CAMP DAVID, Maryland – (AFP) – David Cameron and Angela Merkel will take a break from discussing wars and fiscal crises at a G8 summit on Saturday to watch the Champions League final between Bayern Munich and Chelsea.

The British and German leaders will take use of a theater at President Barack Obama’s Camp David retreat to watch the keenly awaited football final, a US official confirmed.

Bayern host Chelsea at Munich’s Allianz Arena in the showcase final with the Blues bidding to win their first European title.

Although Cameron supports Aston Villa — who languished near the bottom of the English Premier League — fierce rivalry is expected.

At a G8 summit in Canada two years ago the leaders watched Germany thump England 4-1 in a World Cup match in South Africa.

By  DAUD  OLATUNJI, Abeokuta
It was a shocker when a  60-year-old  businessman and a  contractor, Olusegun Adesina, was yesterday arraigned at an Abeokuta Magistrate Court sitting in Isabo, for allegedly having a sexual intercourse with a-20 year old  young man (name withheld).

The accused  who  was arraigned on a one-count charge before the Magistrate, Mrs. O.A. Ayobolu was  reported  to have committed the offence last Tuesday at his residence in Abeokuta, the Ogun State
capital.

According to the Police  Prosecutor, Paul Etusi, Adesina  allegedly lured the boy by promising to help him secure a job pending  gaining admission into a tertiary institution.

Etusi claimed that  the accused inflicted physical injury on  the victim  during the escapade  with him through the anus.
He  stated that Adesina’s offence was punishable under Section 214 of Criminal Code Vol. 1, Laws of Ogun State of Nigeria 2006.

After the accused was arraigned, his counsel, B.H. Yusuff, applied for bail.

In her ruling, the magistrate granted Adesina bail in the sum of N500,000 with two sureties. The sureties, she added, must own landed property within the jurisdiction of the court and must have paid tax in the last three years.

BY CLIFFORD NDUJIHE, Deputy Political Editor
Chief Cliff Mbagwu, a chieftain of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is an Economist, management consultant and chairman of Simeon and Rose Associates.

He speaks to Saturday Vanguard on 13 years of civil, controversies trailing delayed implementation of the fuel subsidy probe report, capital market probe and constitution amendment and 2015 presidential polls among others. Excerpts:

On controversies surrounding implementation of fuel subsidy probe report

The report has exposed what everybody knew all along, that people are using fuel subsidy to milk the country. The only way to fight or handle the problem is to ensure we have enough domestic refining capacity apart from prosecuting those, who were indicted. Fuel importation is inefficient and removing the inefficiency is the surest way to address the fraud. Those found wanting should be sanctioned and made to refund the huge amount.  The only fear is that corruption has a way of fighting back; the beneficiaries of this fraud will fight to ensure that the report is not implemented.

President Goodluck Jonathan should be courageous. And the people should pressure the leaders to do something.

Comments that some of those indicted may not be prosecuted because they supported the PDP in the last president election

People make statements they are not sure of. I won’t like the name of the President to be dragged into it. Let’s give the President time to study the report and not pre-empt what he wants to do with it.

On Capital Market probe

Nigeria is like a theatre of the absurd. It shows that corruption is not limited to the public sector; it is pervasive in the private and banking sector as well. The probe has revealed what we knew; that the banking sector is almost irrelevant to the common man. The banking sector has deviated from its primary responsibility of driving the economy.
Bankers have now developed a dangerous mercantile philosophy that is like that of the fish seller. They are mainly funding importation and thereby contributing to the weak exchange rate of the Naira. Without Lamido Sanusi’’s intervention the banking sector could have collapsed.

On the way out

In our circumstances, it is naive to leave the economy completely to the dictates of market forces. Banks pay little or nothing (1 to3 per cent) on savings but are charging 25 per cent on loans. So they are neither encouraging savings mobilisation nor productivity.

We need to re-engineer the ‘banking DNA’ in Nigeria. What we are doing is not
banking.

On removal of immunity clause

The 1999 constitution is a fraud. It was written by the military, kept a secret and handed to the incoming civilian regime without a referendum. People were not consulted. The entire document is a fraud. Some of the provisions are anti-people. The immunity clause is one of them. Why will someone ask for immunity if he has done nothing wrong?

The immunity clause is proving a haven for leaders to milk the nation dry.

In most states you cannot see the evidence of all the funds being collected from the centre. Where did the funds go if not into private pockets? The Ibori case has shown the true face of governance in Nigeria and his case provides a strong reason for the removal of the immunity clause.

The implication of the immunity clause is if a governor commits murder he won’t be tried unless he is impeached or he completes his tenure. In other countries, executives are tried for minor offences while in office. There was no immunity clause in the previous constitutions except in the 1999 Constitution written by the military.

Cliff Mbagwu

The security vote is also a fraud. It allows some individuals to draw huge funds they don’t account for. Some governors take between N700 million to N1billion monthly as security votes while the people wallow in abject poverty. These are areas of the constitution that need to be looked at. My fear however, is that the greatest obstacle to change are those benefiting from the status quo.

Derivation should also be looked into. Much as I don’t believe in 50 per cent derivation, 13 per cent is too small. I think 25 per cent is ideal to enable all parts of the country to have funds to develop and the oil producing states to have enough funds to take care of the environmental problems of oil production. This is a federation; we need to be our brother’s keeper. Those who are saying that 13 percent is too high are not being realistic. They are entitled to their opinion but I think such comments are essentially driven by empathy deficit and warped thinking.

On gains of civil rule 13 years after

The fact that people are choosing those who govern them is a significant achievement. The worst civilian regime is better than the best military rule. But our leaders must improve on governance because 13 years into civil rule, most people in government are there for themselves irrespective of political party. They are not driven by the urge to render service or improve on the fortunes of their people. We don’t seem to have people like Azikiwe, Awolowo, Aminu Kano, Ahmadu Bello, M.I Okpara, Mbakwe, etc. Even in the South-West, those who are claiming to follow Awolowo are only copying his eye glass. They seem to be pretenders.

Politicians should do more than they are doing now. There is no internal democracy in most parties. It is hard to find politicians, who want to put up people based on merit. Most of them are not committed to any principle or ideology.
We have to look at the cost of governance. Our type of democracy is too expensive to be useful to the people. At the end of the day, nothing is left to provide democracy dividends.

If 13 years of civil rule is measured by its impact on the welfare of the people, then it would be safe to say that it has failed. Majority of the people are subjected to massive deprivation. Don’t mind the flashy cars on the roads. Most of them are proceeds of fraud and embezzlement. You cannot use the cars to measure the welfare of the majority because they are driven by two per cent of the population.

But if the measure is in the number of over-fed government officials and houses and hotels built with graft money, then you can say we are making progress.

Will it continue like this?

I don’t think things will continue like this. There will be an improvement naturally. To move forward, we have to address two problems: corruption and the culture of exclusion. The winner-takes-all mentality must give way. The culture of exclusion is not compatible with peace and stability. When the majority of the people are excluded, a lot of people are left with no option than crime.

Let’s return to the era of competition and merit where anybody, who satisfies set standards and qualifies for a position or contract, gets it. The winner-takes-all mentality is leading to criminality. People are deprived of economic opportunities because they don’t belong to ruling political parties or know people in government, etc. There is no due process.

