Author: Isah Mukhtar

Technology
By Hadiza Mohammed-Aliyu
Abuja, Dec. 20, 2018 (NAN) Federal Government intends to build a digital economy around the technology and creative sectors to create jobs for young people, President Muhammadu Buhari said in Abuja.

The President said this while presenting the N8.83 trillion 2019 budget at a joint session of the National Assembly (NASS) in Abuja.

He said the digital economy would be in partnership with states and the private sector, stressing that “Nigeria cannot afford to be left behind in the digital age.

“Modern up-to-date infrastructure is particularly important to boost economic activities.

“We are working on a project to increase broadband penetration across all geographical zones of the country.

“We are hoping that over the next four years, the 774 local government areas in the country will be provided with fibre connectivity, “he said.

Buhari said that government also planned to exploit comparative advantages of the six geo-political zones and the 36 states of the federation by establishing six industrial parks.

The president said government would establish 109 special production and processing centres across senatorial zones, including shared facilities.

He explained that “Every Child Counts’’, adding that the government guiding principle in national educational system entailed far reaching actions to boost digital literacy.

Buhari said such move would impart functional skills on children and retrain thousands of teachers,  stressing that the was need for government to equip children with modern era skills.

“Indeed, we must equip our children from young age with skills for modern era by emphasising education in science, technology,engineering, arts and mathematics.’’

The President said the 2019 budget had benefitted from extensive consultations and stakeholder engagements “to reflect our belief that all sectors have critical role to play in our journey toward sustainable and inclusive development.

“It demonstrates our commitment to deliver dividends of democracy to Nigerians, in a more inclusive manner. It also represents another important step in building
the Nigeria of our dreams.’’

He, therefore, called for the support of Nigerians to achieve the desired goals’

According to Buhari, it is evident over the past years that more can be achieved in the overall interest of the Nigerian people if all work together.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the 2019 Appropriation Bill is now before NASS for consideration and passage. (NAN)
HA/DUA

Edited by Dada Ahmed

Flood

Lokoja, Sept. 26, 2018 (NAN) The Nigeria Red Cross Society (NRCS) on Wednesday, distributed food items and other relief materials to 100 households affected by the flood in some communities in Kogi.

A correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) who witnessed the distribution of the items reports that the beneficiaries were the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Ozahi and Kasania communities in Kogi Local Government area.

The two communities had been submerged by flood which also washed away their farmlands, livestock and personal effects.

The victims are currently being housed at the IDP camp at the LGEA Pry School, Koton Karfe, where the items were handed over to them.

The NRCS, with the support of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Society (IFRC) and other partners, provided the relief materials which included 100 bags 0f rice (50kg), 100 bags of beans (24kg), 100 bags of corn soya blend,(24kg) 100 gallons of vegetable oil (10kg) and 100 bags of 0.5 salt.

Other items include hundreds mosquito nets, sleeping mats, blankets, kitchen sets, buckets and hygiene kits for each of the households.

Speaking at the occasion, the Head of Communication of the NRCS, Mr Nwapa Nwapa, said the gesture was to ameliorate the suffering of the victims.

He noted that the natural disaster had cost the victims their means of livelihood and personal belongings.

According to him, the camp is chosen for the intervention based on the vulnerability of the people.

“Our responses are done according to the level of vulnerability. The higher the vulnerability, the surer for us to reach the camp.

“We are starting here because of the vulnerability we notice, from our assessment, “Nwapa said.

He also promised more assistance for the victims as soon as the flood recedes.

“We are also responding to all the states affected by the flood. Our volunteers are always on ground, assessing the situation.”

Also speaking, the Head of Office, International Federation of the Red Cross, Dr Michael Charles, said that the organisation had discussed with other partners across the globe to bring further succour to the victims.

In his remarks, Mr Abubakar Kande, Secretary General of NRCS Cross Society, said that enough volunteers had been mobilised to the state to offer continuous humanitarian services to the victims.

Responding on behalf of the beneficiaries, Mr Adamu Hussaini, who is also the head of Ozahi community, commanded NRSC and other partners for coming to their aid at this critical period. (NAN)
KKA/DUA

Edited by Dada Ahmed

Kogi labour unions order shut down of private, public offices in 21 LGs

Strike

Lokoja, Sept. 26, 2018 ( NAN) The organised labour in Kogi has directed workers in the private and public sectors to embark on a seven-day strike with effect from Sept. 27.

The directive was contained in a statement issued on Wednesday in Lokoja by the state chapters of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the Joint Public Service Negotiating Council (JPSNC).

Messr Onu Edoka, Ranti Ojo and Aaron Akeji, state Chairmen of NLC, TUC and JPSNC respectively, signed the statement on behalf of the unions.

