The attention of the Naval Headquarters has been drawn to a malicious publication by   some online media such as Peoples Gazette, opr.news, hallmarknews and others alleging

the refusal of the outgoing Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral AZ Gambo CFR to hand over to the incoming Chief of the Naval Staff, Rear Admiral EI Ogalla.

The media reports are totally lies, misleading and capable of spreading falsehood to unsuspecting members of the public. It is therefore necessary to put the record straight.

Suffice to state that handing and taking over ceremony in the Nigerian Navy from inception is procedural. Upon the announcement of the change of the ‘Watch on deck’, the outgoing CNS is expected to give detailed brief to the incoming CNS, tour key naval facilities and perform the ceremonial lowering of ensign. Accordingly, the programme of events leading to the formal handing and taking over ceremony has kicked off to culminate at a public ceremony on Friday 23 June 2023 in line with age-long naval

tradition.

Instructively, it is pertinent to mention that sister Services are also due to hand over as they have set aside specific dates for their handing and taking over ceremonies.

Members of the public are therefore advised to discountenance the malicious publication and erroneous information as a figment of the reporter’s imagination.

You are please requested to disseminate this information to the general public.

Signed

AO AYO-VAUGHAN

Commodore

Director of Information

Protesting members of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on Wednesday prevented work activities at the premises of Shaanxi Construction Engineering Group Corporation, a Chinese construction company responsible for building the new headquarters of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Lugbe, Abuja.

The NLC expressed their protest against what they described as dehumanizing working conditions endured by Nigerian workers at the Chinese company. They aimed to liberate the workers from what they perceived as slavery-like conditions.

Initially, the Chinese company resisted the entrance of the NLC leadership and their picketing team onto the company premises. However, they later opened the gate and received the complaint from the workers’ union.

The management of the construction company did not comment on the protest or respond to the allegations made by the NLC.

The Chinese government had undertaken the construction of the new ECOWAS Secretariat as part of an aid package to the West African regional organization.

During the protest, the General Secretary of the NLC, Comrade Emma Ugboaja, expressed concern about the alleged inhumane treatment of workers at the construction site. He stated that the NLC had responded to a complaint from the construction workers’ union in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) regarding poor working conditions at the site.

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According to Ugboaja, the Chinese company engaged the workers on an ad hoc basis without providing any employment terms or welfare benefits, including medical services.

He expressed regret that due to the deplorable work conditions, one of the workers, a driver named Mr Augustine, had died due to neglect and lack of timely medical attention.

Ugboaja mentioned that while the picketing action continued, the labour leadership hoped to engage in discussions with the management of Shaanxi Construction Engineering Group Corporation to address the concerns of the workers.

Referring to the deceased driver, Ugboaja said, “Mrs Ruth Augustine migrated with her husband and family to Abuja to come and earn a living. Now the man, in an aid to help build the ECOWAS Secretariat, has ended up six feet down, leaving his poor widow to face the vagaries of life: no pension, no gratuity, no food, no water, and no explanation. Where will help come from? Every day we plead with the government to provide a minimal social security net, to no avail. That is the challenge we have. This challenge is real.”

Ugboaja emphasized that, contrary to critics accusing labour of crying wolf where there are none, the widow of the deceased was present to share the tragic story of her late husband’s experience.

Ruth, the widow, narrated her ordeal, stating that her husband had secured a job as a driver with a Chinese company last year. However, the conditions of his employment did not allow him to return home after work.

“He would work from Monday till Sunday. I asked him whether they gave him a bonus for the overtime and extra work he was doing. He said no. My husband would work from morning till night without food, and he would not be allowed to come home. Even when he did come home, he would not stay for more than an hour before hurrying back to the site,” the woman said.

Ruth explained that after her husband returned to work in January following the Christmas festivities, he stayed at the company for two months without visiting home. Worried, she called him.

“From the conversation, I knew he was very sick,” she said.

