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In Orioke Iwamimo: A Prophesy Fulfilled
04.13.2009

Juliana Taiwo witnessed the recent 2009 joint operations exercise codenamed Ologun Meta by the Defence Headquarters. The exercise brought to fruition the prophesy on Orioke Iwamimo, Ilaje, a beachfront facing the Atlantic Ocean in Ondo State

The people of Orioke Iwamimo, a beach front community in Ilaje area of Ondo State, were disappointed that President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua did not as much as wave at them when he came to witness the 2009 Joint Operations Exercise (JOPEX), codenamed Ologun Meta (Yoruba word for three warriors).
The community founded in 1950 by late Oba Alafia Wilson Ikudeibu had never played host to an important dignity as the president of the country before. The closest it got was when gubernatorial candidates came to ask for their votes with unfulfilled promises.
In fact, the immediate past governor, Olusegun Agagu had promised to make the much needed difference, but this time around the people were not prepared to be taken for a ride. The immediate past Oba, had warned him that if he did not fulfilled his promises he was not go to finish his tenure in office, so the first prophesy was fulfilled as he was kicked out by the courts last month.
The 2009 JOPEX did not happen without resistance from the people of the community who said they were tired of being used and dumped. THISDAY findings revealed that at some point, the Oba’s palace was almost burnt down but for the intervention of the military personnel in the area for granting access to the military to carry out the exercise. Their full cooperation was only gotten after they were told that Mr. President will be visiting. That was enough to ginger the youths who assisted the military prepare the area for the exercise as well as play host to Mr. President.
So it was understandable to see the people turn out in their Sunday best, composed special songs to welcome President Yar’Adua as well as prepare a special gift for their august visitor. But they never got the chance to do that. The closest they got was when their Oba, His Royal Highness Jabez Alebiosu Ikudeibu, Oba Alafia II, had a handshake with Yar’Adua that was not even recorded in pictures nor videos as the overzealous security men ensured that the handshake did not happen.
Though the people were disappointed, Oba Ikudeibu, took consolation in the fact that the prophesy by the late Oba (his father) that his reign will witnessed the visit of Nigeria’s President and he will even have the privileged of a hand shake did come to pass.
The community (about 40 minute drive from Okitipupa and a further 15-minute boat ride along swampy mangrove creeks), lacks everything necessary to make life comfortable. They lack water, road and medical facility. Their only primary school founded in 1955 (housing 400 pupils) and a secondary school founded in 1977 (housing about a thousand students from within and neighbouring communities) is anything but conducive and are lacking in teachers, books and equipment.
This highly religious community (which forbids their women from wearing jewelleries and trousers in other to avoid a repeat of what the children of Israel did in the Bible when Moses left them to go seek the face of God and they used their jewelleries to mould a golden calf), have had to loose several of their indigenes as a result of seeking medical attention outside the community.

The people of Orioke Iwamimo rely on traditional (use of herbs) or spiritual means (prayers) to heal their sick, but in a situation where both methods fail, they take their sick to Igbokodo or Okitipupa. But many a times, on their way they encounter water hyacinth which prevents them from moving further and the result has been harvest of deaths.

The people’s main occupation is fishing and their women engage in mats weaving in addition to fishing, which they sell in Igbokodo and environs.
In a chat with THISDAY just before the commencement of the official opening, the Oba Ikudeibu described the 2009 JOPEX as a blessing in disguise. He said before now they were used to promise and fail leadership. “We are very happy that Mr. President is visiting our community. This is the first time in the history of this community that we will be having such an august visitor. We have outlined our problems in a letter to the President. JOPEX 2009 is a blessing because normally such exercise is supposed to expose a community with legions of problem. We expect torrents of developments to follow from both the state and federal government after this visit. Already the military has promised us a borehole which we are eagerly awaiting.

His Royal Highness Jabez Alebiosu Ikudeibu Oba Alafia II the traditional ruler of Ori Oke Iwa Mimo

“During the reign of my predecessor, the former governor, Olusegun Agagu, as was normal with politicians had come to this community to campaign and promised a lot of things that he was going to do for us. But our late Oba had warned him then because we were tired of the empty promises, that if he did not fulfil any of those promises, he was not going to complete his tenure. He said that prophecy was fulfilled. “So when Governor Olusegun Mimiko also visited us, we prayed for him and he has promised to fulfil his promises. We hope he does not renege because it will be disastrous. We have also pleaded that the new road going to Alokoda should be extended to our community because we lack road as well as clean water. We hope the bridge from Bakindeji going to Ayitoro and Ararumi will be extended to us. Our people travel to Igbokoda in canoes and boats to get drinking water and this is not fair on us because we are also Nigerians,” he said.
For Akinbilajo Abiye an SS1 science student of Community Secondary School, Oreoke Iwamimo, she was oblivious of the happenings in her community. Her greatest pain is her inability to carry out the practical aspect of her studies. “We are just managing to learn in this environment and we will be glad if the situation will change with the visit of the President,” she said.
As part of its social responsibility, Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Paul Dike ordered free medical services (an exercise the community as well as neighbouring ones took full advantage of. The Defence Headquarters also plans to sink a borehole in the community. Though the borehole was not completed as planned before the end of the exercise, findings revealed it was due to the cost which was way above what was budgeted.

the communitys generating set powered by diesal

But the CDS, it was gathered is insisting the borehole must be sunk no matter the cost in other to maintain the integrity of the military in keeping its promises to locals where they carry out similar exercises. According to Commodore Jeremiah Onibiji, the Consultant and chief physician, a team of doctors, nurses, laboratory scientists, public health consultants were engaged in the free medical services. The medical services included health talks by the public health consultants, taking of blood pressure, diagnosis carried out by doctors as well as administration of the right medication. Food supplements as well as mosquito nets were also distributed to families, especially pregnant mothers. “We got the mandate of the CDS to give complete health service, distribute mosquito nets which is one of the preventive measures,” he said.
The 2009 JOPEX reached its climax after months of operations (including the sensitisation of the residents of Okitipupa, Igbokoda, Orioke Iwamimo and environs to avoid panic at that the movement of the equipment and personnel may cause. It also involved beach landing operations, harbour defence, riverine operations and insertion of troops, advance quick attack, deliberate attack phase and internal security operations (ISOs).
A brigade of the Nigerian Army, three mother naval cat class-warships – NNS Kyanwa, NNS Obula and NNS Nwamba – and six squadrons of the Nigerian Air Force aircraft participated in the exercise. Dike in a welcome remark, explained that the conduct of the joint exercise was born out of “the desire to exercise our troops in a tri-service setting.”
He noted that the preliminary stages had already tested the ability of the services to jointly mobilise troops to their various concentration areas located in Ibadan, Lagos, Benin and Okitipupa.
He stressed that the whole exercise was to “essentially serve as a platform for us to test our intelligence gathering abilities, check the interoperability of our communication facilities as well as testing our command and control capability. At the end of the whole exercise, the lessons learnt will be used in improving our operational procedures in current and future operations.”
He also said the exercise was meant to create a synergy by bringing out the best in the various areas of specialisation of the services. He stressed that carrying out realistic training was to reassure the President that he has a very capable Armed Forces that is ready to defend the country, in any kind of terrain, whether by land, sea or air.
According to the Director of Defence Information (DDI), Col. Chris Jemitola, the 2009 JOPEX was based on the scenario of a militant group in an oil producing area taking over an island and declaring their independence, over resource control agitation. The President and Commander-in-Chief of the supposed Namibia country then tasked the Chief of Defence Staff to flush out the militants from their positions and take back the island.
As the CDS was concluding his welcome address, the simulation of naval and combat aircraft bombardments boomed all around the beachfront, signalling the start of assault on enemy positions.
At its anchor on the Atlantic Ocean, the three naval mother warships – NNS Kyanwu, NNS Obula and NNS Nwamba, in addition to acting as amphibious troops, softened the beach front enemy positions. The Nigerian Navy gun boats then ferried own troops into the area. This is as about six squadrons of the Nigerian Air Force helicopters provided close air support, with simulations of aerial bombardments. A Brigade of the Nigerian Army provided the infantry troops who had stayed for three days aboard the three naval cat-class warships after the 15-hour journey from Lagos, for the beach landing exercise.
The booming sounds of explosions continued as President Yar’Adua and other top guests went into the JOPEX headquarters operational tent for operational briefing before coming out to take his seat with the other dignitaries, watching the full exercise with the aid of binoculars. Small arms fires were heard in the enemy positions as they tried to resist the advance and insertions of troops. Up in the air, the aircraft continued to give close air support operations.
The assault troops, brought in by naval assault ships, landed at the beach front, taking positions. This is as resistance continued from the enemy positions. Waves of amphibious forces continued to beach land, to support earlier troops. Two NAF MI-35 helicopter gunships landed by the enemy positions, inserting Special Forces troops. Following the successful insertions, the Special Forces joined the amphibious forces in routing the enemy troops from own positions, forcing them to withdraw. And with the island successfully captured and held by the Infantry troops, the administrative elements were given support as the amphibious gunships maintained patrol in the waters.
President Yar’Adua at the end of the opening ceremony pledged his administration’s readiness to prioritise the welfare and well-being of military officers and men, as well as effective support towards the ongoing efforts at modernising and repositioning the Armed Forces for enhanced performance. He said given the realities of modern warfare, the matter of effective coordination among the services cannot be over-emphasised.
The President, who commended the leadership of the Armed Forces for resuscitating the exercise which last took place in 2004, said “the potency of the synergy that emerges from this kind of cooperative exercise is unquantifiable. I therefore urge you to ensure that this joint exercise becomes a regular feature in the training cycle of the Armed Forces.”
According Yar’Adua, “the ever changing nature of the security challenges that confront us in today’s knowledge and technology-driven world requires that the military must not only be prepared at all times, but must also be abreast of technological advancements and the political variables across the world.”
The President stated that “Nigeria’s steadfast commitment to international obligations to the United Nations, the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States has placed burden and responsibility on the Armed Forces.”
The exercise was witnessed by Governor of Ondo State, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko; Minister of Interior, Maj-Gen Godwin Abbe (rtd); Minister of State for Defence, Mr. Ademola Seriki; Service Chiefs-Lt-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (Army); Vice Admiral Ishaya Ibrahim (Navy) and Air Marshal Oluseyin Petinrin (Air Force) and principal staff of Defence, Army, Navy and Air Force Headquarters.

