should further
investigate the matter and prosecute culprits.

It was gathered
that the petitioner recently sent representatives to the House to find
out why the report was yet to be listed for consideration in plenary
six months after it was ready.

Talk of blackmail

When contacted, the
chairman of the Public Procurement Committee, Yusuf Tuggar, said it was
only his Rules and Business Committee counterpart, Ita Enang that could
give reasons for the delay.

“You should ask Ita
Enang that question,” Mr. Tuggar said, adding “The issue is out of our
hands. We have presented the report, the House has accepted it. The
next thing is the consideration of the report; So it is now completely
out of our hands. Every standing committee in this House has its own
functions and we cannot overstep our boundary.”

Mr. Enang, in his
response, said the failure to list the matter is not deliberate, noting
that it is always upstaged by other more important matters. Some of
them, according to him include the budget and the recently concluded
constitution review.

He described as “blackmail” insinuations that TUPNI had approached the leadership to abort the deliberation of the report.

Technology driven
ventures in Nigeria are not properly managed and this has led to the
short lifespan of those organizations, the minister of science and
technology, Mohammed Abubakar, has said.

Mr Abubakar said
since no nation can develop beyond the level it is able to sustain
continuous and purposeful development of science and technology
innovation, there is the need to build critical mass to manage
technology related activities in the country. To bridge this critical
gap, the federal government, through the National Centre for Technology
management (NACETEM), has undertaken to train interested Nigerians in
technology management at post graduate level.

“The challenges are
basically that of sustainable development of science, technology and
innovation, the infrastructure that will support the activities and an
industrial sector that will translate these activities into
exchangeable goods and services,” Mr Abubakar said, at the orientation
ceremony for NACETEM Postgraduate Diploma students in Abuja.

Mr Abubakar, who
was represented by Ochapa Ogenyi, director of Planning, Research and
Policy Analysis in the ministry also said it is not enough to produce
scientists and engineers, the nation must produce experts in turning
science and technology into wealth creating activities at personal and
industrial level.

Willie Siyanbola,
director general of NACETEM, explained that poor management of
technologies in Nigeria has led to loss of assets and jobs and
establishments that depended heavily on technology have often collapsed.

“When you look at
all the various projects of government, especially those that are
technologically driven, for example the Ajaokuta Iron Ore complex, the
various petrochemical projects, our refineries, even the service
industries that are technologically driven like the Nigerian Airways,
the management of such needed to be learnt. We need to train people on
how to manage technology driven ventures,” he said, adding that the
challenge has always been lack of capacity.

Use the knowledge

He said although it
is good to have knowledge of science, but it is infinitely better when
people know how to deploy such knowledge to support government’s
aspiration in the area of development.

About 100 students registered for the post graduate course.

Olumuyiwa Olamade,
director, NACETEM North Central office, said creating a critical mass
of people skilled at initiating and managing change for sustainable
delopment is a step in the right direction.

“We are convinced that the change we seek to create in every office
and on every table in our establishments is exactly the change that
must be sustained to create Nigeria’s equivalent of General Electric,
Toyota or Microsft and to achive Vision 20:2020, the MDGs and other
development agenda of the government,” he said.

Ten senior officers of the Nigerian Customs Service, Murtala Mohammed Airport, Lagos Command, have been retired.

The retirees, who
consist of officers that have been in the service for 35 years, or have
reached the 60 years maximum retirement age duration in the customs
service, ranged from the rank of Assistant Comptroller (AC), Chief
Superintendent of Customs (CSC), Superintendent of Customs (SC), Deputy
Chief Inspector of Customs (DCIC), Assistant Inspector of Customs
(AIC), Principle Inspector of Custom (PIC), and Customs Assistant 11
(C/A11).

Adedeji Michael,
MMA comptroller of the service, during the send forth ceremony of the
retirees at the weekend, commended the officers for their dedication
during their years of service to the nation, adding that the command
will miss them. He also advised the officers not to lavish their
retirement entitlements, and urged them to invest their benefits in
order to get returns.

“The most important
thing when an officer is in service is for him or her not to loose
focus on what will be their future especially after leaving the
service, because whatever we do today will surely tell on us tomorrow,”
he said. “I want to urge our retiring colleagues to make sure that they
continue to use their time judiciously, they must shun bad companies
and register it in their mind that the retirement does not mean to tie
wrappers in the morning or active hours of the day. They should ensure
that they get good business minded people to advise them on investment
ideals.”

