The integrity issue in Nigerian politics and public life has been a topic of discussion and concern for many years. Like many other countries, Nigeria has faced challenges related to corruption, lack of transparency, and ethical issues in its political landscape. It lacks integrity in its politics and tolerates acts of impunity, as proven by the prevalence of vote-buying and other dishonest practices in its elections. This has severe implications for Nigeria’s democracy and deserves our attention. Integrity is not just about breaking the law. It also means living by high moral standards, consistency, fairness to all and setting good examples. Integrity overlaps with ethics, morality, trustworthiness, conscientiousness, honesty, courage, and justice. There is no denying the importance of integrity in generating trust and confidence in leaders and the people, and this lays the foundation for transparency and accountability.

The collapse of good governance in Nigeria can be linked to a dearth of integrity in public life. Integrity and public trust are intertwined—one links to the other. A causal relationship exists between integrity and public trust, especially with people in public offices. Nigerians expect public servants to serve the public interest fairly and properly manage public resources, but this is a mountain in our country. But what do we mean by integrity in public office? Do we mean playing by laid-down rules? Or does it mean bringing elements of personal discipline to bear on public office irrespective of official regulations or exigencies?

The answer to the questions above is that integrity connotes playing by the rules and bringing high personal discipline to the office. Although we expect public office holders to be lawful, maintaining high personal discipline ensures they retain the high moral and ethical standards required by the office. Not all things that are not lawful are good, and not all things good are lawful. This is where ethics and morality come in. Unfortunately but factual , morality occupies the lowest possible rung on a virtues ladder in our public life. When leaders debase ethical and moral standards, it becomes an open gate for unleashing hell on the people. High principles often trump the law and should be the base or foundation of leadership and public service. The three cardinal tests all leaders and public servants must put through their actions, inactions, and decisions in the public interest are: Are these actions, inactions, or decisions lawful? Are they ethical? Are they morally proper? They must rethink their approach if any of the answers are negative. Some incidents in recent times show that integrity is quickly deteriorating in public life. The behaviour of some members of National Assembly and high-ranking government  officials can raise legitimate questions as to whether these public officials have any sense of integrity. Nigerians now see corruption, abuse of office, dishonesty, favouritism, nepotism, and opaqueness as normal. This is most worrisome.

It is absurd that unless a leader is convicted in a court of law, he is free to continue to lead and continue any acts that he is pursuing that may be detrimental to society. This is even worse because most cases of impropriety and criminality that went to Nigerian courts are dismissed based on technicalities and not substance, thereby allowing leaders who may be culpable to go scot-free and continue unleashing mayhem on the public. What happens to the Court of Morality, the Court of Conscience, or the Court of public opinion? Does it not matter that a leader must be exonerated in these courts, too? Integrity dictates  that this must be the case. I will use two recent examples of what happened to two leaders in Western Europe to show the importance attached to integrity and public morality in leadership.

In December 2019, Boris Johnson secured a landslide victory for his Conservative Party. He won an 80-seat parliamentary majority, the party’s most significant for 40 years. Yet less than three years later, he was brutally defenestrated by Members of Parliament, MPs, from his party. Members of his party deposed him because they accused him of lying and defending his friends and cronies who committed some wrong and holding party during the COVID-19 lockdown when the law was against public meetings. Although a great politician, the parliament, made up of both opposition party and ruling party members, values integrity in the political space more than other outstanding leadership qualities Johnson may have. They, irrespective of their political orientation or party affiliations, strive to maintain integrity in the political process and are happy to forgo any temporary advantage they or the party may gain by keeping someone in power whom the public knows has not kept the integrity and public trust.

A few days ago, the Portuguese Prime Minister, Antonio Costa, announced his resignation following his alleged involvement in corruption. The Prime Minister resigned after meeting with the country’s President, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa. The public prosecutor alleged “misuse of funds, active and passive corruption by political figures, and influence peddling” as the basis of prosecution. It is instructive that he resigned from his office to allow for proper prosecution without interference and protect the integrity of the process. In these two examples, the integrity of the process and public trust were prized so high that political actors involved willingly gave up their precious high offices to maintain the integrity of the political system and political space, thereby strengthening public trust in the political space. The supremacy of the leader’s integrity, the political process and systems over personal ambition and position are not in doubt.

Would this have been the case in Nigeria?

