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Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State, on Tuesday, said that
the high level of youth unemployment prevalent in the state will be addressed
by the agricultural empowerment scheme in the N450billion appropriation bill
for 2011.

Mr Fashola, at the presidential wing of the Murtala Muhammed
Airport, Lagos, told journalists that the recently passed budget has provided a
better opportunity for the government to take agriculture more seriously.
“Education has always been our priority,” he said. “Agriculture was also a
priority. So, I wasn’t saying that for the first time. What I tried to
emphasize there was that the budget has given us the capacity to address more
seriously the problem of youth unemployment through the agricultural youth
empowerment scheme. There is a special provision in there.”

The governor explained that the budget gives room for graduates
to be involved in the cultivation of crops and rearing of animals, adding that
the state government is working towards getting the youths involved in
agricultural activities. “There are general provisions for adult farmers and
all of that, but there is a special provision for youth unemployment through
the agricultural youth empowerment scheme for graduates,” he said. “We are
moving them to an area where clearly young graduates have not looked enough.
There are enormous opportunities there; become young farmers, provide food for
this country and earn a respectable living from there.”

Fixing Lagos roads

Mr Fashola also promised residents of the state the government
plans to fix roads that are deteriorating, adding that people should express
confidence rather than talk down the administration. “Now, there is a plan to
fix all these roads and I can assure you that the road you are talking about is
already within our radar and I am the last person to want to say ‘go and do
this person’s road’ and all of that,” he said.

“Let the system work. We will get to you because if we start the
practice of running from this local government to that local government, it
becomes a fire fighting approach that does not yield the developmental result
that we want. I assure you, take my words for it, there is a plan and they are
already in your neighbourhood. So, if they haven’t got into your street, it doesn’t
mean they won’t get there.”

Describing ethno-religious violcence as a
threat to democracy, Atiku Abubakar, the former vice president, has
said that as long as previous killings and assassinations remain
unresolved, the perpetrators of these wicked acts will be emboldened to
unleash more mayhem on innocent people.

Mr. Abubakar, however, called on Nigerians to shun violence in any form as a means of redressing perceived grievances.

Reacting to the current spate of
violence, political assassinations, and ethnic/religious conflicts in
some parts of the country, the former vice president in a press
statement issued by his media office, said that the entire country
should know that “no nation can achieve development and stability under
the atmosphere of intolerance and frequent resort to violence to settle
scores.”

According to him, Nigerians should avoid
tendencies that could undermine the foundation of the country’s hard
won unity, adding that no sensible person should take stability for
granted. “Economic development, political stability, and social order
cannot be achieved when violence becomes an easy tool for resolving
misunderstandings.

“I have said it before and I need to say it again that since, as
human beings, we are incapable of creating life, nobody under any
circumstance should take human life,” Mr. Abubakar said.

The Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole yesterday signed the
state’s 2011 budget of N112.7 billion into law.

Promising a commitment to even distribution of amenities in the
state, Mr Oshiomhole while signing the 2011 budget said, that “the challenge
for the executive branch for which you have oversight function is to ensure
that both the spirit and letter of this budget are truly translated.”

According to a statement signed by Peter Okhiria, the chief Press Secretary
to the Edo State Governor, he stated that “Mr Oshiomole assures the good people
of Edo State that this budget, essentially designed to ensure that we complete
the projects that we have started and where possible, we initiate new ones.
With this instrument in place, I have no doubt in my mind that a number of
projects would be completed.”

He commended the state House of Assembly’s Speaker and members for the
timely passage of the bill, stating that “since my assumption of office, this
is the first time that we are concluding and signing the budget into law within
the first month of the year. It has not happened before. In my first year in
office, the budget was passed towards the end of April and by that time, the
rains had started and this had clear implications for capital projects.”

“That under your leadership for the first time the House was able to pass
the budget within January and complete all formalities for the budget to be
signed into law by the end of January, I believe Mr Speaker, you have made
history.”

Presenting the bill earlier, the Speaker of the State House of Assembly,
Bright Omokhodion said the timely passage of the bill was to facilitate the
smooth implementation of government policies and programmes.

A non-governmental
organisation, Project 2011 Swift Count, which monitored the voter
registration in the first two weeks, yesterday agreed with the
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that 58.8 million
Nigerians registered during the first two weeks of the exercise. It said
that the figure is consistent with data collected by its observers from
individual registration centres nationwide.

Project 2011 Swift
Count is a joint initiative of Federation of Muslim Women Associations
in Nigeria (FOMWAN), Justice, Development and Peace/Caritas Nigeria
(JDPC), Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and Transition Monitoring Group
(TMG).

Presenting the
group’s interim report, its 1st co-chair, Dafe Akpedeye said it
dispatched 985 observers to all parts of the nation to monitor the
registration in the first two weeks before it was extended. He said at
the end of the second week of the exercise that 93 percent of the
centres were opened by noon while 86 per cent had two registration
officials present.

