Recession: Constitute sound team to revamp Nigeria’s economy – Ekweremadu tells Buhari

Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike
Ekweremadu, has advised President
Muhammadu Buhari to constitute a sound
economic team that will help him salvage
Nigeria from its economic woes.
Ekweremadu, in a Sallah message advised that
the team should cut across board, putting aside
party affiliation.
He also urged Muslim faithful to use the
occasion of the Eid-el-Kabir to pray for the
nation’s quick recovery of the nation.
The Deputy President of the Senate maintained
that the present economic challenges were not
beyond redemption, but could actually become
the nation’s turning point away from an oil-
depedent economy only if the right policies and
structures were put in place.
He said, “I warned long ago that elections had
come and gone and we should move from
politics to governance. It is time for governance
and we must bring all capable hands on the
deck, irrespective of political, religious or ethnic
backgrounds.
“Nigerians are facing hard times; and all they
are interested in are positive results and urgent
succour. They don’t care whether you are All
Progressives Congress, APC, or Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP and whether you are
North or South.
“The good news is that capable hands abound in
the country. We must assemble them and give
them both the mandate and liberty to help the
president’s team to revamp the nation’s
economy.” source daily post 

Falana To FG: Reject Swiss’ Conditions For $321m Abacha Loot

Lagos lawyer, Femi Falana, has asked
the federal government to reject, without
any further delay, the conditionality
attached to the repatriation of the sum
of $321 million Abacha loot from
Switzerland to Nigeria.
The conditionality includes the
supervision of the utilisation of the
money by the World Bank.
Falana said that if Switzerland refuses to
return the said $321 million without any
conditionality, the government should not
hesitate to initiate legal proceedings for
the recovery of the asset.
The lawyer, who said this in an open
letter he sent to the government, also
advised that in the proposed suit, Nigeria
should claim punitive and exemplary
damages and interests from Switzerland
for keeping the loot for over 20 years.
The letter reads in part: “We note that,
recently, the Swiss ambassador to
Nigeria, Mr Eric Mayoraz, disclosed that
the Swiss government would soon return
$321m of Abacha loot to Nigeria. As part
of the process of repatriation, the
ambassador claimed that the government
of Switzerland has, unilaterally, requested
the World Bank to supervise the spending
of the returned loot.
“We note that grand corruption, money
laundering and return of stolen assets
have long become major issues of
concern to the international community.
We further note that Switzerland has
acceded to all the relevant international
treaties such as the United Nations
Convention against Corruption for the
return of assets.
“We believe that the conditionality
imposed on Nigeria, which allows the
World Bank to supervise the spending of
returned assets by the Nigerian
government, breaches international law
principles and standards.”
Falana contended that Switzerland has
no legal authority to impose conditions
on Nigeria regarding the spending of
recovered assets.
“Imposing conditions on Nigeria regarding
the spending of returned assets is
disproportionate and amounts to an
unlawful intervention because
Switzerland has no legal or moral right to
the assets. Indeed, Switzerland is
completely complicit for the stashing and
depositing of stolen assets from Nigeria
in its banks and other financial
institutions.
“We are seriously concerned that the
World Bank itself has not demonstrated
sufficient level of transparency and
accountability in its supervision of
spending of previously returned Abacha
loot.
“For example, the World Bank has so far
refused to satisfactorily disclose
information on the spending of recovered
Abacha loot requested by Nigerian
anticorruption NGO, Socio-Economic
Rights and Accountability Project,
(SERAP).
“Having regard to the empty promises
made so far by Switzerland and the
United States to return forfeited assets
worth over $800 million, it is clear that
the Western countries will continue to
frustrate the repatriation of the looted
wealth of the nation being warehoused
by them, albeit illegally.”
Falana urged the federal government to
collaborate with relevant civil society
organisations to mount a campaign,
locally and internationally, to ensure full
compliance by Switzerland, the United
States and other Western countries to
international law principles of
accountability, sovereignty, equality,
fairness and non-interference.

Don’t let Nigeria become another Yugoslavia, Ajayi cautions Buhari

Elder statesman Sir Olaniwun Ajayi has
warned President Muhammadu Buhari
against taking steps that could cause the
country to go the way of the former
Yugoslavia, a balkan confederation that
violently split up in the 90s into smaller
nation-states over ethnic conflicts.
Ajayi, a political associate of the late
nationalist leader Chief Obafemi
Awolowo, while reacting to the on-going
agitation in the Niger Delta and Eastern
Region, said the President should not
reject the persistent calls for the
restructuring of Nigeria by well meaning
Nigerians across the south.
“Yugoslavia has about 6, 7, 8
nationalities. They’ve done all they could
to make sure that every nation in that
country went his own way, but their
leaders said no all the time up to the
time of Josep Broz Tito in 1980.”
The nonagenarian lawyer noted that
between 1980 and 1990 Yugoslavia tried
to stave off disintegration, until tensions
came to a boil in 1991, when the
state began its split into Croatia (1991),
Slovenia (1991) Macedonia (1991),
Serbia (2006), Bosnia and Herzegovina
(1992), Kosovo (2008), and Montenegro
(2006).
He noted that Nigeria should be ran along
the existing six geo-political zones and
let every zone develop in accordance
with its own pace.
“We are not a one monolithic country.
We are a federation of different nations
as a result of our nature, from the point
of view of our ethnic nationality, our
languages, culture. And if we are so
different we should be managed
according to our nature and culture.”
He pointed out that there was no way
the president or any leader could think he
could force a multiethnic country like
Nigeria to live same way, saying the
ideology and ways of life of Fulani and
Igbo are not the same as that of the
Yoruba and Kanuri, for instance.

