100 Million Naira Bribe Allegation Eclipses Power Probe
July 26, 2008 by 
Che Oyimnatumba · Leave a Comment
The greatest cardinal point of the Yar’Adua’s seven points agenda is energy epitomised by the power sector. The electricity situation in Nigeria has been held to produce beyond the desired capacity to turn the wheels of the rusty industrial machines. The prices of finished products have been heaped at the threshold of the cost of producing using generators.
Against this backdrop, Nigerians were agog when the lower chamber of National House of Assembly, set up a probe panel headed by Hon. Ndudi Elumelu to investigate the eclipse in the Nigerian Power sector. After much revelation into the rot in the sector, the House Committee after touring the various power plant sites closed public sitting, to garnish their finding before tabling it before the House of Representative for deliberation.
Two months after, nothing has been heard of the panel report, rather the nation is gripped with bush telegraphic reports that the members of the panel were compromised in one of their on the site inspection in Port Harcourt, where each member was believed to have received N 100 million Naira.
Following this development, the House has suspended the Probe Panel report till the Ethics Committee can investigate this allegation. According to the Chairman House Committee on Media and Publicity, Hon. Eziuche Ubani it would be suicidal to deliberate on the content of the Probe Panel report, when the allegation of bribery against the members of the Probe Panel has not been cleared.
Earlier, the Speaker of the House, Hon. Dimeji Bankole had in a statement announced that the House cannot be rushed into taking any action by any governmental agency on the Probe Panel report till the House have taken the requisite procedures. The Speaker’s statement was targeted at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), who is believed to be in possession of a leaked content of the Probe Panel report.
Meanwhile the government has released billions of Naira into the power sector to guarantee power supply. We cannot but ask: Whichway Nigeria? The money sunk into this white elephant project has not been accounted for, or have those entrusted with finding out what went wrong given a verdict/recommendation(s) yet the government is ploughing more money into the sector.
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David Mark Senate President Wins!
July 16, 2008 by Che Oyimnatumba · 1 Comment
The Court of Appeal sitting in Jos, delivered judgment in favour of the Senate President, Senator David Mark. In a judgment legal luminaries are still querying, the court of appeal’s decision to over ruled the judgment of the Benue State Electoral, which had ordered a by-election in two Local Government Areas within the senatorial zone. The lower tribunal had ruled that Young Alhaji, the challenger in the disputed April 2008 election, had the highest number of valid votes cast.
By the strength of this, Young Alhaji cross appealed, praying the court of appeal to announce him the winner but David Mark in his own appeal, petitioned that there were irregularities in the other Local Government Areas that Young Alhaji won. The Court of Appeal unanimously held that David Mark won the election.
In a related questionable circumstance, the Osun State Electoral Tribunal sitting in Osogbo, yesterday, entered judgment in favour of the incumbent PDP Governor Olagunsoye Oyinola against the petition of Rauf Aregbesola of the Action Congress. There is an uneasy calm in Osun State, following what the AC called rape of justice by the active participation of the judiciary.
At the wake of the April general election, a flash in the pan boost was given to the battered image of the judiciary, especially the judges of the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court showed rare courage when she ruled in favour of Peter Obi of Anambra State, whose mandate was stolen and kept in custody of Dr. Chris Ngige, while the then president, Olusegun Obasanjo kept criminally silent.
But this mirage has turned into full bashing of the judiciary, especially the members of the Court of Appeal. One wonders if these judgments are not endorsement of survival of the fittest and who can mobilize the greatest and ferocious thugs on election day.
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Senate begins 2 months questionable vacation
July 10, 2008 by Che Oyimnatumba · Leave a Comment
The Nation was jolted yesterday when the Senate after a closed door sitting announced that it shall proceed on two months recess starting from today July 10th 2008. Senate Majority Leader Senator Teslim Folarin briefed newsmen that circumstances made it imperative to amend the seasonal calendar and embark on recess, two weeks earlier.
Nigerians believe that this circumstance is the Tuesday 15th Judgment day in Jos of the cross petition against David Mark’s victory at the polls.
