Lagos tanker fire burns 15 to death

At least 15 people lost their lives in Lagos on Tuesday night when a tanker laden with 33,000 litres of petrol lost control and rammed into vehicles at Kirikiri, Lagos.

Our correspondents learnt that the tanker spilt all its content, thereby causing the fire that burnt a branch of Sterling Bank at Berger Suya Bus Stop, one Automated Teller Machine, 11 vehicles and 60 shops.

Most of the dead were said to be passengers of a commercial bus (danfo) that was behind the tanker when it fell and exploded.

An eyewitness claimed that the fire caused by the explosion spread to Suya spots in the area and burnt parked vehicles . He added that the body of the tanker driver was glued to his seat for over 40 minutes before rescue officials removed it.

A commercial bus driver, Murhi Lawal, who spoke to journalists while weeping profusely, said his bus was completely consumed by the fire.

He said, “Around 10pm on Tuesday, my bus developed a fault so I parked it in front of the Sterling Bank branch. However, the guards on duty said I should move the bus elsewhere so I decided to park on the other side of the road so that I could buy a fan belt.

“As I was attempting to install the belt, I saw the big truck speeding and it rammed into two vehicles before falling on its side and spilling all its content.

“I subsequently heard an explosion and then fire ensued. Before I could save my bus, the fire spread and consumed it.”

Some residents of the area told our correspondent that immediately the accident occurred, 15 people, mostly passengers of a commercial bus, lost their lives.

They said that Capital Oil, Julius Berger and Swift Oil deployed water trucks to put out the flames.

It was learnt that as they fought the fire, it continued to spread to other streets.

A shop owner, Collins Okafor, who claimed to be part of the rescuers, said he counted 13 bodies, excluding those of the tanker driver and his assistant.

He said, “Immediately after the explosion, we came together and started fighting the fire. We tried to save people but about 13 bodies littered the place. The tanker driver and his assistant were also burnt to death.

“One policeman was severely burnt by the fire but we were able to save him. We then proceeded to Sterling Bank and forced the gate open. The security guard had collapsed but we brought him out and he was taken to a nearby hospital.”

One of our correspondents, who entered the premises of the bank, observed that its heavy duty generator was completely burnt.

The banking hall was also burnt while computers and other equipment were said to have been stolen by hoodlums during the rescue operation.

The President, Berger Business Community, Mr. Okey Udeagba, said about five injured traders were rushed to hospitals.

Udeagba said the market had been closed due to the fire, adding that traders alone lost at least N100m due to the incident.

He said, “We did not lose any member to the fire but five people were injured and are recuperating in different hospitals. Most of those killed were passengers and bystanders. However, we lost over N100m to the fire.

“One of our members, Jones, lost all his goods which were stored in a truck while his shops were also burnt. He is probably the biggest victim financially speaking.”

He urged the state government to indemnify the victims and also avoid demolishing the shops.

When one of our correspondents approached Jones for comment, he said he was too distraught to speak on the issue.

Another victim, Okechukwu Mmadu, said he lost 12 heavy duty engines worth N8m to the fire.

He said, “When the accident happened, the truck spilled petrol into the gutters, leading to our shops. When the fire started, it spread to our shops through the gutters. I immediately fled but luckily not all my goods were burnt,” he said.

Policemen, officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps were seen controlling the crowd at the scene.

The spokesman, National Emergency Management Agency, South-West Zone, Ibrahim Farinloye, said the fire was put out around 1am on Wednesday.

Farinloye said, “Fifteen bodies were recovered by NEMA and the police. The fire was put out by a combined team of federal and state fire services. The fire lasted for about three hours. Many vehicles and 60 shops were affected.”

The Baale of Ibafon, Kayode Okunlola, said there was a need for the Federal Government to curb the excesses of truck drivers, especially in the area.

The General Manager, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, Dr. Femi Oke-Osayintolu, said the injured victims were taken to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja and Gbagada General Hospital, Gbagada.

Oke-Osayintolu said a soil test would be conducted to ascertain the strength of the affected buildings after which the area would be fumigated.

The PUNCH gathered that three injured victims were admitted into the Gbagada General Hospital, while others were referred to other general hospitals in the state.

Two of the victims at the hospital in Gbagada are 23-year- old Suraju Adeniyi, who suffered 80 per cent burns and 45- year- old, Moses Adebayo, who suffered 40 per cent burns.

Another victim, 70-year-old Mrs. Rose Idowu, was said to have been rushed to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, where medical personnel battled to save her life but she passed on within an hour due to the severity of the burns she suffered.

www.punchng.com

Certificate scandal: NBA, CACOL call for Oduah’s removal

Chairman, Ikeja branch of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mr. Onyekachi Ubani, and the Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders, said on Wednesday that Ms Stella Oduah, who is embroiled in a fresh certificate scandal, was no longer fit as the nation’s Minister of Aviation.

CACOL’s Executive Chairman, Mr. Debo Adeniran, said in a telephone interview that the scandal was a proof that Oduah was engrossed in primitive accumulation.

An online news media, Sahara Reportershad reported that claim in Oduah’s profile on the Federal Ministry of Aviation’s website that she obtained a Master’s degree in Business Administration from St. Paul’s College in Lawrenceville, Virginia in 1982, had been found to be false.

