ISRAEL BLACKLIST 300 FROM ENTERING THE JEWISH STATE

*Transportation Ministry hands foreign airlines blacklist of 300        passengers who will be refused entry to Israel

Israel has instructed foreign airlines to prevent 300 pro-Palestinian activists from boarding flights to Israel over the weekend, after Israeli security forces handed them the names of 300 people who they had blacklisted.
The Transportation Ministry requested that foreign airlines report to Israeli authorities if any of the blacklisted passengers appear on their flights to Israel in the next 24 hours, stressing that these people will not be granted entry into Israel.
In effect, Israel's instructions mean that the foreign airlines will not allow those passengers to board their flights in airports abroad, so they would not need to fly them back to their countries of origin after being deported by Israel.
Hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists were expected to arrive in Israel for a mass protest over the weekend, as a counterpart to the Gaza-bound flotilla which had encountered numerous setbacks.
Thus far, no activists were known to be prevented from boarding flights abroad, but most of the flights are only expected to depart on Thursday night.
"This event will end with either no problems or as a catastrophe. There will not be a middle-ground," a senior official at Ben-Gurion International Airport told Haaretz. He said that it only takes about 30 activists to make a scene at the airport for media outlets to widely report on it and thus hand the activists their victory.
A senior official at a European airline told Haaretz that this was an unprecedented request on Israel's part. "In the past we have gotten one or two names that authorities had banned their entry," he said. "This move is problematic because if we receive an updated list later on, we will have to fly back the plane at the expense of other passengers who had purchased regular tickets."
On Thursday at 10 P.M., a military command post was opened at Ben-Gurion, in order to directly tend to the pro-Palestinian activists expected to arrive over the weekend.




source: haaretz.com

Coalition of Ethnic Nationalities of Nigeria Condemns Murderous Ativities of 'BOKO HARAM'

*Calls for Urgent Restructuring of the Police
*Re-cycling of Ministers not in the best interest of Nigeria


Posted by Lateef Lawal

The Coalition of Ethnic Nationalities of Nigeria (CENN) has ondemned in strong terms the activities of the murderous sect called 'Boko Haram' and tasked the Federal Government of Nigeria to take urgent action on unravelling the masterminds behind the activ ities of the sect.
This was the concensous of the coalition made up of 17 ethnic sub-groups in the country that met at the Century Hotel, Okota, Lagos yesterday to deliberate on several issues concerning the state and health of the Nation.
The body also discussed other socio-political problems plaguing the country which neede urgent attention to prevent an unwarranted explosion and anarchy.
In the communique read at the end of the meeting and read by the leader of CENN and the founder/president of the Oodua Peoples Congress(OPC),Dr Frederick Fasehun, the Coalition  resolves as follows:
*CENN notes with concern the insecurity currently pervading the length and breadth of the country and the apparent incapacity of security agencies to curtail the situation
*The nefarious operations of the group called Boko Haram must be considered an act of war and terrorism in the class of a foreign invasion against the country, and must be drastically confronted as such by the security agencies to prevent further international embarrassment to Nigeria and further loss of Nigerian lives and property
*We condemn in the strongest terms the indiscriminate targeting of innocent civilians and uniformed personnel by the group called Boko Haram
*As peace-loving members of the Nigerian entity, we demand that the extremist activities of Boko Haram be urgently curtailed and the criminal elements of this evil organisation be urgently brought to justice

