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News
PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNesday, NOVEMBER 30, 2016
Sokoto State Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal (Middle), with DFID’s Laura Brannelly and Roisin Whille and other officials, after a meeting on promotion of girl-child education, yesterday in Sokoto.
No Paris Club debt refund paid to my govt- Ortom From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi
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Pipelines vandals are professionals-Buhari By Lawrence Olaoye
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resident Muhammadu Buhari has said those blowing up oil and gas pipelines in the country are not the ordinary folks but well trained professionals. The President made this observation yesterday at his investiture as the Grand Patron of the Nigerian Academy of Engineering (NAE), led by its President, Mrs. Joana Maduka, at the Presidential Villa. Buhari noted that the sophistication involved in the blowing up of oil pipelines in the Niger Delta, suggested that those involved are not ordinary Nigerians. According to him, sailing into the sea for almost 70 kilometers to blow pipelines with ease, suggested that some professional associations with high competences needed to talk to their members in order to ensure that they were not deploying their skills in a negative way to the detriment of the country. He said, “How can ordinary Nigerians go into the deep sea, almost 70 kilometers, to blow installations. They are not ordinary Nigerians. So you have to talk to
your members.” The President, while disagreeing with the delegation that Nigerian engineers are being under utilized, recalled that 99 per cent of those who constructed the four refineries in the country were Nigerian engineers. Describing Nigerian engineers as those whose capacity to learn was unparalleled, Buhari added that the government has always taken engineers seriously in the task of nation building. While regretting that none of the four refineries is currently working, he said those to be blamed are the country’s leadership and not the engineers. Buhari said, “Nigerian engineers are competent and cost effective. I respect you all, it takes a lot to be a competent engineers”. Earlier in her remarks, Maduka noted that in the last one year, Nigerian engineering companies performed laudably well in procurement and construction of a 600 megawatt power generating plant and a 330KV switching station, the biggest in the national grid, The NAE President added that the role of an academy of engineering all over the world
was to serve as Think Tank for the technological and economic development of a nation. “Countries like China, USA, Japan, South Korea and Malaysia are examples of nations that have harnessed the benefits of their engineering academies for economic progress. Fellows of the Academy of Engineering are Engineers who have reached the peak of their careers and are invited to join”. Maduka who observed that the anti-corruption efforts of the administration were a move in the right direction, added that it will bring about economic transformation to the country. She also expressed the Academy’s delight at the desire of the Buhari’s administration to fix all the infrastructural deficit in the country. “This effort is very germane to the development of our nation. For this to be done effectively and efficiently, inputs are required from all cadres of engineering disciplines. “The physical indices of development of any country are engineering based like roads, railways, water supply, power, housing and other infrastructure. However, Nigerian Engineers are
underutilized for the tasks and challenges of nation building. For the country to attain sustainable growth status, the Nigerian engineers need to be adequately engaged in planning, policy formulation, consultancy and construction as well as industrial processes of production and manufacturing. Furthermore, the fact is that Nigeria is grossly underengineered as there are insufficient engineering professionals taking the population per capita basis. For example, in China, between 2000 and 2013, all the nine members of the Standing Committee (Ministers) of the Politburo were trained engineers. Currently, about half of the cabinet ministers in Singapore are engineers and in China, 70 per cent of the cabinet are engineers”. Maduka said the Nigerian Academic Engineering is currently made up of 140 fellows. In attendance were the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF)0, Babachir Lawal and the Minister of Science and Technology, both of them engineers, as well as other senior government functionaries and presidential aides.
s controversies continue to trail the expected Paris Club Debt refund to Benue State Government, Governor Samuel Ortom has vividly explained that no amount has been remitted yet to the State. The governor who said this yesterday in Makurdi while speaking with newsmen, also denied allegations and insinuations making the rounds that the State is to get over 90 billion naira, stating that only 45 million dollars which translates to between 13- 14 billion naira would be paid to the State on first installment for four quarters which amounts to 56 billion naira. He said the government is to sign an undertaking with the Federal Ministry of Finance which states that in the event the money is overpaid to the State government, it would be deducted form the State allocation. Ortom disclosed that fifty percent of the amount would be used in payment of outstanding salaries of workers. “The money is yet to hit our account but rumors have gone out that we are receive over 90 billion naira from the Federal government. This is not true. As soon the money comes, we will tell people”, he maintained.
Be professional in your actions, Judge tells EFCC
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Federal High Court in Lagos on Tuesday cautioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on the manner in which it carried out its probe of Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia. Delivering judgement in a N50 million fundamental rights suit filed by Mrs. OfiliAjumogobia against the EFCC, the trial judge, Muslim Hassan, urged the EFCC to be professional in the discharge of its duties. It will be recalled that Mrs. OfiliAjumogobia, in the fundamental rights enforcement suit, is seeking among other things, an order of the court declaring her continued detention by the EFCC as illegal. While noting that the EFCC was vested with powers to arrest and detain any citizen
suspected to have committed an offence, Mr. Hassan said that such powers must be exercised with caution. The judge questioned the rationale behind the revocation of the administrative bail granted to Mrs. Ofili-Ajumogobia by the EFCC on October 22, when she did not pose a flight risk. He said: “The respondent should have exercised restraints in revoking the bail earlier granted the applicant; there was no evidence that the applicant is a flight risk. “The respondent is hereby counselled to be professional and to always exercise caution and restraints in the exercise of its powers.” Mr. Hassan, however, disagreed with Ofili-Ajumogobia that the remand order
obtained by the EFCC from a magistrates’ court on November 10 was unlawful, illegal and a violation of her fundamental human rights. According to Mr. Hassan, the remand order was issued by the Magistrates’ Court pursuant to Section 264(1) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Lagos State, 2011. The judge also refused to make any order as to the applicant’s request for bail from the EFCC’s custody, following her arraignment on November 28 before Justice Hakeem Oshodi of an Ikeja High Court. “The issue of the applicant’s bail from EFCC’s custody has already been overtaken by the event of her arraignment at the Lagos
High Court and her subsequent release on bail by the court. “The applicant’s lawyer is also at liberty to challenge the continued detention of the applicant by the respondent after the expiration of the magistrate court’s remand order. “However, in the light of the recent event in this matter, this suit is hereby struck out,’’ the judge held. The EFCC had on November 28 arraigned Mrs. Ofili-Ajumogobia and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Godwin Obla, on a 30-count corruption charges before an Ikeja High Court. They had, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges and had since been granted bail on self recognition by the court.(NAN)