Authorities at the Saint Paul’s College, Virginia, United States, have said that they are unable to confirm if indeed Oduah, bagged a first degree in Accounting from the institution.

The President of the institution, Pete Stith, confirmed to one of our correspondents on the telephone on Tuesday that the college had not at any time offered any graduate programme of any kind.

Stith said the school had stopped all academic programmes mid last year, adding that the campus would be shut down in 30 days’ time.

He said the private college founded in 1888 was closing down due to “financial reasons.”

“No, we do not have any graduate programmes at all,” Stith said.

When asked to ascertain if Oduah holds a Bachelor’s degree of the college he said, “I can’t validate anything like that because I just came to close the school down. I’m here to close the campus down; we are closing the school in 30 days. Academic programmes have since stopped.”

Since the news broke that she did not obtain a MBA degree from the college, several attempts had been made to edit her resume and profile on different online platforms.

On Wikipedia for instance, her page was edited 19 times between 1.56pm and 5:05pm on Tuesday. Previous calls for her removal when the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority allegedly bought two bulletproof cars for her at N255m had been ignored by President Goodluck Jonathan.

Ubani said on Wednesday that with the latest scandal there should be no reason to retain the woman as a minister.

He said, “It is becoming very embarrassing. When the news broke out, I was concerned about whether thorough investigation was done before the story was published. But when by the second day the woman started deleting the records online, I knew something was in the offing.

“This was the same woman who broke extant laws in buying bulletproof cars far above the allowed limits, I think something has to be done now. It is even the right time for the woman to speak out.

“If such a person that lies about her certificate can spend additional second in office, it shows how badly we have descended as a nation.”

On his part, Adeniran said, “It is an eye opener to the fact that the woman is engrossed in primitive accumulation. If she had been properly educated she would not have engaged in prebendal politics with which she curried the favour of President Jonathan.

“It also shows how merit and technical competence have been sacrificed in appointing public officers.”

culled from punchng.com

President Asks Sanusi to Resign over Leaked $49.8bn Letter

CBN gov says only two-thirds of Senate can remove him

President Goodluck Jonathan has asked the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, to resign immediately on the grounds that the letter Sanusi wrote to him on the unremitted $49.8 billion oil revenue to the Federation Account, was leaked to former President Olusegun Obasanjo by the CBN governor.

But Sanusi who has denied leaking the letter to anyone, has refused to resign and informed the president during the heated telephone exchange that he could only be removed by two-thirds of the Senate as required by law.

THISDAY learnt that the president had called Sanusi and accused him of leaking the letter to Obasanjo, which enabled the latter to use it as one of many allegations he levelled against Jonathan in his letter titled: “Before It is Too Late”.

The president, who a source in the presidency said was very angry and was not prepared to allow Sanusi to proceed on his terminal leave in March, asked him to tender his resignation before the close of business last Tuesday.

However, Sanusi denied that he had leaked his letter to Obasanjo and made it abundantly clear he would not be forced out, except he is removed by two-thirds of the Senate.

He also told the president that the letter was available in the presidential villa, available in the finance ministry and available in the central bank and wondered how he (Sanusi) could have leaked the letter, which was so widely available, to a former two-term president of Nigeria who has his people all over the place.

Sanusi also expressed his surprise to the president that he was the one being asked to resign instead of the president to ask those responsible for the non-remittance of the funds to resign.

His response, which threw the president aback, degenerated into a heated exchange during which Sanusi told the president that as the federal government’s Chief Economic Adviser, mandatorily required to bring issues of critical economic importance to the attention of the president, he had done a patriotic duty to his country.

“He informed the president that it is necessary to deal with the issues and not the letter that had been leaked since it has since been established that it was not $49.8 billion that had not been remitted to the Federation Account, but $10.8 billion, which was still in dispute and by any stretch of imagination was still a large sum.

“Sanusi felt he was being forced out for doing his patriotic duty to his country by drawing attention to the unaccounted funds. He only has two months to go, so this was a ploy to force him out and destroy his career and reputation.

“He knew this and for this reason, refused to throw in the towel as requested by the president,” a source familiar with the conversation said.

But the president was said to have remained adamant and insisted on the CBN governor’s resignation.

Following the exchange, Sanusi, another source said, briefed his close aides at the CBN and family of what had transpired between himself and the president.

The source said he did it to shield himself from harm, as he felt his life might be in danger for defying the direct order of the president.

When contacted Wednesday on the issue, the president’s Special Adviser, Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, did not pick up or return THISDAY’s calls and text messages.

Also, efforts to get Sanusi and the CBN to speak on the matter met a brick wall.

Sanusi had written to the president in September informing him that, among other issues, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) had not remitted $49.8 billion of oil revenue to the Federation Account over a 19-month period.

Although the letter was not made public until December 4, 2013 when it was leaked, Obasanjo referred to it in his letter dated December 2, 2013, to the president, in which the former president also accused Jonathan of being clannish, destroying the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), compiling a political watch-list of 1,000 people and training snipers to target opponents of the administration, among other allegations.

