Sierra Leonean voters turned out in their numbers on Saturday, 24th June to choose a new president, members of parliament, mayors and local councilors with the voting process taking off to a slow start in some Centers in Western Area and other parts of the country. 

Officially, voting starts from 7:00 AM until 5:00 PM local time.

Dr Mohamed Ibn Chambas, Head of the ECOWAS 95-member strong Election Observation Mission supported by the Deputy Head of Mission, Amb. Ansumana Ceesay and the ECOWAS Commission’s Technical Team led by Amb. Abdel-Fatau Musah, ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace, and Security, arrived at the Aberdeen Municipal School Polling Center in Freetown before the official opening of balloting at 7:00 AM.

Voting started at 8.25 AM at Polling Station 08, at the Centre with 204 registered voters.

Preferential treatment was given to Persons Living with Disability and the elderly. Tholley Idrissa, 43, the first voter, took approximately eight minutes to cast his ballot.

The situation was similar in some Centers from the field reports by ECOWAS Observers deployed to the 16 electoral districts. 

Dr Chambas and his delegation had to appeal to agitated voters to exercise patience at the Logos Academy polling Centre, in Aberdeen, Freetown urban.

The Centre has seven polling stations with about 2,300 registered voters. By 9 am, voting had not started because of late arrival of sensitive electoral materials, including ballot boxes. 

When contacted, Mohamed Konneh, Chair of the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone (ECSL), said the situation at the Logos Academy had been brought to his notice. He blamed the situation on a mix up and pledged that the Commission was in the process of resolving it. 

He also assured the ECOWAS Mission that every voter on the queue by the closing time of 5:00 PM will be allowed to vote. 

The Head of ECOWAS Mission and his delegation later visited the same polling Centre for the second time, and the electoral process was proceeding smoothly.

Similarly, the electoral process was orderly and peaceful at the Hockey pitch polling Centre in Wilberforce Barracks, also in Freetown urban.

This Centre has 14 polling stations each with approximately 300 registered voters. The electoral process started between 7:00 AM and 8:00AM, and by 9.25 AM, polling stations 08 and 09 had each recorded about 40 voters.

Giving his preliminary assessment, Dr Chambas, who also met other Heads of Observation Missions, including former Nigerian Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, leading the Commonwealth Mission, and Mr Haile Mariem Desalegn Bosche, the African Union Head of Mission, appealed for calm and expressed optimism that voting would pick up during the day. 

He commended the discipline and orderliness of many voters who started arriving at the polling centers as early as 2:00 AM, noting that this was a demonstration of their determination and commitment to democracy.

The Head of Mission later visiting the ECOWAS Situation Room, from where the Technical Team was coordinating the observation and liaising with the Observers in the field.

Sitting President Julius Maada Bio, of the SLPP, who is seeking a second term, is facing challenges from 12 other contestants, including Samura Kamara, of the opposition APC, whom he defeated in the 2018 election.

Results of Saturday's polls are expected to be announced within 48 hours and if no candidate gets the mandatory 55% of the valid votes in the first round, the two frontrunners will go into a run-off vote, two weeks after the official announcement of the first-round result.

The ECOWAS Mission and other international and local observers are following the electoral process.

President Bola Tinubu on Friday concluded his official trip to Paris, France, during which he had an outstanding participation in the summit for ‘A New Global Financing Pact’ hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron.

Aside his participation at the event where he represented Nigeria well, President Tinubu also held high-profile sideline meetings with fellow heads of state and government, global business leaders and chief executives of leading multilateral and development finance institutions from around the world.

According to a statement by presidential spokesman, Dele Alake, the summit afforded the President the opportunity of projecting, on a global stage, his advocacy for widening the fiscal space, economic justice for Africa as the world accelerates the pace of energy transition, and the urgency of addressing the pressing issues of poverty and climate change.

President Tinubu, who was initially scheduled to be back in Abuja on Saturday, will now proceed to London, United Kingdom, for a short private visit.

The President will be back in the country in time for the upcoming Eid-el-Kabir festival.

