Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi is implementing a not so quiet revolution of populating the Super Eagles with local players, but former Captain Okocha said they still need time to gain consistency.

“I guess it is definitely the way forward, but I don’t think the home-based players are ready yet, so if I were in Keshi’s shoes, I would be trying to get them ready in the next 3 or 4 years,” Okocha, now a member of the NFF Technical committee, said during a programme on the GuinnessVIP mobi platform.

The former captain conceded that there were a few talented players who could make the squad, but plumped for the more exposed Europe-based players.

“Of course, if some of them are so talented that they are quick learners, then, I would include them in my squad, but the truth is that we still have so many professional players who are hungry and eager to play for their country, so it will be better to use them as they have that level of exposure.”

With Nigeria turning to focus on the home-grown lads after years of disappointment, Okocha agrees that the future is at home. “Definitely the future lies in those new players, but for the moment, they cannot be as consistent as where we want to be.”

Okocha also spoke about his relationship with former World Player of the Year Ronaldinho and how he mentored the former Brazil star.

“I had a great time at PSG and Ronaldinho was like my kid brother. I realised he was just so talented and he just needed someone to guide him. And I’m so glad he turned out to be one of the best players in the world.”

Okocha played for clubs like Fenerbahce, PSG and Bolton Wanderers, but picked out lowly Eintracht Frankfurt as his best club.

“Eintract Frankfurt was my best team, as for coach that was (Dragoslav) Stepanovic because he was the one who brought me from a third division club and gave me my first real opportunity.

“For me, for a coach to be able to scout a player from a lower league and make him a first division player shows he has some great qualities. He was definitely the best I’ve played under.”

The association’s Tournament Director, Odoh Martins, told newsmen yesterday in Abuja that 47 golfers including 15 professionals will take part in the tournament.

He said that while the professional golfers including eight Nigerians would take to the field from yesterday  to Friday, the amateurs would have their turn on Saturday and Sunday at the IBB International Golf Club, Abuja.

Martins said that the foreign golfers were expected from Ghana, Senegal, Gambia, South Africa, Sweden, Ireland, Cote d’Ivoire, Cameroon and Gabon.

“From Nigeria, we have eighty professionals participating and we are ever desirous to win any events that will involve our foreign counterpart.

“We can only continue to wish that the Nigerian golfers put themselves together and come out very strong in their own games,

“We cannot advice any player on what to do and what not to do because it is an individual game and not a team game”, the director said

Martins disclosed that the prize money for the tournament was 100,000 dollars.

According to him, whoever wins among the Nigerian professional golfers and tops the merit chat at the end of the year will represent Nigeria in any international competition.

The commissioner disclosed this yesterday during the formal handover of a new hostel block built by the Rivers State office of the Millennium Development Goals at the Rivers State School of Nursing, Rumueme, Port Harcourt.

The commissioner who was represented by the Director of Nursing Services in the ministry, Mrs Elizabeth Sika, commended the MDGs office for the project and said the quality of the project would enhance the granting of full accreditation by the Nurses and Midwifery Council of Nigeria.

In his remarks, the Special Adviser to the Rivers State Governor on MDGs, Desire Bob-Manuel said the hostel building was part of the 2009 interventionist programme of the MDGs.

Bob-Manuel further explained that the project which was initially estimated to cost N219million was reviewed upward to N270million through the Bureau of Public Procurement because of the difficult terrain and topography of the area.

He said the effort was to partner with the Ministry of Health to enhance the accreditation profile of the School of Basic Midwifery to carry out its mandate of producing qualified health personnel in the state.

Meanwhile, the Rivers State Government says it is working on a bill that would ensure the harmonisation of taxes payable by business outfits in the state.

Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Mr Chuma Chinye who dropped this hint during a visit to the Rivers State Newspaper Corporation, said  the new law would check the problem of touting in tax payment and collection system in the state.

Chinye also restated government’s resolve to enforce the laws on the registration of business places in the state.

According to him, the registration process which would be done online would provide government with the database of companies doing business in the state.

The commissioner further explained that as part of the efforts to ensure the  success of the process, his ministry had designed a demand notice in form of a scratch card in which numbers are generated online.

He listed some of the benefits that would be derived from the exercise to include providing platform for companies to advertise their services, while creating online database for the  state to advertise its services globally.

Mr Chinye who was accompanied on the visit by the Permanent Secretary and some directors of the ministry described the media as very critical to the overall success of the programme.

