NCAA DG, others earn N4.2bn yearly

 

Director-General, NCAA, Mr. Fola Akinkuotu

The Director-General of the troubled Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, nine directors of the agency and 956 other members of staff earn N4.2bn as salaries and allowances annually.

This personnel cost represents 27.92 per cent of the annual budget of the NCAA, which stood at N15.3bn this January.

The “Certification” page of the NCAA’s 2013 budget, which our correspondent obtained in Abuja on Sunday, read, “The management of the NCAA, under the supervision of the Minister of Aviation, is hereby authorised to spend the sum specified in the schedule outlined here from the funds of NCAA during the year ending 31st December, 2013, not exceeding N15,316,850,000.”

A copy of the document was also lodged with the House of Representatives Committee on Aviation investigating the N255m bullet-proof cars the NCAA bought for the Minister of Aviation, Ms. Stella Oduah.

The agency has nine directors on its payroll, taking home N164.07m yearly. This is broken down into N18.6m (basic salary) and N142.4m (allowance).

The DG earns a total pay package of N22.6m, sub-divided into N2.9m (basic salary) and N19.9m (allowance).

The DG and nine top directors earn a combined annual pay of N186.7m every year.

The NCAA has 699 of its workers on salary GLs 7-13, who earn a combined salary of N1.9bn yearly.

This is broken down into N426.6m (basic) and N1.4bn (allowance).

There are 95 workers on GL 7; 168 on GL 8; 139 on GL 9; 76 on GL 10; 141 on GL 12; and 80 on GL 12.

Similarly, 200 senior officers on GLs 14-17, earn a combined sum of N1.7bn annually.

The break down indicates N245.7m as basic salary and N1.4bn as allowance.

The NCAA also has 67 members of staff on GL 14; 62 on GL 15; 52 on GL 16; and 19 on GL 17.

At the lowest rung of the ladder are 56 workers on GLs 4-6, collecting a total of N68.7m as a pay per annum.

This group’s basic salary is N13.1m, while the allowance is N53.6m per year.

A further breakdown indicates that the 67 members of staff on GL 14 earn a combined pay of N315.6m, while the 62 on GL 15, earn N597.6m and the 52 on GL 16, take home N584.1m.

The 19 senior officers on GL 17 earn a total of N282.4m, bringing the total pay package for this category (GLs 14-17) to N1.7bn per year.

The same applies to the 95 workers on GL 7, who earn a total of N171.7m, while the 168 members of staff on GL 8 take home N363.2m and the 139 on GL 9 collect N347.08m.

The 76 members of staff on GL 10 earn N222.1m, while the 141 members of staff on GL 12 take home N548.5m and another 80 employees on GL 13, earn N331.09m per annum, bringing the overall total for this category (GLs 7-13) to N1.9bn.

As for the 12 employees on GL 4, they earn N12.7m, while the 22 on GL 5, earn N26.06m and the 22 on GL 6, take home N29.9m, bringing the total for the category (4-6) to N68.7m per annum.

FG persecuting rebel govs, others –New PDP

Abubakar Baraje

Members of the  New Peoples Democratic Party   on  Sunday  alleged that they were being persecuted by agents of the Federal  Government.

They  said the agents had been using   “unconstitutional means” to achieve their selfish goals.

In a  statement made available hours before the seven rebel governors in the New PDP and other leaders of the group met in Abuja on Sunday  evening, they gave examples of  how  the  agents had in the past few weeks been  using a well co-ordinated and systematic plot to traumatise, annihilate and cripple them  economically and politically.

The statement by their  National Publicity Secretary,    Chief Chukwuemeka Eze, added that  the  acts amounted to    flagrant disregard  for Chapter IV, Section 33 – 45 of the  1999 Constitution that guarantees “our fundamental human rights as Nigerians.”

A part of the statement reads , “Contrary to the provisions of Chapter IV Sections 42, 43 and 44 of the 1999 Constitution which guarantee our rights as Nigerians to acquire and own property in any part of the country, our national secretariat and most of our state secretariats have been sealed off   by the Police on the orders of those in power.

“This is despite the fact that we still have a court case against Alhaji Bamanga Tukur and the  National NWC  of the PDP.

“Two weeks ago, the Federal Capital Territory Administration in its overzealous  effort to please President Goodluck  Jonathan marked our   closed  national secretariat for demolition on the laughable excuse that it was originally approved as a residential building.”

It said before it  acquired the house, it was being used by another political party, the National Democratic Party as its national secretariat without the FCTA complaining that it was against the Abuja Master Plan.

The group  also named the sealing  off  of the Adamawa State Governor’s  Lodge   in Abuja  as one of the negative actions taken by the government.

 The lodge was being used   as temporary national secretariat of the New PDP when it was sealed off by the FCTA  on the same excuse of violating the Abuja master plan.It has however been reopened.

Besides,  the New PDP   mentioned  Kwakwanso , Senator Aisha Al-Hassan,   Saraki, Danjuma Goje, Rotimi Amaechi  and Abubakar Baraje, as some of its leaders who have suffered humiliation from the government.

It added that  the government was already using the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to hound  many of its members.

The New PDP said,   “ Mr.  Timipre Sylva, the former Governor of Bayelsa State, and  Saraki are two foremost examples.

“We understand that the worst is yet to come as this unserious organ masquerading as an anti-graft agency would soon be unleashed on all our key members in both the Senate and House of Representatives in an operation code-named ‘Operation Coerce Them Back to Tukur.’

“On its part, the Nigeria Police, which has abysmally  failed to find a solution to the menace of Boko Haram, kidnapping, assassination and other criminal acts ravaging the country, has been given a fresh mandate to frame up our members and term them criminals in order to keep them at bay.”

The factional PDP  therefore    appealed  to Jonathan “to be a statesman and caution these dogs of war before they do irreversible damage to our dear country.”

The   Baraje-led faction of the ruling party was to meet 8pm on Sunday at the Sokoto Governor’s Lodge in  Asokoro, Abuja but had to shift the venue to Kano State Governor’s Lodge out of suspicion that the police might storm the venue.

 At the  Kano State Governor’s Lodge,also in Abuja, they  discussed  briefly  and rose without issuing a statement. Eze however assured that that would be done on Monday(today).

Two of  the seven rebel   governors in the New PDP – Abdulfatah  Ahmed of Kwara and Aliyu Babangida of Niger – were  absent.