The dearth of integrity in our public life results from many issues. The first is a complete breakdown of public morality, not just within politics but in society. In the recent past, every parent extols the value and importance of a good name over all other achievements to their children. Family and community question your source of wealth and may either ostracize you or not partake of it if you cannot explain convincingly the origin. Today, the reverse is the case. The family and community push you to bring back a large chunk of the proverbial national cake, and when you do, you are celebrated. So, even when the government wants to punish corrupt people when it can prove it, their villages will make them chiefs when they return home with their share of the national loot.

The  second is structural deficiencies such as weakness of institutions of public office integrity like ICPC, EFCC, Office of the Auditor General and Police ; fault in institutions for holding people accountable or punishing deviance; weakness in leadership selection process and criteria in politics and public service; and a morally bankrupt elite class that has turned itself into a parasite on the Nigerian state.

Despite the challenges, Nigeria has made some progress in addressing integrity issues in politics. There have been high-profile anti-corruption trials and an increasing awareness of the need for ethical governance. However, sustained efforts are required to bring about lasting change. Over the years, there have been various efforts to reform the political system in Nigeria. Anti-corruption agencies, such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses Commission (ICPC), have been established to investigate and prosecute corrupt practices. However, the effectiveness of these agencies has been a subject of debate. There is a need for a complete national re-orientation that focuses on teaching the  successor generation values, ethics, and morality with the hope that even if this generation fails to input integrity and honesty in our public space, the next generation will have a chance to right the wrong.

The public, civil societies and the media must strive to hold public officers accountable and demand transparency. One primary reason public officers in Western democracies resign when they have committed known moral and legal infractions is that they know the public demands accountability and transparency and must comply. Even when government institutions fail to hold officers accountable, the public will- through the power of their votes. Morality and ethics matter. This calls our attention to the importance of our electoral integrity. News coming from the off-season election in 3 states in Nigeria shows that much has stayed the same. How can the public hold public officers accountable without free and fair elections? We need solid and ethical leadership that shows example. We must strengthen institutions of public accountability- internal audits, whistle-blowers, better public accounting with triggers and red alerts, better law enforcement, and a cleaner judiciary. We must subscribe to renowned preacher Billy Graham’s mantra that ‘integrity can be restored to a society one person at a time’. The choice belongs to each of us.

Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State has thanked supporters following his re-election.

Uzodinma became the Imo governor in 2020 after the Supreme Court nullified Emeka Ihedioha’s victory.

But on Sunday, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate as the winner of the Imo governorship election after he cleared all 27 local government areas of the South-East state. He said the latest victory shows he actually won the Imo governorship election back in 2019 but was cheated until the Supreme Court came to the rescue.

“This victory is very dear to me because it is vindication that the same God who did it before will do it again,” he said during a thanksgiving service in Owerri, the state capital, on Sunday.

“My good people of Imo State, I am humbled and honored by your overwhelming support in yesterday’s election,” he added.

“Your trust in me to continue leading our dear State is both inspiring and deeply appreciated. Together, we have achieved a resounding victory and I am committed to delivering on the promises made during our campaign.”

[NaijaTimes]

The United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc has taken over the assets of Stallion Nigeria Limited and its subsidiaries in Lagos, Port Harcourt, and Kano.

The bank’s action followed an order of the Federal High Court in Lagos over an alleged N156,026,032,804.84 debt.

Last Friday, the bank’s receiver-manager, Romeo Michael, and court bailiffs, under police protection in the three cities, executed the interim orders delivered by Justice Akintayo Aluko on October 20.

The judge made the order after hearing Temilolu Adamolekun, who appeared with Mohammed Usman, moving the motion ex parte as counsel for the plaintiff/applicants in the suit.

The order subsists pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.

The case was adjourned till November 20 for hearing of the Motion on Notice.

The order also affects the defendants’ funds totalling N156 billion in commercial, microfinance and other financial institutions across the country.

The first to fourth plaintiffs/applicants in the suit are: UBA Plc, UBA Cameroon SA, Cote D’Ivoire SA, and Romeo Ese Michael.

The first to 11th defendants/respondents are: Stallion Nigeria Limited (in receivership), Von Automobile Nigeria Limited, Popular Farms and Mills Limited, Havana Nigeria Limited.

The other defendants are: KRBL Food Industries Limited, Qingqi Motorcycle Manufacturing Limited, Stallion Auto Keke Limited, Stallion Motors Limited, The Honda Place Limited, Yokohama Construction Limited, and Mr. Sunil Vaswani.