Chief Consultant of the free medical services by Defence Headquarters

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FG, States, Councils Share $1.5bn Excess Crude Savings

From Juliana Taiwo in Abuja, 03.11.2009

As reported by THISDAY yesterday, the National Economic Council (NEC) has approved that N225 billion ($1.5 billion) be shared among the three tiers of government from the excess crude account.
This amount is part of the $15 billion accruable to the government from the excess crude money.
The money is a “stimulus” to cushion the effects of the slide recorded in the federal allocations in January and February.
Addressing State House correspondents after the over six hours meeting yesterday, the Minister of Finance, Mansur Muhtar, said the $1.5 billion would be disbursed in naira – as usual.
Muhtar said the meeting, presided over by Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan, decided that following the signing of the budget benchmarked at $45, the sharing of additional money from the January and February allocations to bridge the financial shortfalls to the three tiers of governments would be released alongside the $1.5 billion.
He said the approval became necessary following some complaints from state and local governments that they were unable to pay salaries as a result of the decline in revenue owing to the global fall in international oil price which is below the $45 benchmark for the 2009 budget.
The sharing formula agreed upon by the NEC, according to the minister, is 58.8 per cent to the Federal Government, 26.7 to the states and 20.6 to the local government areas. Thirteen per cent would be set aside for derivation.
Muhtar noted that the decision to share the money was informed by the present financial realities on the ground, adding that the money would be used as “bailout” to cushion the effects of the crisis for some affected states, especially in the areas of critical infrastructural development.
He said: “As you know, many states have been experiencing difficulties and at last month’s distribution, the amount that the states received monthly has fallen drastically and there are continuous challenges as oil prices remain at low levels and we have production short fall. Some states and local governments have been unable to pay salaries as a result of this shortfall and some teachers have been on strike. Because of the threat to security, there were considerations given to utilise part of the excess crude money to provide bridge financing. As you know, the account has been set up for that purpose.
“The states have talked about the efforts they are making to increase internally generated revenue, which include borrowing from capital markets as well as to look at medium and long-term plans for adjusting their spending to basically respond to dwindling revenues. It was conceded that short-term support is needed and in that case based on the MOU that has been agreed to earlier in relation to the sharing of excess crude account, which makes provision that in exceptional circumstances, the sharing formula agreed to could be modified, a decision was taken that with immediate effect, an amount of $1.5 billion would be shared amongst the tiers of government.
“In addition to that, the shortfall as you know the payment made in the last two months, there was no bridging of the funds but now that the budget has been signed, the $45 benchmark will be used now to make appropriate adjustments to the amounts that have been paid to states. This will mean that they will get additional money to bridge the shortfall of the amount they received in January and February.”
Muhtar also disclosed that a special committee on global economic recession was set up by NEC to regularly study the economic trends with the aim of keeping the government abreast of daily happenings.
The committee which is headed by the Kwara State governor, Dr. Bukola Saraki, has as members, the governors of Lagos, Babatunde Fashola, Gabriel Suswan of Benue, Ikedia Ohakim of Imo, Isa Yuguda of Bauchi, and Namadi Sambo of Kaduna.
Other members are the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, Minister of National Planning, Dr. Shamsuddeen Usman, and a representative from the office of the president.
The minister also re-affirmed government’s commitment of meeting the 6,000 megawatts of electricity by the end of 2009.  The confidence, he noted, is boosted by the various ongoing power projects in the country.
Muhtar said NEC was briefed of the situation at the congested ports and it noted some of the challenges that are being faced. It requested more concerted efforts to address this situation as it is impacting adversely on Nigeria’s economy. Some suggestions proferred include ports authority and Customs Service should be held to account on delivery of the 48-hour clearance and a report will be submit next meeting.

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Yar’Adua Signs Budget with Reservations