Governors  Sule Lamido of Jigawa; Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto  State;   Kwakwanso; Murtala Nyako of Adamawa,  and Amaechi        were however present.

A source at the meeting said,  “The members of the group were aware that policemen could be asked to storm the venue (Sokoto Governor’s Lodge) of the meeting  That   was why we  decided to relocate to  another venue (Kano Governor’s Lodge).

 “But at the end of the day, we had  a useful deliberation and I can tell you that we reached some meaningful conclusions. Those conclusions would be made known to Nigerians soon.”

Also at the meeting were former governor of Kebbi State and minister of the Federal Capital Territory Administration during the government of  late President Umaru Yar’adua, Senator Adamu Aliero; former governor of Kwara State, Senator Bukola Saraki; former governor of Gombe State, Senator Danjuma Goje; Former governor of Nasarawa State, Senator Abdullahi Adamu;   Baraje; the  Deputy Chairman, Dr. Sam Sam Jaja; the Secretary, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola; National  Vice-Chairman, North -West, Ibrahim Kazuare; Kassim Shettima, among others.

It was the first time the group would be meeting since  a Federal High court sitting jn Abuja ruled that the Dr. Bamanga Tukur-led National Working Committee of the PDP  remained  the authentic NWC of the party.

Also, at the same time, the Independent National Electoral Commission had  said  the Tukur-led NWC was the one it recognised.

Another  source at the meeting however told our correspondent that the faction was yet to decide on which of the political parties to defect to if  negotiations  with the leadership of the PDP failed.

 He said, “We have agreed that we are not going to the PDM and that any political party we might defect to, negotiations with such party would be done collectively and not by individual.

“But I can tell you that we have ruled out the PDM. You can see that we are being pushed out of the PDP. We are going to be decisive soon on what we are going to do.”

Mark’s comment ridicules Onosode – ASUU

Deacon Gamaliel Onosode

The Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities, University of Ibadan chapter, has condemned the statement of Senate President David Mark on the competence of those who negotiated the 2009 agreement with ASUU on behalf of the Federal Government.

The union said the Senate President’s remarks ridiculed the leader of the Federal Government’s team, Deacon Gamaliel Onosode.

It therefore demanded an apology for Onosode.

Mark had last Wednesday derided the government’s negotiators, saying ASUU took advantage of their ignorance.

“They (ASUU) found that those who were sent there (government negotiating team led by Onosode) simply didn’t know their right from their left,” the Senate President had said when the strike by ASUU came up for debate on the floor of the senate.

At the end of a congress held at UI on Friday, the chapter chairman of ASUU, Dr. Olusegun Ajiboye, asked Mark to tender an apology to Onosode, saying the elder statesman deserved respect from Nigerians.

He said, “Onosode is a man of proven integrity, and impeccable character. He deserves better than the colour painted of him by the Senate President. The Congress respects the personality of Onosode, an alumnus of the University College Ibadan, who has served as the Chairman of governing councils of UI and University of Lagos and a successful businessman who has served the country in various intervention capacities.

“The congress condemns these disparaging comments and demands that the Senate President apologises to this elder statesman. Can we actually trust these characters to midwife any intervention with a bias and myopic construction myth makes right? Where else in the world are senators earning bogus allowances as we have in the National Assembly? We challenge the Revenue Allocation, Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission to publish salaries and allowance of the senate president for Nigerians to see how patriotic he is to the true state of the economy.”

Ajiboye also asked the upper legislative house to be alive and sensitive to national issues, saying President Goodluck Jonathan, who was then the Vice President when the agreement with ASUU was signed, instructed the government team to sign the agreement.

He also said that Mark’s statement smirked of disbelief about his knowledge of national issues as he was already the head of the senate when the agreement was signed.

Meanwhile, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has sent a petition against the Federal Government to the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights over the ongoing strike by university lecturers.

The petition was sent to the committee through the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms Navi Pillay, on October 25, 2013 and signed by its Executive Director, Mr. Adetokunbo Mumuni.

SERAP in the petition described the inability of the government to honour its agreement with ASUU as a fundamental breach.

It said that though the government in 2009 agreed with ASUU to improve the governance structures and funding for the operation of universities across the country but that conditions of service for members of the country’s universities remained poor.

The group asked the UN Committee to “demand that the Nigerian government should urgently and fully implement its agreement with ASUU and ensure sufficient funding of universities across the country.”

It added, “The Committee should put pressure on the government to promote, protect and fulfil the right to education for the sake of millions of Nigerian children that continue to be denied this fundamental human right.

“As the UN Committee has stated, states must take deliberate, concrete and targeted steps as clearly as possible towards meeting the obligations recognised in the covenant. But the persistent refusal by the government to sufficiently fund the country’s universities, and honour its own agreement to ASUU is a deliberate retrogressive measure, and shows lack of good faith.”

We don’t have armoured cars purchase documents – NCAA

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority has denied having any documents relating to the  two BMW bulletproof cars it bought for the Minister of Aviation, Ms Stella Oduah.

The denial came two days after Lagos lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), gave seven days ultimatum to NCAA to supply his law firm with the information.

Falana’s request, dated October 21, 2013, was made on the strength of the provisions of the Freedom of information Act.

But a copy of the reply to the request dated October 23, 2013 by the NCAA Director-General, Mr. Fola Akinkuotu, was obtained by our correspondent on Sunday.

In his reply through the NCAA Legal Adviser, Mr. E.K Chukwuma, Akinkuotu also claimed not to have in the possession of the NCAA any documents relating to previous purchase of such cars.

The reply read, “I am directed to your letter dated October 21, 2013 on the above matter (Request for information on N255m armoured cars for Aviation Minister, Ms Stella Oduah) and to inform you that the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority is not in possession of any document relating to the purchase of the armoured cars for the Aviation Minister, Ms Stella Oduah.

“With regard to your request for records of previous purchase of armoured cars by the Aviation Ministry or NCAA, I am to inform you that the  Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority does not have such records.”

But Falana, in a telephone chat with our correspondent on Sunday, said he was going to request the Attorney-General of the Federation to prosecute the NCAA DG.

He said, “Since copies of the documents on the Oduahgate are available the DG has wilfully violated the provisions of the FoI Act, I am sending a request to the Attorney-General of the Federation to prosecute him without any delay.

“Since the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has commenced investigation pursuant to my petition, I am also forwarding the DG’s letter to the Commission for necessary action.”