The president had since denied all of Obasanjo's claims in his rebuttal of the former president's letter.

Expectedly, Sanusi’s letter drew the ire of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC), which called on the National Assembly to commence impeachment proceedings against the president.

In addition, the Senate directed its Committee on Finance to probe the contents of Sanusi’s letter.

However, Sanusi’s letter was immediately denied by NNPC, which accused the CBN governor of not only playing politics but also of being ignorant of the operations of the oil and gas sector.

Following NNPC’s repeated denials, a joint press conference was convened by the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke and Sanusi, during which it was revealed that a reconciliation process was ongoing, and had so far established that it was not $49.8 billion that had not been repatriated to the Federation Account but $10.8 billion.

During the press conference, however, Sanusi attempted to distance himself from the statements made by Okonjo-Iweala and Alison-Madueke, stating that it was $12 billion that had not been remitted by NNPC.

But the finance minister immediately interjected, insisting that it was $10.8 billion that had not been remitted to the Federation Account and was still in dispute.

But it is not clear what would now happen to the CBN governor who has already indicated that he will leave office in March on a three-month terminal leave ahead of the expiration of his tenure in June.

He had earlier written to the president last year that he would not be seeking a second term.

Clearly the Jonathan presidency must be feeling uncomfortable with Sanusi's remaining five months in office in this political season.

As at last night, efforts were being made to reconcile the president and the CBN governor and create an orderly transition at the apex bank so as not to harm growing confidence in the Nigerian economy.

thisdaylive.com

Bank Employee Dies as Vehicle Somersaults on Third Mainland Bridge

At least one person was killed, while another person sustained serious injury after a black Toyota Prado Sports Utility Vehicle somersaulted on the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos State.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the two victims were employees of Access Bank Plc.

According to traffic officials, the vehicle with number plate, AGL102BU, was on high speed when one of its rear tyres burst suddenly.

The driver of the vehicle was said to have applied the brakes immediately, causing the vehicle to somersault many times until it finally landed on the median.

It was learnt that officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, led by the commander, Temitope Adebayo, raced to the scene and evacuated the occupants of the vehicle.

An eyewitness, Michael Odetola, told our correspondent that the incident occurred around 10.30am.

Odetola said, “The vehicle, which was inbound Oworonshoki, was on high speed when one of its tyres burst. The vehicle somersaulted many times before landing on the median. The driver of the vehicle died on the spot as his head was fractured, while his blood spilled all over the vehicle.

“The second guy survived and people moved him into another vehicle.”

It was learnt that the surviving victim was rushed to Gbagada General Hospital, while the corpse had been deposited at the mortuary.

LASTMA officials told PUNCH Metro that two identity cards, which showed that the victims were employees of the Access Bank, were recovered from the vehicle and had been handed over to the police.

PUNCH Metro observed that the accident caused a traffic snarl from the accident scene to the Lagos Island end of the bridge as many motorists alighted from their vehicles to take pictures.

LASTMA Public Relations Officer, Bola Ajao, who confirmed the accident to our correspondent on the telephone, urged motorists to drive safely and avoid speeding, saying such caution would make it easy to overcome eventualities on the road.

punchng.com

Foreign Investors Stake Interest in Niger State's Oil Belt

Chinese firm to build N160b refinery in the state

FIVE foreign investors have staked interest in oil and gas exploration in Niger State, sequel to favourable assessment of commercial occurrence of deposits in the Bida Basin.

Already, a Chinese firm has concluded plans to invest over N160 billion in the construction of a refinery in Baro, in the state.

The Niger State government, early in 2012, set up a technical committee to look into the commercial viability of oil and gas deposits in the Bida Basin and the possibility of the government going into the exploration of the commodities.

The technical committee, early in 2013, returned a positive finding and since them government has been exploring the possibility of making its dream a reality.

The state’s Commissioner for Mining and Mineral Resources, Alhaji Abubakar Baba Jibreel, who briefed the press on the activities of the ministry for 2013, said the Chinese firm is among five other foreign investors that have indicated interest in oil and gas exploration in the Bida Basin.

Alhaji Baba Jibreel said government has not entered into any Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Chinese firm because it did not want the investor to be the sole owner of the refinery, which will not be in the interest of the people of the state and the government.

The Commissioner explained that foreign investors are showing interest in the oil and gas deposits in the Bida Basin because of the quality of crude oil discovered in the area and the certification of the sample got from the area by internationally recognized laboratories outside the country.

Jibreel explained further that President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan had approved a letter on the oil and gas deposits in the Bida Basin and sent it to the Minister of Petroleum Resources.

According to him, the Minister had also forwarded the letter to the office of a Director in the Ministry with a directive that a meeting should be held with officials of Niger State government on the matter.

Jibreel said but for some emergency that happened late last year the meeting with the Ministry officials would have been held to pave way for the signing of the MOU with investors, but added that a date this month has picked for the parley to take place.

The Commissioner also raised alarm over the activities of miners in the state accusing them of not adopting ‘best practices’ in their operations, which has been exposing the various communities and miners to a lot of danger.

He therefore called for a review of the mining laws of the country to make it possible for states and local governments to have roles to play before miners begin their operations anywhere in the country. culled from ngrguardiannews.com

Kano APC crisis worsens

THE many troubles facing the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kano are far from ending soon. 