According to the statement, the declaration of the strike is in line with the position of the national leadership of the unions to press home the demand for a new minimum wage.

It directed that all public and private offices at state and local government levels be shut down, saying that workers should remain at home within the stipulated period of the strike and await further directive.

The organised Labour said it was monitoring events on the N15 billion London and Paris Club refund recently released to the to the state government.

“We await the setting up of committee for the disbursement of the fund as being done in other states,” the statement said. (NAN)

KKA/SA

Edited by Salif Atojoko

================

NANFeatures/Vol.12/No.110/2018 (Sept. 24)

Nigeria and metaphor of Sodom
An analysis by Chukwudi Ekezie, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
Many remember the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, but for those who do not, God was angry with the people of the two cities that were so endowed because of their sins.
God’s anger was so much that Abraham, whom He had promised inheritance of the earth had to intervene to enable the people escape the wrath of God.
Abraham, it was said, pleaded with God to save the people from the impending rage of fire because of the righteous among them, but when none was found, God unleashed punishment on the people and they perished.
The situation compares with Nigeria, a heavily endowed country, still struggling with poor leadership, especially since the return of civilian rule in 1999.
When the military regime of retired Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar hurriedly handed over power to civilians on May 29, 1999, to quench the anger of Nigerians over the annulment of the June 12, 1993, presidential election, the expectation was that in a short period, the lot of the citizenry would improve.
However, nearly 20 years after, many feel that the years of agitation for civil rule were wasted as their conditions had got worse with a high level of crime, unemployment, poverty, uncertainty, among others.
The military regime of retired Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, which lasted from Aug. 27, 1985 to Aug. 26, 1993, had promised so much for governance, especially with a long power transition plan but blundered with the annulment of the June 12 poll.
The seven-year transition period, which started with the inauguration of a Political Bureau on Jan. 13, 1986, held much promise because of the systematic approach adopted by the regime.
The regime had relied on the contributions of scholars and experts who charted a course for a clearer future, thereby giving the people hope of a sincere promise.
However, hope, especially among politicians, was dashed by the annulment of the presidential election and inauguration of an Interim National Government on Aug. 27, 1993.
The Interim Government was removed by the late Gen. Sani Abacha on Nov. 17, 1993 and heralded the rise in power of a despot who promised plural participation in politics, but instead plotted his way to remain in power.

The frustration and financial losses by experienced politicians suffered between 1986 and 1998 led to the emergence of new political actors in 1999, a generation schooled in the use of force rather than argument as a means of survival.
The generation comprised persons with limited intellectual prowess and a lack of respect for order and processes

Since then, key political actors have been associated with different kinds of crime, such as murder, robbery and stealing as well as cultism.
At the inauguration of the National Assembly in 1999, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Salisu Buhari, was found to have forged the degree which he presented as his qualification to contest election into the National Assembly.
A member of the House of Representatives from Benue, Charles Abah, lost his mandate in the 2015 general elections after being found guilty by a court of forging the diploma certificate he presented to contest the election.
Former Minister of Finance Kemi Adeosun resigned her appointment after admitting that her National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) discharge certificate was forged.

Recently, the Minister of Communications, Mr Adebayo Shittu, also confirmed that he did not participate in NYSC as required by the law.

Beside this, numerous state governors and key political actors have issues over their academic credentials.

Among them are Gabriel Suswam, Governor of Benue from 2007 to 2015; Godwin Obaseki of Edo as well as Ademola Adeleke, the PDP candidate in the Osun Governorship Election of Sept. 22.
Sen. Buruji Kashamu from Ogun is fighting to stop his possible extradition to the U.S. to answer charges of drug offences while he was living in that country.
The President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki is facing investigation over the April 5 robbery attack in Offa, Kwara, where he was governor for eight years and has represented for another eight years in the Senate.

The Minister of Labour, Dr Chris Ngige, acknowledged taking oath in a shrine to enable him to become governor of Anambra in 2003, but the crisis which followed after his inauguration led to his removal from office in 2006.

Sen. Iyiola Omisore, a former deputy governor and candidate for the Osun Governorship Election, was arrested and detained in 2002 over allegations that he sponsored the murder of a former Attorney-General of the Federation, Chief Bola Ige on Dec. 23, 2001.

Some state governors have been accused of sponsoring state crime, such as hostage taking in the Niger Delta region, crisis between farmers and herdsmen in the North Central region, religious and ethnic conflicts like Boko Haram insurgency as well as the murder of political opponents.

Currently, former governors Jolly Nyame of Taraba and Joshua Dariye of Plateau are in jail for money laundering and fraud, while James Ibori of Delta and the late Diepreye Alamieyeseigha of Bayelsa completed their terms for similar offences.

