Hundreds flee as UN says Syria violence spiralling

DAMASCUS (AFP) – Hundreds of people were fleeing Damascus flashpoints on Thursday after the army warned of a violent clashes with rebels following a bomb blast that killed three security chiefs, witnesses said.
Major General Robert Mood, head of the UN monitoring mission, meanwhile warned that Syria was not on track for peace and that the violence was spiralling, as President Bashar al-Assad appeared to have gone to ground.

The military gave residents 48 hours to leave areas where clashes are taking place between security forces and rebels pushing their “Damascus Volcano” offensive.

“These extremely violent clashes should continue in the next 48 hours to cleanse Damascus of terrorists by the time Ramadan begins” on Friday, a security source told AFP, referring to the Muslim holy fasting month.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights watchdog said that in the western district of Mazzeh alone, hundreds of people were on the move, “fearing a large-scale operation by regime troops.”
Residents also fled the southern district of Tadamon and the Palestinian refugee camp Yarmuk, it said.
The developments come a day after a bombing in the city killed three top security officials, including the defence minister and Assad’s brother-in-law, in a severe blow to the regime.

“There is an escalation by the Syrian regime to avenge the operation that targeted the (security chiefs),” said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Britain-based Observatory.

“The rebels have also escalated (the violence) to reap the fruits of the attack, and to try to finish off the battle” for Damascus, he added. “Clashes and shelling have engulfed Syria, and they are taking place day and night.”

The whereabouts of Assad are still not known and he has not commented on the bombing or appeared in public since the attack.

However, he was cited by state media as appointing Fahd al-Freij defence minister to replace Daoud Rajha, who was among those killed when the National Security headquarters was targeted.
State media have yet to distribute images of the aftermath, unlike on previous occasions when there have been attacks in the capital.

The deaths on Wednesday of Rajha, Assad’s brother-in-law Assef Shawkat and General Hassan Turkmani, head of the regime’s crisis cell, marked the first time in the 16-month revolt that Assad’s inner circle has been targeted.

“The army has so far exercised restraint in its operations, but after the attack, it has decided to use all the weapons in its possession to finish the terrorists off,” the security source said.
“The army has told residents to stay away from combat zones, as the terrorists are trying to use residents as human shields.”

The Damascus blast came on one of the deadliest days in the conflict.
At least 214 people — 124 civilians, 62 soldiers and 28 rebels died on Wednesday, the Britain-based Observatory said, revising an earlier toll. That figure did not include the three regime members.
– ‘Not on track for peace’ –
“It pains me to say, but we are not on the track for peace in Syria, and the escalations we have witnessed in Damascus over the past few days is a testimony to that,” General Mood, head of the UN Supervision Mission in Syria, said in a statement to reporters.

The deteriorating situation in the capital comes as the West and Russia and China prepare for a showdown later Thursday over a draft UN resolution calling for sanctions against Syria.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon and international envoy Kofi Annan called on the Security Council to take strong action, but Russia and China are expected to veto the resolution.

Ban said there was an “extreme urgency” for action to halt the violence which activists say has killed more than 17,000 people.

Annan, the UN-Arab League envoy, said the council must take “decisive” action after he persuaded the major powers to postpone the vote originally set for Wednesday.

“The deteriorating situation in Syria underscores the extreme urgency for all sides to stop armed violence in all its forms, implement the six-point plan and move swiftly towards a political dialogue,” Ban said in a statement.

Annan “urged members of the Security Council to unite and take concerted and strong action that would help stem the bloodshed in Syria and build momentum for a political transition,” said his spokesman Ahmad Fawzi.

Wednesday’s attack that also wounded Interior Minister Mohammed al-Shaar and General Hisham Ikhtiyar, head of National Security, has been claimed by the rebel Free Syrian Army as well as another group, the Brigade of Islam.

“The traitors, agents and mercenaries are deluding themselves if they think that Syria will bow to this strike, even if it hurts,” the ruling party’s mouthpiece, Al-Baath newspaper, said on Thursday.

White House National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor said Assad was “losing control,” pointing to “increasing” defections and a “strengthened and more united” opposition.

British Prime Minister David Cameron told reporters in Afghanistan it was time for Assad to go.
“It is time for transition in this regime… but if there isn’t transition it’s quite clear there is going to be civil war,” he said.

source: vanguard news

Reps, FG on warpath over Oteh’s recall

LAGOS — Tempers  flared among some members of the House of Representatives, yesterday, following the recall of Ms Aruma Oteh by the Presidency as the Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, in contravention of a House report recommending her dismissal.