Happenings and renewed wrangling between the faction of the former governor of the state, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau and supporters of the incumbent Governor Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso tell much about the presumed impossibility of survival of the party, at least in the state.

Recently, the presidential candidate of the defunct National Republican Convention (NRC), Alhaji Bashir Othman Tofa, has led a powerful delegation to Governor Kwankwaso to endorse him as leader of the APC in the state. 

Tofa, chairman of the Elders’ Committee of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), under which Shekarau contested for the presidency in 2011; was accompanied by the secretary of the de-registered ANPP, three gubernatorial aspirants of the party in 2011 and other stakeholders of the ANPP faction of the APC.

While paying homage to the governor, they assured him that as far as they were concerned, nobody could claim the leadership of the party apart from an incumbent governor, an action seen by Shekarau loyalists as a political betrayal.

A day after, the chairman of the then ANPP, Sani Hashim Hotoro, called a press briefing and challenged the action of some of the principal stakeholders that visited Kwankwaso to pay homage.

Hotoro dissociated self and the defunct party from the reported allegiance to the governor. 

He noted that Tofa had disclosed to the public that he had quit partisan politics, wondering, “why then is he playing partisan politics now?” 

According to Hotoro: “It is in the public knowledge that, members of the APC, coming from the defunct ANPP Kano State, have on December 18, 2013, under the leadership of our 2011 presidential candidate and former governor of Kano State, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, delivered a letter to the APC interim leadership in Abuja, conveying our concern and the way forward…

“We requested for the clarification of the rumour going round that the five aggrieved new PDP governors, who decided to join APC, did that as a result of an alleged agreement that they would be given special privileges that are against all fairness and democratic norms.” 

The internal crisis engulfing the APC, coming from the report that Kwankwaso could be the leader of the party as an incumbent governor, had made some stakeholders to start making surreptitious moves against a future plan. 

It was under this circumstance that party members began spreading rumours that Shekarau was likely to move to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

It was alleged that of recent, one of the big men of the ruling party from Abuja, came to Kano and had some “fruitful discussions” with Shekarau. 

Before then, PDP stalwarts in Kano, led by the interim state chairman of the party, paid a special visit to Shekarau, to woo him to join the PDP.

The scenario was similar to what happened between Governor Kwankwaso and the national leadership of the APC when they visited and wooed the governor to join the opposition party, which he finally did. 

If Shekarau joins the PDP, some political estimation of the Kano APC may change, either for good or for bad.

But the state chair of the defunct ANPP, Hotoro dismissed such insinuations that Shekarau was billed to leave the APC, assuring that they had no intention to decamp to any other party. 

He explained that they would remain in the APC pending the outcome of the complaint letter they had sent to the national secretariat of the APC.

The continued crisis in the APC has put a dashing conclusion to what people like the National Secretary of APC Project Nigeria, Abdulrasheed Ahmad Imam, an engineer, call “hope.” 

The group was formed to see to the protection and promotion of the rule of law within the party.

Imam once told The Guardian that, “… as at now, we have an incumbent governor (Kwankwaso) and the immediate past governor (Shekarau) within our fold. 

“The archrival of Governor Kwankwaso is former Governor Shekarau. So, they now belong to the same political party. Therefore, our victory is signed, sealed and delivered.”

So, if the face-off between the duo continues, the hope that Imam has may not see the light at the end of the tunnel.

But with the recent pronounced position of the APC that governors were not qualified to be leaders of the party at their respective states, the open confrontation between supporters of Kwankwaso and Shekarau may subside in the mean time.

“Whether the just joined governors of PDP to APC are leaders or not in APC, the fact remains that they are the ones with the needed resources when election comes. And it is said that he who pays the piper dictates the tune,” observed Dantani, a youth wing leader of the APC in Kano.

However, stakeholders have interpreted the pronouncement of the national headquarters of the party differently. 

The Secretary of the Interim Management Committee of the APC in Kano, Kabiru Sani Abdullahi, clarified that, “in APC, we have what is called the supremacy of the party. Under this, the party is above all even the president or a governor in a state.”

Abdullahi explained that, “under such supremacy understanding, nobody can claim to have the ownership or leadership of the party; so, that is what the national headquarters is saying.” 

“But then, if you look at it critically, whether a leader of the party or not, a governor is number one citizen in his state,” he said. 

“That is what the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria says, and it is above any other constitution of a political party. The governors are, therefore, automatic leaders in their respective states.” 

According to Abdullahi, the constitution of APC states that governors should play a fatherly role in their states. “So, what does that mean? They are leaders in their own right,” he said.

On the crisis engulfing the party, Abdullahi assured that when the party got elected leaders across board, “such crises would go naturally.”

“APC is the party with the majority now; so, you should expect such face-offs within its fold,” he said. “It is natural. 

“Before Kwankwaso came on board of the APC, Shekarau was the leader of the party in the state. So, when Kwankwaso joins us, we should also take him as our leader,” Abdullahi added.

Strengthening internal democracy in the APC was a fundamental thing APC Project Nigeria wanted to achieve, said Imam. 

