A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Osun State, Olatunbosun Oyintiloye has decried the recent exit of multinational corporations from Nigeria.
He adviced President Bola Tinubu to bolster the economy so the nation would retain and attract more investors.
The former state House of Assembly member highlighted the potential repercussions of multinational departures.
Speaking to newsmen in Osogbo, Osun State on Sunday, he identified diminished foreign investment, extensive job losses, and economic downturn as some of the effect of the multinationals exit.
Oyintiloye cited notable exits like Kimberly-Clark, the makers of Huggies, alongside GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria Plc and others, which have either fully or partially ceased operations.
He acknowledged Tinubu’s efforts to stabilise the economy, but pointed out the urgency of addressing business environment hurdles cited by departing firms.
The APC chieftain insisted that the government needs to restore Nigeria as an attractive destination for multinationals and empower local manufacturing industries.
He proposed flexible foreign exchange policies, tax breaks, and incentives to retain existing investors.
According to him, “There is no doubt that the president has been putting measures in place to revamp the economy, increasing foreign direct investment and also making local industries vibrant and competitive.
“Government should create a more flexible and transparent foreign exchange policy to address scarcity issues , reduce the inflationary trend which has reduced consumers’ demand and purchasing power, Create tax breaks, review economic and fiscal policy.
“The government should also look at how to give incentives to some of the multinationals that are still operating in the country.”
The government of President Bola Tinubu has been sued over failure to publish spending details of the loans obtained by the governments of former presidents since the return to democracy in 1999.
The suit was filed against the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, and the Debt Management Office (DMO) by Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP).
In the suit number FHC/L/CS/353/2024 filed last Friday at the Federal High Court, Lagos, SERAP is asking the court to direct and compel Tinubu’s government to publish the loan agreements obtained by the governments of former presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari.
Aside publishing the spending details of any such loans, the organisation is also asking the court to direct and compel the government to include the interests and other payments so far made on the loans.
According to SERAP, publishing the spending details of such loans will help to explain why, despite several billions of dollars in loans obtained by successive governments, millions of Nigerians continue to face extreme poverty and lack access to basic public goods and services.
The organisation is argues that accountability of government to the general public is a hallmark of democratic governance, which Nigeria seeks to achieve.
The suit filed on behalf of SERAP by its lawyers Kolawole Oluwadare and Andrew Nwankwo, read in part: “Publishing the loan agreements would improve public accountability in ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).”
“Nigerians are entitled to information about what their government is doing in their name. This is part of their right to information.”
“Publishing the agreements and spending details would allow the public to see how and on what these governments spent the loans and foster transparency and accountability.”
“Publishing the loan agreements signed by the governments of former presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari, and widely publishing the agreements would allow Nigerians to scrutinise it and to demand accountability for the spending of the loans.”
“According to Nigeria’s Debt Management Office, the total public domestic debt portfolio for the country’s is N97.3 trillion ($108 billion). The Federal Government’s debt is N87.3 trillion ($97 billion).”
“Nigeria paid $6.2 billion in 2019 as interest on loans while the country paid $6.5 as interest in 2018. Nigeria also paid $5 billion as interest on loans in 2017 while the country paid $4.4 billion as interest in 2016. For 2015, the interest paid on loans was $5.5 billion.”
“Substantial parts of the loans obtained by successive governments since the return of democracy in 1999 may have been mismanaged, diverted or stolen, and in any case remain unaccounted for.”
“Persons with public responsibilities ought to be answerable to the people for the performance of their duties including the management of the loans obtained between May 1999 and May 2023.”
Meanwhile, no date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit.
The city of Aba in Abia State has been engulfed in tension following a series of reprisal actions by soldiers in response to the killing of five of their colleagues at Obikabia Junction, Ogbor Hill, on Thursday, May 30.
The deceased soldiers were ambushed by unknown gunmen who also set ablaze two military vans and their checkpoint.
In the days following the attack, soldiers conducted extensive raids across Aba, targeting motorists and residents in what appeared to be a quest for retribution.
These operations have significantly heightened fear among the populace, with many preferring to stay indoors to avoid potential arrest or assault.
The atmosphere of fear was exacerbated by the presence of military helicopters patrolling the skies over Aba, observed continuously three days post-incident.
Despite Governor Alex Otti’s reassurances to innocent citizens that they can continue their daily activities without fear, the palpable tension has led to a shutdown of nightlife and a slow return to normalcy in the city.
Businesses, particularly in the Ogbor Hill vicinity where the initial attack occurred, have been slow to reopen, with proprietors and patrons wary of further military action.
Reports from Sunday Vanguard indicate that even local churches in the Obikabia area have suspended activities due to fears of military intrusion.
The economic impact of the military’s forceful response is considerable. A restaurant owner, identified as Mama Uche, reported losses exceeding ₦200,000 as perishable goods spoiled after she was forced to flee her establishment.
