Seven Vie to be Yero’s Deputy

Governor Ramalan Yero

The jockeying for who will be the deputy governor of Kaduna State in the aftermath of the change of guard in the state occasioned by the death of the former governor, Mr. Patrick Yakowa, has started.

Yakowa died on Saturday in a naval helicopter crash in Nembe creeks, Bayelsa State, along with former National Security Adviser (NSA), General Andrew Owoye Azazi (rtd), and four others.

NIGERIAN FACTORS checks revealed yesterday that no fewer than seven persons have started jostling to succeed Yakowa’s deputy, Alhaji Ramalan Yero, who was sworn in on Sunday as the 19th governor of the state since its creation in 1967.

It is expected that the new deputy governor will come from Southern Kaduna, where Yakowa hailed from, to achieve a balance in the delicate ethno-religious divide in the state.

It was also learnt that Yakowa’s death and the subsequent emergence of Yero as governor might have altered the widely held view that Kaduna Central would produce the next governor of the state after Yakowa.

Of the seven names being bandied as eyeing the deputy governor’s slot, four are from the old brigade, while three belong to new generation politicians in the state.

The old breed politicians being propped up for the job include the chairman of the state chapter of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ambassador Nuhu Bajoga.  Bajoga is in his late 50s and was the nation’s ambassador to Poland.

Also in this category is the former Minister of State for Power, Mr. Nuhu Wye. Wye was a schoolmate of Vice-President Namadi Sambo, both in the secondary as well as in their days at the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, where they both studied architecture. Sambo was also believed to have been instrumental to his appointment as minister.

The third and fourth persons on the list are former Minister of State for Aviation, Mr. Hassan Hyat, and a former Deputy Governor of the state, Mr. Bawa Magaji.

Leading the younger generation of politicians interested in the office of deputy governor is a former member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Jonathan Asake. Asake was Special Assistant to former President Olusegun Obasanjo on National Assembly Matters. He had also served in different capacities, both in the state and at the national level.

There is Mr. Edward Marshall, a former Commissioner for Water Resources in the state during the military era. Marshall had also served as Special Assistant to former Minister of Finance, Mrs. Nenadi Usman, during the Obasanjo administration.

The other name in this group is Reverend Joseph Hayab, a Special Adviser on Christian Matters to the late Yakowa. Hayab was the secretary of the state chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).

Another name being touted is the wife of the late governor, Amina Yakowa, who has the support of many sympathisers. A graduate of ABU, she rose to the position of deputy director in the Ministry of Defence before taking a leave of absence when her husband became governor.

Sources told NIGERIAN FACTORS that the choice on who might fill the slot might not come easy, as whoever is chosen must be someone who will be able to close the ethno-religious fault line that has divided the state.

Some of the sources said people from Southern Kaduna are not happy that Yakowa’s death has cut short the chances of that part of the state to serve its constitutional eight years of two terms in office.

The sources, however, believe that Southern Kaduna people would prefer a relatively younger and politically savvy person to serve as the deputy governor.

A source who spoke to NIGERIAN FACTORS justified this position when he said: “If you recall, the late Stephen Shekari who was deputy to former Governor Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi, was far older than Makarfi; Yakowa, who was deputy to both Makarfi and former Governor Namadi Sambo, was by far older than both of them.

“This time around, we need a young, agile and experienced person for this position. Our senior politicians should allow the youths a chance. Besides, the new governor is a young man and it is only good to get somebody within his age group as his deputy.”

But there are other issues that would come into play as the new government settles down. This includes the quest for political supremacy between Makarfi’s followers in the PDP and those of the vice-president.

Before his death, the late Yakowa played a major role and served as an intermediary between both power blocs in the state.
He was the unifying factor between the two camps as he worked relentlessly to ensure that all interests were accommodated, given the fact that he had served both Makarfi and Sambo as deputy governor and boasted vast experience in governance and politics.
NIGERIAN FACTORS also gathered that determining who wins the ticket to be Yero’s deputy would primarily fall on political and traditional rulers in Southern Kaduna.

However, Sambo is expected to have some say in the decision given the fact that he is the godfather of the incumbent governor.
Leaders of the late Yakowa’s zone, NIGERIAN FACTORS learnt, met on Tuesday night to decide on who gets the post.

The leaders met under the aegis of the Southern Kaduna Elders Forum at the residence of former military governor of Rivers state, Gen. Zamani Lekwot (rtd), to shop for a credible person for the deputy governorship post.