The National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Umuahia has dismissed and struck out the petition filed by the Abia South senatorial candidate of the Labour Party, Chinedu Onyizu, against the election of Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe of the All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA.

Onyizu’s petition was dismissed for non-compliance with paragraph 18 of the first schedule of the Electoral Act.

The Court ruled that the petitioners did not apply for pre-trial, adding that there was no proof of service of reply to the respondents.

Earlier when the matter was called up and appearances announced, Counsel to the 1st petitioner, Anagha Kalu Anagha, informed the court that his client, Onyizu was personally in court, and had information he would want to personally deliver to the court.

When given the floor, Onyizu said that he had lost confidence in the Justice Adeniyi-led three-man panel, claiming that he heard that some people were bragging that they had access to the panel.

He further said that the Chairman of the panel was also the one who chaired the tribunal that tried petitions against Abaribe in 2019, alleging that there is an affinity between the Senator and the tribunal Chairman.

Onyizu said he no longer had confidence in the justice of the tribunal and demanded that the matter be transferred to another panel.

But in a swift response, Counsel to Senator Abaribe, Machukwu Ume, SAN, expressed shock over the comments and vituperations by the petitioner.

He said even though the Chairman of the panel presided over the 2019 tribunal that handled the petitions against Abaribe, the Senator did not in any way, influence the decision of the panel.

Similarly, Counsels to APGA, Ogbonna Enekwa; and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Dr J. An Akubo, respectively, urged the court to throw away the petitioner’s application, arguing it ought to have come by way of motion in accordance with relevant laws.

INEC’s lawyer said the allegation of bias against the tribunal was baseless and should be dismissed.

After arguments and counterarguments, the court reserved judgment for the same day and emerged after about four hours to deliver judgement.

Delivering judgement, the tribunal ruled that election petitions are special in nature, and if the application were allowed, it would open the floodgates for other litigants.

It further held that the right to transfer matters only lay with the President of the Court of Appeal.

On the motion by the respondents that the petitioners did not comply with paragraph 18 of the first schedule of the Electoral Act which stipulates that seven days after the close of pleadings, petitioners ought to apply for the issuance of pre-trial forms, the court agreed with the respondents.

Counsels to the respondents had argued that according to the law, failure to comply with that stipulated that respondents could apply for the dismissal of such suit ” because it means that the petitioner has abandoned his petition”.

The court ruled that the petitioners filed their petition but could not produce proof of service.

Speaking with Vanguard, one of the Counsels to APGA, Uche Ihemanma, hailed the ruling of the court, saying that the petitioner abandoned his petition.

” The Court found that the petitioners did not comply with paragraph 18 of the Electoral Act which has to do with the issuance of pre-trial from. And the position of the law is that it is a helpless situation.

” It means that the petitioner abandoned his petition and there is nothing the court can do because it has robbed the court of jurisdiction to do any other thing in that trial”.

Responding also, Senator Abaribe described the court ruling as upright and victory for democracy.

The Senator who spoke through his Media Adviser, Uchenna Awom, said ” we didn’t expect anything less because Senator Abaribe won that election fair and square”.

He commended the judiciary for remaining the last hope of the common man.

Abaribe urged his opponents to consider the elections over and support him in his bid to give the people quality representation.

” He should congratulate the winner after all, Senator Abaribe is his brother. He loses nothing if he cooperates with his brother who is a man widely acclaimed as being a true representative of his people.

” He is fearless and committed to issues that concern the Igbo race. He should congratulate his brother and he has nothing to lose because the future is still bright for him as a young man”.

Speaking with Vanguard, Onyizu described the action of the tribunal as ” a travesty of justice” and vowed to appeal the ruling.

He expressed shock that his protest against the Chairman of the tribunal was not considered.

He accused the court of bias and throwing his suit out on frivolous technicalities

” I got into the court with my lawyers and I observed for the first time that the Chairman of the panel was the same man that delivered judgement in favour of my opponent in 2019 in the suit filed against him by Chris Nkwonta.

” So, when I observed this, I told the panel to move my case file to another panel because I had lost confidence in the make-up of the tribunal.

“Just as if I saw what was coming, the proceeding went ahead. They said it was too late for me to ask for that.

