The failure of the Federal Government and the Power Holding Company,PHCN, to provide sustainable power to the people has pushed about 60million Nigerians into generating their own power.

The cost of this self power generation through the fuelling of all manner of generating sets is put at a staggering N1.56 trillion($13.35bn) annually.

This is aside from the N97.2bn the manufacturing sector also spends yearly to power their plants, with attendant high cost of productionand equally high cost of goods and services.

Making the disclosure in Lagos on Thursday, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, noted thatpower challenges have contributed to frustrating Nigeria’s economicdevelopment.

Mallam Sanusi, who spoke at the August Conference on ‘Gas to Power: Prospects and Challenges’ organized by the Nigerian Association ofEnergy Correspondents, NAEC, expressed concern that Nigeria ranks theleast in per capita energy, even as energy development is key to rapideconomic development.

“Increased provision and use of energy services, is an integral part of economic development,” he said.

The CBN governor, represented by his Deputy Governor (Financial System Stability), Dr. Kingsley Chiedu Moghalu, quoting the UnitedStates Central Intelligence Agency World Fact_Book reports, said, “onper capita electricity consumption in kilo_watt hours (kWh) for 2009,which ranks Nigeria 178th with 106.21 kWh per head, far behind SouthAfrica (4,921.26), Libya (3,281.87), Iraq (1,377.75), Gabon (900.00),Ghana (283.65), Cameroon) (176.01) and Kenya (124.68). This is indeedvery disturbing.”

Furthermore, he said that other challenges such as “the transmission and distribution networks which are poorly maintained and inefficientlyoperated making it difficult to move power from generation sites toconsumption points. The low tariffs coupled with high level of lossesin the system points to the fact that the sector is not financiallyviable.”

He said that these very disturbing factors caused the Central Bank’s recent intervention in the power sector to ensure that Nigerians getcritical services from the energy sector.

Sanusi explained that the CBN’s intervention “is derived from the desire to use monetary policy to fast_track economic growth and createjobs. In other words, to ensure that Nigeria has an electricity supplyindustry that can meet the needs of its citizens and power our economyinto the 20 top economies of the world by the year 2020.”

I reluctantly feel that as no-one ever seems to want to chat witrh me here anymore, or reply to my posts, I am going to allow my account to close and move along.

It has been nice here, and I have gotten to know some really lovely people. My MSN and YAHOO addys are still on my profile page so you are always welcome to add me, but otherwise, thanks for having me here as a member.

Byeeeee,

MJ xxx

A cholera outbreak in 11 Northern states has killed 231 people thisyear and infected more than 4,500 others, the country’s chiefepidemiologist said on Friday.

Neighbouring Cameroon has been suffering its worst epidemic of cholera, a disease generally spread through food and water contaminatedwith bacteria, since 2004 and there had been fears that the outbreakcould spread into Nigeria and Chad.

“Recent cases are mainly from the northeastern part of the country,” said Dr Henry Akpan, head of epidemiology in Nigeria’s ministry ofhealth, adding that 4,665 cases had been recorded in Africa’s mostpopulous nation since January. Nigeria is also fighting a measlesepidemic.

The disease, characterised by a high temperature and red spots on the body, has killed more than 1,400 people in Africa this year in someof the most serious outbreaks seen for a decade.

Health Minister Onyebuchi Chukwu said Nigeria had confirmed 4,771 cases in 2010, a ten_fold increase on the same period last year. Hesaid government would provide N2.1 b ($14 million) of vaccines andsyringes to combat the epidemic.

This is a sad story but there is a very good lesson to be learned from it.

There is a woman who had a faithful dog. This dog was so faithful that the woman could leave her baby with it and go out to attend other matters. She always returned to find the child soundly asleep with the dog faithfully watching over him. One day something tragic happened.

