The Senate, on Wednesday, approved 70 years as retirement age of university professors as it passed the bill for an Act to harmonise the retirement age of academic staff of universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.

With this development, the strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), might be called off since retirement age was one of the disputed issues.

The bill, however, fixed the retirement age of other academic staff below the rank of professor and non-academic staff at 65 .

Immediately after the passage of the bill, Senate President, David Mark, said that, “we have passed the bill into law to meet the demands of ASUU. There is the need to get ASUU back to the classrooms so that our children can go back to their classes”.

He further explained that, “there are serious constitutional issues to be addressed and we have to pursue them and unless we do that, we may be confronted with problems in the future and that is why we have to take cognisance of section 318 of the constitution.”

Mark commended his colleagues for their commitment with regard to the passage of the bills, expressing the hope that ASUU would reciprocate the gesture by calling off its three-month strike.

The Senate, however, refused to pass the section of the bill that guarantees payment of salaries to university professors after retirement despite the arguments by some senators that retired professors should enjoy pensions like retired military officers.

Senator Uche Chukwumerije, who sponsored the bill, stressed that in the course of the committee’s deliberations, memoranda were received from ASUU as well as other stakeholders and that based on the inputs, the committee resolved to first amend the bill to make room for separate Acts that would take care of the needs of universities, federal polytechnics as well as colleges of education at the same time.

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Dear Compatriots,

1. This is the second time in two weeks I will address you on the deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector. In the last seven days, the nation has witnessed a disruption of economic activities. Although, the economic imperatives for the policy have been well articulated by government, the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) went ahead to declare a nationwide strike.

President_Goodluck_Jonathan

3. At the inception of the deregulation policy, Government had set up the Justice Alfa Belgore Committee to liaise with Labour and other stakeholders to address likely grey areas in the policy, but despite all our efforts, Labour refused the option of dialogue and also disobeyed a restraining order of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria.

4. However, following the intervention of the Leadership of the National Assembly, and other well-meaning Nigerians, Labour accepted to meet with government, but this yielded no tangible result.

5. It has become clear to government and all well-meaning Nigerians that other interests beyond the implementation of the deregulation policy have hijacked the protest. This has prevented an objective assessment and consideration of all the contending issues for which dialogue was initiated by government. These same interests seek to promote discord, anarchy, and insecurity to the detriment of public peace.

6. Government appreciates that the implementation of the deregulation policy would cause initial hardships and commends Nigerians who have put forth suggestions and credible alternatives in this regard. Government also salutes Nigerians who by and large, conducted themselves peacefully while expressing their grievances. Let me assure you that government will continue to respect the people’s right to express themselves within the confines of the law and in accordance with the dictates of our democratic space.

7. Government will continue to pursue full deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector. However, given the hardships being suffered by Nigerians, and after due consideration and consultations with state governors and the leadership of the National Assembly, government has approved the reduction of the pump price of petrol to N97 per litre. The Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) has been directed to ensure compliance with this new pump price.

8. Government is working hard to reduce recurrent expenditure in line with current realities and to cut down on the cost of governance. In the meantime, government has commenced the implementation of the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment projects: including the Federal Government- assisted mass transit programme which is already in place, and job creation for the youth.

9. Furthermore, the legal and regulatory regime for the petroleum industry will be reviewed to address accountability issues and current lapses in the Industry. In this regard, the Petroleum Industry Bill will be given accelerated attention. The report of the forensic audit carried out on the NNPC is being studied with a view to implementing the recommendations and sanctioning proven acts of corruption in the industry.

10. Let me assure Nigerians that this administration is irrevocably committed to tackling corruption in the petroleum industry as well as other sectors of the economy. Consequently, all those found to have contributed one way or the other to the economic adversity of the country will be dealt with in accordance with the law.

11. My dear compatriots, I urge you to show understanding for the imperatives of the adjustment in the pump price of petrol and give government your full support to ensure its successful implementation. I further appeal to Nigerians to go back to work and go about their normal duties as government has made adequate arrangements for the protection of life and property throughout the federation.