” The reason for striking out my suit was frivolous. My lawyer filed a reply and did not serve the respondents. Meanwhile, the law expects the belief of the tribunal to serve the respondents if the petitioners paid for it, and I paid for the service.

The second reason by the court was that the lawyer who signed my application was not listed as one of my lawyers. Meanwhile, I briefed the law firm handling my case which has many lawyers working for it. If it had employed a lawyer between then and now why should it be a matter?

” They refused to look at the merit of the petition and just struck it out. I’m heading to the Appeal Court but my concern is that the way things are going, I don’t know if it will be the same outcome. There is no hope again for the common man”

Fans of popular Nollywood actress, Mercy Aigbe have taken to social media to gush over some new pictures of the actress wearing Hijab.

The actress, who recently converted to Islam after getting married to popular filmmaker and Movie distributor, Kazeem Adeoti, is currently in Mecca, Saudi Arabia for the 2023 Hajj.

Mercy Aigbe, who renamed herself ‘Hajia Meenah’ after adopting Islam, took to Instagram today to share some pictures from the holy land of Mecca and wished her fans a happy Friday.

Capturing the pictures of herself in a Hijab, she wrote, “May Allah accept our supplication on this very special day as an act of ibadah. Amin ? Jummah Mubarak, everyone.”

The pictures have, however, caught the attention of her fans who took to the comment section to gush over the actress beauty in Hijab.

“She is so beautiful in Hijab. There is no doubt that the Hijab really adds to beauty,” mareeyam_craft commented.

Another Instagram user, Posh_rainbow, wrote, “See how the Hijab fits my Hajia Meenah with the ‘H’.”

“See how beautiful, modest, and unique you are with the Hijab. Don’t stop using it, Alhaja,” Hafsoh_muhammad commented.

Rabiat711 wrote, “Islam looks good on you, so Mashallah.”

Yoruba self-determination activist, Chief Sunday Adeniyi Adeyemo, also known as Sunday Igboho, has refuted rumours that he was about getting back to Nigeria.

Dr. Chief Sunday Igboho has not stated such through his spokesman or through anyone else that he will be returning to Nigeria any time soon, according to the spokesman for Dr. Chief Sunday Adeyemo, Olayomi Koiki.

Koiki claims he has been instructed to inform the international community and the Nigerian media that are spreading the false information.

Speaking further, he stated that the video that is currently in circulation is the one that was released when Chief Sunday Adeyemo left the Benin Republic after being detained there for a few months.

The video that was distributed had a release date of April 7, 2022, and it is the same video that is still being distributed.

According to him “I have been told to tell mainstream medias, bloggers, and offline media if you do need any clarification on Dr. Chief Sunday Igboho to get in touch with or spoke man Olayomi Koiki myself then you can do so by getting in touch with me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

“We kindly request that none of you spread untrue information about Dr. Chief Sunday Igboho, who is now in the Benin Republic.

“Again, thank you to President Patrice Talon of the Benin Republic for ensuring that Dr. Chief Sunday Adeyemo remains in the country so that he can continue to be protected by the laws pertaining to human rights, international law, and the universal declaration. that Dr. Chief Sunday Igbo was denied by Nigeria”.

He went further saying that Sunday Igboho had not given anyone permission to speak on his behalf in order to make it known that he would soon be returning to Nigeria.

“As I previously stated, we are grateful to Patrice Talo, president of the Benin Republic, for making Dr. Sunday Igboho’s stay comfortable while he continues to fight for one cause alone—the Yoruba Nation movement.

The spokesperson however, issued warning to the media outlets disseminating the message not to use Dr. Chief Sunday Igbo’s name in any way for which they are not authorized.

“If they do, legal action and legal procedure will be taken against each of the bloggers, streaming social media, offline media outlets, and others.”

The All Progressive Congress (APC) Senatorial candidate, Muhammad Sani Abdullahi, has presented six witnesses to challenge the victory and qualifications of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Senatorial candidate, Lawal Adamu (referred to as Mr. La).