Dr Frederick Fasehun

*Unlike Boko Haram that is being propelled by nebulous and abstract reasons, major ethnic nationality groups have always agitated for definite causes and never levied war against the people they claim to represent; therefore if there is need for dialogue over conditions in the North, better dividend would be yielded in exploring the established channels in the zone such as the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF) and Northern Union (NU)
*Urgent restructuring of the police must be undertaken to reflect better remunerations, with the Force employing more graduate youths into the police ranks; the sheriff system of policing should be encouraged to facilitate localized Intelligence-gathering and crime-fighting; governors as Chief Security Officers of their state must have firm control of the police in their localities
*Banks must immediately vacate their recent order that customers must leave a minimum balance of N25,000 in their savings accounts, a guideline that contradicts Nigerians’ constitutional guarantees of “Right to Freedom from Discrimination” and fails to reflect current economic realities; the Central Bank, the Federal Government and the National Assembly must urgently put in place measures to reverse this draconian banking regulation; concerned banks that insist on retaining the roguish policy must be made to exempt old customers or grant a minimum timeline of 12 months before commencing its implementation
*CENN discourages state governments from prohibiting the operations of commercial motorcycles popularly called “Okada” as such a ban will further complicate the problems of transportation, unemployment and Nigeria’s crime index; in banning Okada, authorities will be cutting off the head to cure a headache
*The government must tackle corruption and misgovernment at all levels
*Production, transmission and distribution of power supply should be decentralized to states and private sector participants to give NEPA/PHCN healthy competition
*All three tiers of government, Federal, State and Local, should urgently embark on a policy of massive employment for the youths of the country
*CENN notes, with concern, the National Youth Service Corps’s continuation of its reckless, hasty and misguided policy of posting Nigerian graduates to states where their predecessors were just recently slaughtered with impunity, without NYSC or state government’s first putting in place structures and assurances of their safety
*In line with the Federal Character dictates of the Nigerian Constitution, the Federal and state governments must allocate offices and positions with a view to promoting national unity and giving all regions in the country a sense of belongingness
*The current list of ministers reflects a recycling of individuals who in their past postings failed to add value to the well-being of the Nation and the welfare of Nigerians, thus offering little hope that Nigerians will experience the change they urgently desire from the cabinet being constituted
*We congratulate the Federal Government of President Goodluck Jonathan over his intervention in the high price of cement, designed to reduce the cost of the commodity, and hereby call for similar measures to crash the cost of food, kerosene and diesel
*That we of CENN re-emphasise our commitment to the convening of the Sovereign National Conference (SNC) as the ultimate panacea for Nigeria’s multifarious problems.
Those present at the meeting are ,Dr. Frederick  Fasehun, Chairman, CENN, Comrade Bright Ezeocha, General Secretary, CENN,Alhaji Yerima Shettima, Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF),Dr. Tony Nwaezeigwe, President, Igbo People’s Congress,Alhaji Asari Dokubo, President, Niger-Delta Volunteers Force and Michael Aba of United Middle Belt Youth Congress.
Others include Comrade Sola Edwards, Publicity Secretary, Oodua People’s Congress,Comrade Regent Youmor, President, Izon Community, Lagos,Mr Nelson Ekujumi, Ilaje National Alliance Movement,Comrade  Job Francis, Akwa Ibom People’s Integrity and Peace Initiative,Rev. Godspower Odenema, President, Niger Delta Youth Movement,Comrade Goddy Ewerode, Isoko Youth Movement,Prince Ezeala Ferdinand Akano, Democratic Alliance for Youth,Evangelist Kunle Adesokan, Federation of Yoruba Consciousness and Culture.Comrade S.A.Akinnoye, President, Oodua Liberation Movement ,Dr Declan Ihekaire, President, Igbo Youth Movement and Aiyedun O.Albert, President Association of Ewe Indigenes.

EDO STATE INTERNALLY GENERATED REVENUE INCREASES FROM N.3B TO N1.3B

-says Governor Oshiomhole 

Posted by Lateef Lawal

The  internally generated revenue in Edo state has increased from N300 million to about N1.3 billion, the Governor,Comrade Adams Oshiomhole , disclosed yesterday.
This development according to him  was a fall out of the strategy put in place to improve internally generated revenue for the heart beat state.
The governor made the disclosure while fielding question from reporters at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos on his way to Abuja for a meeting with his Lagos State counterpart, Babatunde Raji Fashola.
He explained that Edo State has taken a cue from  Lagos State, on the many ways to improve its revenue generation in order to boost funds for the socio - economic development of the state.
The Edo Governor said : "We have made some progress in Edo State, these are the local revenue from about 300 million to about 1.3 billion in a month, we are still on it there is work in progress but we have made some progress.
That is a business for the federal government, it has been a federal government agenda over the years, you remember all our fight while I was in the NLC so it is a federal matter it is not for the state and so we will treat it as a federal issue. It is a federal issue it is not a federal of a foreign country it is a federal issue of Nigeria and whatever they do or fail to do or how they do it will have effect on the people there is no question about that."
The Edo Governor who said there is nothing unusual about efforts by states in the South to forge economic integration  through inter modal transportation, said : "
No, don’t mix this up, every states have its own internal transport challenges and the installation is not the same."
Comrade Oshiomhole further explained that the state government will continue to explore ways and means to improve the living standard of the people through people oriented policies.
On the agitation for fuel subsidy removal by governors articulated at the Governors Forum, Oshiomhole explained that it is a matter that resides with the Federal Government, which should be adequately addressed.