The woman as usual, left the baby in the "hands" of this faithful dog and went out shopping. When she returned, she discovered rather a nasty scene. There was a total mess. The baby's cot was dismantled and his nappies and clothes torn to shreds with bloodstains all over the bedroom where she had left the child and the dog. Shocked, the woman wailed as she began looking for the baby.

Presently, she saw the faithful dog emerging from the under the bed. It was coveredwith blood and licking its mouth as it had just finished a delicious
meal. The woman went berserk and assumed that the dog had devoured her
baby. Without much thought she clubbed the dog to death. But as she continued searching for the "remains" of her child, she beheld another scene.

Close to the bed was the baby who, although lying on bare floor, was safe. And under the bed the carcass of a jackal torn to pieces in what must have been a fierce battle between it and the dog which was now dead. Then the reality hit the woman who now began to understand what took place in her absence.

The dog fought to protect the baby from the ravenous jackal. It was too late for her now to make amends because in her impatience and anger, she had killed the faithful dog. A dog deserving praise and adoration that fought to save the life of her dear beloved child received death in return. How often have we misjudged people and torn them to shreds with harsh words and even with physical assault before we have had time to evaluate the situation? It is called the sin of presumption. Presuming things are one way without taking the trouble to find out exactly what the situation really is. A little patience can drastically reduce major life long errors.

TALKING POINTS
There was some symmetry in the two meetings between Chelsea and Wigan last
season - up to a point at least. Both home sides were leading 1-0 when
a key opponent - 'keeper Petr Cech
at the DW, defender Gary Caldwell at the Bridge - were shown a red
card. Within minutes of both incidents the visitors had conceded two
goals and were a man short.

The Latics clung on to their 2-1 lead against Chelsea's increasingly desperate attack before stinging the Blues with a breakaway third to
earn their first-ever victory over one of the Premier League's 'big
four.'

In the return, Carlo Ancelotti's men built extravagantly on their 2-0 foundation, running up an 8-0
tally on the last day of the season. Surely that will remain the most
emphatic way the title was won for a long, long time.

The troubled Latics must be wary of further humiliation. Following last weekend's action, on the two most recent league results,
the Londoners had notched 14 goals without reply, whereas Wigan have
scored none and conceded 12 - a disparity in goal differences,
incredibly, of 26.

If football outcomes could easily be extracted from such figures, though, every team would have a mathematician on their bench. In
reality, Wigan's ground has never been an easy place for Chelsea to
bring home the Premier League points.

After the 6-0 home defeat of West Brom some football sages moved swiftly from grudgingly predicting that Chelsea would retain the title
to pronouncing themselves bored of the inevitable outcome already.

Chelsea's management and players have remained unanimously unmoved by that hefty margin at the Bridge which, while welcome, flattered a
Blues side that showed signs of early season rust either side of the
break.

More to the point five of the six defeats - the most by any Premier League-winning side - in our last campaign came away from the Fulham
Road, with this fixture a jarring reminder that accommodation can,
unfortunately, be found for Mr Cockup.

The 1-3 defeat - another slightly misleading scoreline - at the DW Stadium last season was one of those games where the Blues hit a
lull, made sloppy errors and found it difficult to convert possession
into clear chances.Wigan will seek to emulate that performance and
improve their damaged morale.

Still, Carlo Ancelotti has emphasised the importance of a good start - pointing to the
six-game winning sequence that kicked-off the Double year - and the
West Brom game produced Chelsea's biggest ever opening day victory in
football's top tier, eclipsing the 6-1 recorded over a 'a smallish club
somewhere north of the M25' in August 1937.

The Blues' heftiest first-day salvo at any level was the famous 9-2 in 1906 when George 'Gatling-gun' Hilsdon fired in five on his debut.

Also on Saturday fit-again Didier Drogba became only the fourth player to net hat-tricks in successive Premier
League games.He will hope that is the platform for his third golden
boot in England.

