The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has given the Federal Government a seven-day ultimatum to reverse all perceived anti-poor policies, including the recent hike in the pump price of petrol, or face an indefinite nationwide strike from August 2.

Consequently, the NLC has directed all its affiliates and state councils to immediately begin mobilisation of workers and other Nigerians, including civil society allies, for a long-lasting strike and mass protests should the government fail to meet its demands.

Vanguard gathered that this was one of the decisions reached at NLC’s Central Working Committee, CWC, meeting held Tuesday, July 25, at Abuja Labour House.

Details later...

… Presents Cheques, Baby Materials To First Set Of Beneficiaries

The First Lady of Lagos State, Dr. (Mrs.) Claudiana Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu through an NGO, Jumejilo Multi-Birth Assistance Programme (JMAP), has initiated a support package that will aid successful deliveries, provide assistance for multi-birth families and expand access to quality healthcare for low-income families.

Speaking on Tuesday at Lagos House Ikeja, while making cheque and gift presentations to the first set of beneficiaries of the JMAP Programme, the Governor’s wife described the initiative as a dream come true that was conceived in 2021.

The NGO, JMAP, a brainchild of the First Lady was conceived to complement the output of other existing initiatives and support systems in the Lagos State health sector for parents of High Order Multiple (HOM) pregnancies, adding that JMAP Programme will alleviate medical complications, mortalities and disorders associated with multiple births, including premature delivery, preeclampsia and irregular foetal growth, among others.

She said: “The JMAP intervention was initiated in 2021 by my Office against the background of the rising rate of multiple births in the State and the neonatal mortality associated with High Order Multiple (HOM) pregnancies among low-income families.

“Available data indicates that Lagos has an infant mortality rate of 39 per cent per 1,000 live births monthly, with preterm complications significantly accounting for the high mortality.”

While referencing a quote by Owen Arthur, a former Prime Minister of Barbadian “For he who has health has hope; and he who has hope, has everything”, the First Lady noted that the quote vividly captures the essence of her intervention through the NGO which seeks to extend hope to families that truly need help.

The First Lady revealed that the support for multiple-birth parents and infants will come in form of socio-economic support, constant enlightenment, empowerment, social inclusion and a welfare support system.

Speaking on the modalities for the Jumejilo Multi-Birth Assistance Programme, the wife of the Governor stated that the beneficiaries will also enjoy postnatal care that will run for a 12-month cycle during which the multi-birth households will undergo social empowerment, health education and economic sustainability programmes, in addition to follow-up social and welfare engagements as the babies develop.

In her words: “Potential JMAP beneficiaries must be below 60 years, while their socio-economic status (in respect of annual income) must not be more than N250,000 per household. Prospective beneficiaries must also have Lagos State Residents Registration Agency (LASRRA) Cards as proof of residential status with utility bills of at least 12 months; they must be an expectant or current multiple-birth mother with triplets or more that are between ages 0 and 5 years.”

She clarified that the JMAP Programme has not been set up as a conventional NGO giving monetary assistance to the public, explaining that the financial support to be made available to the beneficiaries will only be provided specifically as sustenance for multi-birth parents in line with the objective of the Programme.

The Governor’s wife also used the event to invite like-minds, public-spirited individuals and corporate organizations to support her vision of giving hope to families that need help, assuring that initiative will be sustained as a platform to make a positive difference in our society.

In her remark, the Wife of the Deputy Governor, Mrs. Oluremi Hamzat revealed that the life impacting initiative has brought to light the motherly instinct of the First Lady, Dr. Mrs. Claudiana Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu in ensuring that numerous challenges associated with multiple births are mitigated through this applauding Jumejilo initiative.

"Given the extensive evidence that twins and other multiple births worldwide are associated with a substantial higher risk of maternal and perinatal mortality and morbidity, this initiative will further strengthen the window of opportunities and would be of immense assistance to multiple birth parents", she emphasized.