In granting UBA’s prayers, Justice Aluko also restrained the defendants, their directors, shareholders, employees, officers, and agents, from interfering with or frustrating the receiver/manager from exercising all the powers vested in him or performing his duties as receiver of the mortgaged properties, among others.

According to the affidavit deposed to on October 18 by Mr. Anthony Chilaka, Group Head, Recovery and Remedial Management Department of the first to third plaintiffs’ companies, UBA, in 2014, gave various credit facilities to the first defendant (Stallion Nigeria Limited).

Both parties agreed that the credit facilities could be used and were used by Stallion’s sister companies, that is, the second to 10th defendants, in accordance with the offer letter.

As security for the various loans, the defendants mortgaged their aforementioned assets in Port Harcourt, Lagos, and Kano.

Sometime in 2014, Stallion Motors (eighth defendant) was awarded a contract by the Federal Government to supply 700 Ashok Leyland trucks/Stallion troop carrying vehicles and 50 Falcon-seater buses to be used by the military with the understanding of the parties that the receivables from the Federal Government would be paid into Stallion Account with UBA.

But after delivering the vehicles to the Federal Government, Stallion Motors allegedly directed the government to make the initial payment of $50 million into its Dubai account and also received another N8.2 billion into its offshore account, rather than to its UBA account, as agreed.

UBA alleged that the defendants failed to clear their debts totalling N156 billion.

[Nation]

Social and political activist Aisha Yesufu has cautioned about the possibility of a protest more devastating than the 2020 nationwide demonstration known as ‘End SARS’.

EndSARS was a decentralized social movement initiated as a series of mass protests against police brutality in Nigeria.

The movement, which gained momentum on Twitter, called for the disbandment of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a notorious unit of the Nigeria Police Force.

The protests quickly spread to major cities in Nigeria and turned violent, resulting in the loss of lives, particularly young Nigerians.

Yesufu, who played a prominent role in the #EndSARS protests, highlighted the underlying anger in the country, instigated by the arrogance and audacity of corrupt politicians and leaders who manipulated their way into power.

“No one predicted the #EndSARS protest. Likewise, the next uprising might catch everyone off guard,” she expressed on X.

“Regrettably, it could escalate into violence. The prevailing anger is being fueled by the impunity and audacity of the corrupt politicians and rulers who have subverted the democratic process. No one will be spared.”

President of Kingsway International Christian Centre (KICC), Matthew Ashimolowo has urged the Federal Government to create short, medium and long term measures to address the chronic poverty in Nigeria.

He advised the Federal Government to adopt ‘Keynesian economics’ to boost production

The clergyman lamented that Nigerian business owners are constantly harassed by federal and state revenue collection agencies.

He urged the government to support business owners instead of empowering few rich men who cannot employ more than 100,000 people.

Ashimolowo shared his view during an interview with newsmen at the end of a six-day long Christ Compassion Crusade 2023 at the Igbogbo Stadium in Ikorodu, Lagos.

Speaking on palliatives, he argued that it is not the answer to the situation in the economy.

Ashimolowo said, “In the short-term, government should apply ‘Keynesian economics’, which argues that government should encourage industries to overproduce and then buy the excess, that way, there will be production, when government buys off the excesses and gives to the poor.

“In the medium term, the government should take away the power of over-empowering few very rich men that we keep celebrating as multi-billionaires meanwhile they cannot employ more than 100,000 people. Government should rather encourage small and medium enterprises, Nigerians are very entrepreneurial by nature, there is no house that does not have a shop in front of it, government calls them a setback but it is not a setback, those small shops should be empowered.

“In the long term, the government must encourage industries to come up. They say it is easy to do business in Nigeria, it is a lie, I have businesses in Nigeria, it is not easy to do business, if you are doing business in Nigeria, you are harassed by the Federal Inland Revenue Service and the local inland revenue service.

“Palliative is not the answer, I think palliative is short term, we don’t call our own palliative. The dictionary definition of palliative is something you give a man that is sick as temporary reprieve. Ours is not that, ours is to bless, we are here to touch people and show them compassion, we are not government.”

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has finalized the agreement to allocate $618 million to Nigeria through the Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprise (i-DICE) initiative. 

Mr Lamin Barrow, the Country Director-General for Nigeria at the AfDB, shared with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Marrakesh, Morocco, on Sunday that the Nigerian government is currently in the stages of hiring a fund manager for the project. 