We Will Make Minna Little Dubai

--says Fagbemi (managing director of Maevis)

by Lateef Lawal
The Managing Director of Maevis Nigeria Limited, Mr Tunde Fagbemi, in this interview speaks on airport development and how far his company has gone on the Niger State Government's mega airport city project  for the State capital, Minna. 
What can you say about airports development in Nigeria in relations to the Minna Airport project?
The federal government of Nigeria has in his wisdom built 22 airports, and whether you like it or not the one in Lagos has actually developed beyond an airport city.
It has turned to be a mega city. The unfortunate thing is that while they were developing the estate around the airport, they didn’t not plan it to include industrial estate in a very fashionable manner, housing in a very fashionable.
So you will say Lagos has lost that opportunity. There is another airport that has that opportunity or advantage today; it is the Abuja International Airport.
But again, it is far from town and the Abuja metropolis is struggling to develop into a city on its own. Therefore trying to make an airport city out of Abuja airport may be a challenge in itself.
Again, don’t forget that it is like Andrews Airport to Nigeria that is where the President takes-off and land and occasionally they have to close that airport for what I call safety and security movement of very important personalities (VIP).
Now, what we then did was look at the proximity of Nigeria itself to Europe and look at the proximity of Europe to the rest of the world, especially Nigeria.
If you truly look at the map of the world, you will find out that Nigeria is basically in the middle of the world. Therefore if you leave say Singapore which is farthest to your right and you fly 13 hours you will be in Nigeria.
If you leave Nigeria perhaps to Sao Tome or Argentina, you will probably be there again in another 13 hours maximum. If you also went up to Canada, maximum 13 hours you will be there.
Minna presented a very unique advantage and the Governor of Niger State, has taken extremely good care of that advantage.
What have we done so far, I am happy to report to you that the following has been completed: we have completed the master plan, we have completed the economic plan, we have done the first of the (IM) which is called the information memorandum.
We have spoken to the major financiers; I confirm that we have the first set of financiers, basically on line. The implementation now requires the following: because we need to apply to export processing and free trade zone, we have spoken to NEXA; NEXA is currently processing the last of the papers to grant them an export processing zone.
So, the whole of the airport and the apportionment of about 10 kilometers round it is all going to be like a trade free zone. Then people who live in that free trade, some of them are expatriate, Chinese, and some are British.
They will have factories there, those factories will process things. If they don’t leave Minna to come into Nigeria technically they are still in quote, a foreign land. When they are finished, they will load them in the aircraft and then the aircraft will go to London.
We have secured already manufacturers from China who have agreed to do their winter manufacturing and complete their early winter, winter manufacturing in Minna.
What do you mean by winter manufacturing in Minna?
It gets very cold in China around December, November, so there are shut down in a few places there.
So what they do now is that they will stock a 747 aircraft full of semi finished things, bring them to Minna and complete the manufacturing technically in Minna and then export it to the shops in Europe for winter.
They are training people as I speak to you, and they are ready now to say, this is the future in which that place is going to go.
Would Minna work? It will work for two reasons. If you look at the photographs that were shown yesterday when there was a lot of traffic, it came from the eastern flank of Abuja, that is Yanyan.
That place has a huge quantum of people. There is another place which is Suleja, and the idea is rather than attracting migrant workers only into Abuja, what we want to do is to create a Suleja in between Abuja and Minna where the qualified workers exist and the then the push pull effect of migrant labour would not just come from Suleja into Abuja every day, they will go from Suleja into Minna, finish what they want to do, come back into Suleja.
And even the educated, very, very qualified wives, children of the civil servants who don’t have factories to work in Abuja, they can leave Abuja in the morning by 6am, just like you leave Epe or Ajah  by 1 hour you will be in Minna.
You will work in the Minna airport city with your qualified children and you would have finished and come back.
If you are in Lagos for instance we have agreed also, we are talking to an airline and that airline will be positioned in such a way that they can pick you for a weekend trip, pick you for a daily trip, you go to the airport city, you shop duty free.
If you buy in excess of your average duty free, which is the basic business travel allowance then you pay based on whatever. So if you enter Minna it will be like you just travel to London and you are doing your shopping the way it should be done.
Immediately you finish buying it, you will come back to Lagos, you will pay the normal duty on it. But if it is personal effect it is the same way you will bring your personal effect from where ever.
So we are trying to create a little Dubai, if it works and we believe it is going to work, then the rest of West Africa, the rest of Africa will just turnout to do their holiday in Minna. But the second thing that has happened to the governor, and I should also say,  he then recognised that of the of the five big games, that the white man wants to see or shoot,  he owns within his state.
He owns Yankari games reserves, he owns the Shiroro games reserves, and the Oyo National Park. Because he has that, he has elephant, hippopotamus, lions and so on. We have also discovered that there are Europeans who want to just come, maybe 5000 of them every year to come and watch and see these animals in their wild.
The Kanji airport base exit, so there is a landing strip. The Shiroro landing strip exist, so we will try and bring in 5000, 10,000 foreigners come in the first 2, 3 years. Imagine if you bring 10,000 people who spend $5000 each, that $5000 doesn’t stay in Minna, it goes to the village of Boso, and goes to new Busa.
And the people in that place will now start breeding chicken; they will now start breeding egg. So the income percolates even to the rural area. So he is committed to it, and I am happy that the thing is working.
Like they say sometimes what do you see first, buildings or plans? We are doing more planning so that we execute a good roll out rather than put mortar on each other.
But I tell you within the next six months you see rapid development because the thought process is clear and it has been properly taken care of and the right environment is being created. Lucky for and luckily for Nigeria he has been voted in the second time.
How long and how much has been spent so far?
How much has been spent so far is something I always joke about. There is cash capital and there is intellectual capital. I worry more about intellectual capital I never worry about money. Because if money can be recovered, money is also relative.
But if you have got good advice that can ensure that every amount of money that you spend, you are able to make 10, 20, 30 times of that back and you are able to transform the lives of the people.