A second successive Saturday evening slot will not be popular with all Chelsea fans, despite the cheaper, sponsored travel, and Arsenal
have the chance to edge ahead by seeing off buoyant freshers Blackpool.
The Tangerines, though, have not won at Arsenal since 1958 and the days
of Stanley Matthews.

Sir Alex Ferguson faces one of his accommodating former pupils at Craven Cottage on Sunday afternoon, while big-spending City will hope
to end a six-year drought without a home win when entertaining
Liverpool.

Much can be said about Susan Harvey a.k.a Goldie, one of the very few Nigerian female pop vocalists around. While the press and tabloids seem to focus on her ‘Victorian costumes and infamous eyelashes,’ surprisingly, fans have over time chosen to embrace her very daring musical style with many describing her as ‘bold’.

When she hit the scene in 2007 with the single “Spin Me” and an accompanying video, it elicited comparisons ranging from her idol Madonna to Amy Winehouse. However, judging from the response, it was pretty obvious that Nigerians were not quite ready for her style of music. “When I recorded the ‘Spin Me’ video, MTV base loved it but Nigerians were not crazy about the track; people were like ‘why does she like these outfits?’ So it was a bit difficult,” she remembers. “Then I did ‘Shift’ and took it to the next level. I went all out and said let me just do the outfits and the response was too much. People were like this is something new from a female artist. Of course there were other female artists but my style was unique. I am a contemporary pop artist with a blend of Afro-Hip-Hop sound.”

Shifting focus

Realising that appreciating her music had become even more difficult as time went by, she decided to record ‘Nothing Has Changed’ and toned it down because “I wanted to be simple. ‘Nothing Has Changed’ spoke of my feelings of satisfaction. People [still] love it.” The video for ‘Nothing Has Changed’ featured a lot more dynamic urban backdrop, luxury shots with champagne popping and boat cruises; a shift from her other videos.”

On this day she isn’t sporting her signature long eyelashes and also has on very subtle makeup as well as a wicked micro mini skirt, prompting me to ask if she has rebranded. She bursts out laughing and says, “I don’t think I have changed that much. I no longer wear the long lashes and the makeup is a lot less. I discovered that after I started wearing long lashes a lot of artists began wearing them in their videos and I thought it’s a new year that I could be more creative than all that.”

Now you know

With the release date of her highly anticipated debut album drawing near, the leggy singer who recently signed with Kennis Music has a controversial song and video titled ‘You Know it’ whose Yoruba chorus translated to English means “I can take your man.” Shedding light on the inspiration behind the song which featured eLDee she said, “We (Kennis Music artists) were in Abuja for lunch and while we were talking, Kenny Ogungbe went out and then Eedris started saying, ‘you are a bad girl, you should sell badness because everyone wants the bad girl. You are a “Gb’oko lowo e” girl. Kenny came [back] asking who Eedris sang the song for and he was told I was the one. He compelled me to sing the song.”

Visibly happy with the video’s reception since its release, the singer says she isn’t in any way bothered by the negative comments “I was not referring to anyone [in particular] contrary to what some people think but at the same time, maybe I was referring to someone (laughs) and she knows herself.”

Entertainment fanatic

When not busy in the studio, the University of Sunderland, Business Management graduate is involved in other entertainment projects. “I love writing.

The other day, I was in a stage play titled Peace of the Grave Yard. It was a Black Image production. I love the general process of entertainment and embodying a character like what I am doing right now is my passion.”

With a September release date for her album already set, the Ekiti state born singer is yet to come up with a title. “My fans say I should call it Duchess but my management say I should look for something more simple like Goldie.

All tracks are ready but we just want to streamline and get it all tight. I don’t want it to be like other Nigerian albums; I want all my songs to be classic!”

LAGOS—CENTRAL Bank of Nigeria has directed banks operating in thecountry to immediately set machinery in motion to implement a Nigerianuniform bank account number standards.