“We are in this struggle in order to make sure that internal democracy is preserved. And we will do everything humanly possible to see that the APC sticks to that.”

culled from ngrguardiannews.com

Jonathan Issues Six-month Ultimatum on Stable Power

• Charges Waziri to swiftly change TCN’s fortunes

• Threatens to reverse sale of non-performing Discos, Gencos

President Goodluck Jonathan has issued an explicit ultimatum to managers of Nigeria’s electricity sector, especially the Ministry of Power to as a matter of urgency ensure that the electricity generated is effectively transmitted and distributed across Nigeria within the next six months.

Currently, Nigeria has a total installed generation capacity of 6,976.40 megawatts (MW) with expectations of upward expansion from the National Integrated Power Projects (NIPPs).

However, the country often transmits less than 4,000MW, leaving most consumers in towns and cities nationwide in darkness for long hours.

The Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, who yesterday in Abuja spoke on the president’s latest directive to stakeholders in the power sector, stated that the president had asked that results of government’s reforms in the power sector must become palpable to Nigerians across the country by June this year.

Nebo relayed Jonathan’s directive when he formally inaugurated the new Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Mr. Ibrahim Waziri, who takes over from the company’s erstwhile chairman, Hamman Tukur.

Tukur was said to have voluntarily resigned his position as the chairman, thus paving the way for Waziri’s appointment.

Waziri, by his reported know-how in top management positions of key economic sectors, has been asked by the government to swiftly turn around the fortunes of TCN starting with the execution of key projects to reduce technical and non-technical losses from the transmission grid.

While speaking on the six months target given by the president, Nebo said: “Let me restate that the nexus between availability of power and the socio-economic development of our great nation cannot be over-emphasised.

“The resolution of the problem of inadequate power supply to our people has continued to receive the full attention and support of President Goodluck Jonathan.

“While we celebrate the unprecedented success so far recorded in the reform of the power sector, the yardstick by which consumers measure us is the availability of electricity at the last mile to our homes and businesses.

“I wish therefore to charge all the principal players here today to be committed to ensuring that power supply to our customers is significantly and visibly improved by June this year as already directed by Mr. President.

“Much is expected of us all and the entire nation is waiting for us. The significant investment of the federal government in both material and human resources must translate into improved service delivery during the year.

“Government will no longer tolerate any excuse of non-performance from any of the sector players from both the ministry particularly and our new private sector partners.”

On the new owners of the legacy assets, the minister told them that the ministry and other agencies of government would not hesitate to invoke all relevant clauses in the agreement divesting ownership of the Gencos and Discos to new investors.

“Nigerians must, I repeat, must enjoy the dividends of the reform programme and no one will be allowed to frustrate this vision of Mr. President. We are not going to accept projects to ‘chop money’ or ‘share money’. We are in a paradigm shift now and it is no longer going to be business as usual, but business unusual.

“The process is such that we must only do projects that will add value to our reforms and not white elephant projects,” Nebo charged Waziri to ensure that TCN delivers on its roles in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI).

“To the new chairman and board of TCN, I specifically wish to draw your attention to the critical role of the national grid in a deregulated electricity industry.

“The risk of non-performance by TCN affects not only existing IPPs (Independent Power Plants) and Discos, but also nullifies all our efforts towards creating a conducive investment climate for the sector.

“You must therefore drive the management towards creating a national grid capable of reliably and efficiently evacuating all generated power nationwide.

“The board is also expected to ensure that only prudent investments in transmission lines and substations are approved for implementation. This is no time for projects with only fringe benefits to the national economy,” he said.

Meanwhile, THISDAY was told by a top government source that Tukur, whose tenure was reported to have been enmeshed in controversy, had decided to throw in the towel because he was alleged to have lacked the capacity to deliver on his responsibilities.

The source also hinted that Tukur allegedly failed to infuse the spirit of camaraderie into the board, adding that this was needed to supervise the operations of Manitoba Hydro International (MHI) in managing TCN.

He was also said to have refused to report to the power minister when he was appointed and had made it clear that he was only answerable to Vice-President Namadi Sambo.

“I must tell you without mincing words that the change is what is required at this point because government, which had prior intelligence reports on the activities at TCN, decided to do the needful.

“It was stated that he (Tukur) voluntarily resigned but I can also tell you that he discovered that he lacked the capacity to do the job.

“He couldn’t keep his team together and that was critical to achieving the key deliverables that were set for Manitoba. At this point, we are not even sure that the expected knowledge transfer from Manitoba to indigenous staff of TCN has started to occur, so he couldn’t coordinate his team and had no knowledge of what was expected of him especially in dealing with the private sector,” the source disclosed.

culled thisdaylive.com

Oil Workers' Strike Averted as FG Reverses Decision to Sell Refineries

The looming strike by workers in the oil and gas sector has been averted as the federal government has shelved its earlier decision to sell the nation's four refineries.

The government would now work with the unions in the oil sector to formulate workable business models and strategies for the refineries.

The Turn Around Maintenance (TMA) which is already in process by the Ministry of Petroleum Resources would be continued.

These were part of the resolutions reached at the end of a meeting yesterday night with the unions in the oil sector convened at the instance of the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Emeka Wogu, in Abuja.

