Nigeria Content Online

The Delta State
government yesterday asked residents not to embark on panic buying of
fuel as a result of the fire incident at the NNPC loading depot in
Warri.

The Commissioner
for Oil and Gas, David Ekereokosu while speaking to journalists
yesterday at the scene of the NNPC Depot explosion said that there was
no cause for alarm over the incident, saying he had been assured by the
management of the Petroleum Pipelines Marketing Company (PPMC) that
supply of fuel will not be affected.

The Commissioner
who was conducted round the scene by Sunday O. Edegbo, the Depot
Manager, PPMC and Joseph E. Edeamrere, Community Relations Officer,
PPMC said: “We want to urge all Deltans not to panic, what has
happened, for now; nobody can tell what caused the fire incident. But
investigations are on-going; it will be hasty on the part of anybody to
jump to conclusion as to what caused the fire. For now, we want to
assure Deltans that very soon the depot will bounce back to full
operation and there should be no panic buying.

Sufficient products

“There is
sufficient product to go round for all those who want to get the
product, so the Delta State government calls on all Deltans not to be
discouraged over what has happened. Governor Uduaghan is aware of what
has happened and that is why he has sent this delegation to PPMC to
ascertain what has happened.” He expressed gratitude to God that the
fire incident did not extend beyond the scene just as he thanked all
Deltans, including fire services for their efforts in ensuring that the
fire was put off timely.

Explaining the
incident to the commissioner, the PPMC Depot Manager, Mr Edegbo said:
“What I will just say briefly is that, I was in the office yesterday
when we heard a large explosion. We evacuated our staff; the whole
place was engulfed with fire. We are still investigating the actual
cause; we have not been able to establish what caused the fire
incident. Committees have been set up and we are trying to get back to
operation as soon as possible.

“I want to assure
the public that there is no need to panic for now because we are
working for early resumption of our operations.” It was observed
yesterday that the loading depot that used to be busy was empty and the
four petroleum tankers razed at the scene were yet to be removed.

As part of its efforts to reduce cases
of accidents and casualties on the nation’s highways, the Federal Road
Safety Corps (FRSC) has entered into a partnership with the Ministry of
Health to actualise the United Nations’ ‘decade of action’ on road
safety.

The corps marshal and chief executive of
the FRSC, Osita Chidoka, said yesterday in Abuja that his commission
had developed a national strategy, which had already been adopted by the
relevant agencies, towards the actualisation of the goal.

The action plan, which is slated for
launch tomorrow, and which Nigeria as a member of the United Nations is
fully committed to, will enable an improvement in the condition of the
nation’s highways, the regulation of license issuance, drivers’
training, as well as post-crash care.

Mr Chidoka said inter-agency support had
helped the commission in achieving the reduction of deaths on Nigerian
roads. In 2010, the country recorded a 33 percent reduction in the
fatalities on its roads, and a 30 percent reduction in automobile
crashes. This year, a 23 percent reduction in road-accident deaths had
already been recorded.

“If more effort is not committed to
reducing the menace of accidents on Nigeria roads, the percentage of
casualties from road accidents will rise to 65 percent in 2015,
overtaking malaria as one of the leading causes of deaths,” he said.

Mr Chidoka said some of the commission’s
efforts at ensuring the reduction of roads accidents in Nigeria
included the sensitisation of motorists, the training of road safety
officials and partnership with bodies such as the World Bank.

Cause of mortality

The minister of health, Onyebuchi
Chukwu, commended the FRSC on its efforts to curb the carnage on the
roads but noted that traffic injuries were a major cause of morbidity
and mortality in the country.

The minister, who described trauma as a
serious health issue that leads to so many other diseases, stressed the
need for more attention to be placed on it. He said the federal
government was working towards improving the three hospitals which had
the requisite skills to handle trauma cases.

Mr Chukwu also called for the thorough
medical examination of potential drivers before licenses are issued to
them and enforcement by the relevant law enforcement agencies.

The representative of the World Health
Organisation (WHO), David Okello, noted that part of the objectives of
the ‘decade of action’ is to change the perception about the problem.

“Though road crash injury is mostly
predictable and preventable, it can only be solved by multi-sectoral
cooperation and action,” he said.

Poor remuneration
and low appreciation for professionalism are some of the problems
hindering legal practice and the delivery of justice in Nigeria, a
senior lawyer, Funke Adekoya said yesterday while delivering a lecture
at the Nigeria Bar Association, Ilorin Branch 2011 Law Retreat.