The CBN which gave the financial sector a mandate of nine months to realise this, explained that the new measure was designed to enhanceFederal Government policy of automated direct credits in which paymentsare made through direct transfer to beneficiaries’ accounts in theplace of cheque payment.

Vanguard gathered that the policy which started, January 1, 2009, has led to an upsurge in the volume automated direct credits at thebankers clearing house.

The CBN said that before arriving at the decision, it consulted with three major providers of Core Banking Applications in the bankingsystem to ascertain the feasibility of a uniform account numberstandard and the feasible implementation modalities.

It said that based on the technical advice obtained, it mandated a period of nine months for full compliance by the banks, adding thatcompliance monitoring by the Payments System Policy and OversightOffice would commence six months from the release date of the document.

CBN said: “All banks are expected to submit their comprehensive migration plans to the Central Bank of Nigeria one month from therelease date herein. Any infractions to the dictates and stringenttime-lines provided in this document shall attract severe sanctions asmay be determined by the Central Bank of Nigeria from time to time.

“The Bankers Clearing House has witnessed an upsurge in the volume of automated direct credits cleared through the system since February,2009. This resulted from the directive of the Federal Government to theeffect that all Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the FederalGovernment should replace all forms of cheque payments with electronicpayments as from January 01, 2009.

“As the ACH volume increased, so have complaints of banks and bank customers resulting from the incidents of abuse of the clearing system.Such of the complaints include: delayed presentment of customers’instructions in the clearing house; delayed application of inwardautomated direct credits items by some banks; late return of un-appliedinward ACH items; application of inward ACH items to wrong accounts;bank customers quote account numbers wrongly.

“CAWG observed that many of these complaints are traceable to the non-uniform structure of bank account numbers among Nigerian banks. Forinstance most ACH beneficiaries quote their bank account numberswrongly while providing such account numbers to their employers, inpreparation for electronic means of salary payment.

When this happens, both the employer and the presenting bank would not be able to validate such accounts before presenting such paymentinstructions through the Automated Clearing House.

“A uniform account number structure scheme would enable both the employer and the presenting bank to validate account numbers and thiswould greatly reduce: the volume of items returned un-applied due towrong account numbers; the incidence of posting to wrong accountnumbers, by the receiving bank; the incidence of delayed presentment ofoutward ACH items.

Presently, most banks use days to cross-check, validate and correct account numbers before presenting ACH items through the AutomatedClearing House; the incidence of delayed application of inward ACHitems.

“Most banks expend a lot of energy and time to correct account numbers before uploading inward items just because their core bankingapplications work with too long bank account numbers. We are of theopinion that if the Nigerian banking industry implements a Uniform BankAccount Number scheme, then many of the electronic payment problems wecurrently experience would be resolved and banks would experiencereduced cost of operations and increased efficiency of ACH processing”.

The CBN directive added: “In the course of our study and deliberations, CAWG discovered that Uniform Bank Account Number schemeis best practice. The proposed NUBAN is a 10-digit Bank Account Numberformat, with the following structure: 999999999 – Account Serial Number9 – A Check Digit constructed to support a modulus check, which enablesthe presenting bank to perform checks.

The Check Digit is derived from an algorithm that operates on a combination of the three-digit CBN-assigned Bank Code and thenine-digit Account Serial Number.

Customer records database

“Every bank is required to create and maintain a NUBAN code for every customer account (current, savings, etc) in its customer recordsdatabase, and the NUBAN code should be the only Account Number to beused at all interfaces with a bank customer.

We expect every bank to maintain their present Account Numbers and use them for their internal operations only as from the effective dateof NUBAN, but every such account number would have to be mapped to aNUBAN code as an Alternate Account Number.

“The bank customer should be provided with only the NUBAN code which he/she would use as a means of account identity at every interactionwith the bank. The onus lies on the bank to map such NUBAN codesupplied by the customer to the relevant internal account number withinthe bank’s technology system.

