The Ebonyi State Chapter of the Labour Party (LP) has expressed confidence that only its presidential candidate in the 2023 general election, Peter Obi, can salvage the Nigerian economy from its declining fortunes.
LP made the assertion in a communiqué issued at the end of an expanded stakeholders meeting in Abakaliki, signed by Linus Okorie (Ebonyi South Senatorial Zone), Dr Ezeh Emmanuel Ezeh (Ebonyi North Senatorial Zone) and Emmanuel Nwobo (Central Senatorial Zone).
The party urged Nigerians to identify with its quest to take power and move the nation to greater heights.
The stakeholders also urged feuding party members to sheath their divisive swords in the overall interest of the Labour Party and target to better the lives of many Nigerians.
The communiqué stated, “The members of the National Transition Committee, NTC, of the Labour Party, Chief Fidelis Nwankwo, Rt. Hon. Linus Okorie and Dr Ezeh Emmanuel Ezeh, convened the stakeholders briefing with a view to informing members of the Labour Party, Ebonyi State Chapter, about the future political activities of the emerging Labour Party, which include mobilisation of new members and registration.
“The members of the NTC also shared details of the 2023 post-election reviews conducted by the national and state working committees of the party and consequently resolved as follows:
“That His Excellency, Mr. Peter Obi, remains the National Leader of the Party and he, Mr Obi, is bestowed with the appropriate competences to salvage the Nigerian economy from its declining fortunes.
“Stakeholders observed the need to support the National Transition Committee in her bid to conduct an all-inclusive state congress and national convention of the Labour Party, respectively.
“Furthermore, stakeholders urged feuding stakeholders of the party to sheath their divisive swords in the overall interest of Labour Party and our target to better the lots of Nigerians.
“That a united Labour Party, Ebonyi State Chapter, shall pursue vigorously the conversion and registration of new members into the party at the right and designated time and also set a target of 400,000 members.”
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, Mustapha Muhammad Inuwa, has asserted that the crisis rocking the party at the national and state level was lately fuelled by the FCT minister, Nyesom Wike, and former Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom.
Inuwa, the campaign director of Atiku/Lado in Katsina State during the 2023 general elections, made this known at a stakeholders’ meeting in Katsina where issues about the party’s crisis in the state were discussed.
A former national secretary of the PDP, Umar Ibrahim Tsauri, who chaired the meeting, vowed to do anything possible to salvage the party in Katsina before the upcoming congresses.
Also speaking at the meeting, Inuwa said Wike and Ortom are destabilising the opposition party in favour of President Bola Tinubu ahead of the 2027 election.
He said, “It is a common knowledge that both Wike and Ortom have declared that they have no presidential candidate to support in the 2027 elections, but they endorsed President Tinubu.
“Their main aim was not to win election but to weaken the party (PDP) ahead of the 2027 election in favour of President Tinubu and that is why they are using stooges in the state to fulfil their mission.”
Recall that some stakeholders in Katsina have accused a faction led by the 2023 governorship candidate, Yakubu Lado Danmarke, with the backing of the state caretaker committee appointed by the national working committee, of concealing the party Congresses forms.
A former national vice chairman (North-West) of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Salihu Lukman, has described former Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo and the likes of former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai as political orphans.
Lukman, who spoke of a proposed coalition among top political bigwigs in the country, listed El-Rufai, Osinbajo, former Minister of the Interior of Nigeria – Rauf Aregbesola, former Governor of Ogun State, Ibikunle Amosun and former governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi, among others seeking to occupy the nation’s top political seat via merger.
According to him, the APC leaders have been sidelined by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s government and have been pushed to the peripheral edges of Nigerian politics.
Lukman, however, in a press release issued to the media in Abuja on Sunday, said the APC chieftain must bury their presidential ambition and focus on pushing for a better Nigeria.
He emphasized that as long as the goals of Nigerian politicians are confined to winning elections and installing new elected officials, Nigerian democracy will be incapable of combating the phenomenon of ‘state capture’, which is currently at an advanced stage of infiltrating the Federal Government.
