Wednesday, 13 February 2013

Obasanjo To Deliver 1st Abel Guobadia Memorial Lecture

Benin city - Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, will on February 14, 2013, deliver the 1st Dr. Abel Guobadia Memorial Lecture in Benin City, Edo State.
The theme of the lecture, organised by Women’s Health and Action Research Centre, WHARC, is Reflections on Nigeria’s Democracy and the Role of Women.
Other speakers expected at the event include Governor Adams Oshiomhole, chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega and Mrs Florence Guobadia. Benin monarch, Oba Erediauwa is expected to be the royal father of the day.
Chairman of WHARC, Lady Winifred Onyeonwu, said the lecture was in recognition of the work and contributions of late Abel Guobadia, a former chairman of INEC and immediate past Chairman, BoT of WHARC, and to also create awareness on the health and social development of women in Nigeria.
Naij.com

Airlines in fierce competition for customers as Valentine approaches

By Robert Obi

Dana, Arik, Aero and other airlines operating in Nigeria have each slashed fares to attract customers this valentine season. While Arik reduced fares by 13 percent, Aero takes N9,000 to Lagos from Abuja while Dana is charging N9,999 for the same route.
Dana’s bonanza is contained in a statement by Tony Usidamen, the airline’s Head of Corporate Communications and made available to Daily Times today in Lagos.

“The Valentine season is all about giving and, as our special gift to our valued guests, we are offering a special online fare of N9, 999.
This way, more guests can travel and be with their loved ones this season,” it said.
Following the development, Daily Times made further enquiries and found out that Arik and Aero have both slashed their fares even before Dana took the same step.
BusinessNews

Health minister commends $650m hospital mall project

By Robert Obi

The Minister of health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu, on Tuesday commended the 650 million dollar Abuja Medical City project by Sucomex.
Sucomex (Suministros de Commercio Exterior), offers a full range of health care sector services, “turnkey” hospital and medical equipment projects. Chukwu made the commendation when a team from Sucomex paid him a courtesy visit, to make an official presentation of the architectural design of the 650 million dollar hospital project.
He said the project was impressive and would follow due process, and added that procurement process and proper evaluation would be considered by the appropriate body.

“What you have presented even though we could not spend time to see all of it, certainly, is impressive and I think that is the way to go.
As part of the commemoration of Nigeria’s centenary, which is due in January 2014, there are certain things that are to be done in Abuja and of course among is the idea of a new city,” he said.
BusinessNews

Nigeria’s power problem is transmission – Barth Nnaji

By Robert Obi

Former Minister of Power of Power, Professor Barth Nnaji said today that the country’s major problem in power supply is transmission where there had been some challenges in evacuating what is being generated.
Speaking after a meeting of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company at the presidential villa, Nnaji noted, however, that a lot was already happening, following series of meetings, with no exception to the one that was just concluded and “it is very likely that by the end of the year, there will be a remarkable improvement.

“With regards to generation, Nigeria is moving ahead by leaps and bounds. What we have as a problem that is very significant is the transmission, to be able to evacuate what is being generated and what we anticipate will be an addition to the grid towards the end of the year. We are working on that and today’s meeting is addressing some of those issues”, he added.
BusinessNews

Anxiety as Senators, Reps refuse Jonathan’s request to alter budget

By Robert Obi

Anxiety gripped presidency officials and caucus leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the National Assembly, yesterday, following the rejection of the alterations sought by the presidency into the N4.798 trillion 2013 budget.
The legislators at an interactive meeting with officials of the Federal Ministry of Finance and other Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government had bluntly refused the entreaties to alter the allocations to some of the MDAs as requested by the president before his assent.
The refusal of the legislators was despite proof of mistakes made by the National Assembly in the compilation of the details. In some instances, allocations made for personnel of some MDAs were lumped with capital leaving little or no provisions for personnel.
President Jonathan had withheld assent on the budget which was forwarded to him on January 14 on the strength of objection raised by a senior minister of the administration who insisted that the corrections be made in details before the assent.
President Jonathan was said to have, based on the promptings of the senior minister, insisted that corrections be made in details before his assent.