Falana, had in his letter, written on his behalf by a lawyer in his law firm, Mr. Adedotun Isola-Osobu, asked Akinkuotu to supply his chamber with detailed information on the vehicles.

The SAN had  predicated his request on the claim by Akinkuotu during a press conference on October 18, 2013, that the NCAA indeed bought the cars for the minister.

In his letter to the NCAA, Falana had asked Akinkuotu to supply records of previous purchase of such cars if indeed it was customary for the NCAA to purchase such cars for the aviation minister and visiting foreign dignitaries.

The letter read, “In your press conference at Abuja held on Friday, October 18, 2013 you did admit that the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority actually bought the controversial armoured cars and that ‘it is customary to convey the minister and visiting dignitaries in security vehicles whenever they are in Nigeria.’

“In the light of your claim at the said press conference we are compelled to request you to make available to us certified true copies of the documents relating to the purchase of the cars, including budgetary approval and due process for the entire transaction.

“Since you claimed that it is customary to purchase such cars for aviation minister and visiting foreign dignitaries you are also requested to provide the records of previous purchase of armoured cars by the aviation ministry or the NCAA.

“Take notice that you are mandatorily required to supply the requested information within seven days of the receipt of this letter by virtue of the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, 2011.”

The NCAA had admitted to have spent   a whopping $1.6m (N255m) on the two cars. The purchase of the cars had since ignited calls for the removal of the aviation minister.

Aviation crises: Nigerians shun domestic air travel

Minister of Aviation, Ms. Stella Oduah

The crises in the aviation industry have taken a toll on activities at the domestic terminals of the Lagos airport, with airline officials lamenting low patronage in the past few days.

Some airline officials told our correspondent in confidence on Monday, that the passengers seemed to have developed apathy towards air travel, stressing that they might have become scared of flying following recent developments in the industry.

The officials confirmed that some passengers had called in to cancel earlier bookings, while most of the aircraft taking off from both the Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal 2 and the General Aviation Terminal to various destinations in the country  have had to depart with fewer passengers on board than usual.

Analysts say the development is a setback to the operators because flying with fewer passengers can make the airlines run at a loss.

An official of one of the major carriers told our correspondent that the airline has had to reschedule some of its flights in the past two weeks due to dwindling patronage and in order not to run at a total loss.

The official, who asked not to be named because of the sensitive nature of the subject, said, “Lately, activities have not been going on as usual; we have noticed a general reduction in patronage. At first, we chalked it up to the fact that the summer is over and people may be travelling less at this period; but further investigations have shown that some customers appear a bit sceptical about air travels for the time being.

“Perhaps, this is as a result of the number of mishaps that have been recorded in the Nigerian airspace in the last few weeks. As a result of this, we have had to adjust our flying times in a few cases to ensure that we are able to accommodate more passengers, while running fewer schedules, this is in an attempt to assist the management to break even.”

On Thursday, October 3, 2013, an Associated Airline plane crashed in Lagos shortly after taking off, killing 15 out of the 20 passengers on board.

Twenty-four hours after, a Kabo Airlines’ Boeing 747-400 plane carrying 512 pilgrims made an emergency landing at the Sokoto airport with deflated tyres and damaged the airport’s Instrument Landing System.

On October 7, 2013, the Federal Government suspended the operations of Dana Airlines once again, citing the need to carry out an operational audit on the carrier.

On Sunday, October 13, an IRS Airlines’ Fokker 100 plane carrying 99 passengers also made an emergency landing at the Kaduna airport after developing hydraulic problems mid air.

A passenger, Mr. Uche Igbokwe, told our correspondent at the MMA2 terminal on Monday, that he had come to see if he could get a refund for a flight he had earlier booked.

He said, “I am a businessman who lives in Lagos, but I shuttle between Abuja and Lagos two or three times every month. I actually booked a ticket for a flight to Abuja towards the end of last month to fly on Wednesday, but the air crashes and near crashes witnessed in recent times have become worrisome to me.

“My family advised me to use the road transport option for the time being, until things are a bit settled in the industry, and I seem to agree with them. So, I have come to see if I can reclaim at least some of my money. I know the road option is some distance, but I will have to manage until things improve in the aviation sector.”

An aide to a principal officer of the National Assembly, who pleaded not to be named, said he had stopped travelling by air to any destination in the country, but was now embarking on his journeys by road because of the “unsafe state of aviation” in the country.

Corroborating this, the Chief Executive Officer, Gadeshire Travels and Tours, Mr. Olugbenga Adebayo, said there had been reduced bookings for local flights by passengers.

He said, “Well, we have noticed that there is this phobia, which our customers did not use to exhibit before. It is not really that most of them do not want to fly again, but they are now being very choosy about the kind of flight they want to get on.

“If they do not see big airline carriers, they will refuse to fly and will rather take the road option. And you know that currently, we have limited carriers with big capacities in the country.

“We believe it may be as a result of all the issues we have been having in the Nigerian airspace lately, and this seems to be the little challenge that we are facing in the local aviation sector for now, but it is not affecting international travels.”

Over 100 buildings demolished for Ogun road projects

Scenes of the demolition at Yakoyo ...on Monday.

No fewer than 100 buildings were demolished on Monday and countless persons displaced when the Ogun State Government embarked on its road expansion project.

The demolition, which began around 9am, affected structures on both sides of the Ojodu/Alagbole road at Yakoyo and the Sango/Ijoko road all the way down to Ogba-Ayo.

Shops, residential buildings and shanties were lost to the demolition which was carried out to clear structures within 22.7 metres from the road. It was said to have lasted well over six hours.

At Ogba-Ayo along Ijoko road, a shopping complex housing over 70 shops, two petrol stations and scores of residential buildings were destroyed. As of 4pm, Sango residents, whose buildings had also been marked for demolition, were seen hurriedly moving their valuables in preparation for the demolition that would continue on Tuesday (today).

Some landlords and few of the residents at Yakoyo lamented the demolition of their buildings without adequate notice to prepare them for the exercise.

They alleged that the Governor Ibikunle Amosun administration did not compensate them or map out a resettlement plan for the people affected by the demolition.

The owner of a two-storey building at Yakoyo, Mr. Nuhu Aruwa, said he built his house with the money he had saved from 35 years service as an officer of the Nigeria Customs Service.