Mrs Adekoya, who is
also the president of the Nigeria Chapter of the Federation of
Arbitrators, said following poor remuneration of staff by the
principals of law firms in Nigeria, the legal profession has lost its
best brains to multinational firms over the years.

“The practice of
law is a profession, but a law practise is also a business,” she said.
“It should have a clear and consistent structure. The owners need to
give thought to the opportunities and clients available in the chosen
practice area, and determine how to focus on the markets you want to
practice in. Get into the habit of having an annual business plan where
you lay out your key objectives for the year. What do you want to
target in the year? How much money do you need to make to cover your
overheads?” She said although having technically competent and
motivated lawyers is important, that alone does not guarantee success.

“Where the take
home salary of the associate does not take him or her home, we have a
problem to contend with,” Mrs Adekoya said. “I hear lawyers saying
their practise cannot justify paying associates a larger salary. How
then does the practise justify paying a driver the same amount as an
associate, or even more? Associates are the primary asset of any firm
and the effective management of the asset should be one of the highest
priorities of the firm.”

Show some respect

The chairman of the
Kwara State branch of the Nigeria Bar Association, Salman Jawondo,
attributed the failure of some chambers in Nigeria to a lack of
professional conduct by the owners and associates of the firm.

“I believed that
this lecture would go a long way to resuscitate and guide the existing
legal practice firms in Nigeria,” she said.

The Chief Judge of
Kwara State, Salihu Durosilohun Kawu, stressed the need for owners of
law firms to treat their associates with sincerity.

“I wish I had
listened to this lecture a long time ago, I would have also loved to
own a law firm and nurture it to a greater height,” he said.

Pakistan may let US
investigators question the wives of Osama bin Laden, a US official
said, a decision that could begin to stabilise relations between the
prickly allies that have been severely strained by the killing of the
al Qaeda leader.

However, senior Pakistani government officials in Islamabad said Tuesday no decision had been taken on the US request.

Bin Laden was shot
dead on May 2 in a top-secret raid in the northern Pakistani town of
Abbottabad to the embarrassment of Pakistan which has for years denied
the world’s most wanted man was on its soil.

The government is
under pressure to explain how the al Qaeda leader was found in the
garrison town, a short distance from the main military academy, and
faces criticism at home over the perceived violation of sovereignty by
the US commando team.

Pakistani
cooperation is crucial to combating Islamist militants and to bringing
stability to Afghanistan and the US administration has been keen to
contain the fallout.

US investigators,
who have been sifting through a huge stash of material seized in bin
Laden’s high-walled compound, want to question his three wives as they
seek to trace his movements and roll up his global militant network.

“The Pakistanis now
appear willing to grant access. Hopefully they’ll carry through on the
signals they’re sending,” a US official familiar with the matter said
in Washington.

There was no immediate comment from the White House.

A Pakistani
government official denied that permission for the US questioning of
the women had been given, saying local investigators had yet to finish
their inquiry.

“It’s too early to even think about it,” said the official, referring to the US request to question the women.

Pakistan says the
three wives, one from Yemen and two from Saudi Arabia, and their
children, will be repatriated and Pakistan was making contacts with
their countries but they had yet to say they would take them, the
official said.

Bin Laden’s
discovery has deepened suspicion that Pakistan’s pervasive
Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) spy agency, which has a long history
of contacts with militants, may have had ties with the al Qaeda leader,
or that some of its agents did.

US legislators have
been asking tough questions, with some calling for a cut in billions of
dollars of US aid to the nuclear-armed Muslim country.

But the United States has stopped short of accusing Pakistan of providing shelter to bin Laden.

“We believe it is
very important to maintain a cooperative relationship with Pakistan,
precisely because it’s in our national security interests to do so,”
White House spokesman Jay Carney said Monday.

NATO
Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Western governments had no
alternative to cooperating with Pakistan in the fight against Islamic
militants.

“If we are to
assure long-term peace and stability in Afghanistan and beyond, then we
need positive engagement with Pakistan,” Rasmussen told the World
Affairs Council in Atlanta Monday.

In a reminder of
Pakistan’s own struggle against al Qaeda-linked militants, a bomb
outside a court in the northwestern town of Nowshera killed a
policewoman.

“Absurd”

Pakistani-US
relations were already at a low ebb after a string of diplomatic
disputes over issues including a big attack by a US drone aircraft in
March and CIA contractor Raymond Davis, who shot dead two Pakistanis in
January.

Potentially
stirring tension further, a Pakistani TV channel and a newspaper have
published what they said was the name of the undercover CIA station
chief in Islamabad.

