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As
the 5th edition of the annual Lagos Economic Summit commenced
yesterday, the state’s commissioner for economic planning and budget,
Ben Akabueze, stated that 34 out of the 37 recommendations issued at
the end of the last summit have been met by the state government.

Mr Akabueze, who
also doubles as chairman of the Lagos Economic Summit Group, made the
declaration at the opening of the 2010 edition of the summit while
reviewing the last summit. Amongst issues listed by the commissioner in
which the state government had made giant strides are the increasing
volume of the state’s internally generated revenue, adequate
accountability of the funds, more road constructions and effective
implementation of sustainable reforms in the state’s civil service.

He assured delegates that their contributions will be adequately utilised in developing the state.

World class hub

The state’s
governor, Babatunde Fashola, was unavoidably absent at the opening day
of the summit as he was reportedly stuck in London due to the Icelandic
volcanic eruption ash that has prevented airlines from flying in the
European airspace for over a week.

Representing him,
the deputy governor, Sarah Sosan, urged the private sector to come and
support the government’s plan in building Lagos state to become a model
mega-city in Africa.

“Lagos State
sovereign rating now ranks at par with the federal government,” she
said, adding that the state now “generates 70% of its income and relies
on the federal government for just 30% of the shared revenue.” The
keynote speaker, Paul Collier, a professor at Oxford University in the
United Kingdom, was also unable to attend the event as he was also held
back in England due to cancellation of flights as a result of the
volcanic ash.

His speech, titled
“Making Lagos, a world class Economic Hub”, was delivered via video
streaming from the UK to the delegates present at the summit.

In the speech, Mr.
Collier urged the Lagos government to adequately reform the state’s
civil service and the process in public financing of infrastructural
projects by reducing bottlenecks such as red tapes and bureaucracies so
as to make the state an attractive place to do business.

The speaker was
full of praise for the state governor whom he said has demonstrated
good leadership. According to Mr. Collier, “building Lagos state into a
model mega city of Africa is hinged on confidence”, and confidence, he
said, is “built on strong institutions.”

He described Mr.
Fashola as a good leader who makes great leadership less stressful in
the future by building the institutions needed for the future.”

Place of Lagos in Africa

A documentary was
aired at the event to showcase the growing essence of Lagos as a major
economic hub in the continent. Highlighting the areas of the state’s
economy that the government is strategising to further develop, the
government solicited the support of the private sector and investors in
developing the state’s infrastructure such as power generation, water
supply, transportation, real estate, sanitation and tourism.

According to Mr.
Fashola, who was featured in the documentary, “Lagos State with an
estimated population of 25 million people demands a power generation
capacity of 12,000MW but currently generates only 1,000MW and the power
consumption is estimated to grow to 20,000MW by the year 2020. There is
immense opportunity for the private sector to come and benefit from
this as we strive as much as possible to create the necessary conducive
and viable environment for them to run their businesses.”

The three day summit enters its second day today at the Eko Hotel
and Suites where there will be more deliberations on a number of issues
affecting infrastructural development of the state, as it works towards
becoming “Africa’s model mega-city.”

Federal
and state health authorities should train and empower nurses in the
rural areas to work independently of doctors to deliver health services
to the people, the minister of state for health, Suleman Bello, said
yesterday in Benin.

Mr. Bello, who was
represented at the opening ceremony of the 2010 Annual Conference of
Principals/Heads of Nursing Education Programmes in Nigeria by Animaeze
Ezenwa Ike, Director of Nursing Services, Federal Ministry of Health,
said nurses in rural areas should also be allowed to play a more active
part in the medical surveillance of clients with chronic illnesses.

The minister, who
said government should expand healthcare services by creating special
nursing clinics in rural areas where nurses could provide medical care
to the people, also advised the nurses to press for licences to enable
them issue prescriptions for common drugs.

He, however, advised the nurses against leaving our country for greener pastures abroad.

“While it is
important that sufficient number of nursing graduates acquire new
knowledge in their chosen field, it is equally important that adequate
effort must be put in place to prevent human capital flight of nurses
from the country to other nations,” he said.

