Nine Dead In Renewed Agatu Community Attack

Benue State Governor, Mr Samuel Ortom, has confirmed the killing of nine indigenous farmers in a renewed attack on several Agatu communities by armed herdsmen dislodged by security forces on Sunday evening.
The attack lasted for over three hours, according to the Governor, who spoke to journalist shortly after inaugurating a committee on renewable energy.

He added that apart from the lives lost, a number of Agatu villages were burnt to the ground.

Governor Ortom assured the people of Agatu that he is working with the Nasarawa State government to ensure that the security threats is nipped in the bud.

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Labour To Mobilise Nigerians Against New Electricity Tariff

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) said it will be embarking on a nationwide street protest along with the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and civil society allies against the 45 percent increase in electricity tariff on Monday.

The NLC declared the new electricity tariff announced by the Federal Government of Nigeria unacceptable.

In a statement signed by its president, Ayuba Wabba, NLC said the planned protest will hold Monday, February 8, in Abuja and the 36 states of the federation.

“Our members have been sufficiently mobilized and are ready to go. If you are an electricity consumer and you are not happy with the bills electricity companies serve you every month, you are invited to join this protest rally.”, the NLC said.

According to the statement, the protest are scheduled to start in Abuja from the Labour House, Central Business District at 8.00am before moving to the NERC head office at Adamawa Plaza, Plot 1099, First Avenue, Off Shehu Shagari Way, Central Business District. From the NERC office, they will proceed to the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company at Zone 4 and thereafter to the National Assembly.

Wabba explained that the protest have become inevitable following the inability of the labour unions to get the Federal Government to rescind its decision to hike electricity tariff.

NLC noted that due process in the extant laws for such increment was not followed in consonance with section 76 of the Power Sector Reform Act, 2005;

“There has been no significant improvement in service delivery. Moreover, the fact is that most consumers are not metered in accordance with the signed privatization Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) of November 1, 2013, which stipulates that within 18 months gestation period, all consumers are to be metered;

“There is a subsisting Court Order dated 28th May, 2015 by Justice Mohammed Idris of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos, in the case of Toluwani Yemi-Adebiyi versus NERC & Orders, that there shall be no further increment until the determination of the substantive suit.

“• The increment at this time negates the present biting and prevailing economic recession vis-a-vis an attempt to further impoverish the poor masses.” NLC stated.

The labour union explained that, “We stakeholders, on Increment in Electricity Tariff (a broad coalition) met in Lagos on January 28, 2016 and issued a communiqué demanding an “immediate halt of this morbid and exploitative intention” failure of which would lead to:• Mobilization of all Nigerians to resist the new tariff; Mass protests/picketing of all DISCOs’ offices across the country; Directing all consumers to reject any bill with the new tariff and other actions necessary.”

It said, “Earlier, Nigerians had spontaneously moved to the streets in Lagos, Benin, Kano and other cities when NERC announced this increase in the last quarter of 2015.

“At the level of the Congress, we had issued a communiqué on December 22, 2015 rejecting this tariff hike and demanding that pre-paid metres be made available free to all consumers.

“We noted that Distribution Companies “have continued to exploit Nigerians by estimated billing system for the majority of consumers, while deliberately refusing to make available prepaid metres.

“We reached out to core government constituencies including the Minister of Power, the leadership of the National Assembly and NERC, all in an effort to find an amicable resolution through the quality of the logic of argument and practical realities on ground which include the incontrovertible fact that even before this increment, Nigeria paid the highest tariff per kilo-watt in Africa and contiguous regions. We pay much higher than Egypt and countries with stronger economies.

“With the increment, this disparity will not only be substantial, it will kill Nigerians and businesses. The saddest part of it all is that there is no co-relation between the quality of service delivery and this tariff.

“The implementation of this tariff is an act of lawlessness because there is a subsisting restraining court order on further increases. And yet we are in a democracy.

“The point must also be made that the immediate past government in its twilight approved a whoppingN18.26 billion for these companies in order to boost electricity supply. Yet there is nothing to show for it. A privatised sector that continues to parasite on government with insignificant benefit to Nigerians is at best a leech on our economy and should be interrogated.

“We would want to make the point that this tariff increase is only intended to protect the investment of a select few and not to serve the interest of other Nigerians. In light of all of the above, this increase is illegal, unfair, unjustifiable and a further exploitation of the already exploited Nigerians.

“We also said the challenges in the economy which have adversely reduced the purchasing power of ordinary Nigerians and slowed down businesses including manufacturing have made this increase unsustainable and unjustifiable.”

Recall that, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC; had in December last year announced a new electricity tariff regime that has various rates of increase in energy charges for consumers across the country.

