NIS exercise: Recruitment company, Drexel Technologies not licensed

DREXEL Technologies Limited, the outsourcing company engaged by the Nigerian Immigration Service, NIS, for March 15, 2014 recruitment interview that claimed the lives of about 20 job seekers nationwide, is not registered.

At the venue

Umbrella body of Outsourcing companies in Nigeria, Human Capital Providers Association of Nigeria, HuCaPAN, which disclosed this yesterday, said this was the outcome of the association’s investigation from the Ministry of Labour and Productivity, saddled with the responsibility of issuing licenses to outsourcing companies.

HuCaPAN claims was confirmed by an official of the Labour Ministry who told Vanguard on condition of anonymity that “the affected company is not among the over 700 registered recruiter companies as at March 2014.”

The association faulted the claims by the Minister of Internal Affairs that the company passed through the Ministerial Tender Board, declaring that the four companies shortlisted before Drexel were given the job were not registered by the Federal Government.

President of HuCaPAN, Mr. Neye Enemigan, in a chat with journalists at a national workshop on “Strengthening the role of private employment agencies, PEAs in  Human resources development”, jointly organized by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity and HuCaPAN, in Lagos, lamented that the Federal Government could engage the services of a company not known to law.

According to him, “The unfortunate death was avoidable. It is something that should not have happened in any civilized country. It is a shame and for me I feel very sad. I express my condolence to the family.  The outsourcing company is not our member. But what is worse is that we have taken pain to investigate and we have found out this outsourcing company is not even registered to recruit. For example, the Minister of Internal Affair, Mr. Abba Moro said that they followed due process and that they shortlisted four companies; Pyrich Global Limited, Bosmos Infotech Limited, Rosebonny Technologies Limited and Drexel Technologies Limited, and that all of them went through the ministerial tenders board.

“We have investigated and found out that all the four companies are not registered to recruit. In other word, the one that got the job, Drexel Technologies Limited is not registered, licenced or authorised by law to engage in that exercise. By Nigerian labour law and to be specific, section 23, 24, 25 and 71 of the Labour Act laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 makes it clear that the Minister of Labour and Productivity, will licence any organisation that is a recruiter. So, if you have not been licenced by the Minister of Labour and Productivity as a recruiter, what you have doing is illegal. It is a shame that the Federal Government will engage a company that is not known by law to carry out this type of exercise on Nigerians.”

On money paid by the applicants, he said “The company collected according to what the Minister of Internal Affairs said, over N700 million and also by law, no prospective employee is required to pay a Kobo to get a job. You are not required to pay to get form, you are not required to pay for anything. That on its own is also illegal.

”We want Nigerians to establish that this company is quack and the company should be dealt with in accordance with the law. The idea thing is to return the money paid by the applicants. The senate has set up into the matter and I think it hold a public hearings. We are hoping that it would be done speedily and as an association, we will like to make presentation and give our professional advice.”

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NIS exercise: Recruitment company, Drexel Technologies not licensed

Why Abba Moro should get President’s boot

       

It is though understandable that President Goodluck Jonathan has somehow stepped in to begin the process of mitigating the terrible hardship/situation occasioned by the actions and inactions of the Honourable Minister of interior, comrade Abba Moro, yet one is taken aback by the fact that up till now the President has not deemed it necessary to show him the way out of his cabinet.

Abba Moro, Minister of Interior

Rather, all we have seen so far is that Mr. President has set up a committee to be chaired by the Chairman of Federal Civil Service Commission with sole mandate to conduct a fresh recruitment exercise into the Nigeria Immigration Service. As good as this new attempt towards ensuring the organization of a credible recruitment test may be, there is no guarantee yet, even if the exercise turns out to be relatively peaceful, that the same Nigerian factors that have almost always dogged previous and the recently failed exercises would not apply. After all, like some analysts would ask, are the members of this new committee no longer Nigerians? Are they coming from the moon? Anyway, Nigerians are patiently awaiting their own perception and version of service delivery.

Now back to the issue of comrade Abba Moro’s fiasco called recruitment test. It has been a wild rumour making rounds that if not for the failure of the recruitment exercise, the Honourable Minister had already allotted more than a thousand job slots to his people of Idoma ethnic nationality. Though this may be a serious allegation deemed to be peddled around by rumour mongers, the point is that there hardly can be smoke without fire. No doubt, like a friend would be quick to point out, there had always been similar speculation/allegation in the recent past hurled at not just the same leadership of the ministry of Interior but at the immediate past leadership of the Nigeria Immigration Service.

But, by and large, the crux of the matter is that going by the farcical arrangement put in place by the Honourable Minister Interior through the consultancy firm he outsourced the recruitment exercise to, one is clearly tempted to believe the plausibility of this speculation being propagated by Nigerians, especially the applicants themselves, some of whom had allegedly paid the sum of two hundred thousand naira and above to some officials of ministry of Interior. But by the way, what else could attest to the plausibility of this line of thought than the fact that for the first time in the history of Nigeria thousands of job seekers were compelled to throng the stadia spread across the states of the federation in order to face a killer recruitment exercise, implicitly perceived by scores of people as a mere formality?

Besides, that those who are wont to getting it from good authorities are inclined to concur that by dint of state by state assessment of  the workforce of the Para-military bodies under the ministry of interior, that the Idoma tribe in Benue state has by far the greatest number of manpower. The same projection is equally alleged to be the case on the issues of promotion and placement of senior officers in virtually all the Para-military entities within the ministry.

