North under attack over capital votes protest

Southsouth: our share inadequate North vows to fight on

WITH their push for a rework of the budget, the North’s lawmakers have stoked a huge anger among their southern colleagues and others.
Lawmakers are divided across regional blocks on the alleged lopsided allocation of capital votes in the 2012 budget – as reported exclusively yesterday by The Nation. 
National Assembly members from the North maintained yesterday that they would block the passage of the Appropriation Bill, unless the perceived inequity is addressed. Southern lawmakers contended that the Northerners were merely crying wolf.
Senator Olubunmi Adetunmbi, who represents Ekiti North, accused the Northern caucus of the House of Representatives of playing games with figures. He said while the figures presented could be correct, it would only make meaning when comparative statistics of allocations over five years is released. 
He said: “In as much as the budget looks as they have presented it, it would have been more interesting for them to go historical and see what the calculation was five years ago, four years ago, three years ago, two years ago. They should do a time trend analysis to see whether what they are saying here is consistently so over a period of time or it is a case of shifting priorities from one place to another.”
Senator Ita Enang (Akwa Ibom Northeast) described the outcry as an attempt to befuddle issues. “This is a very unpatriotic development at this time. The grumbling by some people about the allocation to the Southsouth is uncalled for and wrong. It is wrong because the analysis is not correct. Whoever is pushing the figure, let him bring out the total from where it is.
“We are even complaining that what we are getting in the Southsouth is not enough, compared to what they are using in building dams, irrigation and building dual carriageway, and constructing railways in the northern part of the country. Is there any railway in Akwa Ibom? Is there any railway in Cross River? Is there any railway in Abia State?
“How many roads are there in the entire Southsouth? Is it not only the presidential initiative project of East-West road? Whereas there is a road from the Northcentral to Kaduna, Kano, Jigawa, Maiduguri.”
Enang queried the lopsidedness in the creation of local governments that have statutorily allocated funds to some states. 
The former chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Rules and Business said: “Kano State alone has about 44 local governments areas. Lagos State has 20 and each receives allocation. The complaint about the allocation to the Southsouth is most unfair, very unfair.”
Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe (Abia South) said: “I will even want the 13 per cent derivation increased to 50 per cent because what the oil bearing states are getting is not enough.”
Hon. Bimbo Daramola, a member of the House from Ekiti State, urged lawmakers to shun ethnicity in discussing grave national issues. 
“I want to believe that if it is empirically proven that these projects are ultimately meant to take care of our brothers and for development we can see, and not that it will end up in the pockets of some individuals to fund and fuel corruption, our brothers from across the Niger should appreciate the fact that we have given them that level of concession … Though it has not come to the floor of the House, but it is a fact that if this is all about ensuring that the peculiarity of Niger Delta is well captured and secured, I don’t think we should raise unnecessary dust about it.”
But to House spokesman Zakari Mohammed, who said he was speaking in his private capacity, there should be no anxiety over the matter.
“Things like this are bound to happen in a legislature. People will always raise objections. It is normal. Solutions will eventually come when we discuss the budget on the floor of the House,” he said.
Sani Idris (PDP, Niger State) would not be so diplomatic. He said: “We have the Federal Character Act that stipulates equal distribution of resources across the facets of this country, which means that this should not be an argument, but that we should sit down and ask ourselves if we have been fair to each other about the distribution of resources according to the Act.”
Political leaders from the North backed their House members. Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) spokesman Anthony Sani told The Nation that if members of the House of Representatives felt that their constituencies have been short changed, they have the right to address the imbalance democratically.
“After all, democracy can bring about progress only if there are changes through robust debates,” he said.
But, to an activist, Mallam Shehu Sani, “the rejection of the budget in favour of the Southsouth in terms of capital vote is laughable, especially coming on the heels of the call by Niger Governor and chairman of Northern Governors Forum Babangida Aliyu on the need to re-examine the revenue sharing formula, with the view of reducing the allocation to states in the Niger Delta and increasing same to the Northern states”. “It is ridiculous,” he said, adding: 
“It is a kind of conspiracy between the northern political class to give excuse for their nonperformance and betrayal of the people who voted for them. Governor Aliyu and his cohorts should be thinking of how they can harness the human and natural resources of the region to improve the quality of life of the people and make the region less dependent on federal charity that has become a reason for its ridicule.
“Today in the northern part of Nigeria, most resources allocated to the states and the local governments, which ideally should be used to build schools, hospitals, support commerce and industry and revamp infrastructure, agriculture and solid minerals are shared to pro-government traditional rulers, religious clerics and political cronies for narrow and immediate political gains.
“Governor Babangida Aliyu and his likes in the House of Representatives should on behalf of the Northern elite apologise to the talakawa for their perfidious and gangster politics and decades of consistent neglect that has today sunk the region into depths of division, want and menacing insurgency.”
Second Republic lawmaker and radical politician Dr. Junaid Mohammed said the Goodluck Jonathan administration only cares for three states—Rivers, Bayelsa and Delta. “The action of the lawmakers from the North for rejecting the lopsided budget allocation for capital projects to the Southsouth is absolutely justifiable,” he said adding:
“The lopsidedness in the country’s budgetary provision is one of the dangerous trends afflicting this country since the Olusegun Obasanjo era. 
Junaid argued strongly against the design of the 2012 budgetary allocation, pointing out that “what they (the core Niger-Delta) are getting is in addition to the 13 per cent derivation”. “Apart from that, another 13 per cent out of the total budget goes to just one ministry known as Niger Delta Ministry, which is 100 per cent funded by the Federal Government.
“Again, another agency known as NNDC is funded by the Federal Government,” he said.
In Kano yesterday, a former Political Adviser to former President Shehu Shagari, Alhaji Tanko Yakasai, said: “If it is true that such allocation is given to the Southsouth in the 2012 budget, then the only advice is for the government to readjust the budget, to make it fair for all.”
But Yakasai advised that the issue should not been blown out of proportion, “in such a way that it can heat the polity”.
From the Northcentral, a Second Republic Speaker of the Plateau State House of Assembly, Prof. Dakum Shown, backed the caucus. He said: “If the lawmakers are satisfied, they should pass the budget, but if they still feel there is injustice in the distribution of the projects, they should scale the allocation to the Southsouth down.”
A former member of the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Allocation from the state, Chief John Mankilik, said: “I read it in the papers and I was surprised at what I saw; it is not a fair distribution of wealth. We are giving the Southsouth too much advantage and it could cause disorder in the polity.”
Afenifere chieftain Chief Ayo Adebanjo and prominent Southsouth activists frowned at the threat by Northern legislators to frustrate the budget’s passage, if the 29.65 per cent capital allocation to the Niger Delta is sustained. They argued that the threat has underscored the urgency of convoking a national conference to discuss the basis for co-existence among Nigeria’s component units.
The Niger Delta Peoples Coalition, of which environmental activist Tony Uranta is secretary, asked the Northern legislators to ponder on the calculations that led to the budgetary projections, stressing that the figures are not in bad faith.
Uranta said: “Our position is simply this - If this nation is truly federal, every component unit should contribute to its purse. If this country is federal, every unit should benefit from resources based on derivation. The Southsouth should own the resources and pay 50 per cent to the centre. That is why Southsouth, Southwest and, to a large extent, Middle Belt, are clamouring for a Sovereign National Conference. We cannot encourage a situation where “monkey is working and baboon is chopping.”
In Uranta’s view, considering the lump sum accruing to the federal purse from the region, the allocation is still inadequate. He urged the Northern legislators to show understanding of the plight of the traumatised zone.
Uranta added: “What is the North bringing to the table? Lagos is bringing tremendous amount through VAT and port charges. If we go back to the past, we should allow the regions to control their resources and remit part of them to the centre.”
Another activist from Bayelsa State, Denzil Ketenbe, said: “The North should look at Nigeria as one nation or else we should go back to the regional arrangement so that each region can develop at its pace. Southsouth had been deprived. It is ridiculous to hear that they want to frustrate the budget. We should look at development the way it suits the country.”
Adebanjo described the position of the northern legislators as “embarrassing”, adding that they want to destroy the country. He said if the budgetary projection is based on the allocation formula that has been agreed upon, for now, it is improper for them to threaten the peace and unity of the country.
To the National President of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Mr. Miabiye Kuromiema, the disposition of the Northern Caucus is “shameful”.
In an interview in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital yesterday, he wondered why the legislators refused to consider the gas flaring, environmental degradation and many years of marginalisation of the Niger Delta before taking the “unfortunate” position.