What this gentleman is doing is not spending money now, he is actually doing an economic regeneration programme that would transform the lives of all of the people of Niger State. It is a very huge budget, it is not about money.
Each time when they say how much did we spend, the government will spend, and the man who wants to build a factory is going to spend. Should I calculate his own money in it? He can decide to put gold faucet in his house.
Somebody may decide to put leather chair in his house another man put wooden chair. The totality of what amounts to be spent in that place is sometimes, they say is in billions of dollars, and I say whatever amount.
What is critical is will the government create the right enabling environment? Would they have the necessary approval of the place? Do they have the where withal to execute it? And would they have the capital to be able to push it on its own free will? That answer is available. I believe that we are on the right course.
The duration of the project also is quite interesting; my job is to see that that project takes off and reaches what they call a breakeven point. At breakeven point even if I choose to be the most intelligent person in the world, I cannot stay.
I will give you an example, Abuja was put together by the Ajoseogun and co as engineers, have you ever heard of their names before? They were the master visionaries, they put it together.
Thereafter, Babangida moved Nigeria into Abuja. Abuja already existed; it only needs a good capital use of it. After that Babangida has left, what happened between Babangida’s time and Obasanjo’s time and what has happened after Obasanjo came to now? Believe you me it is big, because the whole of us used to go to Abuja for conference before. By 4 o' clock the last flight is coming back to Lagos.
If you don’t run to that airport by 4 o clocks, you are going to sleep on the corridor. There is no hotel then. But see what has happened, in 10, 20 years of democracy the place has exploded. The same thing will happen to Minna airport city.
Once they can reach a level of sustainability, attracting more industries, bringing in more people, attracting bigger names to come and join in the dream, it is going to be self regenerating. Therefore when will the project end? We think it is a city that live beyond it economic time and be able to become economically self sustaining.
What is also good about Minna? Remember the reason why the white men stopped in Minna is also the reason why Minna was even to produce three heads of state. Nnamdi Azikwe is not an Igbo man; he is actually more from Minna. Babangida is from there, Addul salam is from there.
Take Abeokuta out, the railway stopped in Abeokuta. So any place where you have the opportunity for transportation to come together you will have intellectual discuss, you will economic discuss and the people who come from those places because they are cosmopolitan, they are very broad in their outlook, they are people who may change the world.
Again I see Minna as a major success; I spent quality time there, the rest of our team spent quality time there. As you know one of us happily have to leave for England. She is back, the plan has been done everything is there and I think it is a sustainable model as an example for every state government to take and replicate. If it works in Minna why not anywhere else? It can work anywhere else.
What are your plans for air travelers in the country?
For Maevis itself and our experience within the industry, what we have done is very unique. There is a company we have which is called tagit. You will be surprise what we have also achieved.
When we were trying to put in the check-in counters at the airport in Lagos, we have problems of footprint where we could place it because that place is some time over crowded. We then had to start working across the divide then find out what kind of device could work as a kiosk.
So what we have decided to do is like a kiosk on its own. You go to England or any of this international airport, you walk up to the kiosk, you strike your passport, once you strike your passport, the word comes out of it, you put your details on it and then in a minute that kiosk prints out for you a boarding pass.
And you walk in and do a bag drop. It is in Heathrow, it is everywhere else. We have changed that now, rather than putting check-in kiosk here, we have chosen to put the kiosk into your hand. So rather than make it a common use self service kiosk, we have turned it into a personal use sales service kiosk.
So what you do now is you will buy your ticket, you will enter your name and your PINR , your ticket number, you will enter every details on it, you will send it and your boarding pass will come on this phone. Once your boarding pass comes on the phone, your 2D back will show up on the screen of the phone and that is what you will bring to the airport as your boarding pass. What we have basically done right now is we have changed this boarding pass and put it on the phone.
So you don’t have to have this anymore in the airport.   What you will have is this one. In order to make it more convenient for you and even what the CBN governor has said about a cashless Lagos and a cashless society, we are now working with banks to ensure that the banks can now work with airlines such that in terms of wanting to pay for your ticket and getting your ticket happily sold to you at the kiosk.
Again, this then becomes a ticket purchase kiosk, just like you will go to a vending machine putting N100 and then it will give coca-cola. Again, if you load your money from your bank account you put it here, then your ticket will come here. Once your ticket comes here, then whatever. So this now becomes your travel assistance.
And that is what Maevis has just achieved. We are going through the final issues, once we finish by the grace of God, I believe that if there is anything to celebrate with the new minister, if there is anything to celebrate with you that is what we want to do. Celebrate this achievement and this success with the new minister.
What we believe will happen immediately therefore is this: we believe two things will happen. The first one is that the level of people who will have access to being able to buy air ticket will change. Because some of the things that used to make people not to travel by air is that they used to ask themselves how am I going to buy my ticket.
But if you know you can buy your ticket on your mobile phone, and you know that you can check-in on your mobile phone and you know that you can actually board on your mobile phone, the level of penetration of sales of those tickets will go up and more people will be able to come.
Ours is to help the industry generate what they call primary demand and to sustain the secondary demands also so that people who normally fly today, we simplify how they travel and people who don’t know how to fly we have simplify how they can do about buying their ticket.
Because you can imagine how it is now, if you are not very educated, at least you can be trying it in the corner of your room for at least 1 hour before you get it right. So when you get it right that is when you get it right.
It is like you making coffee for yourself or making tea or trying to make your own food. If the salt is too little or too much you don’t mind you will manage it. After a while you will know how to do it well.
And that is why we have challenged ourselves. So my prayer is that we will be able to get this launched very shortly with you as co-travelers. So it is better days for Nigeria, you will not only see those kiosk in the middle of the hall but each of your phone is actually going to be a mobile kiosk.
The only last thing we are doing now is with the banks in Nigeria and before the end of maybe in weeks it is all going to be solved.