Former governors Chimaroke Nnamani of Enugu State, Orji Uzor-Kalu of Abia, Ikedi Ohakim of Imo, among others, are facing trial for the mismanagement of the resources of their respective states during their tenures in office.

Numerous individuals who served as ministers of the Federal Government and commissioners at the state level have been accused of betraying their oath of office, while governance at the local government level is in disarray because of greed, corruption and incompetence of politicians.

The essence of politics is service to community by leaders who command respect because of their vision.

In Nigeria’s First Republic, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Ahmadu Bello and Obafemi Awolowo earned the trust of the people because of their vision of a prosperous independent Nigeria.

That era witnessed focused leadership which used available resources to set up enduring legacies such as University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Ahmadu Bello University,  Zaria, University of Ife (Obafemi Awolowo University) and University of Lagos within six years.

These four institutions remain the guiding light for Nigeria’s dislocated education system.

The First Republic also saw the exploitation of the agriculture potential of the country by the regional governments for development.

The Second Republic, although short-lived, witnessed traces of focused leadership as some of those who guided the first era were still around to guide the younger who learned from them.

The era witnessed the establishment of state-owned universities to expand access to education to the youth as well as rural industrialisation, which was terminated by the military coup of Dec. 31, 1983.

Not so the Fourth Republic and thereafter, which has lasted longer than the previous republics combined.

The later period has been riddled with confusion and headed to nowhere.

The performances of leaders in the different eras have been reflections of the characters of politicians of each period and their upbringing.

In the First Republic the leaders were driven by passion to liberate the people from colonial bondage, similar to the attitude in the Second Republic when politicians wanted to free the citizens from the vestiges of military dictatorship.

Politicians since the Fourth Republic have, however, demonstrated poor breeding having participated or learnt from the military whose orientation is the use of force to secure passage.

Military dictatorship which lasted for 25 years manifested chaos, greed, incompetence and dislocation of the social order, and featured at the time majority of the current crop of politicians grew up.
It was an era when force was seen as right as those at the helm defied logic to achieve goals irrespective of the consequences.

Abraham intervened in the case of Sodom and Gomorrah after the people cried to him.

He believed that there were still men of honour and integrity whose innocence would save the people from the anger of God.

Like that era when God promised not to destroy the two cities if there were few righteous men remaining, can we find 10 good men among today’s crop of Nigerian politicians? (NANFeatures)

**If used, please credit the writer as well as News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) 

Salary
By Kola Adeyemi
Lokoja, Sept. 23, 2018 (NAN) Local Government workers in Kogi State have applauded the state government for its decision to increase their monthly percentage salary from 30 per cent to 54 per cent with effect from this month.

The state chapters of the Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MHWUN), Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) and the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) gave the commendation in a statement in Lokoja on Sunday.

It said that the decision to raise the bar was commendable and urged the government to take cognizance of the percentages of salary yet to be paid.

The statement signed by Mr Onu Edoka, Mr Tade Adeyemi and Mr Thomas Ayodele, state Chairmen of MHWUN, NULGE and NUT respectively urged the government to continue this gesture until 100 per cent salary payment is regularised.

“Government should include in the payroll the names of all the staff and teachers that have been cleared but are to be captured on the payroll, while the case of the uncleared undergoing review should be resolved without further delay,“ the statement said.

The workers promised to reciprocate the government‘s gesture by continuos loyalty, support and dedication to duty.

It would be recalled that workers in the local government sector in the state have been receiving between 22 per cent and 30 per cent of their monthly salaries for more than three years.

Government was also charged to sustain the existing industrial harmony in the state by constantly engaging in dialogue with critical stakeholders. (NAN)
KKA/IS
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Abuja, Sept.20, 2018 (NAN) The raging flood, which has affected at least 12 states across the country, remains worrisome not only to the victims but also the government, as Rivers Niger and Benue continue to rise in volume, according to National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA)

The current flood pattern, which experts say has shown indices of a similar natural disaster of 2012 in many parts of the country, has left hundreds of victims with tales of woes, with many others living in fear.

A survey by the News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) showed that some lives have been lost while  farms, houses and livestock destroyed as floods ravage communities most parts of North-Central Nigeria, the region said to be most hit in this year flood.

NAN correspondents who visited some of the affected areas in the region, report that many communities, especially those contiguous to Rivers Niger and Benue, have been submerged and in the process, victims have been relocated to camps opened by respective governments or seek refugee with relations.

The agency reports that worst hit states are: Kogi, Niger, Taraba, Benue and Plateau with Kogi having Lokoja, Ibaji, Koton-Karfe, Bassa, Igalamela, Omala, Ajaokuta, Ofu and Idah councils so far affected.