He noted that it was against this background that he decided to visit the corporation to seek for partnership to enable the ministry succeed.

The General Manager of the corporation, Mr Celestine Ogolo said that the visit was an indication that the ministry would succeed in its assignments, adding that The Tide newspaper which remains the voice of the Niger Delta was prepared to collaborate with the ministry and give it the  publicity it desired.

Taneh Beemene

The accused person is the Managing Director of BRC Sure Access Limited, located at 136 Tenant Road (3rd Floor), Aba, Abia State.

Iwunze, who pleaded not guilty to the two count charge was granted bail by the presiding Judge even when the prosecution counsel, Innocent Mbachie opposed the bail application on the grounds that the suspect could jump bail.

A statement made available to Nigeria Politics Online and signed by the EFCC Acting Head, Media & Publicity, Mr Wilson Uwujaren, said: “the Judge granted the suspect bail in the sum of N2million with one surety in like sum.

The surety, who must not be less than a grade level 17 officer in the civil service, will produce a certificate of occupancy of a landed property within Abia State.

Iwunze’s arraignment followed a petition by Mr. James Ogbuka, who alleged  that he was lured into fixing N2million in his financial establishment (Supra) with a promise of 15% interest (which amounted to N148,000 at the expiration of 180 days tenure.

Based on the agreement between the two, the petitioner on November 2, 2009, fixed the sum of N2 million in the name of his brother,  Ozuru Emmanuel Anyim.  But at the expiration of 180 days tenure, the accused person, Iwunze failed to live up to expectation.

The suspect neither paid the initial capital nor the interest accrued; rather he further deceived the petitioner to roll the N2 million for another 180 days.  And since the expiration of the second 180 days tenure, all efforts by the petitioner to get back his money proved abortive.

In the course of investigation, it was discovered that the nature of business operated by BRC Sure Access is at variance with the focus of the company registered with Corporate Affairs Commission which is to carry out the business of promoting and assisting in the incorporation of any company, rental and catering service.

It was discovered that BRC Sure Access Limited operated an illegal financial outfit. Also, the suspect used some of the investors’ funds to grant credit facilities to members of the public without their consent, resulting in payment default and indebtedness.

The case has been adjourned till July 12, 2012, for commencement of trial.

The Presidency also faulted the comments of Buhari on Boko Haram.

In a statement by presidential; spokesman, Dr. Reuben Abati, the Presidency said, “the attention of the Presidency has been drawn to unfortunate statements in the media made by former Head of State and presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Major Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) in which he allegedly predicted bloodshed in 2015 and labelled the Federal Government led by President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, as “the biggest Boko Haram”.

“But perhaps the most unfortunate part of the statement was the portion in which Buhari said that, ‘since the leaders now don’t listen to anybody but do whatever they wish, there is nothing the North can do.’

“We find it very sad that an elder statesman who once presided over the entirety of Nigeria can reduce himself to a regional leader who speaks for only a part of Nigeria. We now understand what his protégé and former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Malam Nasir El’Rufai, meant when he wrote in a public letter in October of 2010, telling Nigerians that Buhari remains “perpetually unelectable” and that Buhari’s “insensitivity to Nigeria’s diversity and his parochial focus are already well-known.” Who can know Buhari better than his own political associate?

“Come to think of it, as the CPC presidential candidate in the 2011 election, how many states in the Federation did he visit to campaign for votes? Buhari never bothered to campaign in the southern part of the country and consistently played up the North-South divide to the chagrin of patriotic and well-meaning Nigerians. As the results revealed, Nigerians will never vote for anyone who wants to divide the country. Is Buhari going to continue to be a sectional leader?

“The Federal Government led by President Jonathan is not Boko Haram. Boko Haram means Western Education is sin. That being the case, one wonders how a government that devoted the largest sectoral allocation in the 2012 budget to education could be said to be Boko Haram. Between 1983, when Buhari forcefully seized power from the democratically elected administration of President Shehu Usman Shagari, and 2012, no other administration has committed the same quantum of resources as the Jonathan administration to education in the part of Nigeria that has witnessed the most Boko Haram-related insecurity.

“Only on April 10, 2012, President Jonathan commissioned the first of 400 Federal Government Model Almajiri Schools, equipped with modern facilities such as a language laboratory, Qur’an recitation hall, classrooms and dormitories as well as a clinic, vocational workshop, dining hall and quarters for the Mallams. As Nigerians read this, more of such schools have been completed.