Nigerian-American Caught With Stolen US Travel Documents

*Cheats Security Checks to Board Virgin America flight

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

A Nigerian American clutching another traveler's expired boarding pass made it through a New York airport federal security checkpoint and boarded a Virgin America jetliner to Los Angeles International Airport, authorities in the US said . 
The incident has raised questions about the effectiveness of airport and airline screening procedures.
Days later, Olajide Oluwaseun Noibi tried to board a Delta flight from Los Angeles to Atlanta with another expired pass and was arrested and charged with being a stowaway aboard an aircraft, the FBI said.
He could face up to five years in prison if convicted, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said. Noibi appeared in a Los Angeles federal courtroom on Friday.
Noibi spent several days in Southern California before returning to the Los Angeles airport and trying to board an early Wednesday flight on Delta Air Lines bound for Atlanta. The FBI said he again presented an expired boarding pass at the departure gate and had no valid identification.
When questioned, Noibi acknowledged he did not pay for the Virgin America flight and explained that he traveled to Los Angeles to recruit people for his software business, the affidavit said.
He also said he was able to go through security screening Tuesday in Los Angeles by presenting a boarding pass, his student ID and a police report that his U.S. passport had been stolen.
However, he spent the night at the gate after not getting on a Tuesday flight to Atlanta.He claims his boarding pass then expired and he was denied access to the Wednesday flight.
A search of his bag found 10 expired boarding passes, none of them with his name, authorities said. Noibi was then arrested.
Investigators say Noibi, 24, boarded Virgin America Flight 415 at John F. Kennedy International Airport last Friday night. The flight crew didn't realize an extra passenger was onboard until mid-flight when he was spotted sitting in a seat that was supposed to be empty.
In an affidavit, FBI Agent Kevin Hogg said flight attendants asked Noibi for a boarding pass and he presented one that was a day old and had someone else's name on it. He also showed a University of Michigan identification card with his picture on it.
The crew determined that Noibi's name wasn't on the flight manifest.
University of Michigan spokeswoman Kelly Cunningham said Noibi is not a current student but was enrolled as an engineering student at the Ann Arbor university between 2004 and 2006.
Eimiller said Noibi is a U.S. citizen who told investigators he lives in Atlanta.
The boarding pass used in New York belonged to a man who said his pass went missing from his pocket on his way to the airport on June 23 and was issued a new one at the ticket counter. Noibi is suspected of boarding the plane with the expired pass the next day.
Identity checks at airport security checkpoints were put in place as one of many new security measures after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The federal document checkers have basic fraudulent identification training.
"Every passenger that passes through security checkpoints is subject to many layers of security including thorough physical screening at the checkpoint," Transportation Security Administration spokesman Greg Soule said. 
"TSA's review of this matter indicates that the passenger went through screening."TSA would not comment on what else happened, citing an ongoing FBI investigation.




