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Thursday, October 31, 2013

Fellow judges, NJC did evil to me –Salami

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Fellow judges, NJC did evil to me –Salami
Oct 31st 2013, 23:49

Retired President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Ayo Salami, on Thursday said fellow judges as well as the National Judicial Council betrayed him in the twilight of his career, especially after his suspension by the NJC.

Salami likened his travails to that of the Biblical Joseph, who was sold into slavery by members of his family.

He said, "The last three years of my career were dogged by travails which are not dissimilar to the fate of Joseph in the book of Genesis in the Bible.

"As his brothers conspired to destroy him by throwing him into a well and selling him into slavery, my learned brothers and friends in the legal profession planned and executed doing evil to me."

He spoke at a valedictory session organised to mark his retirement from the Court of Appeal.

The retired PCA was suspended after a clash with the then Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Aloysius Katsina-Alu.

He was still serving the suspension until he left the service, having reached the mandatory retirement age of 70 years.

Justice Salami informed the gathering, which included top serving and retired judicial officers that the NJC sold out to the Executive and failed in its duties and functions.

He said, "The National Judicial Council created by the Constitution to protect me, nay any judicial officer was on the vanguard of my travails. The NJC failed in its duties and thereby surrendered its functions to the Executive arm of government thus, ingratiate itself to the Executive.

"For instance, the NJC, having cleared me of any wrongdoing, following the recommendations of Justice Aloma Mukhtar's committee, ought to have recalled me to office without asking the President to exercise the power that he does not possess, on the flimsy excuse that it had earlier referred the matter to him.

"In truth, as a matter of courtesy, all it needed to do was to write the President that in view of its recent decision, this matter was now outside his purview.

"After so informing him, NJC would be free to take the necessary step to implement its decision."

Continuing, Justice Salami said, "The position in which NJC has found itself is similar to that of the proverbial cock that betrayed itself to the fox that what was on his head was not fire and encouraged the fox to touch it.

"The fox, having satisfied itself that truly it was not fire, has since been hunting cocks to make menu of them.

"Also, when the report of the committee the NJC set up to make recommendation on Umaru Abdullahi's report was submitted to it for ratification, neither the CJN nor the next most senior Justice of the Supreme Court was present at the meeting.

"Justice Moses A. Bello, who was neither the CJN nor the most senior Justice of the Supreme Court, took it upon himself to preside at the meeting contrary to the express provisions of sub-paragraph (a) and (b) of paragraph 20 of the Third Schedule of the Constitution.

"No other members of the NJC, including statutory members, could be chairman."

The retired judge noted that Justice Bello was an impostor for claiming to be the Acting Chairman of NJC in the two letters he (Justice Bello) wrote to him, dated August 9 and 18, 2011.

This, he said, was because Bello was "neither a Justice of the Supreme Court, next most senior Justice of the court nor the CJN."

He also accused the Council of treating matters of national importance with levity.

"This is the levity with which the NJC treats matters of national importance. Clearly, Justice Bello has not only behaved irresponsibly, but also recklessly," he said.

He pointed out that the NJC took the decision to suspend him when his application for an order restraining the Council from deliberating on his case was pending before the Federal High Court.

Arguing that the matter was sub judice, he said, "It is this illegal decision that the NJC had been relying upon to keep me out of office from August 18, 2011."

Salami noted that the Council treated him in a most cruel manner, employing all manner of tricks to sustain his suspension.

He said, "The NJC, a body set up to protect judicial officers, has dealt so cruelly with me."

But he insisted that he had no regrets for his actions.

"I have no regret whatsoever over all that I did, having acted according to the dictate of my conscience and in the fear of Almighty God.

"I swore to uphold the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and to do justice to all manner of people without fear or favour; God has helped me so to do."

Acting President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, praised Justice Salami for his achievements in office.

The President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Okey Wali, SAN, who was represented by Sunday Ameh, SAN, urged the Bar and Bench to reject attempts to compromise the independence of the Judiciary.

The Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Adoke, SAN, was absent at the event and was not represented.

Adoke had advised Jonathan not to approve the NJC's decision to reinstate Justice Salami on the grounds that the matter was sub judice.