The Edo State
government congratulated organizers of the conference. The state
governor was represented by the state commissioner for health, Moses
Momoh, who said a vibrant nursing profession will ensure a healthy
nation, and reduce the negative consequences of the global economic
meltdown.

Improved midwife scheme

Mr. Momoh also said
that a midwife scheme, aimed at reducing maternal and infant mortality,
has taken off in Edo State. He advised principals and heads of nursing
programmes to “put in more effort to ensure that your products (nurses)
show more empathy and respect to all their clients in the face of the
economic meltdown.” The conference, with the theme, “Global Economic
Meltdown: A Challenge to Nursing Education and Practice,” attracted
participants from across the nation.

Billboards
and posters of any politician who does not register with and pay
stipulated fees to the Ekiti State Signage and Advertisement Agency
will henceforth be removed, the Agency’s Director General, Femi Ajayi,
said yesterday in Ado Ekiti.

Mr. Ajayi, who addressed a news conference in
Ado-Ekiti, warned advertisers and politicians flouting the signage law
in the state, to desist or be charged to court.

“Outdoor advertisements are not free in any part of
the world and no political party is free from conforming to the law.
The signage law surpasses either political divisions or partisanship,”
he said. “The signage law is designed to control and sanitize the
outdoor landscape in the state. It is compulsory for all political
parties, all aspirants for councillorship, chairmanship, assembly,
senatorial, governorship and presidential, to register and pay for
their outdoor billboards and posters. It also covers all private and
religious bodies.”

He stressed that hiding under political sentiment to disobey the signage law is unacceptable to the government.

“Whipping up sentiment through pasting of posters is
highly diversionary,” he said. “Those flouting the law using their
political clout will be held accountable and punished, with their
advertising billboards removed, confiscated and fined.

Since we all want a rule-based environment, to make
the state better, leaders have the responsibility of upholding those
rules.”

Task force on law

He added that the government would soon establish a task force to make sure that politicians comply with the signage law.

While calling on the state government to create a
mobile court which will have the responsibility of prosecuting on the
spot those who flout the law, the director general also said that a
signage fee must be paid on all branded vehicles, and other items used
either for political campaign or to advertise products and services.

He said the signage law was not aimed at preventing
any political parties from enjoying publicity, adding that churches,
mosques and other places of worship were not left out.

Members
of the House of Representatives from the six states in the South West
geo-political zone are reportedly divided over the alleged moves by
some members of the House to remove the Speaker, Dimeji Bankole, from
office.

This is just as the
leadership of the House, at an executive session yesterday, appealed
for calm. Members of the Nigeria First Forum (NFF), a pressure group in
the lower legislative chamber, were alleged to have initiated a plot to
unseat Mr. Bankole, who is currently stranded in London as a result of
the volcanic ash which halted flights across Europe.

NFF, according to reports, is moving against the Speaker over financial impropriety and poor leadership style.

The group has
since denied the plot, though it admitted that its members are not
happy with the way the Speaker is administering the House.

Deputy Speaker,
Usman Nafada, had dissolved the House into executive session for 45
minutes, during which the alleged threat to remove Mr. Bankole was
discussed.

Although Mr.
Nafada had announced after the session that the lawmakers discussed the
approach to be adopted on the constitution amendment and Electoral Act,
it was gathered that some members complained about the Speaker’s
leadership style, saying it has put the House in a bad light.

Among the issues
raised were that of the 2010 Budget and the leadership’s handling of
the political crisis in the country, which they claimed would have done
a lot of damage to the lower legislative chamber.

Peace emissaries

Mr. Nafada was said
to have appealed to the aggrieved lawmakers for understanding and
assured that all the issues they complain about would be addressed.

The deputy speaker
also told them that Mr. Bankole has been sending emissaries to some of
the lawmakers asking them to wade into the matter with a view to
resolving it.

Some of the
aggrieved lawmakers were said to have complained that the 2010 Budget
was doctored, even though the entire House had passed the document on
the floor.

Our source said
that but for the quick dissolution into executive session some minutes
after its resumption from the three week Easter break, the members had
planned to come up with a motion on vote of no confidence on Mr.
Bankole.