source:msnbc

AFRAA Joint Fuel Committee Hold Talks On High Cost of Fuel

African Airlines Association (AFRAA), has initiated measures to tackle the high cost of Aviation Fuel(Jet A1),which is a major operational cost item in the industry.
The association's secretariat has therefore undertaken to assist airlines to meet with fuel marketers to reduce fuel costs in conformity with stipulations in the AFRAA 2011  – 2013 Business Plan.
In this regard, a meeting of the AFRAA Joint Fuel Committee was held fortnight ago at AFRAA Headquarters.
According to AFRAA, Fuel costs constitute on average 30% of operational costs worldwide.

In Africa, the cost is up to 40% for some airlines. 

The meeting discussed the  importance and modalities for a functional Joint Fuel Project which should be operational by 01 January 2012.
The participants all agreed to re-double efforts to ensure success of the project to avoid having more airlines going under as a result of escalating costs.
AFRAA member airlines are urged to participate in this laudable project which in the long run will ensure that they remain viable and competitive considering the numerous challenges confronting the industry.

LEADERSHIP DEVASTATION,BANE OF POVERTY & ECONOMIC BACKWARDNESS IN AFRICA

-Says Senator Bola Tinubu,ex-governor,Lagos State

Posted by Lateef Lawal

Poverty and economic backwardness in Nigeria and most of the countries in the continent of Africa has been attributed to leadership devastation.

This attribution was made by the former governor of Lagos State and the national leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria(ACN), Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu while speaking with journalists at the Lagos Airport,Ikeja on his return from Accra, Ghana where he bagged the African Servant Leadership Award.

He said that in a continent that has suffered a lot of deprivation and wars brought about by introvert leaders, the award given to him has far reaching significant to him, Nigeria and the continent.

According to Senator Tinubu,:'We have not been able to  substancially provide for the poor and the down-trodden and this is an encouragement to invert the pyramide. If you see government after government and leadership after leadersip,people are more concerned about trhe top echelon of leadership.'

 He said,:'That is why in Nigeria today, we are still talking about minimum wage of N18,000.You can not even define what is there for blue collar job and the white collar job.....you have not come to the bottom of the pyramid where people are complaining about the quality of education.'

The former Governor of Lagos State noted that,:'If you say you want to fight poverty and you want to encourage tourism as well, and  you have not been able to develope your medical facility so that researh and development can be able to eliminate the scourge of malaria that is killing millions of people in many countries in the continent, that is so glaring to the outside world, then you need to have yourself prepared to do all of this and bring the poor from the bottom of the ladder to really to have a living standard that is worthy  of humanity . 

'We have always theorise and apostlate about leadership .Leadership defined for  the people and caring compassion,ability to chart a new cause that will care for ordinary common man and the down-trodden and lift millions out of poverty '.

'If you look at Brazil, we were on the same level before now .Today, they are able to uplift their people.Their standard of living, the purchasing power which is improving their own economy.

Why should we continue with the abundant resources that God has given us to export our goods, raw materials to be refined and send back to us?Where are those industries that will create jobs,develop skills and the capacity to drive the economy'. 

'We have huge market, we have huge resources ,material resources, blessed with good weather.We are not been devastated by natural disasters but by man made disaster in the leadership and wars. If truely, the continent is our  mother, we have abused this mama too  much.if truely our fathers like Rawlings and many of them have gone to the extent of putting their lives on line, with the wisdom of Papa Obafemi Awolowo  and many others have made great sacrifices, so where is our generation?My be we should now start to look at the cause of bad leadership and possibly, we can find solutions'.  

Ogun State will soon witness divident of democracy &Good governance, says Governor Amosun

l-r,Governor Raji Fashola of Lagos State,President Goodluck
and Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State

The people of Ogun State will soon be witnessing the dividents of democracy and good governance, Governor Ibikunle Amosun assured yesterday. 

