PDP Worried over Jonathan, Obasanjo Feud

Olusegun Obasanjo

Following the recent criticism by former President Olusegun Obasanjo of President Goodluck Jonathan handling of the Boko Haram insurgency and the riposte by Jonathan over Obasanjo handling of the Odi invasion in 1999, there has been palpable unease within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over the growing feud between the two.

Of particular concern, a top member of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party told journalists yesterday in Abuja that the party was worried over the preponderance by President Jonathan’s aides to encourage the president to engage in verbal diatribes with the former president on the pages of newspapers

In expressing the concerns of the party, the NWC member said it would be wrong for the president to fall out with Obasanjo.

Jonathan

He said: “The former president might have his faults, he is not a saint, but taking on Obasanjo on the pages of the newspapers is not good for the party,” advising Jonathan to tread softly because of the stature of Obasanjo.

“He was a former military head of state and was also president for eight years,” he said.

The NWC member said anyone advising Jonathan to take on former President Obasanjo was not helping matters.

“We are concerned about this feud between the president and Obasanjo, two critical members of the party.

“The president must be careful. It is dangerous for him to take on this man, who is very close to the northern oligarchy.

“Jonathan should rather seek his advice as a father because of his second term ambition. This is not the time to start fighting people like Obasanjo.

“He (Jonathan) should not make Obasanjo, a hero. It was this same Obasanjo who appealed to restive members of the party at the Eagles Square when Jonathan picked the party’s presidential ticket.

“That time, the North was very angry that the party did not follow the zoning formula as enshrined in its constitution following the death of President Umaru Yar’Adua,” the source said.

According to the source, “The party is working too hard to smoothen the relationship between the presidency and the National Assembly and now this. We can’t win the 2015 presidential election like this. We need a united party for things to work well for us.”

When contacted, the National Secretary of the PDP, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola and the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Chief Olisa Metuh, said there was no rift between Jonathan and Obasanjo.

According to the National Secretary of PDP, “The issue of Odi killings will not cause hostility between the two leaders of our party.”

The National Publicity Secretary added that Jonathan and Obasanjo were “working together towards deepening democracy in Nigeria.”

However, the NWC source said that it was in order to contain such unnecessary face off that the party wants to constitute its Board of Trustees (BoT), so that they can mediate in such disputes between leaders of the party.

“We need elders that can look at both senior members of the party and tell them the truth, instead of playing into the hands of the opposition. If we allow such bitter quarrels, what will the opposition parties do?” asked the NWC member.

He blamed the recent disagreement between Jonathan and Obasanjo on what he described as “some of the overzealous aides of the president.”

Nigeria Loses $500m Annually to European, American Universities

Professor Ruqayyatu Rufai, Education Minister

The Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigeria (CVC) said at the weekend that Nigerians spend an average of $500 million annually on European and American universities.

This was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of a two-day Consultative Policy Dialogue on the Future and Relevance of the Nigerian Universities and other Tertiary Institutions, organised by CVC and Trust Africa, Dakar.

The communiqué, signed by Prof. Michael Faborode, noted that the amount was about 70 per cent of the total allocation in 2008 to all federal universities.

It said this was an indication of the loss of faith in Nigerian universities as shown by the rush for foreign institutions, even to other African countries.

The committee noted that constant restiveness of students between host communities, school administration, weak governance structures and processes were some of the challenges facing the Nigerian Higher Education sector, reported the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

According to the communiqué, the challenge have contributed to the disruptions of the academic calendar, including the constant bickering between the academic staff union, other staff unions, university management and government.

The vice-chancellors said that this has affected the culture of robust debate and collaborative engagement between government, university management and staff for a common vision and progress.

The committee further admitted that the global ranking of Nigerian universities has nose-dived considerably, adding that there have been growing concerns over the quality of graduates from Nigerian universities.

The committee resolved to restore a culture of consultation, strategic productive engagement, and partnership, collaboration between management and staff of Nigerian higher education institutions.

It also resolved that the nature and dimension of the problems confronting higher (education) institutions in Nigeria would require a new approach to governance.

The communiqué also resolved that the appointment of vice-chancellors must include respect for academic excellence, managerial, leadership capabilities, transparency and accountability.

It said other corrective measures included the non-negative application of the principle of federal character to stem the tide of emerging sectional agitation and clamour for indigenes and other parochial interests.

The committee further resolved that as much as possible, “indigene-ship” should not be critical in the appointment of vice-chancellors, resolving that government must invest in the future of the country by providing adequate resources to enable universities achieve their goals.

The vice-chancellors said that stakeholders and private sectors should be committed to investing in higher education through the sponsorship of research.

The communiqué called for the setting up of an education, research innovation and development council to coordinate the synergy between knowledge, innovation and development in all the sectors of the economy.

It also resolved that government needed to be more cautious in the current trend of establishing and approving of new universities without commensurate increase in the number of teachers.

The vice-chancellors believed that the higher education sector had a critical role to play in forging a sense of nationhood and nation building as well as citizenship.

It also recommended that regular consultative policy dialogue on Nigerian universities and other tertiary institutions should be held biannually.

NLC Gives Jang Ten Days to Shut Down Plateau

Governor of Plateau State, Jonah David Jang

The national leadership of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has given the Governor of Plateau State, Jonah David Jang a ten-day ultimatum to resolve the local government workers’ crisis in the state or have the state paralysed with total withdrawal of workers’ services in the state.