“We now challenge Major General Buhari (rtd) to tell Nigerians what he has done, whether in his capacity as the head of a military junta or in his private capacity, to bring education to vulnerable children. If he cannot live up to this challenge, perhaps he has to reassess who really is Boko Haram.

“Buhari claims that the Federal Government does not listen. Such an accusation ought not to emanate from a man overthrown by his own hand- picked colleagues in the military for refusing to listen to advice and behaving as if he had a monopoly of knowledge.

“It is on record that the Federal Government led by President Jonathan is a listening administration, hence, its decision to pursue all means of resolving the Boko Haram insurgency including through dialogue.

“When Buhari says that ‘if what happens in 2011 should again happen in 2015, by the grace of God, ‘the dog and the baboon would all be soaked in blood’, we hereby state that it is Buhari himself who does not listen. He has obviously refused to listen to the Nigerian people, the European Union, the Commonwealth Monitoring Group, the African Union and a multitude of independent electoral monitors who testified that the 2011 elections were free and fair and ‘the best elections since Nigeria returned to civil rule.’

“Indeed, such a reaction from Buhari is not totally unexpected since he has become a serial election loser who has never taken his past election defeats graciously even when such elections were generally acknowledged to be free and fair.

“Still on the issue of Boko Haram, we wonder what locus a man whose party’s Secretary General, Buba Galadima, told the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in December, 2010, that the Federal Government is underestimating the support base of Boko Haram, has to accuse a government that has been threatened on camera by the leaders of Boko Haram of itself being Boko Haram?

“Major General Buhari (rtd) also boasts of his knowledge of the Petroleum Industry because of his time as Federal Commissioner for Petroleum. We wonder why he did not boast of the infamous scandal that occurred in that ministry where under his watch billions of Naira (in the 1970s) were reported stolen, a matter which led to the setting up of the Justice Ayo Irikefe panel.

“Finally, we wish to make it known to Buhari that given his reference to ‘dogs and baboons’, perhaps his best course of action would be to travel to the zoo of his imagination because President Goodluck Jonathan was elected by human beings to preside over human beings and it is human beings who will determine what happens in Nigeria at any material time not ‘dogs and baboons’.”

Managing Director of the commission, Dr Christian Oboh,  disclosed this in Port Harcourt yesterday during a one-day stakeholders forum organised by the Presidential Monitoring Committee on NDDC.

Our correspondent recalls that Oboh had on April 24, said that from the more than 5,000 projects awarded since the inception of NDDC, only few had been completed.

He said that the move to audit ongoing projects was aimed at identifying the work status of such projects and hence, prioritise their completion based on available resources.

According to him, host communities must help NDDC in monitoring ongoing projects in their area.

The managing director also urged them to report cases of delays and poor execution of projects.

“It may be difficult for us to be at every site every day or week, so we expect communities to call us and especially when contractors are not performing,” he said.

The NDDC boss said the move would fast track development and ensure quality service delivery in the Niger Delta region.

Oboh said that a call centre would be set up soon to create avenues for faster means of communication between NDDC and communities hosting projects.

On project duplication, Oboh said the commission would benefit from the inauguration of the advisory board, which included governors as its members.

He said, “the commission will now interface directly with the state governments on projects consideration.

“Once our budget is ready, we will not take it to the Presidency until the governors have seen what we have done.”

The former President of the blue-collar National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Mr Peter Akpatason, gave the commendation in Abuja last Sunday.

Akpatason, who is now a member of the House of Representatives, was reacting to the recent suspension of a Swiss Oil Trading Company, NIMEX by the management of the PPPRA.

He said that Stanley had since he assumed office, shown the resolve and firmness necessary to realise the transformation agenda of the Federal Government in the downstream sector.

The unionist said that Stanley had demonstrated strong ability to carry oil and gas unions along in achieving the set goals of government in the oil industry.

Akpatason, who is the Sub-committee Chairman of the PPPRA in the house, recalled that Stanley had demonstrated similar ability during his stint as Managing Director of the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company (PPMC).

The former NUPENG chief said that Stanley had always had friendly disposition toward workers and unions, including NUPENG and PENGASSAN during his tenure as the chief executive officer of PPMC.

Akpatason affirmed that he ahs had close association with Stanley for many years, pointing out that “anyone who describes Mr Stanley as anti-labour is obviously misfiring and crying wolf when there is none.

