Police officer arrested for murders

A police corporal who accidentally fired the shot that killed a fellow police constable and two others in Abuja has been arrested.

A police source told Daily Trust yesterday that Corporal Jabur Alexander was arrested on the orders of the Federal Capital Territory Police Commissioner Haruna John. The corporal will be investigated for firing shot that led to the death of Constable Umar Sama'ila and one Samaila Shuaibu.

Witnesses told Daily Trust yesterday three people were killed but a police source said yesterday only two people died.

The source said preliminary investigations indicated that the corporal accidentally pulled the trigger and has since the shooting developed mental health problems. The Corporal, who was attached to Paikon Kore Police Outpost near Gwagwalada, was trying to settle a matter involving the deceased constable and one Mohammed Sani who was said to have grabbed the constable by the collar.

The source said the shot fired killed two people including the constable and injured one. Meanwhile police authorities in Abuja have said the shooting was not intentional and the matter will be thoroughly investigated.

Daily Trust

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Amodu says Eagles need strong mentality to face World Cup opponents

Super Eagles coach,Shuabi Amodu has admitted that the national team need to build a strong mental capacity to overcome the challenges at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Amodu ,who was speaking at the Tom Tom interactive forum with Sports Editors in Lagos on Wednesday said that the team is one that is evolving from a gradual build up and has demonstrated a character that gives a lot of hope for the future.

"I can say that we have a team. The team is still evolving into a better squad. We may not have played the best of football but we have maintained a winning record which we can build on. It is not easy to play without losing. Sometimes we found some games difficult and most times we come up strong and win. There must be something good about this team.

"We can use the Nations Cup to prepare the team for the World Cup.

Amodu appealed to the media and Nigerians to be mindful of the way they criticis the team as it affects the psyche of the players and officials.

"I want to appeal to Nigerians to rally round the team. What we say and report about the team sometime tells of their psyche. I am confident we have a team. The players want to do this nation proud. But they need the strong mentality to confront the opponents at the World Cup. They need the support of everybody to achieve that.

Explaining the choice of Durban, for the pre-championship camping, Amodu said that the South African city was chosen ahead of Namibia which was an earlier choice because of the quality of facilities.

"We did not change the camping venue like that. We had Durban as plan B.

After we inspected the facilities in Namibia, we discovered that we may need to put the venue in right condition to suit us. We also considered the weather in Durban, it was almost the same with what we will meet in Angola and the facilities the same as where we will play. So it was a matter of making the best choice. This is why we dumped Namibia.

He further disclosed that the Nigeria Football) NFF) are considering the possibility of flying the team to Angola by a chartered flight.

"Our plan is to see if we can charter a flight to Angola for our first match against Egypt. I think we can do well. We need to believe in ourselves and remain focused, "he said.

Amodu revealed that the Eagles will play at least a friendly before the Nations Cup but added that it may not be a big team. He described it as a practice match.

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Federal Government to announce new minimum wage

The Federal Government yesterday said that a new wage regime for workers in the country will be unfolded next year, just as Nigerians await the full deregulation of the oil sector.

Minister of Labour and Productivity, Mr. Adetokunbo Kayode, said this in Akure while speaking with newsmen at the laying of the Foundation of the N25million National Skill Acquisition Centre in Oba Ile area, Akure, the Ondo State capital.

Kayode, who had earlier paid a courtesy visit to the state governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko, said the new minimum wage will put smiles on the faces of Nigerian workers.

According to him "The issue of Minimum wage is under process. The FG approved theJustice Alfa Belgore Panel which has Labour, employers and government as members.

"We have been divided into sub committees and have been working and it is for the committees to round off their assignments. I asked them to round off early next year so that we can move on.

The Minister said that "we want to change from minimum wage to living wage, that is a salary that can allow people to live a purposeful life. We also want to institutionalize it so that we do not need to be going round it every time.

Speaking on deregulation, the Minister said that "I do not think the fear of deregulation so to speak, is the cause of the current fuel scarcity.

"I think some people are playing games with the citizens of this country. The usual games they play at the end of every year and certain bottlenecks like the tanker drivers issue and distribution which had all been resolved.

"There is enough fuel to go round. That is why the Federal Government wants to implement a reform of the downstream sector in the first place. For the past 25 years, government has been trying to do this but for these bottlenecks. Now, Mr. President has said that he will do it.

"He will do it, not that he is not aware of some temporary hardship, but in the long run, it will be in the best interest of this country.

"The fuel shortage will actually end the moment we tidy up the conflict in the distribution process. There are lots of fuel on the high sea, depots and so on. Fuel is available, so why don't they distribute it properly.

"What we have decided at the Federal level is to implement the very urgent, massive programme for skill development and acquisition throughout Nigeria. This type of skill acquisition centre will be established all over the country.. It is a new programme to build on old ones.

"The essence is to make our people acquire additional skills, new skills that will make them employable. We have many people who are unemployed even graduates. Other than government work, what do you want somebody with a Ph.D to do? You have to additional skills

"We want to emphasize technical issues like mechatronics, technical training, welding technology, building technology and so on. Whatever you study in school or level of education, you have to key-in and acquire some skills which will enable you to be employable. ICT is also top on the agenda.

"We are doing this not only as ministry of labour, we have established synergies and partnership with other ministries. Our ICT programme for instance is being powered and funded through the NCC.