He also said that 82
per cent of the centres had complete Direct Data Capture systems (DDC);
79 per cent of centres had the DDC systems functioning throughout the
day; 66 per cent of centres had all essential registration materials; 65
per cent of centres had sufficient materials throughout the day; while
86 per cent of centres remained open throughout the day.

Mr Akpedeye also
said that in two specific areas – opening times and functioning of the
DDC system – there was dramatic improvement of the exercise over time.

He said, “Only 18
per cent of centres opened by noon on the first day, but this increased
to 93 per cent by the end of the first weeks and has remained at this
level. Similarly, DDC systems went from operating properly throughout
the day at 46 per cent of centres at the start of registration to 79 per
cent by the end of the second week.” The chairman also said that the
observers measured how well the centres carried out the multiple
processes of proper voter registration, namely the marking of fingers
with indelible ink, photographing of registrants, issuance of temporary
voter cards, entering of names into both the electronic and the manual
registers.

Mr Akpedeye also
said that in two areas, there were two minor concerns. He said that
while 11 per cent of the registration centres witnessed a few underage
registrants, eight per cent of centres saw few people being permitted to
register even though they were not from the community.

On the group’s
recommendation, Mr Akpedeye said INEC should continue in its efforts to
ensure that all centres are open and properly equipped and that all DDC
systems are functional.

He also said that
INEC needs to improve its logical and organisational capabilities for
the elections since it won’t have the luxury of making improvements over
time as has been the case during the voter registration.

“For elections, INEC
has to ensure that all centres open and operate properly on the first
day because unlike voter registration there won’t be another opportunity
to correct any problems,” he said.

Mr Akpedeye also wants the electoral body to release daily figures
on the number of registration per state and by local government areas.

The Kwara State
governor, Bukola Saraki, swore-in four commissioners yesterday in
Ilorin and charged them not to betray the trust of the people and the
government.

Mr. Saraki
explained that the appointment was to fill existing vacancies. The
governor told the commissioners that his administration would not
tolerate corruption, saying, “It is incumbent on you to make prudence,
transparency, and accountability your watchwords.”

He urged all the
new and serving political appointees in the state to remain strong in
their belief in the Kwara project. The governor further urged them to
be determined in the task of taking the state to a higher level.

The commissioners
include AbdulRazaq Atunwa, a one-time finance commissioner who has
retained the portfolio back, Kolo Mohammed; Raji Atolagbe, and Olabode
Olayemi. Responding on behalf of the commissioners, Mr. Atunwa
expressed his appreciation to the governor for his confidence in them.
He pledged that they would serve with integrity, loyalty, and
commitment to the Kwara project.

Speaking shortly
after the swearing-in, the secretary to the state government, Saka
Isau, explained that some positions in the state executive council
became vacant because a few commissioners resigned to compete in the
April elections.

Apart from Mr.
Atunwa’s posting, the secretary said that Mr. Mohammed would take
charge of the Ministry of Industry and Cooperative, while Mr. Atolagbe
would head the Energy Ministry with Mr. Olayemi in charge of the
Ministry of Works and Transport.

In a minor reshuffle, the former commissioner for works, Kola
Shittu, was moved to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development,
while Dele Abdulganiyu is now in charge of the Agriculture and Natural
Resources Ministry.

A Federal High
Court sitting in Abuja yesterday ordered the People’s Democratic Party
to stop submitting the name of Enugu State Governor Sullivan Chime as
its candidate for the forthcoming governorship election in the state
pending the determination of an action challenging his alleged
nomination.

In the exparte
application argued by Alex Aigbe Izinyon on behalf of a PDP
governorship contestant in the state, Anayo Onwegbu and 38 others, the
court granted an interim order restraining the Independent National
Electoral Commission from accepting or validating Mr. Chime’s name as
the party’s standard bearer for the governorship poll.

Thirty-eight
plaintiffs also got an order temporarily halting the electoral body’s
dealing with alternative lists of names. The trial judge, Abdu
Kafarati, ordered “that the first defendant (PDP) is hereby restrained
in interim from submitting any other names, list of names other than
the names contained in the list of candidates dated 17th January, 2011
which includes the plaintiffs as the gubernatorial candidate and deputy
gubernatorial candidate for Enugu State 2011 respectively and first
defendants for the National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly in
Enugu State for submission to the second defendant (INEC) pending the
determination of the motion on notice.”

Mr. Kafarati adjourned the hearing of the substantive suits till February 8.

The minister of
health, Onyebuchi Chukwu, on Monday in Abuja, restated the federal
government’s commitment to fight against leprosy.

Speaking in
commemoration of the World Leprosy Day, with the theme ‘Nigeria at 50:
Celebrating Success in Leprosy Control’, Mr. Chukwu urged Nigerians to
join in the cause to eliminate the disease from the society.