Massive turnaround in Abia State

THERE is no doubt that a new wind of change is blowing through Abia State. Statisticians, economists, political commentators and conservative chroniclers can attest to this as it could be seen from all sides of the prism.

THERE is no doubt that a new wind of change is blowing through Abia State. Statisticians, economists, political commentators and conservative chroniclers can attest to this as it could be seen from all sides of the prism.

According to Jack Welch: ‘Genuine leadership comes from equality of your ability to spark others to extraordinary performance’. 

This is true of Abia State, where Governor T.A. Orji has united all the sectors and sections in peaceful coexistence. For the first time, Abia is speaking with one voice, banishing the soubriquets of ‘Abuja politicians’ and ‘Talibans’. The Onyema Ugochukwus, Ike Nwachukwus, Elder Adelu, Ojo Maduekwe, Vincent Ogbulafor, to mention but a few, all drink and dine in the same banquet.

A critical scrutiny of governance in Abia will show that every quarter of the year unveils new deals and showcases projects that beef up the social indices. A few examples will suffice: roads in Abia are into a constant change for the better. 

Road construction firms have been mobilised with billions of naira for the second time to ensure that they meet up their target before the rainy season.

Construction works at the new secretariat that will accommodate some off campus ministries and the International Conference Centre with over 2,000 seating capacity are going on day and night. 

A more edifying Government House has been initiated, indicating that Governor Orji is intent on breaking away from the ugly past of dormancy, squash buckling and blowing of hot air without substance. 

Abians are enjoying an ambience of relative security as violent kidnapping and daredevil robberies that forced banks to close are now history.

Appointment of commissioners and transition chairmen went through the credible of stakeholders, political and traditional leaders, yielding ultra-filtration kind of result of high mark in educational qualification and professionalism. 

Even in the transitional council, every ward is represented: some of the founding fathers who still enjoy good health like Eze Ogo and Dr. Anagha Ezikpe are still playing roles as we draw from their rich experiences in confronting new challenges.

The wind of protests and strikes which harassed most of the states evaded Abia as the governor pays the minimum wage with some extra that makes maximum impact. 

Recently, 21 permanent secretaries were appointed, consequently injecting new blood in the job and heightening the morale, thereby dealing a deadly blow on stagnation syndrome that dampened the spirit of service and delivery.

In sports, Abia is not wanting as Eyimba is adjudged the best, as they are six-time league winners, two-time African champions and presently representing Nigeria in a continental soccer. Abia Comets have also been promoted to join Abia Warriors in the national league. 

