Vanguard, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2013—15
Nigeria deserves permanent UN Security Council seat —Senate BY JOHNBOSCO AGBAKWURU & JOSEPH ERUNKE BUJA—THE Senate, yesterday, said Nigeria deserved a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council, in view of its contributions to global peace keeping mission. The Senate also said the country should tread cautiously while celebrating its election to serve as a non-permanent member of the security council for a two-year term beginning from January 1, 2014.
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Resolution
The call for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council followed a resolution by the upper legislative chamber congratulating Nigeria on its election to the United Nations Security Council. Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba, had in a motion he sponsored, noted that the present election of the country as a non-permanent member of the UN Security
Council was the fifth time since independence Nigeria was elected to the position. Besides, he stated that Nigeria deserved commendation for the feat, observing that it was the second time the country, under the tenure of President Goodluck Jonathan, was given such a recognition. Ndoma-Egba, who represents Cross River Central in the senate, said the membership of the country in the UN Security Council had placed the country at the centre stage of global politics.
Mark congratulates Nigeria
While congratulating the country, Senate President David Mark, who said the election was a clear indication of acceptance of Nigeria in world matters, advised that whoever should be its representative must be up and doing as the election placed greater responsibility on Nigeria.
Senator Matthew Nwagwu, PDP, Imo North, said Nigeria should use the opportunity to prepare for a permanent seat, adding that having served four times, it was equipped to know the knitty-gritty of the place.
On temporary membership
For Senator Emmanuel Bwachi, Taraba South, being a temporary member should not overwhelm the integrity of the country as one of the countries that was elected to the same post, Saudi Arabia turned it down. Senator Bwachi said the country should be conscious of her sovereignty as well as where the world was heading. He said there was a drift in international politics to ensuring that nations retained their sovereignty, stressing that though it was good to be a non-permanent member, there was nothing wrong to give Nigeria a permanent status.
No going back on N1,000 on-line application fee —Interior Minister BY ALICE FESTUS BUJA—MINISTER of Interior, Comrade Abba Moro yesterday dared the House of Representatives on the N1,000 on-line application fee charged those seeking employment in the agency, insisting that there was no going back on the fees. Following complaints about the fee by applicants, the House of Representatives had directed the Ministry of Interior to cancel the fee. But speaking at the inaugural meeting of the Ministerial Committee on Paramilitary Village Housing Scheme Development project Nationwide in Abuja, the minister said the fee subsisted. He said he was not bothered by the opposition to the fee by the House of Representatives, noting he was doing the right thing. “Parastatals and I do know the hazards of life threatening for the ordinary person, but I am aware that we are coming from a background of a distorted process of recruitment into the Nigeria Immigration Service where
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it was alleged that the process was compromised. “What we have decided to do is to attempt a new police design that is employed by the Nigeria Police Force, and employed by the Nigerian Air Force and the Nigerian Army in processing applications for recruitment into the serv-
ice.” Moro urged the committee to take responsibilities in the discharge of its duties. He said: “I told you on assumption of duty here that it is no longer going to be business as usual, you either prepare to work and ship in or you prepare not to work and ship out.”
Canada introduces new gitimate travel, it will also visa policy BY VICTORIA OJEME BUJA—THE Cana dian Embassy in Nigeria has introduced a new visa policy which will require provision of fingerprints and a digital photograph for applicants for visitor visa, study or work permit. In a statement in Abuja, yesterday, the embassy said visitors to Canada from several countries, including Nigeria, were affected by the new visa policy. It read: “This new requirement will not only help protect the safety and security of Canadians while helping facilitate le-
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protect prospective visitors by making it more difficult for others to forge, steal or use an applicant’s identity to gain access to Canada. “The new requirement will put Canada in line with other countries which are already collecting this information from visitors, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, countries in the European Union Schengen Zone, and Japan. “In the long run, the use of this information will make entry to Canada easier by providing a reliable tool to readily confirm a person’s identity.” C M Y K