Residents of the affected local government areas have been relocated to the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps or taking refugee with friends and relations house.

Parts of the Lokoja-Abuja road has also been threatened by the ever increasing floods.

According to Alhaji Alhassan Aiyegba, Executive Secretary,Kogi State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), 64 communities have been submerged by the flood.

“There are camps for the displaced persons, but the situations gets worse every minute,’’ Aiyegba said.

Mr Sanusi Yahaya, the Commissioner for Environment and Natutral Resources, in the state also told NAN that the situation was becoming much frightening as more communities were being submerged in Lokoja, the state capital.

“Government has set up a camp for the flood victims in Lokoja, the capital city. The worst hit areas are Wada Estate and the Old Poly Quarters,’’ he said.

He said that the state government was collaborating with relevant stakeholders to ensure that relief materials and the essential facilities were provided in the camp.

“We have had challenge of water supply, but that has been resolved.

“Light and a clinic are other challenges because the camp has not been connected to the national grid

“But since it is an emergency, we will be solving the problems as they are identified.

“Accommodation is still adequate for the number of people that are in the camp so far, and the camp can still accommodate more people.

“Officials of NEMA visited the IDP camps in Koton-karfe few days ago and on their way to Lokoja with other team sent by the Federal Government,” Yahaya said.

The commissioner advised residents of flood-prone communities to immediately relocate to safer places to avoid loss of lives and property.

Yahaya noted that all the indices in place before the 2012 flood occurred had manifested.

Mr James Ahmadu, Director of Relief and Rehabilitation of the Kogi State Emergency Management Agency, told NAN that the flood victims had been trooping into camps in Lokoja in their large number since it was set up.

Ahmadu said that the data of the victims were being accommodated as they arrived, adding that about 100 households had arrived the camp.

“Many victims are still coming with  majority of them being women and children,” Ahmadu said.

Mr Umar Zakari, the Camp Leader, said that most of the victims were from Adankolo quarters where he said property, foodstuff and farms were totally destroyed by flood.

He commended the state government for the temporary accommodation provided for victims and urged relevant stakeholders to join with government to cushion the effect of the natural disaster.

“We thank government for providing water, but we need food, mosquito nets, light and clinic. Our children are getting sick,” Zakari said.

NAN reports that Kogi government had earlier set up five camps in Kotokarfe, where about 64 communities have been submerged by flood.

Among the submerged communities are highly populated settlements like Akpaku, Akpo, Ajara, Banda, Kpakpasu, Ozale, Opkakere, Agbawu and Adabode, among others.

Meanwhile, the Chief Judge of the state, Justice Nasir Ajanah, has disclosed that the High Court complex, in Koton-Karfe was among structures submerged by flood.

He said the court would be relocated “to ensure that the development does not affect the dispensation of justice.“

Ajanah, while assessing the extent of damage on the submerged complex, also said that the relocation became imperative to arrest the perennial breaks in the administration of criminal justice in the area.

“The busiest prison yard in the state is located is this town. So, it is important that we relocate the court from here to another location within the town.

“That is the most important thing to do now because this is a very busy place”, he said.

Ajanah said the cost of putting up a new complex for the High Court and the Chief Magistrate’s Court in Koton-Karfe would be included in the state supplementary budget.

He expressed optimism that the supplementary budget would be approved and money released.

Meanwhile, as more displaced persons rush to IDPs camps in the state, the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Kogi chapter, has donated drugs to victims camps in Kogi and Kotonkarfe.

Dr Kabiru Zubair, the state Chairman of the association, handed over the drugs to local government officials at the camps in Ogbakwu and Edeha communities.

Zubair said: “We decided to visit the IDPs camps in Kotonkarfe to support and sympathise with them.

The visit is also to educate them on hygiene in order to maintain clean environment and avoid outbreak of communicable diseases.

“Today, we have donated drugs such as Vitamin C, anti-malaria, antibiotics to the camps’ to aid in the management of some common diseases likely to occur in this kind of situation.

“We have also sensitised them on health education in order to avoid outbreak of cholera and other communicable diseases, because prevention is better than cure.”

The chairman also said that the chapter was also collaborating with the state government to provide manpower in the clinics in the camps.

According to him, doctors will be on ground in all the camps throughout the period of the flood to ensure that patients are well managed.

“Those that have serious cases will be referred to the General Hospital, Kotonkarfe, Kogi Specialist Hospital,Lokoja or Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Lokoja.”

The situation appears the same in Taraba where hundreds of farmlands have already been submerged.