Meanwhile, based on the foregoing and with hindsight, can we now extrapolate that the Honourable Minister could have most likely disagreed with the erstwhile Controller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service on the basis of primordial sentiments bordering on issues of recruitment, promotion and placement of officers as were then reported by some media? Whereas a number of people are bound to disregard the above scenario as most unlikely to be the case at the time, it remains my humble opinion that the reverse was the case, for some reason.

like I did posit in the wake of the Presidential directive to Mrs. Rose Chinyere Uzoma compelling her to embark on her pre-retirement leave (following series of allegations leveled against her reportedly by some of her colleagues) and the immediate composition of an investigative panel by comrade Abba Moro to probe her all activities in office  that: “The fact is that if the Honourable minister was actually involved directly or indirectly in the job racketeering rocking the Nigeria Immigration Service, then truth of what transpired would certainly be submerged, no matter anybody’s efforts to the contrary” (see Daily Independent, January 24, 2013). Needless to say that it is on the basis of this failure or the refusal of comrade Abba Moro to make the report of this panel of inquiry public that I submit that his disagreement with Mrs. Uzoma was purely borne out of his serious attachment to primordial sentiments/personal interest, nothing more and nothing less.

Curiously, if the reports emanating from the social media are to be held on to, then the wide spread impression that President Goodluck Jonathan is either attempting to shield or is rather proving to be incapable of moving against comrade Abba Moro primarily because he is viewed to be the choice/surrogate of distinguished Senator David Mark is not only most unfortunate but it impugns the much professed integrity of Jonathan’s administration, especially as relates to his recently reported assertion that issues of corruption are somewhat exaggerated in Nigeria.

As has been contended in some quarters, if the immediate past Aviation minister – Mrs. Stella Oduah could be shown the way out of the cabinet allegedly because of issues of corruption, then it boggles one’s mind why President Jonathan would tarry further to do same to comrade Patrick Abba Moro – especially considering his refusal to voluntarily throw in the towel (despite incessant clamor on him to do so). Of course, there is no gainsaying that his continued presence in the cabinet is doing more harm than good to the seemingly battered image of the Federal government.  Therefore, Mr. President Sir, it is high time you gave comrade Patrick Abba Moro, your Honourable Minister of Interior, boot- and there is no other time than now.

Onyiorah Chiduluemije Paschal – 08037738607. 

Why Abba Moro should get President’s boot

Fatal NIS recruitment exercise: Tears as victims buried in Port Harcourt

It was uncontrollable emotions and tears as one of the victims of Port Harcourt Immigration stampede Mr. Kalu Sunday Okezie, was buried yesterday in his home town, Okon-Aku Community in Ohafia Local Government of Abia State.

Deceased

Sunday, 30, was among the five applicants that died during the nationwide Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) recruitment exercise in Elekahia Stadium, Port Harcourt Rivers State capital.

Five victims were confirmed dead in Port Harcourt during the stampede.  They include Grace Nwokaku Amah 28 years, from Ubima Community in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State, Kalu Sunday Okezie, 30 years from Okon-aku   Community in Ohafia, Brown Darlington, 25 years from Opobo-Nkoro Local Government of Rivers State and two others whose names are yet to be identify by the this reporter.

The remains of late Sunday who was the last son of the  family of three left Port Harcourt, Braithwaite Memorial Specialist Hospital (BMSH) by 6am and was  received by his parent, relatives   youths of Okon-Aku Community in Ohafia  by 12pm.

The bereaved parents, Mr& Mrs Okezie Kalu who were weeping when The Nation visited their family house during the funeral of their son said they are highly disappointed with the organizers of the shoddy Immigration recruitment.

Speaking on behalf of the family, Mr. Kalu, the father of the decease, a security guard with Abia State Primary School Board accused the organisers of the failed Immigration recruitment of playing politics with human life, which he noted made them to have no regard for human life.

The 55-year- old Kalu said the issue could have been a double tragedy in his family as his wife collapsed and was hospitalized after hearing the news of the death of his son. He added that since them his wife is yet to recover from the shock

Mr. Kalu said: “God knows why it happened this way, but I am not happy with those who organised the recruitment; their attitude shows that they don’t have regard for human life.  Instead of me to enjoy the fruit of my labour, what I saw was dead body; those who organize the recruitment are wicked and heartless.

“The painful part of the death of my son is that I suffered as security man to train him from primary school to University level and now that I am anxiously waiting the day I will eat the fruit of my labour everything has turned upside down.”

He said it is unfortunate that he buried  his son instead of the other way round,  but  noted that he has lost hope in anything that has to do with Federal government, “ Don’t believe the Federal government anymore even as they said they will compensate us with job, it is just a dream I don’t believe them.

Mother of the deceased, Mrs.  Justina  Okezie Kalu said her late son visited her on the night before the ill recruitment to inform her about the  exercise.

“He came to me that Friday night in Port Harcourt before the recruitment to inform about it. I was surprise when I got message that my own son was among those who died, and it was the only thing I could remember, because I was unconscious for days.

Some of the chiefs and elders of the community who spoke to our reporters expressed dissatisfaction with the setting up of new committee for immigration recruitment when those who died on the last recruitment exercise are still fresh in the memory of the bereaved families.