Bursary and scholarships have also been introduced in education where primary and secondary schools are tuition-free. Structural policy reforms are in place while classrooms and new buildings are sprouting up like mushrooms by the Micah Onyebuchi-led ASUBEB. These are replete in Commerce, Agriculture, Transport and Works ministries.

Health delivery, one of the most important aspects of life, has improved with over 200 health centres dotting the medical landscape of the state. The Mecure Diagnostic Centre, a robust partnership with Indians, has witnessed an upsurge of patients from the neighbouring states of Akwa-Ibom, Rivers, Ebonyi and Cross River. 

The specialist hospital next door offers an array of specialist services and compares favourably with others in Abuja and Lagos, so much that professionals in the Diaspora are eager for partnership and collaboration. Just recently, dialyses centres are under construction, ready to beef up the old ones installed in 2007. 

Amachara Hospital has been upgraded with a specialist paediatric department. Right at the premises, buildings are sprouting up to house staff and doctors.

In the Commissioners Quarters at Ogurube Layout, more buildings are under construction to house more commissioners who are living off quarters. What a change and great expectations. At the national level, Abians are holding their own with favourable appointments. 

Chief Emeka Nwogu of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala of Finance are two time ministers, superintending strategic positions in the country. They are daily in the news and are spotlight personalities. 

Ndigbo have got some reckoning with Abia sons and daughters holding top military and para-military positions in the persons of Gen. Azubike Ihejirika, Air Vice Marshal Onyemobi, Rear Admiral Ajonu and Comptroller General of the Nigerian Immigration Services, Mrs. Rose Chinyere Uzoma. 

The high point is that all claims can be identified in the map of Abia. Have we had it so good before? We can go on and on. Certainly, things are turning around and you know why, for this are foretold. Proverbs Chapter 29 verse 2 says that ‘when the righteous are on the throne, the people rejoice.’

Poverty, ill-health killed Giringori Akabogu

The dwindling ranks of the original cast of the iconic sit-com of the 80s, New Masquerade, shrank further, yesterday, when James Iroha a.k.a Giringori Akabogu succumbed to the vice grip of ill-health and poverty.
His son  confirmed his  death, yesterday, bringing to three the original members of the cast that have died recently.

The late James Iroha a.k.a Giringori Akabogu

Iroha was the  creator of the now rested  television drama, The New Masquerade, which ruled the screen in the early 80s, on the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) Network.

He died yesterday at the age of  70. The New Masquerade  started as a radio programme in then East Central State Broadcasting Corporation radio, Enugu  which, at its prime, was the “King of Primetime” on the NTA Network. It ran as a 15-minute radio programme, known as The Masquerade.

The audio format was adapted for an audiovisual recording and was adopted by the NTA Network service in the early 70s. For almost two decades, the half-hour slapstick programme captivated a national audience.
His  son, Uche Iroha, confirmed the death of  his father to Vanguard on phone yesterday.
According to him, the legendary comedian died in the early hours of yesterday in an hospital in Onitsha, Anambra State, where  he was being treated for glaucoma.
Uche said Giringori developed high blood pressure and other  undisclosed ailments in the course of treating the eye problem.  He spent four days in the hospital before giving up the ghost.
Uche said: “His death was totally unexpected. On the day he was admitted into the hospital, he was his usual humourous self. He never gave any indication that he won’t  come back home. So, it was a rude shock  to us, when we arrived in the morning to be told by the doctor that our dad had passed on.”

Giringori‘s death another big blow —AGN

Meanwhile, the outgoing President of the Actors Guild of Nigeria, AGN, Mr Segun Arinze, has described the death of  Giringori as another big blow to the industry, adding: “Giringori was a fine actor with a high sense of professionalism. He will surely be missed.”

Zebrudaya expresses shock

Also contacted on phone, a former colleague and one of the main characters of New Masquerade, Chief Zebrudaya Okoroigwe Nwogbo alias 4:30 (Chika Okpala), expressed shock although he claimed that he had not been informed.
“I’m not aware of his death. About two people have called me already on phone to confirm his death. But I’m not aware. Though I have called his GSM line severally, it was switched off. I leave everything to God, I don’t know what to say at this moment until I confirm from the son,” Zebrudaya said.
Before his death, Giringori  cried out for rehabilitation, saying he was broke.
A retired Director of Programmes at the Abia State Broadcasting Service, Giringori recently retired from active public life at an elaborate traditional ceremony known as “Igboto Mma” in home town of Amokwe Item, Abia State, in December 2011.
  Giringori gave 40 years of his life to acting. But at 70, he died a pauper. Recently, he was compelled to make a desperate appeal to Nigerians in a national daily: “I am almost begging for food…I need money to pay my rent, buy my medicine. Now there is nothing between poverty and me. I am just nose-to-nose with poverty.”
He was afflicted in both eyes by the deadly glaucoma and cataract, for which he had undergone several operations both at home and abroad with no success. His family and friends  rallied round him to look for a permanent solution to his predicament.
The 1966 graduate of University of Ibadan  battled  with  illness  for over a decade. At one point, he was stranded for 16 days in India where he went for medical treatment.
Other members of the New Masquerade cast who have since passed on were Christy Essien-Igbokwe (Apena) and Claude Ake (Jegede Sokoya).

Google offers hackers $1m to crack their web browser

Web giant Google is offering a reward of $1 million to people who can engineer a fully functional exploit that punches a security hole in its Chrome web browser.

The search giant has once again chosen the Cansecwest security conference to announce the competition, noting that developing a fully functional exploit is “significantly more work” than finding and reporting a potential security bug.