While congratulating all awardees, beneficiaries and stakeholders of the noble programme, the Deputy Governor’s wife, Mrs.Oluremi Hamzat enjoined members of the press to give this launch the widest publicity expected.

One of the excited recipients, Mr. Tunde Ilufoye, a father of triplets said he was overwhelmed with the huge support received from the NGO powered by the First Lady and promised to spread the good news and the government’s intervention in supporting parents with multiple births.

As part of the launch and award presentation segment of the programme, two multiple birth mothers – one with quadruplets and another with triplets – went home with JMAP Babies Awards which among other gift items, including cash and assorted baby items.

The event had in attendance the Secretary to the State Government, Barr. Abimbola Salu-Hudeyin, Body of Permanent Secretaries, Top Government Functionaries, Non-Governmental Organisations, Civil Service Organisations, Corporate Bodies, beneficiaries of the initiative among others.

Olubunkola Nwonah

Director, Public Affairs

Office of the First Lady, Lagos State.

25^th July,2023.

I have not seen the DAVIDO clip and would greatly appreciate if someone would make it available so we all can debate, objectively, the merits and demerits of positions taken over this recent product of the musician. There are however certain principles, histories, rights and responsibilities of artistic creativity that should not be smothered under emotional manipulation.

One unavoidably recalls, for instance, scenes from Whoopi Goldberg’s SISTER ACT, followed by a sequel SISTER ACT II: BACK IN THE HABIT. I understand that yet another version, SISTER ACT: The MUSICAL, is under preparation - such appears to be the popularity of the genre. To the best of my recollection, there has been hardly a murmur of offence being taken, not even at the scenes of nuns in their full regalia dancing through the aisles of the chapel and other sacred precincts of the monastery. Centuries of artistic production of this nature, in all disciplines the world over, can be viewed daily at the drop of a coin, even without digging into musty archives.

Let us learn to distinguish practitioners from their objects of devotion. The former are deserving of respect and understanding, BUT this must be mutual among all believers and non-believers. What we witness these days however is a galloping fever of over-sensitivity over frankly trivial aspects of social co-existence.  I use the word “contrived” deliberately, because I have become convinced that such splurges of “offence taken” are meant to distract us from where the real offence has been, or is being committed often as a routine pattern of overweening entitlement against others. Such encroachments include freedom of belief, association, worship and even the sanctity of life in pursuit of, or repudiation of, existing structures of belief.

I refer, for the avoidance of doubt, to distractions from the abuse of power as exercised in the virtual proscription of traditional worship – the notorious case of ISESE in Ilorin for instance. There are others, hundreds of others, far too weighty to evoke in relation to this mere piffle of religious sentimentality.

The following should not be needed, but we appear to inhabit a nation space where memory deficiency has become an accreditation badge of competence in national affairs. I recall my intervention, several years ago, in an attempt to pillory former Governor of Kaduna State, El Rufai over some comment he had made that was considered derogatory to followers of Christianity. I forget the reference now but I do distinctly recall another of a bank manager who, at Easter tide, referred to the risen Christ as a metaphor for the risen dough in the bakeries of Oshodi. Something along those lines. Under obvious pressure, he apologized, and I rebuked him for the gesture. There was nothing to apologize about, and that applied equally to El Rufai’s comments at the time. It should come as no surprise that I equally absolutely disagree with Shehu Sani if indeed, as reported, he has demanded an apology from Davido on behalf of the Moslem community.

No apology is required, None should be offered. Let us stop battening down our heads in the mush of contrived contrition – we know where contrition, apology and restitution remain clamorous in the cause of closure and above all – justice. Such apologies have not been forthcoming. In their place, we have the ascendancy of petulant censorship in the dance and music department. Just where will it end?

Most forms of worship – from the Hare Krishna to Hinduism and lesser-known religions - seek transcendental experience through the medium of dance. It goes beyond mere elation or euphoria and involves surrender of the ego to the mystical and sublime – through dance. The secularization of that medium stretches across religions, and offers the artistes’ a means of invoking a sense of spiritual community, through a common act of self-surrender.