Back to the Ekwueme Constitution

One of the most perplexing paradoxes in
today’s Nigeria is the strident campaign for the
adoption of the report of the 2014 national
dialogue on the Nigerian condition organized by
the Goodluck Jonathan administration as the
basis of a new constitution. Even people who
should know better have joined the bandwagon,
showing that many Nigerians just go with the
flow. Mental rigour remains a commodity in
awfully short supply in the Nigerian public
space.
The most critical objective for the campaign for
Nigeria’s structural redesign since the
mid-1990s is to reduce the number of states
from 36 to about 6, so as to, among other
factors, free the economy from perennial
paralysis arising out of the humungous annual
recurrent expenditure at all levels. But the 2014
Conference agreed that the number of states
should, in fact, balloon from 36 to 54.
The delegates believed that Nigeria, whose 28
out of the 36 states cannot pay workers’ salary,
should have the highest number of states
throughout the globe, four more than the United
States, the world’s wealthiest nation which has
50 states and a population of 300m. This
recommendation highlights the emptiness of the
Nigerian political class. Still, some people who
delight in being called social critics and
statesmen have of late been trumpeting the
2014 Conference Report as Nigeria’s only hope
for survival whereas it actually sounds the
country’s death knell. Pray, how can Nigeria
survive for up to six months with some 54
states?
High-minded people recognize the enormity of
power conferred on Nigeria’s centre, observing
it is a principal cause of the country’s
socioeconomic underdevelopment. And a major
reason for the concentration of power at the
centre is the large number of states. In other
words, the more states are balkanized to create
other states, the more they become dependent
on the federal government. And yet the people
who complain that the centre is too powerful
are the same individuals and groups pushing for
the 2014 Conference Report which advocates
as many as 18 more states to be created in one
fell swoop! The truth is that the death of the
report iwas foretold ab initio. Besides the fact
that there is no law creating the 2014
Conference, it never had legitimacy or moral
authority. All the almost 500 delegates were
appointed by one single individual. This is not
tenable in a democracy in the 21st century. And
those asking President Muhammadu Buhari to
adopt and implement the report should know the
Constitution does not vest such power in the
president. Interestingly, those who advocate
Buhari’s implementation of the report frequently
accuse the president of dictatorial tendencies.
Nigeria needs to be redesigned. Much of the
work has mercifully already been caught out, as
can be gleaned from the 1995 Constitution
which is sometimes called the Ekwueme
Constitution because its key differentiating
features were canvassed by former Vice
President Alex Ekwueme at the 1994/5
Constitutional Conference in Abuja. The major
differentiating contents of the 1995 Constitution
are the division of the country into geopolitical
zones, the adoption of the zones as the
federating units, rotational presidency, one term
of five or six years for the president and each
state governor which is not renewable, increase
in the use of the derivation principle from 3 to
13%, etc. Sani Abacha had begun to implement
the 1995 Constitution, as shown by his creation
of six states in 1996, with each zone getting one
new state. One good thing about the zones is
that it makes for equity and stability. It divides
the South into three zones and the North into
another three zones. Nigeria began as an
amalgamation between the North and the
South.
It is regrettable that Afenifere leaders coerced
Abdulsalami Abubakar into jettisoning the 1995
Constitution and replacing it with the 1979
Constitution. Afenifere leaders felt that since
the 1995 Constitution was drawn up under
Abacha who was justifiably considered an
enemy, it must be rejected, even though Abacha
had practically no input in it. It was a case of
throwing away both the baby and the bad water.
Abubakar was desperate to have the Yoruba
participate in his transition to civil rule
programme, and so capitulated to the Afeniferi
demand. He acquiesced to the demand that the
1979 Constitution be brought back. This is why
there are almost no differences between the
1979 and 1999 constitutions. The few
differences lie in such matters as the
establishment of the National Judicial
Commission and the increase in the use of the
derivation principle from 3to 13% in the revenue
allocation formula because the chairman of the
committee set up by Abdulsalami to look into
the adoption of the 1979 Constitution, Justice
Niki Tobi, an indigene of oil-rich Delta State,
insisted on its retention from the Ekwueme
Constitution.
Ironically, the Afenifere leaders who made
jettisoning the 1995 Constitution and its
replacement with the 1979 Constitution their
condition for participation in the transition
programme are the same people now accusing
the Abubakar military junta of imposing the
1999 constitution on Nigerians—and many
otherwise perceptive Nigerians believe the
propaganda stunt!
Nigeria needs a new constitution to meet its
new challenges. Only people directly elected by
the citizens can have the mandate to undertake
such a sacred enterprise as designing or
reforming a constitution in a fundamental sense.
Though some critical national issues have been
addressed by the 1995 Constitution, one matter
which should not be overlooked is the
imperative for multiple vice presidency. It was
about the only issue which Ekwueme spiritedly
but unsuccessfully fought to include in the 1995
Constitution. Ekwueme argued that there should
be six vice presidents, with each zone, including
the home zone of the president, supplying one.
In the event of the president dying in office or
resigning or removal from office, the vice
president from his zone will complete the term
of the president.
If the term is not completed, the people from
the president’s zone are most likely to feel
cheated, as we have seen in the case of
President Umaru Yar’Adua when he died in 2010,
in the third year of national leadership; the
North felt shortchanged. To reduce costs and
make things easier, the people who may be
regarded as vice presidents can be the Senate
President, Speaker of the House of
Representatives, secretary to the federal
government, head of civil service, and a person
who may be designated as Vice President 1 and
working daily with the president in State House.
This means that people coming from these
offices mentioned above will perforce hail from
different geopolitical zones.
Nigeria needs a new constitution or a
comprehensively reformed one. The states as
currently constituted and local government
areas cannot have a place in the new
constitution. The idea of a so-called third or
fourth tier of government is a misnomer. The
1995 Constitution, otherwise known as the
Ekwueme Constitution, provides the starting
point for a new Nigeria.