The CJN, Justice Aloma Mukhtar; a former CJN, Justice Mohammed Uwais; Justice Mahmood Mohammed of the Supreme Court; and the President of the National Industrial Court, Justice Babatunde Adejumo, were among the dignitaries at the event.

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Murray targets Australia Open

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Murray targets Australia Open
Oct 31st 2013, 23:00

Andy Murray says he will only play in January's Australian Open if he is fit enough to win the tournament.

According to  BBC Sport, the  Wimbledon champion has begun rehabilitation work following an operation on his back last month.

Recovery from the surgery to address a disc problem has prevented Murray from appearing at the ATP World Tour Finals in London in November.

"You don't come back just to play a match," said Murray. "If I come back I want to be in the shape to win it."

The Scot has finished as runner-up three times in Melbourne, losing the 2013 final in four sets to Novak Djokovic.

"I'd be disappointed to miss the Australian Open because its a Grand Slam   it's a tournament all the players want to play in," added the 26-year-old.

"I can look at this in a lot of positive ways, if I do get myself ready for it I will have had a long lead up and training block to get myself in the best possible shape."

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Anambra: S’Court stops PDP candidate’s campaign

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Anambra: S'Court stops PDP candidate's campaign
Oct 31st 2013, 23:45

The Supreme Court on Thursday restrained the Peoples Democratic Party from starting Tony Nwoye's campaign for the Anambra State governorship election.

The apex court gave the order in a ruling after an extended hearing, which lasted beyond 6pm.

PDP was ordered to refrain from going ahead with the Nwoye's campaign pending the determination of an appeal filed by a rival gubernatorial candidate, Nicholas Ukachukwu.

Ukachukwu's appeal is to be heard on November 4.

As a result of the development, it is expected that the campaign would no longer start on Saturday (tomorrow).

Vice President Namadi Sambo is slated to lead the campaign.

Counsel for the respondents in the matter gave assurances that their clients would abide by the apex court ruling.

Ukachukwu's lawyer, Joseph Daudu, SAN, had expressed concern that PDP was planning to commence campaign and hand over the party's flag to Nwoye as its candidate.

Earlier, the apex court had dismissed an application by another claimant to the party's ticket, Ubah, to be joined in the appeal brought by Ukachukwu.

The panel of Justices of the Supreme Court held that since Ubah already had an appeal pending before the court, his application amounted to an abuse of court process.

It will be recalled that a Port Harcourt Federal High Court had initially declared Ukachukwu as the candidate of the PDP, after which the Court of Appeal overturned the decision, and instead upheld Nwoye as the party's authentic candidate.

As a result of the development, Ukachukwu headed for the Supreme Court to challenge the decision of the appellate court.

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Supply petroleum distribution details, Senate tells NNPC

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Supply petroleum distribution details, Senate tells NNPC
Oct 31st 2013, 23:15

The Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream) has issued a two-week ultimatum to the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation  to provide it with details of petroleum products distribution.

The committee also directed the NNPC Group Managing Director, Mr Andrew Yakubu, to supply it with details of excess crude swap and the number of aircraft in NNPC.

The Chairman of the Committee, Sen. Magnus Abe, issued the ultimatum on Thursday in Abuja following the failure of the Managing Director, Warri Refinery and Petrochemical Ltd, Mr Paul Obelle, to appear before it.

The News Agency of Nigeria reported that Obelle failed to honour an invitation to appear before the committee to explain the circumstances surrounding the fire that engulfed the petroleum plant on Oct. 22.

Obelle, however, forwarded a letter urging the committee to reschedule the meeting till another date, to enable him to make preparations for his daughter's wedding in Asaba.

"I would like to request your kind consideration to give us another date.

"This is to enable me attend my daughter's wedding taking place on Nov.1 to 2 at Agbor and Asaba," the letter said.

The National Assembly Liaison Office of NNPC also sent a letter asking for more time to enable it to collate additional information on petroleum products and crude swap arrangement demanded by the committee.

Abe decried the attitude of government officials who allegedly showed disdain to lawmakers by failing to honour invitations to provide details of the operations of public organisations.

He, however, noted that the information required was important, saying that the NNPC needed more time  to collate the documents for the convenience of the committee.