He said: “Unfortunately, given the advanced stage of ‘state capture’ at the Federal level, most political leaders, including the leading opposition leaders such as Alh. Atiku Abubakar, Mr. Peter Obi and Sen. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso are all operating in isolation to one another. APC leaders such as former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Chief Rotimi Amaechi, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, Sen. Ibikunle Amosun, Mal. Nasir El-Rufai, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesole etc., who are more like political orphans on account of being excluded from the President Asiwaju Tinubu government, have been pushed to the peripheral edges of Nigerian politics.
“Although there are some indicative political activities taking place around some of these political leaders, it has not graduated to the level of commitment to building the kind of strong political parties capable of threatening the APC and President Asiwaju Tinubu, which is needed to guarantee the future of Nigerian democracy.
“Building strong political parties in the country capable of responding to the challenges facing citizens and reversing the phenomenon of ‘state capture’ at all levels is about political leaders agreeing to form a united front across all parties. Forming a united front is about recognising the shortcomings of individual leaders and being able to forgive misgivings of the past. The ability to forgive misgivings of the past is a fundamental requirement for political leaders to be able to orient themselves and provide the needed leadership for national reconciliation. The inability of APC, both under former President Buhari and now under President Asiwaju Tinubu, to orient itself on the path of national reconciliation represents one of the biggest political failures ever experienced in the country.”
Lukman emphasized the necessity of creating a united political front that can bring together leaders from all regions of the country, especially in light of the widening fault lines caused by the failure of the APC.
He said it is crucial that this new front garners widespread acceptance across Nigeria.
Lukman stressed that all political figures, including Atiku and Obi, should refrain from exploiting this opportunity to further their Presidential ambitions.
Similarly, he urged APC leaders like Osinbajo, Amaechi, Fayemi, El-Rufai, Amosu and others with aspirations for the Presidency to set aside their ambitions during the negotiations for the united political front.
A former National Vice Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Salihu Lukman, has accused the ruling party of failing to deliver its campaign promises to Nigerians.
According to Lukman, the failure of the APC has surpassed that of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which was ousted in 2015.
Recall that former President, Goodluck Jonathan of the PDP lost the 2015 presidential election to Muhammadu Buhari and has continued to govern the country.
However, amid the numerous challenges facing the country at the moment, Lukman, in a press release handed to journalists in Abuja on Sunday, expressed concern over the current state of affairs in the country.
The former Director General of the Progressives Governors Forum (PGF) criticized the APC for failing to fulfil its promise of leading the fight against corruption, instead allowing corruption to thrive and endorsing the concept of ‘state capture’ across various levels.
“What were the failings of the PDP? The failings of the PDP are reflected in the same way today’s challenges are manifesting. If the truth is to be told, whatever the failings of the PDP in 2015, it was less grievous than what it has become under APC in 2024,” Lukman noted in the press release.
He said: “What is the future of democracy in Nigeria? Is there any prospect that it can produce leaders who are responsive to national challenges? Being responsive is basically about ensuring that public expenditures are oriented to tackle challenges facing citizens. What are the challenges facing Nigerians today? Poverty, unemployment, insecurity, drugs and substance abuse, millions of out-of-school children in the North, etc. Not to mention the additional problems of inflation and the crash of the value of incomes, especially in the last year under the leadership of President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“Although some officials of the government of President Asiwaju Tinubu have attempted to explain the current hardship Nigerians are facing with reference to the bad economy inherited from the previous administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, the reality is that both are APC Governments. If anything, APC became very popular in Nigeria on account of the failings of the PDP. What were the failings of the PDP? The failings of the PDP are reflected in the same way today’s challenges are manifesting. If the truth is to be told, whatever the failings of the PDP in 2015, it was less grievous than what it has become under APC in 2024.