The
debate on the review of the 1999 Constitution was yesterday stalled in
the House of Representatives, as most of the members did not come to
the plenary session with their copies of the report of the ad-hoc
committee on the review of the document.

Only nine out of
the 360 members attended the plenary session with their copies,
prompting the Deputy Speaker, Usman Nafada, who presided, to adjourn
the debate till today.

The House had on
Monday announced its plan to continue debate on the report submitted by
its ad-hoc committee chaired by Mr. Nafada last March.

Prior to the
adjournment, it had dissolved into executive session for 45 minutes
during which it discussed some issues, including the method to be
adopted in amending the constitution.

Mr. Nafada reported
after the executive session that members agreed that voting on the
amendment of the document would begin on Thursday, adding that the
process would be aired live on television to enable Nigerians know the
voting pattern of their representatives.

He added that the
lawmakers also resolved that amendment of the Electoral Act would not
be considered until that of the constitution is concluded.

But when the House
eventually dissolved into the Committee of Whole to commence the debate
on the amendment of the constitution, members complained that they did
not have copies of the report to do so. Mr. Nafada was shocked when
only nine members indicated that they had their copies.

“Most members don’t
have copies of the report; only eight or nine members have their
copies,” the Deputy Speaker said. He asked those who had not been given
the report to go to the Committee of Rules and Business to collect same
ahead of the debate today.

No passport photographs

Mr. Nafada also
announced that only 270 cards with which the lawmakers would use to
vote on the amendment, were ready. He, therefore, urged members who
were yet to submit their passport photographs to do so.

Meanwhile, plans by
a member of the House, Bashir Bolarinwa, to “transfer his services”
from Lagos State to Kwara State also generated argument on the floor
yesterday.

Mr. Bolarinwa, who
represents Lagos Mainland federal constituency of Lagos State on the
ticket of the Action Congress (AC), had written the House leadership
informing it of his plan. The letter was read by Mr. Nafada.

But AC leader, Femi Gbajabiamila decried Mr Bolarinwa’s action, insisting that it was unconstitutional.

Relying on Section
68 of the 1999 Constitution, Mr. Gbajabiamila, who himself is from
Lagos State, contended that Mr. Bolarinwa should be ready to lose his
seat in the lower chamber if he went ahead with his plan.

The AC leader
warned the House not to condone illegality, which according to him, Mr.
Bolarinwa was planning to plunge the chamber into.

Mr. Nafada however ruled Mr. Gbajabiamila out of order, saying Mr.
Gbajabiamila did not know if Mr. Bolarinwa’s plan would come into
effect in 2011.

The opposition party, Action Congress (AC), has said the
Executive Council of the Federation’s decision to invoke Section 144 of the
Constitution to resolve the issue of President Umaru Yar’Adua’s lingering
illness should not be regarded as mere emotion.

In a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary,
Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said it has no doubt that if the Constitution is
strictly followed, the executive council will not wait a day longer to start
the process of declaring the president incapacitated, based on his long-term
illness.

“Those who are trying to appeal to our emotion, who are saying
we should keep the president in office, even if he is unable to perform his
official functions, must be told in clear terms that one cannot eat his cake
and have it too. It is either we want to be ruled by law or by emotion,” the
statement read.

A Constitutional issue

President Yar’Adua has not been able to function officially
since November 2009, the party spokesperson said. However, the writers of the
Constitution anticipated such a situation, which is why they made the provision
for Section 144.

“Now, we are being told by self-acclaimed guardians of the
president that our morality will be debased if we follow the stipulations of
our Constitution to resolve this lingering issue. These moralists are saying
there is no difference between the occupier of the presidency, who is an
individual, and the presidency itself, which is an institution. They are saying
national interest should be subjugated to personal interest.

“They are saying we must maintain the status quo and have an
acting president that stays that way indefinitely. No, the Constitution did not
make provision for an indefinite acting presidency. We must resolve this issue
within the dictates of the Constitution, remove the Sword of Damocles that
Yar’Adua’s invisible presidency has become on the acting presidency, and get
our country moving. Sentiments have no place in this issue,” the party’s
statement read.