From Juliana Taiwo in Abuja, 03.11.2009

President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua yesterday signed the N3.101 trillion budget for 2009 but with a caveat that with the present global meltdown, the realities on ground make it an “unworkable document”.
Yar’Adua, at the formal signing which took place at 1.15pm in the presence of the leaders of the National Assembly and some key ministers and special advisers in his cabinet, expressed reservations regarding higher forecasts by the legislators given the current realities of declining international crude oil prices and production constraints.
He said the indices used to prepare the budget had changed drastically, hence they could not be used as factors with which the 2009 appropriation was predicated.
The President based his comments on four factors: one, the $45 per barrel crude oil benchmark as against the recent sustained fall in prices; the falling level of oil production as a result of militant activities; the stoppage of the $500 million bond which was approved for listing in the international capital market; and the dwindling exchange rate of the naira against the dollar.
He said: “In December 2008, I presented a Budget Proposal with an aggregate expenditure of N2.87 trillion with a deficit of N1.09 trillion or 3.95 per cent of GDP.  Based on the revised fiscal framework subsequently agreed with the National Assembly, we had a deficit of N654 billion or 2.36 per cent of GDP. After due consideration of the Budget Proposal, the National Assembly passed a N3.1018 trillion budget with a deficit of N836.6 billion or 3.02 per cent of GDP.
“As passed, the 2009 Budget projects higher oil revenues than in the original proposal.  However, I must express some reservation regarding these higher forecasts given the current realities of declining international oil prices and production constraints. Due to militant activities in the Niger Delta, our production has sometimes declined to as low as 1.6mbpd from a projection of 2.209mbpd.
“Should this low production turn out to be our average for the year, and the average price falls to $40/barrel from the original budget projection of $45/barrel, our fiscal deficit would increase to N1.35 trillion or 5.24 per cent of GDP, which is well above the three per cent allowable limit under the Fiscal Responsibility Act. Financing such a large fiscal deficit will have its own challenges.
“We are reviewing the timing of the $500 million naira-denominated international bond issue. Similarly, care needs to be taken with regards to public borrowing from the domestic markets to avoid the effect of crowding out credit to the private sector and stifling economic growth. These are issues that the Legislature and the Executive will closely monitor, going forward.”
Though President Yar’Adua praised the harmonious working relationship between the executive and the legislature, he said the performance of the 2009 budget is hinged on service delivery to the Nigerian people.
“The 2009 budget is devoted to sectors which we consider critical to the regeneration of the economy.  There is a decided bias for power supply, transportation and other critical infrastructure.  There is also increased funding for education, health, agriculture and other areas critical to the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals. The peace, security and sustained development of the Niger Delta are also a core priority in the 2009 budget,” he said.
Despite the global economic crisis, Yar’Adua said he was optimistic that Nigeria would emerge a better and greater country.
“For us, therefore, the present global economic crisis offers an opportunity to re-examine the structure of our economy and implement strategies that will reposition our nation for the global economic order that will emerge from the current experience.  With our collective aspiration to make Nigeria one of the world’s 20 leading economies by 2020, we see this global crisis as an obstacle we must overcome, and not a reason to abandon what we consider a worthwhile journey,” he said.
“As a government, we are committed to doing everything possible to minimise the impact of the current global crisis on the people of this country.  Whatever the sacrifices that have to be made, we will not allow the weakest among us to shoulder the burden,” he added.
Asked by State House correspondents to react to the observations of President Yar’Adua, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole, said though he agreed with most of the observations raised, they were more excited that the budget was passed within the first quarter.
“We are all excited that the budget has been signed in the first quarter of the year which means quarterly implementations can be easily monitored and supervised accordingly by the ministers and we are all here to work together with the other arms of government.
“I agree with him on the concerns raised. I have raised those concerns as well with some members of the National Assembly. We are just as concerned as he is on the fact that we have falling revenue, we will project accordingly to make sure that if we have to do some necessary supplementary budget and virement in future we are up to the task in the face of the realities of the world,” he said.
Asked why solutions to the issues were not sought before the budget was passed, he replied: “The budget is a continuous process, so solving is today, tomorrow as long as we solve it. The way out is to monitor the budget accordingly and solve the problems as they crop up.”
Asked what moral ground the National Assembly had in increasing its budgetary allocations unilaterally, he said: “I think you should take a second look at those figures. I am aware that the capital projects for the House of Representatives for example was reduced from N9 billion to N2 billion. So have a look at those figures again and then you can ask me those questions.”
Senate President David Mark said now was the time to properly monitor the implementation of the budget but warned that it would entail a lot of sacrifices on the part of all Nigerians.
“I think the President captured it very well. There are some parameters which we had before that are not really current now. But the end result is that we must all make sacrifices to make sure that the budget, as it is, is implemented to the best of our ability. There is of course no doubt that we need to make sacrifice even you the media men will have to make sacrifice.
“I think once we start the implementation we will see how far we can go in terms of how much of it we can implement. I mean going from 2.29 million barrels per day to 1.8 million barrel per day is a lot of difference, there is no doubt about that. And the fact that even that is being reduced to 1.6 million barrels per day because of the actions of the militants even makes it much more difficult. And the benchmark we had before was $45 for the budget and it’s been fluctuating between $40 and $41. That makes it even much more difficult. But the fact of the matter is that Nigerians are very determined to make the best of the situation,” he said.
On if those factors were not dealt with before the budget was passed, he replied: “Really who can see the future? If we all can, we will be more than happy. But because we didn’t foresee these and they have come now, who knows what the dollar is going to be against the naira tomorrow, do you know? Nobody! We can’t really predict that. There is no accurate or specific way of doing it.”
Commenting on how Nigeria was going to overcome the problems of fully implementing the budget and if there is going to be a review, he said: “Let’s start then. When we start, we will know exactly what to do next. But definitely I am sure that both the National Assembly and the executive are making plans to at least cushion the effect of our inability to implement some of it. I’ll say the review will be entirely dependent on what happens very soon.”

N3.101 trillion
Expenditure passed by the National Assembly for the 2009 budget, as against the N2.87 trillion proposed by the President.

N836.6 billion
Deficit in the approved budget, as against the N654 billion agreed with the executive based on the revised fiscal framework.

1.6 million
Barrels per day crude oil production has sometimes fallen to, as against the projected 2.09million in the initial proposal.

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FG: Why We Rejected Uwais Proposals on INEC

From Juliana Taiwo in Abuja, 03.12.2009

The Federal Government yesterday finally levelled up with Nigerians on why it rejected the recommendation of the Justice Muhammadu Uwais Electoral Reform Committee regarding the appointment of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commis-sion (INEC).
In its proposals, the Uwais panel had recommended, among other things, that the commission should have a board comprising a chairman and deputy chairman whose appointment will be advertised and coordinated by the National Judicial Council (NJC) who will then forward the nominees for the job to the Senate for ratification.
Many believe the recommendation is central to reforming the electoral process.
The White Paper committee on the Uwais report headed by Defence Minister Shettima Mustapha accepted the recommendation in its draft report.
But the review committee headed by Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation Michael Aondoakkaa recommended that the status quo be maintained-meaning the appointment of INEC chairman should be made by the President and ratified by the Senate.
Confirming THISDAY’s exclusive report that President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua has retained the power to appoint INEC chairman, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) yesterday announced that government had dumped the Uwais panel’s recommendation on the mode of appointment of the board of INEC.
Addressing State House correspondents after its six-hour meeting, Information and Communication Minister Dora Akunyili said in rejecting the recommendation, government was mindful of the doctrine of separation of powers, which will be violated if the judiciary is asked to step in to perform executive functions.
She also said since the head of NJC is appointed by the President, it made no sense for the body to be charged with the responsibility of nominating INEC’s board.
The government was expected to have unfolded its decision on the proposals last week but disagreements on the contentious issue of appointment of INEC board stalled the move.
Akunyili said government also did not accept the recommendation that election petitions be concluded within six months, four months at the tribunal and two months at the appellate court, to ensure that election winners assume office only when all the petitions against them have been disposed off.
“Council did not accept this recommendation because the current system in which judgments sometimes come after six months presents a better dispensation of justice to the aggrieved,” she said.
Akunyili who said the decision to adopt the white paper report came after debates had been concluded listed some of the highlights of the key areas adopted to include the composition of INEC, which is to comprise chairman, deputy chairman, six persons of unquestionable integrity, one of whom must come from each of the six-geopolitical zones and inclusion of other six nominees from Labour, Nigerian Bar Association, Media, National Youth Council, Nigeria Civil Society and women organizations, all of which are subject to Senate confirmation.
On the conduct of elections, according to Akunyili, the council adopted the open secret ballot system, which allows a voter to go into a polling booth to mark his ballot in secrecy and to drop it in the box in the open.
There will be accreditation of registered voters prior to the commencement of voting for the purpose of tracking how many people cast their ballots in a polling station and the display of voters register prior to elections to enable registered voters, political parties and the electorate generally to make claims and objections. Election results are also to be announced at all polling centres by presiding officers duly signed and copies given to accredited agents, the Police and State Security Service.
Others recommendations accepted are that state independent electoral commissions are to be abolished so that INEC can conduct all elections in the country including the local government poll while politicians convicted of violence and thuggery during elections in addition to any other punishment are to be banned from holding public office for 10 years.
INEC’s funding is to be a first line charge on the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the federation so as to guarantee financial and administrative independence.
Independent candidature was also adopted as recommended by the Uwais committee just as the unbundling of INEC with the creation of three bodies to handle some of the commission’s functions.
The bodies include the Political Parties Registration and Regulatory Commission to, among other things, register political parties, monitor their organization and operations and arrange for the annual auditing of accounts; Electoral Offences Commission to, among other things, deter the commission of electoral malpractices, investigate where they occur and prosecute alleged offender, and Centre for Democratic Studies to undertake broad civic and political education for legislators, political office holders, security agencies, political parties and the general public.
On the election tribunals, the council adopted the recommendation that the number of judges that sit at the tribunal should be reduced from five to three so that more tribunals can be established per state.
On the disqualification of candidates, council approved that candidates fielded for any election should be done on the basis of the provisions of the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act.
Council said for the purpose of transparency and accountability, political parties must publicly disclose to INEC all sources of funding including donations.
Also, only parties that score a minimum of 5 per cent of votes cast will be eligible to receive grants from the public.
Akunyili said FEC also decided to forward the conclusions to the Council of State for advice following which those decisions that require administrative action will be immediately implemented, while those that require amendment of the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act 2006 or the enactment of new legislation will be forwarded to the National Assembly for appropriate action.
Other decisions of council include the approval of the award of the contract for the construction of human resources and development board building at the University of Lagos, in favour of Messrs Bussdor and Company Limited in the sum of N191,548491.75 with a completion period of 40 weeks.
It also gave approval for the augmentation of the contract sum for the construction of a 225-bed general hospital in Karu in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja in favour of Messrs H & S International Ltd in the sum of N344,656,494.23 being the cost from the original contract sum of N1,605,083,379.75 to a revised contract sum of N1,949,739,837.98 with six months completion period.
Council said in line with the administration’s policy of encouraging good neigbourliness, development of transportation sector to facilitate trade, movement of goods and services, it had approved the accessing of the African Development Fund Concessional Credit/Loan of $155.22 million to finance Nigeria’s portion of the Transport Facilitation programme for the Bamenda-Mamfe-Abakaliki-Enugu Multinational Highway. The road links the North-west and South-west provinces of Cameroon with Cross River, Ebonyi and Enugu in South-eastern Nigeria.
Council also approved that the Minister of Finance should sign the Loan Agreement on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria.
Nigeria is expected to contribute counterpart funding of about $22.44 million payable in five equal annual installments of $4.49 million.