Posting on the Google Chrome Security Blog, Chris Evans and Justin Schuh from the Google Chrome Security Team explained that the aim of the sponsorship is simple. They said, “We have a big learning opportunity when we receive full end-to-end exploits. Not only can we fix the bugs, but by studying the vulnerability and exploit techniques we can enhance our mitigations, automated testing, and sandboxing. This enables us to better protect our users.”

Somewhat perversely, the team added that the fact that Chrome is not receiving exploits means that it is actually harder to improve the platform. So to address this and maximise the chances of receiving exploits this year, the search company has dug deep to put up a cool $1 million worth of rewards. The top individual prize of $60,000 will be paid for a full Chrome exploit using only bugs in Chrome to deliver Windows 7 local OS user account persistence.

$40,000 is up for grabs for a partial Chrome exploit based on at least one bug in Chrome itself, plus other bugs. For example, a Webkit bug combined with a Windows sandbox bug.

Moving down the scale, Google will cough up a $20,000 “Consolation reward” for an exploit that does not actually use bugs in Chrome. For example, bugs in one or more of Flash, Windows or a driver.

All winners will also receive a Chromebook.

“We will issue multiple rewards per category, up to the $1 million limit, on a first-come-first served basis. There is no splitting of winnings or “winner takes all.” We require each set of exploit bugs to be reliable, fully functional end to end, disjoint, of critical impact, present in the latest versions and genuinely “0-day,” i.e. not known to us or previously shared with third parties. Contestant’s exploits must be submitted to and judged by Google before being submitted anywhere else,” the company explained

Gunmen Strike In Kano, Kill 1

A man was shot dead by unidentified gunmen Tuesday evening along Zoo Road in Kano, Northwest Nigeria.

According to an eyewitness who spoke to P.M.NEWS on phone, “they targeted policemen on duty at roundabout but the Mobile Policemen engaged them in a gun duel. During the gun battle, I saw a civilian gunned down through a kiosk where I took refuge.”

The source added:”the gun battle was still on when I sneaked out of from the place.”

Kano State Police Command spokesman, ASP Musa Magaji Majia confirmed toP.M.NEWS that a man was killed.

According to him, “an unidentified gunman came on motorcycle and shot a man believed to be a Kanuri to death at about 7pm in front of a shop by Zoological Garden.The suspect quickly fled. Police removed the corpse and deposited in the mortuary. Investigation has commenced.”

The incident has further heightened anxiety in the troubled city.

Residents said the gunmen came on a motor bike.

The curfew in the city is still in force.

Members of the Boko Haram on Monday set fire to Maiduguri Experimental School, a private school in Ruwan Zafi area of the metropolis.

The incident brings to four the number of schools set ablaze by the terror group within a week.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the group had earlier burnt down public primary schools in Budum, Abba Ganaram and Kulo Gomna, all in the Borno capital.

The group, who’s driving principle was to stop western education, has already denied hundreds of school children access to their classes for lessons.

Residents told newsmen in Maiduguri, that the Experimental School was set ablaze in the early hours of the day by unidentified persons.

“We heard an explosion around 3am around the school but everybody was afraid. Later in the morning we noticed heavy smoke coming out of the school.

“By the time we checked about two classes were on fire, so we mobilised and stopped the fire from spreading,” a resident said.

He expressed shock at the development since the school was owned by a private citizen and not the government.

“We were surprised at the fire because this is the first time a private school has been attacked since the terror attack began a few days back,” he said.

Mr Samuel Tizhe, the Police Public Relation Officer (PPRO), confirmed the incident, saying the police had opened investigation to uncover the perpetrators, but added that no arrest had been made.

“It is true that two more schools have been destroyed by fire. Just like the previous ones, we are making efforts to track the perpetrators.”

Meanwhile, pandemonium broke out on Monday at the Seme Border, in Badagry, Lagos State, after an item suspected to be a bomb was discovered in a motor park near the checkpoint of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS).

Briefing the press in Lagos, the Lagos State Police Command spokesman, SP Jaiyeoba Joseph, said that following an alarm raised on the discovery at about 4 a.m., a police officer immediately alerted officials of the Police Bomb Disposal Unit at the border.

Joseph said that a preliminary examination of the bag revealed that it contained a wall clock, two batteries and wires, as well as a well-wrapped iron suspected to be a fuel pump.

He said that officials of the Police Bomb Disposal Unit explained that the contents of the bag could not explode like a bomb, and should ordinarily not cause any alarm.

The spokesman said that officials of the Police Anti-Bomb Disposal Unit planned to meet soon with all the security agencies operating at the border on the issue.

Joseph advised Lagos residents to remain vigilant and to report any suspicious items in their neighbourhoods to the police.via 247nigerianewsupdate

Stop bloodletting or face God’s wrath, cleric tells Boko Haram

LAGOS— General Overseer of the Christ Pentecostal Mission International, CPM, Rev  Obiora Ezekiel, yesterday, warned members of the Islamic Sect, Boko Haram, to desist from their unnecessary bloodletting in the country, to avoid the wrath of God.

Speaking in Lagos on the Church forthcoming Conference tagged: Back to Bible Conference with the theme: “Partakers of Glorious Divine Nature” Rev. Ezekiel urged Nigerian leaders not to allow the activities of the group to set the nation on unquenchable fire.

According to him, “We are preaching long suffering but one day the long suffering may stop.  These people should not be allowed to open a door that will set this nation on fire and there will be nothing left of the entity called Nigeria. Blood is not an ordinary liquid.  It is life according to creation. They are heaping coal of fire on their children to the fourth generation. Let them wait and see.”