As already admitted, I have not seen the clip, but I insist on the right of the artiste to deploy dance in a religious setting as a fundamental given.  Such deployment is universal heritage, most especially applicable in the case of Islam where a plot of land, even without the physical structure, can be turned, in the twinkling of an eye, into a sacral space for believers to gather and worship in between mundane pursuits.

Dancing in front of a mosque cannot therefore, on its own, be read as an act of provocation or offence but as affirmation of the unified sensibility of the spiritual in human. Let us learn to read it that way. Those who persist in taking offence to bed and serving it up as breakfast should exercise their right of boycotting Davido’s products – no one quarrels with that right. However, it is not a cause for negative and incitive excitation. The greater responsibility is to face squarely the root issues of religion in the nation. That root issue is starkly stated thus: the sectarian appropriation of the power of life and death across a community of believers, other believers, and even non-believers alike, be it for real, imagined, or deliberately contrived offence. It was not Davido’s music that lynched Deborah Yakubu, and continues to frustrate the cause of justice. Nor has it contributed to the arbitrary detention of religious dissenters – call them atheists or whatever – such as Mubarak Bala, now languishing in prison for his 38^th month. These are the provocations where every citizen should exercise the capacity for revulsion.

They are the issues deserving of, indeed exercise primary claim on a nation’s capacity for righteous indignation. All else is secondary. Distractive piffle!

Wole SOYINKA

Anyone familiar with Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu knows he is profoundly dogged and has consistently shown the courage to endure throughout his ageless quest for power. While critics, including this writer, are wont to equate the doggedness to selfish interest, the dire economic condition in the country finally offers him the opportunity to prove otherwise. Said differently, as it was once Tinubu’s turn to become president, now is ultimately his turn to lead by example and suffer like the ordinary Nigerians.

The perplexing conundrum, however, is that the former Lagos State governor has remained in his typical campaign mode—dogged, desperate, and deceptive. He keeps saying and doing things with reckless abandon.

Such agony informs why he threw the concept of Evidence-Based Policy out of the window and hastily adopted and implemented a far-reaching scheme like the Removal of Fuel Subsidy without any practical plan.

The irony is that real solution is not in sight. Even the very armchair economists who dominated every media space professing the subsidy removal have suddenly disappeared. Sadly, the Asiwaju—a dogged opponent of the subsidy removal during the “clueless” Jonathan era—is suddenly grandstanding as the messiah.

The result, of course, has been a monumental mess. Today, barely two months into the Tinubu regime, the condition in the country has become worse than ever imagined. It is said that President Muhammadu Buhari drove the Nigerian economy to the rock bottom, but his successor has already shattered the very rock of the bottom to crash the country to the deepest low.

The most hypocritical is Tinubu’s response to the crisis. Please hear him: “I understand that our people are suffering yet there can be no childbirth without pain. The joy of childbirth is the relief that comes after the pain.”

The relief so far is N500 billion as palliative for the fuel subsidy removal. Of this amount, Mr. Tinubu has the audacity to dole out a whopping N35 billion for judges; and N110 billion to 465 federal lawmakers, of which N40 billion is to purchase exotic foreign vehicles while “12 million” low-income Nigerians are to receive meagre N8,000 monthly per household for six months.

It has become vitally important to reveal here that the former Lagos Governor himself enjoys a total of over N148 billion allocated to the presidency from the 2023 national budget. 

Now, let us circle back to his adage on mother and childbearing with regards to suffering. Yes, “there can be no childbirth without pain”, as Tinubu rightly reminded us. But he must not forget the genius of a relative adage which asserts that only a foolish mother feeds fat while her child goes hungry.

Like a caring mother, it has become Tinubu’s turn to suffer like the ordinary Nigerians. Like the caring mother, he needs to lead by example by enduring as he did to grab power.

A staring point is true change, beginning from himself. A stupendously wealthy man, who once revealed that he is richer than entire Osun State, Mr. Tinubu can dig deep into history and trace the style of a 400 BCE Napal Prince, Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as Buddha, who endeared himself to his followers by forsaking his wealth and luxury for the common good.