Chief Joseph Madueme said: “Nobody is stopping the Federal government from setting up a new committee to organise a fresh recruitment. But all my people are saying is that it is bad to do that now when those who died on the last recruitment exercise are yet to be buried.

Chief Lucky Chukwuma another elderly man in the community said, “The Federal government is not serious, look we don’t expect any recruitment now untill after one year. This is to respect those applicants who sacrifice their lives because of this job.  Any further recruitment this moment is tantamount to betrayal.

However, the late Sunday studied Micro Biology at the Ebonyi State University and concluded his one year compulsory National Youth Service Scheme in Oyo State  in 2010.

Fatal NIS recruitment exercise: Tears as victims buried in Port Harcourt

How to honour dead Immigration applicants, by Okonjo-Iweala

Abuja—The Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister iof Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has said that the best way to remember Nigerian youths who lost their lives at the recent recruitment exercise into the Nigeria Immigration Service was to create more jobs for the unemployed.

NIGERIA, Abuja : Job-seekers applying for work at the Nigerian immigration department scramble as their exam papers fly in the air, on the pitch of Abuja National Stadium, on March 15, 2014. AFP PHOTO

She spoke at the Housing Stakeholders Summit in Abuja, yesterday, where she reiterated the determination of the President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration to create more jobs for youths in several sectors, including the housing, agriculture and ICT sectors, among others.

Her words, “the best way to honour the memory of the youths who died during the immigration exercise is for us to work harder to create more jobs.

“We created 1.6m jobs as confirmed by the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, but these are not enough. Every year 1.8m new entrants come into the job market. This is in addition to 5.3million  that have accumulated over time. So we need to work harder and faster to create more jobs for our youths.

“We are focusing on housing because this sector can significantly increase the number of jobs in addition to growing the economy. This sector will create jobs for builders, carpenters, plumbers, managers, interior decorators and so many jobs.

“This event is not for long grammar. It is about action; it is about numbers, it is about meeting targets and deadlines so that the jobs will be created and the houses built.”

In her address, the Minister Lands, housing and Urban Development, Mrs Akon Eyakenyi, said the Federal Government would reverse the current situation of foreigner artisans’ domination of the housing sector in the country.

She noted that foreigners constituted the critical mass of skilled artisans and craftsmen in the country’s housing industry, adding that the Federal Government would soon commence the training of artisans to take over the industry.

To this end, she revealed that the government would flag off a train-the-trainers programme involving over 1000 artisans and craftsmen in partnership with the National Home Builders Association and Home Builders Institute of the United States of America. USA.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Interior, Abba Moro, and the Comptroller General of Immigration, CGI, David Parradang, will appear before the Senate on Thursday and Friday to explain the circumstances surrounding the tragic death of about 19 Nigerian youths during the recent recruitment by the Nigeria Immigration Services.

The Senate had last Tuesday, roundly condemned the immigration job recruitment tragedy, which resulted in the death of about 19 applicants, including four pregnant women, as a result of stampede and exhaustion in different centres across the country.

Chairman, Senate Committee on Interior, Senator Abubakar Bagudu, had while relying on Order 42 and 52 of the Senate Standing Order in a motion on matter of urgent public importance, drew the attention of  the senate to the catastrophe that hit the nation during the exercise.

Senator Bagudu had noted with grief the nationwide tragedy in the recruitment where it was reported that some of the applicants that attended the exercise lost their lives in different parts of the country.

Consequently, the Senate in its resolution, mandated its Committee on Interior to conduct a public hearing on the tragedy and submit a report within a week.

In compliance with the directives, the committee has summoned Moro, Parradang, and relevant stakeholders to appear before  it for public hearing.

Vanguard recalled that, at the emotion-laden debate on the motion by Senator Bagudu, many senators had called for the immediate sack of the minister who, it was alleged, had hijacked the functions of the Comptroller General of Immigration.

 

How to honour dead Immigration applicants, by Okonjo-Iweala

Arise, O Cowards, Nigeria’s Call Obey – By Nwike (S) Ojukwu

NIS recruitment exercise

Majority of Nigerians are strident in their demand for the removal of Minister Abba Moro and others implicated in the conduct of the immigration (NIS) employment screening that went awry resulting in the loss of 19 lives. The major argument is that the minister and his staff failed to take prophylactic measures in the run up to the employment screening exercise to ensure the safety of lives of the candidates. In solidarity with my compatriots, I would urge that the Attorney General (AG) of the Federation prosecute the minister and his staff for involuntary manslaughter due to their criminal negligence that resulted in the killing of human beings.

On a second thought, I am tempted to ask, since when did we place such a higher standard of accountability on our serving public officials? Could it be that the public’s outrage was generated by the loss of lives in the accident? Conversely, could we have reacted differently if there were no loss of lives? The cancellation of the screening exercise by President Jonathan and the offering of automatic employment to the injured beg the question. His reaction, in my judgment, is reductionist, a copout, and a pretext to conceal his administration’s lack of organizational skills. The minister’s vilification is diversionary and we have fallen for it. He has been made a scapegoat to mollify the susceptible public. Meanwhile, the larger question of the exploding youth’s unemployment situation in Nigeria remains unresolved. If this fire brigade approach to addressing fundamental issues impresses you, I beg to differ.