The retirees
include Akinferfon J. (AC), Nnamani N. (AC), Akintunde T. (SCS), Mkpong
P. (SC), Ashiekaa D. (DCIC), and Akinbi P. (DCIC). Others are Oni O.
(ACIC), Akhalumenyo I. (PIC), Adeshida C. (PIC), and Wuzor J.
(enforcement unit).

Mr. Nnamani, who
spoke on behalf of the retirees, disclosed that the serving officers
should not relent on their effort in the service, adding that they
should plan for retirement while serving.

“This will not make the retirement period come to them unawares or unprepared,” he said.

This week’s deadly Israeli attack on an activist flotilla in the Mediterranean seems to have left the White House adrift.

World leaders were
quick to condemn the Israeli sea assault Monday that took the lives of
nine people on an aid flotilla to Gaza. President Barack Obama wasn’t
one of them. He spoke with the prime ministers of Israel and Turkey,
but said nothing beyond those private conversations. Officially his
administration urged Israel to release the hundreds of activists it
captured and investigate the incident, but Washington didn’t criticize
anyone.

“Turkey and Israel
are both good friends to us,” said Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
“and we are working with both to deal with the aftermath with this
tragic incident.”

Some Republicans
were quicker to choose sides. “The Israelis have been very clear about
sustaining a blockade of Gaza, and they have every right to sustain a
blockade of Gaza,” Newt Gingrich, a senior figure in the Republican
Party, told Politico.Com. “Hamas is actively every day trying to kill
Israelis, and as a matter of international law, Turkey should not have
allowed that flotilla to go down there.”

Last month’s BP
oil-well disaster hasn’t been fixed and oil continues to soil the
southern U.S. coast. Both it and the Israeli attack have one thing in
common: they’ve forced the Obama administration to navigate its way
through someone else’s mishap.

Many Americans have
complained that the president seemed too passive in the days after the
oil disaster, leaving BP to address the emergency. Some people outside
the U.S. complained that the administration has been nearly absent from
the debate over Israel’s attack, leaving others to manage that crisis
too.

“I have to be frank: I am not very happy,” Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said. “We expect a clear condemnation.”

The United States
wants to encourage oil companies to supply it with ample, inexpensive
energy and, at the same time, it wants to safeguard the environment.
The United States wants to be Israel’s protector and, at the same time,
it wants to calm tensions and improve its standing in the Muslim world.

It can be difficult to head in such different directions. After the
two mishaps at sea, the White House has appeared to its critics and
even some of its friends, to be just treading water.

The Federal
Government is working towards the resuscitation of ailing industries in
the Kaduna State, Vice President Namadi Sambo said yesterday in Zaria.

Mr. Sambo, who
spoke at an event organised by the Emir of Zauzzau, Shehu Idris, in his
honour, stated that out of the N100billion provided by the federal
government for the revitalization of textile industries in the country,
N24billion is for industries in Kaduna State.

“I can confirm that
out of the N100b approved for the resuscitation of textile industries
in the country so far, N24billion has been approved for the industries
in Kaduna State,” he said.

The former Kaduna
State governor also disclosed that N15billion has been released by the
federal government to facilitate electricity generation at the Galma
dam in the state.

“It is highly
appreciated that the President has approved the immediate release of
funds to provide additional 200mw of electricity in Kaduna State,” Mr.
Sambo said.

He asked the people
of the state to support President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration in
order to benefit from the federal government, describing it as “a
government of the people and for the people”.

“I want to call
upon all of you to support this gesture so that we can create jobs for
our youths and drive away poverty in our midst. We will give support to
all the institutions that are in Zaria and the state, so that Kaduna
State can go back to its former glory.”

The educational
backwardness of Kano State is a cause for concern as the state could
not develop without a well trained citizenry, member of the House of
Representatives, Farouk Lawan has said.

Mr Lawan, who is
chairman of the House committee on education, and a governorship
aspirant on the platgform of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), said
it is shameful that Kano state is far behind all the states of the
federation in the area of education; and referred to the recent
assessment of states performance on education carried out by the
Universal Basic Education Commission which indicated that the state
performed poorly.

Adamawa State
emerged the 2008 overall winner, and won N900m out of the N3.9billion
earmarked for the 2007 and 2008 Universal Basic Education good
performance grants. In the 2008 category, Katsina State came second;
Jigawa State, third; Bauchi State, fourth; Federal Capital Territory
(FCT), fifth; and Kogi state, sixth with a cash reward of N450m, N350m,
N250m and N150m respectively.

Mr Lawan said the
poor score should be blamed on poor leadership in the state since 2003
when the All Nigeria Peoples’ Party (ANPP) government, headed by
Governor Ibrahim Shekarau assumed the helm of affairs of the state. The
lawmaker spoke shortly after he formally informed the leadership of the
state PDP of his intention to contest the governorship seat in 2011.

