News
Nigerians In S’Africa Task Jonathan
Nigerians living in South Africa have welcomed Wednesday’s dissolution of the Federal Executive Council by Acting President Goodluck Jonathan.
A cross-section told the Southern Africa correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the decision would allow for the injection of new blood into the government.
A South Africa-based law professor, Vincent Nmehielle, described the dissolution of the cabinet as “the best thing that can happen to the country”.
Nmehielle is the Head, Witts Programme in Law, Justice and Development, Africa School of Law, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.
He said the acting president should try to strike a balance between the young and the old, as age was not necessarily a prerequisite for good performance.
“We can see David Miliband, the UK Foreign Secretary, who is young and carrying out agenda of the UK government.
“We need people with the drive to give service,” he said, advising Jonathan to go a step further by appointing the right people.
Mr. Dennis Osagie, the President of the Durban chapter of Nigerians in Diaspora, said the poor handling of the controversy over President Umaru Yar’Adua’s absence by the dissolved cabinet gave no justification for their retention.
“During Yar’Adua’s absence, the cabinet compromised in handling the issue by not acting promptly and taking decisions they should take.
“There was no need for such delay tactics and leaving the country ungoverned for some time,” Osagie said, describing their sack as the right step.
He, however, urged Jonathan to show maturity in choosing his new team by allowing merit rather than mere personal allegiance to determine his choices.
“The new cabinet must be men and women of honour who have the will to do the right thing and move the country forward,” he said.
The President of the Nigerian Union, Mr. Jason Osuafor, said the sack news was “a delight” which was necessary for Jonathan to consolidate and have a firm hold on governance.
“Definitely there are certain people who should be returned based on their performance but others who are not loyal to the nation and are individualistic should be dropped permanently,” he said.
Osuafor said the new cabinet should be balanced and based on ability to perform and deliver.
In his contribution, Mr Olalekan Olaitan, a tutor at Khumbulani High School, East London, said the acting president should go for men and women of integrity in order to have meaningful progress in the country.
Describing the cabinet sack as a move in the right direction, he called for a new cabinet made up of people who loved the country above personal interests.
“He should go for men and women of integrity who have the love of the country at heart,” Olaitan said, explaining that the right choices were critical in advancing the nation.
The tutor said with the right team, it was possible to make progress in the country, especially with the “giant problems of power and Niger Delta crisis” which needed concerted effort to overcome.
“With the right team, Jonathan has a better chance to put his name in gold,” he said
Rivers State Head of Service, Dr (Mrs) Inyingi Brown, has called on rural communities in the State to embrace the Rural Access and Agricultural marketing project (RAAMP) with a view to improving their living conditions.
This follows the ongoing sensitization campaign by the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) visits to Degema, Abonnema, Afam headquarters of Degema, Akuku Toru and Oyigbo Etche and Omuma local government areas respectively.
Dr Brown who was represented by the Deputy Director, Special Duties in her office, Mrs Dein Akpanah, said RAAMP was initiated by the Federal Government and World Bank to economically empower rural dwellers.s
She said the World Bank understands the plights of rural farmers and traders in the State, and therefore came up with the programme to address them.
According to her, RAAMP will improve the conditions of farmers, traders and fishermen, and therefore, behoves on every rural communities in the State to embrace the programme.
The Head of Service also said the programme would support the youths to be gainfully employed while bridges and roads will be built to link farms and fishing settlements.
Also speaking, the State project coordinator, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the programme has the potential of creating millionaires among farmers and fishermen in the State.
Kpakol who was represented by Engr. Sam Tombari, said RAAMP would help farmers and fishermen to preserve their produce.
According to him, the project will build cold rooms and Silos for preservation of crops and fishes while access roads will also be created to link farmers and fishermen to the market.
He, however, warned them against any act that will lead to the suspension of the projects by the World Bank.
Kpakol particularly warned against acts such as kidnapping, marching ground, gender based violence and child labour, adding that such acts if they occur may lead to the cancellation of the project by the World Bank.
During the visit to Oyigbo local government area, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the team was there to let them know how they will benefit from the Raamp.
The coordinator who was personally at Oyigbo said the World Bank introduced the project to check food insecurity in the State.
He said already 19 states in Nigeria are already benefitting from the project and called on them to embrace the project.
Meanwhile, stakeholders in the three local government areas have commended the World Bank for including their areas in the project.
They, however, complained over the incessant attacks by pirates on their waterways.
At Degema, King Agolia of Ke kingdom said land was a major problem in the kingdom.
King Agolia represented by High Chief Alpheus Damiebi said many indigenes of the kingdom are willing to go into farming but are handicapped by lack of land.
Also at Degema, the representative of the Omu Onyam Ekeim of Usokun Degema kingdom, Osoabo Isaac, said Degema has embraced the programme but needed more information on the implementation of the programme.
Similarly, while High Chief Precious Abadi advised that the project should not be narrowed to only crop farming, a community women leader, Mrs Orikinge Eremabo Otto, called for the construction of cold rooms in all fishing settlements in the area.
At Abonnema, Mr Diamond Kio linked the problem of the area to incessant piracy along waterways.
He also expressed fears over the possibility of the project being hijacked by politicians.
Also at Abonnema, a stakeholder, Ikiriko Kelvin, called on the World Bank to design an agricultural project that will suit the riverine environment, while at Oyigbo, HRH Eze Boniface Akawo expressed satisfaction with the project.
John Bibor
The political mudslinging between the Senate leadership and Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan continued yesterday as the Senate named Senator Aniekan Bassey as the new Chairman of the Committee on Diaspora and Non-Governmental Organisations.
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announced the appointment during yesterday’s plenary, confirming Bassey’s replacement of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who is currently on suspension.
Akpoti-Uduaghan was reassigned to the Diaspora and NGOs Committee in February after she was removed as Chair of the Senate Committee on Local Content during a minor reshuffle.
Bassey is the senator representing Akwa Ibom North-East Senatorial District.
Although no reason was given for her removal yesterday, the change is believed to be connected to her unresolved suspension.
In May, Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court ordered her reinstatement and directed her to tender an apology to the Senate.
However, the Senate has insisted it has not received a certified true copy of the court judgment.
Akpoti-Uduaghan who represents Kogi Central, has yet to resume her legislative duties despite a recent court ruling that voided her suspension.
In a televised interview on Tuesday, Akpoti-Uduaghan said she was awaiting the Certified True Copy of the judgment before officially returning to plenary, citing legal advice and respect for institutional process.
Although the Federal High Court described her suspension as “excessive and unconstitutional”, a legal opinion dated July 5 and attributed to the Senate’s counsel, Paul Daudu (SAN), argued that the ruling lacked any binding directive to enforce her reinstatement.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, one of only three female senators in the current assembly, said the continued delay in allowing her return was not only a denial of her mandate but also a blow to democratic representation.
“By keeping me out of the chambers, the Senate is not just silencing Kogi Central, it’s denying Nigerian women and children representation. We are only three female senators now, down from eight,” she said.