“This is a proper warning; time shall come when Christians will no longer wait to be killed. What they do not know is that they are not fighting Christians or the military but God.  God may be quite for now, but on that pay day, which I believe is not too far, when God will arise all ears that will hear it will twinkle.”

Where is Nebuchadnezzar, when he fail to recognise that God rules? The day he said who is that God; he became a human animal and went into the bush that is our God.  One day our God shall arise and do His work.”

Culled from Vanguard news

Huge Crowd Receives Ojukwu

•Draped in Nigeria’s national colours, the casket bearing the remains of the late Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu at the State House, Abuja, this morning.

The remains of Dim Ikemba Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu were this morning received at the International Wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport in Abuja.


The body of the Biafran warlord arrived from London aboard a British Airline flight at about 4a.m.
While a huge crowd had gathered at the Hero’s Square in Owerri, Imo State, southeast Nigeria to receive the corpse of the warlord, a military parade and brief ceremony was held in honour of the departed hero at the Presidential Lounge of the Airport.
At the Abuja ceremony, it was in deed a harvest of tributes as notable Nigerians led by the Vice President, Architect Namadi Sambo, who represented President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan at the event, paid glowing tributes to the man who fought for equity, fair play and justice in Nigeria.
In the Presidential remarks read by the Vice President, President Jonathan said the late Ikemba Nnewi, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, lived an astute life in spite of his privileged upbringing.
He praised the bravery of the fallen hero who fought for equity and justice and stood for these virtues up till his death.
Others who paid tribute to Ojukwu include the Senate President, David Mark, who also chaired the Abuja event.
The Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, the Deputy Speaker, Emeka Ihedioha, the First Lady; Dame Patience Goodluck Jonathan, the FCT Minister, Bala Mohammed, as well Chief Tom Ikimi who delivered the key note address also honoured Ojukwu.
In his address, Ikimi noted that the life and times of the late Ojukwu will forever form a major milestone in the nation’s history and observed that his impact on the nation will continue to be debated.
Senator Ekweremadu noted that the late Ikemba came ahead of his time and also died ahead of his time and called on Nigerians to continue with the struggle for a peaceful and fair society which the late Ikemba died pursuing.


On her part, the First Lady saluted the courage of the late Ojukwu whom she said was not just an icon, but the pride of our nation.
She noted that Ojukwu had left a large footprint in the sands of our time.
As early as 6.30 a.m today, Imo State indigenes stormed Hero’s Square, built less than 10 months ago by the Rochas Okorocha administration, to celebrate eminent Igbo figures.
Today marks the first day, Ojukwu’s remains will touch ground on his native Igboland, for a tour of the five south-eastern states of Nigeria.
Starting with Imo State, the body will later be taken through Abia, Ebonyi, and Enugu, before it is interred in Ojukwu’s hometown, Nnewi, in Anambra State.


Thousands of citizens converged on the centre, very early to pay tributes to Ojukwu, while many other lined the streets of the state capital in celebration.
As at press time Ojukwu’s body was still being expected at the Owerri Airport where the state governor, Rochas Okorocha led a government delegation to receive the remains.
In a tribute, Governor Okorocha described the late Ojukwu as one who led a life that was defined by the values of sacrifice, honesty and persevearance.
“Nothing defined Dim Ojukwu’s life and its ideals more than his commitment to Justice and equity,” Okorocha said.
Different cultural groups also trooped to Hero’s Square to perform in honour of the man described passionately as the Igbo man’s hero.
Amid tight security, important guests and visitors to the venue were made to park their cars about 500 metres away from the venue.
Producers of souvenirs, almanac and other mementoes with the inscriptions on Ojukwu have been making brisk business.
P.M.NEWS learnt that most of the youths who were born after the civil war and only read or were told about the exploits of Ojukwu were passionate about him that they were ready to do anything to honour him.
Traders from all the nooks and crannies of Imo state closed their shops while the state government declared today as a public holiday.
Most of the youths who spoke with our correspondents said Ojukwu is more popular even in death.
They said his death has rekindled Igbo dreams of equality and fair play in Nigeria.
The security operatives made sure anyone entering the venue was thoroughly screened.
Anyone who disobeyed security operatives directive was made to frog jump.
The unprecedented crowd and important dignitaries including governors and others were still waiting for the corpse of Ojukwu as at press time.


Source: PM News

Boko Haram: Nigeria deports 11,000 Aliens

Nigeria has repatriated around 11,000 foreigners mainly from Niger and Chad over the past six months to curb a growing Boko Haram insurgency, the immigration services said on Monday, according to AFP.
“The latest number of foreigners repatriated as at this morning is 11,000,” immigration services spokesman Joachim Olumba told AFP, updating an earlier figure.


“The bulk of them are from Niger and Chad.”
The extremist Islamist sect Boko Haram blamed for dozens of attacks in Nigeria that have claimed hundreds of lives, is thought to draw some of its members from neighbouring countries.
Olumba said the repatriation “has been intensified in the past six months following the Boko Haram insurgency,” adding: “We have an obligation to rid the country of undesirable elements.”


He said immigration officers last week caught 120 people trying to enter illegally from Niger “and we quickly sent them back to their country”.
Boko Haram’s deadly gun and bomb attacks have shaken Africa’s most populous country which is divided between a mainly Muslim north and predominantly Christian south.
Its base is in northeast Nigeria which borders Cameroon, Chad and Niger.
Violence blamed on Boko Haram, whose specific aims remain largely unclear, has since 2009 claimed more than 1,000 lives, including over 300 this year alone, according to a tally by AFP and activists.
The sect has previously said it wants to create an Islamic state in Nigeria’s deeply impoverished north.
Nigeria’s military authorities last week said Boko Haram has ties with Al-Qaeda in the Maghreb (AQIM).


