THURSDAY MARCH 15, 2018 ˾ T H I S D AY
11
NEWS
News Editor Davidson Iriekpen Email davidson.iriekpen@thisdaylive.com, 08111813081
Herdsmen Menace: Two Policemen, Several Others Killed in Benue, Plateau Lalong imposes dusk-to-dawn curfew on Bassa LGA Seriki Adinoyi in Jos and George Okoh in Makurdi Two riot policemen attached to the military Special Task Force (STF) on security in Plateau State and scores of civilians were killed in a sporadic gun duel between suspected Fulani herdsmen and security agents yesterday morning at Rafiki, Dong and Maifarin-mota villages in Bassa Local Government Area of the state. Over 20 houses, including a church building belonging to Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN) were also burnt in the mayhem, while about eight villagers were declared missing as at the time of filing this report. Students, including those from foreign countries, of International Evangelism Institute located in the area had to immediately be evacuated by the security agents to safety when the battle became heated. There were conflicting reports on the cause of the violence, and the casualty figure. A resident of Maifarin-mota, a neighbourhood of Rafiki, Mr. Moses Bot, alleged that the fresh violence was triggered by the arrest of four Fulani with AK-47 rifles on Tuesday night. He narrated: “Last night the
police arrested four Fulani men with AK-47 and took them to the police headquarters in Jos. The arrest probably angered the other Fulani men who came over to the community this morning (Wednesday) at about 6:30a.m. and began to shoot sporadically causing panic. Residents are currently fleeing away now as I talk with you on the phone.” But the state Chairman, Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, Alhaji Mohammad Nuru Abdullah, said the natives mobilised and came to attack Fulani settlement at Rafiki at about 6:30a.m. yesterday, killing five Fulani and destroying their property. He expressed worry that the security agents did not come to their rescue from 6:30a.m. to about 10a.m. when the havoc was wreaked. When contacted, the spokesman of the STF, Major Umar Adam, confirmed that two policemen attached to the STF were killed, and another two critically wounded, and are now receiving treatment at the Bingham University Teaching Hospital, Jos. He added that eight persons from both the natives and Fulani had been arrested in connection with the violence, and much ammunition recovered.
Kachikwu: Modular Refineries Not Conceived to Guarantee Petrol Supply Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, yesterday in Abuja, said the idea of modular refineries in the Niger Delta was not designed to address the challenges of crude oil refining in the country. The minister made the comment while answering questions from State House correspondents on the challenges posed by non-availability of refineries to refine crude oil at the end of weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) and consequently stop continuous dependence on imported petroleum products. According to him, the idea of modular refineries was conceived to provide jobs in some communities in the Niger Delta where residents engage in illegal bunkering, insisting that modular refineries have no capacity to bridge existing supply gap. “On modular refineries, modular wasn’t supposed to provide a sufficient solution to your product needs, modulars are on the average between 2,000 and 5,000 maybe 10,000 capacity most per refinery. Your consumption is about 630,000 barrels per day. That is not the essence of modular; what modular is supposed to do for us is provide work within some of these communities where people are busy doing illegal refining. “It’s not meant to address the refining product gap we have in the country. We are hoping that those gaps will be covered by a mixture of the three or four refineries that government owns - currently, Warri, Port Harcourt and Kaduna and
of course the Dangote refinery of 600 barrels,” he said. He also disclosed the challenges hindering the operations of existing refineries, pointing out that when the government came on board, there was no money to fix the refineries as money had to be raised through collaboration with private sector. “As a seasoned professional, I have given all the guardian that is required to fix the refineries. We came into a situation where we don’t have money to fix the refineries. We had to raise the money looking into the (private public partnership) PPP model. It has to go through a process. “The technical committee is headed by Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). Obviously, they submitted their report to the board when they completed their work. “So, from a governance and guidance sense, steering point of view, I think that steering is right on track from a management of the technical aspect of the contracting. That is something we would have to allow NNPC to handle. It is not the job of the ministry to superimpose. You got to let them do their work and do it efficiently,” he added. Also answering a question on whether the sack of former United States Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson would not affect the agreement reached with him by President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja on Monday, Foreign Affairs Minister, Geoffery Onyeama, said it would not because the agreement was with the US and not with an individual.
Adam added that more troops and a fighter jet had been deployed to the area to keep surveillance. “Leaders of the natives and the Fulani have been summoned to the state Government House, Rayfield for dialogue.”
The Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Tyopev Terna, did not pick his phone when calls were put across to him,. He did not also respond to text messages sent to him. However, the state Governor,
Simon Bako Lalong, has imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew on Bassa Local Government Area, citing wanton destruction of lives and property at Rafiki, Dong, and some other areas of the local government area as reason.