The  anger may be ventilated in a special session of the House this morning when members are expected to deliberate on the issue and the hanging issue of the non implementation of the 2012 budget.

Staff of SEC in protest against the return of Ms Aruma Oteh,  Director General of Securities and Exchange Commission in Abuja . Photo by Gbemiga Olamikan.

Anger over the recall of  Oteh also overflowed to the commission’s headquarters in Abuja where staff, yesterday, mounted a demonstration against the Federal Government’s move with workers grumbling over her recall.

Oteh who was sent on compulsory leave by the board of the commission days before its term lapsed last month was on Tuesday recommended for formal dismissal from the commission by the report of the House ad-hoc committee on the collapse of the Capital Market.

The House report which is scheduled for deliberation today alleged that Oteh did not meet the minimum 15 years experience in the capital market operations required for the job.

The Presidency in a surprise development yesterday, however, lifted the suspension on Oteh on the basis that the audit report of the external auditors did not find her wanting.

Her recall was communicated to her through a circular, SGF.2/S.9/C.13/454 dated July 17, 2012, signed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Sen. Anyim Pius Anyim.

According to him, Oteh’s recall was the outcome of the findings of the external auditors, Price Water HouseCoopers which exonerated her from allegations of fraud and criminal breaches.
She was, however, indicted for some administrative lapses. The circular reads:

The letter that recalled Oteh
“Please refer to the decision of the Board of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to send you on compulsory leave in order to enable SEC’s external auditors-the Price Water Coopers Limited (PWC), to examine the records of the commission’s transactions covering SEC project 50 which you supervised.

“I am to note that government has studied the report submitted by the external auditors and you are neither indicted for fraud nor criminal breach in any form. However, some administrative lapses were reported, particularly, in cases where administrative procedures were not thoroughly observed.

“The purpose of this letter is to recall you from your leave and to caution that you must henceforth endeavour to diligently observe all extant rules and administrative procedures in the conduct of all official transactions.”
News of the recall of the embattled SEC boss came exactly a day after the House of Representatives Ad-Hoc Committee on the Near Collapse of the Capital Market submitted its report.

House wanted Oteh sacked
The committee headed by Hon. Ibrahim El-Sudi, had Udoka Ini Akpan;  Yakubu Dogara, Bimbo Daramola, Toby Okechulkwu,  Jibril Bubar, Usman Adamu,  Oko Rose Okoji as members.

Okechukwu, a member of the committee, shocked by the administration’s recall of Oteh said yesterday that he stood by the content of the report.

However, other House sources were not as courteous.

One senior official in the House of Representatives told Vanguard yesterday that the recall of  Oteh was another indication of the administration’s lack of seriousness in its engagement with the House in the fight against corruption.

“You can now see that this administration does not take some matters seriously. People are not happy and we are going to consider the issue today,” the official told Vanguard yesterday.

It was learnt yesterday that the preponderance of opinion in the House was on the adoption of the recommendations which prescribed stiff actions against Oteh.

Vanguard could not confirm whether the decision to take up the report today was a result of the administration’s recall of Oteh.

Besides Oteh, the House is also expected to take a debate on the slow implementation of the 2012 budget, a source revealed yesterday.

Meanwhile, members of staff of the commission were unmoved in their earlier objection to the recall of Oteh, even as heavily armed security agents were deployed to forestall breakdown of law and order, ahead of her resumption.

Trouble started at about 10 am when information filtered to the staff that the External Auditors, Price Water House Coopers, which examined the books of the commission after her suspension by the board did not find her guilty of any financial malpractice and that the federal government therefore decided to recall her.

Angry workers of the commission barricaded the entrances into the SEC headquarters, located at the Central Business District of Abuja and insisted that they would not let her into the premises. They chanted anti-Oteh slogans and displayed placards with various inscriptions such as “No to Oteh”, “we don’t want Oteh back” and warning the presidency against her reinstatement and vowed to resist such a move.

Members of staff who spoke with journalists decried the alleged one-man show style of  Oteh’s as well as alleged high-handedness of the embattled D-G.

Oteh had not arrived SEC headquarters as at press time, but the staff insisted that they were prepared to drive her back at the gate and would not allow her back in the office, no matter the decision of the Federal Government.

The angry staff members refused to disclose their names but insisted that the allegations  against Oteh were true and that the revelations at the House of Representatives probe were enough to keep her out of the office and indeed face trial for alleged corruption.

The Secretary –General, Staff Amalgamated Union of Public Corporation, Civil Service and Recreation Employees, Elder Adekoya John, who eventually spoke to journalists urged the Federal Government to ensure it followed due process even if it chose to reinstate Ms. Oteh.

