IKOSI-EJIRIN LCDA TO EVOLVE NEW ADMINISTRATIVE STRATEGY - CHAIRMAN

The Chairman of Ikosi-Ejirin LCDA, Prince Ganiu Olusegun Adetola has promised to evolve an administrative strategy that will change the face of the LCDA and establish a firm infrastructural development that will stand the test of time. The Chairman disclosed this at the commissioning of a block of six classrooms, which included the provision of Chairs, Benches and tables, to the Anglican Primary School, Museju-Mutakun, in commemoration of his 1200 days in office. He also commissioned the newly renovated multi-purpose hall, Primary Healthcare Centre and distributed three electrical transformers to various communities in the area. Prince Olusegun stated that prior to the inception of his administration, the state of infrastructure in the area was in deplorable condition. As such, he is determined to bring change to the council area, through a sustainable development aimed at realizing the aspiration of the people in the community. He added that his administration in realizing the set goals in the council area, has embarked on the construction of good roads, provision of infrastructural facilities and repositioning of the machineries of government which would move the Local council forward. According to him, “the recognition of the essence of healthy living through the development of hygienic environment and improvement in the educational sector would be the focus of the LCDA from time-to-time”. However, he admonishes the people to assist the government by making judicious use of the facilities provided, stressing that this will in the long run reduce the overhead cost of the LCDA. In his remark at the occasion, the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Remi Ibirogba, who was represented by the Director of Press and Public Relations, Mrs. Ronke Osho commended the initiative of the Chairman, while imploring him to continue to improve on his service delivery to the people in the area. Also present at the ceremony were top Government Functionaries, Royal Fathers, Community Leaders, and Dignitaries from all walks of life. RO/TMS/FO

PRESS RELEASE FASHOLA INSPECTS ILLEGAL MINING AREAS ON BADAGRY WATERWAYS

…Warns of far reaching legislation, punishment against the practice Lagos State Governor, Mr Babatunde Fashola (SAN) on Tuesday inspected the erosion affected sites and illegal sand mining areas on the Badagry waterways, calling for community action against the practice and warning that government will enact far reaching legislation that will inflict very serious punishment for those who want to persist in the act. Governor Fashola who spoke with State House Correspondents at the State Government Chalet, Badagry after the inspection of Ajido and other areas which he undertook alongside some members of the State Executive Council members said that the State will adopt a multi agency collaboration to put a stop to illegal mining in the area. “The law enforcement agencies will act. We will have multi-disciplinary and multi- agency collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Ministry of Waterfront Infrastructure and the Lagos State Water Ways Authority and we will put an end to this”. Expressing deep sadness over the negative effects of the activities of the illegal sand miners, Governor Fashola who also had a meeting with all the community and traditional leaders in the Badagry Division after the inspection, said the issue calls for community action as those responsible for the illegal mining are not aliens but members of the community from Ajido to Badagry. “And here we have leaders and all sorts of representatives, we have traditional rulers. So it is a call for community action because the people who are doing this very illegal business, this very dangerous business are not aliens, they are members of the community here from Ajido to Badagry. And one expects that the leaders of those communities will rise up and stop this”. “This is an extremely very dangerous business. Nobody should continue in this kind of business and we are determined to put a stop to it”, the Governor emphasized. Governor Fashola described the waterways stretching from Badagry all the way to Epe as God’s gift to Lagos with a Peninsular in between, a lagoon at the back and the Atlantic in front, adding that it is coastline that many people wish for. He stated that on the eastern side towards Ibeju- lekki, one can see ravages of erosion and vessels that have come aground ashore which the State Government is still trying to deal with. “On my way here this morning alone, I counted 15 ships that have lost anchor, damaging our coastline. Now as if that is not bad enough, we have come here now and we see that this place is a calmer area and not really yet subject to that devastation of nature, climate change and global warming, but the people themselves are the ones now devastating it, digging with all those little canoes and they have dug in some places almost four to five metres to the Atlantic. Now that is a danger waiting to happen”, the Governor reiterated. Among those who accompanied the Governor on the Inspection were the Commissioners for Environment, Mr Tunji Bello, Waterfront Infrastructure Development, Prince Adesegun Oniru, Mineral Resources and Energy, Mr Taofik Tijani, Physical Planning and Urban Development, Mr Toyin Ayinde, Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Mr Demorin Kuye, Chairmen of Badagry West Local Council Development Area, Mr Hotonyon Bamgbose, Badagry Local Government, Mr Husitode Moses, Hon Abudu Amida, Olorunda Local Council Development Area and Managing Director of Lagos State Waterways Authority, Mr Yinka Marinho. SIGNED HAKEEM BELLO SPECIAL ADVISER TO H.E ON MEDIA MARCH 13, 2012

