THE NATION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2012
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NEWS Jang to council workers: no work, no pay
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LATEAU State Governor Jonah David Jang has insisted that his administration would not rescind its decision to punish local government workers who have been on strike since May. The governor spoke at the Government House in Jos, the state capital, when he received the reports of a committee set up to mediate on the industrial disputes in the state.
Boko Haram attacks JFT vehicle From Joseph Abiodun, Maiduguri
•From left: Ambassador of Switzerland to Nigeria, Hans-Rudolf Hodel (left); Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Diaspora, Abike Dabiri-Erewa; Deputy Head, Embassy of Switzerland, Tamara Mona and a member of the committee, Bimbo Daramola during a meeting the bilateral migration partnership between Nigeria and Switzerland at National Assembly, PHOTO: ABAYOMI FAYESE Abuja...yesterday
ACF opposes creation of more states
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HE Chairman of the National Executive Council of the pan-Northern Nigeria socio-cultural group, Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Alhaji Aliko Mohammed, has said the forum is against the creation of more states. Mohammed spoke in Minna, the Niger State capital, when he led his council to the Chairman, Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF) and Niger State Governor Babangida Aliyu. He said the forum believes that the creation of additional states would be counter-productive because of lack of
From Jide Orintunsin, Minna
funds for the socio-economic development. Four new states are being proposed to be carved out of the existing 19 in the North. The forum chairman also opposed the single term tenure for elected political office holders, as being proposed in the amendment to the 1999 Constitution. It noted that a single tenure for the President and governors “does not contain motivation as an instrument of management of human affairs”. Mohammed explained that
in the single tenure proposal, “there are no incentives or rewards that can motivate occupants of executive posts towards excellent performance”. The ACF chairman suggested that Nigeria should consider the Chile model and those of similar countries which allow multiple tenures that are not consecutive. He said Bangladesh goes under a caretaker government whenever it conducts elections. Mohammed also said Nigeria is not matured enough for state police. According to him, this will be abused by state governments against national unity.
The ACF chairman explained that this is because the states are not financially viable enough to manage the police force. Instead of state police, the ACF chief called for an “improvement on the number and quality of the Nigerian Police for improved performance”. On the indigene/non-indigene syndrome, Mohammed noted that anyone born in any part of the country should be regarded as an indigene of the place. He added that no one has control on where he or she was born.
Boko Haram: why Nigeria, ECOWAS will intervene They agreed that Nigeria has HE Minister of Foreign in Mali, by minister derailed from the steps set by Affairs, Ambassador its founding fathers.
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Olugbenga Ashiru, has said Nigeria and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) will intervene in Mali because of the security challenge the Boko Haram insurgency poses to the nation. The minister said there is no going back in implementing the United Nations (UN) Security Council Resolution 2071 for military and other intervention and assistance to Mali. Ashiru deliver a position paper on the current situation in the Sahel and West Africa at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) in Lagos. The minister said Nigeria would not accept the partition of Mali or the imposition of an Islamic state on the country. He said: “One of the major challenges facing Nigeria today is security. The menace of Boko Haram and its links to other terrorist organisations in Africa, such as Al-Qaida in the Maghreb (AQIM), has demonstrated to us in the Nigeria the nexus between domestic situation and foreign policy. It has shown that peace and security of the sub-region is tied to peace and stability in Nigeria. This is why the Federal Government has taken a keen interest in the situation in West Africa beginning with Nigeria’s historic engagements in the restoration of peace in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea Bissau and now, Mali. “Neither Nigeria nor ECOWAS has jettisoned the principle of unconstitutional change of Government. On the country, it was that same principle that informed our unequivocal condemnation of the coup and our intervention is ensuring that the military junta in Bamako handed over to the Speaker of the National Assem-
•Experts seek solution to diplomatic solution to insurgency
From Yusuf Alli, Managing Editor, Northern Operation and Precious Igbonwelundu
bly, Diancounda Traore as the Interim President under the Framework Agreement that was first hammered out in Abuja under my watch. “ECOWAS has continued to push for the implementation of the Peace Agreement, despite continued challenges. Indeed, an Extra-ordinary Summit of ECOWAS on Mali is scheduled to hold in Abuja in the next few days. “This is coming on the heels of the adoption of the UNSC Resolution (2071), which has provided the needed backing for military and other intervention and assistance to Mali . Let me assure this audience that ECOWAS is working hard to respond adequately to this Resolution. “In the same vein, the socalled serious dispute between ECOWAS and Bamako appears to have been exaggerated. Mali had since formally requested ECOWAS to deploy its forces to Northern Mali.
