SUPERVISING Minister for Defence, Mr Labaran Maku, in Abuja, on Tuesday, said the military would wipe out the insurgents perpetrating acts of terror in the country in 30 minutes, if the terrorists would agree to line up in an area to face the troops.
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He said what made the battle against terrorism in the country a bit complex was the fact that the insurgents hid among the citizens to strike and had refused to be identified.
Maku, who doubles as Minister of Information, spoke in Abuja, while presenting the scorecard for 2013, adding that the violence in the North East was as a result of violent politics allegedly played by certain unnamed politicians.
He maintained that politicians stopped the Federal Government from deploying troops to the troubled region for years, noting that even when the
troops were eventually deployed, critics pushed for them to be withdrawn.
Insisting that all insecurity in the country was created out of local politics, Maku commended the military for pushing the insurgents close to the borders, noting that much success would have been recorded if the military were fighting external army.
He noted that insurgencies in the North east were currently localised, adding that “they can still occur anywhere, because this is terrorism.”
Speaking on corruption, Maku noted that a lot of allegations bordering on corruption were mere political talk and way of getting newspaper headlines by politicians.
He, however, said rate of corruption was high in the country because the economy revolved round the government, adding that government-induced economy would always induce corruption, a reason “we must hand over some things to private sector.”
According to him, “about N13 billion worth of counterfeited financial instruments were intercepted by NIPOST, as against N9.27 billion in previous years, while about N1.5 billion has been released by the Federal Government for the payment of pension arrears to 5,206 NIPOST retirees.
“Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is one of the fastest growing in the world. GDP growth rate in 2013 was put at 7.2 per cent by International Monetary Fund (IMF).
“The Federal Government maintained stable exchange rate. The dollar exchange has remained stable in the last two years, between N155 and N160.
“Inflation rate is declining and has been in single digits all year. Current inflation rate is eight per cent in September, down from nine per cent recorded in January 2013.
“As per rising external reserves, as of May 2013, Nigeria’s foreign reserve was $48.4 billion, up from $32.08 billion in May 2011.
“Excess Crude Account (ECA) rose from $4 billion in 2011 to $9 billion at the end of 2012. The ECA is now helping the country to cushion the effects of current low earnings from oil.
“National debt burden is low. Nigeria’s debt to GDP is 21 per cent, compared to South Africa, 42.7 per cent; United States, 106 per cent; United Kingdom, 90 per cent and Japan, 225 per cent.”
He said the President Goodluck Jonathan-led administration had put in place financial management systems to check leakages, improve efficiency and check corruption.
Battle far from over –NLC
Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), in its New Year message released on Tuesday, said the recent successful attacks on military posts and installations by Boko Haram insurgents showed that the battle was far from over.
The congress called on all Nigerians, irrespective of political affiliation, to rally behind the government and the security forces in the fight to restore security to our country.
In a statement entitled: “New Year Message To Nigerian Workers,” signed by its president, Comrade Abdulwaheed Omar and the acting general secretary, Chris Uyot, the congress said insecurity remained a major national challenge during the year 2013.
“The Boko Haram insurgency continues to pose serious threat. The declaration of state of emergency in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states yielded initial successes and ushered in relative calm in the polity for which government received commendation from the citizenry.
“The same cannot be said of the situation at the moment, as the Boko Haram insurgents seem to have regrouped, slipped behind military and security forces to unleash mayhem on civilian populations, especially students who have been mass-murdered in hundreds.
“Recent successful attacks on military posts and installations show that the battle is far from over. We call on all Nigerians, irrespective of political affiliation, to rally behind the government and the security forces in the fight to restore security to our country,” the statement read.
The congress said the ongoing constitutional review by the National Assembly, with an attempt by the Senate to distort the National Minimum Wage Act against workers’ interest, was another sour note in labour relations in 2013.
On recurrent strikes, the NLC said “there were several strikes and work stoppages during the year, particularly in the public sector… While we are glad to be associated with the process which led to the final resolution of the strike, we believe that a more proactive disposition of government to industrial disputes is needed, to ensure that the nation is not subjected to such lengthy strikes.”
Canada designates Boko Haram, Caucasus Emirate terror organisations
Canada has formally designated Boko Haram and the Caucasus Emirate as terrorist organisations, under the country’s Criminal Code.
Its Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Steven Blaney, made the announcement in a statement dated December 30 in Ottawa and posted on the ministry’s website.
“Boko Haram is an organisation that is responsible for over 300 attacks in northern Nigeria, which have resulted in the death of over 1,000 people.
“The Caucasus Emirate has carried out terrorist activities in Russia, resulting in the death and injury of many Russian civilians and security personnel,” the statement said.
It quoted Blaney as saying that listing these organisations as terrorist entities sent a strong message that such actions would not be tolerated.
The statement added that listing terrorist entities would facilitate the prosecution of perpetrators and supporters of terrorism, as well as countering terrorist financing.
According to the statement, under Canada’s criminal code, any person or group listed may have their assets seized and forfeited.