US CONSULATE IN KANO(March 14, 2012 press release)

US CONSULATE IN KANO The United States plans to establish a consulate in Kano in order to have a diplomatic presence in northern Nigeria. A new consulate in Kano would be an addition to the over 70 U.S. consulates throughout the world, including the U.S. Consulate General in Lagos. Consulates are regional diplomatic offices. A consulate in Kano would allow for stronger commercial and economic ties between the U.S. and northern Nigeria, further educational exchanges and other public diplomacy programs, and allow the U.S. government to better provide services to U.S. citizens living in the north. The United States has historically had an official presence in northern Nigeria. For many years, the U.S. staffed a consulate in Kaduna, which closed when the Embassy was relocated from Lagos to Abuja, and Lagos was re-designated as a Consulate General. Planning for a new consulate in Kano has been underway for some time; U.S. government officials have already met with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Kano State officials to discuss the plans. Information Office Public Affairs Section Embassy of the United States of America Plot 1075 Diplomatic Drive Central Business District Abuja, F.C.T. Tel: 09-461-4000

SENATE DIVIDES OVER A BILL SEEKING TO SILENT LABOUR UNIONS AGAINST GOVERNMENT'S ANTI-LABOUR POLICY

SENATE DIVIDES OVER A BILL SEEKING TO SILENT LABOUR UNIONS AGAINST GOVERNMENT'S ANTI-LABOUR POLICY The Senate has been sharply divided over a proposed legislation seeking to make provisions for ballots as a requirement for labour unions before embarking on industrial action against any government policy. Leading debate on the bill, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri explained that the proposed amendment to the Trade Union Act was to bring the practice of industrial action in trade unionism in line with global best practice as obtained in Great Britain, USA, Canada, France, Belgium, South Africa among others. The lawmaker also stressed that the conduct of a ballot as specified by the amendment would spare the nation and the trade union the misfortune of any arbitrary action undertaken by the leadership of any labour union. Other senators who supported the bill, argued that nobody was contesting the right of workers to express their right, but that the labour has more often than not operated beyond their bounds hence the need for this law. However, other senators led by Senator Femi Lanleyin from Oyo state kicked against the bill describing it as anti people saying that if it is passed into law, it will be a recipe for crisis in the country. Our correspondent has the rest of the report. COV/TJ

Lagos NUJ to Police IG : Revisit Cases of Slain Journalists

REVISIT CASES OF SLAIN JOURNALISTS , LAGOS NUJ URGES POLICE IG The Nigeria Union of Journalists , NUJ , Lagos state council has called on the Acting Inspector General of Police , Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar , to revisit the cases of journalists killed in the Centre of Excellence in the last few years Its Chairman , 'Deji Gbolahan Elumoye , who made the plea in Ikeja yesterday at the public presentation of a 141-page book-The Journalist's Wife- written by Mrs.Ochuko Ohu , the widow of slain Assistant News Editor of The Guardian , 'Bayo Ohu said apart from the killing of Mr. Dele Giwa , the pioneer Editor-in-Chief of Newswatch magazine through parcel bomb in Ikeja on October 19 , 1986 , several other journalists had been killed in the course of carrying out their official duties The slain journalists , according to him , include Godwin Agbroko , late Chairman , Editorial Board of ThisDay , Sule Edo , Judicial Correspondent of The Nation , Abayomi Ogundeji , member of the Editorial Board of ThisDay and Bayo Ohu Elumoye said since the assassination of the aforementioned journalists nothing positive has been done to unravel the killers of ''these crop of seasoned journalists'' He , therefore , called on the new Inspector-General of Police to as a matter of urgency re-open the cases of all these slain journalists so that the cases will not be swept under the carpet His words : ''The new IG being a crack and seasoned police officer should prove his worth by calling for the files of all the slain journalists, thank God at a particular time he was Commissioner of police in Lagos so we believe with his latest elevation he is now more in a position to ensure that justice is done in the case of these our late colleagues ''It is our hope that the Police IG can assign the cases to tested detectives who we also believe will get to the root of the murders so that those who perpetrated the dastardly act can be brought to book no matter how late'' The Lagos NUJ Chairman also used the forum to ask the federal government to unlock the press centre at the presidential lounge of the Murtala Muhammed airport in Ikeja shut against airport correspondents since February 4 , 2012 According to him , for over five weeks now , journalists covering the aviation beat have been denied access to the public facility at the Ikeja airport and up till now nobody in government has come up with a reason for the eviction of our members from the press centre ''Government did not stop at that but also locked up the working tools of our members including cameras , laptops , midgets , i-pad and palmtops and ever since our members have not had access to these equipments'' , Elumoye further said