Our correspondent, who visited some of the areas in the state reports that the situation had been compounded by the release of water from Lagdo Dam in Cameroun with hit Local Governments being Gassol, Ibi,Lau and Karim Lamido.

In Gassol, flood has destroyed mass of farmlands while the council Chairman, Mr Yahuza Yau, confirming that two bridges had been damaged.

Yau said that the council has set up a committee to compile the list of villages affected while residents of villages along river Benue have been advised to relocate.

Benue, severely hit last year, flood is also facing similar experience this year, though on a much smaller scale so far.

NAN investigation also revealed that Wadata, High Level, Wurkun, Guma, Otukpo, and Logo Local Governments, hit last year, had yet to suffer major flood damage this year. .

However, to forestall colossal damage, the Benue State Government has dug drainage in most parts of Makurdi and constructed several canals where flooding was massive last year.

According to Emmamnuel Shior, Executive Secretary, Benue State Emergency Management Agency, major water channels have been opened to avoid floods.

He said people were being sensitised to take care of the environment and avoid building near river or blocking water ways.

NAN learnt that Makurdi International Market was being prepared for people that might be affected by floods.

At the city centre, NAN found that people in flood-prone areas had mobilised themselves to evacuate blocked drainage.

In Niger, NAN found a more devastating situation with Bosso Local Government with record of some deaths.

In Shiroro Local Government, the story was devastating with communities like Nungu, Ungwan Bagudu, Rafin Gora, Mashigi, Ungwar-Abok submerged by flood while the IDPs were sheltered at the Zungeru Primary School.

In Lapai Local Government Area, it was a picture of farms, houses and livestock destroyed but Gov Abubakar Sani, who visited the area promised to look into ways to control the menace.

In Plateau, floods were being experienced in the traditional areas comprising Ungwan Rogo and other settlements along Bauchi road.

Alhaji Alhassan Barde, the Executive Secretary,Plateau Emergency Management Agency, blamed the recurrent flood in the area on residents’ stubbornness.

“People get unnecessarily stubborn; they keep building houses along waterways and in water logged areas, year after year.

“Sometimes, they ignore advice to relocate in the face of imminent danger, until it is too late. This is sad,’’ he lamented.

The Commissioner of Environment, Abdullahi Abbas, however, told NAN that everything was being done to check the menace.

“The flood was devastating in the past, especially in 2012; we do not want a repeat.’’(NAN)

Reporters/ETS/DUA

Edited by Ephraims Shenyin/Dada Ahmed

NANFeatures/Vol.12/No.108/2018 (Sept. 20)

Still on Vote Buying: Nigerian scientists to the rescue?
A News Analysis by Chukwudi Ekezie, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)

After Vote Buying, Nigeria’s new political headache, reached its climax during the conduct of Ekiti governorship election in July, Nigerians have been thinking of ways to deal with the phenomenon which threatens to destroy the country’s democracy.

The electoral umpire, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has since then held several stakeholders engagements to find a solution to the problem, which gets more sophisticated with every new election.

At the beginning, it was the bribing of prospective voters by politicians, who offer them gifts of food and clothing items as well as suspicious acts of philanthropy in form of empowerment programmes and infrastructure development projects during electioneering.

Later the practice was the secret bribing of election officials, party and security agents to change poll results in favour of losers.

However, recent experiences demonstrate the boldness of politicians who have turned election venues to open auction grounds, where the ballot goes to the highest bidder.

To avoid the shame of Ekiti during which voters received pay for voting after displaying pictures of thumb-printed ballot papers to party agents, INEC has resolved to re-administer polling units, starting with the Osun Governorship Election holding on Sept. 22.

The Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, said when he presented Certificate of Registration to 23 new political parties that the new polling unit structure would make it difficult for voters to display their ballot papers after marking them.

“The commission is deeply worried about our elections, particularly the way they are becoming increasingly monetised.

“Vote buying is a cancer to our elections and we must work together collectively to stamp it out.

“Accordingly, and on the part of the commission starting with Osun Governorship Election coming up on Sept. 22, we will change the way our polling units are administered.
“It will be done in such a way that there will be no room for voters to expose their marked ballot papers between voting cubicles and the ballot boxes.

“We shall further re-strategise with the security agencies for a more robust response to the arrest and prosecution of vote buyers.

“We will also engage with all well-meaning groups for more effective voter education and voter sensitisation,’’ Yakubu said.

To strengthen its hold on the issue, INEC stated that voters would no longer be allowed to take smartphones into the voting cubicle to prevent them from taking pictures of thumb-printed ballot papers to present to party agents as evidence for payment after voting.

In the past, the commission said it was helpless over the handling of matters arising from the conduct of elections, especially the prosecution of electoral offenders. It said it lacked the capacity to prosecute such cases.