Presidency in hiding

The party also condemned the current situation in which Acting
President, Goodluck Jonathan, is yet to see the president since his return to
the country from Saudi Arabia, almost three months ago – even when both are
within the precinct of Aso Rock.

“The mere fact that the acting president has so far been
prevented from seeing the president is a confirmation of the fact that the
cabal holding Yar’Adua hostage is doing so for selfish reasons, rather than
acting in the interest of the President or that of the Nigerian people.

“Since Nigeria is a democracy, rather than a fiefdom, Nigerians must ignore
these Yar’Adua apologists. The members of the EXCOF (Executive Council of the
Federation) must act in accordance with the Constitution,” the statement read.

Fidelia Njeze, the aviation minister on Monday declared that the
ministry will focus on enhancing comfort across airports in the country.

The minister, who made this known during her facility tour and
inspection at the Murtala Mohammed Airport (MMA), Lagos disclosed that she is
not satisfied with the state of the Lagos airport.

“The problems with the aviation industry are still there, but
we are going to concentrate on some selected areas with priority in the
enhancement of comfort at airports,” she said. “We will make sure that there is
a tangible improvement in the quality of service at our airports, especially at
our terminals.” According to Mrs. Njeze, the poor state of facilities at the
international and domestic airports will be addressed in a couple of months,
adding that the ministry will section the projects into short, medium and long
term plans.

“The work to be addressed here cannot be actualised in one week,
but we are going to make sure that during the period available to us we make
passengers comfortable whenever they visit any of Nigeria’s airports,” she
said.

“We will rectify the air conditioning systems to ensure good
temperature, and improve the toilet facilities, which actually are in a state
of decay.”

It could be recalled that NEXT on more than three occasions
reported the plights passengers face at the Lagos international airport, as a
result of dilapidated toilets, non-functional air conditioners, faulty flight
display systems as well as broken down luggage conveyor belts.

Changes soon

Mrs. Njeze, however, promised airport users that in two months
there are going to be significant changes at airports in the country,
especially the Lagos airport being the premier airport in the country.

Commenting on the incident caused by bird strikes on Dana Air
MD 83 aircraft on Monday, Mrs. Njeze disclosed that the ministry will install
additional bird scaring equipment to dispel the airborne creatures from inflicting
harm on aircraft and humans.

“The truth is that I am not satisfied with what is on ground at our
airports, but I’m happy that there are improvements like the acquisition of
fire functional tenders,” she said. “I can see three here already and I’m made
to know that seven more are on the way.”

Any senior civil servant from grade level ten and above in the
Ondo State Civil Service who lacks adequate computer skills will be shown the
way out of service, the state Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget,
Akin Adaramola, said in Akure on Monday.

Mr. Adaramola, who spoke at a four-day training programme on
information software at Igbara-Oke, Ifedore local government area of the state,
said because the world has been turned to a global village, civil servants in
the state must be computer literate to keep their jobs.

“Graduates with PHD, BSC, and HND without having any computer
knowledge should be ranked among illiterates,” he said.

He noted that for quick implementation of budget and development
in all sectors, government needs more computer literates in its ministries and
parastatals.

The workshop was organised by the state government in
collaboration with United Nations International Children’s Fund [UNICEF]. The
commissioner said graduates without good knowledge of the computer for day to
day office jobs are living in ‘fools paradise.’

“It is highly disappointing that some civil servants from grade
level ten and above cannot operate a computer. As government, we will no longer
tolerate such attitude from workers.

“The basic level of computer needs to be introduced to students
from primary schools, so that when they grow up, it would not be strange to
them,” he said.

Data for planning

Mr. Adaramola said the present government in the state strongly
believes in the importance of data for effective planning, hence the need for
its workers to be ICT compliant.

He also explained that in order to encourage its workforce on
the use of computer, the state government has introduced a system whereby all
information about the activities of the government will be sent to ministries
through email.

Mr. Adaramola assured that before the end of this year, the
state would prepare its database.