There can’t be peace in an atmosphere of injustice and deprivation. We are courting disaster without fair-play and justice. Irrespective of the number of armored cars and policemen you surround yourself with you cannot have peace in a country riddled with injustice, inequity and deprivation.

Boko Haram as fall out of poverty

Poverty must be part of  it. Boko Haram is a phenomenon. But we have individuals, who are being used to drive the phenomenon. If we have less deprivation, ignorance and poverty, it could perhaps be possible to reduce the number of people, who could be recruited for Boko Haram’s activities. For a youngman to kill himself along with others shows that he has no hope for the future. We must admit that Boko Haram is not entirely religious. It is also political. The cars, machines, guns and bombs being used are bought by individuals – politicians.

My worry is that the movement is not ideologically driven. When they bomb okada riders in Kano and shoot cattle traders in Yobe and kill Igbo traders in Borno State, I begin to wonder if they really know who their real enemies are. These are ordinary Nigerians, who are trying to survive the hard times. What this shows is that this group is being tele-guided by a section of the political elite to achieve a particular purpose best known to them. If the several levels of government in those areas provide jobs, more economic opportunities, facilities, etc, it would be easier to address the problems.

On FG negotiating with Boko Haram

If they are asking for improved governance in their areas, what governance should deliver that are not being delivered, then government should listen to them because governance has failed in most parts of the country particularly in the North. Nobody can contest this with 9.5 million Amajiri children roaming the streets of the North.

If there is anything government should do, it is to listen to them to see if they have superior ideas about how their region can be governed. The government should, however, not do anything that would amount to compensating violence as it could embolden other people to engage in violence because we have a multi-religious society. We should not create a situation that will make terrorism attractive.

On Jonathan and 2015 election

Jonathan has a constitutional right to run for second term. But whether he becomes president again depends on the millions of votes of Nigerians. So, the first thing he should do is to deliver democracy dividends to these millions of people from all over the country because his was the first pan-Nigerian mandate.

In the face of odds, President Jonathan is doing his best. We had military rule for 30 years, an era that is regarded as the period of the locusts when not a single power plant was built and what was on ground was destroyed. The Obasanjo and Jonathan’s regimes have done well given where we are coming from. Nigerians are distracting Jonathan by
talking about 2015 now. Those saying he cannot run on moral grounds are funny. What bothers me is that people re-draw the boundaries of morality to suit their interests.

The Jonathan presidency cannot be seen as depriving anybody of his right. He was vice president. When his principal died, it was natural that zoning swung to his zone-South-South. Nothing in the PDP zoning formula says power must remain in one zone for eight years. It provides for power rotation between North and South. Since Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’Adua died, it is not expected that zoning will remain static, it must swing.

The PDP did not prevent two northerners from running against Obasanjo in 2003 for the PDP presidential ticket when he aspired for second term. If they won, they could have become PDP candidates. So zoning is not for eight years, otherwise those northerners would not run against Obasanjo at the PDP primaries.

Even those, who are in a hurry to intimidate the President out of running for second term, will they agree to do one term if they become president?

Atiku, Babangida, Buhari promised to do one term, if elected
They were not elected, moreover, it is their choice. If Jonathan wants to do one term, let it be his choice.

By CLAra NWACHUKWU
The Federal Government said it is losing about $7billion annually to crude oil theft in Nigeria, at the rate of 180,000 barrels per day.

To stem the trend, which government claimed rose rapidly in the last 12 months because of the collusion of some foreign nationals , a new industry joint task force, JTF, has been set up to tackle the menace.

The task force comprises the Police and the Armed Forces, in collaboration with the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, as well s multinationals and indigenous operators.

Announcing the move at a roundtable discussion on crude oil production and the state of the oil industry in Nigeria, in Lagos yesterday, the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, said the rising incidence of bunkering bordered on the security of the nation and the economy.

In terms of losses, she said, “the country is losing approximately 180,000 barrels of oil equivalent daily at this time. Of course, to the nation, if you look at the international cost for a barrel, it will be estimated at $7billion yearly.”

Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan says the ongoing expansion of the Asaba International Airport was aimed at meeting the requirements of the Aviation regulatory authorities to enable bigger planes land at the airport.

Speaking in Effurun while responding to the issue raised over the airport by the publisher of Vanguard Newspapers, Mr. Sam Amuka at an on-going retreat tagged ‘Landmarks and Legacies’, Governor Uduaghan said with the success so far recorded in the use of the airport by smaller planes, people are now anxious to see bigger planes land at the airport.

According to him, “We are on target to make the Asaba International Airport meet the required standards set by the aviation authorities and we are doing everything necessary to ensure that larger planes can land there”.

Continuing, he said, “there is so much pressure for bigger planes to start landing at our airport and we needed to speed up the pace so that when the regulatory authorities come, they would see that we have done all we need to do”.

The Governor clarified that the regulatory authorities requested that the hills around the airport must be reduced as one of the requirements to be met before approval can be given to enable bigger planes land at the airport.

The Governor added that the demolition of the hills had nothing to do with the visit of dignitaries to the recently concluded South South Summit at Asaba.

In his words, “the contract to bring down the hills around the airport was not awarded because of the South South Summit, the contract had been awarded from the onset but the contractor was slow, so because of the time frame, we had to engage two other contractors to fast track the completion of the work”.

Explaining further, Dr. Uduaghan said the ongoing work to demolish the hills is at no additional cost to the total project sum as it was conceptualized from the beginning.

The Governor pointed out that apart from bringing down the hills, the project also included filling up areas that were below the level of the runway due to erosion problems in the terrain.

“We are not only demolishing the hills but we need to rebuild other areas around the airport  runway as well as the valley and the banks of the stream in the area to check the flooding and erosion problems there”, he added.

He disclosed that given the topography of the state capital, there was nowhere a four kilometer of land can be achieved without meeting an obstacle in the form of a hill, valley or river. Governor Uduaghan also spoke on measures being taken to improve on security in the state.

He said his administration was working with the security agencies to ensure that criminality was brought down and that people in the state can have a better sense of security.

He revealed that the Police in Delta State have been provided with some of the most modern security gadgets and vehicles to aid their campaign against criminals in the state but quickly added that Delta State does not have the worst criminal case scenario in the country.

By VICTORIA OJEME Abuja
The Federal Government said it has sent a 2- man delegation to Indonesia to plead for clemency on behalf of 17 Nigerians sentenced to die by hanging by Indonesian court for drug trafficking offences.

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Olugbenga Ashiru disclosed this yesterday in Abuja during the Ministerial press briefing to mark the one year anniversary of President Goodluck Jonathan.

The Minister also urged Nigerians traveling abroad to desist from acts that run foul of the law of their host countries, in view of the consequences of such  on the image of Nigeria, as well as on their successful stay in such countries.

According to him, “what we have as the number of people on death row in Indonesia , which have been bandied around is not correct. I believe we have about 17 and we have been appealing to the government of Indonesia for clemency. We are still waiting.  In fact, I have sent a delegation of two to go on tour of all the countries: Malaysia , Indonesia , China, where we are having Nigerians in prison. They have gone around to see to their welfare, to see to their problems, so we are concerned.