Nigeria: Why I Will Not Serve in Buhari's Govt - Okonjo-Iweala

By Charles Kumolu
Former Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-
Iweala yesterday said it was better to allow
those managing Nigeria's economy to do the
best they could, noting that there could be
solutions to the present economic decline in the
country.
She also noted that she would not be available
to serve the present administration if overtures
were made to her by President Muhammadu
Buhari, noting that Nigeria boasts of competent
people, who would offer their services when
called upon.
Okonjo-Iweala, who said this while participating
in an Aljazeera programme: The Stream,
regretted that the economic gains recorded in
Africa started eroding a few years ago, noting
that solving macroeconomic question was key
to fixing the continent's economic challenges.
ARTICLE CONTINUES AFTER ADVERTISEMENT
She specifically said that having a firm control
over the rate of inflation in addition to ensuring
a stable exchange rate should be prioritised by
African governments.
She said: " One of the things you learn as you
get wiser is to talk less as you grow older. I
have spent my time contributing to the country.
It will be better to live those managing the
economy to do what they know how to do.
There can be solutions.
"I am not a typical politician. I went in as a
technocrat. I think on the continent we have
seen a period when the economy was doing
well, in the last two years we have been
experiencing challenges. We need to focus on
the basics which are macro-economics. You
must get the fundamentals like having a stable
exchange rate and having inflation under
control.
"I served my country for seven years and it was
a great honour. The second time was very tough
but it is still an honour. I am not the only
person who is a repository of knowledge. There
are other people who can equally try their hands
in running the economy.
"I will advise young people not to wait for
employment. They should create jobs to employ
six people or more. During my time in
government, we had a programme called You
Win designed to support young entrepreneurs.
The whole idea was to have a business plan
competition. Source All Africa

FG Orders Navy to Investigate Influx of Foreign Trawlers into Niger Delta Waters

The federal government has ordered the
Nigerian Navy to investigate and stop the
increasing influx of foreign trawlers into the
nation’s territorial waters for indiscriminate
fishing.
The Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural
Development, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri,
disclosed this while addressing some issues
raised during the interactive session held with
farmers in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital.
Lokpobiri said the influx of foreign trawlers into
Nigerian territorial waters through the coast to
fish without the permission of the federal
government would no longer be tolerated.
He said the presidency had directed the Chief
of Naval Staff to look into the matter with
immediate effect.
Lokpobiri also enjoined the indigenes of Bayelsa
and other states of the region to embrace
peace while the federal government would
continue to provide ways of boosting the
economy.
He expressed concern about pipeline vandalism
by youths in the region, urging them to go into
agriculture.
Lokpobiri also advised the people of the Niger
Delta region to invest in farming as loans would
be provided for them by Bank of Industry and
Agricultural Development Bank in the state.
Commenting on the interactive session, the
President of the Ijaw Youth Council, Mr. Udeng
Eradiri, said the Niger Delta region and youths
had to key into agriculture to create wealth.

ONDO GOV POLL: How padded delegates’ list tore APC apart

Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Mr. Rotimi
Akeredolu, SAN, as the governorship
candidate of the All Progressives Congress,
APC, is already tearing the party apart.
Signs that all is still not well in the party
even after the initial calm that followed last
weekend’s governorship primaries are
becoming more visible and is threatening
the fragile peace in the party.
The aftermath of the primaries has claimed
a Senatorial Chairman of the party, Chief
Gboyega Adedipe, who stepped down
following Akeredolu’s emergence.
Interestingly, more leaders may dump the
APC, as some of the aspirants are already
in talks with political parties that are yet to
conduct their primaries with the hope of
picking their tickets.
The highly monetised election saw the
preferred aspirant of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed
Tinubu, the national leader of APC, Dr
Olusegun Abraham taking the second
position behind Akeredolu.
Akeredolu took many by surprise as political
pundits had posited that he would perform
dismally at the polls.
Padded delegate’s list
However, the outcome shook many to the
marrows and huge dust is being raised by
some of the aspirants, who allege that the
delegates’ list was padded to favour
Akeredolu in Saturday’s election.
Rejection of the result by two frontline
contestants and calls for fresh election have
trailed the exercise in the last one week.
Two aspirants, Prof Ajayi Boroffice and Dr
Bode Ayorinde both members of the
National Assembly have preferred not to
lend their voices to the alleged padded list,
perhaps, for political reason and to secure
their present positions.