12. Government will not condone brazen acts of criminality and subversion. As President, I have sworn to uphold the unity, peace and order of the Nigerian State and by the grace of God, I intend to fully and effectively discharge that responsibility. Let me add that we are desirous of further engagements with Labour. I urge our Labour leaders to call off their strike, and go back to work.

13. Nigeria belongs to all of us and we must collectively safeguard its unity.

14. Thank you. God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

GOODLUCK EBELE JONATHAN, GCFR
President,
Federal Republic of Nigeria

Source Daily Trust
When President Goodluck Jonathan decided to remove the subsidy on petrol said to benefit a cabal and not going to the poor who are meant to benefit from it, on January 1, he may not have envisaged the magnitude of protests that is still raging.

President Jonathan and Labour Leader

However, he has been proved to be wrong, times are changing and people see what is happening in other countries such as the Arab spring that has toppled dictators like Ben Ali of Tunisia and Hosni Mubarak of Egypt. Also with the help of western powers, Muammar Gaddafi of Libya was deposed and killed.

The foregoing should have made the government to thoroughly consider before making a monumental decision like the total removal of petroleum subsidy which has led to the increase of transportation and virtually everything in a country where majority of the people live below poverty line.

As a result, apart from the protests that broke out immediately, a day after the fuel price increase, the organised labour, Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC and Trade Union Congress, TUC started a nationwide strike with rallies. The civil society is also involved in the strike.

But the government is still insisting that it would not revert to N65 as demanded by the NLC and TUC before they enter into negotiations. And the government also insisted that the NLC must end the strike before they start negotiations. So there is a stalemate.

In any event, the issue of the removal of subsidy came to the limelight with the N18, 000 minimum wage that was signed into law last year before the April elections. The president and governors agreed to pay it before the elections, but it is yet to be implemented.

The governors complained that they didn’t have enough money to pay the minimum wage, so they pushed for the removal of the fuel subsidy. Though the tune has now changed that they would use the money for developmental projects, the question is, can they still do that and pay the minimum wage?

People are sceptical, believing that the money would be diverted. For example while the federal government has come out with its reinvestment project, we have not heard any such plan from the states, much less the local governments, making people to be more suspicious that the fund will be another milking cow.

In a democracy, the people’s will should prevail, and if the government wants to introduce an unpopular policy it should enlighten and educate the people. As reports indicate, many people don’t even know what fuel subsidy is, they feel the government is out to punish people.

The Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo Iweala in defence of the government said there were adverts in the newspapers about it, but how many Nigerians read newspapers? Enlightenment in Nigerian languages and in the rural areas would make people at least know what the government is doing.

But to spring this suddenly on the people and expect them to make sacrifice without a whimper, or with a whimper then they would skulk away to suffer in silence is an insult to the people. The government should credit them with intelligence and common sense, especially now that people are aware of the billions in the budget for the president’s food and cars among other luxuries and the jumbo salary of legislators.

While the protest goes on, the government is raising alarm that politicians have hijacked it for their selfish end, so also hoodlums. But are the opposition politicians not part of Nigeria, are they not also affected by the government policies? And the so- called hoodlums are they not Nigerians and the product of Nigeria? This is not however condoning lootings, killings and arson.

Many have lost their lives through shootings by the police and the Inspector General of Police; Hafiz Ringim said without remorse that those killed were hoodlums. Shouldn’t they be arrested and tried, since these people are unarmed?

It is wrong for the government to assume that other Nigerians don’t have feelings enough to join the protest, blaming NLC for instigating people, does it means people don’t know where it pinches them?

If the government learns anything from this protest it is not take Nigerians for granted again, and it should go back to the drawing board.

Source: Vanguard:
ABUJA—PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday, submitted to the Senate for approval name of his former Senior Special Assistant on Diaspora Affairs and wife of late Dim Odimegwu Chukwuemeka Ojukwu, Mrs Bianca Ojukwu, as an ambassadorial nominee.