The commission also announced the discontinuation of fixed power charges for all classes of electricity consumers. However, electricity consumers are to pay for what they consume.

With this development, power distribution companies would no longer charge their customers monthly fixed charges that require electricity consumers to pay an approved amount of money not minding whether electricity was consumed during the billing period.

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Agitation for Biafra futile exercise – Obasanjo

 

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has described the current agitation for the resurrection of the Biafra secessionist agenda as a hopeless and futile exercise. Obasanjo stated this yesterday while presenting a paper entitled: “Resurgent Biafra agitation: Born in error, ignorance and frustration” at a public discussion on Biafra organised by Nextier Advisory in Abuja.
He advised Nigerians especially the people of the South- East, not to take the secessionist agitation or agitators seriously as doing so would only lead to disaster.
According to him, Biafra as a secession issue is dead and nobody should tread that path.
He, however, said he considers the current agitation as more of a cry for attention, amelioration and improvement of socio-economic conditions and situations, especially of the youth in Nigeria in general, but in the South East in particular.
The retired army general-turned-politician said, “No right-thinking person who has experienced the horror or war will ever agitate for more war.”
Obasanjo said, “Biafra agitation as a means of calling for secession or severance from Nigeria is a hopeless and futile exercise on which nobody in seriousness should embark.
“However, I see it as a symbol of desperation, despair and frustration of the youth being expressed by them for all to hear and redress in the South East and elsewhere in the county. But Biafra, never again! And we must avoid the coalition of the unwilling but forced by circumstances.”
He explained that the country currently had enough problems, saying, “Nigeria cannot afford to go from Boko Haram insurgency to any other insurgency under any guise. And on no account should we wittingly or unwittingly allow this to happen again.”
The former President maintained that the solution to the current agitation lies in a collaborative effort between genuine leaders and elders in the South East and a purpose driven leadership at all levels of governance.
He explained that Nigeria must consider youth education, welfare, well-being, empowerment and employment as a lifelong collective duty, obligation and responsibility.
Obasanjo noted that much as the youth have rights to express their frustration, such rights do not include embarking on wanton and wicked acts of destruction of the property ordinary men and women in the markets to make the situation even worse for poor and helpless citizens.
“Bitterness, anger, destruction and wickedness can only worsen an already bad socio-economic situation. That will be unwise,” he said.

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Arms Deal: Buhari orders probe of ex-service chiefs

President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to immediate commence investigations into alleged shady deals in procurement of arms by some serving and retired officers of the Nigerian Air Force and the Army.

Certain companies,  local and international, indicted  by the committee established to audit the procurement of arms and equipment in the Armed Forces and Defence sector from 2007 to 2015, are also to answer queries from the anti corruption agencies.

In a statement made available to newsmen by Buhari's Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, the AVM J.O.N Ode (rtd)'s committee found 20 serving and retired officers culpable in the fundamental breaches associated with the procurements by the Office of the National Security Adviser  (ONSA) and the Nigerian Air Force (NAF).

Those officers found culpable include Air Chief Marshal AS ​Badeh (Rtd); Air Marshal ​MD ​Umar ​ (Rtd); Air Marshal​ AN ​Amosu (Rtd);  Maj-​Gen. ​ER ​Chioba (Rtd); AVM​​ I.A​ Balogun (Rtd); AVM ​AG​ Tsakr ​ (Rtd); AVM​​ AG​ Idowu (Rtd); AVM ​AM ​Mamu; AVM ​OT ​Oguntoyinbo and AVM ​T. Omenyi.

Others to face the anti graft agency are AVM ​JB ​Adigun; AVM​​ RA ​Ojuawo; AVM ​​JA ​Kayode-Beckley; Air Cdre ​SA ​Yushau (Rtd); Air Cdre ​AO ​Ogunjobi; Air Cdre​ GMD ​Gwani; Air Cdre SO ​Makinde; Air Cdre AY ​Lassa​; Col ​​N ​Ashinze and Lt Col. ​MS ​Dasuki (Rtd).

Those 21 companies mentioned in the arms procurement sleaze include MessrSociete D’ Equipments Internationaux; Himma Aboubakar; Aeronautical Engineering and Technical Services Limited; Messrs Syrius Technologies; Dr Theresa A. Ittu; Sky Experts Nig Ltd; Omenyi Ifeanyi Tony; Huzee Nig Ltd; GAT Techno Dynamics Ltd; and Gbujie Peter Obie.

Others companies indicted by the committee were Onuri Samuel Ugochukwu; ​Spacewebs Interservices Ltd; Oguntoyinbo Tayo; Oguntoyinbo Funmi; ​Delfina Oil and Gas Ltd; Chief Jacobs Bola; Mono Marine Corporation Nig Ltd; Geonel Intergrated Services Ltd; Sachi Felicia; Mudaki Polycarp and Wolfgang Reinl.