US officials said the name disclosed in Pakistani media was wrong and the station chief would remain at his post.

They said they
believe the leak was a calculated attempt to divert attention from US
demands for explanations of how bin Laden could have hidden for years
in Pakistan.

Last year, after
the chief of the Pakistani ISI was named in a US civil case over
attacks on the Indian city of Mumbai, the then-head of the CIA’s
Islamabad station was named by Pakistani media and forced to leave the
country.

Pakistan Prime
Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, in his first major address since bin
Laden’s killing, rejected suggestions of incompetence or even
complicity in hiding the al Qaeda leader.

“Allegations of
complicity or incompetence are absurd,” Gilani told parliament Monday,
saying it was disingenuous for anyone to accuse Pakistan of “being in
cahoots” with al Qaeda.

US President Barack
Obama said Sunday that bin Laden likely had “some sort” of a support
network inside Pakistan, but added it would take investigations by
Pakistan and the United States to find out the nature of that support.

Pakistan’s main
opposition party has called on Gilani and President Asif Ali Zardari to
resign over the breach of sovereignty by US special forces who slipped
in from Afghanistan on helicopters to storm the bin Laden compound.

Pakistan has launched its own investigation and the military is due to brief parliament in a closed session on Friday.

The
Contracts/Consultancy Review Committee (CCRC) set up by the Ekiti State
government has recommended the ousted governor, Segun Oni, for criminal
prosecution by anti-graft agencies.

The committee said
it uncovered that over N5.4 billion was embezzled under his watch
through the award of various contracts during his three-and-half-year
tenure.

In a draft white
paper on the report of the panel released to the media yesterday, Mr Oni
was allegedly discovered to have defrauded the state in 11 contracts
awarded by him while he was governor.

The contracts, as
contained in the paper include: Dualisation of Ado-Iworoko-Ifaki Road,
Igede-Eyio-Iworoko Road, cross-boundary roads, construction of five new
state secretariat buildings, new House of Assembly complex, cassava
revolution scheme and purchase of 600 cows from South Africa for Ikun
Dairy Farm.

The panel also
discovered fraud in the award of contracts for the Ado-Ekiti solar
powered street lights, boundary roads with neighbouring states, designs
of most roads and housing projects.

Responding to the
allegation, the Media aide to the former governor, Wale Ojo-Lanre, said
it is painful that Ekiti State is obviously in the hands of people with
little knowledge about governance.

“If not, they won’t
be making allegations of fraud against a government that they took over
from seven months ago. More so that the government it took them seven
months to find their concocted evidence of fraud against was terminated
abruptly with no opportunity for any official of the government to tidy
up their records,” he said.

Mr Oni was also
alleged to have defrauded Ekiti people through the Government House
water reservoir project, the Deputy Governor’s Office project via
inflation of contracts, among others.

Make him pay

The panel led by its
chairman, Eben Alade recommended that the Kayode Fayemi-led
administration must use all legal means to compel Mr Oni to refund a
total sum of N5,419, 506, 264.55 to the coffers of the state government.

Sequel to this, the panel had recommended that government should
involve the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the
Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission
(ICPC) and the courts of law to recover all outstanding monies in the
hands of Mr Oni.

The Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo State has filed a petition at the Ondo
State election petition tribunal sitting in Akure.

The Party is
challenging the defeat of its Ondo South senatorial candidate and former
governor of the state, Olusegun Agagu by the Labour Party candidate,
Boluwaji Kunlere. According to the result of the election released by
INEC, Mr Agagu scored 80, 794 votes against Mr Kunlere, who polled 88,
319 votes.

Two PDP candidates,
Agboola Ajayi and Jones Akinyugha also filed petition against the
victory of the Raphel Nomiye and Bakare Moshood of the Labour Party for
house of Representatives seats.

Messrs Ajayi and
Akinyugha, who were lawmakers representing Ilaje/Ese-Odo and
Idanre/Ifedore federal constituencies respectively, were defeated at the
polls by their Labour Party opponents.

ACN challenges election

Similarly, the
Action Congress of Nigeria’s House of Representatives candidate for
Ilaje/Ese-Odo, Felix Rawa has also filed a petition against the
declaration of the LP candidate, Bakare Moshood. All the petitioners,
including the former governor, Mr Agagu are urging the tribunal to
nullify the election of the winners and order a fresh election.

Joined as defendants
in Mr Agagu’s case were the INEC returning officer for Ondo South
Senatorial District; the LP candidate, Boluwaji Kunlere and the Labour
Party.