The Acting DG. Ibrahim Bolaji had to convey an impromptu staff meeting to arrest the situation from degenerating into a violent protest as he was said to have appealed to the workers to exercise restraint.

Industry operators protest
Industry operatives were no less critical of the reinstatement with some alleging it to be a confidence draining decision.

David Adonri, Chief Executive Officer, Lambeth Trust and Investment Company Limited, said, “The news of her reinstatement hit the market by surprise. Market operators were unable to form any concerted opinion due to paucity of information surrounding her recall. If she was cleared of all the allegations against her, there might be no problem”.

In his own view, the Chief Executive Officer, of a finance and investment firm who spoke on the condition of anonymity said, “What is really going on in this country? How can she force herself on the nation as the DG of SEC despite the fact that the agency’s staff and most capital market operators have clearly lost confidence in her capacity to lead the organisation?

“I was at the 2012 Second Quarter Meeting of the Capital Market Committee last Thursday in Lagos, and the reception given to Ibrahim Bello, the Acting Director General of SEC, was unprecedented.
“From the comments by most of the Capital Market Operators present it was obvious they were glad to see the back of Arunma Oteh.

source: vanguard news

Married Olympic couple can’t room together

Asumnu is Clean, Says AFN
Marriage has its ups and its downs, but the downs don’t usually include being unable to sleep together.
Sunday, Nick Green, chef de mission of the Australian Olympic Committee, told Australian Olympic shooters Russell and Lauryn Mark via email that they would not be able to room together in the Olympic Village during this month’s London Games.

The husband and wife Olympians are calling the mandate stupid and believe it was set off by Russell’s pro-sleeping pill stance and Lauryn’s provocative photo shoot in the latest issue of The Zoo, an Australian magazine geared towards the fellows.

Asumnu is Clean, Says AFN
Meanwhile the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), yesterday refuted claims  in a section of the sporting press that sprinter, Gloria Asumnu, was one of the three top Nigeria athletes that tested positive to banned substances.

President of the AFN, Chief Solomon Ogba, said yesterday that the clarification became necessary because of wild speculations about the three Nigerian athletes that failed the dope tests carried out at the Nigerian Olympic trials in Calabar last month.

“This clarification has become necessary because of the wrong impression it was creating in track & field circles. Despite our federation’s appeal to journalists to exercise caution in handling the matter, because of the procedures involved, a section of the sporting press has gone to town to speculate those they believed are involved. For the record, we want to say here that Gloria Asumnu is not one of the three athletes,” observed the AFN chief yesterday in a statement.

Ogba insisted that once the final result of the dope carried out on Nigerian athletes is ready, “we are going to address the media on it and athletes found to have run foul of the law on dope would be made to face the consequences of their actions. This present board has zero tolerance for dope and will do everything possible to ensure that we compete fair and square at the London Games without bringing any embarrassment to Nigeria.”

Until the final result of the dope, the AFN chief urged the media to exercise caution in handling the issue. “Any of the athletes that is not involved in the dope failure and are scandalised in the media have every right to seek redress in court.

Last week, the AFN announced the dropping of three athletes from the London Games because they tested positive to banned drugs. The federation had insisted that those involved were entitled to fair hearing and possibly going for the testing of their ‘B’ sample to authenticate the result of the tests carried out in Calabar.
Asumnu’s  personal American coach, Garfiel Ellenwood, was equally dropped not because he was involved in any dope with any of Nigerian athletes but because he was once punished for a violation in his previous employment.

source: vanguard news

Fashola ‘arrests’ Col, Sergeant on BRT lane

‘Those officers I caught are very bad examples for the military’

LAGOS – Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State, yesterday, arrested two  military officers who drove on the dedicated Bus Rapid Transit, BRT, lane.

The two military officers, who were accosted on the BRT lane at the Outer Marina in Central Lagos, were Colonel K. I. Yusuf, who drove in an Army Green Peugeot 406 with registration Number BO1 – 150 NA and Staff Sergeant Adeomi A.J, who drove in a black Toyota Camry car.

CAUGHT IN THE ACT…Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, SAN, (right) asking Colonel K. I. Yusuf why he drove on the BRT lane illegally, when he was apprehended being driven in an Army Green Peugeot 406 with number-plate BO1-150 NA at Outer Marina in Central Lagos, Tuesday 17th July

Realising that the game was up, Col. Yusuf came down from his car, saluted several times and kept muttering: “I am sorry, very, very sorry” with the governor enquiring why,  a senior military officer, Yusuf, chose to break the law instead of preserving it.