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Finally, FG Opts for Full Deregulation
•Sets up panel on time-frame •No systemic risk to banks, says Muhtar
From Juliana Taiwo in Abuja, 02.27.2009

Months of speculations about the direction of government in the management of the downstream sector of the economy ended yesterday.
The Federal Government endorsed the full deregulation of the downstream sector following the recommendations presented to President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua by the Presidential Steering Comm-ittee on the Global Economic Crisis.
Government said it had been subsidising inefficiencies, fraud, racketeering in the whole production chain, resulting in it’s spending nearly N640 billion in the last one year and an estimated amount of N1.63 trillion on subsidies.
The government also said it would re-examine the role of Petroleum Product Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) while admitting that there was a need for regulatory institution.
Addressing State House Correspondents after the meeting chaired by President Yar’Adua, Finance Minister Mansur Muhktar said the move had ended speculations on the direction of government in the management of the downstream sector.
He was accompanied at the briefing by Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Chukwuma Soludo, Bismark Rewane (representing the private sector), Petroleum Resources Minister Rilwan Lukman and the Director-General, Budget Office, Bright Okogwu.
The finance minister also said there was no systemic risk to banks and as such government was not thinking of any bailout for them.
Muhktar said a committee headed by Bauchi State Governor Isah Yuguda had been set up to design the action plan and time-frame for the commencement of the full deregulation process.
Other members of the committee are Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole, Attorney- General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Michael Aondoakaa, Minister of Petroleum Resources, Lukman, Minister of Labour, Adetokunbo Kayode, Muhktar, Minister of National Planning, Shamshudeen Usman, Soludo, Chief Economic Adviser to the President Tanimu Yakubu, and representatives of labour and private sector.
The committee has been given the leverage to incorporate other members from the society any time it deems fit.
Muhktar said the Federal Government could no longer continue with the regime of corruption and inefficiency in the sales, marketing and distribution of petroleum products in the country, stressing that “the huge fiscal burden on the government is unsustainable.”
He said President Yar’Adua had fully endorsed the comprehensive review of the price template, the strengthening of PPPRA, open general licensing, offshore refining, boosting strategic reserves, competition bill and the privatisation of the four refineries in the country.
In designing the direction for the full deregulation of the sector, the committee will meet and have dialogue with all the stakeholders including labour before the full implementation of the recommendations.
He said: “On petroleum sector, as you know, over the years, there have been discussions in relation to the supply, distribution and pricing of petroleum products. In this context, basically in the recent past, there has been concern about the huge amount of money being spent by government by subsidising inefficiencies in the fuel supply and distribution. The magnitude of this amount was very staggering. In the last year, we are talking about nearly N640 billion that has been spent on subsidies to petroleum products.
“Now to put this in context, this is about one and a half times actual capital spending of the Federal Government in the year. That is what the Federal Government gets and when you consider that, not all of these are being expended given that there was delay release, that it was still work in progress. Over the last three years, an estimated amount of N1.63 trillion has been spent in relation to this.
“Now, in the context where revenue position of government has deteriorated considerably, given the decline in oil prices, given the difficulties we are facing in meeting our quotas, given the huge infrastructure deficits that we face, clearly we felt we had to look at this very carefully.
“The huge fiscal burden we cannot continue to meet. We have found out that we are really subsidising inefficiencies, fraud, racketeering in the whole production chain and in that context basically given the competing needs for scare resources, government felt we needed to do something. We are also subsidising other countries.”
On PPPRA, the Minister said: “We want to start with a comprehensive review to the PPPRA template. We believe that there are so many inbuilt inefficiencies there. In the first instance, the current system is characterised by the absence of competition, there are questionable risk allocations practices in which government is made to bear the brunt of exchange rate risks or interests rates risk.
“So the first aspect is to review the template and make sure we are dealing with the correct figures because really I think the whole system has been compromised.
“Secondly, we need to move towards market determined pricing order that will ensure that all the inefficiencies characterised by the system are not passed onto the consumer.
“We need to really strengthen regulatory institutions. For the PPPRA, there is major regulatory deficiency here. There is a major institutional weakness here that needs to be addressed. We need to also re-examine the legislation around the functions and the role of the PPPRA, we are also thinking of reintroducing competition bill to address oligopolistic tendencies in the system not just in this system but in other spheres of economic activities. We must ensure we don’t have oligopolistic threats, we don’t have cartels emerging that will really reap off consumers; we must be really fair.”
On the banks, Muhtar said there was no apparent systemic risk to the banking system.
But he said the CBN would consider making it mandatory for banks to use the IFRS reporting standard as soon as possible.
“This will of course be done in consultation with the Nigerian Accounting Standard Board and certainly other stakeholders,” he said.
He also said the committee endorsed the earlier plan by the CBN and the Bankers Committee to adopt a common year end for banks in relation to financial reporting.
“Based on this, the economic management team had constituted a group comprising the CBN, Ministry of Finance, Debt Management Office, NDIC and the private sector representatives to look into this issue. And based on an assessment of current situation including the existing data in comparison with the information available to various parties, it was clear that there was no apparent systemic risk to the banking system.
“We appreciated though that there is continuous concern about the lingering situation and the rising lending rates in that context, government felt at the moment there is no case for intervention in terms of bailout of stock markets given the present situation. We felt that we cannot remain complacent in relation to the banking and financial sector. The first point is there is no risk that will merit government’s intervention in the stock market at the moment, nonetheless government stands ready and will continue to monitor the situation and will take measures as needed,” he said.
Lukman said government was no longer prepared to spend any money on the rehabilitation of the refineries, stressing that so much money had been spent in the past which he lamented was mismanaged by those entrusted with the responsibilities of managing the refineries.
“We are not ready to put any money into the refineries again. No more. Our refineries have not been well run in the past. They have been mismanaged and the problem was compounded by the regulatory agencies and that is why we want to address the issue. If we have the correct ambience, people will come to build new refineries,” he said.
The minister said if the four refineries were still working at full capacities, Nigeria would not still be able to meet her domestic consumption of petroleum products.