“No doubt, former President Buhari had his problems as a leader. However, whatever was estimated to be his failure should be the shared responsibility of APC leaders in varying degrees, including President Asiwaju Tinubu. No leader of APC should attempt to distance himself/herself from the failure of the Buhari era, certainly, not President Asiwaju Tinubu. In one way or the other, APC leaders, without exception, are ‘beneficiaries’ of the Buhari era, just as some of them could claim to be victims. On balance however, APC leaders benefited more from the Buhari era than being victims. At least electorally, former President Buhari made it possible for APC to defeat the PDP. Without former President Buhari, the defeat of the PDP in 2015 would have been almost impossible, and by extension, arguably, it would have been difficult, if not impossible, for President Asiwaju Tinubu to become President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“Unfortunately, having defeated the PDP in 2015, the APC failed to produce the needed collective leadership required to manage the machinery of governments produced by the party at all levels. Gradually, APC succeeded in turning democracy on its head. Instead of producing democratic leaders, elected leaders increasingly became emperors and overlords. State machinery became captured and privatised to almost exclusively only serve the interests of elected representatives.”
[NaijaNews]
President Bola Tinubu has been re-elected as the chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), about one year after he took over the leadership of the regional bloc.
The Nigerian leader who rose to power in May 2023 was re-elected as the ECOWAS chairman during the 65th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government. That event took place at the Presidential Villa in Nigeria’s Abuja capital on Sunday.
Stabilising Fund
During his opening remark at the summit, President Tinubu urged ECOWAS member states to make financial commitments to help in the battle against terrorism in the region.
“As we move to operationalise the ECOWAS Standby Force (ESF) in combating terrorism, I must emphasise that the success of this plan requires not only strong political will but also substantial financial resources,” he told the gathering.
“We must therefore ensure that we meet the expectations and recommendations set forth by our ministers of defence and finance in order to counter the insecurity and stabilise our region. Member states must make extra commitments to providing resources for stabilising the region.”
Coup-Hit Region
In recent years, ECOWAS has been hit by a wave of coups in member nations. Niger Republic, Mali, and Burkina Faso have been taken over by junta leaders.
ECOWAS had in the wake of the coups imposed a raft of sanctions including border closure on the three nations.
While they were lifted in February, the countries left the regional bloc a few days later. The trio said they have “irrevocably turned their backs” on ECOWAS and have instead formed the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).
During the AES maiden summit in the Nigerien capital of Niamey on Saturday, Niger Republic’s military leader Abdourahamane Tiani accused ECOWAS of incompetence in tackling jihadists’ incursion into the region.
“Our people have irrevocably turned their backs on ECOWAS,” Tiani insisted.
“The AES is the only effective sub-regional grouping in the fight against terrorism,” Tiani declared on Saturday, calling ECOWAS “conspicuous by its lack of involvement in this fight”.
The exit came as the trio shifted away from former colonial ruler France, with Tiani calling for the new bloc to become a “community far removed from the stranglehold of foreign powers”.
[Channels TV]
The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, will swear in 12 judges into the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory on Wednesday, July 10, 2024.
According to Channels Television, this was disclosed on Sunday in a statement by the Director of Press and Information of the Supreme Court, Dr. Festus Akande.
The ceremony is scheduled to take place at the Main Courtroom of the apex court by 10am.
Meanwhile, among the 12 judges to be sworn in is the CJN’s daughter-in-law, Ariwoola Oluwakemi Victoria.
Here is the full list of all 12 judges:
1.Ariwoola Oluwakemi Victoria (Oyo State)
2.Ademuyiwa Olakunle Oyeyipo (Kwara State)
3.Bamodu Odunayo Olutomi (Lagos State)
4.Iheabunike Anumaenwe Godwin (Imo State)
5.Odo Celestine Obinna (Enugu State)
6.Hauwa Lawal Gummi (Zamfara State)
7.Sarah Benjamin Inesu Avoh (Bayelsa State)
8.Maryam Iye Yusuf (Kogi State)
9.Buetnaan Mandy Bassi (Plateau State)
10.Lesley Nkesi Belema Wike (Rivers State)
11.Ibrahim Tanko Munirat (Bauchi State)
12.Abdulrahman Usman (Taraba State)
Recall that on May 17, 2024, the National Judicial Council recommended a total of 86 judicial officers for appointment into federal and state courts across the country.
The recommendations were made by the council’s Interview Committee on Appointment of Judicial Officers of all Superior Courts of Record in Nigeria, during the NJC’s 105th plenary meeting held between May 15 and 16, 2024.