"There are also issues to do with the implementation of the NNPC budget. We have also written to them to furnish us with all the details of the budget implementation as the year progresses.

"I would like to seize this opportunity to ask them and very seriously, call on NNPC and indeed, call on all government agencies that cooperating with the legislature is important for the stability of our democracy.

"So, I will plead with NNPC, to very quickly, within the next one week, assemble all the documents that we have asked for.

"This is more so particularly documents relating to the distribution of petroleum products and the crude-swap arrangement.

"This is an area that is of great importance to the Nigerian public because we need to know exactly how this arrangement is being carried out.

"We also want to know who are people involved and what the benefits to the Nigerian people are.

 "So, we will give them time to collate their documents and also within two weeks, they should collate their documents within and outside Nigeria.

"That time is enough for them to collate their documents and after two weeks, we fix a new date for this meeting."

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‘Pupils must embrace reading culture’

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'Pupils must embrace reading culture'
Oct 31st 2013, 23:00

The wife of the Managing Director, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Mrs. Clementine Vervelde, has said that total development in Africa can only be achieved through education.

She said that this would be possible if the reading culture is revived and promoted among pupils, particularly those in the secondary school.

Vervelde made the statement on Tuesday during a career guidance session with the pupils of Eric Moore Senior Secondary School in Surulere, Lagos.

She said, "When I was coming to Nigeria, I planned to motivate secondary school pupils by providing them with information on career path and guiding them to choose correctly. We need to advise them on their career choice in order to secure their future. I believe the only way Africa can develop is through education. We must rekindle the reading habit in these pupils, making them to engage in research and find out things that can help them."

Vervelde donated some books and other reference materials to the school before fielding questions from the pupils on various issues regarding career choices.

She advised the youngsters to take their studies seriously, adding that it did not matter if they came from poor or rich backgrounds.

"Discuss your weaknesses and interests with your teachers. Take your assignments and tests very seriously and be diligent in reading your books," she told the pupils.

The principal of the school, Mrs. Modupe Ogunrinde, commended Vervelde and NB Plc for the gesture.

In a related development, NB Plc inaugurated a block of classrooms in the senior secondary school arm of Igbobi College, Yaba. The classrooms were recently renovated by the company as part of its corporate social responsibility efforts.

The Managing Director, Mr. Nicolas Vervelde, who was represented by the Human Resources Director, Mr. Victor Famuyibo, said the renovation project was executed under the platform of the NB/Felix Ohiwerei Education Trust Fund, in collaboration with the Igbobi College Old Boys Association Class of 1974-1976.

While noting that the NB Plc understood the positive impact of an enterprise on its local environment, he said it also champions causes that add value to the society based on the belief of its management that it should be an integral part of the community where it operates.

Apart from the inauguration of the classrooms and a library, the company also made a donation of books and some reference materials.

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India raises interest rates again

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India raises interest rates again
Oct 31st 2013, 23:00

India's new central bank governor has raised interest rates for the second consecutive month by a quarter of one per cent to 7.75 per cent to try to fight inflation.

The move applies to the benchmark repo rate – the rate at which the central bank lends to commercial banks.

The British Broadcasting Corporation reported that the cash reserve ratio – the percentage of banks' deposits they must keep in cash – has been kept unchanged.

India's inflation hit a seven-month-high annual rate of 6.46 per cent in September.

"The policy stance and measures … are intended to curb mounting inflationary pressures and manage inflation expectations in a situation of weak growth," bank chief Raghuram Rajan said in a statement.

"It is important to break the spiral of rising price pressures in order to curb the erosion of financial saving and strengthen the foundations of growth," he said.

India's main share index rose 0.20 per cent to 20,611.27 points after Mr Rajan's announcement.

Mr Rajan, who took over as the head of the central bank in September, surprised markets by raising interest rates in his first monetary policy meeting.

India's economy has been hurt by a range of factors in recent months.

A slowdown in key sectors such as mining and manufacturing has curbed its growth rate.

At the same time, foreign investors have pulled out money from the country because of the government's failure to enact key reforms, as well as improving economic conditions in the US.

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Support us to fight piracy, NN urges media

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Support us to fight piracy, NN urges media
Oct 31st 2013, 23:00

The Nigerian Navy has called on the media to join in the fight against terrorism, piracy and pipeline vandalism.