However, that responsibility has shifted to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) which has accepted to prosecute election fraud offenders.

The Acting Chairman of EFCC Ibrahim Magu said the agency was working with INEC and the police to track politicians and others involved in vote buying.

Magu said EFCC was monitoring spending by politicians and political parties during elections and had put banks on notice regarding transactions by parties and politicians.

“We are working with INEC to stop vote buying, we are seriously pursuing this.

“We will monitor unusual cash withdrawals. We are going to work with other relevant agencies like the police on this.

“Before now, it was inconceivable for law enforcement agencies to investigate the sources of election funding of political parties and their candidates.

“This has led to gross financial abuse and the pervasion of the electoral process and consequently enthroned bad leadership which in turn led to corruption and bad governance,” he said.

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) on its part approved a bill for a law to establish an Election Offences Commission. The agency, it is hoped, will take the burden of post-election crises management off the shoulders of INEC.

The steps so far taken, particularly the ban on the use of smartphones in polling cubicles, do not appeal to some groups. The leading opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) describes the step as a plan by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to rig the 2019 general elections.

“We have all heard what the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu said about the decision to ban the use of smartphones in the polling units. All over the world, a smartphone is the easiest way of communication.

“What they have said clearly shows that the commission, in connivance with the All Progressives Congress, has perfected a rigging strategy for the next election.

“In fact, INEC has sent Nigeria back to the primitive days.

“The same plan to rig the 2019 election is responsible for the refusal of the president to sign the amended Electoral Act because the card reader must be used,’’ PDP National Chairman Uche Secondus said.
Similarly, a group, Not Too Young To Perform, has rejected the ban on the use of smartphones at polling units and urged INEC to plan better.

“For us, since the major incident of vote buying occurred during the Anambra  governorship election in November last year, INEC has not done enough to nip the anti-people practice in the bud.

“We hail the commission for recognising that vote buying is a big challenge that must be tackled, but the ban on use of cellphones and camera at polling units cannot be the best INEC can offer in its efforts to curb the menace. INEC should go back to the drawing board to find better ways to deal with it if it can’t prosecute offenders.”

While all stakeholders acknowledge the threat of vote buying to democracy, the issue remains contentious.

The approach adopted by INEC is traditional considering the state of technology at its disposal. The proposals by EFCC and FEC are laudable, but considering the weakness in law enforcement in the country, there are doubts that much can be achieved.

For example, while the law makes electoral fraud an offence, no one, including some persons alleged to have been involved in electoral violence, bribery, intimidation, forgery and manipulation of election results in the past, has been punished.

It has been difficult to apply the rule to all groups and persons in Nigeria, especially when influential persons are involved. Such persons and groups or those associated with them are often treated with deference.

In all societies when a problem arises in one sector the whole community, including scientists, get to work to resolve the issue.

The adoption of scientific approach to deal with issues is objective and less contentious.

Vote buying is a Nigerian problem. Maybe someday, a Nigerian scientist will develop a chip that can be installed on the panel used in constructing the voting cubicle to hinder all activities not related to the casting of vote in the enclosure. (NANFeatures)

**If used, please credit the writer as well as News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) 

Produce
By Kudirat Musa
Abuja, Sept. 19, 2018 (NAN) Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS) says it is partnering with the Europe-Africa-Caribbean-Pacific Liaison Committee (COLEACP) to resolve the prohibition of the export of Nigeria’s agricultural produce to Europe.

Dr Vincent Isegbe, Coordinating Director of NAQS, said this in Abuja on Wednesday at a workshop organised in partnership with COLEACP.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the European Union (EU) in 2015 banned Nigeria from exporting beans and other produce to Europe due to the high level of chemical contamination of the produce.

Isegbe said that through advocacy and the active participation of Croplife, an international agricultural chemicals company, the chemical level in the country’s agricultural produce had appreciably declined.

“The EU ban ceases officially in June 2019; we are discussing and we have gone out to do periodic sampling to ascertain on the level of chemicals in our beans.

“With that, we will know if the farmers are actually complying with our regulations and advice. So far so good, the chemical level is reducing; although it is at a slow pace but it is reducing,’’ he said.

Isegbe said that efforts were being made to improve the export potential of Nigeria’s fruits and vegetables

“We want to move our vegetable export to the next level; for now, we have a market for over 40,000 metric tons of vegetables which we have not been able to meet

“ Although, Nigeria currently does not export fruits, yet it imports a lot of apples for local consumption.

“We can grow all these commodities all year round. We have a great opportunity to export these commodities to European nations and America, particularly during winter or just after winter. So, the market is always there,” he said.