Besides, the president had at a meeting with the National Assembly leadership prior to last week’s meetings with the MDAs also raised the issue of the benchmark and the non- provision of funds for the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, on account of the retention of Ms Aruma Oteh as director-general. The National Assembly leadership had politely declined the request on Oteh and the benchmark, saying that the two issues were non-negotiable but agreed to look again at the mistakes in the details of the budget.
However, at the interactive meeting with the legislators which took place in the Senate building last week, the legislators were said to have bluntly refused to effect the alterations as they insisted that whatever observations the president has should come in the form of an amendment bill.
A source familiar with the discussions revealed that the legislators are insisting on the adoption of due process in effecting the corrections, affirming that once the budget is passed the only way it can be altered was through the process of amendment.
Presidency officials and party leaders in the National Assembly were said to be anxious over the next line of action on the budget which would now depend on the president’s decision.
Legislators from the opposition parties had given their intention to initiate moves to override a veto should the president refuse to give his assent to the budget by February 13 which would be 30 days after the budget was forwarded to him.
BusinessNews

I’m not indebted to AMCON – Babalakin

Bi-Courtney Limited (BCL) yesterday refuted claims that it owes the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) N13.9 billion. According to BCL’s Chairman, Dr. Wale Babalakin, who addressed a press conference at the same premises purportedly taken over by AMCON in Lagos yesterday, the Federal Government still had a debt of N132.5 billion to pay BCL.
The company’s rebuttal followed reports by a section of the media, yesterday, in which AMCON claimed it had taken over a property belonging to the company on Victoria Island, Lagos, in lieu of the purported indebtedness, following an ex-parte order it obtained from a Federal High Court in Lagos.
Describing the action as a “monumental fraud and executive recklessness,” Babalakin said BCL had concluded arrangement to sue AMCON for a sum of N50 billion as minimal claims for the damages its actions had caused the company. He added: “AMCON is fully aware of the facts of this case and it is party to it through GTBank, yet, surreptitiously obtained an ex-parte order from the Federal High Court to take over the premises without discussing the issues. “For the avoidance of doubt, we are not indebted to AMCON or any federal agency. On the contrary, we have a judgment credit of N132 billion in our favour.
The courts have directed that if we owe any debt to the Federal Government, it should be deducted from this amount of money.” The company said it relied on the judgment of the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court, delivered on April 5, 2012, which ordered the attorney general of the federation to compel the concerned agency of government to “immediately comply with the judgment of this honourable court by making without any further delay the payment of N132.5 billion to the plaintiff/applicant (Bi-Courtney).”

The company also drew attention to the paragraph four of the court order, which directed “the Defendant/Respondent (Attorney General of the Federation), being the Chief Law Officer and legal representative of the Federal Government of Nigeria to set off from the above-mentioned N132.5 billion, any claims agreed with the Plaintiff/Applicant to be due from the Plaintiff/Applicant to any agency of the Federal Government of Nigeria, including but not limited to the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria.”
Babalakin further disclosed that the property, ostensibly taken over by AMCON, “is owned by Bunbury Limited and was never mortgaged to any bank and so could not have been inherited by AMCON”. “The issue of ownership of this property is before the Lagos High Court. In the said court, AMCON, through its Predecessor-in-Title, GTBank, claimed that the property had been sold to a ‘Red Company’ for N6.5 billion. If as claimed under oath by GTB/AMCON, the property has been sold to a third party, how then was GTBank able to transfer a property already sold to AMCON? This is monumental fraud.”
Equally, Babalakin wondered how it was possible for the matter to be heard ex parte, “even though there was a preliminary objection in the file disclosing all the pending suits and reasons why the order could not be granted”. He added that “AMCON in its characteristic cavalier attitude did not disclose the address of the property; yet, the court erroneously granted it inexplicably.
BusinessNews