The three-man panel, led by Justice HH Kereng, heard testimonies from witnesses sourced from the former schools of the PDP candidate and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The first witness, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria (ABU), was represented by a member of the University legal team and an Associate Professor Abubakar Is’haq from the Faculty of Law.

The University was subpoenaed to provide records of files of Lawal Adamu while he was a student of the institution.

The second witness, National Examination Council (NECO), represented by the Director of Special Duties, Esther Bala Wuyaa, presented certified result confirmation to the court.

The third witness that testified against the Senator was Demonstration Primary School through the Head Teacher of the School, Dr. Ibrahim Yusuf.

Read Also: INEC deleted results on all BVAS we inspected, Atiku’s witness alleges

The school tendered to the court the school registration records from 1982 to 1986, which showed no record of Lawal Adamu Usman as student as he claimed in the documents he submitted to INEC prior to the 2023 general elections.

Also testifying, the Principal of Government Day Secondary School (GDSS), Gwagwalada, Bello Suleiman told the tribunal that based on available records at the school there was no candidate with the name of Lawal Adamu Usman from the year 1986 to 1994 as claimed by Senator Lawal Adamu Usman as submitted to Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) in form CF001 for the 2023 general elections.

Two additional witnesses including INEC representative were called upon following the issuance of subpoenas by the court through the Petitioner’s Counsel, Johnson Usman SAN.

During the tribunal proceedings, Counsel to the first respondent, M.A Magaji SAN, cross-examined all the witnesses with no objections.

Responding to queries from journalists shortly after the court sitting, Johnson Usman SAN, counsel to Muhammad Sani Abdullahi of the APC, explained that one of the grounds for the petition was the first respondents qualification to contest election given his presentation of forged certificates, and also substantial non compliance with the electoral act.

All schools that testified, submitted their school registers to the court as evidence .

The tribunal adjourned sitting to the 11th of July, 2023 for continuation of admission of additional witnesses of certificate forgeries against the defendant.

During a radio programme on Saturday, June 17, 2023 (City Talks with Reuben Abati), the guest, a professor of Political Science and International Relations at the Nassarawa State University, Jideofor Adibe, said what has been going on with respect to the Nigerian economy under the new administration were “mere activities”. Adibe who spoke on the ‘State of the Nation: Matters Arising’, said these “activities” were made intense by the speed at which new pronouncements (dished out as ‘new’ policies) were being made on a daily basis. The populace is already swamped, with some of the ‘new’ policies already playing out as counterpoise to some others. But they keep coming in torrents!

Truly, although it took very long for the Nigerian economy to get to the precipice (where it is today), a deluge of ‘policy’ pronouncements cannot turn it around in a jiffy. It will rather cause some disruption. There is no magic wand for economic recovery, growth and development. Rather, the more hurriedly these pronouncements are being made, the more harsh unintended results they unleash on the citizenry. The impression out there is that the new administration is either driven by blind pursuit of vendetta against its perceived enemies or is merely on a mission to ‘impress’ the unwary and gullible public. Every effort in economic management should normally be aimed at improvement of the wellbeing of the citizenry, and not piling up of more pain and hardship on them—as seems to be the case since the inception of the new administration.

A brief review of some of the ‘policy’ pronouncements of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration here will be quite revealing. First, the removal of subsidy on petrol (Premium Motor Spirit, PMS) embedded in the inaugural presidential address on May 29, 2023. The immediate aftermath of the measure was astronomical rise in the price of PMS from below N200/litre to N500—N700/litre, depending on the location. This quickly led to very high cost of transportation, food items, house rents, etc. This also translated to further impoverishment of majority of the citizenry through weakening their purchasing power—and certainly driving up inflation that has attained a galloping level—standing at almost 23 per cent at end-May 2023.

While all these unsavoury outcomes were playing out, rather than addressing the import and impact (or pains) of the fuel subsidy removal, the administration went ahead on further disruption of the economy through more ‘policy’ pronouncements. Thus, till date nobody has put forward definitively, what palliatives the administration is coming up with, to assuage the pangs on the citizenry. Even as the hullabaloo about the US$800 million loan from the World Bank that the outgone Muhammadu Buhari administration was waning, the Tinubu administration is yet to go public with its stand on the controversial loan for palliatives. In point of fact, it is safe to conclude that the government is yet to present any palliatives package to Nigerians, except the hyping of intention to increase salaries of civil and public servants. But what will this amount to—given the minuscule percentage of the population such a measure will affect? 