Nigeria launched a 618 million-dollar technology fund for young investors under the iDICE programme on March 14. 

The fund, introduced by ex-Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, sought to assist investors grappling with fundraising challenges in Nigeria’s technology and creative sectors. 

The AfDB plans to contribute $170 million, the Agence Francaise de Developpement is set to contribute $116 million, and the Islamic Development Bank will invest $70 million. 

Barrow said the implementation of the project was staggered because of Nigeria’s government transition. 

• “We were caught up by the transition of government and you have to allow the new government to settle in. 
• “The steering committee, chaired by the vice-president with membership from the Ministries of Finance, Trade and Investments, Communication, Science and Technology, Information and Culture, met and received a briefing. 
• “We are now at the point of disbursement and the team has assembled the necessary procurement work. 
• “This has to do with the recruitment of the transaction adviser and the Expression of Interest for firms that want to manage the DICE funds,’’ he said. 

Collaboration with the French Government 

In addition, the project also got the French government’s approval, with a financial commitment of millions of dollars.  

Recall that the French Minister, Catherine Colonnade, who visited Nigeria last week pledged support to the programme, noting that it can create 65,000 startups in the country.  

Barrow, the Country Director-General for Nigeria at the AfDB, also agreed with the minister, saying there is a collaborative effort between the bank and the French government in investing in the project.  

• “Last week, the French minister that visited Nigeria signed the agreement for the co-financing as DICE is being co-financed by the French Development Agency and the Islamic Development Bank. All the processes are now virtually completed. 
• “The important thing is that the fund and the recruitment processes for a fund manager will soon occur. 
• “The fund will be independently managed by the fund manager who will also contribute to the fund by supporting start-ups,’’ Barrow said.  

[Nairametrics]

Governorship candidate of Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Kogi State, Murtala Ajaka, has alleged irregularities in Saturday’s election.

Ajaka said he won’t challenge the outcome of the poll in court if he loses as it would be a waste of time.

Speaking on Channels TV’s ‘The 2023 Verdict: Off-Cycle Elections,’ Ajaka had claimed that the election was rigged with the support of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

“In the whole of the five local governments in central, the whole of the five local governments in central, there was no election anywhere. They wrote results. Result sheets were given to Yahaya Bello

“In Okene local government, they turned out over 130,000 votes, haba! And INEC accepted that result and what is on the BVAS is less than 30,000.

“With all due respect to the person of the INEC chairman, if they don’t do a checklist and investigate their officials that went to Kogi State and allow this to stand, I doubt if there will be election in 2027.

“Because people will go into that election armed and I fear Somalia will be a child’s play.

“If we knew it would be the same old music, we would have played along with that old music by inflating the results from my area.

“When the commission told us yesterday that they were looking into this case, we were hopeful, that is why everybody relaxed. Only for them now to collate these results. It is annoying. Three local governments are producing 230,000-something votes,” he said,

When asked why he was agitated since he had evidence to prove that the election was rigged, Ajaka said, “What am I going to court to do when the same INEC that did this is going to come as a witness to defend what they did? So it is a waste of time. Except the party people because I’m hugely disappointed. If the INEC chairman allows this to stand, they are looking for trouble in Nigeria.

“You gave me assurance that the election would be transparent, you allowed me to waste my time, spend my money, mobilise my people, only for you to write the results. Even if I’m not sad about it, you expect my supporters to be happy. I assure you if they allow this to stand as they are allowing in all the states now, they are calling for anarchy in this country.”

Meanwhile, INEC has ordered fresh elections in some wards in Kogi State as a result of irregularities.

Following some pre-filled result sheets which went into circulation while voting was ongoing, INEC had suspended elections across nine wards and said further communication would be made.

In a statement on Sunday, Mohammed Haruna, a National Commissioner, said fresh elections would hold in the affected areas.

Many members of the National Assembly have received the big stick from the Court of Appeal after losing out in their election litigation battles.

Both the Senate and the House of Representatives are witnessing an unprecedented level of judicial verdicts, with a number of them shockingly sent packing after five months.

In this report, DAILY POST reviews the grounds for the removal of some of the members.

In the Senate, five lawmakers have so far been sacked by the Court of Appeal. APC lost seats and gained two seats. The PDP gained three seats but lost two, while the Labour Party lost one seat.