The navy also described the media as "force multipliers in modern warfare" and promised to continue to implement a press-friendly policy.

The Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Dele Ezeoba, said this at a naval information management workshop in Lagos on Thursday.

Ezeoba, who was represented by the Flag Officer Commanding, Western Naval Command, Rear Admiral Ibok Ibas, said effective media relation was top priority for the navy.

He said, "The support of the media is crucial to the Armed Forces in general, in the ongoing counter-terrorism operations, particularly in the North-Eastern part of the nation. Our recent efforts and the resultant gains in combating illegalities on our waters confer a duty on our friends in the media to generate the much-needed public awareness of what the service is doing in ensuring sanity in our maritime environment.

"The navy is committed to maintaining a cordial relationship with members of the press. The media are force multipliers in modern warfare, hence the Nigerian Navy will continue to operate a media-friendly policy."

Also, Dr. Josef Bel-Molokwu of the School of Media and Communication, Pan-African University, who delivered a paper titled, 'The potential of the social media as tools of information management by the Nigerian Navy', said the navy should embrace social media.

Bel-Molokwu said social media should be incorporated into the overall communication strategy since the Internet had become the major source of information for most people.

He said the navy could not overlook social media as it had come to stay permanently.

He said, "Social media has the potential to make the profession more global, strategic interactive, dialogical and socially responsible. However, many practitioners are using the new media the same way they use the old- as a means of dumping messages on the general population.

"Managing social media is critical. It should be incorporated into the overall communication strategy of the navy. You must also strategise to get all stakeholders on-board and must have policies and procedures.

"Best practices should be adopted and social media management tools should be used to improve on productivity."

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Osun to distribute opon imo to school teachers

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Osun to distribute opon imo to school teachers
Oct 31st 2013, 23:07

Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State has given assurance to school teachers in the state that his administration is ready to distribute an electronic device known as Opon Imo to them.

The governor said this on Thursday in Ede during an interactive forum between the governor and the people in the constituency.

He said the distribution of the device to pupils in public schools in the state had started impacting positively on their academic performance.

He appealed to parents and teachers in the state to assist in monitoring the use of the devices previously given to some pupils by the state government.

He said some people had been criticising the inclusion of Ifa knowledge in Opon Imo but advised parents to ask their children to read either the Holy Bible or Koran to them from the device, depending on their religious beliefs.

Aregbesola, who said his administration was determined to transform education in the state, added that the device would assist in boosting saving and learning among the pupils.

"The same appeal goes to all parents. Ask your children to read either the Bible or Koran to you on the device. The Bible and Koran are some of the subjects on the device. Ask them to read to you and monitor the way they use it."

The governor, who assured the people that the school reclassification policy of his administration was aimed at further transforming the education sector, said that no place would be without a school.

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Detained Sylva’s loyalist drags Dickson, police to court

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Detained Sylva's loyalist drags Dickson, police to court
Oct 31st 2013, 23:18

Mr. Tonye Okio, a loyalist of a former Governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Timipre Sylva, has initiated a legal action at the Yenagoa High Court, challenging his continued detention by the state's Commissioner of Police at the instance of Governor Seriake Dickson.

The court has fixed hearing for November 6 in the suit marked KHC/24/2013.

Okio was whisked away from Abuja to Yenagoa by the police last week and has since been detained at the State Criminal Investigation Department.

His arrest and detention followed a complaint lodged at the office of the State Commissioner of Police by Dickson that Okio had defamed him by posting a publication on Facebook that "a governor in the South-South region was arrested abroad for money laundering."

Poised to regain his freedom, Okio through  his lawyers, D.D. Fiderikumo and Co, had filed for the enforcement of his fundamental rights and therefore his subsequent release by the police.

Okio prayed the court to declare that his arrest and detention were contrary to Section 35 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

He asked the court to declare that his said arrest and detention on the basis of a publication on his Facebook account were "a brazen violation of his fundamental rights."

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Osun: APC blasts CAN, PDP over Islamic bond

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Osun: APC blasts CAN, PDP over Islamic bond
Oct 31st 2013, 23:20

The All Progressives Congress has berated the Christian Association of Nigeria and the Peoples Democratic Party in Osun State for their criticisms against Sukuk, the Islamic bond raised by the administration of Governor Rauf Aregbesola.