This was according to a statement issued by the council’s Director of Information, Soji Oye.
…as ABUAD/NSE hold maiden industrial park trade fair
Legal luminary and Elder Statesman, Aare Afe Babalola has said that Nigeria will remain perpetually poor it fails to produce rather than consume more.
Babalola made this known over the weekend in Ado-Ekiti, while performing the dual role of declaring open, the maiden edition of Afe Babalola University (ABUAD) Industrial Park Trade Fair, in conjunction with the state chapter of the Nigeria Society of Engineers, (NSE), and later, while receiving the executives of the Akure Branch of the Nigeria Bar Association, (NBA), who came to present to him, the Icon Award for Excellence.
Babalola warned that the country might continue in stagnation, for as long as the incurable attitude of indiscipline, poor work attitude, lack of vision and patriotism are tolerated.
He called Nigerians and its leaders to be genuinely ready and willing to change the narrative, for the country to grow while describing the industrial park as a technology hub, designed to bridge the gap between research and industry, as well as provide employment opportunities for many jobless graduates and youths.
He also expressed regrets over rising incidences of some Courts, now in the habit of fragrantly delivering contradictory judgments, on same subject matter, asking members of the NBA nationwide to urgently convey a meeting, and rise to the occasion, to put a stop to further dent and embarrassment such abnormality was daily causing the legal profession.
“It is true Nigeria today, is in the doldrums. That however does not mean we should throw patriotism and national interest into the mud. This is because to me, Nigeria can still become like USA of this world, or other great countries alike.
“But the bitter truth is that Nigeria can not suddenly become a USA with the way we do things continually and still expect different results. Nigeria is such a rich country, blessed with resources, good weather, friendly climate and money.
“Unfortunately however, aside many other obvious factors, the very point where we began to get things wrong is that Nigeria is a nation that consume more than it produces, and the bitter truth here is that, any country that does that, will remain perpetually poor.
“As a leader by example, even at my age, I abhor laziness and complacency. I do work for 18 hours daily. I do not buy food, I grow them in the farm, I do not buy pepper, tomatoes, chicken or fish, I produce them. How many Nigerians does that?
“As a result, ABUAD was conceived by me, not only as an innovative institution to change things for the better, but also as a deliberate way of giving back to the society, what I did not get, on a platter of gold.
“Even though I did not have the opportunity of going beyond conventional primary School, neither did I have opportunity of conventional, class studies of secondary or university education, I struggled on my own, out of strong determination to succeed, coupled with uncommon commitment, to get myself educated at both secondary level, and later university of London, all through correspondence studies.
“But I thank God today that in all, God has rewarded my dedication, and endowed me with something extra: the ability to work hard, to achieve desired results.
He therefore urged Nigerians to embrace hard work, honesty and faith in the country, to achieve greatness.
He expressed confidence that the country would be great again, only if leaders and the citizens can start emulating some of the principles that ABUAD had imbibed over the few years of it’s establishment.
“I make bold to say that our performance gives us the hope in this country that Nigeria can achieve what we have achieved, if we all agree to change the old ways of doing things.
“Nigeria can be greater. With hard work, the way we are doing things here, with hard work, honesty and faith, Nigeria can be better and get out of doldrums. I believe that hardship breeds determination, determination breeds faith, and faith never fails.” he said.
In his remarks, the NBA Akure, Ondo State Branch Chairman, Banjo Ayenakin, who described Babalola as a trailblazer and exceptional icon, commended him for being a most generous and versatile Nigerian.
He said: “If we have a few more of your type in this country, the story will change for the better. If we all work and lift individuals and groups, the way Baba Afe Babalola is doing on regular basis, across tribes, cultures and political divide, even at his age, and at the expense of his hard earned resources, there will be no much problems of any sort for anyone in this country.”
Also speaking, at the industrial park maiden trade fair, Chairman, Ekiti chapter of the NSE, Prof. Oluwasegun Aluko, expressed gratitude to Babalola for establishing the park, which he said was designed to accommodate124 cottage industries, and thereby give a boost to use of locally explored raw materials.