Furthermore, Nigerians are worried that the Senate is amending her rules in a closed door meeting to accommodate the ambition of the President of Senate. For a Senate and government that parrots transparency and rule of law, this Gestapo approach is disturbing and unhealthy for maturity of democracy in Nigeria
Political gurus believe that this questionable two months amended recess, is to preserve the Senate President’s seat for David Mark, should the Court of Appeal sitting in Jos uphold the judgment of the Benue State Election Tribunal. The recess will also allow PDP to fine tune soft landing should the seat be vacant as a result of the judgment, which is believed will not be in favour of the Senate President.
The Election tribunal sitting in Makurdi had earlier nullified the election of Senator Mark, on the strength of a petition filed by Alhaji Usman Dan Abubakar popularly called Young Alhaji. The lower tribunal ordered a fresh election in two Local Government Areas (Opoku and Agatu) and upheld that the valid votes counted put Young Alhaji ahead of David Mark.
Both Mark and Young Alhaji appealed the judgment. Mark’s camp believes that they can rake in enough votes in the two LGAs to cancel out Young Alhaji’s lead, while Young Alhaji’s camp wants the Appeal Court to declare him winner, having secured majority of the votes counted.
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Natural Gas: To flare or not to flare
June 3, 2008 by JOACHIM EZEJI · Leave a Comment
I am not really enjoying the current debate amongst environmental stakeholders over the flaring of natural gas or otherwise. I have this nauseating feeling that this is uncalled for. It is uncalled for because the government policy on the environment should naturally be binding on all stakeholders. The issue of fixing and unfixing deadlines to gas flaring is risky.
I say so because the issue of stopping or not stopping gas flaring in Nigeria appears to be running on a roller coaster track, with alarming swoops downwards followed by exhilarating zooms upwards, and none of the riders quite sure what is going to happen next.
It is already stale news that Africa possesses abundant natural resources. That the abundance of these natural resources is yet to transit into economic well being to Africans is totally a different discuss. It is a fact that Africa possesses 99% of the world’s chrome resources, 85% of its platinum, 70% of its tantalite, 68% of its cobalt, and 54% of its gold, among other minerals. The continent has significant oil and gas reserves; the extent of which has not been definitely measured. It produces more gem quality diamonds than anywhere else.
The numbers speak for themselves; in 2006, annual FDI rose to a historic high of US$38.8bn, a record growth of 78% from 2004. According to the UN World Investment Report, the serious FDI cash was concentrated in a few industries, notably oil, gas and mining. And six oil- producing countries- Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Equitorial Guinea, Nigeria and Sudan – consumed nearly half of it.
But beyond the economic benefit; is the sheer inability of many African governments to manage the accruing environmental problems associated with exploration and development of these natural resources. Governments seem to be keener on the revenue coming into its purse than the general well being of the host environment.
In South Africa there are some environmental issues that have not really caught the attention of the government but the academia is now pushing it and this is the release of uranium into the atmosphere as well as the volume of tailings that is created with the mining of uranium.
According to Prof. Judith Kinnaird who is also a geologist and lecturer at the University of Witwatersrand it is a serious concern that much uranium is being lost to the environment, through the burning of coal that contains uranium, which according to her should be raised as an issue in intensifying debate on the reintroduction of nuclear energy.
There are many environmental issues that the government in Nigeria is yet to come to terms with in the oil and gas industry. One major environmental issue that the release or the reckless burning of gas into the atmosphere; another is the release of radioactive isotopes and chemicals in the processes of exploration and drilling. Both as well as many others are still continuing.
Despite the serial complaints by all oil producing communities and the global campaign against global warming; is the news that the government is granting further extension to gas flaring in Nigeria’s oil rich Niger Delta. Nobody is doing anything at the moment about any palliative for all those whose health, livelihood and well being is being threatened as a result.
The technology of gas capture and storage should at this moment be impressive to the government. I say so because stopping gas flaring through gas capture and/or storage is imperative towards preventing the release into the atmosphere of gas so produced.
Gas from oil exploration is, of course, a key contributor to climate change, and the single biggest industrial source of gas emission is the burning of fossil fuels to exploit oil and produce energy.
The technology of gas capture and storage should be welcomed as a Best Environmental Practical Option. Already in Saskatchawan Canada, a carbon-capture and storage demo-plant has been built. This was a direct follow-up of the unsettling announcement by the United States Department of Energy of what was officially termed a restructuring of its futureGen Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) project.