He said, “I have been living here for the past 26 years. I am a retiree and I manage a paint manufacturing company here. Early last year, the Bureau of Land and Survey came and marked our houses, saying it wanted to expand the road and that people should file their claims for compensation.

“We told them to let us know how they intend to compensate us. At least, my present house is worth N50m.

“Later in September this year, the ministry officials said we should await letters of acquisition and after we agreed on the value of our houses, we could move out.

“They said they would pay us first before we would move out.”

Aruwa, who hails from Kogi State, said he was awaiting the letter when he was told that his house would be demolished on Monday morning.

He said, “No kobo has been paid, no alternative has been provided and they now say I should move out. Move to where? Are we goats? We have children schooling here. Do we terminate their academic programmes? I have served this nation for more than 35 years. I am now retired, and they want to take all I have built in my whole life away from me.”

Another landlord, Mr. Moshood Yusuf, said he built his house in 1986 and caters for his15 member family  with the money he makes from rents.

He said the state governor disappointed residents when he visited the area a day to the demolition, without interacting with the landlords to know how they felt.

He said, “The permanent secretary and governor came here yesterday (Sunday). Amosun merely walked with his entourage from Alagbole to Yakoyo Bus-stop without talking to anybody. And all he said was that work would start today and left.”

It was learnt that many of the landlords were confused because their buildings had been marked three different times.

A source said the state government had said initially, that it would only clear structures within 5.2 metres distance from the road. This was later increased to 13 metres and then 22.7 metres.

Many residents were caught unawares by the demolition and appealed for time to evacuate their property. Others protested the demolition and were seen making frantic calls to officials of the state government.

It was observed that some residents were not at home when the caterpillar began pulling down some structures.

Around 9.30am, an officer from the Bureau of Lands addressed a group of landlords.

The unidentified officer said, “All I will advise you is that you should take the pictures of your property and take to the Bureau of Lands for documentation. The issue of forms and letters do not concern the governor. Once he comes and gives orders that work should begin, we must begin to work. If there is any report that nothing has been done, they could send in policemen and I don’t want that here. Just get evidence that you are the owner of the house.”

As the demolition continued, some of the residents wept.

A resident, Rukayat Moshood, said, “We didn’t know it would happen like this. It was too sudden. At first, we were told it would only affect the shops and a little part of the building. Then the governor came yesterday and said work would begin. We don’t know where we are packing to now; we have no idea.”

The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure, Kayode Ademolake, told our correspondent on the telephone that the residents were opposed to change in the state.

He said, “They were served two years ago and even in the last three months, we still reminded them. But you know that even if you give some people 1,000 years, they will still continue to be there. When development is about to take place, there will be resistance, so we are not surprised.

“No responsible government will however continue to watch a road that has been degraded for over 30 years without doing something about it.

“Some of these people don’t even have proper documentation for their houses, and yet the government is ready to compensate them for their losses.”

Falana demands information on bulletproof cars from NCAA

Mr. Femi Falana

LAGOS lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, on Monday asked the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority to within seven days release information on the purchase of the two BMW bulletproof cars it bought for the Minister of Aviation, Mrs. Stella Oduah.

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria argued that the Managing Director of NCAA, Mr. Fola Akinkuotu, was mandatorily required to release the requested information by the virtue of the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act.

In his letter to NCAA, Falana asked the NCAA boss to supply copies of “all the documents relating to the purchase of the cars, including budgetary approval and due process for the entire transaction”.

The letter dated October 21, 2013, was written on behalf of the activist by a lawyer in his law firm, Mr. Adedotun Isola-Osobu.

In the letter, Falana also asked Akinkuotu to supply records of previous purchase of such cars if indeed it was customary for the NCAA to purchase such cars for the aviation minister and visiting foreign dignitaries.

The letter read, “In your press conference at Abuja held on Friday, October 18, 2013 you did admit that the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority actually bought the controversial armoured cars and that ‘it is customary to convey the minister and visiting dignitaries in security vehicles whenever they are in Nigeria’.

“In the light of your claim at the said press conference we are compelled to request you to make available to us certified true copies of the documents relating to the purchase of the cars, including budgetary approval and due process for the entire transaction.

“Since you claimed that it is customary to purchase such cars for aviation minister and visiting foreign dignitaries you are also requested to provide the records of previous purchase of armoured cars by the aviation ministry or the NCAA.

“Take notice that you are mandatorily required to supply the requested information within seven days of the receipt of this letter by virtue of the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, 2011.”

The NCAA had admitted to have spent   a whopping $1.6m (N255m) on the two cars. The purchase of the cars had since ignited calls for the removal of the aviation minister.

Another Aviation Agency Bought 4 Toyota Tundras For Minister Oduah, Alongside Four Limousines For VIPs

Stretch limousines parked at TRACON headquarters in Abuja

Stretch limos bought for VIPS by NAMA

A new SaharaReporters investigation reveals that the National Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), another agency under

the Ministry of Aviation, also purchased four Toyota Tundra vehicles for the Minister, Mrs. Stella Oduah.

 Nigerians are currently up in arms about two armored cars purchased for her by another agency, the Nigeria Civil Aviation

Authority, at the scandalous rate of N225million, and many are calling for her to be fired.

 The Tundras are in addition to four stretch limousine cars that were allegedly purchased for the movement of VIPs.

 Saharareporters obtained the photos of the Limousines, which were parked at the headquarters of the Total Radar Coverage

of Nigeria (TRACON) grounds in Abuja today.

 Efforts to get the NAMA spokesperson, Supo Atobatele, to comment on the fresh allegations proved abortive as he claimed he

was driving and could not speak on the wheel. When later confronted with the facts, Mr. Atobatele denied the existence of the

stretch limos claiming that NAMA is a “professional agency” that provides navigational aid to aircrafts flying within Nigeria’s

airspace. He hung  up and switched off his phone when further told that Saharareporters had the photos.

 NAMA’s CEO, Nnamdi Udo, reportedly made the purchase and ‘donation’ of the Tundras to the Minister in June 2013. The four
Limousines were received in the third week of June but have never been put to use.

 Last week after SaharaReporters revealed the purchase of two BMW armored cars for the Minister, her aides and later the

Managing Director of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, Fola Akinkuotu, claimed the vehicles were meant for VIP movement,

but a former lawmaker and leader of Anti-Corruption Network, Dino Melaye, told SaharaReporters today that it is the duty of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs to transport international VIPs in Nigeria. He also revealed that the most important Aviation

inspectors are teams from the ICAO who already have a Nigerian office 

which handles all their transactions. SaharaReporters could not confirm if the NAMA limos are armored. It is also unclear why

NAMA, an agency believed to be 

cash-strapped, would need stretch limos that are normally used by celebrities, to ferry international VIPS.