Though the former
governor did not personally file a petition, his party announced its
resolve to challenge the outcome of the election shortly after Mr
Kunlere was declared.

Mr Kunlere, however, said: “I am not moved by the petition because I
know that I won the election. The people of the southern senatorial
district voted for me because of the love they have for me. “Agagu and
his party are wasting their time, the will be disgraced at the
tribunal.”

A 29-year-old man has allegedly committed suicide after medical results revealed that he was HIV/AIDS positive.

The incident which occurred at Sangere village in Girei Local Government Area of Adamawa State took place in the house of the deceased, Emmanuel Peter.

The discovery of the death resulted in panic as residents trooped out to the scene where the corpse of the deceased was found suspended from the ceiling.

Though the deceased left no written note to say why he decided to take his life, family members suspected his suicide was as a result of the discovery of his HIV/AIDS status.

A relative of the deceased who identified herself as Magdalene Peter said the deceased had battled with a protracted illness before the medical report over the weekend confirmed his HIV/AIDS status. Musa Morris, a resident who spoke to NEXT after the police removed the corpse from the scene at about 7:45am yesterday morning, said the deceased must have contemplated his suicide well in advance. “We suspect he unsuccessfully attempted to terminate his life through the consumption of the dark powdery content of many of the broken batteries seen among his clothing’s before his recourse to a much faster death this morning (yesterday) by hanging,” Mr Musa said.

Poor health system

The chairperson of People Living with HIV/AIDS in the state, Fara James described the development as strange, saying it was quite a long time it had report of such occurrence. She, however, regretted that there was the possibility of such occurrence where pre-test and post-test counselling was not effectively done. “There must have been poor counselling somewhere,” she said.

All the elected politicians in the April polls in Edo State were yesterday issued certificates of return by the Independent National Electoral Commission, in Benin City.

A total of 33 elected members made up of three senators-elect, nine Federal House of Representatives members-elect and 24 State House of Assembly members-elect received their certificates from the electoral commission’s National Commissioner for Edo, Delta and Bayelsa States, Ishmael Igbani.

Among those who were issued with the certificates were 19 State House of Assembly members, seven Federal House of Representatives members and two Senators from the Action Congress of Nigeria, while five State House of Assembly members, two Federal House of Representatives members and one Senator are from the Peoples Democratic Party.

“Without rancour or bitterness”

Speaking at the occasion, the Edo State Residential Electoral Commissioner, Rose Obuoforibo, described the elected members as a new generation of leaders. She expressed happiness over the general conduct of the election, which she said was “without rancour or bitterness”.

She said the election put to shame those who doubted the ability of the commission to conduct free and credible elections.

Mrs Obuoforibo congratulated the candidates for their success at the poll which she said came with hard work, saying that the success demonstrated that election is for all stakeholders. She paid tribute to members of the National Youth Service Corps whom she described as gallant officers.

Mr Igbani, who personally presented the certificates of return to the victorious politicians, reminded them that the electoral agency had promised to be neutral, impartial and transparent in the conduct of the polls. He thanked all those who made the success of the elections possible, namely, members of the NYSC, security agencies, and the electorate.

Mr Igbani also thanked the politicians for their hard work during the campaign, and admonished them to protect their certificates which he described as their keys to their new offices. He also asked them to work for the benefit of those who voted for them.

The senator
representing Imo East in the National Assembly, Chris Anyanwu,
yesterday disclosed that the men of the Nigerian Army saved the Imo
governorship supplementary election from being hijacked by desperate
politicians.

Ms Anyanwu observed
that the soldiers in a display of sound professionalism and inspiring
patriotism resisted desperate efforts and pressures to derail the
election process in last Friday’s supplementary poll.

“This crop of military men made Nigerians proud,” she said.

Commenting on the
conduct of the Police during the election, the senator who was also
re-elected under the platform of the All Progressive Grand Alliance
(APGA) said, “The Police disappointed us all. I had far higher
expectation of the Nigerian Police than what we saw last Friday. I dare
say, there is yet a lot of cleaning up to be done in the Nigerian
Police.”

The senator,
however, noted that only the supplementary election was a genuine
election and full reflection of the wishes of the people of Imo State
whom she said had gone through four years of suffering and silent
endurance.

Commenting on the
role of the military in the election, the assistant director, Army
Public Relations, 82 Division, Enugu, Lieutenant Colonel Musa Sagir,
said the military first delineated the trouble spots before deploying
personnel and hardwares.