According to her, the company failed to take her husband to the hospital and also did not allow him to go home for treatment.

“When they eventually permitted him to go home, his condition had worsened. He had a swollen neck and looked highly malnourished,” she said.

The woman added that she took her husband to the Gwagwalada Teaching Hospital in Abuja and later to the National Hospital, where he passed away.

Throughout this ordeal, Mrs Augustine stated that the Chinese company failed to heed her pleas for assistance. Instead, they gave her a termination letter for her husband.

As France prepares to host world leaders at a global financial summit seeking to reconfigure global financial systems, sources in the French government say developed countries will be able to, by year end, deliver on the $100 billion climate financing pledge of 2020.

The financial summit hosted by France seeks to establish a system that will be more responsive, just and inclusive. A system that will fight inequalities, finance the climate transition, biodiversity protection, and move closer to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In 2009 at COP 15 in Copenhagen, in the context of meaningful mitigation actions and transparency on implementation, developed countries decided to commit to a goal of jointly mobilising $100 billion a year by 2020 to address the needs of developing countries.

Parties decided that this funding would come from a wide variety of sources, public and private, bilateral and multilateral, including alternative sources of finance, and that new multilateral funding for adaptation would be delivered through effective and efficient fund arrangements, with a governance structure providing for equal representation of developed and developing countries.

The commitment was formalised at COP16 in Cancun and at COP21 in Paris, it was reiterated and extended to 2025.

French officials involved in organising this week’s summit are now saying that developed countries are on their way to fulfilling this pledge by the end of 2023. The OECD in its most recent analysis (2022) put the figure mobilised by developed countries in 2020 at $83.3 billion for climate finance.

This is realised from a range of sources including bilateral public, multilateral public, export credit and the private sector.

President Emmanuel Macron of France, Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados and UN Chief Antonio Guterres amongst others are expected to comment on this at the summit starting on Thursday 22 June.

Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu is in France to attend the financial summit where he will be briefed by Nigeria’s Ambassador to France Kayode Laro, Permanent Secretary Adamu Lamuwa, and other officials on Nigeria’s position on the summit, and the scheduled sideline meetings with leaders and multilateral institutions.

Africa needs more

The president of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB), Akinwumi Adesina, in May, hinted that Africa will need $2.7 trillion to upscale climate change adaptation by 2030.

Mr Adesina made this known at the AfDB annual meeting themed: “Mobilising private sector financing for climate and green growth in Africa,” held in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

“Africa is being shortchanged by climate finance. Africa is choking. Africa will need $2.7 trillion by 2030 to finance its climate change needs,” Mr Adesina said.

Despite being the world’s lowest emitter of greenhouse gases, Africa is one of the worst hit by climate change in the world.

For instance, in 2022, Nigeria experienced one of its worst flood disasters ever. Over 26 of the 36 states in the country were affected by floods, resulting in the death of hundreds of citizens and the destruction of houses. Also, expansive hectares of farmland were ruined, and roads and bridges were washed off.

The flood affected over 2.5 million people, displaced 1.3 million; left 2,407 injured, and 603 persons dead.

This nature’s rage, believed to have been aggravated by the existential climate change effects and poor government attention, sparked humanitarian tragedies as fears of worsening food insecurity linger.

A Federal High Court in Abuja has reinstated Mahadi Aliyu Gusau as the Deputy Governor of Zamfara State.

Gusau and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) filed the action over the moves that eventually led to his impeachment in February 2022 by the Zamfara State House of Assembly.

In the judgement on Wednesday, Justice Inyang held that the indictment by the judicial panel constituted by former Governor Bello Matawalle and his impeachment were done in disregard to the matter before the court, which amounted to self-help and taking the law into their hands.

“An order is hereby made restoring the status quo of the Plaintiff/Applicant (Mahadi Aliyy Mohammed) wholly to the position of Deputy Governor of Zamfara State as at the 8th day of July, 2021 when this suit was commenced,” he said.