Delivering the position of the national body of NLC in a press conference in Jos yesterday, the state Chairman of the union, Comrade Jibrin Bancir, said “the NLC/TUC at their Central Working Committee meeting held on Tuesday November 12,  2012 resolved among other things that a ten-day ultimatum be issued effective from November 30, 2012, to elapse on the December 9, 2012, by midnight, after which if the impasse is not resolved, all workers in the state, including private organization will embark on total withdrawal of services and general protest in the state.

“And all the affiliates union to NLC and TUC will relocate their National Headquarters to Jos to see to the success of the struggle.”

The union, while calling on all workers to be resolute, and to continue to mobilise towards the strike, however said statesmen on the Plateau are being consulted to prevail upon Jang to end the impasse before the ultimatum elapses.

Recounting the losses, Bancir said “the government of Jonah Jang has turned against the people that voted him to power; citizens have died, children have lost two consecutive terms in primary schools, nobody graduated from primary school to JSS1 in Plateau public schools, and there is general economic down town and poverty, but the government is happy carrying out senseless propaganda.

“Organised Labour calls on the state government to have sober reflection over the injury and death it has already inflicted on the citizens and find a lasting solution to the impasse.”

On its part, the state government has alerted the public of attempts to hijack the strike by some political forces for blackmail, mischief and violence, appealing to “parents, guardians, and community leaders not to allow their children, wards and subjects to be used for any act of mischief.”

Jonathan: FG Alone Can’t Fund Tertiary Institutions

President Goodluck Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan, Saturday challenged stakeholders and managers of the nation’s universities  to complement the provision of facilities that enable institutions to function optimally, saying the Federal Government alone cannot shoulder the responsibilities of funding tertiary institutions in the country.

The president, who gave the challenge while speaking  at the 31st convocation ceremony of the Usmanu Danfodio University, Sokoto, stressed the need for universities to explore opportunities for productive and beneficial partnership with the organised private sector to supplement the revenue they get from the Federal Government.

Jonathan, who was represented at the occasion by the Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission  (NUC), Prof. Julius Okogie, said “The universities should form productive and beneficial partnerships with the private sector, so that they can generate needed funds to supplement allocation from the Federal Government.”

He noted that while it is necessary for the Federal Government to maintain its commitment from budgetary sources, time has come for the management of universities to cast their nets wide and generate resources for their various institutions.

According to President Jonathan , there should be a change of attitude from believing that the responsibility of government is to provide all the resources while the management simply incurs the expenditure.

He urged the management of universities to be more aggressive in diversifying the revenue base without compromising the essence of a university.

Jonathan noted that Usman Danfodio University had continued to live up to expectation in terms of scholarship and the noble tradition of the Sokoto caliphate.

He said the importance of education to the development of people and society cannot be overemphasised and as such government will continue to support all tertiary institutions that would serve as catalyst to development of the country.

“Our tertiary educational institutions are pivotal on which the transformation agenda rest upon, hence the need to develop them to achieve the desired targets,” he stated.

The president harped on the need for universities to lay emphasis on programmes designed to improve entrepreneurial skills that will benefit students after graduation.

While congratulating the graduands for completing their studies, the president charged them to  rededicate themselves to the service of the nation.

He also congratulated the recipients of doctoral degrees and reminded them that the honour done to them was a further call to duty.

In a remark, the vice chancellor of the university,  Prof. Riskuwa Shehu, said a total of 11,532 graduands received various degrees and diplomas.

He stated that 120 received Ph.D; 968 masters degree ,  673 got post -graduate diploma while 8,509 got bachelors degree.

PDP Drags Aregbesola to Court over Planned Demolition of Buildings

Osun State Governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun State, has dragged the governor of the state, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, before Justice Adeyinka Aderibigbe of an Osogbo High Court over the planned demolition of a building being used as its Osun Central Senatorial district secretariat in Osogbo, the state capital.

Also joined in the suit are the state’s Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice as well as Sammya Nigerian Limited.

Before the structure, located at Igbona area, Osogbo, was converted to party secretariat, it was used as campaign office for the senatorial ambition of former Osun State governor, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola.

Addressing the court, on Thursday, counsel to the claimant, Abidoye John Abolarin brought a motion on notice seeking an order of interlocutory injunction restraining Sammya Nigeria Limited, the construction company, working on Osogbo/Ilaodo road or any of its agents from carrying out the demolition of the building being used as Osun Central Senatorial district secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party, pending the hearing and determination of the suit.

Abidoye added that Affidavit of Urgency deposed to by the Osun Central Chairman of the PDP, Rev. Bunmi Jenyo, was attached to ensure speedy hearing and determination of the motion ex-parte for the interim orders so as to protect the property having been told by one of the supervisors of the construction company presently working on the road, that the building will most likely be demolished.

In his address, Justice Aderibigbe, said the Certificate of Occupancy of the building in question was not attached to the motion before the court and the identity of the true owner of the building in question cannot be established.

In his reaction, counsel to the claimant said there is a valid C of O for the building and promised to make the papers available to court.

Aderibigbe consequently ordered that the respondents be served the motion on notice and fixed Tuesday, December 4 for hearing of the motion.