Remarkable,
however, was the scenario that took place at Mbaitoli, the largest
council area in the state which had over 120,000 voters. According to a
community source, in the determination of the Army to ensure a credible
election, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 82 Division, Major
General Sarkin Yaki Bello, had on the election day, slept with his
troop in the open field outside the Mbaitoli INEC office which served
as council collation centre keeping watch on the conduct of the
exercise.

According Mr Sagir, the GOC had moved round flashpoints in Oguta and
Mbaitoli with his troop and returned to Mbaitoli where they kept vigil
until they safely escorted the result to the state INEC office.

The current
chairman of the house committee on information, Eseme Eyiboh, will know
his fate on May 19 as the federal high court in Abuja, will deliver its
ruling on whether or not he was the qualified candidate to represent
the Eket Federal Constituency of Akwa Ibom at the concluded House of
Representatives elections.

Mr Eyiboh wants the
court to set aside the primary election, which was held in his
constituency on January 28, 2011, claiming that the Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP) did not conduct any election before forwarding the name of
Bassy Dan Abia to the Independent National Electoral commission (INEC).

According to Mr
Eyiboh, the headquarters of his constituency is Eket and under the
party’s constitution the primaries must hold at the headquarters. He
said that he contested the initial primary election to represent the
Eket/Ibeno/Esit/Onna federal constituency in the 2011 general
elections.

“The primaries were
initially scheduled for 7th January, 2011 at the Eket Township stadium
but were cancelled due to violence and irregularities. The violence
claimed lives of two delegates.” Mr Eyiboh said.

Mr Eyiboh argued
that the party had violated its Constitution and the Electoral Act by
conducting the re-run election in Uyo instead of Eket, which is the
headquarters of Eket Federal Constituency of Akwa Ibom.

Wole Olanipekun,
counsel to Mr Eyiboh said majority of the delegates at the primary
election who converged on Eket township stadium unanimously endorsed Mr
Eyiboh as their candidate in the just-concluded election, and urged the
court to hold that Mr Eyiboh was the rightful candidate.

Law broken

Specifically, Mr
Olanipekun said Article 17(2)(b) of the PDP constitution provided that
the primary election to the House of Representatives shall be conducted
at the constituency headquarters.

“My Lord, the
counsel to PDP in their statement of defence has said that the election
was conducted in Uyo on the basis of convenience. The Electoral Act has
said that it is mandatory to conduct party primaries to select
candidates to contest National Assembly Seat in the Headquarters of
Federal Constituents. My Lord, based on this reckless violation of the
Electoral Act, my client is automatically qualify by the provision of
the law to assume that seat in the House of Representatives,” he added.

Mr Olanipekun
submitted that the defence and counter affidavit of the counsel to Mr
Dan-Abia, Goddy Uche was inconsequential, as according to him, Dan-Abia
was not the person who violated the Electoral Act to conduct the
election in a different location.

Mr Uche, counsel to
Mr Dan-Abia, however, submitted that the suit was not properly filed
before the court, adding that his client had already been declared
winner in the April general election.

Mr Uche said that
the main applicant to the suit (Mr Eyiboh) and all the delegates were
at the venue of the primaries in Uyo Township Stadium.

A.O. Yinka, counsel
to the PDP aligned himself with all the submissions raised by Mr Uche
in defence of Mr Dan-Abia except on the call for the transfer of the
case to the Akwa Ibom Federal High Court.

Mr Yinka argued
that the Court as presently constituted had the jurisdiction to
entertain the suit, adding that all the parties except the third
respondent (Dan-Abia) had offices in Abuja.

Mr Eyiboh in the
supporting affidavit to his motion said that all the three contestants
agreed to the new date, but by the guide line of INEC, the primaries,
including the re-run, ought to hold on or before January 15, 2011. He
stressed that on account of the said failed earlier attempt to hold the
primaries, the party eventually fixed 28th January, 2011, (12 Days
after the deadline fixed by INEC for primaries).

He also said that
for the non-statutory/automatic delegates numbering about 90 for the
constituency, no congresses were held to elect them. They were single
handedly appointed.

Mr Eyiboh added
that on the January 28 date fixed for the re-run of the primary
election, the panel appointed by the party from Abuja never came to the
constituency, but that he was surprised to hear that election had been
conducted there and Dan-Abia’s name was published as a candidate.

According to him,
he believed that the INEC did not monitor any primaries regarding Eket
federal constituency, and that he was confident that if the delegates
who waited with him at Eket township stadium had participated in the
primaries, he would have won by an overwhelming majority.

The presiding
judge, Abdul Kafarati, gave the May 19 date after counsel to the
parties had argued on all the motions that were earlier consolidated by
the court.