He stated that, beyond appeal for clemency, Nigeria mission abroad often provide legal representation for such Nigerians once they are charged to court, saying, “there is nothing the federal government can do if you are caught with drugs on your body, if you are taken to court our embassy officials will be there they will watch the proceedings.

“At times we even provide legal services and so on to defend you but by the time you are found guilty and sentenced to death, all we can do as a government is to appeal for clemency that is all we can do. It is left for the government to consent or not so my own position is that Nigerians should not carry drugs please,  let us leave it in the past and start on a new beginning.”

By Anozie Egole
Most Nigerians have congratulated the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) over the recent introduction of per-paid meter as the new way of the payment of power bills.

They are also pleading with the government to maintain the statusquo on the new billing policy which was introduced recently.

Jonhpaul Ejiogu, Pat Udeze and Ebuka Izuegbunem

Even as the per-paid meter is much sought after, Nigerians expressed dissatisfaction in the way on PHCN handles billing system. These are some of the reactions from Nigerians who spoke to Saturday Vanguard.

I think it is a welcomed development — Jonhpaul Ejiogu

In my own view, I think it is a welcomed development only if the statusquo for its innovation is maintained. Right now, I have not started using it in my house at Ijegun, but in my office at Apapa, we have started using it. I work as a sales representative with Pet- Rock Ltd. It is good in the sense that you pay for what you consumed because we have really suffered enough from the Power Holding Company.

They will just walk in to your house and give you an estimated bill. They do not read the meter, they will just give you bill based on what they feel like giving you. Even when you try to give them what the meter read, they will just give you what they feel like and they will force you to pay else, you will be disconnected. Sometimes, after disconnecting you, they will go with the wires and when you want to connect back, you have to pay for the re-connection and for the wire too.  But in my office now, with the new pre-paid meter, it reduces cost.

At the end of the daily work, when we want to leave the office, we turn off all the lights and electrical appliances and go. When we come back the next day for the day’s normal daily activities, we find out that the meter continues reading from where it stopped the previous day I think it is good. I plead with PHCN to keep on with the good work that they have started by introducing the per-paid meter method.

Before the introduction of this per-paid meter, I have encountered several problems with the PHCN in the quest of trying to pay for my bills. There was a time my meter got burnt, I complained to PHCN, I even missed work for two days just because of that, they took about N15, 000 from me only to give me a fairly used meter. In the process of waiting for the meter, they gave me a huge sum of  N13, 000 just for two months.

Though I have not still started using this per-paid meter in my house, I am considering doing so seeing how good it has been ever since we started using it in my office. In my office now, with the new per-paid meter, N2, 000 can last for a month with us. Because we pay for what we used though the light do not come regularly.

They should please try as much as possible not to increase the subscription price. They should make it affordable to the common man. I therefore encourage every Nigerian to give them the support let us see how it goes from there.

The new per-paid meter will be better — Pat Udeze

I think the per-paid meter will be the best for Nigerians, simply because, you will pay for what you consumed. Unlike the previous method whereby they will estimate an amount and force you to pay, else, you will face disconnection. The amount I spend in buying diesel for my business every day as a dry-cleaner is high. After spending such amount on diesel, you will still be made to pay for bills which you didn’t consume.

Where then do we make our profit? And you know my business requires light so much for ironing of cloths and operating other machines else, we lose our customers.

It’s durable—Ebuka Izuegbunem

I think this new per-paid meter is better compared with the old way of payment. It is also more advanced and it serves for a very long time depending on how you use the light. I have found out that when you recharge your per-paid meter, it last longer than the previous method of payment. In my office, we have not started using the method, but where I live, we have started using the method for a long time now and it lasts.

When we are about leaving the house for office, I will bring remove the card to stop the reading, and fix it back when I return.. Infact, it is wonderful, I like it. You know here in Lagos, and some other places, there is a way they build houses whereby one or two flats will be using the same meter, and some people will be taking advantage of that by not paying their bills.

And when PHCN come,they will disconnect the whole building not minding who has paid or not. But with this per-paid meter, it will not be like that again. If you pay, you will use the light and if you don’t, you won’t see light. Nothing like somebody paying for another man’s bill again. Like now in my house, I recharge about N2,000 and it last for me. It even goes beyond a month unlike before.

I therefore advise fellow Nigerians to join the train because, it is good.

By Ola Ajayi and Caleb Ayansina, Abuja
ACTING President, Court of Appeal, Justice Dalhatu Adamu has said that he would refuse any attempt to push him to lobby to be confirmed as the substantive President of the Court.

Justice Adamu who played host to the National Association of Nigeria Youth Leaders (NANYL) during a courtesy call in Abuja said the state of things in the judiciary is devoid of politics in all forms whatsoever.

Justice Adamu said his ascension as Acting President of the Court was by the grace of God, noting that the criteria adopted when the court experienced the crisis, was that the most senior Justice should act and that he is ready to leave whenever he is asked to do so.  The Jurist continued, “I am a career judicial officer, having rose through the ranks, from State counsel, High Court Judge, then appointed to the Court of Appeal, bench and rose to be the most senior presiding justice of the court.

“I happened to be on this seat by the grace of God. The criteria adopted when the court experienced the recent crisis were that the most senior presiding justice should act in the capacity I am today. The state of things you see in the judiciary is very much devoid of politics in all forms howsoever.

Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Southwest has said it was improper for Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi and others  to call for the implementation of the National Judicial Council recommendation for the reinstatement of the President Court of Appeal (PCA), Justice Isa Ayo Salami when the governor had refused to swear-in two persons recommended for appointment as High Court judges by the same NJC.

The party said this through its South West Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kayode Babade after the party’s Zonal Working Committee (ZWC) meeting in Ibadan.

By MITAIRE IKPEN Abuja
Determined to reposition the Nigeria Police Force to face the challenges of insecurity in the country, Acting Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar has effected another major rejig of the senior cadre of the force, involving  mass transfer and posting of 67 Assistant Commissioners of Police (ACPs) and 70 Chief Superintendents of Police (CSPs) across the nation.

It would be recalled that about three weeks ago, the IGP similarly ordered the swapping of 38 Deputy Commissioners of Police (DCPs) and 53 Assistant Commissioners of Police (ACPs) across various commands and formations nationwide.

Moreso, IG Abubakar in a recent parley with newsmen noted that mass transfer would be a regular exercise in line with his transformation agenda to restore the lost glory of the Nigeria Police Force and to square up to security challenges.

Deputy Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Frank Mba, in a statement, said this latest move approved by the IGP is part of on-going efforts aimed at restructuring the Nigeria Police Force and repositioning it for greater efficiency.

He said the IGP urged the officers to rededicate themselves to the service of their fatherland and to shun all acts that may portray the Force and the nation in bad light.

The statement added that the affected officers are expected to resume duties in their new commands and formations with immediate effect.