“This is a very big
problem, in a society where majority are not educated,” he said. “What
baffles me is that the government of the day is not doing anything on
education. What did they do with the whole money they have been
collecting in the last seven years? This should be a lesson for us so
that we can elect people who have value for education.”

Mr. Lawan, who was
a former registrar of the Kano State Polytechnic, assured that a
PDP-led administration would wake up to its responsibility of providing
quality education to the people of state.

Be fair to all aspirants

He also pointed at
the prevalence of drug abuse among the youth in Kano as another
indictment of the ANPP-led administration, and added that the existence
of both problems indicates that the state government was not proactive
in youth development in the state. “Kano is at a risk of remaining a
laughing stock in the comity of progressive states in the country,” he
said.

Promising to tackle
these problems if elected in the 2011 polls, Mr Lawan pledged to revive
the lost glory of Kano as the leading commercial centre in the country.

“This can be
achieved through the provision of basic infrastructure like power,
security, agricultural incentives to farmers and employment
opportunities to the teeming population of the unemployed in the
state,” he said.

He urged the Farouk Iya-led leadership of the state executive of the
party to be fair and just to all aspirants in the primaries, and
enjoined supporters of the party to close ranks to ensure the defeat of
the ANPP in the 2011 polls.

The ranks of the Anambra State
Association of Town Unions have been polarized following the succession
crisis that has hit the 177-member body.

Last weekend, the state government
stopped the conduct of an election aimed at producing a new executive
for the union, citing the union’s flouting of its constitution.

A state official, Obuekwe Okoli, head
of department of the ministry of chieftaincy and town union matters,
had stunned a large gathering of union members who had come to elect a
new leadership at the Amawbia Town Hall, Awka, with the announcement
that the election had been postponed indefinitely.

He said the union could not conduct the
election because some members had carried out amendments in the
constitution without registering same with the Corporate Affairs
Commission, the way the former constitution was registered.

“Today’s election has been postponed
because government has directed that the election must conform to the
Union’s constitution,’ Mr. Okoli said.

He also explained that government’s
intervention was occasioned by the invitation of the association that
it should supervise the conduct of the election, as a stakeholder in
the activities of the union.

But the government’s decision has been
criticised by some members of the union. Rob Ezeife, younger brother of
a former Anambra State governor, Chukwuemeka Ezeife, said he suspected
foul play and infusion of politics into the activities of the union.

Mr Ezeife, who is contesting for the
chairmanship of the body as the candidate from Anambra South, expressed
doubts that the directive actually emanated from the governor whom he
described as a stickler to the rule of law.

“The outgoing executive could not claim
ignorance of the amended constitution, as they were elected on the
basis of that constitution,” he said. “What they are doing now is an
attempt to shift the goal post in the middle of the game.”

Against tenure elongation

The drama trailing the postponement
was further heightened when, shortly afterwards, a group which claimed
to be members of the union’s Board of Trustees and which said it spoke
on behalf of the BOT chairman, Chimezie Ikeazor, alleged that the
postponement was a climax of the plot by the dissolved Innocent
Onwubuya-led executive to elongate its tenure.

Alex Okoli, who said he was secretary
of the union’s trustees, said the tenure of the executive headed by Mr
Onwubuya expired on December 4 last year and was dissolved through an
appropriate motion to that effect. Owing to this, he pointed out, any
action carried out by Mr. Onwubuya will be deemed illegal.

He accused Mr Onwubuya and the last
executive of purposely trying to jettison aspects of the amended
constitution that did not favour them, especially the issue of zoning
which, Mr Okoli said made it clear that it was now the turn of the
south to produce the chairman.

Mr. Okoli also expressed surprise at the announcement by the government official, saying his actions were suspicious.

“First of all, he told us he had come
as an observer. Then he said he had come to conduct the election,
before finally saying he had been mandated to stop it,” Mr. Okoli said.

He said the board of trustees had
decided to verify the alleged government directive but maintained that
the union had no executive currently and the board had taken over the
leadership pending the conduct of a credible election in the nearest
future.

“The Board of Directors has taken over
the leadership in the interim. We urge all the town union
presidents-general to remain calm as peace will soon be returned to our
union. The trustees are working assiduously to ensure the conduct of
credible elections very soon,” Mr. Okoli said.

Mr. Onwubuya could not be reached for
his reaction as he hurriedly left the venue and had refused to answer
several calls made to his line.