http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=135903

FG: Global Meltdown Threatens Vision 2020
From Juliana Taiwo in Abuja, 02.17.2009
The Federal Government has said the current global financial crisis has greatly affected econo-mies of most countries of the world and posed a threat to Nigeria over the attainment of the broad objectives of vision 2020.
According to President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua who spoke at the inauguration of the Business Support Group (BSG) for the Vision 2020, to move Nigeria’s economy to be among the top 20 economies in the world “requires a significant improvement on the current state, supported by a clear and realistic path to its realisation.”
President Yar’Adua was represented by the Vice-President and Chairman, National Plan-ning Commission, Goodluck Jonathan. The BSG is chaired by First Bank Chairman, Alhaji Umaru Matalab.
Despite the threat by the financial meltdown, President Yar’Adua said the government was not losing focus of raising its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from the current $294.8 billion to $900 billion (about 300 per cent growth rate) by 2020.
The country also hopes to move from its current 40th position in the world’s economy and third in Africa to be among the top 20 economies and the first in Africa by 2020.
To achieve this, the President said Nigeria must improve her education and health delivery systems in order to build an effective human capital to drive development. Again, technologically, the Nigerian system of production and innovation will have to change radically to stimulate growth in key sectors of the economy,” he added.
The President stressed that the BSG’s commitment as well as building synergy among the various sectors was crucial at this time of economic diversification and recovery.
“I remain very convinced that if the broad policy objectives and strategies for achieving our vision statement are properly articulated, and public opinion as well as support are effectively mobilised, it would definitely galvanise all segments of our society to greater efforts in our quest for economic growth and national development,” he said.
The BSG’s terms of reference includes among other things, working to become the platform through which the private sector is expected to contribute actively to the envisioning process for Nigeria’s future.
The group will be guided by three objectives: to mobilise the private sector, stakeholder involvement and input in the development of the vision document.
It is also expected to mobilise public opinion and support for the implementation process of Vision 2020 and assist in the mobilisation of necessary resources including funding for the process.
The President said there was no better time for envisioning a future for Nigeria than now, “more so, when events in the last few years have shown that the time is ripe to launch Nigeria into the global arena as a major player and the leader in Africa”.
He added: “Nigeria’s economic potential is well-recognised. The country’s considerable resource endowment and costal location should ensure strong growth. However, we have been talking about this potential since independence but have realised very little of it.
“We have had a history of economic stagnation, declining welfare and social and political instability. The time to take the bull by the horms is now. We must ensure that the nation’s talk about potential becomes a reality.
“Although we have made some progress in the key areas of the economy, there remain daunting challenges that we must address. Nigeria is at a critical juncture where policy choices over the next few years will determine the sustainability or otherwise of the progress achieved. We are also faced with the Herculean challenge of meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by the year 2015. Achieving these necessitate that we have a clear mental picture of where we are going and how we intend to get there. The Vision 20:2020 will outline broad policies and strategies to be pursued to accelerate economic growth and development of the nation.”
Following the Vision 2020 framework, the country hopes to be peaceful, harmonious and have a stable democracy by 2020; have a sound, stable and globally competitive economy with a GDP of not less than $900 billion and per capita income of $4000; adequate infrastructure services that support the full mobilisation of the economic sector and a health sector that supports and sustains a life expectancy of not less than 70 years while reducing to the barest minimum the burden of infectious diseases such as malaria, HIV/AIDS, etc.
President Yar’Adua said the government was able to arrive at the 300 per cent growth rate based on the key parameters for ranking global economies which include level of GDP, high and growing; investment level in key sectors, not less than 40-60 per cent of GDP; per capital income, not less than $10,000; unemployment level, less than 10 per cent and education, high and balanced.
Others were infrastructure development, high; technology intensity; energy consumption, high, and level of capacity utilization in manufacturing, not less than 75 per cent.
The President urged Nigerians not to be under any illusion that actualising our aspiration of joining the league of the 20 largest economies in the world would be easy.
He said: “As Dr. SP Gupta (India Vision 2020) aptly puts it: A vision statement is neither a prediction of what will actually happen nor simply a wish-list of desirable, but unattainable ends. Rather, it is a statement of what we believe is possible for our nation to achieve, provided we are able to fully mobilise all the available resources, human, organisational, technological and financial….”
In his welcome address, the Minister and Deputy Chairman, National Planning Commission, Dr. Shamsuddeen Usman, said the Vision 2020 was a collective dream to join the league of advanced nations in the next 11 years.
He said Nigeria must rise from its current third position with a gross domestic product of $294.8 billion to surpass Egypt ($432.9 billion) and South Africa $467.6 billion) among other world leading economies.
Usman said: “The pre-requisites cover political, economic, social, technological and other spheres. On the political sphere, Nigeria needs to maintain a stable polity for the next 12 years and beyond. Economically, Nigeria has to double the present growth averaging 6.5 per cent and sustain a consistent GDP growth rate of 12.5 per cent or higher, in the next 12 years, to surpass these countries (that is assuming they remain static).
“The current global financial crisis has of course greatly re-ordered the ranking of countries. This provides both an opportunity and a threat for Nigeria to attain the broad objective of Vision 2020.
“Socially, Nigeria must improve her education and health delivery systems, in order to build an effective human capital to drive development. Technologically, the Nigerian system of production and innovation will have to change radically to stimulate growth in key sectors of the economy, in order to raise the GDP from the current $294.8 billion to $900 billion.
“It implies that Nigeria must have adequate infrastructure that supports the full mobilisation of all economic sectors, as well as a modern and vibrant education system which provides opportunity and facility for every Nigerian to achieve his or her potential. Furthermore, it implies that Nigeria has to develop a modern, technologically enabled agricultural sector that guarantees national food security, a vibrant and globally competitive manufacturing sector and a health sector that supports and sustains a life expectancy rate of not less than 70 years.”
Members of the BSG include Mr. Femi Otedola, Dr. Mike Adenuga, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Mr. Jimoh Ibrahim, Mr. Tony Elumelu, Mr. Remi Olowude, Chief Molade Okoya-Thomas, Prof. Ode Ojowu, Mr. Oba Otudeko, Prof. Ndi Okereke-Onyiuke, Alhaji Abdulkadir Dantata, and Alhaji Abdulsamad Isyaku Rabiu.
Also in the team are Mr. Jim Ovia, Maj- Gen. Muhammadu Magoro (rtd), Gen. A.B. Mamman, Mr. Mohammed Hayatuddeen, Mallam Mohammed Dagash, Alhaji Mohammed Arzika, Mr. Kola Abiola, Mr. Jacobs Ajekigbe, Alhaji Ibrahim Coomassie, and Mr. Hakeem Belo-Osagie.
Others are Chief Emeka Offor, Mr. Felix Ohiwerei, Mr. Erastus Akingbola, Mr. Atedo Peterside, Mr. Basil Omiyi, Mr. Bernard Verr, Mr. Bashir Borodo, Mr. Ayodele Harry-Akande, Alhaji Azeez Alao-Arisekola, Mr. Emmanuel Ijewere, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, Mr. Aigboje Aig-imoukhuede and Mr. Adebayo Ligali.
From the media among others are Chairman, THISDAY Newspapers, Mr. Nduka Obaigbena, the Managing Director of THISDAY, Mr. Eniola Bello, Chairman, Punch Nigeria Limited, Chief Ajibola Ogunshola, Vanguard Publisher, Mr. Sam Amuka-Pemu, Chairman of DAAR Communications, Chief Raymond Dokpesi, Leader-ship Publisher, Sam Nda Isaiah, the Editor of The Nation, Mr. Gbenga Omotoso and Chairman, Editorial Board of The Guardian, Dr. Reuben Abati.

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Yar’Adua, Governors, Political Appointees to Take Salary Cut
From Juliana Taiwo in Abuja, 02.11.2009