President Jonathan in a letter to Senate President, David Mark, requested that in line with section 171(1) C, sub-section 4 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended, the Senate should consider a list of thirty-two as non-career and fifty-six as career ambassadorial nominees, adding, “it is my hope that this exercise will receive the usual kind expeditious attention of the Distinguished Members of the Senate of the Federal Republic.”

The appointment of the former most beautiful girl in Nigeria which the President put as belonging to the special category is coming barely a week after her husband, Chief Ojukwu died in a London Hospital.

Also on the list of those submitted to the Senate for consideration as ambassadors were former national secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and ex-Foreign Affairs Minister, Chief Ojo Madueke for Abia State; the financial secretary of PDP, Alhaji Tukur Mani from Katsina State; permanent secretary of the Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, Biodun Nathaniel Olorunfemi from Kogi State; and former Minister of Aviation, Mrs Fidelia Akuabata Njeze from Enugu State.

For more names, read: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/12/bianca-ojukwu-madueke-olorunfemi-make-envoys-list/

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The Independent National Electoral Commission has cancelled the result of the senatorial election in Anambra Central Senatorial District.

It said a rerun would be fixed for a date to be announced soon.

The decision was announced at a press conference in Awka by the newly appointed Returning Officer for Anambra Central, Prof. Charles Esinone. The Resident Electoral Commissioner, Prof. Chukwuemeka Onukaogu, also attended the briefing, where he told newsmen that Esinone had been replaced the former RO, Mr. Alex Anene.

The major candidates in the election are a former governor of the state, Dr. Chris Ngige (Action Congress of Nigeria); ex-Minister of Information and Communications, Prof. Dora Akunyili (All Progressives Grand Alliance); and the incumbent, Chief Annie Okonkwo (Accord Party).

The declaration of the result ran into a deadlock when Anene said on Sunday that he was being pressurised by officials of the state government and APGA to declare Akunyili as the winner of the poll.

He had told newsmen in Awka that the interests promised him a house, scholarship for his children and N10 million if he declared Akunyili as the winner of the election and accepted the ‘mutilated’ result from Njikoka Local Government Area.

He said he rejected the gifts and was quitting the assignment because his conscience would not allow him to announce a mutilated result.

Ngige swiftly petitioned INEC, asking it to cancel the result in Anaocha Local Government Area because 22,000 votes were allocated in it to Akunyili.

However, at a separate briefing at her campaign office in Awka, Akunyili said that before the election, Anene was arrested with fake poll monitors and later released on bail. She alleged that instead of going to report to the police, Anene called journalists and raised allegations against her party.

Source: Punch

Source:Reuters

An explosion rocked the local offices of Nigeria’s electoral commission in the central town of Suleja on Friday, hours ahead of parliamentary polls, in what one emergency official said appeared to have been a bomb blast.

Security sources said up to eight people may have been killed and a dozen injured in the explosion in Suleja, on the northwestern edge of the capital Abuja, but neither the election commission nor the emergency services could confirm this.

“There was an explosion and there are several casualties. It was a suspected bomb blast,” Yushua Shuaib, spokesman for the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), told Reuters.

Africa’s most populous nation is due to hold parliamentary elections on Saturday and presidential elections a week later.

The run-up to the polls has been marred by isolated bomb attacks on campaign rallies, violence blamed on a radical sect in the remote northeast and sectarian clashes in the center of a nation roughly split between a Muslim north and Christian south.

Three people were killed and 21 injured by an explosive device thrown from a car at an election rally in Suleja last month

Nigeria’s electoral commission (INEC) has postponed nationwide parliamentary polls for a second time, a day after they were put off due to logistical problems.

Officials said on Sunday the elections that had been postponed to Monday after voting materials failed to arrive on time will now take place on April 9 in Africa’s most populous nation.

Attahiru Jega, the head of the electoral commission, told reporters: “The commission weighed all the options and considered the wide-ranging counsel of Nigerians and decided to reschedule all the elections as follows: Saturday, April 9, senate and house of representatives elections; Saturday, April 16, presidential elections; Tuesday, April 26, state houses of assembly and governorship elections.”