In the latest postings, CSP Adeyinka Adeleke Bode becomes Coordinator, South West Border Patrol while CSP Matthew Amos is in charge of Procurement “C” Dept, Force Headquarters. Others include CSP Hussein Rabiu, A/CDR Warri Delta State; CSP Nosekwu Nosakhare Osakwe, Welfare ‘A’ Dept. FHQ; CSP Abdu Umaru, CID FCT Abuja;  CSP Alhassan Aminu, Intelligence FHQ; CSP Benjamin Onoja, AC ‘X’ SQD zone 6 Calabar; ACP Janet Agbede, AC SCID Oyo State.

By Simon Ebegbulem,
AHEAD the July 14, governorship election in Edo State, the Enunuedo socio-cultural organization led by the two-time former governor of the old Bendel State, Dr Samuel Ogbemudia, has interacted with the Governorship candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Governor Adams Oshiomhole and his counterpart in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Gen.Charles Airhiavbere, with a view to know the programme they have for the Binis.

The group had also sent out an invitation to the Governorship candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Chief Solomon Edebiri, to appear before it so as to know his porgramme for the Binis.

Apart from Governor Oshiomhole, the two other candidates Airhiavbere and Edebiri are all from the Benin speaking area (Edo South senatorial district) of the state. The group had last month, extended invitations to the candidates with a view to interact with them and find out the package they have for the Binis so as to enable the group know who amongst them  will receive the majority votes of the Binis.

However, disclosing the interaction through a statement signed by the National Secretary of the Enunuedo, Dr Okunzuwa Osawaru, it declared: “Enunuedo wishes to announce that it had the privilege to interact with the Governorship candidate of the ACN, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and his PDP counterpart Gen.Charles Airhiavbere on the 9 and 12, May 2012 respectively.

“During the separate sessions the same set of issue bothering on the prospects of the Benin community was presented to the candidates, details of the interaction will be formally presented to the community in due course. We have also extended invitation to the ANPP governorship candidate, Solomon Edebiri” it stated.

Vanguard learnt that the group will soon schedule a gathering where the findings of the group will be made public.

By FAVOUR NNABUGWU
Federal Govern-ment  yesterday banned pregnant women from going on pilgrimage even as it intensified medical screening of the 2012 Hajj pilgrims.

Chairman, National Hajj Commission (NAHCON, Alhaji Muhammad Bello who disclosed this in Abuja while briefing FCT Minister of State, Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide on the preparation for the 2012 pilgrimage, said the commission would ensure that it collaborates with FCT Pilgrims Board to screen and avail each pilgrim with his or her medical history and certified status appended by the doctor that carried out the screening on that person.

Bello said that doctors’ signatures have become imperative so that if any woman is discovered to  be pregnant at Saudi Arabia during the 2012 Hajj; the doctor concerned would be sanctioned.

He explained that the intensive screening was designed to address the issue of pregnant pilgrims and people with chronic illnesses, assuring that mobile clinics would be made available for pilgrims throughout the period the Hajj would last.

He further said the commission would provide the country’s pilgrims with wrist band identification, I.D. Cards containing details of the each pilgrim such as the country he comes from, the state or the camp he belongs, name and the type of sickness diagnosed on the person and phone number of Nigeria’s pilgrim officials should anyone of the pilgrims miss his or her way so as to be able to trace the person’s origin with ease.

He however warned that pilgrim that refused to submit his or herself for medical screening would not be permitted to partake in the Hajj.

He also said that the commission would allocate 76,000 out of the total slots of 95,000 for the country representing 80 percent to the people that are going for their very first time while frequent Hajj people would have the remaining 20 percent slots with the first  airlift to take-off on the 18th of September 2012.
He stated that the country already had a shortfall of 25,000 pilgrims going by the demand of 125,000 desiring to go for Hajj every year.
”The demand for the Hajj seat is a major constraint, noting that out of about 125,000 Nigerians that expressed interest in performing the Hajj operations, only 95,000 Nigerians can secure seats, representing shortfall of 25 percent”.

He noted that people over 80 years without a guardian would be denied the right to participate adding that the issue of missing people would be tackled headlong.

The commission, he stated would take pilgrims to the next level by focusing on individual pilgrim’s welfare in order to make sure they are comfortable in terms of accommodation, feeding and transportation while the commission would educate and orientate all the pilgrims in terms how to comport themselves and use modern facilities among others
He applauded FCTA for quality accommodation to their pilgrims last year, adding that other states have emulated the FCT from the inspection of 23 states carried so far.

He said, “Our problem is not the resources but our  ability to deploy those resources for good use”
”Hajj is religious and socio-political . That is why they have to be educated. Most of the pilgrims need to be educated in terms of facilities such as ‘lift’, social interaction with others, toilet facility so that it will not look new to them”.

”All the reform I have in mind is to take Hajj operations to the highest level as never experience before. I realize that a lot of early lifting has been taken care of by the commission, for Hajj to be meaningful, people need to be orientated.”
He stressed the need for transparency, equity and justice in the selection of Hajj operations.

In her response, Oloye Akinjide noted that the Hajj camp would be ready soon adding provision of facilities for Hajj was huge but assured that FCT would provide the minimum facility to host Nasarawa, Kogi and Benue states.
She however requested that more seats be allotted to the FCT, assuring that the 2012 Hajj operations would be better that last year.

By Okey Ndiribe Abuja
In order to defuse the charged political atmosphere in Edo State, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has suspended a fresh  voters registration exercise ahead of the July 14 governorship election  scheduled to be held in the state.

This decision was announced yesterday by the Chairman of the Commission Prof. Attahiru Jega while addressing news men on the outcome of the meeting held between the commission and stakeholders in the forth-coming election.

Citing reasons why INEC took the decision which Jega stated had been accepted by all the political stakeholders who attended the meeting yesterday, he explained that  the commission had become worried over the charged political atmosphere in the state adding that there had also been many allegations and counter-allegations  by different candidates and political parties contesting the election. Said he: “Now in the past two weeks or so, INEC has received letters of complaint or petitions making wide-ranging allegations from the Governor Adams Oshiomhole who is the candidate of Action Congress of Nigeria for the forth-coming poll; the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Gen. Charles Arhiavbere(rtd); Edo State Secretariat of the PDP and two other petitions from unknown groups”.

According to the INEC boss: “…In view of the allegations and counter-allegations which have been made in the last two weeks on the preparations for the continuous voter registration exercise in Edo State, and given the weighty nature of some of these allegations and the need to thoroughly investigate them and take a firm decision regarding them well before the elections, the Commission has decided to postpone  the continuous voter registration exercise in Edo until after the elections so we can do it in an atmosphere devoid of suspicions and fears and so that we can focus on rebuilding confidence and preparing for free, fair, peaceful and credible elections”. Jega explained that  the commission  had decided to embark on continuous voter registration exercise in order to accommodate persons who had attained the age of 18 since the last registration of voters was conducted early last year.

Said he: “With regards to the continuous voters registration exercise which was to have commenced on May 15 2012, we planned that it should be  consistent with the Commission’s earlier decision oncontinuous voters registration in all states with pending rerun elections since April 2011 to give opportunity to those who have qualified since the last registration. Hence  we  did continuous voters registration in Kogi, Bayelsa, Adamawa, Sokoto and Kebbi states. “He further explained that the Commission could not do continuous voter registration before conducting the Cross River State rerun governorship election  because there was no time since the poll was shifted backwards adding that in Sokoto state even though the Commission conducted fresh voters registration in that state INEC could not utilise the fresh register because revision of the electoral time-table prevented the commission from publishing the new register within the legally permissible time-frame.