In the House of Representatives, no less than 12 lawmakers have been sacked by the Court. Out of the twelve sacked, eight of them are members of the PDP, three are on the LP platform and one from the APC.

On the gainers side, APC gained 8 seats, PDP has 2, NNPP 1 and APGA 1.

Elisha Abbo, Adamawa APC

The controversial legislator was sacked by the Court of Appeal in Abuja which declared Amos Yohanna as the winner of Adamawa North Senatorial District.

Yohanna cited electoral irregularities and manipulation of results, and the Court granted the prayer to sack the lawmaker.

Abbo, who was first elected in 2019 on the platform of the PDP, had a fair share of controversy, including the slapping of a lady in a sex toy shop in Abuja.

Darlington Nwokocha, Abia LP

The former minority whip of the senate has also gotten the big hammer from the court.

The Court of Appeal in Lagos sacked Darlington and declared Augustine Akobundu of the PDP as the winner of Abia Central Senatorial District.

The decision of the court further depleted the number of the Labour Party in the Senate. Darlington had won the election by a landslide by polling 92,116 votes against Akobundu’s 41,477 votes. But he fell to pre-election complications.

Abubakar Ohere, Kogi APC

Governor Yahaya Bello is currently represented in the senate by his archenemy, Natasha Akpoti-Uduagan.

Akpoti-Uduagan defeated Abubakar Ohere at both the election petition tribunal and the Court of Appeal.

The tribunal had in September sacked Ohere as the Senator representing Kogi West, but the lawmaker approached the Court of Appeal for redress. However, the court ruled against him.

Napoleon Bali, Plateau PDP

Napoleon Bali is one of the victims of the crisis rocking the PDP in Plateau State, as the Appeal Court continued to sack PDP lawmakers from Plateau State.

The court ruled that the PDP had no structure in the state prior to its primary elections. It therefore sacked Bali and declared Simon Lalong, a former governor of the state and Minister of Labour and Employment, as the Senator for Plateau South.

Mr Lalong will have to decide if he is going to the Red Chamber or sticking to his current job.

A High Court in Plateau State had ruled that PDP had no valid structure in Plateau State to nominate candidates for elections. But it seems the party ignored the ruling. Therefore, the Appeal Court has been sacking most of the candidates one after the other.

So far, the Appeal Court has sacked about six federal lawmakers from Plateau State.

Simon Mwadkwon, Plateau PDP

The minority leader was also affected by the PDP crisis in Plateau State. The Court of Appeal sacked him and ordered a rerun within 90 days.

The decision of the court followed a suit filed by Chris Giwa of the All Progressives Congress and Gyang Zi of the Labour Party.

It is unclear if the former Minority Leader would be allowed to participate in the re-run election.

House of Representatives

Simon Bagos, Beni Lar, Isaac Kwalu and Peter Gyendeng, Plateau PDP

The Court of Appeal in Abuja sacked the four of Simon Bagos, Beni Lar, Isaac Kwalu and Peter Gyendeng as members of the House of Representatives from Plateau State.

The four lawmakers are also the victims of the pre-election matter affecting PDP members from Plateau State.

The Court affirmed that the issue of party structure is both pre-election and post-election.

Chijioke Okereke, Enugu Labour Party

The Court of Appeal also sacked Chijioke Okereke of the Labour Party as the member representing Aninri/Awgu/Oji-River Federal Constituency.

The election petition tribunal had sacked Okereke as the winner of the election and declared Anayo Onwuegbu of the PDP as the winner of the election.

Okereke had approached the Court of Appeal for redress but the court affirmed the decision of the tribunal.

Stainless Nwodo, Enugu LP

The Court of Appeal also sacked Stainless Nwodo, a member representing Igbo-Etiti/Uzo-Uwani federal constituency of Enugu State.

The Court sacked the lawmaker over alleged certificate forgery and irregularities during the election and declared Martin Oke of the PDP as the winner of the election.

Dennis Agbo, Enugu LP

The Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos State also sacked Denis Agbo, the member elected on the platform of the Labour Party in the last election. He was representing Udenu/Igboeze North federal constituency of Enugu State.

The court ordered a fresh election within 90 days while ruling on a petition filed by the All Progressives Congress candidate, Dr Oby Ajih.

Emeka Nnamani, Abia LP

Emeka Nnamani was sacked as the member representing Aba North and South Federal Constituency over alleged certificate forgery.