The electoral body’s resident commissioner in the southern oil city of Port Harcourt said the postponement was partly prompted by complaints from political parties that the time frame was too tight.

“Some parties have said they won’t take part … Without political parties there is no election so INEC has to listen to their comments,” the commissioner, Aniedi Ikoiwak, said.

Jega was given a $570m budget last August just for overhauling voter lists and buying additional ballot boxes, leading some Nigerians to question whether they were getting value for money.

There are 73 million registered voters out of a population of 158 million and the budget means each of Nigeria’s 36 states would receive at least $15m.

Voting materials delayed

Nigerians had flocked to polling stations on Saturday to cast their ballots for the 360-member House of Representatives and the 109-member Senate, but the exercise did not go far after it emerged that voting materials at many polling centres had not been delivered.

The opposition accused the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) of sabotage, with the spokesman of the main challenger of Goodluck Jonathan, the incumbent president, saying the party was “afraid to let people come out and vote”.

Jonathan, who became president after the death of Umaru Yaradua last May, is widely expected to win the presidential poll and has repeatedly promised free and fair elections.

Muhammadu Buhari, his main challenger and former president running on the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) platform, has major support in the country’s mostly Muslim north.

Other candidates vying for the presidency include former anti-corruption chief Nuhu Ribadu, whose Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) party has a strong following in parts of the southwest, and Ibrahim Shekarau, governor of the northern state of Kano.

The PDP controls a comfortable majority in the parliament, but some analysts say the poll could significantly loosen its grip on the legislature.

The party has won every election since military rule ended in 1999. The previous two elections, held in 2003 and 2007, were marred by fraud and irregularities.

The ill health of Nigeria’s president sparked fears of a military coup and caused screaming matches over who was in charge of the country, according to secret US diplomatic cables.

Umaru YarAdua Late Nigerian president

A US memo marked secret and dated 26 February, just after Yar’Adua’s return, reveals frantic negotiations in the corridors of power of Africa’s most populous nation.

It says the acting president, Goodluck Jonathan, admitted “‘everyone’s confused’ about who is in charge of Nigeria”.

“He said the last cabinet meeting was disastrous and included yelling and screaming, and it is totally dysfunctional. He said he is ‘not a politician’ and had very limited experience as an administrator, but concluded, ‘I will not tolerate a brawl.’”

Jonathan named political enemies whom he accused of destabilising the government. “This terrible situation in the country today has been created by four people: Turai Yar’Adua [the ailing president's wife], his chief security officer (CSO) [Yusuf Muhammad Tilde], his aide-de-camp (ADC) [Colonel Mustapha Onoedieva] and Professor Tanimu Yakubu [his chief economic adviser].”

Referring to Jonathan as “the AgP”, the memo states: “The AgP said he does not know their motives, but expected it was likely for nefarious purposes … The AgP noted that ‘people are angry’.”

Nigeria has a history of army interventions and under the subheading “Fears about military” the cable notes: “The AgP said the military chiefs are making sure no politicians are reaching out to the rank-and-file, and encouraging the military to stay in the barracks so that the uncertain political situation does not generate coup-like behaviour emanating from the mid-ranks because of the confusion.”

The memo reveals America’s silent role in the Nigerian crisis. Robin Sanders, the US ambassador, “encouraged Jonathan to change the perception that he is a regional figure, and be seen, rather, as a national figure who has the best interest of the nation at heart”.

“Ambassador expressed that given that the US and Nigeria are very best friends, we feel the need to share our concerns, as any good friend would do, and that we are counting on him to steer Nigeria through this troubled and uncertain period.”

Jonathan said he was picked as Yar’Adua’s running mate in 2007 because he represented the Niger Delta. “I was not chosen to be vice-president because I had good political experience. I did not. There were a lot more qualified people around to be vice-president, but that does not mean I am not my own man.”