The President ordered investigations into the activities of all these companies and their directors in the arms procurement fraud.

According to the statement, "the breaches identified by the Audit Committee include non-specification of procurement costs, absence of contract agreements, award of contracts beyond authorized thresholds, transfer of public funds for unidentified purposes and general non-adherence to provisions of the Public Procurement Act.

"Furthermore, the procurement processes were arbitrarily carried out and generally characterized by irregularities and fraud. In many cases, the procured items failed to meet the purposes they were procured for, especially the counter insurgency efforts in the North East.

"​A major procurement activity undertaken by ONSA for NAF  was that concerning the contracts awarded to Societe D’ Equipment Internationaux (SEI) Nig Ltd.
Between January  2014 and February  2015, NAF awarded 10 contracts totalling Nine Hundred and Thirty Million, Five Hundred Thousand, Six Hundred and Ninety US Dollars ($930,500,690.00) to SEI Nig Ltd.

"Letters of award and End User Certificates for all the contracts issued by NAF and ONSA respectively did not reflect the contract sums. Rather, these were only found in the vendor’s invoices, all dated 19 March 2015. Additionally, some of the award letters contained misleading delivery dates suggesting fraudulent intent in the award process. The observed discrepancies are in clear contravention of extant procurement regulations.

"The SEI contracts included procurement of two used Mi-24V Helicopters instead of the recommended Mi-35M series at the cost of One Hundred and Thirty Six Million, Nine Hundred and Forty Four Thousand US Dollars ($136,944,000.00).

"However, it was confirmed that the helicopters were excessively priced and not operationally air worthy at the time of delivery. A brand new unit of such helicopters goes for about Thirty Million US Dollars ($30m). Furthermore, the helicopters were delivered without rotor blades and upgrade accessories”.

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APC Chieftain calls for immediate release of ex-NIMASA DG

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Delta State and former Ag Managing Director, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Pastor Power Ziakede Aginighan, has expressed shock over what he described as horrific manhandling of the immediate past Director-General of the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Ziakede Patrick Akpobolokemi, by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Pastor Power Aginighan in a press statement said that to treat Dr. Akpobolokemi who has never refused to honour an invitation by the EFCC as an unrepentant criminal raise serious concern about the threat posed to our democracy by over-zealousness of enforcement agents of government.

He called on President Muhammadu Buhari to distance himself from “this debasement of our humanity” before the watching world by calling the EFCC to order and order the immediate release of Dr. Akpobolokemi.

Pastor Power Aginighan who is also the founding secretary, Ijaw National Congress, advised the EFCC to confront Akpobolokemi with any new charge that they have against him in court.

“I watched with shock, disbelief and utter bewilderment the horrific manner Dr. Ziakede Patrick Akpobolokemi, immediate past Director-General of the Nigeria Maritime and Administration and Safety Agency was bundled into a bus reportedly by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission right within the hallowed premises of the Federal High Court shortly after the adjournment of a case against him.

“To treat Dr. Akpobolokemi who has never refused to honour an invitation by the EFCC as an unrepentant criminal raises serious concerns about the threat posed to our democracy by over-zealousness of enforcement agents of government.

“Section 34(a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended states that every individual is entitled to respect for the dignity of his person, and accordingly, no person shall be subject to torture or to any inhuman or degrading treatment.

“Also one of the aims and objectives of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is “to foster and defend the freedom of the Press and the fundamental freedoms and human rights of all Nigerians and the people of the world in general”.

“In the light of the above, I urge Mr. President to distance himself from this debasement of our humanity before the watching world by calling the EFCC to order and order the immediate release of Dr. Akpobolokemi”.

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Army cadets allege unlawful, unjustifiable withdrawal from NDA

Some officer cadets, who were enlisted in the recent Direct Short Service Commission (DSSC) and Short Service Combatant (SSC) Course 43 of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), have accused the authorities of an alleged unlawful and unjustifiable withdrawal from the NDA, after undergoing the mandatory training.

 Narrating their ordeals to Peoples Daily in Abuja, one of the affected officer cadets, who declined to disclose his name said the last SSC Course 43 members that just past out of the NDA had 10 cadets ‘unlawfully’ withdrawn after about five months into the training, even as 16 others were also withdrawn a night before their passing out on the 11th of September 2015.

 According to him, the authorities claimed that they didn’t pass map reading.

 They pleaded with President Muhammadu Buhari and the military authorities to thoroughly investigate the matter with a view to ascertaining the true position of things and reabsorb them into the army, as according to them, their ‘unlawful withdrawal’ is a time bomb really waiting to explode.