However, all the key political actors in the state who attended the meeting fixed by the INEC boss expressed satisfaction with its outcome.Speaking to journalists after the meeting with the INEC Chairman Oshiomhole had stated that: “ We have accepted the commission’s decision to postpone further registration of voters until after the election. We have also assured INEC that we would do everything to ensure that the principle of one man one vote stands”.In his own remarks concerning the outcome of the dialogue session with the leadership of INEC, Arhiavbere also endorsed the Commission’s decision.

The National Chairman of Labour Party Mr Dan Nwanyanwu and the  governorship candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples party (ANPP) Chief Solomon Edebiri who also attended the meeting expressed  also endorsed INEC’s decision.

By KINGSLEY OMONOBI & CALEB AYANSINA, Abuja
MILITARY Pension Board, MPB, weekend, said that some people attacking the government over their non-capture by the board in its pension service were in no time served in the military, debunking rumours that the board refused to pay them their entitlements.

The Chairman of the Board, Real Admiral Muhammed Mshelia who stated this in a press conference in Abuja however noted that ‘some few among them actually served in the military, but never qualified for pension, because they did not serve up to the pensionable years upon retirement.

Reacting to a media report featuring one Mr. Smile Markson who paraded himself as ex-soldier, the chairman explained that Markson had never been a soldier, and that, their record shows that he is using regimental number belonging to another ex-officer.

According to a memo dated 9th of May, 2012 with reference number REC/G1/300/79 from Army Headquarter, “there are also no records to show that he (Smile Markson) ever served as a solder and discharged as claimed. Meanwhile, the regimental number 63NA/66930 which he claimed to be his does not belong to him but belong to ex-CPL Nimzing Iliya”.

BY EMMAN OVUAKPORIE

THE Presidential Amnesty Programme for militants among Niger Delta youths who laid down their weapons to give way to peace and development in the region, once again, took a centre-stage of activities at the House of Representatives on Thursday.

About 60 members of the Itsekiri National Youth Council, INYC, stormed the National Assembly, to give strength to an earlier petition to the federal legislators over the exclusion of former Itsekiri militants from the Amnesty Programme.

Their complaints was that over 2, 000 Itsekiri youths  voluntarily surrendered their arms to the Federal Government on June 25,  2009  which was within the 60- day deadline, but were not invited to the programme.

From left: Hon. Griftson Omatsuli; the Akulagba of Warri Chief Ayirimiemami ; Spokesman of INYC, Mr Akaruse; Hon. Michael Didem and David Tonwe, during Public Petition Hearing on the non inclusion of formally armed Itsekiri Youths in the Post-Amnesty Programme held at National Assembly Photos: Gbemiga Olamikan

The youths, led by a patron of the council, Dr. Lucky Akuaruese were armed with a copy of their earlier petition, as well as, and a video showing clearly the affected youths surrendering their arms which included rocket launchers, AK 47s, Sub-Machine Guns, SMGs and several other automatic weapons, to buttress their claims.

The House Committee on Public Petitions prior to last Thursday’s public hearing  had invited the Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Niger Delta Affairs, Kingsley Kuku to appear before it.
Chairman of the House Committee on Public Petitions, Hon. Uzor Azubike who arrived the venue at about 1.45pm read all the necessary  sections of the constitution which empowers the committee to issue a warrant of arrest and other sanctions on public officials who fail to honour the committee’s invitation. The sections include  88 and 89.

However, before presenting his paper, Hon. Kuku made an  appeal  to members of the committee to switch off the CD which displayed how the arms were surrendered saying:

“I have  developed an emotional attachment to the whole exercise, watching this clip will definitely disturb my flow while making my presentation.”

Kuku in his presentation did not mince words when he declared that , “ I am just a boy who listens to his father once an instruction is given by his father. It is only the president who can include the Itsekiri youths in the Amnesty Programme. If I am asked to include them right now , I promise you that by 7am tomorrow, the youths will be included because they are qualified since they met the deadline.
“In  the past, my office had written to the President on this issue that the Itsekiri youths  should be included in the programme because we have a common problem bordering on poverty and suffer same deprivations”.

The Itsekiri youths, numbering over 60 had earlier that Thursday,  stormed the National Assembly venue of the on-going House of Representatives  investigative public hearing of the probe of President Goodluck Jonathan’s Special Adviser  on Niger Delta Affairs over the non-inclusion of Itsekiri former armed youths in the Amnesty Programme.

Their demands included  an immediate inclusion of over 2,000 Itsekiri youths in the Federal Government of Nigeria Amnesty Programme.

In   a presentation  read  by a patron of  INYC,Dr. Lucky Akuaruese     titled: ‘Petition over the non-incluson of formerly  armed Itsekiri youths who responded to the June 25, 2009 , Federal Government of Nigeria, FGN, Amnesty Proclamation into the Post Amnesty Programme’ , the aggrieved youths asked the Speaker of the House of  Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal to urgently look into the non-inclusion of their youths in the Amnesty Programme.
They argued in the petition  that the Itsekiri youths who obeyed the FGN’s call for truce were deliberately and wickedly excluded from the programme for no just reason by the Office of the  Special Adviser.

Sequel to this development, the House in plenary on Thursday March 29 had acknowledged the petition written by the  president of INYC and subsequently mandated the House Committee on Public Petitions to institute an investigative hearing into the allegations by the council.

The INYC further stated in the letter that “ if we ask ourselves to individually define the different specifics that can be identified as constituting the Niger Delta crises-a phrase that now assumes the status of a universal, we shall discover that the various unpleasant events , the collectivity which are now categorised as ‘Niger Delta crises’ began in Warri in 1997.

The ‘constituents’ of the Niger Delta Crises as the Causal Factor of the Amnesty Proclamation:

According to INYC, “the Niger Delta Crises, even though a phrase , its conceptualisation and application have however given it the status of a ‘universal within which consists different ‘particulars’.  In identifying these particulars , we must be quick to point out that we will reframe from beng judgmental, nor shall we bother ourselves with delving into their respective causal factors, that is, the different causes of the different crises, the collectivity of which are now being referred to and categorised as the Niger Delta Crises”.

He further explained that “without equivocation, what is being referred to as ‘Niger Delta Crises’ are the different events of destructive dimensions both in human and materials that took place in different parts of the region which started in Warri and its environs in march 1997 as manifested in the bloody inter-ethnic crises.

“The constituents of the Niger Delta Crises are concisely listed below and not in any particular order but all between 1997 and 2004.These include:

1.Itsekiri/Urhobo bloody confrontation in Warri urban.
2.Itsekiri /Ijaw blood bath in Warri and environs.

3. Ijaw/Ilaje/Yoruba) war in Ese-Odo Ilaje Local Government Council. Of Ondo State.

4. Ijaw/Bini confrontation in the riverine areas of Ovia South West axis of Edo state.

5. Ijaw/Ikwere confrontation in Rivers State
6. Ijaw/Ogoni confrontation in Rivers state.

7. The Ijaw/Ibibio battles in the Oquo-Ibeno areas of Akwa-Ibom State.

8. Ijaw/Urhobo bloody confrontations as manifested in the wars between Aladja and Ogbe-Ijo, Siama and Gbarigolor and Oboro and Olota.