More revelations are coming to the fore on why the former
Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly, Taofiq Abdulsalam; his deputy,
Mayowa Akinfolarin, and other officers of the Assembly were impeached by their
colleagues two weeks ago.

The former chairman, House Committee on Information at the
Assembly, Igbekele Bolodeoku, who was guest on a television programme in Akure
on Monday, said the agreement to change the House leadership was reached at the
parliamentary session of the House.

Mr. Bolodeoku, a PDP lawmaker representing Ese-Odo constituency,
said six PDP lawmakers signed the impeachment notice before three laterbacked
out.

He said the failure of the PDP group to carry out the
impeachment was a precursor to a parliamentary meeting where the decision to
sack him was taken.

According to him, having got the signatures of 18 members, the
lawmakers decided to remove the Speaker for ineptitude and non- display of the
intelligentsia and dexterity expected of him in the handling of the House
affairs.

“It was not a PDP affair, PDP caucus alone cannot impeach the
former Speaker,” he said. “We are not enough. We have to carry everybody along.
Remember, Labour Party is intact and I addressed them in my capacity as the
House spokesman on the matter.”

He also refuted claims by PDP lawmakers that their signatures
were forged to make the impeachment exercise possible.

“During the meeting, I got signatures of seven PDP members,” he
said. “The forgery allegation is a funny story. One of them, that is Fatai
Adams Adekanye, signed it, contested for the Speaker that same morning, got six
votes, but he didn’t get to the post.”

He absolved the state governor, Olusegun Mimiko, of involvement
in the impeachment saga, saying that the former Speaker would have been
impeached eight months ago, but for the governor’s intervention.

“The governor was not involved in the impeachment, and we must
clear that. I don’t see reason for his involvement. Let me tell you, Hon.
Taofeek would have gone eight months ago, but the governor prevailed on some LP
members who refused to sign. Taofeek is doing business with the governor and
pretending to be a PDP member. I know long time ago that the chick will soon
come home to roost,” he said.

Guilty of ineptitudeness

Meanwhile, a Labour Party lawmaker in the Assembly, Olatunji
Dairo, also urged the new leadership to withdraw the official vehicles of some
legislators who refused to join their colleagues for legislation, since the
impeachment of the former Speaker, Taofiq Abdulsalam.

Some parliamentarians, under the aegis of ‘G11′, have reportedly
shunned the proceedings since penultimate Thursday because of the new
development at the Assembly.

Speaking to reporters in Akure, the state capital, Mr. Dairo,
who represents Owo Constituency II, said nobody was voted to be a Speaker when
vying for a seat at the Assembly.

“We are elected to represent our people here, even some of those
aggrieved lawmakers were not voted legitimately by the people. They rigged
elections to secure their seats”, Dairo said.

According to him, the new leadership under Samuel Adesina should
force the absentee lawmakers to drop their official cars.

He described the recent impeachment as a beautiful development.

“We effected a change with Bakita Bello after two years, and now we decided
to change the former leadership under Abdulsalam because of its ineptitude,” he
said.

A Nigerian legal practitioner in Diaspora, Fola Rahman, has
joined the group of aspirants seeking to contest the Ogun Central Senatorial
District in 2011.

The lawyer, who has his chambers in United Kingdom where he had
being practicing for over 15 years, said in Abeokuta at the weekend that he is
contesting under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party {PDP} in the
state, and was sure he would win the party’s primaries.

Ogun Central Senatorial District is presently being represented
by Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello and she is known to nurse the ambition of re-contesting
the seat. Mr Rahman, however, said that was not a threat to his own ambition.

The new entrant into politics said he joined the race to
contribute his quota to the development of the country.

‘I am not afraid, I have taken courage, It is an assignment,” he said. “I
will represent well. I will make a difference in this race. We are ready and we
have being working. I want to do things that are unique.”

Mr Rahman, who said he did not have any political godfather, called on the
party leaders to ‘let the door open for everybody. If I can have break through
the door of success, we are ready to take giant steps.’

Expressing optimism on his political mission, the aspirant who was
accompanied by officials of his campaign team, said ‘a man is not blessed until
he blesses others. I joined the race to contribute my quota. I have had
discussions and coast is clear for me.’