Also, the Coalition of Southern Kaduna Youths has been meeting over the issue with a view to ensuring that the slot goes to a younger candidate.

Banks in Lagos, Abuja stop N100 ATM charge

Banks in Lagos and Abuja have cancelled the N100 charge on customers’ use of Automated Teller Machine (ATM) withdrawals from other banks as directed by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Our reporter visited some ATM locations to ascertain if the central bank’s directive is being obeyed and discovered that banks had since Monday complied with the new policy.

This followed the Bankers Committee’s directive that banks should stop charging N100 with effect from December 17.

Some customers in separate interviews with NAN said that they were happy with the development and expressed the hope that more positive developments would be made in the sector in 2013.

Mr Kunle Adewale, an Information Technology expert and a customer with GTB, said that the development showed that customers would no longer suffer unwarranted banks’ charges.

He said that the development had showed that banks customers would get the best service delivery without the regulators forcing the banks to charge customers unnecessarily.

Mr Afolaju Waheed, a customer with Access Bank, said that stoppage of the charges would not reduce the level of profit made by banks.

“But it will rather reduce the long queues in the banking halls,” Waheed said. According to him, the cancellation of N100 charge will help the banks to enjoy more patronage of their ATM facilities.

“This in return will boost the clamour for financial inclusion among the people in the informal sector,’’ he said.

Another customer with First Bank Plc, Marina, Miss Esther Oluwayinka, said that she was surprised when the ATM machine did not alert her that she would be charged N100 after she used that of another bank.

Oluwayinka said that initially she felt that it was a teller machine error when the ATM did not deduct the N100 charge from her account for using another bank.

“When the ATM did not ask me if I was aware that my account will be deducted by N100, I was not bothered, but I thought it was a machine error.

“Later, after my transaction, I discovered that I was not also charged for the withdrawal made.

“It was at this juncture that I told a friend my experience at ATM dispenser and she also confirmed that she had similar experience. The cancellation is a welcome development,” she said.

Another customer of UBA at Iganmu branch, who pleaded anonymity, said that he believed the banks would still come up with another way of taking their charges from the customers.

“In the banking sector in Nigeria nothing goes free. At the end of the month the banks will surprise the customers with another funny charge,” the customer said.

NAN recalls that the banks had on Dec. 9 agreed to start effective implementation of zero ATM charges throughout the country.

The agreement was sealed at the fourth annual Bankers’ Committee’s retreat held in Calabar.

NAN reports that Malam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, CBN governor and Chairman, Bankers’ Committee, had said that CBN would monitor the effective implementation of the cancellation. (NAN)

Food prices soar ahead of Christmas, New Year celebrations

As Christmas and New Year celebrations come nearer, prices of various food items such as grains, beverages, perishables and wines have gone up.

A market survey conducted by NIGERIAN FACTORS revealed that a bag of rice is now sold for N10, 000 compared to the previous amount of N8,000, while beans maintains its cost of about N11,000 to N13000 since its initial rise before the month of the Muslims fasting in August.

It was also learnt that tomatoes which had risen in prices since June this year, hasn’t reduced as a basket still goes for N7,000 compared to N20,00 it was sold for at the beginning of 2012 to mid year.

Speaking about the situation, the Iyaloja of Owutu market in Lagos, Mrs. Riskat Gbadeyanka attributed rising cost of food items to various factors apart from the Yuletide season.

According to her, the usual end of the year rush and Christmas celebrations might not be ruled out but the situation is worsened by high cost of transportation to move the items from one part of the country to another.

She explained that for instance, traders who usually bring perishables from the North are facing challenges to access some of the northern states where they usually buy tomatoes, onions and other items due to the security trend. Gbadeyanka stated that due to the above reason, some traders have stopped going up North now to bring those items.

She said that based on that the demand is higher than supply which makes the available items to be sold at higher cost.

 

Nigerians spend N1bn on rice importation daily

The Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Segun Adesina, has revealed that Nigerians spend N1 billion daily on rice importation. The minister who was represented by the Director of Green House, Alhaji Usman Dunama, stated this at the flag off ceremony of the 2012-2013 paddy rice production at Auyo Local Government of Jigawa  State.

He said Jigawa was allocated 48,000 hectares to produce the nation’s rice requirement out of the entire 222,000 which represents a quarter of the entire hectares allocated nationwide for the Growth Enhancement Support(GES) of the federal government.