Disturbingly, too, the government is yet to also show genuine effort to address the root cause(s) of the fuel subsidy conundrum nor to deal with the new outrageously high prices of PMS. That is to say that government’s stand on local oil refining is not obvious to the Nigerian populace. The state and fate of the existing four public-owned refineries that have been made moribund for years—hardly seems to be on the agenda of the new administration. Rather, what is widely in the public domain is hustling and intrigues to license more importers of PMS and other products. How long this macabre game will last, nobody knows yet; but real hard times are here!

The issue is no longer the propriety or otherwise of fuel subsidy removal—but rather the concrete measures government must be taking to lessen the suffering and fast-spreading and deepening misery level of the hoi polloi. Given the corruption and opacity that hallmarked the (erstwhile) fuel subsidy regime, its termination is surely good riddance! But the ugly sequels and consequences of the initiative ought not to be allowed to throw Nigerians into more economic hardship—as is playing out currently.

Secondly, and apparently in the spirit of economy disruption, the new administration rushed on—to pronounce merging of exchange rates in the foreign exchange market—or more appropriately, ‘forced’ devaluation (or floating) of the Naira. These have been accompanied with some ancillary measures such as liberalized access to dollars in domiciliary accounts, etc. These ‘policies’ are coming on the heels or backdrop of the huge dust and confusion raked up by fuel subsidy removal and the hard times it unleashed on the people. Desirable as a single exchange rate may be, its direct effect has turned to be outright weakening of the local currency vis-à-vis the dollar and other hard currencies. The ‘forced’ merger of exchange rates obviously translates to Naira devaluation—a trend that could linger interminably!

Nigeria has been notoriously an import-dependent economy and mono-product economy. Crude oil remains its mainstay. A large chunk of its citizens also have been known to have unrepentant preference for foreign goods and services. Conspicuous consumption and aversion to local products by the people have over the years been feature of the Nigerian economy. In this culture or ecosystem, demand for the dollar has always far outstripped the supply in the foreign exchange (forex) market—leading to the continuous weakening of the Naira against the dollar and others.

A well-thought through policy would have come with some sequencing or phased approach—bearing in mind the likely deleterious unintended consequences a ‘wholesale’ rushed method portend. This is why in the current milieu, as the Naira keeps ‘sinking’, economic agents are flying to safety. ‘Seek for, and hold onto the dollar’, appears to be the only modus vivendi—for businesses and individuals alike. On the supply side, government has also gone ahead to remove all incentives that attracted forex inflow via non-oil exports in recent times. This is in sync with its economy disruption efforts. 

Unfortunately, while the Tinubu administration is making all these ‘policy’ pronouncements, the initiatives are not ‘owned’ by those saddled with their implementation. For instance, merger of multiple forex rates and others are not ‘strictly’ coming from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The new ‘policies’ are ‘order from above’ and rammed down the throat of the acting head of the apex bank and his colleagues, who, as it were, are mere puppets in the hands of the powers that be. If not so, the CBN, armed with its usual evidence-based update on the economy, would have opted for slower pace of implementation of these policies or entirely different set of policies.

In all, the whirlwind of ‘policies’ being unleashed by Nigeria’s new administration portends cataclysmic outcomes. They amount to economy disruption rather than genuine reforms. The torrents of ‘activities’ going on would seem to be giving the perception that the administration is only out to impress or ‘wow’ Nigerians—at the expense of their wellbeing and economic progress. It is usually better to ‘make haste slowly’ when it comes to making policies regarding delicate and sensitive issues that have to do with the life, livelihood and survival of the people. This is no time for playing to the gallery!