In attendance were his Petroleum Resources counterpart, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, President, National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas (NUPENG), Mr. Igwe Achese, President, Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Mr. Babatunde Ogun, Permanent Secretaries of the Ministries Labour and Petroleum Resources, Dr. Clement Illoh and Mr. Danladi Kefasi and national executive members of the two unions.

The resolution, which was read by Wogu, was signed by the Alison-Madueke, NUPENG and PENGASSAN Presidents, Igwe Achese and Babatunde Ogun and the General Secretaries of the union.

"Trade unions in the oil and gas sector of the economy namely NUPENG and PENGASSAN have agreed with the federal government to engage in social dialogue to develop viable and workable business models for the nation's refineries," he read.

"Based on the above understanding, the trade unions in the oil and gas sector shall not embark on any form of industrial actions over the subject matter."

The unions in the oil sector were poised to down tools this month if the government goes ahead with the planned sale of the nation's four refineries.

The meeting scheduled for 2p.m. started at 4p.m. after the two ministers held a closed door meeting which lasted for over an hour with the presidents of the union.

At the commencement of the meeting with the other NEC officials, Wogu said: “We want to find a common ground to resolve the problems in the oil and gas sector, you all know the issues at stake but we would ensure that we reach a compromise to avert any strike in the sector."

Alison-Madueke on her part, said the meeting with the oil unions was 'absolutely critical' on topical issues raised in the last few days.

All parties then went into another meeting that was closed to the press.

During a short break at about 5.45p.m., an official who spoke off record, told THISDAY that the government would not sell the refineries if the unions insist.

"The petroleum minister just said if the unions say no, then the government would not sell the refineries. But she is also raising concern about the long term effect of that," the official said.

The official added that if the refineries are not sold, there has to be process to ensure they operate optimally, and all stakeholders, including the unions have to be carried along in the process.

culled thisdaylive.com

House to Probe Okonjo-Iweala over N29bn Police Pension Fund

The House of Representative will upon its resumption commence the probe of the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, over the non-release of the N29 billion police pension fund.

The Chairman of the House Committee on Pension Matters, Hon. Ibrahim Bawa Kamba (PDP, Kebbi), disclosed this yesterday in Abuja, during an interview with journalists.

THISDAY checks revealed that this would bring to two the number of investigations the minister will face this year as the House had also mandated its committee on finance to scrutinise the duty waivers she was alleged to have granted some institutions and individuals in government.

Kamba said Okonjo-Iweala had refused to release the funds after it was discovered that there were problems with the police pension and that they had about N29 billion in the pension account. He stated that she refused to give power to the director who is in charge of pension but instead moved the funds to her office.

"She is the one handling it and making payments to police pensioners," Kamba alleged, saying "most at times, majority of them (the police retirees) could not access their pension and gratuity until their deaths."

He added that in spite of summoning the minister and the former pension boss, Abdulrasheed Maina, the minister refused to release the fund to the police pension office to make payments.

"This has resulted in the death of many police pensioners leaving their defendants in penury, their children could not continue with school.

"We received several petitions from such widows and orphans in our committee and she is suppose to release the funds to police pension office to enable them be paid.

"We have written to her many times and summoned her but she refused to reply. We wrote her three letters no reply," he noted.

According to him, as soon as the House resumes from the recess, Okonjo-Iweala will be re-invited to clear the air on the matter.

"And if she fail to come, we will not hesitate to invoke relevant provisions of the laws to compel her appearance," he cautioned.

The committee chairman urged President Goodluck Jonathan to ensure that police pensioners were paid their dues by compelling the minister to "return the funds to the police pension office so that they will be paid," as he observed that: "It is not proper that she is finance minister and at the same time she is handling police pension."

He re-emphasised that: "and if we exhaust all avenues without making any head way, we may have to commence a full-scale investigation."

culled from thisdaylive.com

SHEKARAU, BAFARAWA SHUN APC LEADERS

The crisis in the Kano and Sokoto chapters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) appeared to have worsened yesterday when two key leaders stayed away from separate meetings held to unify disparate groups of the party in the two states.

Former Kano governor Ibrahim Shekarau and his Sokoto counterpart Attahiru Bafarawa had been sulking since the defection to APC by their long-standing political rivals, Governors Rabiu Kwankwaso and Aliyu Wamakko.

The incumbent governors have been trying to take over control of the party’s state structures, which the two former governors were instrumental in setting up in the first place.

In Sokoto yesterday, a unification forum of the party’s factions was held during a state secretariat commissioning, conducted by Wamakko, with key Bafarawa loyalists attending.

But Bafarawa did not attend or send a representative, and no reason was given for his absence.

Wamakko was assisted in opening the office by Bafarawa’s former deputy, Alhaji Chiso Datti. Others are the event were former gubernatorial candidate of the Democratic People’s Party (DPP), Alhaji Muhammadu Maigari Dingyadi, who challenged Wamakko in two previous elections, as well as Ambassador Abubakar Shehu Wurno, and Alhaji Lawali Labbo Margai.