In an unprecedented bid to curtail government spending amidst the global economic meltdown, Pre-sident Umaru Musa Yar’Adua yesterday announced a proposal to slash his salary, that of the Vice-President and the members of his cabinet.
Those expected to be affected include governors, as well as state and council political office holders.
The percentage of the proposed cuts were not immediately made public, but he said the current remunerations were “untenable and unjustifiable” in the present circumstances, thereby necessitating his forwarding a letter to the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) to consider taking necessary action on the matter.
Shortly after the announcement, governors rose from the meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC) to endorse the proposal.
Nigeria’s situation is worsened by the sharp drop in crude oil prices from nearly $150 per barrel in July last year to the current $41, given the country’s budget benchmark of a price of $45 per barrel.
Oil exports account for 95 per cent of Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings and over 80 per cent of Federal Govern-ment’s revenue.
Addressing State House Correspondents yesterday, the Special Adviser to the Presi-dent on Media and Publicity, Mr. Olusegun Adeniyi, said Yar’Adua made the call for sacrifice in a meeting with ministers, special advisers, senior special assistants and special assistants in his administration.
He also said the President had issued a fresh call on all public office holders serving in this administration to exhibit much greater “honesty, dedication and commitment to selfless national service in the discharge of their official responsibilities”.
President Yar’Adua, Adeniyi said, urged public office holders to be prepared to make “personal sacrifices for the greater good of the nation”, adding that in furtherance of efforts to come to terms with the realities of the ongoing global economic recession and ensure that national development is not too adversely affected by it, he had initiated action on the “drastic” downward review of the salaries and allowances of all political office holders in the country.
The President said that despite the fresh challenges to national development which it had thrown up, the current global economic crisis would also provide fresh opportunities which insightful and perceptive leaders at all levels could utilise to ensure that Nigeria’s 20-20-20 vision is not derailed.
Yar’Adua said he had confidence in the capacity of Nigerians to seize the moment by using current challenges to reposition the country for peace and prosperity.
Last April, the National Assembly approved a new salary structure following the passage of a bill on the Salaries and Allowances of certain political, public and judicial office holders Act 2002 and Other Matters Connected thereto, 2008, signed by the Harmonisation Commit-tee of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Under the new dispensation, the basic annual salary of the President was put at N3,514,705 as against the former N1.405 million.
This is besides allowances which bring the total remuneration of the President in a year to N10.899 million.
The salary for Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan was put at N3,031,572.50.
Last August, the RMAFC increased the basic salaries of legislators across the federation to align with those of the executive. The 100 per cent was backdated to 2007.
RMAFC said the increase was based on certain indices, including “external reserves, GDP, growth rate, rate of inflation and “the need for a living image”.
Meanwhile, the NEC Council has endorsed the salary cuts proposed by the President.
It has also shifted to March 10 the concluding discussion on the sharing formula amongst the three tiers of government of the $4 billion excess crude.
Briefing State House Corres-pondents at the end of the meeting chaired by Vice-President Jonathan, the Gover-nor of Gombe State, Danjuma Goje, in company with the Benue State Governor Gabriel Suswam, the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Chukwuma Soludo, and the Finance Minister, Mansur Muhtar, said the decision to endorse the planned salary cut was to help ameliorate the effects of the current economic crisis on the country.
“At the conclusion of the meeting of the National Economic Council, as a body empowered to advise on economic issues in the country, we reviewed the state of the economy in Nigeria and have reached certain conclusions.
“First, we will talk on an issue that is very current. You know the National Assembly is discussing the issue of minimum wage and today Mr. President has directed the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Allocation Commission to review downwards the salary of all political office holders, beginning from himself down to the lowest person who maybe the councillor.
“As part of our contribution in view of the economic meltdown, after deliberation at the Council, we have wholly endorsed the directive of Mr. President and are calling on the Commission to review downwards the salaries of all political office holders. And we hope this will go a long way in reducing public expenditure in view of the dwindling resources available to government,” Goje said.
Commenting on the excess crude, Suswam said $4 billion was declared by the Ministry of Finance as money available for sharing by the three tiers of government.
He, however, noted that the money was nominally distributed by the ministry and stated that the decision to or not to share the money would be taken by the council in its next meeting.
“Also discussed was the issue of excess crude which you know has been a contentious issue between the state and the Federal Governments. But because we have discussed other very important national issues, this issue was not concluded but the Minister of Finance gave us a nominal distribution of the excess crude as it stands against various states, and the total is about $4 billion and this will be discussed in the next meeting which is slated for March 10th.
“Now it is nominal distribution, each state now knows that the money is there but you cannot reach [touch it] but the issue now is whether the governors and the ministry of finance will agree that the money be distributed. The excess crude account was created by the National Assembly in 2004 and the essence was to enable us save some funds for the rainy day and that has subsisted up till now but that money in actual sense belongs to the three tiers of government. And because it is money that belongs to the three tiers of government, each tier needs to know its share, so that is the essence of the nominal distribution. Now having known what is accruable to each tier, it is for us to sit down and agree as to whether we can take the whole of the distribution or some will be left behind for another day,” he said.
Also commenting on the National Integrated Power Project (NIPP), to which a presidential committee comprising governors from the six geo-political zones are members, Suswam said the committee would make a comprehensive report to NEC before making its findings public.
“Myself, the governor of Gombe and the Minister of Finance who are members of the presidential steering committee on NIPP, have been directed by Council to make a comprehensive presentation to council on March 10th and until that is done I might not be in position to let you in on the major decisions in the last three meetings. I will be able to brief you after I would have made a comprehensive presentation to the economic council,” he said.
Muhtar expressed the council’s displeasure over the economic growth rate in 2008 and noted that the council had agreed to take drastic measures to ensure that the 2009 budget achieves significant results.
He disclosed that the issue of the sliding exchange rate of the naira against other foreign currencies, the crisis in the capital market, and the issue of the falling crude oil prices were also tabled at the meeting with a resolve by the NEC to take immediate actions that would help “mitigate” the problems.
“We had the chance to review the performance of the economy and the prospect of going forward. It was agreed that the macro economic performance in 2008 has been mixed with overall growth falling below expectations. There had been emerging challenges relating to inflation, exchange rate and interest rate management as well as the capital market sector and by extension the banking sector.
“The prospect of going forward given that the global environment does not appear to present a very bright picture, I will agree that we need to see how we can mitigate the likely risk that might arise especially from fallen oil revenues. But the other challenge that we have highlight is that the cost of doing business which is considered very high both because of the infrastructure constraints, power and transport as well as soft infrastructure such as port congestion. We agreed on some of the issues that need to be done particularly restoring the culture of proper planning, ensuring that we have effective coordination with the states both horizontally and vertically within government agencies and with the state, enhancing revenue mobilisation, effective budget execution.
“Looking at the cost of doing business, the port congestion thing attracted a lot of debate. There is growing concerns of what has been happening in the ports in the last couple of months, the acute port congestion which is impacting on our ability to trade effectively and also on revenue collection as well as the manufacturing sector has been a major source of concern.
“During the course of the meeting, I briefed the council on what the Federal Government joint inter-ministerial task force headed by minister of transport and with minister of finance as member have been working on. I have given the update, but the understanding is that we will brief the council at the next meeting about the progress that has been made and if need be any corrective measures. We are looking at the structural issues that need to be addressed both long-term and medium-term and short-term issues that need to be undertaken that need to address the problem that we are confronted with in relations with sports,” he said.
Also commenting, Soludo said though the council noted that non-oil sector, especially the agricultural sector, led the economy in 2008 with a 6.4 per cent growth, the body lamented that the sector barely enjoyed a three-per cent credit from the banking sector and disclosed that in the next one month, the government would put together a significant financial package that would benefit the sector.
“The review of the macro-economic developments showed particularly that the latest revised estimates by the National Bureau of Statistics are that the economic growth was about 6.4 per cent last year and this was led essentially by the non-oil sector, especially agriculture. And since agriculture is the dominant sector of the Nigerian economy today, it is the sector that holds the key for both employment, inflation, for inflation to come down you need agriculture to do very well and to increase productivity. It is the largest employer of labour and in terms of output it also contributes the highest to national economy.
“It has been so over several years and will probably hold the key for Nigeria to navigate through the current economic global and financial crisis. So consequently, council deliberated very seriously on the challenges facing the sector and especially given credit to that sector by the commercial banks seems to be the least, it contributes about 40 per cent to our GDP but the share of the aggregate credit is barely not more than three per cent. Consequently, we discussed the possibility that within the next one month, we will be working together in the Central Bank, the Ministry of Finance, Agriculture to put together a plan to be able to raise a significant dedicated fund that will go to agriculture. This is of essence so that farmers since we are almost in the farming season, will have this money available to them and encourage employment and lower inflation this year,” he said.

N29 million
Approximately the annual salaries and allowances of each minister

N28 million
Payments to each of the 109 senators in a year

N22 million
Payments to each member of the House of Representatives in a year

N1.4 billion
Estimated total payments to presidential aides in emoluments in a year
N593 billion
Total yearly payments to council chairmen/women and councillors in Nigeria’s 774 LGAs

N36 billion
Total salaries of House of Assembly members across the 36 states

N1.3 trillion
Estimated annual salaries, allowances and fringe benefits of Nigeria’s political office holders at all tiers of government.
Source: RMAFC