 • The author, Okeke, a practising Economist, Business Strategist, Sustainability expert and ex-Chief Economist of Zenith Bank Plc, lives in Lekki, Lagos. He can be reached via: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has welcomed an investment of $520 million in specialised agro-processing zones by the African Development Bank (AfDB), praising the leader of the multilateral institution, Dr Adewunmi Adesina, for further opening up the economy for investments that provide job opportunities and reduction in poverty. 

Receiving Dr Adesina after the two-day summit on A New Global Financing Pact in Paris, President Tinubu said the agro-industrial project strengthens an area of the country’s competitive advantage as he listed other areas of priority that require Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). 

The President urged the Bank to inject funds into projects that target women and youth empowerment, while appreciating the AfDB President for his vision of setting up a Youth Entrepreneurship Bank in Nigeria that will provide credit, skills and other support for young Nigerians.

President Tinubu assured Dr Adesina that the Federal Government would provide all the necessary assistance to ensure sustenance of the projects, adding that electricity remained a priority area that needed urgent attention. 

In his remarks, the AfDB President thanked President Tinubu for the bold initiatives that had repositioned Nigerian economy in three weeks and stimulated appetite of investors from different parts of the world; removal of fuel subsidy and harmonisation of exchange rates. 

“I commend the President’s foresight, boldness and determination for macroeconomic policy direction by removing the fuel subsidy,’’ he said, “No bird can fly with its wings tied behind. All those steps are signals investors like.’’

Dr Adesina said the bank would support the economic policies of the new administration in Nigeria, that had placed the people first in development targets. 

In another meeting, President Tinubu received executives of Airbus/ATR, and assured them that the aviation sector would be “streamlined for efficiency’’, especially in maintenance of aircrafts and training.

Senior Vice President of Airbus/ATR, Public Affairs, Laurent Rahul Domergue, assured the President that the company was prepared to invest in the aviation sector, particularly in supplying planes to Nigeria. 

Dele Alake

It is a time of overflowing emotions about matters political in Nigeria. I understand and respect that people are entitled to their dispositions. But I also recognize that society desperately needs those few who through some other strength move to the level of reason or more rational consideration of the matters of public conscience to steer society through the gap between us and them to provide the steam that result in the long term greater good of all which the emotion of the moment can unthinkingly sacrifice in the loose -loose mindset that emotions often set. Even with a win-win mindset that a rational mindset can find times like we have require the public sphere is injected with a heathy dose of rational public conversation that is purposefully patriotic and visionary.

I have often thought around these lines which is the reason I typically avoid abusive and uncivil banter on Twitter. But the importance of thinking in this disposition did not grip me in the manner it has since I recently participated in the NBA SPIDEL conference on the Judiciary and the 2023 elections.

It was easy to reach the conclusion from speaker after speaker that many believe getting justice in Nigeria is almost impossible for the common man in Nigeria. From the perennial problem of access which makes the common man throw up his hands and say ‘ I leave it to God to deal with them’ to the intellectual angered that Judicial capture or Justice for sale was eroding the institutional cornerstone of human progress, the rule of law.

It struck me that even though it may be true that pour Judiciary is not what it was when Judges gave Military rulers bloody nose in discharging their duty to justice and that many politicians say go to Cory because many of them own the Judges or have people like Senator Balkachuwa interceding for them, abroad dismissal of the Judiciary by senior Lawyers alongside citizens pushes society closer to anarchy for without that hope that a good judge may be lurking in the corner the survival of the fittest becomes the order. That is how a country can travel the road to Somalia. So what to do?

In my view Patriots, thinking people and true citizens who can liberate themselves from the emotions of man’s most base parochial instinct which drives them to deepen the gap between us and them, have to identify the existential crisis in Judicial collapse or delegitimization of the Judiciary in the current Judiciary bashing, deserved as it may seem. All have the obligation to forge horizontal linkages to find pathways to saving one of modernity’s most important institutions, impartial and blind justice. Just talk will not do. Action that should yield impact is important here. And the time for it is now before Afghanistan embraces us.

Questioning justness of the Law is not new. It is even healthy in a manner of speaking. In 1850 the French Laissez-faire Thought Leader Frederic Bastiat wrote a much regarded small book, The Law. He exposed Law as an instrument the powerful use to define right and wrong relative to their interest. Oppressive as it’s essence may be it comes to be the basis of shared values and boundaries to conduct which then reduce uncertainty and makes it easier to risk investments that make for growth and development. 