One of Bafarawa’s associates and former secretary of the defunct ANPP in the state, Alhaji Abubakar Kantoma, said as far as Bafarawa and his supporters were concerned the office commissioned yesterday was that of defectors and not the authentic state secretariat of APC.

“We are the genuine members of APC,” he told Daily Trust.

On the presence of Bafarawa’s former lieutenants at yesterday’s event, Kantoma said those people had long parted ways with the former governor.

“When Bafarawa left DPP to ACN none of them followed him and even when he switched back to his former party, ANPP. So it is not surprising if they decide to join Wamakko,” he said.

A spokesman for Bafarawa, Alhaji Yusuf Dingyadi, said the office commissioning amounted to an illegality as it was done without the consent of the Abubakar Sanyinna-led interim party executive.

“So it was like a commissioning an office of a social club,” Dingyadi said.

Speaking at the ceremony earlier, Wamakko said he was glad that the people of the state agreed to form a united front towards bringing positive changes in the state and the country.

“We have united for the benefit of our state and the country,” he said.

“As you can see physically, everywhere is full; everyone that matters in the state is here. So the meeting is fruitful, cordial and result oriented and whatever we have discussed is for the benefit of our dear state and country.”

Also speaking, Maigari Dingyadi assured that the warring camps would at the end of the day dissolve into one formidable party.

Ambassador Wurno, for his part, said they would not continue to live in isolation. “We have to join any force that can lead to the emancipation of our people and Nigerians. This is why we are here. This is why we decided to bury whatever differences we have in the past and join the crusade,” he said.

Also in Kano, a unification meeting was held behind closed doors between the founding APC members and the Kwankwaso side.

Among those who attended were Alhaji Bashir Othman Tofa, Senator Kabiru Gaya, Alhaji Barau Jibrin, Rabi’u Bako, Aminu Ibrahim Abba, Alhaji Ibrahim Kankarofi and Sheikh Ibrahim Khalil.

But Shekarau did not attend, and no reason was given for his absence.

A statement yesterday by Kwankwaso’s spokesman Halilu Ibrahim Dantiye said the meeting was part of the governor’s efforts of ensuring unity in the APC.

“Stakeholders of the APC in Kano are making spirited efforts to reinforce unity among the different camps that formed the party, to enable it face the challenges ahead,” Dantiye said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Shekarau has continued to hobnob with the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP), which Kwankwaso left to join the APC.

Yesterday, the former governor hosted a delegation of Kano PDP elders, led by Ambassador Aminu Wali.

Wali said during the visit that they were at Shekarau’s house to show their appreciation of his leadership in the state, despite their political differences.

He said they decided to visit to the former governor to foster understanding and to plead with him to cooperate with them in ensuring a better Kano State.

In his remark, Shekarau said he felt honoured by the visit.

“As a stakeholder in this state, my house is open to all concerned citizens of this state. Our vision is to see a better Kano State, and I repeat I will gladly be part of any movement to ensure that. I will always be part of such movement even if I am not there physically,” he said.

Others on the PDP delegation are Alhaji Mohammed Abacha, Alhaji Dauda Dan Galan and Senator Hamisu Musa.

But soon after the meeting, a spokesman for Shekarau said the former governor had no plans to defect to the PDP.

Malam Sule Yau Sule told Daily Trust by telephone yesterday: “There was no time that His Excellency (Shekarau) met anyone to defect from APC let alone making such declaration. He is not known for such kind of frivolity. He is a democrat and would not dump or destroyed the APC house he worked to build.

“There was no truth in those kind of reports that Mallam Shekarau is defecting. Those kind of reports should be ignored. He remained the leader of our party in Kano and also a national leader.”

culled from dailytrust.com

Nyame Denies He Was Bribed To Launder Suntai’s Image

Ex-governor of Taraba State Rev. Jolly Nyame has denied allegations that he was paid to carry out an image-laundering campaign for ailing governor of the state Pharm Danbaba Danfulani Suntai.

A group known as Northern Taraba Elders Forum had, at a press conference in Jalingo on Wednesday, called on Nyame to clear himself of allegations that he was invited to Abuja and given huge sums of money by an influential personality from the state to work for the interest of a cabal around Suntai ahead of 2015.

Chairman of the forum Alhaji Bakari Bala had alleged that “Nyame’s romance with members of the cabal in recent times leaves much to be desired. We see this romance as a deliberate move to mortgage the political fortune of northern Taraba to the south. It is indeed surprising to many of us, the elders from northern Taraba, how Nyame has suddenly turned to one of the apostles or disciples of Suntai.”

The forum, which accused Nyame of being inconsistent as a leader, noted that his constant visits to Suntai at the Government House as well as moving around with him to churches and other places were “clear indications” that he “has been paid to carry out the dirty job for Suntai, same as the cabal”.

But, in a swift reaction, Rev. Nyame refuted the allegation of being sponsored to do any hatchet job or image-laundering campaign for Governor Suntai.

“ I think all the misgiving in the state from people left and right now is coming because I decided to go and commiserate with Danbaba of recent when he came back from an extended treatment abroad,” he said. “I want to make it abundantly clear that there is no doubt about it that Danbaba became a governor as a result of my contribution; as far as I am concerned, he is my political son. So, there is no way your son would be sick… whatever differences you have with your son, as far as you are a father,there is just no way you cannot go and see how he is faring.”