The coordinating director said that the workshop presented an opportunity for stakeholders to discuss and provide sustainable solutions to the challenges facing fruits and vegetable exports.

“In term of the exporters, we have gone to the point of discussing with major exporters. For you to be able to export, you need to buy from the farmers who we have trained so as to know specific requirements.

“With the structures we have put in place, if you buy and have issues with the farmers, it is easy to trace back. Therefore, there is a chain of flexibility at any point in time which will really help us in our exports.

“We have decided to pick 10 commodities and do basic analysis on those commodities so that any young person who is educated and wants to go into produce exports will have the basic knowledge and understanding of the commodities,’’ he added.

Also speaking, Dr Andrew Graffham, Agribusiness Development Specialist, COLEACP, said that Nigeria was a nation with many resources, a huge population and a lot of farmers.

“There are more expectations for this country as regards produce exportation to the EU market but farmers are facing the challenges of the plant pest diseases which have to be managed, particularly now that we are experiencing climate change.

“We are in Nigeria to help on how to protect the local and international consumers of agricultural produce. We want to build confidence in the international market.

“We are working with the Federal Government and the private sector to address the challenges facing the exportation of agric produce and this workshop is one step and there will be many more measures.

“We will train the farmers in their local languages to enable them to fully understand the requirements of the international market so as to make Nigerian produce to fit in anywhere in the world,’’ he added.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the two-day workshop has “the Role of Public and Private Sector in Sanitary and Phytosanitary Systems for the Fruits and Vegetable Sub-Sector” as its theme. (NAN)
ROK/NNO/OOK
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Edited by Nick Nicholas and Dayo Komolafe

Flood
By Dada Ahmed
Lokoja, Sept. 19, 2018 (NAN) Alhaji Yusuf Oseni, a Senatorial aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kogi, has commended the Federal Government for its political will to find lasting solution to flood in the country.

Oseni, who is gunning for the Kogi central senatorial district seat, gave the commendation in a telephone interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lokoja on Wednesday.

NAN reports that the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has declared national disaster in Niger, Kogi, Anambra and Delta States due to flood disaster thatn affected them.

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved N3 billion for the first stage of preparedness, response and disaster mitigation against the flood across the country.

Taraba, Adamawa, Kebbi, Edo, Rivers, Benue, Bayelsa and Kwara states are also under close monitoring among other measures.

Oseni said that “the flooding which has become a recurring decimal in many states, including Kogi, is giving one much concern. We all must rise to the occasion by providing solution to the menace.

NAN gathers that stakeholders under the coordination of NEMA had activated a National Contingency Plan, a policy document, which gives NEMA the power to establish operational structure.

Oseni said, “It is my prayer and hope that if elected, I will contribute immensely to the legislation in form of bills, motions among others in arresting the flood and its menace in kogi.“

The aspirant, who sympathised with flood victims in Kogi and other affected states, however, urged them to relocate to safe areas and desist from constructing buildings near rivers.

Oseni urged NEMA to enhance efforts in bringing relief materials for the victims of the disaster. (NAN)
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NANFeatures/Vol.12/No. 106/2018 (Sept. 18)

Adeosun’s resignation: Patriotism, integrity under scrutiny

An analysis by Chukwudi Ekezie, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)

The resignation of Mrs Olukemi Adeosun as Minister of Finance on Friday, Sept. 14, for forgery has raised questions over the workings of Nigeria.

The issues border on honesty, integrity, patriotism, weakness and incompetence as well as relationship between the strong and weak in society among those holding public office and the institutions of governance.

Adeosun is not the first Nigerians public official found to have been involved in forgery.

At the inception of the Fourth Republic in 1999, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Salisu Buhari from Kano State, was found to have forged the university certificate which he presented to contest and win election into the assembly.

Buhari resigned his position and membership of the assembly, but with a kiss from former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who granted him state pardon.

Over the period, many politicians have lost their electoral mandates at the court because they forged the certificates they used to contest elections. That was the case of Christian Abah, a  Benue member of the House of Representatives.

Abah was found guilty of forging a diploma certificate he used to contest and win the 2015 election to represent Ado/Okpokwu/Ogbadibo  Federal ‎Constituency, he lost his seat but not his freedom.

Aside the issue of certificate forgery, many officials have been found to have compromised their positions by engaging in acts inimical to the public good.

A recent case is that of Babachir Lawal, a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, who used his position to award himself a contract for the cutting of grass at Internally Displaced Persons camps in the Northeast Region.

In spite of calls by the National Assembly for him to resign, it took the indictment of an investigative panel chaired by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo to get him out of office.

But Lawal still bestrides politics in Adamawa, his home state, where he is seeking to oust Gov. Jibrilla Bindow, in the build up for the 2019 general elections.