A 10-digit account number is simple and can easily be managed by bank customers. NUBAN frees bank customers from the risk of quotingaccount numbers wrongly – a risk that is higher with account numbers oflonger digits.

“The NUBAN shall be used in ACH operations. Every payer shall obtain the three-digit Bank Code and a 10-digit NUBAN code from the payeewhenever ACH payments are to be set up; the Payer’s bank shall ensurethat all payee accounts supplied by the payer conform to NUBANstandards.

The Payer shall validate the check digit of the NUBAN code of every electronic payment instruction, and only instructions with valid NUBANcodes shall be presented in the Automated Clearing House; the receiving(Payee) Bank shall upload inward ACH payments based only on the NUBANcodes of each payment instruction; such upload programme/software shallvalidate the check digit (10th digit) of the NUBAN code in the uploadprocess.

All inward items with invalid NUBAN codes shall be returned unapplied, and the receiving bank shall not make any manual effort tocorrect such records. d) The Account Number field in the MICR codelineof cheques shall contain only the NUBAN code.”

*Now $3 mcf for manufacturers

LAGOS—FEDERAL Government, Thursday, announced a new gas pricing regimefor the industrial sector, with a view to revamping and boostingindigenous manufacturing capacity.

Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, disclosed this yesterday, in a keynote address at the August Conferenceon Gas to Power-_ Prospects and Challenges, organized by energycorrespondents.

She said the gas reprieve for the manufacturers would be segmented into two separate pricing structures _ producer to wholesaler/localdistribution company, LDC, and the wholesale/LDC to end user ormanufacturers.

Mrs. Madueke said the new gas pricing, capped at $3 per million cubic feet, mcf, was targeted at effectively freeing gas price tomanufacturers from low pour fuel oil, LPFO, or black oil indexation,especially for the wholesaler and manufacturers. She said:

“The price will be negotiated on a ‘willing buyer, willing seller’ basis, not only to ensure transparency but also reflect the true costof distributing and marketing of gas.”

The minister added, however, that pricing for the producer and wholesaler/LDC will continue to be based on LPFO indexation, stressing:“unlike in the past which was uncontrolled, the new price is capped at$3/mcf. This provides a major protection for downstream pricingarrangement between the wholesalers/LDC and their end usermanufacturing customers.”

New pricing structurers

The implementation of the new pricing structures is expected to run between now and 2013, to address the challenge of unpredictability inpricing. But the implementation of the pricing between the producer andwholesaler/LDC will be done in phases _ now to end 2012, $2/mcf; end2012 to end 2013, $2.50/mcf; and end 2013 and beyond inflationcorrected, $3/mcf.

Mrs Madueke noted that the new manufacturing gas pricing complemented the recently approved increase in gas to power price, toensure that producers get an aggregate price that was at or close toexport parity.

Until now manufacturers had continued to groan under the high cost of gas, which impacts on production cost and eventually passed on tothe final consumers, thus making made_in_Nigeria products uncompetitiveat the international market.

The minister who explained that the pricing structure, “will create transparency and efficient management of the dynamics of pricing withineach relationship,” added that the move was approved by PresidentGoodluck Jonathan in acknowledgment of that fact that the “growth ofthe manufacturing sector is crucial to the delivery of the economicagenda.”

Noting that one of the issues the Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, was meant to address was the imperfection in the value chain structure, shesaid: “The PIB recognizes three distinct stakeholder groups in the gassupply chain to the manufacturing sector, namely, the producers,transporters and wholesaler/LDC.

This ensures transparency in the value chain, with the resulting impact of a more attractive end user price.”

With regard to the PIB, which she said would soon be passed into law, Mrs. Madueke said that in view of the planning and strategies putin place for its smooth transition, investment inflow afterwards areexpected to generate about 30,000 jobs locally, despite the poorfunding of gas infrastructures in the country.

She said: “Addressing these challenges has been our focus lately, and significant progress is being made. In the last few months we havefocused aggressively on implementing the most aggressive reform of thecommercial framework for gas supply to power in Nigeria.”