He added that the GES programme is an effort of the federal government to empower farmers on the massive and local production of rice which, he said, the country expends N1 billion daily to import. The state Commissioner of Agriculture, Alhaji Rabiu Isa, who performed the flag off  said that about 10,075 farmers in the state will participate in the 2012-2013 paddy rice production, adding that the farmers were given two bags of fertilizer each at 50 percent subsidy.

Isa said the state government has approved the release of N112 million for the construction of 2,000 tube wells, water pumps and fertilizer at about 60 percent subsidy across the state.

Lagos-Kano train service begins Friday

The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) would begin the Lagos-Kano passenger train services on Friday, the Assistant Director, Public Relations of the corporation, Mr. David Ndakotsu, said yesterday in a statement.

“The Nigerian Railway Corporation plans to give Nigerians a befitting Christmas gift in the form of commencement of the Iddo (Lagos)-Kano train service,” Ndakotsu said.

The service was suspended four years ago due to the flooding of the track at Akerri, Niger State which resulted in the washing out of the tracks.

NAN also reports that the service was suspended due to the nationwide track rehabilitation.

The statement stated that the completion of the rehabilitation of the route was done in phases, including Iddo-Jebba 488-km, which was handled by the China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC). The statement added that the Jebba-Kano route - 640km - was handled by Costain West Africa (Ltd).

“The corporation assures the public of a hitch-free train service from Lagos to Kano, while for now the service will be on Fridays only,” Ndakotsu said.

NAN reports that the trip would cost N2,000 in the economy class, while passengers in first class would pay N6,000. (NAN)

‘Nigeria can generate 600,000MW of electricity through solar’

If one percent of Nigeria’s land mass can be devoted to solar panel, the country will be able to generate 600,000 megawatts of electricity, the project manager of the Bank of Industry and United Nations Development Programme’s Access to Renewable Energy Project, Mr. Segun Adaju, has said.

Mr. Adaju, who said this at the Second Renewable Energy Investment Forum in Abuja, yesterday, said though the country may not be able to power itself with only renewable energy now, it can do with gradual development of the sector.

He said: “I think the energy mix in Nigeria is less than 5 percent from renewable energy. So, over 95 percent of our energy needs is from fossil fuel. It has been estimated that if we cover one percent of Nigeria’s land mass with solar panels at 25 percent capacity and 40 percent efficiency level, you will generate 600,000 megawatts of energy. In Nigeria, we are generating 4000.”

He added that the renewable energy will provide more jobs than the conventional power generation method even as it is good for the environment.

The General Manager Operations of the Bank of Industry, Joseph Oluwasegun Babatunde said if Nigeria continues to rely on fossil fuel and hydropower projects, there is no way it can get to the promise land, adding that the tendency for other nations of the world is to go towards renewable energy.

He explained that most of the agro-waste products that are thrown away or burnt could be easily converted to energy.

The Access to Renewable Energy Project is currently engaged in capacity building and raising awareness about the potentials of renewable energy in Nigeria.

House revokes Dana license, asks Jimoh Ibrahim to refund N36bn

Jimoh Ibrahim

The House of Representatives yesterday called on the Federal Government to revoke the license of Dana Airlines following a probe of the Dana airliner MD 83 crash which killed 153 persons in Lagos in June. MPs unanimously adopted the report of the National Assembly joint committee on crash which also recommended that the Director General of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) Dr. Harold Demuren be relieved of his post and face prosecution.

“Dana current Air Operating Certificate (AOC) should be revoked because it was not issued in compliance with the NCAA civil regulations guideline 2009”

Also, the House passed resolution stopping the ministry of aviation or any other agency or persons from interfering with the autonomy of NCAA.

The House also called on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to recover the N35.5 billion which was extended to Air Nigeria owned by business mogul Jimoh Ibrahim through UBA which “was diverted for other uses”.

It also called for the re-opening of investigation on the report of Bellview Airlines and other accident investigation reports.

Power for NSA stalls anti-terror bill in Senate

Senate President Mark

Proceedings of the Senate on the anti-terrorism bill screeched to a halt yesterday when questions were raised over the legality of giving the National Security Adviser coordinating powers on all security agencies.

The Senate was debating the report of a conference committee that reviewed the Terrorism Act amendment bill 2012, which seeks to make the NSA’s office the fulcrum of all security operations.

Chairman of the committee Mohammed Magoro (PDP Kebbi South) presented the report for the second time yesterday following an earlier glitch that delayed the submission last week.