Aggrieved aspirants kick

First to complain over doctoring of the
delegates’ list released to the aspirants a
few hours to the election was the former
governorship candidate of the PDP in the
2012 governorship election, Chief Olusola
Oke.
Also, Dr. Olusegun Abraham, who had earlier
conceded defeat recanted and described the
result as fraudulent and unacceptable.
Some aggrieved leaders of the party in the
state have picked holes in the election
describing it as a sham.
Oke said in a statement, a day after the
election, that the postponement of the
election twice was “as we later learnt from
the process of the primary, to allow time to
perfect the rigging strategy of the primaries
to return a pre-agreed aspirant.
“The illicit substitution of the delegates’ list
officially given to the aspirants from
Abuja,less than 12 hours to the primary was
meant to allow persons who were never
members of the executive of the party to
participate as voters in the primaries.
Speaking through the Director General of
his campaign Organisation, Bola Fisayo, Oke
said, “let the people of Ondo State and in
particular members of the APC in the state
not be deceived, what they saw on
television as a process was a voodoo. The
primary election was everything but credible
primary.”
On his part, Dr Olusegun Abraham who was
the “annointed” aspirant of Tinubu, who had
earlier conceded defeat and congratulate
Akeredolu recanted by rejecting the result
which he markedly declared as fraudulent.

Abraham kick

Abraham declared that “the result was
unacceptable to him considering the
staggering facts of anomalies that have
since emerged to the demerit of the
exercise.
Speaking through the Director General of his
campaign Organisation, Chief Olu Adegboro,
Abraham said he was baffled by “the gale of
allegations and facts of malpractices that
have since mared the conduct and process
of the Ondo gubernatorial primary election.
He said: “It is now beyond doubt that the
delegates’ list used on the day of the
primary election was doctored and strangely
injected with a mind blowing number of
delegates who are neither executive
members of our party nor statutory
delegates.
“To say the least, the manipulation of the
delegates’ list, highly skewed accreditation
process and the entire processes leading to
the conduct of the primary election has cast
the darkest stain on the result of the
primary election held on the 3rd September,
2016.
“Against this background, coupled with the
change and integrity that our party preaches
and practices, and having widely consulted
with my numerous supporters, I have
reached the hour of decision to fall back on
the internal mechanism of our great party to
seek redress so that at the end justice will
be served and more importantly, our
democracy may endure.
“To this end, the outcome of the September
3rd APC Governorship primaries in Ondo
State is unacceptable and I hereby appeal
against same.”
Also, some leaders of the party have
petitioned the appeal committee equally
alleging fraud in the election and called for a
fresh exercise.
The petition signed by chairman of the party
in the Central, East and West senatorial
districts, Messrs Adegboyega Adedipe,
Akintunde Samuel and Adeola Ademulegun
respectively, said the result failed to reflect
the reality of the election.
They alleged in their petition that “A strange
delegates’ list was introduced on the night
of the election after everybody had gone to
sleep only for us to wake up in the morning
of the election to see a massively corrupted
delegates’ list.”
“Names of 47 percent of the delegates in
Ondo East were either deleted or substituted
with people who are unknown to the party
as executive members. Some of the injected
names are not even aware of the
development and so did not come for the
primary election.
“In all, a total of 64 names were injected
into the delegates’ list. The names were
unknown to the party. For instance,
somebody who never contested any
election, and some even unknown to the
party suddenly became ward chairmen in
wards four, six, two and seven of Ondo East
Local Government.
“Our total valid delegates are 135 out of
which 64 were disenfranchised, meaning 47
of the delegates on the unlawful list were
illicit voters.
“While Akeredolu got 669 votes at the
primaries, Abraham got 635 votes.

Ondo PDP call for probe

Also worried by the monetised election, the
Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the state
has called on President Muhammadu Buhari
to probe the alleged N5 billion allegedly
spent by the aspirants of the APC during
the primary election.
It’s publicity Secretary, Banji Okunomo, said,
“It was gathered that the aspirants involved
in a cash bazaar to induce the delegates at
the elections, an act that is unprecedented
in the history of party primaries in Ondo
state.
“If the Buhari government fails to urgently
probe the sources of money wasted on the
APC primary in Ondo State, it would be
difficult for any sane person to countenance
the seriousness of the acclaimed fight
against corruption by the APC led
government.”