9. Ijaw/Ilaja killings in the Binbioye axis of Burutu Local Government Council area of Delta state.

“Besides the above, there were other bloody incidences lagely of intra-ethnic pattern in the different communities of Bayelsa and Rivers State particularly in the Ijaw areas within this identified period. It was all these (among a few others) that are being categorised as the Niger Delta Crises.

“Let us briefly put forward two other constituents of the Niger Delta Crises, both of which are consequent on the collectivity of the above mentioned particulars. Briefly, when all these respective ‘wars’ due to several factors which include possible efforts of respective governments, federal inclusive and possibly the super ordinary of the principle of ‘balance terror’, there was no immediate defined visible effort from any quater (official or private ) to disarm members of the respective groups of ethnic militias.

“By 2006,  some of these groups of ethnic militias introduced two new ‘particulars’ to the universal Niger Delta crises. They include breaking of crude oil  pipes solely to get crude oil and other petroleum products for sale and kidnapping of foreign oil workers to obtain huge cash on ransoms.

“The second has significantly
experienced sub-phases such that all the states in the region are respectively reeling under kidnapping phenomenon such that an individual’s safety has significantly receded into the realm of dream”.

Hon Daniel Reyenieju representing Warri Federal constituency in a brief contribution praised Hon Kuku for admitting that the youths were eminently qualified to be part of the Amnesty Programme.

He said, “ when I met with Kuku in the past,  it was always combative but today, I am really impressed with his presentation.”

CAMP DAVID (AFP) – President Barack Obama greeted G8 leaders at his rural presidential retreat of Camp David Friday, marking the opening of summit dominated by Europe’s fiscal woes.

Obama greeted leaders from the European Union, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia all dressed in casual attire to a log-cabin meeting opening the summit spanning two days.

Discussions around the dinner table at Obama’s Laurel Lodge will focus on Iran’s nuclear challenge ahead of talks between global powers and the Islamic Republic in Baghdad later this month.

The leaders are also expected to address Syria’s crackdown on its anti-government uprising, fears that North Korea will launch a new nuclear test and Myanmar, after Obama eased US investment restrictions Thursday on the country formerly known as Burma.

G8 leaders will hold their main discussions on Europe’s fiscal plight Saturday at Camp David’s rustic collection of cabins on the wooded Catoctin Mountain in Maryland, outside Washington.

Diplomats also expect an agreement on how to help newly free Arab nations recover state assets moved abroad by members of previous regimes.

By OGBONNA AMADI, Entertainment Editor
Since his shocking break-up with his erstwhile partner, and co-owner of Mo’ Hits,Dapo Oyebanjo a.k.a D’banj, prolific music producer, Don Jazzy whose real names are Collins Edjereh has maintained  sealed lips until last week when he  floated a new record label called Mavin Records.

The label parades the brightest and the best acts from the defunct Mo’hits including Wande Coal, Dr Sid, The Prince  and  the new entrant, Tiwa Savage. In this interview, Don Jazzy reacts to series of  rumours and speculations that trailed his over-piblicised break up with D’banj. Members of his new label also share their dreams and expectations as far as Mavin Records is concerned.

What is MAVIN all about and what inspired it?

It is spelt MAVIN Records and not Marvin. If you check the dictionary it simply refers to somebody that is a genius or a champion, a sensation, hotshot, superstar, wizkid or whatever . So basically, we decided to call the company that name because we are all geniuses in our different fields coming together in a record company.

How much would you say the event of the past few weeks have  helped in the emergence of Mavin Records.

Basically, we do not believe in channeling our energies towards what has  happened in the past. But basically to put up your energy to transform our Ffuture. We wouldn’t say we don’t have the memories of things that has happened but we just pray to God that as we are moving forward that such situations never occur again and we just pray for the best.

What have you been able to put in place to ensure that what happened in the past does not repeat itself?

We can’t really say  what happened, we can’t really put a hand on what went wrong so there is nothing one  can do. Individually, we  will  just have to do  our best and keep praying that it doesn’t happen again. It’s not that anyone planned it, it happened and it just happened , so we are not in any position to say it’s not going to happen again. Nobody is God?

*Don Jazzy

Do you in any way feel demystified about what happened, because the impression of the people out there is that you are invulnerable, not penetrable?

Demystified!  I don’t really get it

(Cut in) There is this notion about Don Jazzy being somebody that is invulnerable, cannot give in, (so to say)?

Demystified? I don’t really think my integrity or my person has been damaged in any way, I believe that once you cannot hide the light, a gold fish has no hiding place.  Whatever you are is like time will tell who you are. I can’t really say that people who think  that  they know who I am know who I am,  just like some people that want to assume they know  who I am by what they read or what they want to hear.

I’m not in any position to start convincing you or anyone to believe otherwise or believe anything. I just believe that at the end of the day God will vindicate all of us and you will see who we are.

What do you think will change in your transition from MO’HITS to MAVIN?

It has been a moving trend from MO’HITS to MAVIN, the only thing that has changed is the name

From MO’HITS to MAVIN and the addition of new people and basically we will keep moving. So, obviously when you are moving you hope to move from point A to point B so we got to a point we stop we change gas, we refill and we are still going to get to point B at the end of the day.

*Don Jazzy and his Mavins

Are you surprised about the loyalty of Wande Coal,  D’Prince and DR. SID.

Am I surprised?  No, I don’t see any reason I should be surprised. I’m not surprised , there  is no need for me to be  surprised just like I have said nothing has changed, we are still the people that we are, we are still ourselves as we dey before,  na so we dey,  we  still dey  here , and there is no cause or time to doubt any body’s  loyalty.

You have a new addition to the boys, Tiwa Savage, what’s the attraction? Is she the female artiste you have always wanted on board in Mo Hits?

I have been talking about a female artiste for a long time and Tiwa Savage and I have been talking about adding a female artiste to MO’HIT Records for long time now. It’s not that we didn’t know we will end up together at some point.  We knew from day one that she came into this country that this is going to happen and because at that point she was not ready.

Obviously, she can’t wait and I have to encourage her to go ahead and make some things for herself and which she did wonderfully as an artiste. Now there is room for an addition and so we will continue from where we left off.

Now let’s talk about MAVIN what is special about it and what are we expecting?

Basically, I will say that we have all seen that situations can change like the way people perceived you, the way people accept your music, the way people talk about you and whatever. So, we  know now that we need to do all work harder, gather more momentum to create more music and stuffs  so everybody is basically gingered, everybody is more fired up now to work and we don’t see anything stopping us  as we are basically just going to put  all our energy. Now in MAVIN Records everybody is concentrating on the work and we intend to put out as much as many tracks and albums as possible. Trust me, I’m going to flood the market.

What I thought is perhaps MAVIN will introduce one artiste, one album but you are coming out with a collective album?