Mrs. Alison_Madueke also stated that the country’s four refineries were currently working at an optimal capacity utilisation of 60 percent.

She said that in line with its objective to own 50 percent of retail outlets in the country, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation,NNPC, had also acquired about 437 service stations nationwide inaddition to its 37 mega_stations across the country and 12 floatingmega_stations.

Sixty-eight firms comprising foreign and local investors with interest in diverse sectors of the economy, as at last week, were said to have so far shown strong intention to do business at the Lekki Free Trade Zone (LFTZ). They cover textile, oil and gas, tourism, real estate, cottage industries, construction, car assembling among others.

Although some listed above will come on stream later as the project develops and expands, however, how soon others will roll into action will depend on the magic that the Lagos State government and its development partners — a consortium of Chinese investors can perform between now and November 2010 when the first phase, according to the management will be opened for business operations.

The first phase of the multi-billion dollars project sits on over 3000 hectares with a huge infrastructural challenge. It is being developed by a group of Chinese firms in partnership with Lagos State. And so far, work on the development of critical infrastructure such as power plant, sewage systems, water treatment plants though ongoing is still a challenge.

Although the Chinese are the first partners in the development of the trade zone, the state government is still keeping its doors open for more investors especially in view of the huge financial outlay. It is estimated that the overall project will cost over five billion US dollars.

“The Chinese are the first set of developers we have in the zone to jump-start things. And we are currently developing the launch area (phase 1),” Olusola Oworu, special adviser to Lagos State government on commerce and industry, whose office supervises the developments told BusinessDay.

As a way of attracting investors, the government is offering a number of incentives including tax exemption. Also, companies to operate within the zone could be 100 percent foreign owned and would be allowed the option of repatriating their capital and profits overseas if they so chose. In terms of meeting up the requirements for setting up a business in the zone, the state government plans to put in place a one-stop-shop where all necessary procedures and processes leading to business registration as well as issues bordering on immigration, customs, safety and security of investments and personnel will be addressed in one fell swoop so as to facilitate smooth operations.

In the view of Oworu, the LFTZ has been conceptualized not just a trade zone but a model city. So apart from its industrial component, the trade zone is designed to embrace urban developments, which include residential accommodation, business centre, a financial hub and tourism activities. The zone therefore is incorporating light industries such as textiles, electronics, household equipment as well as foods and beverages.

Upon full development, the zone will have three modern ports which will accommodate heavy industries like petro-chemicals and oil refineries. It is also going to have five kilometers of coastline a deep seaport that will be able to accommodate huge vessels expected from around the world.

The idea is to make the ports the shipping hub of West Africa. Also being planned to further boost LFTZ’s operations is an international airport that will be sited not too far. The airport will not ferry people but also service the logistical needs of corporate bodies in and around the Lekki corridor.

The Lekki trade zone’s key advantages are its accessibility, location and the market. Lagos State remains the commercial hub of Nigeria and plays host to about 65 percent of the country’s commercial activities. The state has the largest population in the country estimated at about 18 million people which is a good market for products and services.

Oworu says the effort at ongoing infrastructural development at the trade zone is show of government’s determination to create the enable environment and prepare investors to start off with ease. 68 prospective investors have so far shown interest. But the biggest of the challenge I think are logistics problems. But we have investors who have shown strong interests in oil and gas, manufacturing, hotels and entertainment, car assembling plant, construction materials and real estate development.

“Currently our emphasis is on development of infrastructure to encourage investors to come in. And when I say infrastructure, I am talking about road network and power. To start with, we have installed 1000 KVA generating set to power the area in the interim. A permanent power installation will come later and we are working towards this.

“In terms of road, we have constructed about several kilometres of roads and a standard factory so that investors can start making use of it without having to necessarily build theirs before starting operations,” says the special adviser.