The Director  of Publicity, Research and Strategy of the APC in Osun State, Mr. Kunle Oyatomi, in a statement in Osogbo on Thursday said that Aregbesola had been vindicated with the £323m  Sukuk raised by Britain which is not an Islamic state.

He said that both CAN and the PDP were mischievous for arguing that Aregbesola wanted to Islamise Osun State when he raised the bond.

The APC spokesperson said that with the Sukuk bond, Britain had now become the first non-Muslim Western country to access the Sukuk, adding that it was planning to make the  country a leading Islamic finance hub in the Western hemisphere.

The statement read, "Mischievous Peoples Democratic Party politicians and their Christian Association of Nigeria  surrogates in Osun State should hear this: Great Britain has raised a £323m Sukuk – the Islamic bond, which Gov. Rauf Aregbesola also raised for the State of Osun, but which, according to PDP and CAN in the state, is the governor's tactics to allegedly Islamise Osun."

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YABATECH graduates 7,040

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YABATECH graduates 7,040
Oct 31st 2013, 23:26

No fewer than 197 students graduated with distinctions in the Ordinary and Higher National Diploma programmes at the 28th Convocation of the Yaba College of Technology, Lagos on Thursday.

The institution graduated 7, 040 students out of which 3,740 were of the 2010/2011 set, while 3,300 belonged to the 2011/2012 set.

Rector of the college, Dr. Margaret Kudirat Ladipo, who gave the figures at the convocation, said in the 2010/2011 session 24 students had distinctions; 409 students got upper credits, 815 had lower credits and 171 students graduated with ordinary pass at the HND level.

She said at the ND level, 61 got distinctions; 461 students got upper credit while 930 students graduated with lower credit.

Chairman, Famfa Oil, Mrs. Folorunso Alakija and a commissioner with the  Independent National Electoral Commission, Dr. Nuru Yakubu, were also conferred with the  college fellowship awards.

Ladipo explained that the college had recorded improvement in its academic programmes as it got the approval of the National Board for Technical Education to start seven new programmes.

She said Book Publishing and Mechanical Engineering Technology were introduced at the HND level; while Marketing, Agriculture and Bio-environmental Engineering Technology, Marine Engineering and Polymer Technology were introduced at the ND level.

Ladipo added that the governing council had also approved the introduction of Leisure and Tourism course at the institution's campus at Epe.

While commending the Federal Government and Tertiary Education Trust Fund for their support, she advised the graduating students to utilise their knowledge in ways that would benefit the nation.

"The college will continue to appreciate the Federal Government and Tertiary Education Trust Fund for their support through capital grants and intervention funds for infrastructure and academic development," she said.

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Jonathan, Amaechi, Dickson hold secret talks

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Jonathan, Amaechi, Dickson hold secret talks
Oct 31st 2013, 23:39

THERE were indications that President Goodluck Jonathan, the Rivers State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, and his Bayelsa State counterpart, Mr. Seriake  Dickson, on Thursday had a closed-door meeting in Rivers State.

The venue and agenda of the meeting were not clear as at the time of sending this report.

However, sources said the ongoing feud between the Peoples Democratic Party and the seven rebel governors loyal to the New PDP could be part of the discussion.

It was gathered that Amaechi and Dickson flew in the same chopper with Jonathan from the Port Harcourt International Airport to Okrika in Rivers State, where the remains of the President's wife's foster mother, late Mrs. Charity Oba, would be buried today (Friday).

A Government House source said Jonathan, Amaechi and Dickson might have met in the private residence of the President's wife, Patience.

The source explained that the President, Amaechi and the Bayelsa State governor could cash in on the opportunity provided by the burial of Jonathan's in-law to resolve their political differences.

Also, the Chief Press Secretary to the Rivers State Governor, Mr. David Iyofor, told The PUNCH that only Amaechi and Dickson, who were at the airport to receive the President, flew with him (Jonathan) in the chopper to Okrika.

Iyofor, however, said he could not ascertain if the President and the two governors had gone into a closed-door meeting when they got to Okrika.