“In my understanding of the attitude of Mr Stanley during my interactions with him, I can say it anywhere without mincing words that Stanley is a gentleman. He is not anti-union,” Akpatason said.

The lawmaker noted that it was dangerous for unscrupulous people and mischief makers to embark on campaign of calumny in a bid to distract the new PPPRA helmsman in his determination to achieve set goals of government.

Akpatason warned newsmen to be wary of entrenched fifth-columnists in the oil and gas industry, whom he said, had been fighting hard to thwart the resolve of government to bring decorum to the energy sector.

On May 6, the management of the PPPRA announced the suspension of a Swiss firm NIMEX, for failing to provide detailed documentation on its oil trading activities in Nigeria.

Announcing the suspension, Stanley said that the action was a clear warning to all marketers that a new regime of transparency and due process in the oil and gas industry had come to stay.

The downstream sector has been undergoing tremendous reforms in recent months, following the directive issued to ministries and agencies by President Goodluck Jonathan in pursuit of the transformation agenda of his administration.

Executive Director of the Fair, Peter Ofuka who stated this in an exclusive interview at the Isaac Boro Park Fair ground explained that this informed the decision of the organisers to extend the duration of the fair from two weeks to three, as requested by exhibitors and the public.

Ofuka also identified the timing of the fair as another factor, noting that patronage would have been impressive if the fair had been held during the Christmas season.

The Fair Director who commended exhibitors and participants at the fair for their patronage assured that his organisation will build on the experience garnered from the fair to make the 2013 edition a huge success.

Ofuka denied that there was disagreement between the Fair organisers and the Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce Industry, Mines and Agriculture (PHCCIMA) explaining that all the conditions stipulated by PHCCIMA for the holding of the Fair were met by the organisers.

However, PHCCIMA President, Vincent Furo had, a few days to the end of the fair, called for its termination by government and security agencies.

Addressing newsmen last Tuesday at the Hotel Presidential, venue of an economic empowerment programme jointly organised by PHCCIMA and Sam Ohuabunwa Foundation For Economic Empowerment, Furo, an engineer described the fair as substandard and a shame.

The three-week long fair featured trado-medical and herbal medicine practitioners predominantly.

Donald Mike-Jaja

Mr Fatai Idowu, an operator of a tricycle at Apapa road, made the plea in an interview with newsmen in Lagos.

Idowu said that reducing the cost of tricycle would go a long way in alleviating the hardship of the common man in the country.

He, however, said that government should ensure that tricycle was not only made available to the common man at cheaper rate but also make it convenient to pay.

Idowu said that often, most of the tricycles were given to their riders on hire purchase, adding that this made it extremely difficult to effect payment on time.

He said that the tricycle programme had reduced crime level among the youths in the country, adding that it had created other sources of income for the people.

According to him, government should reduce the cost of the tricycle from N350,000 to N100,000, since the programme is targeted at poverty eradication.

The operator said that most operators who were on hire purchase arrangement of N600,000 to N750,000 with some business enterprises, found it extremely difficult to pay back the money at the stipulated time.

“Government should assist us in bringing down the cost of the tricycle so that it can be affordable to the common man,” Idowu said.

Another operator, Mr Wasiu Sulaimon, said that the hire purchase arrangement had exposed them to various forms of risks in ensuring that they meet the agreed delivery amount suggested by owners of the tricycles.

He said most of them paid between N12,000 to N15,000 weekly to be able to make up the N600,000.

“Having successfully paid for eight months under the arrangement, I still have one year more to balance the cost of the tricycle.

“I believe that under the Federal Government arrangement on the tricycle which is meant to eradicate poverty at the grassroot, the cost should not go beyond N100,000,’’ he said.

The Task Force Chairman, superintendent (SP) Bayo Sulaimon, disclosed that the task force had issued a 48-hour ultimatum to the mechanics and petty traders to vacate the area, adding that on expiration, the mechanics pleaded for more time which was granted by the unit.

He further explained that the government could no longer give them more time as this may delay the ongoing project.

Sulaimon however said, the officials of the task force have issued another final warning to the mechanics, adding that the task force may swoop on the mechanics anytime from now unannounced and dislodge them.

It could be recalled that mechanics and motor oil sellers have converted the entire stretch between Orile and Ijora area of Lagos, where the project is ongoing to workshop and littered the environment with dangerous chemicals that can cause environment hazards.