With the support of the Canadian Federal Government, the Saskatchawan Province undertook a C$4billion CCS demonstration project. CCS is directed at preventing the release into the atmosphere of CO2 produced by the industry.
Globally, fossil fuel account for some 33% of all carbon dioxide emissions caused by human activities. And, among fossil fuels, the biggest producer of such emission is coal. A single large power plant can generate 8million tons of carbon dioxide every year.
The idea of CCS, which if successfully adopted, would allow coal-fired power stations to remain in operation- and even for new ones to be built. This, in turn, would keep the coal mining as well as oil exploration industries in business. The alternative would be the phasing out of coal-fueled electricity generation and, with it, the phasing out of coal-mining and oil exploration worldwide.
A coal-fuelled power station with CCS could have 80% to 85% fewer emissions than one without CCS. With CCS, the carbon dioxide would be captured before it could be released into the air, and the sequested.
Sequestration would involve conveying the carbon dioxide, whether in gaseous, liquid, or supercritical form, by pipeline and/or road tanker and/or ship, through storage sites, to a location where it could be securely stored. The catch is that this sequestration has to endure for a very long time, indeed, - at least centuries, if not millennia.
And it must never be able to leak out in large quantities over a short period, for if it were to do so, it could cause large-scale suffocation. In theory- and, currently, in limited practice – the carbon dioxide can be injected into permeable geological formations, surrounded by impermeable rocks, such as deep saline formations, exhausted oil and gas reservoirs, unminable coal seams, and even abandoned coal mines etc.
The Federal Government and the National Assembly committees on Oil and Gas can explore the CCS option as well as many others and implant same into the prevailing policy in order to protect the environment and safeguard public health, livelihoods and general wellbeing.
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An Amazon saddles EFCC
May 17, 2008 by Che Oyimnatumba · Leave a Comment
The status of the Nuhu Ribadu as the EFCC chairman was yesterday laid to rest with the announcement by the secretary to the federal government that Mr. Faridah Waziri should take over immediately from Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde who has been heading EFCC in acting capacity since Ribadu was sent on a course at NIPPS
Little is known about Mrs Waziri, a retired AIG of Police with 5 children, who came into service in 1965 and left after attaining the mandatory 35 years in service. She has a master’s degree in strategic studies from UI and LLM from Unilag.
With her appointment watchers of the corruption war opine that the Yar’Adua administration is serious to apply the rule of law in all frontiers of her fight against corruption. But the news around informed sources have it that she was anointed by the gang of ex-governors facing prosecution and forced on Yar’Adua. Her appointment is seen as a soft landing ground for these ex-governors as she is expected to use the law to find an escape route for these governors. She is expected to appear before the Senate which is believed to be a smooth sail as she is a card carrying PDP member.
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Yar’Adua reconciles with National Assembly may sign Budget on Monday.
April 13, 2008 by Che Oyimnatumba · Leave a Comment
The lingering ego battle that delayed the passage of the 2008 budget appears to have been buried at the 60th birthday anniversary of Senate President David Mark over the week. According to Segun Adeniyi Special Adviser to the president on communication, both executive and legislature broke the ice over the budget impasse amicably, the president will sign the budget as it is presently drafted but an amendment will be sent to the National Assembly in two weeks time. Speaking to newsmen after the meeting, Senator Ayogu Eze, chairman of the senate committee on information and media said the President would assent to the bill very soon. He further stated that the President would compile his reservations and communicate them to the NASS in form of amended bill which the NASS pledged to deal with expeditiously and with favourable consideration.
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SENATE ELEVATES PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION TRIBUNAL JUDGE
March 12, 2008 by Che Oyimnatumba · Leave a Comment
The lead judge at the Presidential Election Tribunal, Justice James Ogebe’s appointment to the Supreme Court, was yesterday confirmed by the Senate. Also confirmed, is Justice Mohammed Coomasie.
A mild drama erupted when Senator Bala Mohammed was stalled from questioning the Supreme Court appointee by the dominant PDP senators in the hallow chambers. Senator Bala had sent voices protested when he opened by questioning that the appointment of Justice Ogebe is defective as it negates the principle of federal character, as Benue State, where the Justice comes from, already has Justice Aloysius Katsina-Alu on the bench of the Supreme Court.
Voice vote in the senate, is the rule of might over reason. In the Supreme Court, there is no Justice of the Igbo extraction yet a state has two.
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