REVEALED: How Politics Cost Nigeria The Services Of History Making Coach Of Uganda

The coach of the Cranes of Uganda Milutin
Sredojevic popularly refereed to as Micho who
made history by qualifying Uganda for their
first ever Africa Cup of Nations since 1978,
would have been the coach of Nigeria were it
not for power play, politics and intrigues of
the Nigeria football system.
Before the appointment of Sunday Oliseh as
coach of the Super Eagles, Micho was the
front runner for the job after he was proposed
to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) by
match agent Jairo Pachon.
President of the NFF Amaju Pinnick took his
board members by surprise when he held talks
with former Nigeria national team captain
Sunday Oliseh and offered him the job as
opposed to Micho.
After Nigeria’s failure to qualify for the Africa
Cup of Nations, Micho was once again
approached few months before the Paul Le
Guen fiasco but this time around interest in
the office of the NFF president put a stop to
it.
Pinnick waxed lyrical about his preference for
a Serbian coach but settled for French man Le
Guen who later turned down the job. But prior
to that time, Micho’s appointment would have
been rubber stamped were it not for greed
among close allies of the NFF supremo.
An unnamed ally of the president of the NFF
wanted the coach to dump the man who
proposed him for the job in Jairo Pachon for
him, but the Serbian refused and insisted on
the Colombian match agent of the NFF.
It didn’t go down well with the said individual,
who in turn turned the head of the NFF
president against appointing the Serb. His loss
happened to be Uganda’s gain as while Nigeria
missed out on a second consecutive AFCON,
Uganda under Micho are going to be there for
the first time in 38 years.

Court slams N10m bail on Orubebe

A High Court of the Federal Capital
Territory sitting in Maitama Wednesday
admitted bail in the sum of N10 million to
the former minister of Niger Delta Affairs,
Godsday Orubebe, and four others
standing trial before it for allegedly
diverting the sum of N2.3 billion. Orubebe,
Oludare Lawrence Alaba (an Assistant
Director, Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs),
Ephraim Tewolde Zeri (Director of
Contracts in Gitto Costruzioni Generali
Nigeria Limited were yesterday arraigned
before the court on a six-count charge by
the Independent Corrupt Practices and
other related offences Commission
(ICPC).
They were accused of diverting the money
meant for the dualisation of Section IV of
the East-West Road.
The accused however pleaded not guilty
to all the charges when it was read out to
them.
The trial judge, Justice Olukayode Adeniyi,
after listening to the submissions from
both the defence and prosecution
counsels over their bail application,
admitted bail to the former minister in the
sum of N10 million.
The judge also ordered Orubebe to
produce one surety in like sum.
Adeniyi said Orubebe’s surety must be a
responsible Nigerian with evidence of
three years tax payment and land property
owner within the FCT.
The judge however ruled that Alaba and
Zeri should produce one surety each in
like sum, who must be an assistant
director in the civil service and a land
owner within the court’s jurisdiction and
that the sureties must depose to an
affidavit of means.
Adeniyi said Orubebe shall remain in the
custody of ICPC until his bail conditions
were met and adjourned the case till
November 10 for hearing.
The defendants were accused of diverting
about N2.3 billion meant for the
dualisation of Section IV of the East-West
Road.
Orubebe allegedly circumvented a Federal
Executive Council approval for the
dualisation of the Eket-Oron Road, part of
the East-West Road which runs from Edo
to Bayelsa.
He allegedly instructed the contractor,
Gitto Construction, to rehabilitate instead
of dualising as approved by the council. Source. National mirror