In a statement signed by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mr. Rufus Bature, Lalong urged the communities to sheathe their swords and allow the law to
Cont’d on page 51
CELEBRATING WAPIC AT 60…
L-R: Managing Director, Wapic Insurance Plc, Yinka Adekoya; President/CE, Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote; Chairman, Wapic Insurance, Aigboje Aig-Imokhuede; and Executive Director, WAPIC Insurance, Bode Oyeniyi, cutting a cake in celebration of the 60th anniversary of the WAPIC Insurance, in Lagos… yesterday
Nigeria to Bid for Location of Headquarters as Buhari Signs CFTA Agreement Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja The Federal Executive Council (FEC) yesterday in Abuja resolved to bid for the location of headquarters of Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) as President Muhammadu Buhari joins other African heads of state and governments in Kigali, Rwanda to sign agreement for the take-off of the policy on March 21. Briefing journalists at the end of the weekly FEC meeting presided over by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo in the State House, the Minister of Industry, Trade and investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah, said Nigeria’s trade capacity which he said had hitherto been between 13 and 15 per cent, would be boosted by the framework. According to him, the decision to establish CFTA was the was taken in 2012 by all Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU) at their 18th ordinary session held in Addis Ababa, describing it as the first step in the implementation of AU Agenda 2063 meant to build an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa. The minister who said federal government’s decision to bid for the headquarters of CFTA was predicated on the notable leading roles that the county had played in the negotiation process, pointing out that it was the belief of FEC that it was better to be a leader by being the host nation than being a mere follower.
He further said FEC gave approval for the ministry along with relevant ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to proceed to the next stage of the negotiation. “In terms of what was approved in council today, the council approved for Nigeria to sign that agreement establishing CFTA in Kigali on March 21st which will be signed by our president at an extraordinary session of the AU. It also approved for Nigeria to express an interest in preparing a bid to host the secretariat where the work will be done. “Nigeria has played a leadership role in the negotiations. Our chief negotiator and director-general of the Nigerian office for trade negotiations was the chairperson of the negotiating technical team. “Also the African Ministers for Trade and Group was chaired by myself and so, if they played a leading role in this negotiation, we feel that it is better to lead than to follow. Therefore, we also got an approval to express an interest in the secretariat of CFTA, that the headquarters be located in Nigeria. Obviously, we are expecting it to be a competitive process but Nigeria will be interested. “We also got an approval for the Nigerian office for trade negotiations along MDAs and the private sector to work together and continue with the next stage of the negotiation. The first stage is the overall framework establishing CFTA. The next is the protocol on trade in goods and associated annexes; also a protocol on trade in services and
finally, the protocol on rules and procedures for the settlement of disputes,” he said. Also briefing, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geofrey Onyeama, said in line with the vision of African heads of state and government to promote free movement and trade in Africa, CFTA was conceived to remove trade barriers. He said the development would be resourceful for Nigeria, noting that the country which is made up of 180 million population ought to be the economic engine of the continent that the policy can help it to achieve. According to further information provided by the presidency on the policy, with the advent of CFTA, the continent said to be a market of 1.2 billion Africans with a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of $2.5 trillion is expected to witness an increase in intra-African trade by up to 52.3 per cent. Furthermore, the presidency said all AU countries would share in the welfare gains estimated at about 2.64 per cent of continental GDP of $65 billion in 2018 and consequently expand the size of Africa’s economy to $29 trillion by 2050 as estimated by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. Specific gains listed to accrue to Nigeria from the policy include: expansion of market access for Nigeria’s exporters of goods and services, growth and job creation; elimination of barriers against Nigeria’s products and provide a dispute settlement mechanism for stopping the
hostile and discriminatory treatment directed against Nigerian natural and corporate business persons in other African countries. The policy, it was added, would stimulate an estimated 8.18 percent increase in Nigeria’s total exports, with a small structural shift in Nigeria’s economy towards manufacturing and services and is expected to lead to a total increase in Nigerian economic welfare by 0.62 per cent - equivalent to around $2.9 billion in 2018 terms. Asked whether enough consultations were carried out with the Nigerian business community before Nigeria resolved to sign CFTA policy, Enelamah said: “The president in his directive in February 2017, constituted a negotiating committee that included organised private sector and business like Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) and Nigeria Association of Chambers of Commerce Industry Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA). They have been working with us. “However, the level of consultation needs to be much wider and FEC also pointed that out. “In fact, tomorrow the Minister of Foreign Affairs is holding a meeting tomorrow with MAN and other stakeholders and this is just a process that will continue. So, we do expect to engage and we have been asked by the presidency to widen those engagements to include more people, go to the geo-political zones which is why it is important to have an interaction with you the media today.”