THE NATION MONDAY, JANUARY 13, 2014
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NEWS
unhappy with TCN manager Manitoba
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We have counterparts that should be trained and we really don't see that happening. And we have seen so many system collapses in the past year that we felt that they needed to be made to do more work than they are already doing are aware of, since they are members of the Presidential Committee on the Resolution of PHCN Labour Issues," he said. Anichebe called on stakeholders to be patient, stressing that such issues were normal in any exercise involving such huge numbers but that they were being resolved. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Oando Gas and Power, Mr Bolaji
Osunsanya, has said about 130 industrial customers had been connected to its gas pipeline grid for their electricity needs. Osunsanya disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos. He also said the company had embarked on the expansion of its gas pipeline in Lagos to ensure steady supply of ``clean, safe and environ-
ment-friendly gas fuels''. The target, he said, was to keep the industries running profitably. The CEO disclosed that 14 new customers would be hooked to the company's gas grid, once the expansion of the Ijora to Marina pipeline was completed. According to him, the new pipeline will serve other areas including Apogbon, Marina and Lagos Island.
``The enumerated customers on the new project will be about 14 customers but is not about the number but the quantum of gas in use. ``We are targeting about 10 megawatts on Marina and also some potential customers within Ijora axis. ``We are excited about the size of purchase of gas by customers and not the number of customers connected to the segment,'' he told NAN.
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Osunsanya said that cost efficiency and environmental friendliness were some of the reasons why many companies opted to use gas for their operations. The CEO said the project, which started in 1999, had recorded tremendous patronage by companies in Lagos, adding that the services would be extended to other parts of the country and West Africa.
U.S.: Boko Haram uprising could spread
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N alarming United States (U.S.) travel advisory warns that the Boko Haram uprising could expand out of the North and counsels against travel to 16 states, saying Americans have suffered violent crimes from kidnappings and rape to home invasions. The advisory says nine foreign nationals including Americans died last year in kidnappings in southwest Nigeria, three of them killed by their captors during military-led rescue raids. The advisory posted at the U.S. State Department website and dated Jan. 8 tells citizens to expect little help from law enforcers known for harassing and shaking down foreigners and Nigerians at checkpoints. It says U.S. missionaries in northern Nigeria have received “night letters” — covertly distributed specific written threats to their safety. Pointing to possible targets of extremists, it says U.S. citizens should be particularly vigilant around government security facilities; churches, mosques, and other places of worship; locations where large crowds gather such as hotels, clubs, beer parlours, restaurants, markets and shopping malls; and all other areas frequented
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by expatriates and foreign travelers. The North has more Muslims than Christians, which continues despite an 8-month-long state of emergency that deployed thousands of troops to three states covering one-sixth of the country. “Late 2013 saw an increase in Boko Haram attacks and clashes with Nigerian government security forces in northern Nigeria,” the travel advisory says. “Boko Haram is known to descend on whole towns, robbing banks and businesses, attacking police and military installations, and setting fire to private homes.” It warns “U.S. citizens should be aware that extremists could expand their operations beyond northern Nigeria to other areas of the country.” Boko Haram already operates in neighboring Chad, from which it kidnapped a French priest who was released earlier this month, and militants from Chad, Niger and Cameroon have been reported fighting alongside Boko Haram in Nigeria, raising fears the rebellion could also spread beyond Nigeria’s borders. The United States advises against all but essential travel to all 13 northern and centralnorthern Nigerian states as well as central
Plateau state, for years the site of deadly ethnicreligious clashes, and the oil-rich southwestern states of Delta and Bayelsa, on the Gulf of Guinea where piracy is on the rise and militancy by activists demanding a bigger share of oil riches from a government embroiled in numerous corruption scandals. Kidnappings of foreigners and attacks against Nigerian police forces in the Niger Delta region and in Lagos State, home to the commercial capital Lagos city, continue to be a danger, it says. “Criminals or militants have abducted foreign nationals, including U.S. citizens, from offshore and land-based oil facilities, residential compounds, and public roadways.” It adds that international companies and local authorities assert that the number of kidnapping incidents throughout Nigeria is underreported. And home invasions “remain a serious threat,” with armed robbers getting into even heavily guarded compounds. “Violent crimes occur throughout the country,” the advisory says. “U.S. citizen visitors and residents have experienced armed muggings, assaults, burglaries, armed robberies, •Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau carjackings, rapes, kidnappings, and extortion.”
100 Nigerian prisoners languish in Morocco
IGERIA’S Ambassador to Morocco Abdallah Wali yesterday said no fewer than 100 Nigerians were languishing in Moroccan Prisons. Wali spoke with reporters in Sokoto. He said most of them were being held for offences relating to illegal migration, drugs and petty crimes. Wali said: “There is no existing protocol between Nigeria and Morocco regarding repatriation of Nigerian prisoners or Moroccan prisoners to their respective countries. What we do is that the embassy frequently visits Nigerian prisoners in various prisons
spread across the country.” He said during such visits, the embassy officials listened to the prisoners and collated their requests for onward transmission to the authorities. “So that they get attention, whether it is medical, sometimes even on the food they eat.Sometimes they also need access to some things that are not provided in the prisons,” Wali said. According to the Ambassador, sometimes, the King of Morocco pardons prisoners, including Nigerians. He also said there were currently about 100 Nigerians legally resident in the North African country.
“But we have a couple of thousands of Nigerians illegally resident too inside Morocco,” he said. Wali said the mission was partnering with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Abuja to stem the tide of illegal migration of Nigerians to Morocco. He said that the mission had conducted some series of workshops to sensitise Nigerians to that “especially Nigerians who come from areas that are prone to visiting Morocco illegally. “The whole idea of visiting Morocco illegally is because of its proximity to Europe.
“It takes only 15 kilometres to cross the Mediterranean Sea into Spain,” he said. Wali expressed regret that many Nigerians were often stranded in Morocco, as such, became illegal migrants. He stated that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Abuja had tried to sensitise Nigerians against illegal migration through the Moroccan route. “This is because of the risk involved in travelling, the risk involved in staying as illegal residents in Morocco and the risk involved in crossing over to Europe.
“So, we hope that with time the number will continue to decline,” Wali said. The Envoy noted that Nigeria was a robust nation and one of the emerging economies in the world. He also maintained that Nigeria would be one of the leading emerging economies in the world, in the coming years. Wali advised Nigerians to remain at home to become local entrepreneurs and develop the nation. He also commended the Federal Government for taking plausible measures to shore up the funding of the nation’s missions abroad.