Speaking after the incident, Fashola described as very unfortunate the fact that those who ought to stand behind in defence of democratic values were the ones violating them.

Fashola, who noted that the highest level of the military command had expressed their commitment to supporting democracy and to subjecting themselves and their officers to the laws of the country, declared: “Those officers that I caught today are  very bad examples for the military.”

The governor said he had already made a representation to the superiors of the culprits, expressing optimism that they would be sanctioned appropriately.

He, however, added, “But it signifies my commitment and the commitment of the Lagos State Government that all those who will not comply with our laws should leave our state. We will not back down”.

“There is a zero-tolerance for lawlessness. There is zero-tolerance for breach of our regulations and we are going to do more of this. We are going to take control of our traffic. We cannot build our way out of traffic congestion; our responsibility is to manage traffic and manage congestion.”

Insisting that people must behave themselves, Fashola declared, “I don’t use BRT lane, I sit in traffic and I expect everyone who wants to drive his car to do same. The alternative is to use the bus.

“The bus is for those who cannot afford to buy cars. They have the right also to use the road and we cannot encroach on that lane which we have reserved for them. This is democratisation of the road and I will defend it.”

source: vanguard news

Risks to global growth rising – IMF

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The International Monetary Fund stepped up its warnings Monday on risks to the global economy, especially coming from Europe, as it trimmed its growth forecast for the rest of the year.

Forecasting world growth at 3.5 percent in 2012 and 3.9 percent in 2013, the IMF said the world economy appeared weaker since its assessment just three months ago, and that “downside risks continue to loom large,” especially from inadequate or slow policy reactions in major economies.

“In the past three months, the global recovery, which was not strong to start with, has shown signs of further weakness,” the fund said in its quarterly revision of economic forecasts.

“Financial market and sovereign stress in the euro-area periphery have ratcheted up,” it said, while growth has fallen below expectations in a number of major emerging-market economies.

source: vanguard

2 feared dead as gunmen rain bullets in Yenagoa

Yenagoa -Two men appeared dead on Monday in Azikoro suburb of Yenagoa, as gunmen rained bullets on them in their car around 10.30 am, an eye-witness said
The witness said that the assailants, driving a car behind the victims’ car, suddenly overtook it and shot the occupants.

Not satisfied, the suspected assassins returned after driving away for 20 metres to pump more bullets to ensure the victims were dead, the eye-witness said.

Residents of the area locked up their doors for fear of arrest.

At the scene, policemen, led by the DPO of Azikoro Police Station, Rita Green, were seen removing the two bodies into a police van.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Fidelis Odunna, confirmed the incident on telephone and said investigation was underway.

The police later towed the bullet-riddled car to their station. (NAN).

source: vanguard

Nigeria woos Chinese investors

Abuja -The Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) in Abuja on Monday said its recent trade mission to China was to woo Chinese investors.

Hajia Gana Wakil, the Deputy Director, Department of Investment Promotion, disclosed this while giving speaking on the 10th Edition of the Nigeria-China Business and Investment Forum.

Wakil said that the trip was to market Nigerian products and investment opportunities in Nigeria.
“We tried to make them understand that Nigeria is not as bad as been presented in some international media.
“We did let them know the business climate in Nigeria is conducive,” the deputy director said.

She said that the team visited construction companies, agricultural and science and demonstration zone, equipment manufacturing companies, oil and gas firms and a glass company.

Wakil said that all the firms visited indicated interests in investing in Nigeria and consequently got invitation to come and explore investment opportunities in Nigeria.

The deputy director said that the delegation held several meetings with their Chinese counterpart and showcased Nigeria’s investment profile.

She said, “The presentations generated a lot of interests and several inquiries on doing business in Nigeria amongst the Chinese participants at the event.

“Questions were asked while clarifications were sought in mining sector, tapioca/cassava, oil and gas, among other areas.

“The commission, while offering to follow up on leads generated at the event, extended invitations to the Chinese local authorities and the companies.”
She said that, as a follow up, NIPC is looking forward to visits to Nigeria by a delegation of Chinese businessmen.

She noted that exploration requests had been coming from China since the delegation returned, especially in the power sector.

According to her, Nigeria has a lot to learn from China as the global business hub of the world which should be attracted by improvement in infrastructure.

Nigeria is China’s second biggest trading partner in Africa.
More than 30 Chinese companies operate in various sectors of the economy, including building of Free Trade Zones, infrastructure, information and communication technology. (NAN)

source: vanguard