President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua

A solider for few seconds at Nyala, Darfur Sudan

http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=133096

Peacekeeping: Nigeria to Provide UN-standard APCs
01.15.2009
Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Paul Dike was in Sudan recently for a two-day visit to the Nigerian Contingent (NIGCOM) serving in the United Nations African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID). It was frank talk between the CDS and the troops. It was also an opportunity for him to see first hand, the troops on line of duty, writes Juliana Taiwo
Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Paul Dike’s two-day visit to Al Fasher, Nyala and Khartoum was for the purpose of a familiarisation tour to Nigerian troops serving there. He also used the opportunity to address the troops about their duties to the fatherland, in or outside Nigeria. The Defence Chief had reasons to be happy. First, the UNAMID operation is led by his predecessor in office-former Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Martins Luther Agwai.
Secondly, Nigeria is one of the highest Troop Contributing Countries (TCC) in UNAMID. By December last year, her troops contribution to the UN and African Union efforts would come to a toal of 3,200 peacekeeping elements. This consists of four battalions. In South Darfur sector alone, Nigerian has three battalions.
A battalion consists of 800 composite soldiers. Other elements of the Nigerian Army include a 23×43 Medical Level Two hospital with 1×29 Protection Platoon and about 58 Staff Officers/Military Observers (MILOBs) serving at various headquarters and locations in the mission. Nigeria also has about 180 UN Police (UNPOL) advisors. The strength of NIGCON is expected to increase when the Recce and Quick Re-enforcement company (coy) arrives in the mission area.
At the South Sector with headquarters in Nyala, Nigeria plays a dominant role. But it is co-hosted with other supporting elements – UNPOL, Chinese Engineering Company, Pakistani Level II hospital, Egyptian Troop Company, Bangladesh multi-role logistics unit, Bangladesh and Nepal Formed Police units.
Dike visited the UNAMID headquarters in Al Fasher where he inspected a guard of honour mounted by troops of the Gambian Army. Later, he was briefed by both Gen. Agwai and Hocine Medili, the Joint Special Representative Operations and Management. In Nyala, he was briefed on the state of the NIGCON by its Commander, Brig Gen. Fredrick Eze.
On kitting, the NIGCON Commander said that “troops in UNAMID have been issued with three variants of desert camouflage. While the use of the camouflage which reflects the operational environment is good, these camouflage are not suitable for use at home or even other operational environments.
This situation, he said is a drain on the lean resources in the Nigerian Armed Forces. Consequently, it is suggested that the traditional green/black/brown patternred camouflage be procured and used uniformly to all troops irrespective of their areas of operation. This camouflage can continue to be used anywhere and would be uniquely identified as Nigerian as it is the case with other national’s armed forces.
“The weather in Darfur was cold, heavy rain and sandstorm. Unfortunately, these battalions are not well kitted to meet varying weather conditions. As a consequence, there are increasing cases of sick reports amongst NIGCON troops. I request for the troops to be fully issued with jersey pullover, mosquito nets, hand gloves and blankets,” he said.
Dike was also told that NIGCON operates with limited Contingent Owned Equipment (COE), many of which are not in good shape. The contingent has in its holding in Darfur about 30 COE APCs, four Kamaz trucks and about 20 Hilux patrol vehicles. The equipment are meant to cover a rugged and vast area of responsibility (AOR).
Eze noted that “Nigerian battalions are limited in their operational capabilities. The battalions are also limited by their self-sustainment abilities. Presently, the units occupy ex-AMIS prepared accommodation and kitchen facilities. The provision of major equipment and self-sustainment in keeping with the Memorandum of Understanding with the UN will enable NIGCON to be self-sustained in categories such as generators above 20KVA, vehicles and communication equipment.” In addition, he said, NIGCON, with about four battalions and equipment holding, has no maintenance facilities for them.
Agwai and Medili had emphasised the importance of fully equipping the troops. The Force Commander lamented that Africans have not yet learnt the importance and use of UN peacekeeping to train and equip their own military. Said Agwai; “most of us in the developing world, especially Africans, have not really understood what peacekeeping is all about. A lot of us think that it is a charity organisation we are running. Some countries have this notion that their country is investing in the UN free of charge. I want to say that the Asians understand it better than us and are investing very highly in it.
“My suggestion to Nigeria and all Africans involved in peacekeeping is that we can kill three birds by taking part in peacekeeping. One, we can show the flag that when the role was call for Africans brothers in problem, we were there to support them and as brother keepers, that is international relations. Two, we can through peacekeeping get our troops properly trained and equipped in a real life situation which we can never have at home because all that you do at home is stimulation. So, every soldier deployed here knows that he could be the next casualty. And because of that, the real tactics of teaching and talking at home will be able to put in practice in the field here. So, it is a plus for any army to have what you can never have in your own country, the true practical applications of it.
“Most importantly, participation in UN peacekeeping is a money making venture. That is the part most of us in Africa do not realise. An APC used in the theatre fetches a country minimum of $6,000 a month if that APC is fully equipped to the UN standard. Let us do simple mathematics. If Nigeria has 10 APCs, and they stay here for one month, that is $60,000. Multiply by one year, you get a total of $720,000 on the 10 APCs alone. It is because we do not understand we think we are helping UN.
“All you need to do is invest. You have heard about the Canadian APCs. They are 30 years old. So, if you maintain APC, the average life span of any APC in this world is 25 years. If you push that APC into this theatre and you can maintain it, you get $6,00 every month. If a battalion is equipped to meet UN standard, each battalion will fetch you minimum of $1.2 million a month. But if you don’t invest, you cannot get anything. And that is the problem we are having in the third world, particularly in Nigeria . South Africans don’t have that problem. In some areas, South Africans have surplus of what it is supposed to be but we don’t want to invest and yet we want returns it is impossible.
“For example, by UN standard, if your vehicle has no trafficking light, that vehicle is off the road. How much does it cost to buy a trafficking bulb? If you don’t buy and the inspectors come and inspect the APC, what you get is zero. There is nothing like this vehicle has no trafficking light, let’s minus that from $6,000.
“The vehicle is either on or off road. I make bold to say that there are countries including yours ( Nigeria ) that have brought APCs into this mission without one spare tyre. Even your personal car, does it not have spare tyre, including the tools to change it with? But when we send in APCs and it goes on patrol, and the tyre gets punctured, it is off the road for that month and your $6,000 monthly allowance would be gone because of a tyre which might not cost up to $1,000. So, you invest to gain. There are countries that have brought in APCs and in five or 10 years, from the monthly allowances it pays off the initial capital used to buy those APCs. And they thus become money making venture thereafter, because it is now yours for ever. We have to invest.” Agwai asked Nigeria to put more of its troops into peacekeeping as the troops have practical experiences and not stimulated ones. He added, “for training, I’ll suggest if you can increase your troops, it is good because this is where they will get training. The nurses, doctors, because of injuries we have here, will train.
Infantry soldiers, the ratings every one will train. For the APCs, in its maintenance because the tactics where you really employ this equipment are on the ground. Asked by Air Chief Marshal Dike to predict how long Nigerian troops could still be in Darfur , Agwai replied, “When you see the thick cloud of rain, you know rain is going to fall, you don’t know for how long and how many inches it is going to fall. So, we are here as peacekeepers and we hope there will be peace to
keep. But honestly, we don’t know how long it will last. Let hazard a guess and say everything being equal it will take another five years.” Agwai lamented that “this is a peacekeeping mission without peace to keep. When UN sends troops on peacekeeping mission, there is already an agreement on ground between the stakeholders and the UN coming to keep the peace. But in the case of UNAMID and Darfur, there is no peace to keep because as you are aware, the peace process that took place in Abuja in 2006, four groups came to Abuja – the government, Minimanawi SLA (Sudanese Liberation Army).
SLA-Waheed and JEM (Justice for Equality Movement) did not sign that agreement. So, there is no way you can implement that agreement on ground. “The sad aspect is that from three groups we now have 30 groups on the ground. There are breakages groups, of structures on ground to deal with. It is so because there are efforts to get the peace group which we do not have. I foresee if the peace process starts next year, it will take minimum of six months to come to agreement, then it will take the peacekeepers time now to start the peacekeeping and agreeing that all crisis is going to be resolved, disbarment, demobilisation, integration amongst others. That is why I say four, five years”.
Addressing the troops, Dike promised that Nigeria was going to ensure that the APCs used in mission areas henceforth meet UN standards. Nigeria, he said, will rather send UN standard APCs or send nothing at all. On the issue of indiscipline, the Defence Chief said while Nigeria appreciates the contributions of the peacekeepers in the Darfur region, it will come to nothing if they lack discipline. He stated that “I have received so many complaints. I want to believe they are not true.
“So, while we are prepared to make life easier for you here, you equally have a role to play, by ensuring that you project yourself as a disciplined force. No matter how committed you are, no matter how intelligent we think we are, if the aspect of discipline is not properly tackled, then the overall objective as to why you are here will not be achieved.
“That is why I am putting it bluntly to you that you must change your attitude, right from the top to the lowest person here. No amount of sacrifice can be appreciated if discipline is low. In fact, if you are not disciplined, all your sacrifice comes to nothing. If any of you is found wanting and is brought back home, you know what it means.