Similarly, a trader from Cemetery Market missed a significant supply contract due to the abrupt market closure and reported military blockades on the Abia-Rivers boundary.
Recreational spots and hotels have also felt the brunt of the military’s heavy-handedness, with reports of soldiers storming hotel premises, conducting room searches, and detaining guests and staff.
Some detainees have been released after profiling, yet others remain in custody without clear charges.
A laundry operator in one of the new hotels along Ukaegbu Road said soldiers invaded their hotel at about 2am, ransacked rooms and arrested all lodgers and staff members.
He said: “Soldiers invaded our hotel around 2am, ransacked all the rooms and arrested all lodgers and members of staff.
“We were moved to a military camp in Aba where some people were screened and released.
“But some are still being detained. Since the invasion of the hotel by the soldiers, guests no longer visit for lodging and relaxation.
“At the moment, people are afraid, no business because there is fear everywhere.
“We pray that the situation will soon return to normal for business to start booming again.”
[NaijaNews]
The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) has cautioned Nigerian citizens travelling through Switzerland regarding the possession of laser pointers at their airports, a statement issued on Friday by Gabriel Odu of Media, Public Relations and Protocols Unit of NIDCOM said.
This advisory follows the recent detention of Dr. Andrew Etsetowaghan at Geneva Airport for carrying a presentation pointer in his hand luggage after the pointers had been banned in Switzerland since June 1, 2019 of which he was not aware
Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman/CEO NiDCOM, noted that many immigrants might be unaware of this regulation and urged Nigerian travelers to exercise caution to avoid similar incidents.
Dr. Etsetowaghan, a public health expert and Project Director at the Centre for Clinical Care and Clinical Research Nigeria, was detained on May 25, 2024, after attending a United States Department meeting in Geneva.
Dr. Etsetowaghan , who was part of an official delegation ,recounted his ordeal saying “Upon going through security at Geneva Airport, I was informed that my presentation pointer was not allowed in Switzerland.
“I was detained, had my belongings and documents seized, and was subjected to several hours of interrogation and solitary confinement in a cell.
“Despite my compliance, the treatment I received was inhumane, including limited access to bathroom facilities and being forced to sign documents in French under duress.”
He called for measures to prevent such incidents in the future and urged a review of the procedures and better awareness of the banned items to ensure travelers are well-informed.
Reacting to the incident, NiDCOM emphasized the importance of raising awareness about such prohibited items in Switzerland Airports and urged Swiss authorities to enhance their communication on such regulations, describing Etseowaghan’s ordeal as “avoidable”.
[Leadership]
Organised Labour on Saturday tackled the state governors, accusing them of acting in bad faith towards the new minimum wage negotiations ongoing in the country.
Recall that the governors under the aegis of the Nigeria Governors Forum rejected the proposed N60,000 minimum wage for Nigerian workers.
In a statement issued on Friday by the Director of Media and Public Affairs for NGF, Halimah Ahmed, the governors said the proposed minimum wage was too high and not sustainable.
The governors said if the N60,000 minimum wage is adopted, many states would allocate their entire Federal Account Allocation Committee funds to salaries, leaving no resources for development projects.
However reacting on Saturday, the Organised Labour faulted the NGF’s position, saying every part of the new minimum wage agreement should be implemented and any of the state governors who can’t pay it should resign.
Speaking with Sunday PUNCH, Deputy National President of the Trade Union Congress, Tommy Etim, said, “There is no minimum wage. Every segment of it should be implemented. For the governors, we have said it very clearly. If you cannot pay minimum wage, please resign because you were voted for governance not for only infrastructure.”
“If you build the entire infrastructure and the people are not living to use it, who will use it? When they were campaigning did they tell us that? They didn’t tell us that. They make use of the poor to get to the top and when they get there, they start thinking outside the box. All the money they spent in electioneering campaigns, if they applied that to build infrastructure, to develop the revenue generation that would have solved some socio-economic challenges in their domain,” Etim said.
Describing the NGF statement as a recipe for industrial unrest, he said, “In this same country, the governors said that N30,000 was too much for governors to pay but it is in the same country that a governor emerged with over N80bn. What an irony! We cannot jump processes. We will also look at it together. Labour will be meeting. We are giving Mr President the benefit of the doubt to work the talk. The end will justify the means.”
Also reacting in a statement signed by its Head of Public Affairs, Benson Upah, the Nigerian Labour Congress said, “We do believe the Governors have acted in bad faith. It is unheard of for such a statement to be issued to the world in the middle of an on-going negotiation. It is certainly in bad taste.
“As for the veracity of their claim, nothing can be further from the truth as FAAC allocations have since moved from N700bn to N1.2tn, making the governments extremely rich at the expense of the people.
“All that the governors need to do to be able to pay a reasonable national minimum wage (not even the N60,000) is cut on the high cost of governance, minimise corruption as well as prioritise the welfare of workers.”