He said that his leadership would deliver the dividends of democracy to people in the border communities, who have for a long time suffered neglect by the previous administrations.

The governor made the promise while fielding questions from journalists after seeing off President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Lounge of the Lagos Airport, Ikeja,Lagos.The President was in Ota,Ogun State to commission a pharmaceutical company.

The governor urged the people to be ready to contribute their quota by paying taxes for the development of the gateway state.

Amuson assured the journalists : " I   will  invite you all to see what we have done so far in office.Things will take a different dimension, as those of  you live in Ogun state and you pay your taxes in Lagos, all of that has to change.For such people living in the corridors  of the Lagos / Ibadan expressway I think the only reason why such things transpired is that there is gross infrastructure deficit and that is because when  government is not alive to its responsibility.That is what happens, look at the Mowe-Ibafo axis but, like I said wait till Wednesday don’t let me spill the bean, we will soon unveil our agenda for people along that corridor. We will soon begin work, and the people will see."

The Ogun Governor further said : " You have to wait for two more days, because we are doing that on Wednesday.And today is Monday but so far so good, we are learning on the job and you will have discovered that we are not just sitting down we go round to ensure that we can give to our people the much needed dividends of democracy. If you go roundyou will see what we are doing. "

SALVAGE PROGRAMME KEEPS AGEING AIRPORTS IN OPERATION

Posted by Lateef Lawal


Airports across the country have recorded significant improvement through the introduction of 'salvage programme' aimed at keeping the ageing structures functioning.
 The Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) Mr. Richard Aisuebeogun made this remark while receiving the newly elected executive of the League of Airports and Aviation Correspondents (LAAC) in his office in Lagos.
He explained that without the 'salvage programme' carried out in the last two and half years, some of the airports would have ceased operations by now.
According to him, the country once had airports that airlines refused to fly into because there were no fire cover  but expressed joy that there was no airport in the country today that has no brand new fire truck and personnel to man them.
Mr. Aisuebeogun remarked that long period of neglect of airports across the country resulted in the wear and tear of the facilities which eventually led to system collapse in some cases adding that the organization was fast overcoming all these problems.
The FAAN Boss said it would take time to get these problems solved because the facilities across all airports were decaying. “It can not take us two years to replace them, renew them and sustain them, it will take us a longer time to do it and that is what we are doing now”
According to Mr. Aisuebeogun, the airports would get better with the current level of attention being given to them by ensuring that with the limited resources available, what to be done would be carried out to ensure passengers comfort.
He assured that the car parks at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja would be put in order in few months time while reconstruction work was on going at the Sam Mbakwe Cargo Airport, Owerri and would be one of the best terminals when completed.

FASEHUN 'REBRANDS' OPC

*Says No Room For Anarchists

*Orders New Security Coded I.D Cards/

  New Membership Forms

Dr Frederick Fasehun,OPC President

Story By Lateef Lawal

The Oodua People’s Congress(OPC) has embarked on what its leadership termed ‘Rebranding OPC’ in a bid to shore up its image and wider acceptability, especially within the Yoruba tribal group and their descendants in the Diaspora.

In this regard and going by its plan of action, it has embarked on massive withdrawal of all identification cards(I.D Cards) earlier issued to its members and commenced the issuance of new ones with coded security marks.

This development was unveiled by the Founder and President of the organization, Dr Frederick Fasehun  during a press briefing at his Century Hotel, Okota, Lagos.

He explained that though the mainstream OPC was not made up of angels, deviants lurks within it too, adding that many of the few deviants acted out of youthful exuberance, but the over-zealousness of these few misguided youths was not in anyway the true representation of the ideals of the Congress.

Dr Fasehun noted that the presence of such deviants was not in OPC  alone, they abound in many other ethnic nationalities.

He went on:’These youths, untutored in the far reaching ideals of OPC to the Yoruba Nation, should be seen for what they truly are-Anarchists. Their savagery represent nothing that OPC proclaims. OPC stands for social justice for ALL. Many of these anarchists compromise every prerequisites of respectability.’

Explaining further why the mainstream OPC was rebranding by charting a new identity first with the issuance of security coded identity cards and filling of fresh membership forms, Dr Fasehun said,:’ The lowly gave up humility and assumed equality with long standing national figures and discipline became an uncommon feature.’

He said that these group of people were easy tools in the hands of politicians who recruits such anarchists as security guards, bouncers and mercenaries for their many ‘fancies’.

THE OPC President said, ‘ This is why we have undertaken  self assessment to re-order the organization for vast improvement and redefinition that make the true members readily identifiable by the generality of the people through their character, comportment, discipline and the redesigned unique Identity Card that each true member must readily display on demand or when necessary’.

