16—Vanguard , TUESDAY, MAY 29, 2012
ABU lecturers give FG 4-week ultimatum on subsidy probe 2011 stood at N2.5 tril- erations of Nigerians, BY LUKA BINNIYAT
K
ADUNA—LECTURERS at Ahmadu Bello University, ABU, Zaria, have given the Federal Government a four-week ultimatum within which to commence trial of those involved in the N2.5 trillion fuel subsidy scam or face trouble from them.
Addressing a news conference in Kaduna, yesterday, the lecturers contradicted the figures released by both the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and the Accountant-General of the Federation on the amount spent, saying that the figure allegedly involved from 2009 to
lion. In statement by 16 lecturers and read by Dr. Usman Ladan of the Department of History, under the aegis of Concerned Lecturers of ABU, they said: “We, the undersigned lecturers of ABU, being free-born citizens of Nigeria and parents/guardians of present and future gen-
5m farmers register for FG's fertilizer scheme BY EMEKA MAMAH
G
OVERNOR Patrick Yakowa of Kaduna State has said that five million farmers have so far registered under the Federal Government’s Fertilizer Voucher Scheme, FVS. Under the scheme, each registered farmer is expected to get two bags of fertilizer, of which one would be paid for and the other given free. Yakowa also said that his government would establish three fertilizer blending plants to ensure all year
farming, pointing out that his administration has awarded contracts for the construction of 24 dams and irrigation schemes to further boost dry season farming in the state. He spoke while launching the Federal Government’s Growth Enhancement Fertilizer Scheme at Kagoro, yesterday. According to him, the dams, which were being constructed at Hunkuyi, Kufana and Kuzuntu had reached between 70 to 90 percent completion, while
eight irrigation schemes across the state were under construction, with 16 other irrigation schemes at the planning stages. He said: “If completed it would enable our farmers to produce all year round and reduce the level of idleness, especially during the dry season. “Agriculture is our area of comparative advantage and we have to take its development with all the seriousness it deserves and back the Federal Government’s initiative in the drive to uplift the sector."
hereby express our shock, profound indignation and total condemnation of all individuals, corporate firms and government agencies or departments that connived to defraud the government and people of Nigeria of hundreds of billions of Naira between 2009 and 2011 in the name of fuel subsidy claims. “This despicable and ungodly act has visited incalculable damage on the Nigerian economy, threatening the survival of millions of our countrymen and pushing our nation to the edge of near moral and financial bankruptcy. “The fact of the matter is simple and straight forward. The House Committee report in question has established a clear and unambiguous prima facie case of corruption and fraud against those indicted. No amount of propaganda or blackmail can reverse or deny this.
“The fuel subsidy swindle is one of the most shocking incidences of public rip-off in Nigeria since independ-
ence, exceeding the celebrated cement racket of 1975 in its monstrosity."
Tension in Adamawa as Igbo protest killings BY UMAR YUSUF
Y
OLA—TENSION is mounting in Adamawa State as Igbo traders, yesterday, shut shops and other businesses to protest the killings of their kit and kins. The protest over the killing of an unidentified Igbo man almost turned violent as the protesters clashed with security agents. Most of the major streets in Yola, the state capital, were deserted even as economic activities were paralysed. The traders, in their hundreds, matched through the major streets, chanting solidarity songs to register protest. They appealed to the state government to address the insecurity situation in the state as the ugly situation had made them to live in fear both at home and in the markets. The situation, however, heightened when three Igbo traders were killed by
unknown persons at about 1pm in the commercial area of Muhammed Mustafa way. The state Police Public Relations Officer, Nemuel Yoila, was said to be with the state Police Commissioner for a security meeting when Vanguard contacted his office for his comments on the issue. Meanwhile, Adamawa State government has banned the use of commercial motorcycles, popularly referred to as Achaba in the Northern part of the country, in Yola. Secretary to the State Government, SSG, Chief Ari Timnu, in a statement, yesterday, said the government had considered it necessary to ban commercial motorcycles in five major towns in the state because most crimes and security breaches were committed by men of the underworld on motorbikes in those areas.