Adeyomo Thompson, deputy managing director of the LFTZ is optimistic that business operations will commence by October or before the end of this year. His optimism is hinged on the completion of some road networks creating access to various parts of the zone, provision of 1000 KVA standby electric generating set as well as the completion of a standard factory from where some manufacturing activities can begin. According to the deputy managing director, the long delay in take-off has been due to problems of logistics. Specifically, he says the absence of infrastructure at the site, a major challenge, is being addressed with over 70 companies now waiting to commence operations.

The companies are those with interest in agro-processing, clothing and textiles, food and beverages, forestry, mining, pharmaceuticals, housing and tourism. He said that the establishment of the free trade zone was in line with the desire of the Lagos State Government to harness investment and business potentials in the state. “Although the project is currently not ready for use as a result of inadequate infrastructure, there are indications that some industries from China may begin operation here soon,’’ he said.

Thompson said that the first phase of the project would cost about 1.5 billion dollars while the entire project would gulp over five billion dollars. He said that the zone would have its own independent power plant, adding that the first phase, made up of 350 hectares, would be powered by 10,000 KVA generators. But it is not only foreign companies that are in the forefront at the zone, as Oando Nig. Plc, according to Thompson, is planning to build a refinery with capacity to refine 360,000 barrels of crude per day. The company has since 2009 carried out feasibility studies on the project.

“We believe that a refinery that targets approximately half of the deficit for 2017 will be viable against local production and against substitute input. Such a refinery will benefit from the closest sources of crude oil. We are going to put in place a complex refinery which will take advantage of the light crude we see in the area and maximise PMS production,” Thompson said, adding that the company upon commencement of operations would be targeting about 360,000 barrels per day as the first phase will do 340,000 barrels which will give an approximate of 15,000 tons per day of PMS.

However, Femi Deru, President of Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, has applauded the adoption of Public- Private Partnership to attract investments, describing as a popular and viable option. He believes the zone will attract investments when infrastructure such as good network of roads, power, sewage and water treatment plants are completed and put to use.

Although government has paid compensation to some of the communities whose lands were taken over for the project, indigenes of the area are still of e view that all those entitled to compensation must be adequately compensated so to avoid a crisis situation and frosty relationship between the operators and their host communities.

A resident of the area, Rueben Ateteh advised the state to pay all outstanding compensations to families that were displaced. “If this issue of compensation is conclusively resolved, the state government and the investors may be shooting themselves on the foot because frequent agitations could lead to disruption of operations. “We all have seen what happened in the Niger Delta area. This should be avoided in Lagos.

But the infrastructural challenges and logistics problems notwithstanding, Oworu and Thompson are optimistic that business operations will commence at the free trade zone this year and Lagos economy will witness some boom on full operations.

Photo:Maku

Goodluck Jonathan is not a rubber stamp that will just sign the electoral act which the National Assembly forwarded to him for assent recently, the Minister of state for information and communications, Labaran Maku,Photo Above has said.

Fielding questions from the press in Abuja, Mr Maku said President Jonathan understood the anxiety of Nigerians about the need to hasten up the process on free and fair elections in 2011, but that he would not act on such anxieties and cause more problems for the system.

“The normal process of presidential assent to any law passed by the National Assembly is that the president would forward such acts to relevant departments of government, including the ministry of justice, which would study it and offer advice appropriately. If a law is passed to a sitting president, it is not just for rubber stamp.

“The president is not a rubber stamp. His duty is to go through this law and ensure that there is nothing in it that will cause problem during elections or that will be difficult to enforce. His duty is to ensure that the law that is forwarded to him is in accordance with the constitution and that it is something that is easily operable.”

Don’t insinuate

He insisted that Mr Jonathan is doing so much for the attainment of free and fair elections next year and appealed to Nigerians “not to insinuate on matters that have not arisen”.

He recalled that the president has appointed the most credible person to head the Independent National Electoral Commission, just as he fast-tracked the financial requirement of the commission through the National Assembly.