I would be hesitant to hold the minister singularly responsible for this accident. Rather, I would argue that we are collectively responsible as either actors or supporters of previous administrations, civilian and military, for their failure to project that in 2014, there could be millions of our college graduates seeking employment opportunities. I would call out the judiciary, both the bar and the bench. I would call out the doctors: the civil society. This accident was long in coming. We prepared the grounds when we supported the governments of Shagari, Buhari, Babangida, Abacha, Obasanjo, Yar’adua and Jonathan without demanding accountability from any of them. We were complicit in our silence when we failed to challenge the issuance of licenses for the establishment of more private universities by looters and religious opportunists without demanding for corresponding jobs for candidates after graduation.

From the stampede to pick up luggage at our airports, the unpreparedness of JAMB and WAEC to conduct simple tests or the INEC to conduct a transparent election, there is palpable demonstration of institutional destitution in our managerial skills. What makes it the more difficult is our ethos that one necessarily has to go through the mills to obtain something worthwhile. Such a belief is so ingrained in our subconscious that it would take a supernatural or miraculous event to challenge its holds and grips on our psyche.

The same Nigerian who pushed and pulled to get on the airplane at Lagos or Abuja or any other airport in Nigeria knows orderly conduct when he or she arrives in New York, London, or Amsterdam. The same Nigerian, whose luggage would not be subjected to a search in our airports because he or she is “Oga or Oga’s wife”, would humbly submit the same luggage for a search outside the country. The same Nigerian who would employ the services of touts rather than stand in a queue with “bloody citizens” because of his or her perceived status would form a queue outside our shores to receive services. You wonder if there is something wrong with our soil or the air we breathe in this part of the world. My theory is that there is nothing wrong with us except that our system conditioned the way we react. Therefore, you find a Nigerian behaving differently as soon as he arrives in the country because our system does not accommodate civility.

I have taken several written tests in the United States without sweat. When I walk into a test venue, the proctors have already placed my information on my desk against my number. All I do is sit down quietly, take my test, and walk away without stress. We can replicate the same thing in Nigeria if we are serious. It does not take rocket science to do something right, and a candidate does not have go through unnecessary hoops to take a test. . But, if we continue to be hoodwinked into believing in an unreasonable nexus between hardship and benefit, we will never make progress.

At the Nigerian law school (NLS), it dawned on me that Nigerians could perform their duties with pride and excellence. From the time you arrived for registration to when the lectures start, you would almost pinch your skin in incredulity at the effectiveness of the staff at NLS. My experience there informed my conviction that human beings are the same the world over because it demonstrated that Nigerians could actually make a difference in their jobs. The quality of services and the dedication of their staff are unrivalled with anything that I have experienced anywhere in Nigeria and you wondered if you were in Nigeria or in some other country. During registration for instance, you were sure that the staff would not leave until the last person on the queue was served. Anyone that has been to the NLS will accede to my experience.

As we mourn this national tragedy, let us pause to reflect on our relationship with our government and understand that we are expendable. Let us acknowledge that our current situation as citizens of Nigeria leaves much to be desired. We must come to the realization that our future is in our hands to create– to find ways and means to take back what belongs to us. Minister Moro and his staff may have bungled this exercise, but their mistake has exposed a fundamental crack in our structure and we would be doing ourselves a disservice by dwelling on their condemnation and miss the opportunity that the time presents.

The unemployment situation in the country is a matter of life and death. If you are in possession of a college certificate without a job, you are a walking corpse, a useless channel, and a tintinnabulation. If you have not been put to work, no one can assess your worth. The children of the connected and well-heeled do not take these tests in a sports stadium, neither are they exposed to such a humiliation.

Backtrack to 2011 when over 500,000 thousand applicants thronged the breadth of Nigeria looking for employment with the NDLEA. In Lagos, the test was administered in the heat of the National Stadium. Candidates took the test with laptops on their laps. We did not raise a voice in protest because no lives were lost even when it was manifestly clear that the number of applicants posed a serious threat to our national security. What kind of people are we to subject fellow citizens to this form of hardship?

We have a choice to continue to engage in the blame game, which does not serve any utility, or put our heads together to find a lasting solution to this national question. Any agency of government that advertises to hire new employees will definitely suffer the same fate.

We must acknowledge that there is a problem with an educational policy that is founded primarily on book learning at the expense of skills acquisition. We do not all have to carry big books or speak impeccable Queen’s English as an indication that we are educated. Some of us are gifted in the use of our fingers and such people deserve to be given an opportunity to develop their God-given potentials. There is colonial coloration in our form of education, which is designed to produce graduates that would service the civil administration rather than graduates that would be job creators. The mechanic that fixes my junk of a car does not understand any word of English. Sometimes I have to use signs to explain to him what is wrong with my car. However, once he gets it, he does a great job.

In his finest masterpiece “Pedagogy of the Oppressed”, Paulo Freire contends that the oppressor sees the oppressed as mere objects and things and treats him accordingly. He argues that one of the ways the oppressed could be free is to subject the oppressive environment to change. As long as we allow the model that encourages oppression to remain, the perpetuation of exploitation continues. The point being that “we” must collaborate with the government to design an educational policy that would be problem solving rather than rote learning. The form that we operate currently is antiquated. If we could run our lives without government interference, we would be free indeed.