United Nations African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) & Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Paul Dike

http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=132441

FG Ejects Gusau, Awolowo from Aso Rock

•Three ambassadors also affected
From Juliana Taiwo in Abuja, 01.07.2009

Former National Security Adviser, Alhaji Moha-mmed Aliyu Gusau, Transport Secretary in the Ministry of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, Mr. Segun Awolowo, and a former Nigeria’s Ambassador to Morocco, M. Abdul-Wahab, have been ejected from their houses within the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja.
Also ejected is a serving Under-Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Eineje Onobu, and former Ambassador Nkem Nwadibia Anyanwu.
Special Assistant to former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Domestic Affairs, Mr. Andy Uba, whose house is also located in the villa, was said to have vacated the place on his own after receiving the quit notice last year.
Some family members of the evictees seen guarding their loads after the ejection told journalists who visited the scene that they had been given quit notice since October 2008 but did not pack out as the money they paid for the houses had not been refunded.
Ambassador Abdul-Wahab told journalists that the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) Task Force stormed his house late Monday evening while the wedding Fatia of his daughter was going on to eject him but he pleaded with them to hold on until after the end of the wedding.
He said the men started throwing out his personal belongings while they were taking pictures with his guests outside.
According to him, he had paid for the house which was allocated to him by the former FCT administration.
He stated that the notice given to them had implied that the houses were too close to the Presidential Villa.
Meanwhile, a senior aide to the FCT Minister, Senator Adamu Aliero, told newsmen that those affected by the revocation order by President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua were refunded their money.
The minister’s aide noted that while some came forward to pick up their cheques, some stayed away until their cheques lapsed.
He also revealed that the FCT administration had also directed the Aso Savings and Loans Limited, FCT mortgage bank, to stop further deductions in respect of the affected houses.
“These people have been offered their cheques since last year but they refused to pick them up. And again, not all of them who claimed to have paid have done so. FCDA has done all within its power to ensure that those that paid part payment for the houses get their refund but they have refused to pick them up,” the aide said.

http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=132369

Yar’Adua Moves to Checkmate Gaddafi

…Summons ECOWAS Extra-ordinary meeting on Guinea
From Juliana Taiwo in Abuja, 01.06.2009

The coup in Guinea has pitched African leaders against each other as President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua is set to mobilise other West African leaders in a move to checkmate his colleagues from Libya and Senegal, Muammar Gaddafi and Abdoulaye Wade, who are believed to be supporting the new military regime.
THISDAY gathered that the extra-ordinary meeting of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) scheduled for Friday under the leadership of Yar’Adua is aimed at getting other leaders of the sub-region to oppose the subterranean support being given to the Guinean coup leaders by Gaddafi and Wade.
Yar’Adua is said to have insisted that the encouragement being given to the Guineaan coup leaders is against the African Union Constitutive Act and that African Leaders should not seek to extend their influence in the continent by promoting subversion of democracy.
Senegal’s President Abdou-laye Wade had in a comment broadcast on Radio France International December 28, 2008 said the Guinea junta deserved support.
“He is a young man who seemed sincere in what he said. My feeling is that this group of military men deserves support,” he had said.
It is believed that the ECOWAS meeting on Friday which is expected to be attended by Wade may suspend Guinea from the community and announce other sanctions against the military in the country.
The sanctions are expected to be geared towards forcing the coupists to quickly disengage from power and conduct elections for the purpose of handing over to a democratically elected government.
Nigeria’s foreign affairs minister, Chief Ojo Maduekwe, who yesterday gave an insight into Nigeria’s stance on the developments in Guinea while speaking to newsmen in Abuja, said any democratically elected government giving support to an illegal government is guilty by complicity.
Captain Moussa Camara had seized power in a bloodless coup in Guinea after the death of President Lansana Conte.
Asked about Nigeria’s position as Chair of ECOWAS on Senegal’s quick embrace of the military government in Guinea, the minister said it was unfortunate and must be condemned.
“It is unfortunate. It is to be condemned. I will not pre-empt what the summit will decide. I mean presidents have a way of talking to each other. But speaking purely as foreign minister of Nigeria, it will be a sad day for the democratic consolidation of Africa if governments that are party to the Constitutive Act and the Charter Declaration that governments in Africa that are not there by result of democratic process should not be recognised. So, if any member of AU, that is of course, a legitimate government, steps outside the ranks of other members to now fraternise with the military junta, I’m sure the collective wisdom of the leadership of AU will find a way of even sanctioning that government because, for us, the issue of undermining the democratic process is not just when a group of adventurers organised a coup and overthrow a democratically elected government.
“If a democratically elected government is giving succour, providing encouragement and giving a signal that that is acceptable, then such a government is guilty by complicity. I believe there must be capacity within the AU to also call that country to order. You know Africa has lost a lot as a result of this zig-zag and as a result of not working the full path,” he said.
Maduekwe said Nigeria will never have any relations with the military regime in Guinea and that there will be no room for double standards under the new AU commitment to democracy since Nigeria led the call for sanctions on Mauritania when the military struck in the country.
“We are monitoring the Guinea thing. As you know, we sent a delegation which included my colleague, Ambassador Hirse the Minister of State II and former president Ibrahim Babangida and we had conveyed our message clearly as federal government of Nigeria and as a current chair of ECOWAS that this coup is unacceptable. The junta should regrettably have to admit that somebody will have to conduct elections. So all they are suppose to do if there is no civil authority to conduct the elections, then these people who have moved in through a non-democratic process should just conduct elections and get out of town,”  he said.
Asked when ECOWAS will pronounce sanctions against Guinea, the foreign minister said: “If the announcement has not been made, it is going to be made when the President chair the ECOWAS Summit on Friday but already Nigeria has no business with that government in terms of formal recognition, in terms of formal relationship as a government, absolutely nothing. And we know that ECOWAS will officially go in the same direction. Look, we cannot have double standards on this issue, I called for sanctions on Mauritania at UN Council meeting and my other colleagues foreign ministers agreed to that and when we came to the last AU meeting.
“I just returned from that meeting two weeks ago in Addis Ababa where we went to discuss DRC that decision for sanctions on Mauritania was upheld. You can’t be calling for sanctions on Mauritania and then you are embracing a military government in Guinea. We fully recognise the fact that all the cases may not be the same. So, it is only for that reason as a matter of real politic for pragmatic reasons that you need one month, two, three months to conduct elections, go ahead and conduct but even the process of election does not mean we are going to engage them as government. They will remain suspended.”
The minister while commenting on the two-year time table for elections proposed by the junta, said: “No, absolutely not acceptable. We are looking at a time frame that is just enough to conduct elections and get out. If it requires two weeks, let them conduct the elections and get out.”
Meanwhile, Maduekwe has said while Nigeria congratulates Ghana on the successful  completion of its general elections, there was no lesson for Nigeria to learn from the democratic process in that country as there were enough lessons back home.
The Minister who said a strong delegation from Nigeria is expected to grace the inauguration of President-elect, Professor John Attah-Mills tomorrow January 7, added that some of the criticism against Nigeria can be used by outsiders to undermine the country.
“Let it be on record that while I congratulate the people of Ghana for the success of the elections, I take umbrage at our self deprecating tendency here in Nigeria where we always think we must learn lessons from everywhere else but not from Nigeria . We will learn lesson from Obama, we will learn lesson from Ghana and I think somebody else was talking about learning lesson from Kenya , the grass is greener everywhere else other than Nigeria.
“This is the home of the devil himself. Nothing is right about this country. Neither the politicians or even the media, the church leaders, nobody is doing it right here. We must keep learning from them everywhere. I am sick and tired of that. This is a beautiful country of wonderful people, of great possibilities and great traditions. All we have to do is for all of us to feel that we have a stake here and organise ourselves as stakeholders and hold the people we have elected accountable,” he said.
“This is what I told the stakeholders in my village when they were asking what the federal government has done for them, I said we are sending the money to you. Ask your local government chairmen and state government what they are doing with your money. You can’t just sit back and say Abuja will do everything.  For goodness sake, Nigeria is moving.
“We are work in progress. We are correcting our faults. We have one great virtue which sometimes can be a vice. We are very self-critical. Nobody can criticise Nigeria like Nigerians themselves. That is a good thing but when we over-do it, it becomes self destructive, and at the end of the day outsiders will use the very thing we are saying to undermine us. So, for goodness sake, we wish Ghana well. We congratulate them we need not draw any lessons from Ghana all the lessons we need are here in Nigeria and we are making use of those lessons,” Maduekwe said.