"Governor Amaechi and the Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, received the President at the Port Harcourt International Airport and the two governors joined the President in a chopper to Okrika.

"I am aware that they (Jonathan, Amaechi and Dickson) flew to Okrika in a chopper, but what I cannot say for now is whether they went into a closed-door meeting," Iyofor said.

The PDP had been embroiled in a lingering crisis, which led to the emergence of the Alhaji Kawu Baraje-led New PDP.

However, ahead of the burial of the late Oba, security was beefed up around Okrika Local Government Area with soldiers, policemen and security operatives from other agencies stationed at different points to forestall any possible breakdown of law and order.

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N255m bulletproof car scandal: Oduah denies wrongdoing, blames NCAA DG, aides

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N255m bulletproof car scandal: Oduah denies wrongdoing, blames NCAA DG, aides
Oct 31st 2013, 23:48

The embattled Minister of Aviation, Ms Stella Oduah,   has been   accused by the  House of Representatives Committee on Aviation of approving  N564m for the purchase of 54 cars   beyond her power.

The committee alleged that Oduah, who  finally appeared before it  on Thursday after  failing to honour  earlier invitations,  did not follow the budget approved for the Aviation ministry and its agencies  by the National Assembly.

  The minister, who wore a striped blue ankara dress with a matching blue head scarf, walked into the hall at 11.42am looking somewhat disturbed.  She also wore white beaded jewellery to complement her embroidered blouse.

Oduah   first walked to take a seat facing the committee  members and made to sit but changed her mind.  She    went halfway between her seat and the high table, where she exchanged pleasantries with the Chairman of the committee, Mrs. Nkiruka Onyejeocha.

After that she walked out of the hall, spending about 10 minutes before returning   to   her seat to make a presentation.

A few seconds after, the committee chairman while giving her opening speech,  tried to douse the tense atmosphere at the venue of the hearing.

"We are not mourning here, there is no aeroplane crash; I want to see everyone smiling. Please  feel  free and relax," she counselled.

- Oduah on the hot seat

Thereafter, Oduah  was  called upon to testify on her role in the purchase of two bulletproof cars at a whopping N255m and other vehicles by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority.

She took an  oath,  promising to say  "nothing but the truth, the whole truth."

  The  minister,  who seemed to have regained confidence   looked   the committee members   in the face and then   apologised for  her  failure  to  honour  their earlier summons.

She  denied that the NCAA  bought  the two   bulletproof cars   for her use.

Her audacity took the lawmakers aback a bit, as she also rationalised the action of the NCAA, claiming that its decision to buy  the  54 cars did not breach any law of the land.

She stated that the NCAA  bought  the bulletproof cars  for its own operations in line with the rising profile of Nigeria as an ICAO member.

The minister, who sounded impatient as she gave her testimony, added that there was a required international standard for state-of-the cars to provide security for visitors and certain category of passengers   visiting  any  country.

According to her, she was alarmed by media reports tying the purchase of the cars to her personal comfort.

She said, "It is not true that NCAA spent N255m to purchase the bulletproof cars for the minister.

"It is totally untrue; there is nothing reflecting my name.  The cars were not registered in my name.

"All I did was approve based on the proposal sent to me on lease financing by the NCAA."

She defended the NCAA, saying that it bought the cars as part of its three-year budgetary plan to beef up its operational fleet.

But, there was a mild drama when the committee questioned her over the approval of  N564m  for the   54 cars above  the   N100m which ministers could approve.

Oduah said the expectation was that because the NCAA entered into a "lease financing" agreement with the First Bank of Nigerian  to span 36 months, the amount of money it would have paid to the bank by December was N100m.  According to her, the N100m is still within the spending limit.

The Head, Lagos Mainland branch  of First Bank, which handled the transaction, Mr. Seyi Ojefeso,  had on Tuesday told the committee that    the NCAA approached the bank for a loan to purchase vehicles for its management staff.

Ojefeso claimed that it was possible that the NCAA "got it mixed up" when it  described it as a lease agreement.

He explained that the NCAA applied for a loan package of N643m to finance the purchase of  54 vehicles.

For the bulletproof cars, he said there was a Coscharis pro forma invoice attached to the application in the value of N255m.