“An order is hereby made setting aside all the steps taken, proceeding/proceedings conducted and acts or things done by the defendants in furtherance of the purported impeachment proceedings or impeachment of the Deputy Governor of Zamfara State, during the pendency of this suit before this court.”

AIG Hakeem Odumosu, former Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, Wednesday, debunked news circulating online that he has been appointed as chairman of Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC).

Reports emerged on Tuesday night that President Bola Tinubu had approved the appointment of Odumosu as the substantive Chairman of EFCC.

But in a statement, Odumosu, who retired as an Assistant Inspector-General of Police, said he was not aware of such an appointment.

He described the circulation of the fake appointment as an unnecessary distraction by mischief makers.

“Good Morning everyone, I have been inundated with so many calls and messages between yesterday and today on a purported “EFCC Appointment”. I just want to use this opportunity to debunk this information and say it’s totally untrue.

“This information must have emanated from Mischief Makers and should be totally disregarded,” he said.

Recall that Tinubu suspended Abdulrasheed Bawa, Chairman of the EFCC.

The suspension was announced in a statement last Wednesday by Willie Bassey, Director, Information in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

Former World Bank president David Malpass has expressed confidence in President Bola Tinubu’s ending of the fuel subsidy regime and scrapping of the dual exchange rates in Nigeria, saying it will help reduce corruption in Nigeria.

Sharing a Financial Times story on steps taken by Mr Tinubu’s government, Mr Malpass described the fuel subsidy regime and dual exchange rate as harmful to the Nigerian economy.

“Glad to see @officialABAT taking concrete steps to scrap Nigeria’s harmful government subsidies and multiple exchange rates,” Mr Malpass said in a tweet on Wednesday. “These are important steps toward currency stability, lower inflation, and reduced corruption in Africa’s most populous country.”

Mr Tinubu assumed office on May 29, declaring an immediate end to fuel subsidy.

“Subsidy is gone,” Mr Tinubu said in his inaugural speech, a development that saw fuel price skyrocket from N195 to N540.

A week after he assumed office, he also ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria to float the naira, allowing banks to determine exchange rates to the dollar and other foreign currencies.

Amid these developments, the president has suspended CBN governor Godwin Emefiele and EFCC chair Abdulrahseed Bawa and ordered investigations into their respective tenures.

Mr Tinubu also signed a student loan law with stringent conditions, allowing eligible students in higher institutions access loans for their education.

His actions so far have been applauded by analysts as welcome developments. However, Nigerians have been left to suffer the immediate adverse effects of fuel subsidy removal without any palliatives put in place.

Laments Judicial Nepotism and Corruption, Says Sons, Daughters, and Acquaintances of Politicians Fill the Bench

Former Chairman of the Nigerian Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, whilst speaking to the members of the Press on Thursday, 15th of June 2023, stated unequivocally that judicial independence had been trumped and appointments to the Bench had been politicized.

He recanted that of the 34 original nominees to the Bench, 23 were sons, daughters, mistresses and acquaintances of the top-ranking politicians.

The Human Rights advocate admitted that recent appointments to the Bench were largely influenced by a senior member of the Bench (unnamed), and the appointments were made behind series of close-door meetings and back-door handshakes between the judiciary and the Executive.

He made a satirical allusion to the game of chess, claiming that judicial officers were akin to pawns in the political landscape, and are in high-demand by corrupt politicians. This Executive-Judiciary tag team, he stated sadly, was veering away from the core tenet of democracy: separation of powers, and undermining free and fair elections. He lashed out at the manipulative use of the Judiciary to secure highly coveted electoral positions, making reference to the case of Senator Adamu Bulkachuwa.

The veteran lawyer surmised rather painfully, that the judiciary did not realize the enormity of the power vested in them by the Constitution and other relevant legal frameworks. Thus, it has abdicated its core responsibility to dispense justice, choosing rather to fraternize with self-seeking, sleazy and corrupt politicians in thwarting democratic processes.