That said; let us quit condemning the immigration service (NIS). Our problem is systemic. What we saw on that fateful day is the encapsulation of several things gone wrong, a failure of governance. In Nigeria, the government is the primary employer of labor. This ought not to be so. The private sector is the hub that runs the economy of a country. In our case however, the private sector is comatose and we are paying dearly for it. The private sector could explode by the provision of an enabling environment by legislative acts–making laws that guarantee stability and predictability in the market place. This calls for a transparent civil service, access to capital, free press, responsible law enforcement, and an independent judiciary. This may sound like a tall order, but that is what it will take to create such an environment.

This essay is not about unemployment in Nigeria, but a challenge to Nigerian youths to take their destiny in their own hands and quit being cowards. The number of youths that thronged the different centers for the immigration screening is enough to send shock waves down the spine of any government if they took to the streets to demand for better treatment. Government is effective to the extent that it commands the respect of the people. A government collapses when the people can say no to certain actions of government. The job of rebuilding Nigeria requires the effort of all Nigerians, the church, mosques, lawyers, doctors, engineers, teachers, bricklayers, painters, hawkers, unions, etc. Indeed Antonio Gramsci’s civil society that could bring about a social change could be ignited in Nigeria.

The civil society has the ability to transform the country’s trajectory through non-violent civil disobedience that would lead to a new state formation. If any lesson could be gleaned from Ukraine or the Arab Springs, it is the truism that the power to rebuild a nation rests in the hands of the people. The lives of fellow Nigerians that were wasted in the quest for employment opportunities would be meaningful if we seize the occasion to vacate the present predators.

The few Nigerians that have the temerity to take to the streets in protest against these unnecessary deaths covet our support. Let protests start from all the corners of Nigeria– North, South, East, and West and the diaspora. Let the elites that have held our country hostage since independence, appropriated our collective wealth to themselves and their families, and left us impoverished get the message that their time is up. Arise, O cowards, Nigeria’s call obey. If I were still at ABU, I would be on my way to Samaru Main Campus to join with my comrades in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS Ruling Council) to call the “Great ABU Students” to action.

If the US could deploy the arsenal of its power to secure the interest of an American anywhere in the world, we could force our government to account for the loss of 19 lives. We watched with horror and anger at the dehumanization of a Nigerian citizen by the South African law enforcement. Such irresponsible conduct could occur because the law enforcement community in that country understands that our government could care less about its citizens. The South African police could be stupid and reckless, but it knows not to mess with an American citizen for any reason.

Human life becomes meaningful and fulfilling when it is tied to a cause. The Sani Abacha’s government killed Ken Saro Wiwa because he dared to challenge the environmental degradation of his homeland by the multinational oil companies. Nevertheless, his spirit resurrected at the U.S Supreme Court in the case of Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co decided in April 2013 under the Alien Torts Statute (ATS). Indeed his spirit is alive within the international environmental rights community as well as the indigenous peoples.

It is better to live a life documented in the main text of a book than to be a footnote on the fringes. Death is an inevitable end. If we must die, let it not be on the queues for job screenings or to receive government’s handouts. Let us be felled in our efforts to create a better life for our children, to build a nation that we never had. If we desire a society that guarantees opportunity for all, we must be ready to pay the ultimate price. Until then, we will continue to be objects at the disposal of the predators because we are cowards who have refused to challenge our stations in life.

Nwike (S) Ojukwu is a Doctor of Laws (Cand) The University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law. (0)

Arise, O Cowards, Nigeria’s Call Obey – By Nwike (S) Ojukwu

Immigration jobs deaths: APC seeks criminal probe

Alison-Madueke ‘must be removed’

After a seven-hour meeting in Abuja, the All Progressives Congress (APC) delivered yesterday a verdict on the state of the nation.

apc

The President Goodluck Jonathan administration has lost control of the ship of state, the party said.

It also blamed the ruling government for the death of 19 applicants during last Saturday’s Nigeria Immigration Service(NIS) recruitment test.

It accused the government of exploiting unemployed youths instead of creating jobs for them.

The party also demanded a criminal investigation of the incidents which 19 applicants, including expectant women, died.

Besides, the APC condemned what it described as the ferocious and unwarranted attacks against suspended Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi for exposing alleged $20billion theft in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

The party queried why Sanusi will be under suspension while Petroleum Resources Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke, who superintends NNPC, is still in office.

On the orgy of killings nationwide, the APC urged the Federal Government to take steps to address it.

It also warned the government against its ongoing plans to impose a total emergency on Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states to remove democratically elected governments in those states.

The party, which gave its verdict on the state of the nation after a seven-hour session of its National Executive Committee (NEC), also fixed May 24 for its National Convention.

The convention will be preceded by Ward Congress (April 5); Local Government Congress (April 12) and State Congress (April 23).

Addressing reporters on the NEC communiqué, APC Interim National Publicity Secretary Lai Mohammed, said the party was of the opinion that the pervasive corruption and incompetence of the Jonathan administration led to the death of the 19 applicants.

It accused the Jonathan administration of fleecing 770,000 applicants of N770million, using a consultant as a conduit pipe.

The communique said: “Following its deliberations, the National Executive Committee of the APC commiserated with the families of the people who died on Saturday, March 15th, 2014 at several venues of the job test by the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS). We also extend our sympathy and prayers to those who were injured in the stampede, and wish them a speedy recovery.

“The needless deaths of our youth, which resulted from a combination of exploitation, corruption, greed and incompetence of the relevant authorities, represent a needless violation of their right to life and dignity.