"The level of activities going on in Ondo State now also called for a proactive measure because the state has been producing too many graduates. The governor said his volunteer scheme was introduced to mop up the excess jobless youths in the state.

"We will also partner with the state government to ensure that this is done very quickly.

The Minister said that the Skill Acquisition project will cost about N25m and that seven of them exist in the country.

Earlier, at the Courtesy visit the Minister said that next year the Ministry and the state government would organize the first Ondo state Diplomatic Forum and that over fifty Ambassadors are expected to grace the occasion.

He promised to work with the governor despite belonging to different political parties for the development of the state and the people.

The Governor Dr Mimiko said that the state government would in the next four year employ over 5000 person under its Social Security Scheme launched few days ago in which 1000 Volunteers were engaged.

Dr Mimiko pointed out that the Social Security Scheme would be a model in the country.

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Policeman kills colleague and two others

A police constable on patrol in Abuja yesterday shot dead a police corporal and two other people after a quarrel.

A witness said the police constable collected a gun from the corporal to threaten a passenger who refused to obey his instruction in Dobi motor park, Gwagwalada, Abuja.

He accidently pulled the trigger, killing the corporal, the passenger and a motor park official. The witness said all the three died.

He said the passenger was carrying a gallon of palm oil and was about to board a commercial vehicle to his village before the quarrelling with the policeman.

The Police Public Relations Officer in Abuja DSP Moshood Jimoh confirmed the story and said the Federal Capital Territory Commissioner of Police John Haruna has ordered the arrest of the killer police constable and directed investigation into the matter.

Jimoh said two people including the corporal were confirmed dead from a shot fired by the constable.

He said argument ensued between the deceased over an unknown issue and the police constable carrying a gun went to settle them and accidentally fired the gun.

He said there was no established intention for the shooting at the initial stage of the investigation, regarding it as "accidental discharge".

Daily Trust

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Federal Government declares Shell can't sell oil fields

The Federal Government has said Royal Dutch Shell Plc has no powers to sell the assets it owns jointly with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

The Shell/NNPC Joint Venture covers 90 oil fields, spanning 30,000 square kilometres, 72 oil-pumping stations, 10 gas plants and two major oil export terminals at Bonny and Forcados, according to a company fact-sheet. Sunday Times of London had reported that Shell planned to sell fields valued at up to $5 billion as Nigeria prepares to impose harsher terms on foreign operators and hand greater control to domestic oil firms, through the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), currently before the National Assembly.

Potential buyers may include China's Sinopec and Nigeria's Oando Plc, the newspaper said. But the Minister of Petroleum, Dr. Rilwanu Lukman, said yesterday that the company would need government's approval to sell the oilfields. "It's not theirs to sell," Bloomberg news agency quoted Lukman as saying by phone from Abuja yesterday.

"They're holding concessions given them by the government," Lukman added. The minister insisted that Shell would require government's approval before pressing ahead with a sale, adding that no such request had been made, as far as he is aware. Wendel Broere, a spokesman at The Hague-based Shell, declined to comment, according to Bloomberg. Minister of State for Petroleum, Mr. Odein Ajuomogobia, also told journalists in Lagos yesterday that government was not concerned over plans by other oil companies to sell their assets in the country owing to the harsh terms contained in the PIB. He argued that the world is a big place; as one company is leaving the country, another one is coming into the country.

"You know we are a sovereign country; we make our laws for ourselves and for those foreigners, who wish to do business with us. We will take account of international norms and practices to ensure that our laws are favourable for investment. It is in our own interest to have laws that attract investment. So, we will do everything we can to make sure that the PIB, when it is passed into law, is a law that makes Nigeria destination for foreign investment. Now, if there is any group of investors, who feel that the laws we make do not serve their interests - the world is a very big place and as one goes, another comes. So, I am not really concerned about that," he said. Ajumogobia also told Reuters yesterday that Shell, Europe's largest oil company, had not informed the government of any such plans.

"It is indeed curious, if the reports making the rounds in this regard are true, that Shell seem so keen on renewing their expired shallow water leases. We certainly intend to make a formal inquiry," he said. Shell's operations were the worst hit by the activities of militants in the oil-producing Niger Delta that started in 2006. The reform bill presented by President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua to the National Assembly seeks to give the government greater powers over oil concessions while raising taxes paid by energy companies. Licences for 16 fields operated by Shell, Exxon Mobil Corporation, Total and Chevron Corporation in the past four decades are currently up for renewal.

Only ExxonMobil, world's largest publicly-traded oil company, has so far obtained a renewal for three licences while Shell and Chevron are continuing negotiations with the government.

THISDAY reported that worried by uncertainty in the PIB, more International Oil Companies (IOCs) had suspended new investments, especially in deep offshore, where the controversial PIB imposes stiffer conditions on the operators. It was gathered that the unresolved issues in the bill and the uncertainty over its passage have forced the IOCs to adopt a "wait - and - see" attitude on new projects, with some of the companies making moves to relinquish some of their assets.

Uncertainty over the content of the PIB was also a source of worry to both local and foreign operators, who identified the circulation of many versions of the bill, provision for higher royalty payments, multiple taxes on profits and revenue sharing as main areas of dispute. The operators are also opposed to the provisions, which allow the government to renegotiate old contracts, impose higher costs on oil companies and retake oil fields that oil companies are yet to explore. With these provisions, the deep offshore assets of Shell, Chevron, ExxonMobil and Total are being threatened.

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