The Vice Chancellor of ABUAD, Prof. Smaranda Olarinde, in her welcome address at the events, commended Babalola for deploying his hard-earned resources in championing the needed revolution in the education sector with the establishment of both the University, and the industrial park, among others.
According to Olarinde, ABUAD was recently ranked the best Nigerian University for the third consecutive time, 4th in Africa and 142th in the world, as recently published in the 2024 Times Higher Education Impact Rankings.
Besides, she said the university also ranked first globally for SDG 7 on Affordable and Clean Energy, Outreach Programmes scoring 98%, and Stewardship Programmes with 98.2%.
She said though only about 15 years old, ABUAD’s accomplishments in Law, Medicine, Engineering, the Sciences and Social and Management Sciences in the past few years of its existence, had put the university on the international grid of world-class institutions.
A Nigerian couple, Agbakoba John Mmadu and Agbakoba Ijeoma Chinwe, who allegedly led a high-profile cocaine syndicate based in Lagos, have been arrested by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
The couple was apprehended along with an associate, Okoye Ifeoma Maryjane, during a raid where significant quantities of cocaine intended for export and local distribution were seized.
Femi Babafemi, the NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, announced in a statement on Sunday that the arrest followed months of intelligence gathering and surveillance by a special operations unit targeting the notorious drug syndicate.
The group is known for packaging, distributing, and trafficking cocaine within Nigeria and internationally.
Babafemi said, “The 54-year-old Agbakoba John Mmadu was arrested at Ago palace way, Okota while his wife, Agbakoba Ijeoma Chinwe, 39, and associate, Okoye Ifeoma Maryjane, 31, who doubles as their stash keeper, were nabbed at Plot 2205 Eugene Ndubisi close, Lilly Estate, Amuwo Odofin area of Lagos, all on Wednesday, 3rd July 2024.
“While seven parcels of cocaine with a total weight of 7.652 kilograms were recovered from Mmadu at Ago palace way, not less than one hundred and twenty-two (122) compressed pellets of the same drug weighing 2.42kg were seized from the duo of Ijeoma and Ifeoma at Lilly Estate, bringing the total seizure to 10.1 kilograms valued at over N2.1 billion in street value.”
President Bola Tinubu’s tenure as the chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government comes to an end today (Sunday).
The 65th Ordinary Session of the Authority is holding at the Presidential Villa in Abuja where he is expected to pass on the torch to another leader.
Tinubu was unanimously endorsed as chairman in July 2024 at the 63rd Ordinary Session of the Authority in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau.
Since then, the Nigerian leader has dealt with challenges particularly military coups in member states.
The president initially took a strong stance against unconstitutional changes of government in Niger Republic, Burkina Faso, Mali and Guinea, overseeing the imposition of sanctions on them.
However, the sanctions were later lifted as the sub-regional body opted for a more peaceful approach to resolve the issues.
The president played a critical role in ensuring the success of the 2024 Senegalese election by facilitating dialogue between stakeholders.
This was as he demonstrated a strong commitment to promoting democracy in the sub-region during the year.
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), on Sunday, announced that the national grid, which experienced a partial disturbance yesterday, has been fully restored.
Recall that the grid collapse, which occurred for the fourth time in 2024, threw Nigerians into total darkness.
The incident, which occurred at approximately 15:09PM on July 6, 2024, and restored by 21:57PM, marked the third partial disturbance and the fourth overall grid disturbance this year.
However, TCN in a statement issued by its General Manager of Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah, in Abuja, said the grid disturbance was triggered by the unexpected tripping of three units at a power generating station, resulting in a sudden loss of 313MW from the grid.
She said the restoration efforts began immediately after the incident, adding that by 21:57 hours on the same day, the affected sections of the grid were successfully restored.
“The Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, hereby states that there was a partial disturbance of the grid at about 15.09 hours yesterday, 6th July 2024.
“The system disturbance, which brings to three, the partial grid disturbances, with one total disturbance this year, is suspected to have been triggered by the unexpected tripping of three (3) units of a power generating station, which suddenly removed 313MW from the grid, causing system instability that led to the loss of bulk supply to a section of the national grid.