He argued that this miasma predates contemporary Judicial appointments, and has been lingering on for decades. He made reference to the Babalakin report of 1999, which he dubbed as a must-read for all legal practitioners interested in understanding the history of judicial corruption.

He advised lawyers present to trenchantly argue for prompt and speedy exit from court with the same effervescence as they argue for equal and uninhibited access to court. He presented the recent statistics of judicial decision-making, buttressed by the popular case of Mojekwu v Mojekwu, to show that unnecessary delay tactics have succeeded in robbing the Court of its power to dispense justice. “Afterall, justice delayed is justice denied”, he claimed.

He stridently condemned the Statement made by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) President, Y.C. Maikyau SAN, on Thursday, 20 June 2023. In his words, the statement made by the NBA Chairman was a disgrace, as he lacked the locus standi to make such a Statement. He further derided the Statement as a disgusting cover up to blindside members of the public from the corruption in the Nigerian Judicial Council.

Concluding, he suggested that the office of the Chief Justice of Nigeria should be unbundled. He advocated for the diffusion of the omnibus powers of the CJN, thereby allowing transparency and accountability. He equally advocated for same to be done with the NJC and the NBA. Finally, he urged for a review of the process employed in judicial appointment and candidly observed that it was inept, and should be made more democratic, like that of Kenya.

The Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) started and concluded hearing on the petition by the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) on Wednesday.

The whole proceedings lasted for about two and half hours.

APM is challenging President Bola Tinubu’s election on the grounds that his running mate, Kashim Shettma was not qualified to contest having allegedly engaged in double nomination.

Petitioner’s lawyer, G. O. Idiagbonya presented his client’s case by calling a witness, Aisha Abubakar, who described herself as the APM’s Assistant Welfare Officer.

Idiagbonya made the witness to adopt her five written statements on oath and tendered some documents through her, following which he announced the closure of the petitioner’s case.

She was cross examined by lawyers to the respondents, during which the May 26 judgment of the Supreme Court in the case by the PDP, where the apex court held that Shettima never had double nomination, was tendered.

The respondents – INEC, APC, Tinubu, Shettma and Kabir Masari – elected not to call evidence, but to rely on the May 26 Supreme Court judgment and a letter dated June 12, 2022 notifying INEC of the withdrawal of Shettma as a senatorial candidate of the APC for Borno Central Senatorial district.

The court then ordered each of the respondents to file and serve final written address within 10 days, it gave the petitioner seven days, from the date of being served by the respondents, to also file and serve it’s final written address, the respondents are to subsequently their reply.

It then adjourned till July 14 for the adoption of all final written addresses, following which a date will be set for judgment.

The Rivers State Government has withdrawn the money laundering and criminal charges brought against a former member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Chinyere Igwe.

Igwe was arrested on the eve of the February 25, 2023 presidential election and arraigned before a court, for having in his possession the sum of $499,000,000 in cash.

Igwe was, however, granted bail after some weeks.

It was alleged that the money was meant to bribe INEC officials and security personnel.

When the hearing of the matter resumed in court for proper trial on Wednesday morning, Rivers State’s Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Professor Zacchaeus Adangor, announced the withdrawal of the suit.

Adangor, however, did not give any reason for the state government’s decision to withdraw the case against Igwe.

The trial Judge, Hon. Justice Stephen Daylop-Pam, in his ruling, after the position of the state government was not opposed by the defence counsel, discharged the defendant.

Daylop-Pam also ordered the Police to return his international passport and other exhibits seized from him.

The housing allowances for members of the National Assembly may cost the country about N5.87bn yearly, according to findings.

With the annual allocation of N5.87bn, in four years the Federal Government will spend N23.48bn on the lawmakers’ accommodation.

The allowances are based on data collated from a document obtained from the website of the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Allocation Commission.