 Meanwhile, a high-level source has confirmed to SaharaReporters that the Total Radar Coverage of Nigeria, which Mrs.

Oduah brags about as one of her achievements in office, provides epileptic service. Because it often breaks down, the

objective of establishing a safer  national airspace is said to have been compromised. Foreign airlines are said to rely on their

built in navigational equipment for air safety within the Nigerian airspace.

UK to repatriate 267 Nigerian prisoners

British Prime Minister David Cameron

Hundreds of Nigerian criminals will be sent home to serve out prison sentences under a deal set to be struck by ministers within weeks.

Talks are continuing into reaching a compulsory prisoner transfer agreement, which could see more than half of the 534 criminals from Nigeria currently in UK jails repatriated.

UK Prisons Minister, Jeremy Wright, toldMailOnline how ‘more foreign prisoners must serve their sentences in their own countries.’

Ministers have been ordered to step up efforts to end the scandal of more than one in eight prisoners being from overseas.

British Prime Minister, David Cameron vowed to end the practice of the British taxpayer picking up the bill for criminals with no business in the UK.

The Prime Minister said in 2010 that he would ‘personally intervene’ to send more foreign criminals home.

Britain has even made clear it would pay to build new prisons in countries like Nigeria to speed up the process of sending foreign criminals home. Up to £1m has been promised to upgrade Nigerian jails, including a new wing at Kirikiri Prison in Lagos.

But to date little progress has been made. When the coalition was formed there were 11,135 foreign prisoners in UK jails, and this figure has fallen by just three per cent since to 10,786.

Each felon costs an average of around £40,000 a year to keep inside.

Last week it was announced that notorious Liberian warlord Charles Taylor is to serve his 50-year sentence for war crimes in the UK.

A prisoner-transfer agreement was struck with Albania earlier this year to ‘free up space in prisons here and reduce the cost to the British taxpayer’.

It was the first major bilateral prisoner transfer agreement with a country outside the European Union.

There were around 250 Albanians in UK jails in June this year.

But securing an agreement with Nigeria would be seen as a much more significant breakthrough.

Latest figures show there were 534 Nigerian nationals in British jails, 485 men and 49 women.

Nigerians account for one in 20 of all foreign prisoners, putting the country fifth in the league table of nations whose citizens have been jailed in the UK.

Justice Minister Mr. Wright said, “I am clear that more foreign prisoners must serve their sentences in their own countries.

“That is why we are currently working with the Nigerian Government on a compulsory prisoner transfer agreement to increase the number of prisoners who are transferred.

“Legislation allowing Nigeria to enter such an arrangement was passed earlier this year by the Nigerian Parliament. We are now working with them on the text of a final agreement.”

Overflowing jails abroad have made it increasingly difficult to deport prisoners to their own country.

It is argued that by paying for building new jails or making existing ones more ‘comfortable’ so they approach British standards, will be repatriated.

Deal: David Cameron, who promised to help Nigeria improves its jails, hopes to strike a deal with Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan

Deal: David Cameron, who promised to help Nigeria improves its jails, hopes to strike a deal with Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan

In April Mr. Cameron said, “When people are sent to prison in the UK we should do everything we can to make sure that if they’re foreign nationals, they are sent back to their country to serve their sentence in a foreign prison.

“And I’m taking action in Government to say look we have strong relationships with all of the countries where these people come from.

“Many are coming from Jamaica, many from Nigeria, many from other countries in Asia.

“We should be using all of the influence we have to sign prisoner transfer agreements with those countries. Even if necessary frankly helping them to build prisons in their own country so we can send the prisoners home.”

Fake Jonathan ADC arrested for demanding ram from monarch

Ogun State Commissioner of Police, Ikemefuna Okoye

The police in Ogun State have arrested a fake Army Colonel, Hassan Ayinde, for allegedly soliciting  a ram from the traditional ruler of Agbado in Ifo Local Government of the state, Oba Adedayo Shyllon, to celebrate the Eid-el Kabir festival.

Fifty-year-old Ayinde, who hails from Ifelodun Local Government Area of Osun State, was arrested at the palace of the monarch in Agbado on Monday around 2pm when he claimed to be a Colonel and the Aide De Camp to President Goodluck Jonathan.

According to the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Muyiwa Adejobi, the monarch became suspicious when the ‘Colonel’, begged him for money to purchase a ram for the sallah.

Adejobi said, “Shyllon immediately informed the police of his suspicion and Ayinde was subsequently arrested. During interrogation, Ayinde confessed that he resorted to impersonating an Army Colonel to eke out a living after his dismissal from the Air Force.

“The suspect claimed to have attended the military school in 1979 and was posted to Zuru in Kebbi State as a lance corporal. He also claimed to have attended the Nigerian Defence Academy between 1980 and1985.”

Adejobi added that the fake colonel claimed to have worked with the Presidency in 1997 before he was dismissed in 1999 with the rank of a Wing Commander.

He said the suspect, who claimed to be residing within the premises of the National Defence College, is currently being held in custody and would be charged to court at the end of investigations.

Adejobi said, “The command therefore warns members of the public to be wary of such fraudsters, who might want to strip them of their hard-earned money. Ogun State residents are advised to inform the police of suspicious characters.”

One feared dead as policemen, touts clash

The PPRO for Lagos State police command, Ngozi Braide.

An unidentified man was feared dead in the Oko Oba area of Lagos State on Wednesday after street urchins, otherwise known as area boys, and policemen attached to Oko Oba Police Division clashed.

It was learnt that many of the miscreants were injured while two policemen also allegedly suffered severe injuries and were rushed to a nearby hospital.

Although a version of the report had it that the fight broke out because policemen allegedly killed a man in the wee hours of the day, police authorities denied this.

According to Police authorities, trouble began after a robber snatched a motorcycle from a yet-to-be identified man around 7.30am.

It was said that some policemen had chased the alleged robber to the Abattoir area where the suspect ran to his friends for help.

The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Ngozi Braide, said the policemen were beaten up but the security operatives restrained from fighting back.