He added, "We offered an auto loan to the NCAA in May to purchase cars for its management staff.

"The application was for N643m; we financed the purchase of the cars based on the application they submitted to us."

But the  committee observed that the original request of the NCAA to the  minister   was N564m, but First Bank eventually approved a loan of N643m.

 When asked to explain how the difference came about, Ojefeso said only the NCAA could answer the question since N564m was not in the agency's communication with the bank.

When the committee members  accused her of giving anticipatory approval for expenditure beyond her power, Oduah  said  she expected the NCAA to go back and do "the needful" by complying with procurement regulations.

Leading the barrage of questions,   Mr. Jerry Manwe stated, "You did not follow the budget approved for you by the National Assembly because when you calculate the total expenditure, the  NCAA would have paid over N1bn for the 54 cars.

"The agency would have paid N160m which is above your approval limit  by December as part of the instalments and not N100m, which is  within your power.

"The committee refused to approve the N140m the NCAA proposed for bulletproof cars because we said you cannot use bulletproof cars to patrol  the perimeter fencing at the airports.

"Nowhere in the budget did we approve bulletproof cars, but you went ahead to spend money in anticipation of budgetary provision."

But, the minister countered that the interpretation of her approval was that the NCAA should do the appropriate thing by complying with the requirement of procurement laws.

  "My memo says, approved. Please, do the needful; what does that mean? What does that tell you?", Oduah asked Manwe.

She implied that her approval was not final, to the dismay of lawmakers.

There was more drama when the committee turned the heat on the bureaucracy of the Ministry of Aviation and the management of  the NCAA.

The  Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Mr. George Ossi, and a former Acting DG of the NCAA, who supervised the transaction, Mr. Joyce Nkem-Akonam, both admitted that the approval implied that they were to comply with due process regulations.

Nkem-Akonam stated, "What the approval means is that we go through due diligence in our system.

"We did that in our procurement department and complied with the law.

"From the point the minister's approval came, we went ahead with the mindset that we already had a budgetary approval by the National Assembly."

In the ensuing buck-passing and confusion, the committee read out the portion of the 2013 NCAA budget where the National Assembly "clearly approved only N240m for the purchase of 25 operational vehicles."

Manwe then  tried to blast the NCAA and the permanent secretary for allegedly "misleading the minister."

He noted that they ignored the budgetary approval of N240m for 25 cars and made their own proposal of 54 cars for N564m which  was  "far above the approval limit of N100m" without recourse to the Federal Executive Council.

Another member of the committee, Mr. Adeyinka Ajayi, sought to know the date the Board of the NCAA approved the transaction, but there was no answer.

Neither Nkem-Akonam nor Osi could give the date of the approval. They promised to consult and get the date.

Adeyinka again asked, "Where are the bulletproof cars now since the minister has said they were not bought for her?"

Nkem-Akonam replied that the vehicles were "pool cars" that could be used by any officer, including Oduah.

"They are pool cars for VIP movement, including the minister; including you, honourable member", he added.

- Minister apologises, says issues muddled up

Earlier, Oduah had apologised for her failure to appear before yesterday, blaming it on  her  trip abroad  to sign a Bilateral Air Services  Agreement   between Nigera and Israel .

She also admitted that attempts made by some officials to clarify the car scandal were "muddled up."

She spoke further, "You may recall that there have been attempts at clarifying issues pertaining to this particular procurement. In the process, some of the issues were further muddled up.

"I mention in this regard the first attempt at clarifying the issue by the Coordinating Spokesperson for the parastatals when he was first confronted with the allegation, without recourse to the Minister or the Principal Officer of the Ministry and its agencies, described the information as a mere rumour.

"This was followed by the statement of my Special Adviser, Media, who was himself guided by his own perception of the duties and challenges of my office and possibly, even the danger to the person and office of the minister.

"This is made evident by the fact that his statement focused on my personal security and safety without recourse to procurement process and policy file to which he had no access.

"Although both inaccurate and innocently misguided, I understand the urgency and aggression considering the sources the information was breaking from.

"The last official intervention in this matter came from the Director-General of NCAA, the agency charged with the oversight of the aviation sector and the agency that actually undertook the procurement.