Nyame said his reconciliation with Governor Suntai was done on the basis of his Christian faith which emphasises the need for forgiveness and had nothing to do with being influenced with money by anybody.

“ I think some people maybe were feeding fat because of my broken relationship with Danbaba; so they want that kind of broken relationship to continue, and I want to say here that, as a practising Christian, it is just necessary for me to forgive if I want to make heaven.

“Bakari Bala is a Muslim, I’m a Christian; so he may not understand the motivation behind my going to Danbaba, because, in Christ’s teaching, he said whatever you do to the least you are doing unto me,” he said.

On the governorship race for 2015, Nyame said anybody could contest and that he alone as an individual cannot determine who becomes the governor of Taraba. As such, he said, there was no basis of anybody saying that he was sabotaging the political fortune of any zone.

culled from leadership.ng

Senators’ Planned Defection Threatens Senate Leadership

 

If ongoing efforts by Senate President David Mark to halt the planned defection of senators from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) fail, the PDP stands the chance of losing its majority status in the Senate and could lead to a leadership change in the upper chamber of the National Assembly, THISDAY learnt yesterday.

Senators, who did not want to be named, told THISDAY yesterday that the Senate President had been meeting affected senators and making promises to them with a view to forestalling their defection.

He, however, did not mention the nature of those promises but THISDAY learnt that a major part of the promises might not be unconnected with automatic return tickets to the Senate in 2015.

The source said the meetings with the senators threatening to jump ship are aimed at preventing the APC from securing the majority in the Senate.

One senator, who said the defection would shock the leadership of both the party and the Senate when it eventually takes place, disclosed that Mark and the presidency have concentrated efforts only on those they know are warming up to leave the party, but unknown to them, there are other senators who have remained under the radar, but are prepared to dump the PDP for APC.

According to him, what Mark is currently doing is what “reasonable” party leaders should have done since the crisis broke out in the party last August, but dismissed the effort as medicine after death.

“What the Senate President is doing now is what reasonable leaders should have done in the beginning but instead, they said anybody who wanted to go should go.

“A good leader ought to listen to people and accommodate them. But they said ‘ignore them.’ I remember that Mark intervened at the time,” he said. 

However, he said the reason aggrieved senators might be unwilling to yield to Mark’s plea to stay back in PDP stemmed from the lingering doubts that the party’s leadership might not keep the promises being made to them through the Senate President should they decide to jettison their defection plan.

“The question that senators are now asking is what is the guarantee that the promises being made by the Senate President now will be respected by the party? That is why it will be difficult to stop people from going.

“They are trying to stop us from going so that PDP will not lose its majority status in the Senate. But the problem is they only know those who have been identified as wanting to go but they don't know that there are lots of others that are unidentifiable,” he said.

Corroborating the senator, another source who attended the meeting of the leadership of APC in the Kano Governor's Lodge in Asokoro, Abuja, with 10 PDP senators on December 17, 2013 on the planned defection, said the target of APC is to get 15 senators to spearhead the first phase of the defection plan.

He explained that once the 15 senators take the bull by the horn, the coast would be clear for others to follow.

The Asokoro meeting, which had the defection plan as its main agenda, was attended by leaders of the APC comprising former Lagos State Governor, Senator Bola Tinubu; the party’s interim National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande; the Rivers and Kano State Governors, Chibuike Amaechi and Rabiu Kwankwaso; and former acting Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Abubakar Baraje.

PDP senators who attended the meeting were Bukola Saraki (Kwara Central), Abdullahi Adamu (Nasarawa West), Magnus Abe (River South-east), Wilson Ake (Rivers West) and Shaba Lafiagi (Kwara North).

Also present at the meeting were Danjuma Goje (Gombe Central), Aisha Alhassan (Taraba North), Ali Ndume (Borno South), Umaru Dahiru (Sokoto South) and Ahmad Maccido (Sokoto North).

The source added that Ibrahim Gobir (Sokoto East) and Ahmed Zannah (Borno Central) would have been in attendance but travelled out of Abuja at the time.

While PDP currently has 73 senators in the Senate, APC has 33, Labour Party (LP) has two, while the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has one.

The source insisted that the PDP caucus in the Senate would automatically lose its majority status if 22 senators as speculated earlier, eventually defect to APC, as the opposition party will then have 55 members in its caucus while the PDP caucus will drop to 51.

He said with the change in the numeric strengths of the two major parties in the Senate, this would automatically affect the leadership structure in the Senate when the chips are down.

According to him, it is the possibility of a change in the status quo in the Senate that has caused the panic among the chamber’s leadership, the presidency as well as PDP.

However THISDAY also gathered that APC might be counting its chickens before they are hatched as five of the 22 senators have declared that they would not be part of the defection plan.

They are Simeon Ajibola (Kwara South), Abdulaziz Usman (Jigawa North-east), Danladi Sankara (Jigawa North-west), and Abdulmumuni Hassan (Jigawa South-west).

Maccido once told THISDAY during a telephone conversation that he was not ready to defect but attended the Asokoro meeting last December.

culled from thisdaylive.com