Courtesy: PM News

The New York Times, in a report in its yesterday’s edition, paints the insurgent group, Boko Haram, as one which is loved by some who see it as fighting injustice and feared and loathed by others, who perceive it as representing sorrow, tears and blood.


In an imam’s quiet office, two young men in long hooded robes, their faces hidden by checked scarves, calmly described their deadly war against the Nigerian state.
The office door was open. Children from the Koranic school adjoining the mosque streamed past, laughing and jostling. Worshipers from the evening prayer service, which the young men had just left, poured into the parking lot. If the police had been alerted in any way, the two young men would have been instantly arrested, or worse. But neither appeared nervous about possible betrayal.
“It is not the people of Nigeria, it is only the army and the police who are against us,” said one of the men, explaining their membership in Boko Haram, the militant group that has claimed responsibility for killing hundreds in its battle against the Nigerian government. “Millions of people in Kano State are supporting us.”
His bravado notwithstanding, the violent Islamist army operating out of these dusty alleyways, ready to lash out and quickly fade back, is deeply enmeshed in the fabric of life in this sprawling metropolis, succoured by an uneasy mix of fear and sympathy among the millions of impoverished people here.
The group’s lethality is undeniable. Boko Haram unleashed a hail of bullets and homemade bombs here last month to deadly effect: as many as 300 were killed in a few hours in the group’s deadliest and most organised assault yet after two years of attacks across Northern Nigeria. It was an unprecedented wave of coordinated suicide bombing, sustained gunfire and explosions, much of it directed against the police.
But while Western and local officials cite the militants’ growing links to terrorist organisations in the region - presenting the ties as a reason behind the group’s increasingly deadly tactics and a cause for global concern - Boko Haram is not the imported, “foreign” menace Nigerian authorities depict it to be.
Since 2009, the group has killed well over 900 people, Human Rights Watch says. Yet on the streets of Kano, the government is more readily denounced than the militants. Anger at the pervasive squalor, not at the recent violence, dominates. Crowds quickly gather around to voice their heated discontent, not with Boko Haram, but with what they describe as a shared enemy: the Nigerian state, seen by the poor here as a purveyor of inequality.


“People are supporting them because the government is cheating them,” said Mohammed Ghali, the Imam at the mosque where the two Boko Haram members pray. Imam Ghali is known as an intermediary between the militants and the authorities, and while open backing for the group can put almost anyone in the cross hairs of the Nigerian security services, there appears to be no shortage of Boko Haram supporters here.
“At any time I am ready to join them, to fight injustice in this country,” said Abdullahi Garba, a candy vendor who came into Imam Ghali’s office.
Of course, Boko Haram is feared and loathed by countless residents as well. Its brutal show of firepower here in Kano, a commercial center of about four million that for centuries has been a major entrepôt at the Sahara’s edge, has left many residents in shock. The attackers came on foot, by motorcycle and by car, throwing fertiliser bombs and pulling rifles from rice sacks, mowing down anybody who appeared to be in uniform. There were even decapitated bodies among the mounds of corpses the day after, said a witness, Nasir Adhama, who owns a textile factory with his family near one of the attack sites.
“When you saw this road, it was just shed with blood,” Mr. Adhama said. “Everywhere there were dead bodies. They passed through this place, just firing and shooting.”
One of the young men at the mosque said he had participated in the planning for the attack, asserting that the group had received no outside help.


But a United Nations report published in January cited regional officials as saying that “Boko Haram had established links with Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb,” and that “some of its members from Nigeria and Chad had received training in Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb camps in Mali during the summer of 2011.” Seven Boko Haram members passing through Niger were arrested with “names and contact details” of members of the Qaeda affiliate, the United Nations report said.
For now, Boko Haram’s targets remain largely local, despite its bombing of a United Nations headquarters in Abuja, the capital, last summer. The Nigerian state is typically the enemy, and many analysts see the nation’s enduring poverty as one reason.
This month figures were released in Abuja indicating that poverty has increased since 2004, despite the nation’s oil wealth; in the north, Boko Haram’s stronghold, about 75 percent of the population is considered poor. Overall, 60 percent live on less than $1 a day. Every citizen appears aware of the glaring contrast between his or her own life and those of the elite.