 “The Nigerian Army published application for Direct Short Service Commission (DSSC) and Short Service Combatant (SSC) Course 43 by mid 2014 and so many willing Nigerians applied, and names of successful candidates for screening for each state were published and were eventually screened at both Jaji for the DSSC and NDA for the SSC candidates respectively.

 “On our arrival at the NDA, we were also screened for Ebola and the first point of screening was the credential screening for each candidate. The next screening was comprehensive as it entails and covers the whole test to ascertain the well being of each candidate and those found wanting in any area were sent packing at each stages of the screening. The screening includes but not limited to ECG, Hepatitis, full blood test, eye test, weight, height, flat foot, x-ray, blood pressure, scan, urine test, heart rate and any other medical test to ascertain the wellness of each candidate.

 “After the medical, comes the 3.2km race in 18 minutes, then obstacle crossing. It is after this rigorous screening exercise that those that passed will wait and be hopeful for the final enlistment into the Nigerian Army. The final names were published and those that passed were to resume at the NDA by September 2014 which was later postponed to January 3rd, 2015.

  “Few weeks into the training we were tested and those that tested positive to drugs were withdrawn. Subsequently, we noticed this propaganda that some cadets were having high blood pressure and others were said to be having color vision problem but these same cadets were tested and passed through the screening.

 “Four to Five months into the training when these cadets have gone for camp initial, drill square test, oath taking ceremony, novices boxing and even attended bush camps coupled with being grounded in weapon training and handling, tactics, map reading and other courses making up to 23, there were withdrawn that they were medically unfit, without any fair hearing and with hatred, malice and injustice in a conspiracy and lie oriented medical report by both the CO Medical And Co Ashanti Battalion. The commandant and his deputy never took time to grant the cadets fair hearing and just worked on the report from the Medical CO.

 “On leaving the academy, the cadets went to do a thorough check up and discovered nothing was wrong with them all effort to fight for their rights and get someone to lis  ten to their cries proved abortive as it is said that that is the normal trend.

 “This war on insurgency, terrorism, kidnapping and more will not stop if the Nigerian Army through the Nigerian Defence Academy keeps training officers for 5 to 9 months and unlawfully withdraw them. These cadets have been well trained on weapon training, tactics, and map reading just to mention a few.  They are equipped and have mastered and known in and out of the military operations. I indeed fear the effect on the country”, he stated.

 When contacted, the Adjutant Ashanti Battalion, Capt. Lezuya, declined comment on the matter, saying he was no longer the Adjutant as he has been moved to Jaji. He, however, directed our correspondent to speak to the NDA authorities for further enquiries.

 When our correspondent contacted the NDA, the spokesperson of the Academy was said to be away on a seminar, but a source at the institution who will not want his name on print said the cadets withdrawn from the institution must have breached rules and regulations of the Academy, adding that even an hour before the Passing Out Parade, a cadet can still be withdrawn.

There is another thinking that the withdrawal might not be unconnected with the recent presidential directive that the institution must ensure that only gallant officers were commissioned into the military.

Investigation further revealed that all cases of withdrawal pass through the Academy disciplinary board headed by deputy commandant and two members of the selection board.

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SubNews Magazine petitions IGP over harassment by NEPZA

The Editor-in-Chief of the SubNews Magazine, Mr. Tony Christian has petitioned the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Solomon Arase, over the use of Police to harass and intimidate members of staff of SubNews Magazine by the Managing Director of Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA), Mr. Gbenga Kuye.

In a letter of petition written to the IGP dated 26^th October, 2015 and made available to Peoples Daily yesterday in Abuja, Tony Christian said they are been harassed by Gbenga Kuye over the magazine’s investigation into his alleged involvement in Five Hundred Million Naira Calabar Free Trade Zone contract scam.

He said the action of the NEPZA boss was ultimately to suppress the investigation into an alleged misappropriation of the internally generated revenue collected from General Electric by the agency.

“While I am demanding for a written apology over my arrest of 2^nd October, 2015, by the agency in the course of discharging my constitutional duty as journalist, I wish to bring to your notice an alleged standing order issued by the MD to arrest and detain any member of staff of SubNews Magazine who is found in or around the premises of NEPZA.

“In addition to this, I wish to commend the Divisional Police Officer of Maitama Police Division, where I was taken, for exhibiting highest level of professionalism in refusing to succumb to a premeditated attempt by the MD and his cohort Mr. Richard Obianu, a senior manager (MDO), of the agency to use their position to suppress the media, circumvent probity, accountability and transparency in the agency”, he stated.

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