The appellate court declared Alex Ikwechegh of the All Progressives  Grand Alliance, APGA, as the representative of Aba North and South Federal Constituency.

Jingi Rufai, Adamawa PDP

Jingi Rufai, a member of the PDP was also sent packing from the House as the member representing Mubi North, Mubi South and Maiha federal constituency of Adamawa State.

The Court ordered INEC to give a certificate of return to Jaafar Magaji of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Musa Ilyasu Kwankwaso, Kano APC

Kwankwaso was also sacked as the representative of Kura/Madobi/Garun Malam federal constituency in the House.

The Court of Appeal asked INEC to give a certificate of return to Yusuf Datti, candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).

The judgement further depleted the ruling APC in Kano State.

Yusuf Bashir, Kaduna PDP

The Court also sacked Yusuf Bashir of the PDP as the representative of Kauru federal constituency of Kaduna State.

The court declared Muktar Chawai as the member representing the constituency.

Jonas Okeke, Imo PDP

Jonas Okeke was also sent packing by the Court as the representative of Ehime Mbano/Ihitte Uboma, Obowo Federal Constituency in Imo State.

The Court declared Chike Okafor as the winner of the election.

Mohammed Salihu, Adamawa PDP

The Court sacked Salihu as the representative of Yola North/South federal constituency of Adamawa State. The former lawmaker was sacked over discrepancies in his certificate.

The appellant court declared Abubakar Baba Zango as the new member of the Reps.

[DailyPost]

The governorship candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party and the Social Democratic Party in Kogi State, Dino Melaye and Muritala Ajaka, have rejected the declaration of their All Progressives Congress counterpart, Usman Ododo, as the winner of the Saturday election.

The candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress in the Kogi  State Governorship Election, Usman Ododo was declared the winner of the poll, on Sunday.

The Independent National Electoral Commission had on Sunday declared Ododo winner after scoring a total of 446,238 votes to defeat his opponents,  Ajaka and Melaye who polled 259, 052 votes and 46,262 votes respectively.

However,  Melaye has called for the cancellation of the election due to what he termed  “irregularities that marred the election.”

Melaye on Sunday in Lokoja said the irregularities that marred Saturday’s election in all three senatorial districts were unprecedented in the history of the state and should not be allowed to stand.

He described the exercise as “shameful and unhealthy”, regretting that INEC has not learnt any lesson to realise, ameliorate and palliate the problem it created for the democratic process during the general elections in the country.

He said, “Yesterday (Saturday) in the five local governments of Central Senatorial District in Kogi State, there was no election. Surprisingly, accreditation was done manually, the BVAS was not used, prepared result sheets surfaced even before accreditation and evidence is all over the media.

‘”The INEC, as a matter of urgency, must cancel the election. In many areas where I won, my agents were told there were no available result sheets to enter the result and we have evidence to back up these claims

“As I speak to you, it is shameful that this is what our democracy has descended to. INEC has manifested ever than before, that it cannot be trusted, it is biased, it is compromised and it cannot be a neutral umpire.”

Similarly,  Ajaka, in a statement rejected the results of the poll, saying it was against the electoral laws.

The statement issued by his media aide, Faruk Adejoh-Audu, read, “Against all logic, laws and decency, the Independent National Electoral Commission is hurriedly progressing with the announcement of the results of an election it has hitherto and voluntarily declared as dubious and compromised in Kogi State.

“The INEC has suddenly turned ostrich to pretend that the malpractices it uncovered can just be ignored and nobody, not even the victims of the electoral heist, is entitled to protest.

“In this regard, we are calling on INEC to immediately cease announcing the results forthwith until it has cancelled these areas that its criminal staff members colluded to rig the votes in favour of one candidate as exposed by I-rev.”

[Punch]

IN 2011, we in the Trade Union Movement were worried that the new National Minimum Wage of N18,000 consented to by the Federal and State governments, and signed into law the previous year, was not being implemented.

Negotiations had gone pretty well with the Federal Government, but had hit a brick-wall when its team said on a note of finality it had reached the limit of the wage bill it could shoulder. We needed an additional N2 billion. Labour met directly with then President Goodluck Jonathan and he directed that the additional fund be added to the Federal wage bill.

We met the Nigeria Governors Forum chaired by then Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi. We had a surprise at the meeting. A handful of the governors led by Sullivan Iheanacho Chime of Enugu State became our advocates. They argued that N18,000 was too small a National Minimum Wage.