The challenge therefore is that nation building makes making the Justice system better for all a constant work in progress. How shall we set hand to plough on this cause?

On my part I have already reached out to some stakeholders for the convoking of a colloquium in grave urgency. 

Elements of this conversation must include a way of celebrating judges of integrity, calling out Lawyers that corrupt judges, remunerating judges so well that only the very greedy are tented with corrupt gain, and denoting a serious multi stakeholder participating process for selecting judges. In this age of the Aristocracy of talent, as Adrian Wooldridge appropriately calls it. Our judges must be top talent and so remunerated. The judges must then be isolated from those who may seek to influence them, with institutional firewalls.

It is not enough that Budget allocation to the Judiciary be a first charge item it must be such neither of the other two arms of government can have much influence on judiciary finance administration. 

Add to this significant civil society Judiciary watch and an Ombudsman role beyond the Old boy league of the NJC and redemption way yet come to this foundational Institution.

When in Spring 1996 at a Hoover Institution event at Stanford I met Douglass North whose insights into how Institutions evolve was so profound it rightly earned him a Nobel Prize in Economics my big question was about the role of civil society and Associational life in how Institutions evolve. I am convinced from his response that he would agree with my placing much at the feet of Lawyers and the Nigerian Bar Association in the rescue mission on the Judiciary. I would particularly charge activism to the retired or retiring senior Lawyers.

Many years ago I made these same points at a conference of the Lagos Bar, encouraging some Lawyers to found LIFFE, Lawyers Interested In Free and Fair Elections. I am not now sure where the LFFE effort is.

Pat Utomi

Mr. Allen Sowore, an Ondo State-based legal practitioner has urged the state Acting Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, to use the power conferred on him by Governor Rotimi Akeredolu to reshuffle the state cabinet.

Recall that Akeredolu transmitted the power to Aiyedatiwa to act as the governor while he (Akeredolu) proceeded on medical leave to attend to his ill health outside the country.

But it was gathered that there was internal rancor within the state cabinet following the absence of the governor.

In a statement issued on Friday, Sowore frowned at the activities of some members of Akeredolu’s cabinet, whom he described as a ‘cabal’, saying they were allegedly frustrating the acting governor from performing his duties as stated in the constitution.

The statement was titled ‘Akeredolu’s medical leave: before Ondo State skid into full anarchy and mobocracy’.

Quoting Section 190 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the lawyer said, “Whenever the governor transmits to the Speaker of the House of Assembly a written declaration that he is proceeding on vacation or that he is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office until he transmits to the Speaker of the House of Assembly a written declaration to the contrary such functions shall be discharged by the deputy governor as acting governor.”

“Therefore, it is instructive and behooves all the state government officials – political and civil servants – to report and take orders from the acting governor the manner and way they would have done to Mr. Governor. Anything to the contrary is tantamount to an act of insubordination.

“But sadly, with a deep sense of patriotism, we regret to note the satanic activities of some members of the ‘Ondo State Cabal’ to sabotage and subvert the acting governor’s effort to assume the full and smooth running of government and its machinery while Mr Governor is away as stipulated by law.

“They don’t want the Aiyedatiwa to feature, attend or even appear at any serious state function outside the state. They want to cage him so that he will not have a national connection and recognition as the acting governor.

“The surreptitious sponsored blackmails to smear and besmirch the reputation of the acting governor in some sections of the media should not be allowed a breath in a sane society. Not even a state prided as the intellectual plinth of South Western Nigeria.”

“I will not advise or counsel the acting governor to sack or terminate the appointment of any public office holder in the state like the then Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo did to the former Director General of State Security Service, Lawal Daura. He will be playing at the gallery.

“Appropriately, a cabinet reshuffle and rejig of the state cabinet may be desirable to ensure the requisite unity of command in the instant circumstance. As critical stakeholders, we simply can not afford to look away while the state skid into full anarchy and mobocracy.”