She said, “Policemen on patrol saw a man lying face down on the ground in the area and when the man was picked up, he said his motorcycle had just been snatched by a robber. Policemen spotted the robber and pursued him.

“The robber fled to where his friends were in the Abattoir area and his friends started to fight the policemen. They vandalised the patrol vehicle and beat up the policemen with all sorts of weapons but the policemen refused to retaliate.

“Two policemen were severely injured and were rushed to a hospital. No one was shot.

Businessman murdered for refusing to settle Area Boys

Charles Ugwu

A businessman, Charles Ugwu, has been killed in the Ajegunle area of Lagos, over his refusal to settle some street urchins, popularly known as area boys.

The incident was said to have occurred at Uzor Street, Ajegunle, on September 24 2013. A tyre dealer, Ugwu was said to have been accosted by two area boys, identified as Saturday and Chimezie, while offloading goods from a vehicle to his shop.

The deceased’s wife, Stella, who claimed to have witnessed the incident, told PUNCH Metro that her husband had resisted the thugs’ efforts to extort money from him resulting in the assault on her husband.

She said, “Around 9pm on that day, two young men, known as Saturday and Chimezie, accosted us saying they would not allow us to continue working until we settle them.

“We asked them why we should pay them because the goods had nothing to do with the hoodlums. Saturday was “annoyed; he walked away only to return with stones, which he threw at us. When my husband cautioned him to stop causing trouble, Saturday picked up a “stick and struck Ugwu on the neck.”

Ugwu was said to have fallen to the ground while all efforts to revive him failed.

It was learnt that immediately after Ugwu was killed, the Divisional Police Officer of Ajegunle Police Station, Mr. Abayomi Agbana, was contacted. Agbana was said to have dispatched policemen to the area and the two suspects were arrested.

The bereaved wife lamented the hardship that had been brought on the family due to her husband’s death.

She said, “Who will train my children for me? Ugwu  was a good father and husband; he was much too young to die. We loved each other so much. How can my three children be fatherless at these ages? Our first is just 15 years old. The second is 12 years and the last child is nine. These hoodlums have wiped out the joy of my life.”

In his statement at the police station, Saturday claimed that he actually demanded money from the businessman but had nothing to do with his death.

He said while demanding money from Ugwu, Stella told her husband not to part with any money.

Saturday claimed that at that instant, Stella held his singlet. He alleged that Chimezie and the deceased were trying to appeal to Stella to let go of the suspect when the businessman suddenly collapsed.

He insisted that neither him nor his accomplice had fought Ugwu.

Chimezie was also said to have alleged, in his statement, that he was trying to appeal to Stella when her husband suddenly collapsed. He claimed that no form of violence had been used on the deceased.

It was gathered that the matter had been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Yaba, Lagos, for further investigation.

The victim’s younger brother, Francis, said the family was ready to bury the corpse but police had yet to release the body.

He said, “The police have insisted that the autopsy report must be done before the body would be released.”

Detectives at the SCID have however blamed the ongoing doctors’ strike for the delay.

A detective, who spoke to our correspondent on the condition of anonymity on Tuesday, said, “Many bereaved families have been complaining since the doctors strike started. This is because they want to bury their loved ones but cannot take away their corpses because autopsy reports have not been done. The situation is worrisome and embarrassing in some cases.”

The Police Public Relations Officer of the state command, Ngozi Braide, said she would call back when contacted for information on the case. She had yet to do so as of 8pm.

Three remanded for killing father, attacking 10-month-old daughter

Man behind bars in prison

Three suspected cult members have been remanded at the Ikoyi Prison for allegedly killing a 30-year-old man, Seyi Jimoh, and inflicting injuries on his ten-month-old baby with cutlass.

The three defendants – Emmanuel Samson, Tunji Olanrewaju and Joshua Ogunnusi- were said to have committed the offence at the Alapere area of Lagos.

The police said the trio belonged to an unlawful society named K-man cult and had perpetrated the crime in September 2013 before they were caught.

It is however not clear why the late Jimoh and his daughter were attacked by the men at their residence.

The suspects were arraigned before an Ebute Meta Chief Magistrate’s Court for murder and assault.

The charge read in part, “That you, Emmanuel Samson, Tunji Olanrewaju, Joshua Ogunnusi and others at large on the 8th of September, 2013 at about 3am, at Akainimodu area of Alapere, Lagos, in the Lagos Magisterial District, did unlawfully kill one Seyi Jimoh, aged 30, by cutting him with cutlass.”

The prosecutor, Cousin Adam, said the offences were punishable under Sections 409, 221, 171 and 42 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, Nigeria, 2011.

Rebel govs may soon dump PDP for APC

The  ongoing efforts  to reconcile aggrieved Peoples Democratic Party members with the Bamanga Tukur-led National Working Committee of the party,appear to have finally hit a brick wall.

A hint of this emerged when Adamawa State Governor, Murtala Nyako, told a visiting All Progressives Congress delegation  on Wednesday, that himself and  the six other aggrieved PDP governors, might dump the PDP for the  “warm embrace of the APC.”

The other aggrieved governors otherwise known as rebel governors are prominent members of the New PDP led by Alhaji Abubakar Baraje.

They are Sule Lamido (Jigawa); Rabiu Kwakwanso (Kano); Rotimi  Amaechi (Rivers); Babangida Aliyu (Niger); Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara); and Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto).

 It was learnt on Wednesday that the National Vice-Chairman North-East of the  APC, Umar Duhu,  who led the delegation to the government residence in Yola, offered Nyako  a piece of kola nut and an invitation in accordance with the northern tradition.

The Director of Press to the Governor, Ahmad Sajo, who confirmed the development  to our  correspondent,  said Nyako   expressed his desire and those  of  his colleagues to join the opposition APC as “soon as the situation in the PDP becomes unbearable.”

Sajo said, “The governor told them he is committed to supporting them; he admires all the APC governors for the way they are focused in their performance.

“He abhors the injustice and impunity that are  going on in the PDP and  he also frowns on the fact that someone would emerge as the party’s candidate at the local level and the PDP will change the name of the person  in Abuja and submit a different person’s name.”

He quoted the governor as saying, “These are the reasons (injustice and impunity) why we may have to dump the PDP, if they will not change their ways.

“We may definitely be pushed to the warm embrace of the APC because there is so much injustice in the PDP.

“It is a party which renders your efforts null and void  after you  have gone through the process and secured nomination;  a system that takes over your property without giving you an opportunity to defend  yourself for whatever infringement you may have committed.