“Out of sheer greed, N1,000 each was collected from the over 770,000 unemployed applicants shortlisted.

“The Jonathan-led PDP government, therefore, fleeced unemployed youths and their parents of Seven hundred and seventy six million naira (N770 million naira) using a consultant as conduit.

“ Even then, the available vacancies of about 4,500 have already been filled through the back door by over 3,000 candidates of PDP Apparatchik and government officials.

“The pervasive corruption and incompetence that have become the hallmarks of the Jonathan Administration paved the way for this unprecedented greed in which hapless job seekers were extorted by the same government that has failed to provide jobs for them.

“Yet, this government has no social security or any form of safety net for the vulnerable army of the unemployed. It should be made clear that this government encourages and baby sits corruption, stealing not only from the pension fund of Nigerian citizens, but also from the unemployed and from our collective patrimony, the NNPC.”

The APC demanded what it termed a criminal investigation of the job stampede deaths.

It added: “That is why we are calling for a criminal investigation to unravel the circumstances that led to the deaths of those innocent Nigerians, to find out who authorised the fleecing of job seekers by a government agency, what happened to the money realised from the heist and why the relevant officials did not ensure a better arrangement that could have saved precious lives.

“The job stampede deaths constitute the latest in a series of events that have turned Nigeria into a massive killing field in recent times.”

The party faulted the insensitivity of the Jonathan administration to the orgy of killings nationwide.

It queried why the PDP-led Federal Government had been pretending as if all is well in the country, climaxing in the President gallivanting from one rally to the other.

The party said: “The orgy of killings in the past few weeks have left hundreds dead and many more maimed in Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Kaduna, Katsina and Plateau, just to mention a few.

“ Never in the peace time history of our dear country has there been such a high number of needless deaths.

“Amid all of this, the PDP-led Federal Government has been carrying on as if all is well. After presiding over a wasteful centenary celebration, President Goodluck Jonathan has been gallivanting around the country, addressing political rallies when he should be commiserating with families of the dead in the affected states, especially Yobe where innocent children were massacred by a cowardly band of terrorists, and Katsina, which he visited a few hours after hundreds of people were killed.”

The party, however, warned the Federal Government against what it described as a plot to impose a total state of emergency on Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states.

The communique said: “Also, it has come to our notice that, in pursuant of the Presidency’s stance to label anyone who offers it any advice on how to curtail the terrorists’ attack and boost the morale of our gallant troops, the imposition of a total state of emergency is being considered for Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states, which is a smokescreen to remove the democratically-elected governors of these APC states.

“We condemn this move unequivocally and urge the President to jettison the idea, if indeed it is being remotely contemplated, because it will not advance the cause of peace in the affected states.

“Against the background of the daily orgy of killings, we are compelled to say that the Jonathan Administration has lost total control of events in the country, with the result that Nigerians are now being left to their own devices.

“It is clear that the situation in our country today, whether it is in the area of security, job creation, fight against corruption or even growing of the economy, is far beyond the capacity of those at the helm.

While faulting attacks on the suspended Governor of Central Bank, Mr. Sanusi Lamido Sanusi for exposing the $20 billion scandal in NNPC, the party queried why the Petroleum minister, who supervises NNPC, is still in office.

It said:”We also note, as a party, the ferocious attacks and blackmail mounted against Lamido Sanusi, the Governor of Central Bank. How someone who publicly disclosed the brazen theft of $20 billion from NNPC became a candidate for character assassination and blackmail is questionable and condemnable. Sanusi’s suspension is an affront to law and a threat to Nigeria’s institutional stability.

“This is also a government of double standard.Why is the Minister of Petroleum Deziani still in office when the major agency she superintendents is under investigation over the missing $20 billion?

“Therefore, the only salvation for Nigeria is a purposeful and focused party like the APC.

“From the road-map, which we unveiled recently, it is clear that we recognise the enormity of the challenges facing our dear country, hence we made job creation our priority, followed by security and the fight against corruption, among others.

“We urge our compatriots not to despair or give up hope, because salvation is in the horizon.

“The APC today embodies the hopes and aspirations of our long-suffering people. We have no doubt that this country can and will work again, and we are up to the task of restoring hope to our beleaguered people.”

The party released the timetable for election into various offices from the ward to the national levels.

The National Convention will hold on May 24.

The communique added: “Finally, the party wishes to announce dates for its Congresses and National Convention.

“The Ward Congress will hold on 5th of April, Local Government Congress on the 12th of April. State Congress on the 23rd of April and National Convention on the 24th of May.”

Asked if the party has zoned its offices, Mohammed, said: “ No office is zoned to anybody or any part of the country.”

On the ongoing National Conference, he said: “ There is nothing to discuss on the conference. We have made our position so clear about why we are not attending and nothing has changed. APC as a political party is not attending.”

The meeting was attended by members of the party’s Interim National Executive Committee, led by Chairman Chief Bisi Akande, Governors Rochas Okorocha (Imo), Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers), Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun), Dr. Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti).

