News
1,000 Detained Pilgrims: Nigeria Tackles Saudi …As 24 Hour Ultimatum Expires
President Goodluck Jonathan has approved the constitution of
a presidential delegation to interface with the Saudi authorities over the
detention of Nigerian female pilgrims at King Abdul-Azziz International
Airport, Jeddah
The approval is contained in a statement signed by Secretary
to the Government of the Federation, Senator
Anyim Pius Anyim,.
The statement listed members of the delegation to include
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, who would lead the
team, Minister of State 11, Foreign Affairs, Dr Nurudeen Mohammed.
Other members are Ambassador Shehu Galadanchi, Sheikh Sherif
Saleh and Muhammad Bello, Chairman of the National Hajj Commission.
The delegation will depart for Saudi Arabia as soon as
appointment is finalised with the appropriate authority.
It would be recalled that the House of Representatives, on
Wednesday, urged President Goodluck Jonathan to intervene in the plight of
stranded 1,000 Nigerian female pilgrims now in detention in Jeddah, Saudi
Arabia.
The Chairman, House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Rep.
Nnenna Elendu-Ukeje (PDP-Abia) made the call at a meeting with officials of the
Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs and National Hajj Commission of Nigeria
(NAHCON).
She said that a mechanism should be put in place to ensure
that those in detention were either allowed to move into Saudi Arabia to
perform the pilgrimage or brought back to stop their being subjected to further
hardship.
“Our preferred option will be to get them into the holy land
to perform the pilgrimage but if this does not work we have to bring our people
back.
“We are very concerned, we thought we have settled with
issues of deportation.
“This is the first time this is happening in this magnitude.
So, for us it is a very grave issue bearing in mind that over 95,000 Nigerians
are expected to be in Saudi Arabia for the pilgrimage.
In his submission, Mr Martin Uhumoibhi, the Permanent
Secretary, Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the Nigerian Consulate in
Jeddah was acting accordingly to ameliorate the condition of the detained
pilgrims.
He said the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs II, Dr
Nurudeen Mohammed, also met with the Saudi officials and got assurance that all
would be well.
The Chairman, NAHCON, Malam Mohammad Bello, said the commission thought the issue was
something that could be resolved within 24 hours.
It seems there is a disconnect between Nigeria and Saudi
officials. It is beyond the Hajj commission.
He said that the commission had airlifted 24,886 pilgrims to
Saudi Arabia before the problems started, and wondered why the Saudi government
has not replied to any of the letters the commission wrote to them.
The Federal Government had Wednesday in Abuja given the
Saudi Arabia government 24 hours to expedite action in resolving the issues
surrounding the detention of some Nigerian female pilgrims.
Vice President Namadi Sambo gave the ultimatum which expired
yesterday, when he summoned the Saudi Arabian Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Khaled
Abdrabuh, to his office.
Our correspondent reports that the Nigerian female pilgrims in Saudi Arabia
adjudged by the authority to be without male companion (Muharram) have been
detained in Jeddah and Madinah.
Sambo had expressed the country’s displeasure over the
treatment being meted out to Nigerian pilgrims performing this year’s
pilgrimage in the holy land.
He said reports available to him suggested that only
Nigerian pilgrims were being subjected to such dehumanising treatment.
Sambo, therefore, requested the Saudi Arabian authorities to
apply caution and flexibility to allow the pilgrims undertake their sacred
religious duties.
“Should the Saudi authorities not desire our pilgrims to
perform this year’s Hajj, they should let the country know.”
He said that no reasonable and responsible government would
sit and fold its arms while its citizens are manhandled.
The vice president, therefore, requested the Ambassador to
do all within his powers to ensure that the issues were resolved within 24
hours, and the outcome communicated to him.
In a mixed reactions from across the states trail the plight
of the Nigerian female Muslim pilgrims who were denied entry into Saudi Arabia
by its authorities because they were not accompanied by their male guardians.
The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) in Abuja confirmed
the repatriation of some female pilgrims to the country while flights were
suspended for 48 hours to resolve the matter with Saudi Authorities.
At least, 102 female intending pilgrims from Sokoto State
were brought back to the country in the early hours of Thursday from Saudi
Arabia.
Our correspondent
reports that the pilgrims were transported back to Sokoto aboard a Max
Air aircraft.
The Manager of the Sultan Abubakar III International
Airport, Sokoto, Alhaji Abubakar Lawal, told newsmen yesterday in Sokoto that
the deported pilgrims had since travelled to their respective local government
areas.
He said that the affected pilgrims were hale and hearty.
All efforts to get the Chairman of the State Pilgrims’
Welfare Agency, Alhaji Muntari Maigona or its Public Relations Officer, Faruk
Umar, proved abortive.
In Jalingo, Taraba State capital, no fewer than 62 female
pilgrims were brought back to Nigeria.
The Chairman of the Taraba Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board,
Alhaji Hamman-Adama Tukur, explained that the women were transported from the
King Abdulazeez International Airport, Jeddah, to Aminu Kano International
Airport, Kano.
He said that the women were actually accompanied but that
the checking system at the Jeddah Airport was such that men were checked,
cleared and asked to proceed.
“When it was the turn of the women to be checked and
cleared, the Security claimed they were not accompanied by their guardians
(Mahram) and were unwilling to listen to any explanation and went ahead to
detained them.”
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.