Postpone Edo Election, Police, DSS Tell INEC

For fear of possible breach of security
and attack on citizens, the Nigeria Police
and the Department of State Services
(DSS) have called on the Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC)
postpone the September 10, 2016
governorship election in Edo State.
The security agencies said the call
follows credible intelligence available to
them which indicate that there may be
terror attacks during next week’s Sallah
holidays, particularly in Edo State.
The electoral umpire, INEC, however said
yesterday that it was yet to get a formal
security report from the security
agencies calling for the postponement of
Saturday’s election.
According to the Force Public Relations
Officer, DCP Don Awunah, and his DSS
counterpart, Tony Opuiyo, who was
represented by Garba Abdullahi, at a
briefing in Abuja yesterday, it was in the
light of the intelligence gathered that the
appeal for the postponement of the
election became pertinent.
DCP Awunah, in a statement he read
during the briefing, said: “The Nigeria
Police and the DSS wish to inform the
general public that credible intelligence
availed to the agencies indicate plans by
insurgent/extremist elements to attack
vulnerable communities and soft targets
with high populations during the
forthcoming Sallah celebrations between
September 12 and 13, 2016.
“Edo State is among the states being
earmarked for these planned attacks by
the extremist elements. It is in regard of
this that we are appealing to INEC,
which has legal duty to regulate
elections in the country, to consider the
need for possible postponement of the
date of the election in Edo State in order
to enable security agencies deal
decisively with the envisaged terrorists
threats.
“While the police/DSS remain mindful of
the inconveniences this request may
cause the various political stakeholders,
it is our strong resolve that security
agencies need not be distracted from
ensuring a peaceful and secure Nigeria
now and always.”
The security agencies, however, assured
members of the public that they will
continue to remain focused and
committed to their security.
INEC’s deputy director, Voter Education
and Publicity (VEP), Mr Nick Dazang,
noted that the electoral commission had
no official communication from any of
the security agencies relating to the
postponement of the polls.
He further said that INEC had just
concluded a stakeholders’ meeting in Edo
State, and that the commission’s
chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu,
was planning to make another visit to
the state to finalise plans ahead of the
polls.
“As a matter of fact, we got the
information from the media. Some of
your colleagues have been calling; that’s
how we got to know about it.
“We’ve just finished stakeholders’
meeting there. The chairman and other
national commissioners are meeting here.
Maybe subsequently, we will have an
idea. In fact, we will have to confirm the
veracity of that statement,” he declared.
PDP kicks, advises against false alarm
The Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) leadership
yesterday kicked against the call by the
police and DSS for the postponement of
Saturday’s Edo State governorship
election on grounds of an insurgency
alert, describing it as a false alarm.
The opposition party, therefore, called on
President Muhammadu Buhari to call the
security agencies to order, stressing that
it was taken aback that the alert came a
day after he (the president) attended a
rally of his party, the All Progressives
Congress (APC) in Benin City, which was
concluded without any hitch.
A statement by PDP’s national publicity
secretary, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, advised
INEC not to succumb to the alarm.
The party wondered why the security
agencies saw no reason to call off a
recently conducted Senatorial by-election
in Borno State, which is a high-point of
insurgency in the country.
“Our attention has been drawn to the
shocking breaking news of the advise by
the DSS and the Police to INEC to
postpone the Saturday, September 10,
2016 gubernatorial election in Edo State
on the excuse of insurgency alert.
“We are taken aback by this advise
coming a day after the president and
commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces
of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,
Muhammadu Buhari was present at the
mega rally of its party, the APC, in Benin
City, which was concluded without any
hitch.
“It is on record that INEC recently
conducted a ‘hitch free’ Senatorial By-
Election in Borno State which is a high-
point of insurgency in the country but
the security agencies saw no reason to
call-off the election. It is therefore
lamentable to hear from these same
security agencies that election cannot be
held in a state where in less than 24
hours, the president and all the APC
leaders and members had an
uninterrupted rally.
“We are calling on the President,
Muhammadu Buhari to caution the
security agencies and direct them to
provide full security and also to desist
from doing anything that will jeopardise
this forthcoming gubernatorial election in
Edo State. We are equally counting on
INEC not to succumb to this false alarm
by acting independently and holding
election as scheduled.
“We hope that this advise from the
security agencies is not in concert with
the APC, having seen the indices of
losing the Edo State gubernatorial
election to the PDP,” the party stated.
The Senator Makarfi-led PDP called on
its members, supporters, other Edo voters
and the international community to
remain law-abiding “while staying alert on
this calculated attempt at scuttling our
hard-earned democracy.”
Also in a reaction yesterday, the PDP
governorship candidate in the election,
Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, accused the
APC of being behind the call for the
postponement of the election, using what
he termed “DSS and police fake security
report.”
According to him, the APC had developed
cold feet because he had established a
comfortable lead over its (APC’s)
candidate, Godwin Obaseki, according to
A new opinion poll conducted by a media
research and marketing organisation,
Samrex Communications Ltd.
Data from the survey supervised by Dr
Ubani Azuka, and released on Tuesday,
showed that the lead which Obaseki had
enjoyed in Edo North had hugely
declined, compared to the last survey.
The report said that the survey, which
targeted 23,000 respondents cut across
the three senatorial districts, was carried
out between August 1 and September 2,
2016.
The latest report by the organisation,
which targeted likely voters by telephone
and online survey in the three senatorial
districts – Edo South, Edo Central and
Edo North – showed Ize-Iyamu to have
the support of 75 per cent of the
electorate in Edo South, 77 per cent in
Edo Central, and 47 per cent in Edo
North versus 25 per cent, 22 per cent
and 53 per cent of the respondents who
said they supported Obaseki.
The survey said that many of the
respondents based their decision on the
neglect of their communities, unfulfilled
promises by the government, huge
corruption within the state government,
high cost of living, bad roads and
abandoned projects in their areas.
On the other hand, those who promised
to vote for the APC generally based their
decision on the renovation of schools;
the promise to build industries to
generate income and create jobs; loans
to farmers and small scale business
owners and provision of potable water
and youth empowerment.
They also said they wanted somebody
who would sustain Governor Adams
Oshiomhole’s legacies.

Nigeria: Presidency - Nigeria Not Importing Poisonous Rice

The Presidency has dispelled rumours in the
social media that the federal government was
importing poisonous rice.
Presidential spokesman, Mr Femi Adesina, in a
statement on Wednesday, said the government
described attempts by unscrupulous individuals
on the social media linking the government and
Dangote Group with a plan to flood the country
with genetically modified rice as extremely
uncharitable.
He said the government warned purveyors of
such malicious information and those thinking of
embarking on the same route to have a rethink
and retrace their steps.
"In real terms, the federal government in 2014
signed a $1billion Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) for investment in an
integrated rice project with Dangote Industries
Ltd. Further to this agreement, Dangote
Industries Limited this year cultivated over 8,000
hectares in Hadejia, Jigawa State, creating over
10,000 direct and indirect jobs for farmers who
are the major beneficiaries of the scheme.