Former governors Diepreye Alamieyesiegha of Bayelsa, Lucky Igbinedion of Edo and James Ibori of Delta were jailed for laundering state funds.

Alamieyesiegha received state pardon after serving his sentence from then President Goodluck Jonathan, who succeeded him as governor, while Ibori received a hero’s welcome from the government and people of Delta after serving his prison term in Britain, where he was convicted.

Igbinedion has yet to enjoy such privilege, maybe because those who succeeded him in office, especially Adams Oshiomhole, National Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), is still hurting over his mismanagement of state resources.

Joshua Dariye, a serving senator, is currently serving a 14-year jail-term for money laundering and mismanaging the resources of Plateau from 1999 to 2007, as governor of the state.

Numerous governors of the era, including Orji Kalu of Abia, are still in court explaining how they managed the resources of their states.

In the cases of Adeosun, Buhari and Lawal no prosecution has taken place.

President Muhammadu Buhari appointed Mr Boss Mustapha, an Adamawa politician, as Lawal’s replacement. In Adeosun’s case, the president accepted her resignation and wished her well in her future endeavours.

The ruling APC has commended Adeosun’s courage for owning up that her National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificate was forged and resigning from the government.

It also commended the president for asking her to resign in line with the philosophy of the government of ridding the society of crime.

But the opposition Peoples Democratic Party disagrees. The party is demanding the former minister’s prosecution. It says the failure of the administration to prosecute Adeosun is a demonstration of double standards in the fight against corruption.

Some persons share the PDP view and demand that Adeosun refund all monies she earned as Commissioner for Finance in her home state, Ogun, for five years and as Minister of the Federal Republic since 2016.

While the debate on the fate of the former minister rages, some have begun to ask about how she and others like her enter Nigeria’s public service space.

Nigerians are made to believe that before anyone gets into public office; such person is put through security scrutiny to establish their background.

In this instance, the Department of State Service carries out the assignment. At the level of the screening all issues related to the person, including certificates are verified.

For persons whose jobs require the approval of the legislature, the security report is made available to guide members to take decisions.

In Adeosun’s case this step was taken but it was said that members of the Senate overlooked it.

Adeosun, a Diaspora Nigerian, was born and raised in Britain and returned to live and work in Nigeria at the age of 34.

She is currently 51 and that means that she has worked in Nigeria for 17 years, out of which seven was in the public service, starting with her appointment as commissioner in 2011 and minister in 2016.

She like many of her ilk is among millions of Nigerians said to be excelling in their fields across the globe.

During the regime of Obasanjo, the government made serious efforts to attract them home to help develop the fatherland.

To achieve the goal, Obasanjo travelled all over Europe and America to bring them home under the Diaspora Project.

That effort resulted in then Rep. Abike Dabiri, who chaired the House of Representatives Committee on Diaspora, pushing for the establishment of a Diaspora Commission.

Based on the vision of Obasanjo, the Diaspora Group was granted privileges, such as access to land and employment concessions in the hope that they would bring their expertise to develop the country being that they had better education and exposure than those at home.

The government institutionalised the practice such that some members of the cabinet like the late Olugbenga Ashiru (Minister of Foreign Affairs) and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (Minister of Finance), seconded to serve at home by international agencies like the World Bank, received salaries in dollars to make up for their pains in serving the fatherland.

There was also the case in the Ministry of Federal Capital Territory, where the current governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, then minister, engaged some foreign-trained NYSC members and paid them salaries higher than that of the permanent secretary of the Ministry, just because they studied abroad and possessed special skills.

Many Nigeria Diaspora elements are children of the rich who sojourned out because their parents lack faith in Nigeria’s disrupted education system.
Their parents want them to finish school on time to inherit the family business or join elite public and private institutions, such as Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Nigerian Communications Commission, multinational oil companies and banks to sustain the family legacy.

Sometimes they do not return, but when they do, they jump queues, especially in areas that they need to follow regulations and processes, including the NYSC scheme, which requires every Nigerian youth who graduates from university or equivalent institution before 30 to serve the nation for one year.

In cases where Diaspora elements agree to serve, they are often taken to places of their parents’ choices, where though in NYSC uniforms, they are employees.

In some cases, while serving, they are made to supervise those they ordinarily ought to report to during the service as occurred in Nigeria Building and Roads Research Institute about year 2000, when the Director-General was an NYSC member.

The man, an associate professor at the time, claimed like Adeosun that he did not know that he should have served in the NYSC scheme before accepting the job.

Adeosun may be lonely in her world with her career and future ruined, but there are numerous like her in the system who need to be purged. (NANFeatures)

**If used, please credit the writer as well as News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)