But chairman of the Senate Committee on Rules and Business, Ita Enang (PDP, Akwa Ibom North-East), pointed out that it would be improper to give the responsibility being proposed for the NSA’s office because the NSA is not the creation of any law.

The Magoro committee report recommended that the NSA’s office should provide support to all security, intelligence, law enforcement agencies and military services to prevent and combat acts of terrorism.

It is also to ensure effective formulation and implementation of a comprehensive counter-terrorism strategy and build capacity for the effective discharge of the functions of all security, intelligence, law enforcement and military services.

The report also confers on the NSA the powers to “do such other acts or things necessary” for the effective performance of the functions of the relevant security and enforcement agencies.

But Enang said the NSA’s office does not exist in law and so it would be wrong for the National Assembly to confer any responsibility on the office which is just a mere advisory office to the president.

“Office of the National Security Adviser is not known to law. It is just one of the 20 advisory offices approved for Mr President. Since it is not established by the legislature, the legislature cannot confer any responsibility on it. We should realise that if we make any mistake on this, it will be revisited later,” he said.

He cited the provisions of Section 151 of the 1999 Constitution to support his arguments.

Senator Ayogu Eze (PDP, Enugu) simply said: “The lead way we have now is to refer the report back to the committee”.

Senate President David Mark said since the report was prepared by a conference committee of both the Senate and the House of Representatives, the Senate could not amend it.

But when he put the question for the adoption of the report, the voice vote sounded equal between the ‘ayes’ and the ‘nays’.

Mark therefore called for the suspension of the debate.

“The way we normally express our views is either yes or no. But since this is too close to each other, I will call on the Senate leader to move a motion for me to suspend the debate on it,” he said.

Moving the motion, Senate Leader Victor Ndoma-Egba said: “In view of the stormy waters we are in over this matter, I move that we stand down this debate to another legislative day.”

Pipeline Fire Kills Many in Lagos

Pipeline Fire

It was a tragic scene Tuesday at a site of a vandalised pipeline in Lagos. Some suspected oil thieves, whose number was yet to be ascertained as at Tuesday, were believed to have been burnt to death while scooping fuel at a vandalised pipeline at Ije-Ododo, near Ijegun in Iba Local Council Development Area of Lagos State.

The fire, according to an eyewitness, started around 9pm when about 30 people arrived the scene of the incident to scoop fuel into hundreds of 50 kg jerry cans from the burst pipeline. Minutes later, there was an explosion and fire broke out, consuming those scooping the fuel and their equipment. According to reports, men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) officials were at the scene to assess the situation.

The NSCDC leader, who identified himself as Mr. Shem Obafaiye, said his team was facing serious challenges. An NNPC official said: “You can see that the fire is still raging. We can’t go far to examine the damaged pipeline or know the number of people killed because the pipeline is buried under water

‘Nigerian Markets Attractive to Long-term Investors"

 NSE DG, Oscar Onyema


A report by the Oxford Business Group (OBG) has described the Nigerian economy as a destination for long-term investors.

According to a statement, the latest OBG report titled: “Nigeria 2012,” also contained contribution from President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, together with a detailed, sector-by-sector guide for investors.

Regional Editor, Robert Tashima, argued that although Nigeria had a long way to go before it could supplant South Africa as the continent’s biggest economy, the slow and steady reform of the country's infrastructural bottlenecks, such as electricity generation, had helped improve both the medium- and long-term outlook for the country's industrial and service sectors.

“Oil and gas may still dominate, but fields such as manufacturing, telecommunications and finance are playing an increasingly prominent role,” adding that “Risk in Nigeria is no small thing and short-term returns are hard to come by, but the country’s structural fundamentals, such as a large consumer market and labour pool, a sizable supply of industrial inputs, accessible liquidity and a wealth of natural resources mean the potential for long-term growth is immense.”

The publication, according to him, provided a wide range of interviews with leading political, economic and business representatives, including the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; Director-General of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, Mr. Frank Nweke Jr;   Minister of Petroleum, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke, amongst others.

It added: “The government’s plans for economic growth and development over the short- and medium-term are ambitious, with targets to surpass South Africa as the continent’s largest economy in the coming years and a bid to become one of the world’s 20 largest economies by 2020.”

Editor-in-Chief, OBG, Andrew Jeffreys, said: “Nigeria is complicated country for a foreign investor to enter, for any number of reasons - ranging from the problematic infrastructure to the convoluted process of reform - but for those who enter with a long-term vision, the market has plenty to offer, whether it is a competitive labour force, a sizable supply of feedstock or a ravenous domestic market."