“Meanwhile, the System Operator reacted to the sudden drop in generation which led to a dip in frequency, by islanding a section of the grid which includes the Ibom Power Station through which the company continued to feed Uyo, Aba, Itu, Eket, Calabar e.t.c even when the other section of the grid had no supply.
“Also, the operators commenced grid restoration efforts immediately after the incident. At about 21.57 hrs yesterday, the entire part of the grid that was affected by today’s incident was successfully restored”, she said.
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After Flooding, Lagos Issues 48-Hour Quit Notice To Property Owners Blocking Drainage Channels
AFOLABI
Following last Wednesday’s floods in Lagos State, occasioned by heavy rainfall, the state government has given a 48-hour vacation notice to squatters and owners of illegal structures along Gbagada-Bariga drainage channel.
The state’s Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, who disclosed this on Sunday, said the activities of squatters and property owners in the area had blocked drainage channels, thereby resulting in the flooding experienced during the week.
“Lagos State government gives property owners who built illegal structures and squatters along Gbagada Bariga Channel a 48-hour vacation notice.
“The drainage channel which defloods Bariga, Gbagada, Sholuyi downstream communities and environs, and discharges into System 1 has been taken over by squatters who has constituted nuisance and security risks to the Estate, and property owners who deliberately built to obstruct free flow of water in the area. Shanties were erected along the length of the channel and their activities had blocked collectors that are supposed to carry stormwater into the Channel which resulted to the flooding experienced during the week,” Wahab said in a post on X.
He noted that upon expiration of the notices served, the operatives of Lagos State Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources would commence removal of contravening structures in order to unflood the area.
Last Wednesday downpour lasted for about 10 hours, and affected areas such as Eredo, Bojije, Epe, Sangotedo, Ibeju-Lekki, Awoyaya, Labora, and Abijon.
Other areas affected include Iyana-Oworo, Agege, Ijegun-Isheri Osun and Gbagada.
The flood grounded vehicular movement, and led to the collapse of a two-storey building in the Mushin area of the state.
Also, a 61-year old man, while wading through the floods around Orile-Iganmu, held on to a street light pole and got electrocuted.
Court Orders Buhari’s Minister, Sadiya Umar Farouq, To Account For ₦729 Billion Meant For Poor Nigerians
AFOLABI
A Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered a former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disasters Management and Social Development, Sadia Umar-Farouk to account for the payments of ₦729 billion to 24.3 million poor Nigerians for six months.
Umar-Farouk was also ordered to provide the list and details of the beneficiaries who received the payments, the number of states covered and the payments per state.
The judgment was delivered in June by Hon. Justice Deinde Isaac Dipeolu following a Freedom of Information suit numbered FHC/L/CS/853/2021, brought by the Socio-Economic Rights And Accountability Project (SERAP).
SERAP disclosed that it obtained the certified true copy of the judgment last Friday.
In his judgment, Justice Dipeolu held that, “The former minister is compelled by the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act to give information to any person including SERAP.
“I therefore grant an order of mandamus directing and compelling the minister to provide the spending details of N729 billion to 24.3 million poor Nigerians in 2021.
Justice Dipeolu ordered the minister to “provide SERAP with details of how the beneficiaries have been selected and the mechanisms for the payments to the beneficiaries.”
Justice Dipeolu also ordered the minister to “explain the rationale for paying N5,000 to 24.3 million poor Nigerians, which translates to five percent of Nigeria’s budget of N13.6 trillion for 2021.”
Justice Dipeolu also stated that, “The minister did not give any reason for the refusal to disclose the details sought by SERAP. SERAP has reeled out the relevant sections of the Freedom of Information Act 2011 that the minister contravened and has, in line with sections 20 and 25(1) of the Act, prayed this Court for an order of mandamus to direct and compel the minister to provide the information sought.”
Justice Dipeolu dismissed the objections raised by the minister’s counsel and upheld SERAP’s arguments. Consequently, the court entered judgment in favour of SERAP against the minister.
Remarks by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, held on Saturday, July 6, 2024, at the National Press Centre, Abuja.
Admin
The Federal Government under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has maintained an open arm relationship with the media. It is in line with the philosophy of the President as an avowed democrat who spent a lifetime fighting for the entrenchment of democracy and human rights.