It’s not like it’s a group. You can tell everybody here is an individual artiste and successful on his or her own.  I must say everybody have at least one to three singles already in the past so we basically just want to bring them out.  I didn’t take part in this album I only produced the album. We were like this is Mavin Records everybody, please meet us; this is what we are for now.  Individual album is going to follow any moment from now and  there is no time to wait at all .

(Cut in) There no single before the release of this album?

No, there is no self formula at the moment so like I said I don’t really like to give people that publicity stunts of he his coming or anticipating. When you see it, you see it, when you see it, you take it.

Will Don Jazzy be a sole artiste on MAVIN Records or an in- house producer and  the CEO?

I’m not going to say I’m never going to be an artiste but I don’t see it any time soon.

Who are you looking up to as the cash cow?

Everybody. Basically, the record label is not built in a way one person supposed to be the leader.  Everybody is giving equal opportunity to grow and it all depends on how the crowd sees you. People have their opinions about what they like and stuffs like that so how you appeal to your fans will determine how they take you but we intend to put more push and more backing into everybody even the new people that we will add tomorrow.

There were so many insinuations about life in MO’HITS, that life was regimented such that when someone talks others keep quiet, how democratic is MAVIN going to be this time around?

A lot of stuffs that you guys have heard about MO’HIT Records trust me, they are really wrong, but I wouldn’t  talk about MO’HIT Records because we are talking about MAVIN Records  and moving forward now and I will say we would try as much as possible to communicate a lot of the truth to you guys  before people insinuate all sorts of stuff like in the last three months  I have seen different kinds of interviews and blogs and whatever that people have  written and they say that they spoke to me.

Like I was reading a blog the other day and I saw Exclusive Phone Interview by Don Jazzy bla bla bla and they wrote like a full conversation. The person said this and I said this and that I said this and the truth is I have not had such interview with anyone. I have not spoken to any reporter this year.

Could that be true?

Yes, they are not quoting anybody they were quoting themselves may be they have one imaginary Don Jazzy they were talking to or the other because the Jazzy they quoted is not me, I really do not speak to anybody regarding any situation or any issues, I have not put out any press statement saying whatever on this issue  so people just really assumed. They were quoting themselves.

Jazzy what lesson would you say you have learnt from your past experiences that may likely help you in this new movement?

DON:  They are not lessons that are new.  Change, like they say is the only constant thing in life and I  have just confirmed  again that really things happen, relationship ends, good things must come to an end they say, one will just try much as possible to see that good things that we have last for  long but sometimes they do happen we just pray GOD to help us live as  long as possible to see more of the good things than having the good things to end and then  because I  have already known there is nothing much to say now  about that past. Really, my entire mind is focused on moving ahead.

Basically to put up your energy to transform our future. We wouldn’t say we don’t have the memories of things that has happened but we just pray to God that as we are moving forward that such situations never occur again and we just pray for the best.

What have you been able to put in place to ensure that what happened in the past does not repeat itself?

We can’t really say  what happened, we can’t really put a hand on what went wrong so there is nothing one  can do. Individually, we  will  just have to do  our best and keep praying that it doesn’t happen again. It’s not that anyone planned it, it happened and it just happened , so we are not in any position to say it’s not going to happen again. Nobody is God?

Do you in any way feel demystified about what happened, because the impression of the people out there is that you are invulnerable, not penetrable?

Demystified!  I don’t really get it

(Cut in) There is this notion about Don Jazzy being somebody that is invulnerable, cannot give in, (so to say)?

Demystified? I don’t really think my integrity or my person has been damaged in any way, I believe that once you cannot hide the light, a gold fish has no hiding place.  Whatever you are is like time will tell who you are. I can’t really say that people who think  that  they know who I am know who I am,  just like some people that want to assume they know  who I am by what they read or what they want to hear. I’m not in any position to start convincing you or anyone to believe otherwise or believe anything. I just believe that at the end of the day God will vindicate all of us and you will see who we are.

What do you think will change in your transition from MO’HITS to MAVIN?

It has been a moving trend from MO’HITS to MAVIN, the only thing that has changed is the name

By UDUMA KALU & EBELE ORAKPO

LAGOS – Nigeria must address the issues of competence, capacity and come up with a national document on enhancing training management, if it must attain its Vision 20: 2020.

Mr. Jide Adetunmbi, TBS Consulting Team Leader, at a workshop on enhancing training management in Nigeria, organised by Centre for Management  Development, CMD, in Lagos, said the workshop was aimed at reviewing training practice in the country by identifying what had gone wrong, why budget was dwindling, among others and proffering the way forward.

For Dr. Kabir Usman, Director-General, CMD, training as a capacity-building and change-initiative had either been relegated to the background by organisations or was not impactful on employee- performance and productivity in Nigeria.

By Kayode Fayemi

As the last child in the Fayemi household, my arrival was heralded with song and dance. Although my birth elicited genuine excitement on the part of my siblings, it was for my mother a cautious welcome. My mother’s caution was understandable having lost a boy and two girls in quick succession before my arrival.

While I was generally called Olukayode (the one who has brought joy), mum privately called me Folorunso (we give this one to God to protect) because, as she once told me, it wasn’t until I turned five that she became more confident that I wasn’t going to disappear like my siblings did.

Given the above context, I grew up knowing my mother as a strong, proud, beautiful, elegant, industrious, hardworking and a consistently optimistic woman – the unseen backbone of our family.  Unlike my father who was deliberate, self-effacing, almost withdrawn in his detached mien, Mum was spontaneous – her effervescence and generosity of spirit was bewitchingly infectious.

Yet the myth then was that being a special child and the last born, my mother would spare the rod and pamper me silly. I cannot recall enjoying any such status. Instead, she was equally generous and spontaneous with her punishments. Mother reached for the closest instrument she could hit you with from her pounded yam pestle to her giant soup spoon, not minding the injury sustained at that point even if she would be back to nurse the wounds.

Even at that, my sisters said she had mellowed by the time I came.  She always told me that she missed out on school because she was pampered by her grandmother (with whom she stayed) – who removed her from school to escape the harsh treatment of the teachers – and promised herself that no child of hers would have the same experience. So, you dared not inform my Mum that you were flogged in school as this almost always certainly elicited a repeat treatment.

An unconscious feminist who refused to be dependent on anyone, not even her husband, Mum trained me in exactly the same fashion she trained my sisters. She trained me to be independent in all ways. With the exit of my four sisters from home by the time I entered secondary school, I became the cook, the driver, her shop steward and the general journeyman. Mum worked hard and she expected all around her to work hard.  I could not recall any time my Mum did not have to go out and work.  Anytime I was on school break, it was all work – and my escape route was often my sisters’ various homes.

Although I also left home early and lived away from her for a considerable length of time, Mum had already taught me a lot about life.  While she often taught the same lessons as Dad about character, compassion, hard-work, community service, perseverance, her style was remarkably different, uncodified and refreshing. She was direct, precise, demanding and often in your face. Mum was extremely protective of her family, loyal to her friends and her milk of compassion to outsiders was legendary as she was always ready to share the little she had with the needy from far and near.

