NLC Says Jonathan Is Too Dull For Nigeria

The president continues to receive attacks over his plan to cut fuel subsidy. The Nigerian Labour Congress on Thursday lambasted President Goodluck Jonathan, describing him as a "dull leader" who lacks the capacity to govern a complex country such as Nigeria.

Speaking in Abuja at the launch of a book ‘Time to reclaim Nigeria’ written by activist Chido Onumah, the organisation's Assistant General Secretary, Denja Yaqub, said Mr. Jonathan was not deep enough to understand the implication of some policies he is trying to foist on Nigerians.

Mr. Yaqub, who represented the NLC's Acting General Secretary, Owei Lakemfa, at the event, also said labour was ready to pay the ultimate sacrifice to ensure that government's decision to remove subsidy on petroleum products does not see the light of day.

“President Jonathan was voted into power by Nigerians, but we have lost him to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and such other bodies," he said. "The fight for fuel subsidy removal has been on since 1986 and many people have lost their lives in this struggle, we will never waver."

He also accused the president of lacking adequate knowledge on the subsidy matter based on his response on the issue at the National Assembly, wondering why he is determined to go ahead with the policy.

“President Jonathan has failed woefully and he does not even understand the subsidy issue as he cannot give an intelligent answer on it at the National Assembly. I am glad Nigerians have already started mobilizing themselves to hit the streets and protest without waiting for labour,” he said.

Speaking along the same line, national secretary of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Buba Galadima, argued that rather than talk about subsidy, what the president needs to bother about is the regime of incompetence and corruption pervading government at all levels.

“How will the removal of the so-called subsidy translate to transformation? Nigerians are angry over this decision and the only ones that are not angry are the ones benefiting from the system,” Mr. Galadima said

The CPC leader further accused the president of taking the issue of fuel subsidy removal too personal.

Be careful, Gowon warns Jonathan on fuel subsidy

FORMER Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon has advised the Federal Government to be careful in its plan to remove fuel subsidy, saying that they should plan the removal to be painless to the citizens.
Gowon urged the Government to ensure that all the nation’s refineries are functioning at full capacity before they carry on with the policy so that the people would not suffer much.
The former Head of State who spoke in Umuahia yesterday noted that it is the right of any government to take any action to solve problems facing it. The present government, he said, therefore has the right to take any action it deems good to solve problems facing it but maintained that such actions should have a human face so that the people would not suffer much.
Gowan was in Umuahia on behalf of the Carter Centre to solicit the assistance of Abia state Government in the in the centre’s fight against malaria and filariasis, also paid tributes to late Dim Emeka Ojukwu, saying that his death was not only a big loss to Ndigbo but the country as a whole.
 Any government has the right to see they do to solve any problem. The government has looked and saw the need for the removal of oil subsidy and direct money used for subsidy into other areas. The only advise is that I wish that we can have all our refineries in full production, and being able to produce petroleum and stop importation of fuel from outside”, Gowon said.
According to him, there is no doubt that removal of subsidy would cause hardship to the ordinary Nigeria, but his prayers are that the government provides adequate palliative to ameliorate the hardship.
Gowon said removal of subsidy would cause inflation, as transportation would rise which would in turn increase the price of food.
“If you remove subsidy, there will be increase in prices. The increase will cause inflation, in transport, food prices will increase, there will be problem.
“I hope that the government will give consideration to that. I hope that the subsidy will be removed painlessly”, the former Head of State said.
On his mission to the state, Gowan explained that he came to ask the assistance of the government to help in distribution of mosquito nets in the effort of the Carter Centre to fight malaria and filarisis.
He disclosed that the centre has successfully fought guinea worm in the country, saying that for three years, there was no report of guinea worm in any part of the country.

Don’t negotiate with terrorist groups, NBA warns FG

The Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, yesterday, warned the federal government against engaging into any form of negotiation with recognized terrorist sects in the country, insisting that “such meetings may send the signal to like -minded people that government only listens when you intimidate and resort to terror.”
The legal body gave the admonition at its 2nd NBA president’s roundtable on Human Rights which held in Abuja yesterday.
The theme of the event was, “Human Rights and National Security: the challenges of terrorism and response of law enforcement agencies in Nigeria.
In his speech, the NBA National President, Chief J.B Daudu, SAN, urged security agencies in the country to buckle-up to their responsibilities as it relates to the fight against terrorism, stressing that “extra-ordinary actions call for extra-ordinary remedies.”
He said: “the theme of this roundtable is apt as this nation is presently engulfed in human rights violations of another dimension. It arises from terrorism and the challenges of security inadequacies to the rights of the Nigerian. For about a year now, rising steeply in the past six months, is the ill-wind of terror and violence unleashed by non-conformist groups, executed through the detonation of bombs, calculated or targeted assassinations, random killings, e.t.c, which have taken hundreds of lives of innocent Nigerians who ostensibly were going about their lawful businesses.
“The termination of life one way or the other is the prerogative of God Almighty. Even the right of the state to take a life in punishment is under serious criticism by relevant human rights groups on account of the fact that it is thought beyond the brief of  the state to take what it cannot ordinarily give .
“That is why the challenges posed by terrorism poses the greatest test confronting this nation today.
“In my view, terrorism seeks to instill terror and fear into the hearts of the populace such that and indeed to the extent that they lose confidence in the legality of the existing government and their concomitant legitimacy and tight to rule.
“That is why when terrorism strikes in any part of the world, with its attendant damage, most rational governments exhibit zero tolerance to it.  One of the first rules of democracy is that you must not sit on the table with terrorists on the negotiating table to discuss terms as if you are discussing with a legitimate opposition to government.
“The danger is not in the fact that negotiation on its own is not good but that (i) you are dealing with bounty-hunters  and other opportunists and (ii) such meetings may send the signal to like-minded people, prone to engage in similar acts that government only listens when you intimidate and resort to terror.”
While imploring security agencies to be more proactive, the legal body noted that, “the problem with the Nigerian law enforcement agencies who have been given demonstrable powers under existing law to curtail and or respond to crimes in relation to security and breach of the peace lies in their professional and administrative training, the quality of the facilities at their disposal and the unending vice of deep corruption within the system.
“By way of example, the following questions come to mind when a bomb or other acts of terrors are unleashed on the people. Did the police or adjunct security agencies have any intelligence prior to the occurrence? Do the law enforcement agencies have the appropriate preventative mechanisms to deal with perpetrators of such evil act?
If we do, are those facilities, i.e. police stations, prisons and other detention facilities humane and in line with international human rights standards? Are the techniques for arraignment and trial appropriate? Do security agents apply excessive force or indulge in reprehensible acts such as extra-judicial killings?

courtesy: vangard