The gist, if it not already manifest, is that Tinubu should rise to the occasion and do away with his ostentatious lifestyle as well as the lavish culture at the presidency. He must not dare continue the habit of holidaying abroad while at the same time appealing to Nigerians at home to suffer. He also needs to understand that these suffering Nigerians remain outraged at his endless hobnobbing with the very corrupt politicians who looted their commonwealth dry.

Of course, the other arms of the government do not need to be told that the era of jumbo salaries must be over. Their remuneration should reflect the realities on the ground. On no account should the total compensation package of a legislator or judge exceed 100 times the minimum wage in the country.

Further, any thought of exotic foreign cars for Nigerian public officials is offensive. Now is the time to emulate the past military regimes which demonstrated austerity, as well as patriotism, by using Peugeot cars, which were then assembled in Nigeria. Today, the country is blessed with the Innoson brands, which are not only made in Nigeria, but also perform far better.

All told, the level of hardship under the Tinubu regime is grossly untold. People are suffering. People are dying. Things cannot continue this way. In short, any failure by the leaders to demonstrate austere lifestyle themselves is to risk a mass response of an uncommon proportion.

SKC Ogbonnia writes from Houston, Texas, USA.

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) condemns the despicable altercation which took place today at the premises of the Federal High Court, Lagos, between operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) and officers of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) While it is difficult not to hold the leadership of the two federal government agencies directly responsible for the shameful and disgraceful conduct of its personnel, one cannot discount the possible overzealousness or excesses of the officers involved, as being responsible for what we witnessed today. This incident regrettably is further evidence of the lack of discipline and absence of professionalism that continues to plague key security institutions in Nigeria, which, without doubt, is largely responsible for the limited progress in achieving acoordinated response to security concerns across the country.

A situation where officers of Federal Government agencies engage in a fight as witnessed by the public, for whatever reason, is antithetical to our security as a nation and creates a recipe for anarchy and chaos. Both the DSS and the NCoS are important institutions dealing with national security and administration of justice respectively, and the need for them to work in concert towards attaining justice in a secured Nigeria cannot be overemphasised.

The NBA further condemns the brazen disrespect for the sanctity of the court premises. The courts and judicial processes remain the barometer by which the conduct of persons or agencies of government are gauged in assessing the rule of law.

The NBA calls on the two agencies to take immediate disciplinary measures against the officers involved in this disgraceful conduct. In addition, there is an urgent need for a complete overhaul of the institutions and a total reorientation of the personnel, to achieve professionalism and ensure synergy in the discharge of their respective constitutional responsibilities,

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) remains committed to the promotion and protection of the principles of the rule of law and due process, within a safe and secured Nigeria.

Yakubu Chonoko Maikyau, OON, SAN

PRESIDENT

The former governor of Ekiti state, Ayodele Fayose has reacted to the clash between the operatives of the Department of State Service and officials of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS).

Naija News recalls that a fight broke out between the secret police and prison officials on Tuesday after Justice Nicholas Oweibo of the Federal High Court in Lagos admitted the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele bail in the sum of N20m.

DSS operatives and prison officials fought over the custody of the suspended CBN governor.

Fayose in his reaction to the development in a post on his Twitter account assured that President Bola Tinubu would take decisive actions over the actions of the operatives of the DSS.

The former governor revealed that it was necessary so that the secret police wouldn’t begin to give his government a bad name.

Fayose wrote, “The DSS act of lawlessness at the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos today, should be condemned by all lovers of democracy and rule of law in the country. It is painful that the DSS is yet to come to terms with the fact that the President of Nigeria today, is a product of struggles for democracy and won’t superintend over any act of lawlessness.

“The actions of the DSS today are no doubt bringing a negative image to the Govt and I’m sure that President Tinubu will act swiftly to curb their excesses so that they don’t give his govt bad name just as they did to the immediate past government. This is a function of failed or power-drunk leadership in the DSS. It’s time for the President to act.