The document concludes: “It is always hard to judge how some will behave (or surprise you) when leadership is unexpectedly thrown in their lap. The verdict is out on Jonathan and his previously underwhelming personality and performance needs to keep us in the cautious lane, but so far, so good. Things are quiet.”

Yar’Adua died in May this year and Jonathan was swiftly sworn in as president. He has since announced his intention to contest elections next January.
source Guardian.co.uk

Shell ‘accessed’ Nigeria ministries: cable

Source:(AFP)

LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell had infiltrated key Nigerian ministries, giving it access to politicians’ every move in the oil-rich nation, the Guardian said, citing U.S. diplomatic cables obtained by WikiLeaks.

The oil giant’s top executive in Nigeria, Ann Pickard, told U.S. diplomats in Abuja in October 2009 that Shell had obtained secret information, including a letter showing Nigeria had invited bids for oil concessions from China.

“She said the GON (government of Nigeria) had forgotten that Shell had seconded people to all the relevant ministries and that Shell consequently had access to everything that was being done in those ministries,” U.S. Ambassador Robin Renee Sanders was quoted by the Guardian as saying in a cable to Washington. Nigeria is Africa’s top oil exporter, and its energy industry has been dominated for decades by international oil firms such as Exxon Mobil, Total and Shell.

But oil production has been plagued by years of attacks on vulnerable pipelines and platforms by militant groups in the Niger Delta, which increased in intensity from mid-2006 until an amnesty last year brought a halt to sabotage attacks.

The Guardian said Pickard, according to a September 2008 cable from the U.S. consulate in Lagos, had sought to share intelligence with the U.S. government on militant activity, which at its peak shut down a quarter of Nigeria’s oil output.

“She claimed Shell has ‘intelligence’ that one to three surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) may have been shipped to Nigerian militant groups, although she seemed somewhat sceptical of that information and wondered if such sensitive systems would last long in the harsh environment of the Niger Delta.”

Ironically, the Shell executive expressed wariness about discussing sensitive issues with U.S. officials.

“Picard has repeatedly told us she does not like to talk to U.S. government (USG) officials because the USG is ‘leaky’,” the leaked memo said.

No one at Royal Dutch Shell was available for comment early on Thursday.

(Reporting by Michel Rose; Editing by Jon Hemming)

A team of students from the Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO) will today leave for the United States ahead of two-day Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) World Cup, slated for next Monday and Tuesday.

The university emerged as Nigeria’s representative for the intellectual and soccer competition after it defeated 35 other tertiary institutions that participated in the national business competition. It was organised by SIFE Nigeria, an international non-governmental organisation, at the Sheraton Hotels and Tower, Abuja, recently.

According to the country’s Director of SIFE Nigeria, Mrs. Adesuwa Ifedi, “SIFE is a global network that is improving the quality of life of people around the world by teaching them the principles and values of free market economics and entrepreneurship. Our vision is to be a catalyst for the development of leaders who will create a better world through business,” she said.

FUTO’s SIFE team leader, Mr. Alozie Okpara, declared that the team would not disappoint the country. He added that the team would showcase best of the projects it had executed to the world. He said the team had empowered its community through execution of projects such as Eco drive, an environmental sustainability project,Pro-Save, a financial literacy project, making chief executive officers to become fish farmers and Indomie Bukka and Ecobag environmental project, which, he explained, is a discovery of innovative solution to waste management.

Okpara disclosed that no fewer than 20 Ecobag manufacturers emerged from the project. He said importance of the waste management project team was to get rid of 10 million polyethylene waste in Imo State by September 2011, stressing that the team also envisioned to produce 3, 000 Ecobags. The team, he stated, introduced paper fuel to combat deforestation and launched a system for eradicating polythene waste such as ‘pure water’ sachet and plastic bottle by using it in producing the Ecobags.

“The school also taught 70 fish and snail farmers the concept of demand and supply, 106 market traders were also equipped with tools and products diversification and effective pricing and successfully connected about 60 fish farmers to international market via internet,” he said.