ECOWAS Plans Regional Air, Maritime Projects.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission says efforts are being made to improve air and marine transportation in the region through the development of ECOAIR air transport project and the further development of the ECOMARINE initiative with the cooperation of the private sector and financial institutions.

President of ECOWAS Commission, Amb. James Victor Gbeho who made this known at a Media Briefing in Abuja to commemorate the 36th Anniversary of the Community, said the other programmes relating to the facilitation of road transport and regional transit through the corridor approach are being implemented with financial support of the World Bank, European Union and the African Development Bank.

According to Gbeho, the Eco Air transport project is to be achieved through an amalgam of the existing West African airlines to compete internationally, noting that the companies were small and limited in terms of resources, pointing out that direct travel schedules within the region were erratic. He said, already, Aviation chiefs were asked to work together with ECOWAS and within 4 weeks, air companies will be invited to discuss how to drive the initiative.

While fielding questions from newsmen at the briefing, the Commission revealed that its operational budget was now been sourced wholly from member states which it said was an indication of great political will of the community. It said on 25 percent funding of its programmes come from external bodies and 3 percent from its partners debunking claims that the organization is being run by donor funds.

On its fight against human trafficking, the ECOWAS Commissioner for Gender and Human Development, Dr. Adrienne Diop said a joint action-plan with the Central African Economic Community is being implemented to reduce the scourge. She however stressed the need for families to be enlightened to discourage parents and guardians from promoting trafficking while calling for sanctions and strong laws to check the activities of human traffickers.

The ECOWAS President, Gbeho further blamed human trafficking on 3 factors namely, poverty, ignorance and greed. He said the media has the responsibility of enlightening the people especially those at the grass roots to check the problem. He said the commission would therefore meet with the media to workout strategies to help it perform its role more effectively.

Speaking on the implementation of the single currency plan for the sub-region- the ECO and multilateral surveillance, the Commissioner for Micro-Economic Policy, Prof. Bamba N’Galadjo, the commission will ensure monitoring of member states on how they coordinate their monetary policies towards the implementation of the common currency.

He said each member states must manage public funds within the common regional rules as this principle, he explained, will build confidence of the member countries in the ECO ahead of its introduction in 2020.



Other achievements of ECOWAS listed by Amb. Gbeho include implementation of its flagship Protocol on Free Movement of People and Goods, and the Right of Residence within the region, which is the first and only visa-free travel regime on the continent of Africa, commencement of its transport and transit facilitation program, the major part of which involves the construction of five joint border-posts along the major corridors in the region and the finalization in 2010 of a logical framework and a regional agriculture investment plan amounting to US$900 million for the implementation of ECOWAP for the 2011-2015 period; and commitment by the ECOWAS Commission to contribute US$150 million over a five-year period towards the implementation of the regional agricultural investment plan.

The Commission has also launched the INTELCOM II program with the identification of 32 inter-State telecommunications liaisons to constitute a joint infrastructural broad-band network which will be connected to the international global network via submarine cables. As at December 2009, 55 percent of the liaisons had been completed and 45 percent had become operational.

14 national studies have been validated as at November 2010 as part of the Commission’s continued formulation of Community Development Program (CDP) and making the Commission’s programmes impact the grassroots within Member States. In this regard, financial assistance would be provided to the National Committees of the CDP following the submission of their work programs to the Commission.

In Education, the Commission has continued with measures for the implementation of the ECOWAS Convention on Certification Equivalence.

On Democracy and Good Governance, through the adoption and effective application of the ECOWAS Mechanism (1999) and the Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance (2001), ECOWAS has been able to progressively and incrementally pacify the region and promote democratic governance. By applying the policy of ‘Zero Tolerance’ to power obtained or maintained by unconstitutional means, ECOWAS, with the cooperation of the African Union and the United Nations, has succeeded over the past two years to restore constitutional order and legality in the Member-States Guinea, Niger and Cote d’Ivoire.

Despite the remarkable progress achieved, the ECOWAS Commission however realized "that the security situation in the region continues to be characterized by fragility and unpredictability. Governance institutions remain weak and greater efforts need to be applied, in collaboration with civil society and other partners, to strengthen institutions, reform the security system to make it more responsive to democratic control and human rights; and ensure greater separation of powers, adherence to the rule of law and anti-corruption principles".

Also present at the Media Briefing were the ECOWAS commission Vice President, Jean de Dieu Somda and the Commissioner for Agriculture, Environment and Water Resources, Qusseini Salifou.