Some national leaders of the party at the meetinh are: Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, General Muhammadu Buhari, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Senator Ali Modu Sheriif, Chief Ogbonnaya Onu, Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje, Chief Olusegun Osoba, Senator Bukola Saraki, Senator Danjuma Goje, Senator George Akume and others. (0)

Immigration jobs deaths: APC seeks criminal probe

LEAKED! President Jonathan"s Speech on the Nation and Bloody Immigration Exercise

Fejiro Oliver

I’m a satirist, so I’ve got boxing gloves on if the person is worthy of satire. But I’m not an assassin. If that ever happens, it’s only because something happened during the interview that got me going, and then I had to translate my feelings to the mouth of the character

Stephen Colbert

Fellow Countrymen, I stand before you on this solemn occasion to make this short speech because of the current challenges we face as a nation. You will recall that I was supposed to travel to Canada for a bilateral agreement, but I had to postpone the trip to address the problems at home. As a nation with various tribes; I cannot ignore the fact that we are different in our ideologies, but united by a common purpose for a visible transformation; which is what my administration has brought to Nigerians.

Under my administration which the Finance Minister can attest to; we have been able to provide 1.5 million jobs which have been able to curb unemployment to the barest minimum. It is this administration that has been able to make various ministries who use to make billions from employment to start making nothing. The facts are there. In the just concluded Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) Exercise; we are proud to say that unlike in the past regimes where millions of Nigerians apply for the few vacancies advertised for, this one had only 5,200 Nigerians who applied according to the statistics provided by the Minister for Interior, Abba Moro, which of course was generated to him from the application database. For a job well done, we will be decorating the Minister with the award of the Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR) while the Immigration Comptroller General, Paradang will be decorated with the award of the Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON).This is our pride; this is our achievement, the reduction of those applying for Civil Service jobs.

While we make progress in the area of unemployment, you will recall that our close neighboring country, where Nigerians rush to send their wards to also had their Immigration Exercise screening. I need not tell you what happened as the pictures of over 20 dead citizens are all over the internet for the world to see their shame. Such cannot happen in my regime. If I was their President, I will tell them that we are currently in an age where unemployment is rampant and we cannot run away from it, since it’s a global issue and we have to take our share. Thereafter I will set up a committee nationwide to carry out a detailed investigation and bring to book those who stepped on those stampeded citizens. But unfortunately I am not their President and can’t do so.

Fellow Nigerians, in the past few weeks that I sacked the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor (CBN), you will notice that the Naira has risen in value compared to the dollars. For those of you who are constantly receiving money through Western Union, you will attest to these facts. Even though the CBN Governor raised alarm that $20 billion were missing from NNPC, this administration has been able to counter such lies by making sure that instead of the missing money affecting fuel supply; Nigeria now has excess of petrol in all fuel station nationwide. This is attestable in Abuja, where my convoy went to queue for fuel and saw only 5 vehicles in a whole NNPC fuel station. This is the transformation we are talking about, which is evident in the lives of all Nigerians. Though reports getting to me from few states indicates that there are no fuels in some filling stations; I can tell you that it is the work of my political enemies, who have diverted the fuel, so as to paint this administration in a bad light. We will bring them to book, no matter the political party they belong.

Compatriots, our resolve to win the war against terrorism is yielding great results already, as our joint military men have been able to pursue the insurgents very far from our coast. Since the beginning of this year, we are proud to count as part of our achievements that there have been no bombing in any part of the country, neither has there been shooting done anywhere near our barracks. Our Military men according to security information given to me were able to foil an attempt by the terrorists, who had planned to kill 49 innocent Students. I have directed the State governor to give me the list of the 49 students who were to be killed for the Federal Government Scholarships. For those whose names were not marked to be killed by them; they should wait for it to happen and get theirs.

My administration has put in place all the necessary tools to curb corruption as well as reduced the overhead budget. It is for such reasons that most of the delegates for the CONFAB are not happy with me. My love for our nation will never allow me to spend our commonwealth on few individuals, who wanted us to pay them the sum of N10 million for each of the three months they will be sitting to discuss the future of our nation. My insistence on paying N12 million to each of them for the three months is my commitment to seeing that no Nigeria benefits unnecessarily from your Sovereign wealth. If I don’t do it, who will? To all those criticizing the selection of the delegates, especially my friend, Fejiro who called it a CONFAB of CONMEN, may I let you all know that most of the delegates who have criminal cases have been granted state pardon, and if their contribution will bring a better Nigeria, my administration will not overlook them.

I am not unmindful of the current challenges we face in the health sector and the constant demand for the sack of the Health Minister, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu. I do not claim ignorance of the various media write-ups and reports, especially by one of my constant critics, Fejiro Oliver, who has become the advocate for the Health Sector. Still yet, I do not feign pretense to know that the health sector is currently in shambles and a far cry from the glorious days of the 80s when Eyitayo Lambo led the sector. Dear compatriots, I can assure you that all will soon be over, as I have consistently directed the Minister to implement all the NIC rulings, but for some reasons, I have not written to him, but tonight, I will. I regret all the deaths that happened during the infamous JOHESU strike of August last year. My heartfelt sympathy and condolence reach out to all those who lost their loved ones during the strike. Such will never happen again. Never shall our citizens be sacrificed on the altars of Industrial actions. I can assure you that the days of such Minister will be numbered should it ever happen again. It is my avowed belief that no one in the health sector is lord over the other, neither is it a jungle where there is a lion who is king.