This administration has remained very tolerant of media criticism and guaranteed citizens' rights to freedom of expression. It is however disheartening that some elements are abusing this free environment guaranteed by the Government. We are alarmed by the level of reckless reporting and statements by some media organisations and individuals that border on national security and stability.
While we sometimes view and treat those occasional reporting as part of media's normal work, we have now seen a pattern that is difficult to be wished away as normal journalism.
The insidious and inciting publications by the Daily Trust these past months have come across as nothing but a deliberate effort to brush the government with a tar. On many occasions we have restrained ourselves from believing that this was the case but the consistency of the jejune and mischievous publications leaves us with no option.
In the aftermath of the coup in Niger Republic, Daily Trust championed a jaundiced narrative that the Federal Government was driving the country into a war and twisted it with regional sentiment to cause disaffection. The same newspaper gave a banner headline to a baseless accusation that the Government was working on citing foreign military bases in the country. Neither Daily Trust nor originators of that imaginative allegation provided any shred of evidence.
Then just two weeks ago, Daily Trust concocted and popularised a lie that the Federal Government had renamed the Murtala Mohammed Expressway in Abuja to Wole Soyinka Way. In all those instances all that the paper depended on were falsehood and hearsays. They also showed no remorse or the humility to recant.
We however did not envisage that Daily Trust and people behind it could decend to the reckless level of attempting to set the country on fire by falsely accusing the government of signing a deal to promote LGBTQ. We found that despicable and wicked because the allegation is nowhere in the document signed. Surprisingly, the paper put forward no evidence nor provided the agreement allegedly signed to prove their point.
The baseless and sensational story unfortunately formed a basis for khutba (sermons) by some of our respected imams who were misled by the story thereby raising tempers.
On the part of the Government, we continue on the honourable path of civility by restraining ourselves from taking self-help or draconian measures. While past governments clamped down on the media for infractions much lower than this, we are however toeing the path of civility and the rule of law.
This afternoon, I have the Honourable Minister of Budget and National Planning to provide more clarity on this issue.
But beyond this, the Federal Government is lodging a formal complaint to the NPAN Ombudsman on this irresponsible reporting.
In addition, the Federal Government will use every lawful means to seek redress in the court of law.
The Federal Government once again restates its friendly policy towards ethical media and free speech. We would however not take fake news and disinformation that would injure the peace of our country and it's national security lightly.
We once again thank you for your support and cooperation.
States across Nigeria experienced another round of blackout on Saturday as the national electricity power grid crashed to 70.60 megawatts around 4 pm.
It marked the seventh time the national grid would collapse in 2024. The previous collapses were on February 4, April 10, April 15, March 11, March 12, and March 28.
During the inauguration of the 31-member Presidential Economic Coordination Council held at the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Thursday, President Bola Tinubu described the current low electricity generation in the country as shameful.
Tinubu said, “We have the challenge of energy security in Nigeria. We need to work together to improve our oil and gas sector, and we must also increase electricity generation, as well as distribution throughout the country. We are determined to do that with your cooperation, collaboration, and recommendations. As a nation, it is so shameful that we are still generating 4.5GW of electricity.”
Data on the ‘Nigeria Grid: Generation Profile’ supplied by the Transmission Company of Nigeria, indicated that the country’s power generation crashed to 70.60MW on Saturday.
Electricity generation initially increased from 3,788.63MW to 3,976.24MW around 10am yesterday, but dropped to 1,075.08MW at 3 pm, before crashing to 70.60MW around 4 pm. It was observed that only the Trans-Amadi Gas Turbine Power Plant in Rivers State supplied power to the grid around 4 pm on Saturday, producing just 0.80MW at the time. Power generation on the grid moved up slightly to 72.30MW around 5 pm, as engineers from TCN struggled to restore the grid, according to sources from the transmission company.
DisCos lament
Confirming the collapse of the grid, the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company, in a statement, said all its interfaces in the TCN stations were out of supply, adding that it was unable to provide services to customers in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo states.