“No doubt, I am not a fan of Emefiele’s actions as CBN Governor which threw Nigerians into untold hardships with the politically motivated change of Naira notes. However, it behooves on leaders of this country to speak out against acts capable of undermining democracy and the rule of law.

“Nigeria is under civil authority and security agencies, especially the DSS should be properly guided to purge themselves of this display of overzealousness.

“The DSS men that participated in today’s show of shame should be promptly brought to book. More so that it happened within the sacred premises of the court.

“Most importantly, restructuring of the Organization is imperative for today Nigeria that is desirous of deepening democratic governance.”

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s ministerial list will be delivered to the Senate on Thursday, it has been learnt.

The Senate Majority Leader Opeyemi Bamidele disclosed this while giving a response at his 60th Anniversary Lecture and Book Presentation titled: “Leadership through communication” in Abuja.

Bamidele, who appreciated his guests for supporting and honouring him, however, said Tinubu who was billed to be the father of the day called to say he could not make it to the event because of ongoing work to ensure that the ministerial list is delivered to the Senate in the next 48 hours.

Bamidele said: “At 10.03 am this morning, Mr President, His Excellency Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu was on the phone. He said to me Opeyemi, … I need to make myself unavailable in the next 48 hours because a correspondence must come to the Senate, a very crucial correspondence.

“Mr President prayed for me. He asked me to give the phone to my wife and he prayed for my wife.

“And said the two of us should join the rest of Nigerians and pray for him to be able to make the right decision on the list in 24 hours so that when Nigerians hear the list of his ministers they will say yes, this is uncommon.

“So join us in praying for Mr. President. He needed to be away from any kind of influence. I tell you that prayer means a lot to my family and pray God will grant him all the wisdom in taking his decision…”

Senate President Goodwill Akpabio lauded Bamidele for his loyalty to Tinubu for over 30 years when he served as an aide to him in the National Assembly in 1992.

On the heels of subsidy removal, the Federal Government has said that there is no plan to reduce working days for employees of the Federal Civil Service.

Speaking on the issue with journalists in Abuja on the sidelines of a media parley to commemorate the 2023 Civil Service Week, the Head of the Service of the Federation, Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan, said there was no need for that because the Tinubu-led administration is assiduously working on palliatives that would sustain civil servants, hence no cause for alarm.

According to Yemi-Esan, part of the measures by the Federal Government is to purchase mass transit buses that would run on gas and not diesel, which already the buses being converted from diesel to gas-powered vehicles.

She further stated that salary of workers are being reviewed and there will be an increase in it to also cushion the impact of subsidy removal.

She said: “We don’t have any plans to reduce working days for civil servants in view of the hike in PMS and cost of transportation. However, a committee has been set up to look into this.

“The committee is currently working on getting gas-powered buses to convey civil servants to and fro. We are also working on the conversion of some vehicles from PMS into gas

“Also, the minimum wage is also being reviewed.”

Some constitutional lawyers have requested that President Bola Tinubu summon the Department of State Services (DSS).

The lawyers led by Barr. Tijani Ahmed issued a statement condemning the clash between the secret police and the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS) over the custody of the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele.

Recall that Justice Nicholas Oweibo of the Federal High Court in Lagos admitted Emefiele to bail in the sum of the N20m.

The judge had ordered that the bank president be remanded in prison pending the fulfilment of his bail condition.

Abiodun meets Obasanjo, appeals for calm over hardship of subsidy removal
However, the DSS insisted on taking him away against the judge’s orders.

In response to the development, the lawyers said the DSS action was unprofessional and shameful, questioning how such a thing could happen in a democracy.

It’s a big shame and insult, that the judiciary arm of government was disrespected by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) who fought officials of the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCS) over who would take custody of suspended Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Godwin.”

Justice Nicholas Oweibo of the Federal High Court in Lagos admitted Emefiele to bail in the sum of the N20 million. The Judge ordered that Emefiele be remanded at the correctional center pending the fulfillment of the bail conditions. Shortly after the ruling, DSS operatives strategically positioned their Hilux Pick Up van used in bring Emefiele to court, in a manner suggesting that they wanted to abduct him to their detention centre.