Our team and governors reached an agreement that states should pay the new wage. However, in many states, we had to organise strikes to force the governors to implement the constitutionally sanctioned wages.

There was a stalemate by both sides in Adamawa State and Labour had to send a team to Yola. When we touched down at the airport and found a huge number of striking workers waiting to receive us, rather than take the buses available, we decided to walk through the city.

Next day, Governor Murtala Nyako agreed to meet our team from Abuja but not with the state labour leaders. When we refused, he buckled.

At the meeting, he said he monitored our protest march through Yola and at various times he thought of sending “Jaguda boys” (thugs) to scatter the march, but constantly received reports that the man from Abuja(referring to me) was a gentleman. I thanked him and asked whether he also contemplated the implications of such an action. He laughed and said there are various ways thugs are used.

He gave an example of how he set thugs upon an overbearing delegation from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party headquarters. He invited me upstairs to his office while his officials and the local labour leaders sorted out their stalled negotiations. I politely told him we should first sort out the dispute. He asked me for the details. I summarised them, and he said he approved them in principle.

The main shock we had was with Governor Chime who had argued the new wages were too low. His administration refused to pay! We decided to intervene from Abuja. In the aircraft, Chime recognised then NLC Vice President Isa Tijani and promised us a contest in Enugu.

Very early next morning, a large number of soldiers, policemen and secret security officers took over the gate of the hotel we lodged. Nobody was allowed in or out. In effect, we were being detained.

I placed a call to the then Secretary to the Federal Government, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim. My report sounded incredulous to him. He asked whether I was sure. I told him that from the window in my room, I could see the long convoy of the security men. Anyim, an amiable former President of the Senate, muttered: “Chime, Chime”, and the line went dead. Shortly afterwards, I could hear the screeching of tires. I looked out and the convoy was furiously driving off as if chased by the devil.

I called the Senator to thank him. It was a clear demonstration by the Jonathan administration that it would not condone the misuse of the security personnel by the governor. Then, truck-loads of thugs arrived to replace the security men; Chime was not about to accept defeat. Once again, within an hour, we were under siege, this time by the Governor’s thugs.

We sent a message to the local labour leaders to redirect workers from the announced rally venue, to our hotel. Soon, we had a large number of workers occupying one part of the road, and the thugs, the other. I told the workers that given our large number, we could overrun the armed thugs. Like lightning, we set upon them. Within minutes, we had put the thugs to flight and I had some of them brought before me as prisoners of war.

They were badly shaken and shivering. I assured them that unlike the governor, workers are civilized people and would not harm them, but that we would hand them over to the police for prosecution. With the Federal Government withdrawing the security men and his thugs completely overran, Chime had no more forces to put on the streets of Enugu against us.

In 2004, during a general strike against the removal of fuel subsidy, I headed a convoy of labour and Pro-Labour Civil Society activists to monitor the strike in Lagos State. We took off from the NLC Sub Office in Tejusoho, and crossed Ojuelegba towards Lawanson. Then, I changed my mind and decided that we turned round to go towards Lagos Island on to Mile 2-Iba.

I had not realised that thugs had attacked the tail end of the convoy, so in turning around, we were faced by ferocious armed men. I managed to escape to a petrol station opposite the Police Area Command at Barracks. There were contingents of armed policemen and I approached them to report we were being attacked and sought their intervention. They played deaf and dumb. So I realised that the attack was a coordinated one carried out with the connivance of the police and possibly, the Obasanjo administration.

We had no choice but to wait, first to receive our injured comrades and convey them to hospitals. Secondly, to account for everyone, and thirdly to review the situation.

We concluded that there might be more thugs in various parts of Lagos who may waylay us. So the best option was to use the rest of the day to mobilise so large a convoy, that it can smash teams of thugs.

The next day, we rolled out, smashing any group that stood in our way starting from Ojuelegba. But our main encounter was on the Iba Road. With that, we asserted workers control over the sprawling city.

Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma, his men and the police who labour accused of being complicit in the murderous November 1, 2023 attack on NLC President Joe Ajaero, must give peace a chance. To start with, they must realise that no group has monopoly of violence. Secondly, the Tinubu administration must send out a clear message, like Jonathan did, that the military and police would not be used to settle disputes. Thirdly, all those who funded or participated in the attack against the labour leaders in Imo State must be brought to justice.