"In consolidation of the rice project of the
federal government, the President Muhammadu
Buhari administration is also in partnership with
the African Development Bank (AfDB) and other
reputable companies to tap into the vast
potentials in the private sector and broaden the
economic base of the country," he said.
He said the gains of the diversification drive,
especially in the agriculture sector, were already
yielding dividends as shown by the recent
statistics in the sector as published by the
National Bureau of Statistics.
According to him, these engagements will
continue until the present administration has
laid a solid foundation for the economic
development of the nation.
He said it was therefore ridiculous that a
government that was wholly devoted to the
generation of employment for Nigerians,
especially through agriculture, would turn
around to get involved in an activity that would
reverse the gains of the same partnership. Source All African

Political appointments: no part of Nigeria is left out, says Lai Mohammed

In a statement, the Minister of Information
and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the
comment made by the US lawmaker was
based on a faulty premise.

Alhaji Mohammed said: “Congressman
Marino was poorly informed about the issues
he commented on, wondering why he did not
take the pains to get first hand information
from the US Embassy in Nigeria or any other
credible source before engaging in what is
nothing but a propaganda of his own
imagination.”
The Minister said by asking the US to
refrain from selling war-planes and other
military equipment to Nigeria based on a
faulty premise, the Congressman relied on
the strength of some imaginary accusation
against President Muhammadu Buhari’s
administration.
He said, “Insecurity anywhere is insecurity
everywhere. Had Congressman Marino
understood this, he would not have made
the kind of call he made concerning the US
security assistance to Nigeria. The Boko
Haram insurgency that Nigeria has
decisively dealt with under President
Muhammadu Buhari is not just a Nigerian
problem but a regional and international
crisis.”
The Minister said US lawmaker did not have
Nigeria in mind when he wrote that the US
should withhold security assistance to
Nigeria until President Buhari “demonstrates
a commitment to inclusive government and
the most basic tenets of democracy:
freedom to assemble and freedom of
speech.”
The statement reads: ‘’An Administration
that operates purely on the basis of respect
for the rule of law and a strict adherence to
constitutional order is not one to deny the
citizens of their constitutionally-guaranteed
rights. This Administration therefore does
not need the goading of Congressman
Marino or anyone for that matter to do what
is right.
‘’Concerning running an inclusive
government, had Congressman Marino done
his homework before dispatching his letter,
he would have realized that no part of the
country is left out in the distribution of
political appointments, for example, or in the
appointment of Ministers, which was done in
accordance with the Constitution that
mandates that the President must appoint
at least one minister from each of the 36
states and the Federal Capital Territory.
‘’Had the Congressman sought information
from credible sources before engaging in a
flight of fancy, he would have been
presented with a comprehensive information
on the appointment of CEOs for Federal
Government’s parastatals, agencies and
commissions that shows that the appoints
were almost evenly matched along the line
of the six geo-political zones in the country:
With the North West having 51, North
Central 46, North East 45, South East 41,
South West 45 and South South 45.
“The Congressman may wish to note that
each geo-political zone comprises 6 states,
with the exception of North West (7) and
South East (5).”
The Minister described Marino’s description
of the administration’s anti-corruption
efforts as ‘selective’ as a tired argument
that clearly shows that the US lawmaker
must have appended his signature to
someone’s concocted line.
‘’That line was invented by those seeking to
cause an unnecessary distraction from the
Administration’s anti-corruption efforts, and
it has been roundly rejected. Congressman
Marino’s decision to exhume the dead
postulation without an iota of proof is a
reflection of whose side he has taken in the
ongoing efforts to rid Nigeria of corrupt
elements. Needless to say that the anti-
corruption battle will continue unhindered,
irrespective of whose ox is gored. And in
this fight, only the guilty needs be afraid,”
he said.
Mohammed said Nigeria is delighted that US
Secretary of State, John Kerry, to whom
Marino addressed his letter, is more
knowledgeable, better briefed and definitely
more hands-on concerning Nigerian issues.

Nigeria: How National Assembly Members Earn N6.78 Billion Annually

At a time Nigerians are groaning under the yoke
of recession, members of the National Assembly
comprising the senators and members of House
of Representatives have received a total sum of
N6.78 billion as their official salaries and
allowances in one year, investigation by
Economic Confidential has revealed.
The report obtained by the Economic
intelligence magazine showed the 'legitimate'
remuneration of the federal legislators in
compliance to the statutory approval of the
Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal
Commission (RMAFC). The remuneration
packages include: annual salaries,
accommodation, vehicle maintenance and fuel,
personal assistants, house maintenance,
domestic staff, entertainment and utilities
allowances.
Others allowances are: Constituency allowance,
annual leave, hardship allowance, wardrobe,
newspapers and responsibility allowances.
A careful scrutiny of the report showed that
each senator has an annual salary of
N2.02million while a member of House of
Representative receives N1.98million as annual
basic salary. The basic salary of the Senate
President is N2.48million while that of the
Speaker of House of Representatives is
N2.47million.