Attahiru Jega, the chairman of INEC, had stated that further delays in the signing of the constitutional amendment was going to hamper our nation’s dream of free and fair elections. He had also said the commission’s activities depended on the finalisation of the amendments, regretting that the president was yet to assent to the new Electoral Act.

The House of Representatives leadership, last Tuesday had also threatened to override the president if he fails to sign the document and approve the N87.7 billion INEC budget passed by the Assembly, after 30 days.

“All these have constrained INEC’s preparations for both the voters’ registration exercise and the elections,” Mr Jega had said.

‘Halt toll plan or face mass action’

Tension is building once again between residents of the Lekki community and Lekki Concession Company (LCC), the firm handling the reconstruction of the expressway, over the plan to begin the collection of toll on the road.

As a way of sensitising the residents and motorists to the plan, some representatives of the company on Wednesday began the distribution of leaflets at one of the three toll gates. Titled Toll Road Leaflet Guide, the flyer contains details about the project; the key benefits, convenience services, price incentives, vehicle classification, user types, payment methods, customer account management, and the designated banks for payment, among other information. However, it has no indication of the toll rate.

Howver, at a press conference held Thursday, by some members of the Eti-Osa community to convey their grievances on the company’s latest move, it was resolved that if the plan is not halted, the company would be forced to do so. According to them, at a meeting with Babatunde Fashola on July 20, in which more than 20 obas and chiefs from the community, state officials and the commissioner of police, were in attendance, it was resolved that a committees would be inaugurated to settle the issue of tolling at the three toll points. It was, therefore, a surprise to see leaflets on the toll issue being distributed.

“This is reckless, arrogant and provocative, and we wonder who else LCC will respect or listen to if it can afford to ignore the governor and the House. LCC is part of the committee just as it has been invited by the house committee in order to assist its finding. so why the test run?” said Adewale Sanni, the convener of the Eti-Osa forum and spokesperson at the conference.

Among other demands they also sought to know “whose interest is the project, infrastructure development or economic gains?” adding that the current exercise under the guise of a test-run is a desperate attempt to commence tolling at all cost in order to foreclose or render useless the outcome of the committee set up to look into the disagreement on the issue.

Bone of contention

Part of the information on the leaflet shows that the coastal road which is supposed to serve as an alternative for those who cannot afford to pay the toll fees will now be tolled, and this is the major grouse of the residents. “They have decided to keep all of us in secret; why are they not telling the price? They are just enjoying all of this,” said James Esosa, a resident. “Now, they are sharing leaflets, for what? This whole thing is rubbish. They feel everybody in Lekki is rich; they should have gone to set this toll nonsense in other places. Now, let’s see how they would react.”

Another resident, who asked not to be named, equally expressed dismay at the development. “They haven’t said anything that will let us know about the price; that is what I came here to ask,” she said. “Maybe they are afraid of public reaction. It is going to inconvenience people, because to pay from here to there is not fair. The access road that is supposed to be an alternative, you will also have to pay toll, so what are the options? The one you have now is at Oniru side and around Jakande to come in and out of Lekki. But the roads are very bad, and I wouldn’t want to spoil my car. For those who cannot afford to mess up their car will have to be forced to pay the toll and I would prefer to travel on a straight road. I just think it’s not fair.”

Residents like Betrus Ibrahim, a commercial motorcyclist, are considering relocating if the situation is not changed. “They never put the price, na the thing wey dey confuse us,” he said. “If they start it, how person go do? If the price high, I go live this place go find somewhere wey I go do my Okada.” Another motorist, a danfo (bus) driver who lives in Aja said, “Nigeria no get the money wey they go help Lagos do this thing free? If say they be better people, they for done do this thing well. They are greedy, all of them wey dey government; dey chop money anyhow.”

What will happen when the LCC finally decides to effect its plan remains to be seen.