“The PDP operates a system that does not respect other people’s point of view; a system that operates on a pre-determined position on all matters is not healthy for democracy.”

Earlier, Duhu had told the governor that they were at his residence after consultation with the   APC leadership  to formally invite him to join the party.

Attempts to get a response from the PDP were futile as its  National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh,  neither picked his calls nor replied to a text message sent to his mobile phone.

A phone call to his deputy, Alhaji Abubakar Jalo,  indicated that his set was switched off.

Meanwhile, information available indicates that members of the New PDP have scheduled a series of meetings for Thursday(today) and Friday to prepare a unified response to the renewed clampdown on some of  their colleagues by the Federal Government.

A member  of the faction, who was privy to one of  such  meetings,  confided in our correspondent that the meetings had become necessary in the light of recent developments.

The member, who spoke in confidence, said, “We have to meet to review our strategies; it has become obvious that the Tukur-led PDP is not interested in a peaceful resolution of this crisis.”

APC condemns Jonathan’s wife’s honorary degree

Mrs. Patience Jonathan

The All Progressives Congress has said the decision of the wife of President Goodluck Jonathan, Patience, to receive a honorary doctorate degree from a South Korean university while Nigerian universities have been shut for months was the height of insensitivity.

This was contained in a statement signed by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, on Wednesday.

The party said if Patience and her advisers had been perceptive enough, they would have known that embarking on such “a jamboree at this time is an assault on the sensibilities of Nigerians in general, and the students who have been marooned at home for almost four months in particular.”

The statement read, “In their eagerness to gobble up one spurious award after another, they forgot that if the Hansei University in South Korea had been shut by a strike because the government there has repudiated an agreement it willingly signed with the teachers, the institution would not have been able to give any honorary degree to anyone.

“A government that is unwilling to spend the nation’s resources on the education of its youths has no qualms about wasting the same resources for a junket by the First Lady and her cheerleaders halfway around the world for what is nothing more than an ego-massaging award.”

APC said the reasons given for the award of the honorary doctorate degree to the President’s wife were particularly interesting “She’s a humanitarian who has dedicated her life to working for the less privileged in Nigeria and Africa especially for women and children.

“Her vision as the defender of the poor in Nigeria fits into Hansei University’s motto of a practising Christian.”

The party said there was no indication that she and her husband were sparing any thought for the poor Nigerian students whose dreams for a better future had been put on hold by the long strike.

When contacted, the Director of Information in the office of the First Lady, Mrs. Ayotunde Adesugba said, “I am not in Abuja presently, I will let you know if there is a response.”

Ministry confirms purchase of N255m vehicles for Oduah

Minister of Aviation, Ms. Stella Oduah

The Ministry of Aviation has confirmed that the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority bought two bulletproof vehicles worth $1.6m (N255m) for the Minister of Aviation, Ms. Stella Oduah.

An online news medium, SaharaReporters,had reported on Tuesday that the armoured vehicles were delivered to the minister in August.

The medium reported that documents in its possession showed that the transaction for the purchase of the two BMW cars started in June, but the request for the delivery of and payment for them was fast-tracked between August 13 and 15, 2013.

The transaction involved the NCAA, First Bank of Nigeria, and Coscharis Motors Limited, according to the report.

The two black BMW 760 Li HSS vehicles had chasis numbers WBAHP41050DW68032 and WBAHP41010DW68044, and were reportedly delivered to the NCAA on August 13, 2013. They were received by two store managers, F. Onoabhagbe and Y. A. Amzat, who is also the agency’s head of transport.

Meanwhile, two major air crashes have occurred under Oduah’s watch.

These were the Dana Air crash in Lagos on June 3, 2012, in which 163 people died; and the Associated Airlines crash of October 3, 2013, also in Lagos, which claimed 15 lives.

A day after the Associated Airlines’ crash, a Kabo Airlines’ Boeing 747-400 plane carrying 512 pilgrims made an emergency landing at the Sokoto airport with deflated tyres and damaged the airport’s Instrument Landing System.

On Sunday, an IRS Airlines Fokker 100 plane carrying 99 passengers also made an emergency landing at the Kaduna airport, after developing hydraulic problems mid-air.

Four days after the tragic crash involving Associated Airlines’ Embraer 120 plane, Oduah described air accidents as God’s will that were inevitable.

She said notwithstanding this reality, the Federal Government would continue to ensure that there were no accidents.

The minister made the submission while fielding questions from State House correspondents on investigations into the crash.

The minister said, “We do not pray for accidents but they are inevitable. But we will continue to do everything to ensure that we do not have accidents. But an accident is an act of God.

“Again, we do not speculate on the causes of accidents.  Until they happen, you cannot say this is the cause or that is not the cause. But what is obvious and is the truth is that in aviation, there are shared responsibilities, starting from the man that carries your luggage to the man that makes sure that your boarding pass is issued to you.

“And so, the regulatory agency, the operators, the management, everybody has his/her  responsibility and all must work in tandem for there to be an optimal, secure and safe aviation sector in the country. And that is what we have been working on.”

Oduah described those saying that she left the issue of safety in the airspace to dwell on money-making ventures as ignorant.

However, much criticism had since followed her comment.

She had explained that security and safety could not be achieved without proper funding.

However, the Special Assistant (Media) to the Minister of Aviation, Mr. Joe Obi, who confirmed the development on Wednesday, said the vehicles were purchased to protect the minister from some external threats.

He said in a telephone conversation with our correspondent, “Yes, it is true that some security vehicles were procured for the use of the office of the honourable minister in response to the clear and imminent threat to her personal security and life following the bold steps she took to reposition the sector.

“When she came on board as the minister, she inherited a lot of baggage in terms of the concession and lease agreements in the sector, which were clearly not in the interest of the government and people of Nigeria.

“And so, she took bold steps and some of these agreements were reviewed and some were terminated, and these moves disturbed some entrenched interests in the sector, and within this period, she began to receive some imminent threats to her life; therefore, the need for the vehicles.

“It should be noted that these vehicles are not personal vehicles and were not procured in the name of the honourable minister; they are utility vehicles and are for the office of the minister, and if she leaves the office, she will not be taking the vehicles along with her.”

On his part, the spokesperson for the NCAA, Mr. Fan Ndubuike, feigned ignorance of the development.