According to reports, this prompted Emefiele’s lead counsel, Joseph Daudu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), and other lawyers to raise an alarm about their client’s planned re-arrest by the secret police. After the court ruling, the suspended CBN governor holed up inside the courtroom with his lawyers. However, when the prison officials moved to take Emefiele into custody pending the fulfillment of his bail conditions, the secret police challenged them and it led to a fight.

Over the months the DSS has been on rampage, first they disregarded court rulings barring them from arresting Emefiele. Again they disregarded court ruling ordering them to release him. Now they are disregarding court ruling ordering his release. At this point the secret police had proven to be a rogue agency with no regard for the rule of law. How can an agency of the government violate bail order? Not once , not twice!!! We call on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to save democracy and image of the judiciary by immediately ordering the arrest of DSS DG for the rogue behaviour of his operatives. This cannot be allowed to continue. Also the DSS can’t rearrest Emefiele until he perfects his bail and released.

The current presidential system of government in Nigeria, with its large executive arm, cost of government, which skews the national budget more to the recurrent expenditure with less for capital expenditure, and requirement for each state to produce a Minister, has become increasingly expensive. This situation does not augur well for the welfare of the citizens and stalls development.

Additionally, the bicameral system in the legislative branch has resulted in an excessive number of members and staff. Given the country's adverse financial situation, it is necessary to consider a return to the parliamentary system of government that was in place during the first republic. While both systems have their merits, the cost perspective and the need for financial discipline make a return to the parliamentary system more expedient.

The current presidential system in Nigeria is financially unsustainable due to the large size of the executive arm and generally bloated bureaucracy. The bicameral system in the legislative branch also contributes to excessive costs, with a surplus of members and staff. To address the country's financial situation, a return to the parliamentary system is necessary. My main concern is from the cost perspective and the need for financial discipline in government affairs.

Cost of the Executive Arm:
The present constitutional requirement that each of the 36 states to produce a Minister, results in a bloated executive arm. This increases the financial burden on the country, as the salaries, allowances, and benefits for these Ministers and their retinue of staff are significant. With the prevailing adverse financial situation, it is untenable to sustain such a large executive arm. Returning to the parliamentary system would reduce the number of Ministers and alleviate the financial strain, thereby releasing funds to be channeled to other human development projects and infrastructure.

In a parliamentary system, the executive arm consists of the Prime Minister and a smaller cabinet, chosen from amongst the parliamentarians. This reduces the cost of salaries, allowances, and benefits, as there are fewer positions to be filled. Countries like the United Kingdom and Canada have successfully implemented this system, demonstrating its financial viability.

Size of the Legislative Branch:
The bicameral system in Nigeria's legislative branch has resulted in an excessive number of members and staff. The Senate President, House Speaker, and their respective members have a large retinue of staff, further increasing the financial burden. This pattern is replicated in the 36 State Assemblies, exacerbating the financial strain on the country, that is facing serious financial difficulties, which may remain in the foreseeable future. A return to the parliamentary system would streamline the legislative branch, reducing costs and promoting efficiency.

In a parliamentary system, the legislative branch consists of a single chamber, which reduces the number of members and staff required. This results in significant cost savings, as seen in countries like Australia and New Zealand. The streamlined structure allows for more effective decision-making and resource allocation.

In summary, due to the adverse financial situation in Nigeria, the current presidential system of government has become unsustainable. The large size of the executive arm, with the requirement for each state to produce a Minister, and the excessive number of members and staff in the bicameral legislative branch contribute to the financial strain. Returning to the parliamentary system, as seen in the first republic, would alleviate these issues by reducing costs and promoting financial discipline. While both systems have their merits, the cost perspective and the need for financial restraint make a return to the parliamentary system more expedient in the current circumstances.
This is perhaps, the right time to consider a review of the 1999 Constitution (as Amended)