Fellow Nigerians, your welfare is my concern and you well being the paramount job of this administration. This is why quickly paid attention to the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) industrial action, by approving their request for funds. While some have criticized this administration lackadaisical attitude to her polytechnics counterpart, ASUP; I regret to say that this administration is not a friend of such kind of institutions. We are breeding world class graduates who can compete in the global village, and this can only be found in the Universities. Our administrations reject failure; hence we reject Polytechnics which is only an option for those who failed to gain admission into the Universities. We have zero tolerance for those failed to secure admission to the real Ivory Tower. To this end, this administration pleads with all the polytechnic lecturers to go back to the classroom and give us time to consider them in our budget and scheme of things.

On the issue of the Centenary awards which has generated controversy because of some names which the committee inputted; can any of the past leaders boast of a clean sheet? Even in this administration, was $20 billion not declared missing, yet we know that no court of law has declared anyone a thief over it? Did any court of law declare General Sani Abacha a thief that he is not fit to be a centenary awardee? Nigeria is a country where rumors thrive and become truth overtime. Until I became President; I thought that all the Abacha was said to have done were truth, but now that I am one; I know that he is a saint compared to some of our past leaders, even me, and even those to come. Let him who has not sinned cast the first stone.

To all those heating up the political sector, I urge you all to have the fear of God by not instigating the people against the government. I do not own Nigeria, but the people do. I have always said that my ambition is not worth anyone’s blood and I have not reneged on that statement. The era of politics captured with blood should be completely jettisoned. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) still remains the party to beat and the only party who can and has brought development to the common man. The opposition should go beyond using PDP as a yardstick for their performance and come out with their own ideologies. The PDP states you will agree with me are better governed that the opposition states. Do we compare Edo State to Delta, Abia State to Imo, Akwa Ibom State to Lagos or Plateau to Nasarawa? The evidences are clear and distinct. Nigerians be the judge.

As 2015 elections draws closer and Nigerians daily ask if I will run for the Presidency. May I use this moment to declare that I never signed any pact with anyone, either the Governor’s forum or any past presidents that I will run for one term. As a man of my words, I challenge anyone to produce such documents with my signature on it and let the world see it or they forever hold their peace. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has not declared the race open yet, but to stop all the speculations about my ambition; Yes, I will run for the 2015 presidency under the umbrella of the PDP as their consensus candidate. God willing, my wife, Mama Peace will also be running for the post of the House of Representative, under the banner of the PDP so as to give women the legislative might to achieve their 35 % in appointments.

Fellow Nigerians, our identity as a nation must not be killed by our individual differences or political leanings. We owe it our generation to keep Nigeria as one indivisible nation, and this is what my administration has sworn to keep.

God Bless you all

God Bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

This work is a satire “The purpose of satire has been rightly stated as to strip off the veneer of comforting illusion and cosy half truth, and our job, as I see it, is to put it back again! (Michael Flanders)

These little things matter…

Fejiro Oliver, a Journalist and Media Consultant can be reached on secretsreporters@gmail.com and +2348026797588 (sms only please). Follow on twitter @fejirooliver86 and Facebook; fejirooliver86. Like our Facebook page – secretsreporters (0)

LEAKED! President Jonathan"s Speech on the Nation and Bloody Immigration Exercise

APC demands sack of Interior Minister Over Tragic Recruitment Exercise

 

The Minister of Interior, Mr. Abba Moro, has no reason to remain in office a day longer after supervising yesterday’s tragic nationwide recruitment exercise of the Nigeria Immigration Service during which over 20 applicants died during the stampede that occurred at some of the test centres across the country, the All Progressives Congress (APC), Rivers State Chapter, has said.

Deceased

The party in a statement issued this afternoon by the State Interim Chairman, Dr. Davies Ibiamu Ikanya, regretted that “rather than demonstrate sincere sorrow over the avoidable death of our youths, Interior Affairs Minister Abba Moro had the effrontery to blame the victims for the cruel fate that befell them.”

“Our attention has been drawn to media reports in which Mr. Abba Moro claimed that the applicants lost their lives due to impatience and for not following the laid-down procedures spelt out to them before the exercise. This is the height of insensitivity by a Minister who by now should have handed over his resignation letter for poorly managing a recruitment exercise that turned the venues into the graveyard of innocent youths,” APC Rivers said.

The party advised President Goodluck Jonathan “to without delayrelieve Mr. Abba Moro of his appointment as he has showed that he is not fit to continue in that capacity.”

APC Rivers berated the Federal Government “for creating the monster of unemployment which has culminated in the avoidable death of our future stars.” It commiserated with the families of the bereaved and wished those injured speedy recovery.

“To reduce the anguish of the victims, the Federal Government should foot the bill for the treatment of all those injured during the tragic exercise. It should, in addition, bear the cost of the burial of the dead and pay the families at least two years salaries,” APC Rivers said.

It advised the PDP-led Federal Government to start packing its bags and prepare to quit the Aso Rock Presidential Villa after the 2015 elections as they have punished Nigerians, particularly the youths, long enough. First, it was the closing of universities and keeping the students at home for about six months. Then came the indefinite closure of polytechnics and Colleges of Education, and now the murder of our innocent youths desperate for a source of living in the guise of providing them with Immigration jobs. It is very unfortunate and sad that the present administration at the centre lacks what it takes to govern a nation like Nigeria as it is overwhelmed by the issues of governance. Our roads are now death traps, our hospitals mere consulting centres. Corruption is at the highest level and Nigerians can no longer be sure of seeing tomorrow as the security of the nation is at a zero level” the statement concluded. (0)

APC demands sack of Interior Minister Over Tragic Recruitment Exercise