“I am not aware of anything like that,” he told our correspondent at 8.05pm on Wednesday.

The NCAA is the agency charged with ensuring the airworthiness of commercial planes flying within the country’s airspace.

The agency has been under fire lately over a series of mishaps and near crashes involving planes being operated by domestic airlines that were certified fit for flight operations by the NCAA.

There have also been rumours that the NCAA does not have enough funds to upgrade its equipment, send its employees for critical training and hire enough qualified hands, while questions are also being raised by industry watchers on the ability of the cash-strapped agency to procure such expensive vehicles.

However, the Director-General, NCAA, Capt. Fola Akinkuotu, had on Monday denied the claims of being cash-strapped, saying that the agency was buoyant.

He said, “We are not broke, we have been carrying out all our responsibilities and have been undertaking the training of our staff as and when due.

“I can tell you that right now, some of our staff members are undergoing training abroad and we still have others that are waiting for approval; we do not joke with training here and I challenge anyone to come up with anything otherwise to that effect.”

Policemen threaten strike over transfer to troubled states

Inspector-General of Police, Alhaji Abubakar Mohammed

Some police inspectors and rank and file from the Imo State Police Command have threatened to go on strike over their redeployment to some violence-prone states in the North.

The aggrieved policemen who met in Benin, the Edo State capital, said they would start the strike in November.

But the Force headquarters has said that the redeployment will not be revisited or changed and warned the affected officers against blackmailing the police authorities.

The Force Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba, who was reacting to the threat of a strike by some policemen in Imo State Police Command, said that the Nigeria Police Force was a national organisation where police personnel could be deployed to serve in any part of the country.

Mba, who spoke over the phone on Wednesday, described the reported threat by the policemen as a rumour, adding that the same rumour was peddled when some policemen were transferred out of Lagos.

Some policemen that were redeployed to some northern states had threatened to embark on strike in November if their demands were  not addressed.

They were demanding the reversion of the mass transfer of officers numbering about 100 from the cadre of Inspectors, Assistant Superintendent of Police and the Chief Superintendent of Police to the troubled areas in the North.

The officers alleged that their transfer which they described as punitive, was masterminded by the Imo State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Muhammad Katsina, adding that some of them had stagnated on a rank for many years without promotion.

But Mba faulted the position of the protesting officers. He said that they could not choose where they would serve, noting that the policemen in the North had as much right as those in Imo State to serve in any part of the country.

“The Nigeria Police Force is a national police, not a state civil service or a state police force. The implication is that you can be asked to serve in any part of the country, and as a police officer, you don’t have the right to choose where to serve or when to serve. It is a call to service. The benefits of being a police officer comes with the burden of discharging the responsibilities attached to being an officer and you can’t choose the benefits and reject the responsibilities,” he said.

Govts tells Corps members to Create jobs for themselves

Some 2012 Batch C corps members after their passing-out parade in Lagos ... on Thursday.

The National Youth Service Corps on Thursday organised a passing out ceremony for the 2012 Batch C NYSC members across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory with  some governors advising them to deploy their energies towards nation building. They also advised them to create jobs for themselves.

In Akwa Ibom State, the governor, Mr. Godswill Akpabio, advised them to continue serving the nation in whatever sector of the economy they find themselves.

Speaking through the Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Mr. Ita Umo, during the passing out ceremony in Uyo on Thursday, the governor urged the youth corps members to develop positive attitude towards the country.

He said, “Let me advise you that the task of nation building does not end with your one year mandatory service. As you step out of the scheme and Akwa Ibom State today, you need to be reminded to always have positive attitude towards Nigeria, by aspiring to lift our nation high as inscribed in the NYSC anthem.

The governor advised the outgoing 2,893 corps members in the state to embrace self-employment.

Also, Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State, urged the corps members to deploy their creative thinking into how to create jobs for themselves rather than roaming the streets in search of paid jobs.

Aregbesola said this at the NYSC Orientation Camp in Ede, Osun State on Thursday at the passing out ceremony of 2012 Batch C  corps members deployed into the state.

He said, “ It is imperative to stress that gone are the days to expect that immediately after service, one would secure an automatic life-time job even among several alternatives. The attitude and orientation of majority of our young graduates was that creative thinking and individual initiative ended when they wrote their final examination.

“This is absolutely wrong. You need to apply creativity more now in the face of unemployment bedeviling the nation. Focus more on self employment.”

Also, the Rivers State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, advised the outgoing corps members to train themselves to become self-reliant in order to assist government to tackle the problem of unemployment.

Amaechi, who gave this advice on Thursday while addressing the 2012 Batch ‘C’ corps members at the passing-out of 3,431 corps members in Port Harcourt, said that white collar jobs were no longer available for employable Nigerians.

“As you are now faced with the task of seeking gainful employment, I advise you to nurture and apply yourselves to the practical lessons of self-employment, which you were exposed to in the course of your service year, through the skills acquisition and entrepreneurial development programme, as white collar jobs are no longer available for all employable Nigerians as in the past.

“I therefore urge you to be self-reliant so as to assist the government in fighting the rising rate of unemployment in our society,” Amaechi said.

However Governor Sullivan Chime of Enugu State urged them to make the necessary sacrifice required to achieve success in their chosen careers.

The governor said this on Thursday, at their passing-out ceremony in Enugu.

He said, “Some of you may be rightly apprehensive of what tomorrow holds for you. I want to assure you that it is bright. As educated young men and women with requisite skills, the sky is your limit.

“However, you must recognise that the road to success has never been easy. History has shown that no individual or nation has ever achieved success without sacrifices.”

He said that through their education and participation in the NYSC scheme, they had been equipped for survival in a competitive world.

Also, Governor Mukhtar Yero of Kaduna State commended the outgoing corps members for their contributions in tackling developmental challenges in the country.

Yero gave the commendation on Thursday at the passing out parade of 2012 ‘’ batch C ‘’ Corps members in Kaduna.

Represented by his deputy, Nuhu Bajoga, the governor noted that the scheme had impacted positively on the lives of the people, especially in the rural areas.

However, in Gombe State, Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo offered automatic employment to 13 NYSC members who distinguished themselves in the service year.

The News Agency of Nigeria reported that the appointment included the 12 state merit awardees and the parade commander of the passing out parade ceremony.

The governor also announced N20,000 transport fares to each of the 720 youths, N500,000 to the overall best corps member and N1m to the soldiers that conducted the passing out parade ceremony.