"Whereas the DG was right in saying that the vehicles were not bought for my office, the anticipated positive effect of this correct piece of information was marred by remarks credited to the DG suggesting that the agency was more concerned about issues of administration and information security that had no bearing on this issue."

Meanwhile, Coscharis Motors insisted on Thursday that the cars it supplied were the same quoted on the transaction documents.

Lawmakers, who  inspected the bulletproof cars at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport on Tuesday, reported that they bore different chassis numbers from those quoted in the transaction documents.

- Coscharis says "transposition error" occurred

However, on Thursday, the Chairman of the company, Mr. Cosmos Maduka, and his team blamed the discrepancy on "transposition error."

"The cars you inspected are the correct cars. There are 12 cars on the end-user certificate and the DW68011 you are referring to is one of them", he said.

Amidst heated disagreement between the two sides, Coscharis offered to access the BMW factory online, using the chassis numbers to prove that they were the right cars.

But the committee members   overruled  him  and directed  Coscharis  to produce more documents to defend  his claim.

Having heard from all the parties to the controversy, the committee made what sounded like a preliminary report.

- We've established some facts – Committee

Onyejeocha, who closed the session, said, "Facts speak for themselves.

"We have listened to the NCAA, Coscharis, First Bank, Customs and the minister.

"It has been established that N240m was budgeted by the National Assembly for 25 cars; we have seen that N255m was used to buy bulletproof cars.

"We have seen another approval of N643m for the purchase of 54 cars.

"We will consider all our findings to see whether they are in line with extant laws and financial regulations and  then write our report.

"We assure Nigerians that we will report to them."

Oduah too spoke briefly with reporters on her way out. She  thanked  the House for giving a "platform for my own side to be heard on this issue."

She said she was happy that the "truth" came out that bulletproof cars were not bought for her.

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22 Lagos pupils faint after inhaling gas

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22 Lagos pupils faint after inhaling gas
Nov 1st 2013, 00:01

There was confusion at Ogba Junior Grammar School, Lagos, on Thursday after about 22 pupils fell unconscious.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the incident was caused by a gaseous substance emitting from a neighbouring laboratory, close to the school. The chemical was said to have engulfed the entire school.

When our correspondent visited the school premises, it was deserted. However, a security guard, who did not identify himself, said the incident occurred around 1pm.

He said, "I was just by the gate when I perceived this offensive smell. I quickly ran to a corner and covered my nose with my shirt.

"Pupils came running, saying some of their colleagues had fainted. When the smell subsided, teachers rallied around and rushed them to a hospital.

"I don't know the exact number of pupils affected but they were over 20. A few minutes later, emergency officials came around to attend to the victims."

Panic-stricken teachers reportedly fled in different directions, using clothes to cover their nostrils so as not to be affected by the foul smell.

Moments later, the teachers rushed four of the pupils to Blue Cross Hospital, Ijaiye Road, Ogba, Lagos, while the others were attended to by emergency officials.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the rescue officials went around the compound in a bid to identify where the smell emanated from.

Our correspondent learnt that the odour was traced to Ogba Shopping Arcade, Ijaiye Road, which shares a fence with the affected school.

Director, Lagos State Fire Service, Razaq Fadipe, said it was discovered that a photo laboratory located in the complex was emitting the substance.

He said, "On getting to the school, 22 students were unconscious. LASAMBUS was able to revive most of them and their parents took them home.

"Four were not alright and had been taken to Blue Cross Hospital. We were able to trace the odour to the complex which shares a fence with the school.

"We spotted the laboratory where the smell was coming from and the place has been cordoned off. Investigations are still on."

When asked why it was only those in the school that were affected by the chemical, Fadipe said it was probably because the lab faced the school directly.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the matter had been reported to the police while the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency had taken up the case.

An official of LASEPA, who wished to remain anonymous, said, "We will revisit the laboratory on Friday (today). If it is discovered that the laboratory was run illegally, then those running the place will be prosecuted.

"However, it is too soon to jump into conclusions; we will inform the public of our findings."

When our correspondent visited Blue Cross Hospital, a nurse on duty said the pupils had been revived and transferred to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital.

"Four children were brought here and we were able to stabilise them before transferring them to LASUTH. We don't know the nature of the chemical they inhaled," she said.

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