“The issue of support for the military junta by the Malian people had also been raised, but this is no reason to encourage military, unconstitutional change of Government, which the AU had adopted as a sacred principle. “The real challenge is to promote good governance, deepen and strengthen democratic institutions and encourage a developmental state that will address the basic issues facing the people.” Diplomatic experts yesterday said the Federal Government needs an independent foreign policy that is devoid of western pressures to end the growing insecurity posed by the Boko Haram sect. They also said there is need to regain the control of the Sahel region from terrorism. The experts spoke in Lagos at a three-day international conference on the Current Situation in the Sahel and West Africa, organised by the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) in conjunction with the Institute of Security Studies (ISS).
Participants resolved that the nation’s “father-Christmas” foreign policy approach should be replaced with a strategy that will ensure that its interests are protected. The participants included Foreign Affairs Minister, Olugbenga Ashiru; former Foreign Affairs Minister, Gen. Ike Nwachukwu; Norwegian Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Rolf Ree; the Director-General, NIIA, Prof. Bola Akinterinwa; the Director, ISS Regional Office, West Africa, Dr. Deo Barakamfitiye; the former Director-General NIIA, Amb. George Obiozor; Professor of International Law, Akin Oyebode, as well as Nigeria War College General chief, Brig.-Gen. Femi Orimogunje; former Ambassadors E.A. Aina and Adegboyega Ariyo, University of Lagos (UNILAG) lecturer, Dr. Franca Attoh, among others. They decried the openness of the nation’s boarders, especially the Sahel belt, stressing that it is through the belt that Boko Haram imports its soldiers. They noted that poverty and unemployment were the major reasons for the challenge.
Three killed, two injured in Jos attack
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HREE bodies, suspected to be those of Fulani killed were on Tuesday night, were found by their kinsmen yesterday morning at Shonong village, Bachi District of Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State. Two others were injured in the attack. A resident, Usman Yakubu Muhammed, gave the names of the dead as Zainab Yusuf Idris, Salifu Yusuf Idris and Kabiru Abdulahi. Muhammed said: “The attackers hid near a bridge and attacked our people returning from Fadan Karshi market at 8pm on Tuesday night. The attack was carried out by suspected Berom natives. We have no doubt about that. We have even given some names
From Yusufu Aminu Idegu, Jos
of those we suspect to men of the Special Task Force (STF) on Plateau State Crisis, codenamed Operation Safe Haven, for investigation. “Two of the victims are members of a family who were attacked on their motorcycle on their way from the market. The attackers killed the first two victims and threw their bodies under the bridge. “We went in company of a member of the STF to evacuate the bodies from the water under the bridge early Wednesday because the water is not big to float them. Their bodies were ridden with bullet wounds.
From Yusufu Aminu Idegu, Jos
Workers of the 17 local government areas have been on strike in the last six months over payment of the 18 per cent minimum wage. Though the government and Labour have agreed on 55per cent of the minimum wage, the point of dispute is the payment of salary owed during the fivemonth strike. Jang said those who have been on strike would not be paid for the period they abandoned their jobs. The committee was chaired by former military administrator of the state, Bitrus Atukum.
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USPECTED Boko Haram members yesterday attacked a patrol vehicle of the military Joint Task Force (JTF) in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital. Though no one was killed in the attack, the vehicle was damaged from the impact of the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) the sect members threw at the soldiers. It was learnt that the attack occurred at a major road linking Gwange/London Ciki wards. A resident told reporters that the IED exploded few metres from the JTF vehicle during a routine patrol. An exchange of fire between the JTF men and the sect reportedly followed the explosion. It lasted about 20 minutes. Motorists sped away from the area and the residents ran for safety. JTF spokesman, Lt.-Col. Sagir Musa, confirmed the incident. He said at 8:35am yesterday, there was a failed IED attack on a JTF patrol vehicle in Gwange/Costain area of Maiduguri. The military officer explained that the IED, which was allegedly targeted at the JTF vehicle, was buried on the road by suspected Boko Haram members. He added that there was neither a casualty nor an injured person. The area was cordoned off as the Bomb Disposal Unit of the JTF searched for IEDs. Sagir said normalcy has been restored in the area.
PUBLIC NOTICE IDRIS
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