“Let me
re-emphasise that leprosy is curable; its treatment is free and it is
unfair to stigmatise or discriminate against people affected by
leprosy.

“I will like to
assure the nation that we remain fully committed to the idea of a
country without leprosy, and we intend to continue to fight against
this disease as long as it is necessary,” he said.

The minister, who was represented by Philippa Momah, the head of the
family health department of the ministry, noted that the ministry has
introduced leprosy services in secondary and tertiary health
institutions.

The Supreme Court
on Monday has set March 1 as the date to entertain the main appeal
filed by the Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, Ado Ibrahim, against a judgment that
ordered his vacation of the stool in 1996.

The presiding
judge, Aloma Murthar, adjourned hearing on the appeal to enable all
parties with sundry motions to file and serve the relevant parties.

“We must create
time to deal with all pending motions before we commence hearing on the
main appeal. All these arguments will be sequentially done on March 1,”
the judge said.

Mr. Ibrahim had
approached the court to vacate a judgment delivered by the Ayangba High
Court on April 5, 2006 in Kogi State and upheld by the Appeal Court in
Abuja. The trial court had in that judgment ordered Mr. Ibrahim to stop
parading himself as the Ohinoyi or Attah of Ebiraland. The judgment
also ordered members of the Ebira Traditional Council to take steps to
appoint a new paramount ruler to replace Mohammed Sanni, who died in
1996.

Ahmodu Anivassa and six others had instituted the suit against Mr.
Ibrahim; the former military administrator of Kogi, Lassa Afariya; the
attorney-general of the state; and two others.

The governor of
Borno State, Ali Sheriff, on Monday, formally reported the killing of
Modu Gubio, the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP) gubernatorial
candidate for the state, to the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) in Abuja.

Mr. Gubio was one
of a number of ANPP leaders who was killed on Friday in Maidugari. Also
killed were Goni Sheriff, the younger brother of Governor Sheriff, and
five others.

Mr. Sheriff told
journalists, after meeting with electoral boss, Attahiru Jega, that his
mission to INEC was to notify the commission of the death of “their
governorship candidate.”

He, however, said that while security operatives were doing their
work to uncover those behind the killing, “we will not be deterred.”

President Goodluck
Jonathan yesterday said that he will not contest in the 2015 elections
and that he will ensure that free and fair elections are conducted
during the April polls. Speaking during an interactive session with
Nigerians, primarily diplomats working in the United Nations Economic
Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the African Union (AU), the president
assured them that if he is voted for the next four years, he will
ensure significant improvement in key sectors of the economy like
security, power, education, road, health among others.

“Without security
there is no government so it is not debatable, it is something we have
to address and we are working towards that with vigour. But if I am
voted into power within the next four years, the issue of power will
become a thing of the past. Four years is enough for anyone in power to
make significant improvement and if I can’t improve on power within
this period, it then means I cannot do anything even if I am there for
the next four years” he said.

Fielding questions
from those present at the session on whether Nigerians abroad will
vote, Mr Jonathan said “I would have loved that the Nigerians in
Diaspora vote this year but to be frank with you, that is going to be
difficult now. Presently, the law does not allow voting outside Nigeria
and so this year, Nigerians in Diaspora will not vote but I will work
towards it by 2015 even though I will not be running for election”, he
said.

On the issue of
security in the country, Mr Jonathan said the government is doing
everything possible to arrest the situation adding that all those
involved in the October 1st bombing have been arrested and are
currently being prosecuted. He also said he ordered the release of the
car dealers because they were just businessmen who could not have known
that the vehicles were to be used for such heinous crime.

As regards road
network and transportation in the country, he assured the audience that
the railway system will soon be revamped because presently, heavy duty
vehicles are destroying the roads. “Why we cannot have continuous road
maintenance for now is because no contractor wants to go into it
because of the continuous pressure on the road by heavy duty vehicles.
That is why we are working to ensure that we revamp the rail”.

Care for Nigerian Diaspora

The president also
addressed issues raised on having a database of Nigerian experts in the
Diaspora, Mr Jonathan assured them that he is working on creating a
forum for interaction between them and that the government will also
develop a database, where experts needed to address the various
challenges of the economy will be drawn from. He hinted that this is
why the Diaspora Commission is being set up and the bill is already
before the National Assembly.

The President also
disclosed that the government is planning to review the country’s
foreign policy to ensure that Nigeria gets maximum benefit from its
roles and contributions to international organisations like the AU, UN
and ECOWAS.

He further lamented
that right now, Nigeria’s contributions are not being recognised adding
that “there is need for Nigeria to have something in return for our
investments. We are investing so much but it is not being noticed and
there is need to reverse that trend.”

The President
further assured that Nigerians working in international organisations
and institutions will be issued diplomatic passports. Following this,
he directed the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Odein Ajumogobia to submit
the list of those qualified within the shortest possible time to him.