Ado Ibrahim, a 22-year-old sugar cane vendor wearing a yellow soccer jersey, suspected more violence could be ahead.
“Injustice, and misgovernance by officials,” he said, adding, “It’s possible, as long as injustice persists, it’s possible to have another flare-up.”
Down the street, squatting in his open-air stall where he sells cooked yams, Abdullahi Dantsabe had a similar point of view. Why had the attacks occurred? "Injustice," he said. "The leaders are not concerned about the common man."
One resident argued that Boko Haram made some effort to protect civilians. "They told us to move away," said Mohammed Danami, a motorcycle taxi driver, describing a devastating police station attack on Jan. 25. "They said, 'We are not here for you,' " he recalled.
But the fate of Alhaji Muhammadu suggests otherwise. He was fatally shot on February 9 as he walked along a sandy alley to his cinder-block home. His son said that his father had alerted the police to a booby-trapped car in the neighbourhood, several days before the shooting. Boko Haram found out. Two masked men on a motorcycle shouted: "Just try that again. Now you are dead," recalled the son, Sudaifu Muhammadu, a 27-year-old student at Bayero University, shuddering.
"They are all around," Muhammadu said.
Last July the Nigerian news media reported on a letter of warning from the group to Kano's leaders, including the emir, the traditional ruler of this ancient aristocratic city: "All those arrested should be released immediately, otherwise, I swear with Almighty Allah, we may be forced to deploy our men to Kano," the letter said.
Six months later, on January  20, the group struck. The planning had gone on under the noses of the authorities. "What happened in Kano was something which the security agencies had foreseen," said Dr. Bashir Aliyu, a prominent imam in Kano.
There were up to five suicide bombers that day, at least 20 explosions, assaults on what were thought to be well-guarded state and regional police headquarters, on the State Security Service, an immigration office and the residence of a high police official. Gunmen entered a police barracks and opened fire, killing dozens.
Kano officials have said little since the attacks, and the precise sequence of events that day remains a mystery. The police commissioner here declined requests for an interview, and the state's information commissioner did not respond to a message or phone calls.
An elderly aristocrat with connections to the royal palace, Yusuf Maitama Sule - Nigeria's former United Nations ambassador, he was one of those to whom Boko Haram's letter was addressed, according to the Nigerian media - said in an interview at his home: "We are making some efforts quietly. I don't think it is proper for me to speak out."
Sule acknowledged, however, that the country faced deep social and economic challenges.
"Because of this oil habit, we are sending our girlfriends to do their hair in Paris," he said.
For some analysts, the challenge posed by Boko Haram is a serious one for the Nigerian government.
"They've built cells in Kano," said Paul Lubeck, a northern Nigeria expert at the University of California, Santa Cruz. "They have much deeper networks in Kano than anybody ever assumed. My position is, this is a remarkably successful insurrection, more than anybody ever could have thought."
In the imam's office, the two young men spoke calmly and confidently of ultimate triumph. "God has already positioned us to follow his rule," said one of the men, 25. "At any time, we can gain victory. Because God will give it to us."


Source: The Nation

SURE Programme Not Abandoned -Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan has said that he did not at any time say the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment (SURE) programme has been abandoned, as being speculated in the media.
Jonathan has come under heavy criticisms in the past few days from commentators over what many interpreted to be abandonment of the programme designed to be a palliative for the recent increase in the price of petrol and the attendant increase in price of goods and services.
This followed a statement by the President at the 58th National Executive Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party on 20 February 2012 in which he said the programme is no longer realistic.
The President had at that occasion directed the withdrawal of pamphlets which contain various programmes to be implemented under SURE which were being distributed to party members.
But in a press release signed on his behalf by Reuben Abati, his spokesperson on Monday, the President accused the opposition of deliberately misrepresenting what he said on the issue of reviewing the SURE programme at the PDP meeting.
“What he said in his opening remarks at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting last week, was that the full implementation of government’s palliatives to cushion the negative effects of the fuel subsidy removal as contained in the original SURE programme, was no longer feasible and will be reviewed in view of the partial rather than full removal of the subsidy on petrol,” Abati said in the statement.


He added that since the implementation of SURE programme was based on full deregulation of the downstream sector of the oil industry which government was unable to achieve, it is natural that there will be a review of the programmes.
“This new reality informed the President’s directive that the original SURE programme documents already circulated to the public, be withdrawn in order not to give the public false expectations.
“The SURE programme has not been cancelled. What President Goodluck Jonathan said at the 58th National Executive Committee meeting of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is as follows: ‘We developed this with the expectation that we were going to completely deregulate the downstream sector of the oil industry, (after) the 100 per cent removal of subsidy.
“‘We couldn’t achieve that though there was an increase in the price. I don’t want this to be distributed; it will give a wrong impression.’
“These comments only show that President Jonathan is being transparent with the public rather than offer them unrealistic expectations. Sincerity of purpose is a virtue and should be encouraged.
“For those who are still in doubt, let it be stressed that the Dr. Christopher Kolade Committee charged with implementing the SURE programme, is still at work and has not been disbanded while a new SURE document containing the reviewed palliatives will soon be released to the public.
“We appeal to labour unions and other opinion-moulders in the society to desist from misinforming the public about government’s well-meaning programmes geared towards addressing the critical needs of the citizens,” Abati said.

Fraudulent Amalgamation Of 1914: Sovereign National Conference The Way Forward?

Nigeria sovereign national conferenceThe proverbial Tower of Babel came crumbling when God visited the builders with language differences. It is however not surprising to see Nigeria in disarray with over 400 languages from 400 ethnics groups, forcefully fighting for unity. Perhaps God never intended Nigeria to be one, but for the intervention of the British who came preaching one Nigeria in the name of God. Today, the same God the British preached during the falsehood amalgamation of northern and southern protectorate in 1914, they’ve abandoned. Can someone now begin to understand the deception behind the amalgamation?


A closer reflection on the present situation in Nigeria provides answers on the need to cross-check the foundation of Nigeria. The Nigerian nation has been a polity of insurgence where a few elite and the born to rule “mantra” manoeuvred recklessly the affairs of Nigerian states, leaving the remains of national calamity as their contributions to national development. How else can one explain the visibility of a failed state? Nigeria in her bid to fight for unity has turned toddlers to pure water hawkers in her numerous streets-an explanation of the ravaging poverty holding sway in the land. Scenario of this nature is not only an aberration, but also an insult to modern day civilization, considering the fact that Nigeria is regarded as the sixth largest oil producing nation globally.