Ogun Assembly Moves to End Transport Unions Crises in the State.

In its efforts to forestall the impending crisis between the transport unions in the state, Ogun State House of Assembly yesterday waded into the long-standing dispute between the transport unions operating in the state. The dispute, which borders majorly on which union controls the parks and garages in the state, has resulted into wanton destruction of lives and properties in the recent past among members of National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and Road Transport Employer’s Association of Nigeria (TREAN). It will recalled that the two transport union in an agreement dated 26th April, 2006 and co-signed by leadership of the unions agreed on ‘one week work, one week rest’ policy in all the parks and garages in the state. It will also be recalled that the General Manager of Ogun States Parks and Garages Development Board, Alhaji Ola-Ayo Ogunsolu had, during the weekend sued for continuous peace and harmony among the members of the unions. The State House committee on transportation orders the two unions to maintain status-quo until it is done with the findings it has embarked upon concerning a petition it received from some aggrieved party of the RTEAN. The chairman of the house committee, Hon. Salmon Adeleke, during a meeting between the committee and the representatives of the unions informed that the summon was occasioned by the petition concerning the industrial parks in the state and the need for a sustainable solution to the crisis. It was gathered that the NURTW had, last week ordered the TREAN members to vacate the industrial parks in Ibese, Ewekoro local government and other areas of the state on the ground that it (NURTW) had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with industries and factories in the state. Presenting the case before the committee the state Secretary of the RTEAN, Alahji Yinka Osikoya informed that the purpose of the petition was to avoid crises and seek an amicable resolution to the lingering crises between the unions. Osikoya argued that despite the MoU between the two unions, the NURTW still went ahead to issue a quit notice to their members operating in Ibese and Ogere trailer parks of the state. Responding, the State Treasurer, Alhaji Luqman Ajuwon who spoke on behalf of the NURTW emphasized that the union, being a product of the law had signed a MoU with the leadership of Dangote Group of Company, which has its cement company in Ibese are of Ogun State adding that the RTEAN has no such understanding. “We are product of the law, and we will not do anything unlawful. We have signed an MoU with the leadership of Dangote Group of Companies all over the federation, and their drivers are registered member of our Union, so Roads has no such understanding and as such can’t query our authority” he stated He further explained that his union had gotten a court injunction from Federal High court sitting in Calabar, a copy of which he promised to make available to the committee, restraining RTEAN from operating within their domain. The house of Assembly has, however ordered all the concerned parties to submit all documents that will assist in thorough investigation into the truth of the matter promising to give a play level ground to all the parties. Rafiu Alarape, Ogun State.

Nigeria's Non-oil export contribution to GDP to increase to 20 per cent in 3years

The Federal Government has concluded plans to increase the contribution of non-oil export to the country’s Gross Domestic Product from the current 4.5 cent to 20 per cent within the next three years. Speaking during a stakeholders’ meeting with top exporters of non-oil products in Abuja Minister of Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga, said the Ministry was ready to work with all exporters to ensure transparency and accountability in the payment of export incentives. He added that the ministry was committed to successfully driving the implementation of the nation’s economic diversification policies and programmes by increasing the contribution of non-oil export to GDP. ======Q 846 AGANGA NON OIL EXPORT==== Correspondent Chris Okenwa reports that the objective of the meeting was to identify problems militating against the effective implementation of the Export Expansion Grant EEG Scheme and chart the way forward for its effective implementation. In attendance at the meeting were the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council; Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises; Nigerian Association of Small Scale Industrialists; exporters in the textile, agribusiness and processing; leather and tannery sectors among others. COV/CO Christian Okenwa-peters (Double o) Senior Correspondent/newscaster Silver Bird Rhythm 94.7 FM Abuja Central Business district, Abuja, Nigeria. Tel:+2348023968353 Email: prince_xtian@yahoo.com