It covers allowances for accommodation (200 per cent of basic salary), domestic staff (75 per cent of basic salary), utilities (30 per cent of basic salary), house maintenance (five per cent of basic salary), wardrobe (25 per cent of basic salary) and furniture (300 per cent of basic salary).

Also, although furniture allowance is usually paid once in four years for public office holders, the frequency of payment is not disclosed for members of the National Assembly.

From the total amount, the housing allowances of the Senators will cost about N1.38bn yearly.

The amount for the Senate President and Deputy Senate President was not disclosed by the RMAFC. Therefore, the amount covers only the allowances for the 107 senators.

A breakdown shows that N4.05m was allocated for accommodation, N1.52m for domestic staff, N607,920 for utilities, N101,320 for house maintenance, N506,600 for wardrobe allowance, and N6.08m for furniture allowance.

The housing allowances of the House of Representatives members will cost N4.49bn yearly.

The amount for the Speaker and Deputy Speaker was not disclosed by the RMAFC. In addition, Isma’ila Maihanchi, member-elect of the House of Representatives for Jalingo/Yorro/Zing federal constituency in Taraba, is reportedly dead. Also, Femi Gbajabiamila, a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, resigned from the 10th House to take up his new position as the chief of staff to President Bola Tinubu. Therefore, the amount covers only the allowances for the 356 House of Representatives members.

Allocation breakdown

A breakdown shows that N3.97m was allocated for accommodation, N1.48m for domestic staff, N595,563.75 for utilities, N99,260.62 for house maintenance, N496,303.12 for wardrobe allowance, and N5.96m for furniture allowance.

Since the allocations for the Senate President and his deputy and the Speaker and his Deputy were not disclosed, it means that the N5.87bn is likely below the total amount the members of the National Assembly would get as housing allowances yearly.

Prices of residential apartments in the highbrow areas of the Federal Capital Territory have surged by at least 60 per cent due to the high demand for houses by the newly inaugurated members of the national assembly.

The areas include Maitama, Asokoro, Wuse, and other locations close to the city centre.

A member of staff of a real estate firm, who spoke with our correspondent on the condition of anonymity, confirmed the new surge in prices, adding that it was natural for prices of homes to increase with over 900 persons looking for residential apartments at the same time.

The staff member said, “Yes it has, we have over 400 NASS members with over 500 support staff looking for housing accommodation at the same time so automatically the force of demand and supply has come into play so the cost of housing has jacked up.”

Giving further explanation, a real estate agent, Bimbo, blamed the current economic realities caused by the removal of fuel subsidy and high inflation as part of the reasons for the outrageous surge in prices.

The agent further revealed that some of the senators have in the meantime decided to reside at short-let apartments pending the time they can buy their preferred residence outrightly.

The agent said, “Prices of houses in posh areas have increased drastically. Houses available for rent now go for N6m from N3m before the inauguration, other smaller places for their aides that were around N800,000 now sell for almost N1.4m. Most of the senators prefer to buy than rent and this is even more expensive, a house in those posh will cost not less than N150m.

“Also, it is not solely because of the arrival of new senators but due to current economic realities caused by the removal of fuel subsidy. Even with this number, there are still empty houses that are not occupied and the owners will instead leave them to waste than sell them for a lesser amount.

“I have also noticed that some senators prefer to stay in short lets apartments for the meantime before getting their apartments. For instance, I know someone that paid to stay in an apartment for N1m per month.”

On his part, the Executive Director of the Housing Development Advocacy Group, Festus Adebayo, welcomed the new development as it would drive positive change in the sector.

He, however, warned that this may affect prices of rent beyond the affordability of a good number of workers who are salary earners.

“Abuja is receiving over a thousand new entrants daily. The real estate sector will witness positive development but that means rent will go beyond the affordability of a good number of workers. Most landlords increase rent once the old payment expires.

“Government must provide palliative not only for govt workers but for Nigerian workers in housing.”