Our graduates are left roaming the streets in search for daily bread. Do you blame them when there are no employment formations to keep them busy? Will you also blame them if they end up becoming robbers and kidnappers? To make matters worst, security operatives that ought to check mate these social vices end up sharing the loots with robbers in the wee hours of the night. They rob at night and on broad day light, they mount road block threatening to shoot anybody who refuses to do the usual twenty naira bribe. A nation where election loosers are decleared winners and politicians bury human parts to exercise political supremacy over political opponents, where men of God have equally left the pulpit to contest for political positions. For such nation, the road to Somalia is definitely not an uphill task.


I will continue to reiterate that we must, as a matter of urgency cross-check the foundation of Nigeria in order not to leave the future of unborn generations in the hands of murderers. Those who keep wishing for a better Nigeria under this present amalgam should be reminded that manners don’t fall from Heaven any more, if in doubt, ask the Israelites. A word , they say is enough for the wise!!

Oil producing states criticise Niger State governor's call for review of revenue allocation formula

While inaugurating the advisory council of the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation, the Governor of Niger State and Chairman of the Northern Governors’ Forum, Dr. Babangida Aliyu, commented on the current revenue allocation formula that favours the south-south states at the expense of the northern states saying, “The revenue allocation formula should be looked at. We are hoping that within 2012, there would be discussions and review of the allocation formula.


“But there are other issues that would come. For example, there were oil wells that were over 200 kilometres away of the shore of the country. Those ones before the passage of law by the National Assembly were supposed to be oil wells for the whole country. It will not serve everybody well if certain parts of the country are not doing well while some parts are doing exceptionally well. So, the pressure will continue until we are able to find a solution”


Also, in comments at unrelated events, the chairman of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mallam Lamido Sanusi Lamido, who is also from Kano state, linked the ongoing uprising by Boko Haram to poverty which he claims is as a result of the uneven distribution of Nigeria's oil resources.


Responding to his comments, some governors and major stakeholders in the oil producing states described Governor Aliyu's comments as unfair, provocative, insensitive and an uneeded distraction from the Boko Haram insurgency.


Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State said, "Review of revenue allocation has to be done under the law, the law is that land and water are part of a state and so, the oil and gas resources found 200 kilometers away is inside the state that it is found”.


“There is no way you can say that 200 Isobath does not belong to state. They are entitled to make request for review of revenue allocation formula, but to say that those oil wells do not belong to a state is unacceptable”


The Rivers state Commissioner for Information and Communication, said, “It is unfortunate that this is coming from a governor I respect. Knowing the environmental degradation in the Niger Delta, the thought of getting equal allocation of funds is unnecessary. Every state has its own resources. We also have states that are doing well in agriculture but the proceeds from such resources are not shared among states.


“The funds that are shared among the states of the federation come from the oil bearing states. The level of magnanimity from the Niger Delta should be saluted and not the call for sharing the proceeds from the oil-bearing states equally.”


The Akwa-Ibom State government said, “The demand by the northern governors is improper. When they were receiving 50 per cent for groundnut, they did not share it with anybody.


“Now that 13 per cent oil derivation is paid to the South-South and other oil producing states in the country, they want the money to be shared with them. Don’t they know about environmental degradation? Don’t they think that people live along the coastline and that they are affected by oil spills and other environmental degradation through the activities of oil companies?


“What have they suffered to justify their demand that they equally get 13 per cent of oil revenue? It is uncalled for.”


The Chief Press Secretary to the Abia State governor said, “I don’t think it is fair for anybody to complain about what Niger Delta states get as monthly allocation because these are the states that suffer environmental degradation. It will not be fair for anybody to say that the funds from crude oil should be shared equally between the oil-producing and non-oil producing states.


“What we are getting in Abia as a Niger Delta state is not enough and we are calling for an upward review of our monthly allocation. Abia is serious about developing the state and as an oil-bearing state; we need more funds to achieve all these."


The Ondo State Commissioner for Information said, “We should not forget the fact that states that are currently enjoying the derivation fund had experienced serious environmental degradation and untold neglect by successive governments in the past despite the fact that they were ‘laying the golden eggs.’
“The bulk of the money being used to develop the country is coming from the natural resources being derived from the oil producing states but they remain the least developed in terms of provision of infrastructural facilities.


“The condition of most residents of the oil producing communities is appalling. Many of them do not have access to drinkable water, decent accommodation, good roads, functional public schools and qualitative health care, among others.”


Some members of the National Assembly also added their voice to the controversy with Senator Ikirikpo Claver saying "They should not see us as fools because Jonathan is the president now, they want to destabilize him and the government with whatever means. How many argued when they had 50 per cent from groundnuts and cocoa?


“As a Senator representing an oil producing state, I believe that the Niger Delta States are presently receiving less than they should receive because they suffer the degradation of their environment and subsequent loss of income earnings due to these oil prospecting activities. So rather than talk about reduction, we should talk about increasing their share through a change in the revenue allocation formula.”


Senator Solomon Ita Enang said: “Let them consider the dual carriage ways in the north and tell us how much of these are in the Niger Delta and other parts of the country. How much has been spent on FCT alone and where is the money from. Let them consider how much is invested in Kaduna State alone and how much has been invested in oil producing States, how much of oil money in river basins that is in the North can you find in the South?


"Those who are making this call now want to wake up the people of Niger Delta and the South on issues we said should be allowed to rest so that our children and youths will not be reminded of concessions we made just for national unity, what is the value of NNPC towers, PTDF in the north, is there such in the Niger Delta?”


The governors of the South-South region are expected to meet this week to develop a formal response to the calls for a review from the north.


The current revenue allocation formula stands at 52.68 per cent for the Federal Government; 26.72 per cent for states; and 20.6 per cent for council areas - 13 per cent is given to the oil-producing states as derivation from proceeds accruing from sale of oil.