“The Enugu Electricity Distribution Company wishes to inform its esteemed customers of a general system collapse which occurred at 15:09 hours today, July 6, 2024. This has resulted in the loss of supply currently being experienced across the network. Due to this development, all our interface TCN stations are out of supply, and we are unable to provide services to our customers in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo states. We are on standby awaiting detailed information on the collapse and restoration of supply from the National Control Centre, Osogbo,” a statement signed by the EEDC’s Head of Corporate Communications, Emeka Ezeh, read.
The Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company also tweeted on X, “We regret to inform you that the power outage being experienced in our franchise states is due to the system collapse of the national grid.”
Similarly, the Kano DisCo said, “We regret to inform you that the power outage being experienced in our franchise states is due to the system collapse of the national grid. The collapse occurred at about 3:10pm, hence the loss of supply in all our outgoing feeders. The power supply shall be restored as soon as the national grid is powered back. Our sincere apologies for any inconvenience.”
In a statement released by its management on Saturday, titled, Notice of System Collapse, Ikeja DisCo equally appealed to its customers to bear with the company for its inability to supply power, noting that it was due to the national grid collapse. It said, “The current service disruption is due to a system collapse of the national grid at about 15:08 hours today. We are in collaboration with relevant stakeholders within the power value chain to ensure speedy restoration of supply.”
Meanwhile, data on the TCN Discos load profile site showed that all the eight Discos had 0.00MW load allocation as of 6pm on Saturday.
‘Incessant grid collapse embarrassing’
Commenting on the development, Adetayo Adegbemle, who is the convener and Executive Director of PowerUp Nigeria, an electricity consumer rights and power sector policy advocacy organisation, stated that everyone involved in the electricity value chain should be embarrassed by their inability to prevent grid collapses.
Adegbemle added that some people should be sacked to fix the situation. He said, “I think everyone involved in the value chain should be embarrassed by the regular occurrence and inability to put measures in place to avoid this constant grid collapse. It is unfortunate because everyone blames others.
“I believe that if heads had been rolling for people not taking responsibility, someone would have stood up to fix this problem.”
Suggesting a way forward, Adegbemle said, “There is a need to align the value chain, and that was something the Siemens deal promised to achieve. If the head of TCN, for instance, were to lose his job tonight, the next MD would be more willing to work with other subsectors to ensure this does not happen again.
“Whatever is needed to forestall these grid collapses is definitely in the hands of the leadership of the TCN, especially.”
Also reacting, the Executive Director of the Electricity Consumer Protection Advocacy Centre, Princewill Okorie, regretted that the grid kept collapsing, despite the increase in electricity tariffs.
Okorie expressed concern that unmetered customers would still be made to pay for the period of the collapse, questioning what the government had been doing to prevent such incidents.
Asking some pertinent questions, Okorie said, “What are the causes of these grid collapses? Are the materials used in building the grid of good quality? Who is managing the grid? The players in the sector are more interested in collecting money from consumers, rather than making the system stable. What you hear more about the power sector is payment. The money that international communities are bringing into the industry and the money that is unlawfully collected from consumers—where is it being utilised? How do the DisCos spend their operational expenditures?
“In the past few months, they keep increasing tariffs, yet the power sector is inefficient. They are interested in collecting money, but whether the money is judiciously utilised or not, nobody cares. They keep overbilling customers. The desperation to collect revenue for services not delivered is a challenge. Now that the grid has collapsed, the unmetered customers will still be made to pay for darkness. That is injustice. The government should address this issue of grid collapse once and for all.”
NECA urges upgrade of power grid
On his part, the Director-General of the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association, Adewale Oyerinde, urged the government to address the persistent collapse of the national power grid.
He stated that the incessant collapses severely disrupt power supply, leading to erratic electricity provision across the country, stressing that the power grid should be upgraded. He called for swift action to prevent further disruptions and ensure a reliable power supply for all Nigerians.
Oyerinde said, “They should ensure to fix the cause of the national grid collapse. Once there is a collapse of the national grid, there won’t be power supply, or it becomes epileptic.
“We urge the government to fix the power grid, especially now that there is no subsidy on electricity. They need to upgrade the grid to stop the incessant collapse.”
[Punch]