She complemented her husband who was reserved, self-effacing and inscrutable fittingly and this helped his public image which would have suffered greatly. My mum was the best wife any man could pray for and I certainly can confirm that my late Dad was very lucky. She was fun to be with and could easily laugh at herself in a self-deprecating manner. I guess I must have subconsciously searched for a woman like my Mum for wife and must have taken her teachings to heart with my marriage to a very conscious feminist, family protector and public relations agent, and I often marvelled at the remarkable similarities between my Mum and my wife.

My return to Nigeria after the exit of the military brought much relief to my Mum. My eventual decision to become politically active in Ekiti even brought greater relief because it meant my constant presence in Ekiti, something my Mum had missed since I left Christ’s School, Ado Ekiti.  Mum had craved for my presence for a long time – even if she was not that enamoured of partisan politics per se.   For her, anything to bring me closer home was more than welcome.

We grew much closer during this period that tested the mettle of many friends and family members.  My Mum bore the brunt of the period with extra-ordinary grace and equanimity. She witnessed several betrayals in the course of my political work. She endured many indignities from known and unknown quarters. But the period also showed clearly my Mum’s strength of character.  Even when many had become disillusioned by the ‘do-or-die’ politics of our state and urged withdrawal privately, Mum was consistently optimistic.

Her single-minded determination and steely resolve often surprised me because I’d mistakenly thought age would have mellowed her. She never at any point urged me to throw in the towel. She told me she always knew the journey would be tough and rough but also consistently reassured me of the light she could see at the end of the dark tunnel. She urged me to be bold, courageous and not betray Ekiti people. She hated my dismissive, sceptical mien and impatience with religiosity.

A devout catholic who carried her rosary everywhere, she could suffer fools gladly and still entertained various hare-brained schemes by the emergency evangelists and fake medicine men that saw her as a conduit to her recalcitrant son – even if she didn’t believe them. One even had the temerity to tell her she was the source of her son’s problems and she must go back to where she got her son from and beg for forgiveness, whatever that meant. That was just one of the several indignities she had to endure. Since I was hardly at home during this period, many of my supporters looking for me in the village ended at her doorsteps and her house was the refuge for many political exiles and supporters from neighbouring communities. She never got tired of taking care of people. I am convinced I got my selfless service genes from her as much as from my Dad.

The egregious rigging of the 2009 gubernatorial re-run election, coming in quick succession after the loss of her husband and companion of sixty years took its toll and I believe she never really recovered from the shock of her husband’s loss and the stress she experienced from my political struggle. It however did not dim her optimism. When victory finally came in October 2010, she was extremely proud of me but I never stopped being her little boy. Her house became a Mecca of sorts for politicians and all those in search of favours.  Her own pile of CVs was more than what I had in my own office.

Consistently, she would pull my ear and said I must give somebody a job because he contributed hugely to the struggle through prayers and fasting. And at every opportunity, particularly when she felt I was not paying adequate attention to her numerous and unrelenting requests for jobs for the political jobbers always in her house, she would reprimand me openly that I should not come to her house to ‘do Governor because she is the Governor in her husband’s house.’  When I got fed up with the way she was bombarded by opportunists of various hue, I moved her to Government House, she protested loudly. She said I had no right to remove her from her house.

For her, the greatest security was the people who pestered her with all manner of requests, not the ‘prison’ where I’d placed her in Government House without the freedom to welcome her unsolicited guests.  Two weeks to her demise, her paternal community in Omu-Ekiti honoured me as the son of their princess. It was the first time of knowing that my Mum had any drop of blue blood in her. But then she acted it all through her life.

She was regal in her steps, highly fashionable and always liked to dress up. Beyond the fad and fashion though, she had a more compelling urge to always look after people around her, the way a service oriented royalty behaved – always ready to feed the hungry, to give drink to the thirsty, clothe the needy, provide shelter for the homeless and share the little she had with all.

When death finally came, I was sadly not at her bedside – but Bisi and my siblings were. Mine was largely an unspoken, impenetrable bond with Mum. I thank God for my Mum’s life of service to all who had the opportunity to come across her. My mother, my mentor, thank you for showering me with love without expecting anything in return and for the joy of bringing me to this world. I know that what you would really like most is for me to continue to live a life of service to our people in Ekiti and humanity at large.  I promise not to disappoint you.  Sun re o! Omo Oriyemusola…

Olukayode ‘Folorunso’ Fayemi  is Ekiti State governor

By Kenneth Ehigiator
LAGOS — Almost two weeks after the Senate ordered Lufthansa Airlines to pay the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, N2.198 billion, being money representing unpaid royalties between 2009 and November 2011, the airline is yet to do so, saying it had paid all charges to date.

Royalty is money paid by foreign airlines to the Federal Government for the country’s inability to reciprocate flight operations to their countries, in line with the Bilateral Air Services Agreements, BASAs, Nigeria has with their governments, and such agreements thrive on the principle of reciprocity.

Lufthansa Airlines operates daily service to Frankfurt from Lagos, with no Nigerian carrier doing same to Germany.

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Aviation, Senator Hope Uzodinma, had on May 9, 2012, directed the airline to pay the money to the NCAA, being the custodian of all royalties, of face sanctions.

But the airline in a reaction to questions put to its media consultant, Mr. Hakeem Jimoh, in Lagos, said Lufthansa was up to date in payment of all charges expected of it by government.

The questions went thus:  Has Lufthansa Airlines paid the royalty the Senate ordered it to pay into NCAA’s account?  And if it has not, when would the money be paid?

Responding in a statement issued last night, Lufthansa, aside from saying it had paid all charges to the Federal Government, added that it had never violated any Nigerian law put in place to safeguard the interest of Nigerians and would not do so.

It said its co-operation with the Ministry of Aviation was work in progress, with special focus on capacity and human resources development.

Director-General of NCAA, Dr. Harold Demuren, could not be reached on phone to ascertain what steps it was taking to recoup the money.

But his Media Assistant, Mr. Sam Adurogboye, said he was not aware of any payment by Lufthansa.

By GODWIN ORITSE
There are indications that the Federal Government may have decided to concession the Apapa-Oshodi expressway following failed attempts to ensure the road is free of traffic gridlock.

The decision to concession the road leading to the ports in Lagos was as a result of the cost of repair and maintenance, while the concession option was the only viable one for government.

Vanguard gathered that paucity of funds which has crippled the rehabilitation of the failed Apapa–Oshodi expressway was also another reason which the government considered.

The Federal Government at a time considered alternative funding options for the project and it has narrowed it down to concessioning.

Vanguard confirmed from sources close to the Ministry of Works that the whole stretch from Apapa to Oshodi and the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, MMIA, would be handed over to the private sector.

The source also hinted that government is worried about the state of the road and that the on-going rehabilitation has been slowed down.

“It was the Minister of Works who brought the idea of alternative funding for the project and it was tabled at the Federal Executive Council, FEC, meeting which has sailed through”, the source added.

He also hinted that government is however, still at a loss as to how to go about it, since the rehabilitation work is already being funded by it.

According to him, bringing a concessionaire at this point may pose some problems.

He, however, specifically stated that it would be executed through a Public Private Partnership, PPP, arrangement, details of which are still being worked out.

Already, construction giant, Julius Berger has commenced work on the road which would be handed over to a private firm for proper management.