The Deputy Senate President has N2.30million
as annual basic salary while his counterpart,
Deputy Speaker earns N2.28million annually.
In addition to the annual basic salary, each
member of the National Assembly receives 200
per cent of the annual salary for
accommodation, 75 per cent for vehicle
maintenance, 25 per cent for personal
assistants, five per cent for house maintenance,
75 per cent for domestic staff, 30 per cent for
both entertainment and utilities.
Others are, 25 per cent for wardrobe, 15 per
cent for newspapers and responsibility
allowance of between 10, 7, and 5 per cent
respectively as the case may be on the position
of the legislator.
While each senator receives a whopping 250 per
cent for constituency allowance, member of
House of Representative gets 100 per cent for
the same annually.
In all, the senate alone numbering 109 senators
gulped the sum of N1.85billion annually, while
the 360 members of the House of
Representatives got N4.93 billion as total
remuneration packages.

According to estimates from the report, there
are non-regular allowances federal legislators
are entitled to.
They include furniture and severance gratuity
which are due only once in four years.
Other non-regular allowances include estacode
allowances which is paid in US dollars for
foreign trips and duty tour allowance which is
paid in naira for local trips within Nigeria.
Further analysis revealed that an average
Nigerian worker with a minimum wage of
N18,000 a month will have to work for four
years before earning the utility allowance for
one legislator.
Unless the remuneration package is reviewed
downward or upward by the RMAFC, the
legislators will continue to enjoy the current
salaries and allowances.

Immigration Minister signs agreement with Nigeria on returning stolen criminal assets

Criminal assets stolen in Nigeria and seized in
the UK are to be returned to the West African
country through a new agreement signed this
week.
The deal was signed by Immigration Minister
Robert Goodwill and Nigerian Attorney General
Abubakar Malami.
The Memorandum of Understanding was signed
as part of a 2 day visit to the African country
by the Immigration Minister last week (Tuesday
30 and Wednesday 31 August). It reinforces the
2 countries’ commitments to continuing
cooperation and mutual support in returning the
seized proceeds of bribery or corruption in a
responsible and transparent way.
Immigration Minister Robert Goodwill said:
This government is committed to
attacking criminal finances, making it
harder to move, hide and use the
proceeds of crime. Between April 2010
and March 2016, we seized a total of
£1.2 billion from criminals, with more
assets recovered in 2015 to 2016 than
ever before.
Crime of this sort is not confined to our
own borders and it is therefore essential
that we work with international partners
to tackle it. This agreement spells out
how the UK and Nigeria will ensure that
criminal finances that have been
misappropriated from Nigeria will be
returned for the benefit of the Nigerian
people.
The Memorandum of Understanding makes
clear that both countries are committed to
ensuring that returned money should not be
allowed to get back into the hands of criminals.
As part of the agreement, the Nigerian
government has also pledged to use any
returned funds for projects that will benefit the
poorest members of society and improve access
to justice for all Nigerians.
The UK has been a driving force in bringing
countries together to tackle serious and
organised crime. Earlier this year, it created the
Global Forum for Asset Recovery which will
bring together governments – including Nigeria -
and law enforcement agencies to work to
recover stolen assets. Domestically, as outlined
in this year’s Queen’s speech, a Criminal
Finance Bill will be introduced to Parliament
which will allow the government to recoup more
criminal assets by reforming the law on
proceeds of crime. Source,

Nigeria ranks 106 out of 140 countries on Tech Readiness, says Onu

LAGOS—Minister of Science and Technology,
Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, has said that in Global
Competitiveness Report for 2015/2016, Nigeria
recorded a score of 3.0 out of 7 and ranked
106 out of 140 countries on Technological
Readiness and a score of 2.8 out of 7 with a
rank of 117 out of 140 countries on
Innovation.
The minister at a policy dialogue with private
sector organised by the Nigeria Economic
Submit Group, NESG, said: “It is worth pointing
out that 13 of the countries that ranked
among the top 20 in the Global Competitive
Index also ranked among the top 20 in the
rankings of the Technological Readiness and
Innovation Pillars.
They are Switzerland, Singapore, United States
of America, Germany, Netherlands, Japan,
Finland, Sweden, United Kingdom, Norway,
Denmark, Belgium and Luxembourg.
“When we look at the MINT countries of
Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey, apart
from the fact that the other three are doing
much better than us in competitiveness, they
rank far above Nigeria in the rankings on
Technological Readiness and Innovation.
“We should aim to be the best for only the
best is good enough for Nigeria. We can no
longer continue to depend on others. The time
has come for us to be self-reliant and also be
competitive enough for others to depend on us
at least in some areas. This will nourish our
national pride.”
“Closing the development gap will depend on
closing the existing STI investment gaps. While
a target of 1% of GDP for Research and
Development, RD, is perceived as high by
many governments, countries with strong and
effective STI systems invest up to 3.5% of
their GDP in RD.
“If countries wish to break the poverty cycle
and achieve Sustainable Development Goals
SDGs, they will have to set up ambitious
national minimum target investment for STI.” source, vanguard