[Punch]
•‘I didn’t know I will come out of detention in Kebbi alive’
•Says Tinubu not exhibiting the values of democracy
•‘Beko and I warned Saro-Wiwa not to return to PH’
Of momentous events that have shaped the Nigeria we know today, the June 12 presidential election, of 1993 stands out for good and not for worse or bad. The significance it embodies accounts for why the event still resonates 31 years later.
Reflecting on the import of the poll, which was won by the late Chief MKO Abiola, Prof Odion Akhaine, who was detained for fighting for the revalidation of the election, laments that the ethos of June 12 is not being displayed by the current crop of leaders in Nigeria. He also shares his June 12 story, which explains the price some patriots paid to birth democracy in the country.
Within the context of the significance June 12 has assumed in Nigeria’s history, do you think June 12 has been substantially immortalised?
I think the best way to imortalise June 12 is to actually practice what June 12 represents. It was a day Nigerians voted in a free and fair election. If you look at Nigerian elections from 1999 to date, we have never had free and fair elections. All elections have actually been disputed. If you recall, in 2007, the elections were brazenly rigged, making the Commonwealth observers say that Nigerians went below standards.
And they observed that there were unique ways of rigging that had never happened before. It means that in terms of what June 12 represents, we have observed it in breach. And every attempt to nudge us towards free and fair elections is often subverted by state actors, especially politicians in the country. That is a tragedy.
But it has another symbolic significance, which is the fact that it reminds us that military rule is not an alternative to democracy. And if we had survived military rule, it reminds us that we have to practice our democracy according to the rules. As Nigerians observe the ritual every year now that June 12 is now the Democracy Day, it throws up all the contradictions of the process since 1999. And we have to resolve these contradictions.
Last polls
In the last elections, Nigerians voted and expected that results would be transmitted from the polling units, which was what the INEC Result Viewing Portal, IREV, represented, but that was not to be. We need to work on those recipes by making votes count and not alienating voters. These are the things I think we need to do if we must value June 12 for what it represents.
We have observed June 12 in breach because elections are not free and fair. Even when you organise talk shows, it is significant. If you ask me, the way to mark it is to shame political actors for their non-performance. None of the current actors apart from the President was around when we engaged the military.
All the so-called beneficiaries of June 12 today were nowhere to be found when we fought the military. They were not there, but they are the elements who have perpetuated themselves in power, subverting the proper way of leadership recruitment and nudging our democracy into a kind of dictatorship of a clique. We should remember the veterans, who fought for this democracy and underscore those things they agitated for.
And if you ask me, we haven’t achieved many of those things. What we have is electroless, which means going to the polls at the end of every four years to elect news actors who have already subverted the will of Nigerians. When we were fighting the military, we were talking about restructuring the military and that hasn’t been done.
What the current state actors are doing because they are so ignorant of statecraft, they are even deepening the contradictions of the Nigerian state. For example, the so-called local government autonomy they are talking about, it is true the governors at the level of the state have subverted local governments in terms of financial autonomy. But the way to do it is not to revive local as state structure, because people don’t understand the difference between local government as a tier of government and tier of the state.
A tier of government is different from a tier of the state. What they are doing now is to reinforce local government as a tier of the states. Nigeria is a federation and it is a covenant among people. It meant that people came together to say they wanted to build a state to advance their mutual interests. Local government is an administrative unit within that context. So, it is the state government that ought to create local government. 774 local governments were created by the military. Now, they are trying to refer to them as a tier of the Nigerian state and not the government. That is what the autonomy bill seeks to achieve, therefore, deepening the contradictions of the Nigerian state and further units arising from the states.
The first thing to do is to ensure that the local government should remain within the jurisdiction of the state government. The idea of allocating resources to local government from the state account is an anomaly. The revenue at the centre must be shared between the federating states and the centre. It is left for the federating states, within their local parliament to allocate resources to the local governments, outside the resources that local governments can generate within the schedule of the 1999 Constitution. They have to be aware. But the current Attorney General of the Federation is looking for an activity hype, to be seen to be doing something.
Unfortunately, the state governments do not understand the issue. They look at it from the point of view that they want to block their access to local government joint accounts. That is not the issue. You don’t resolve a contradiction with another contradiction. For me, these are some of the issues the June 12 struggle represents. We must not forget that the Nigerian state must be restructured from the current skewed federation. The National Assembly has tried to do a few things, but they have also misplaced priorities. We all saw how they reverted to a colonial anthem they could hardly sing. It is a shame for the nation.
There were issues thrown up by the National Conference, which they have refused to review. For instance, one way of deepening our democracy, if we want good people in government, is by legalising independent candidacy. I think the Ninth Assembly passed that bill but it hasn’t been assented to. Tinubu should assent to the bill on June 12. Nigerians with integrity should stand for elections whether they have a party or not.
The Buhari administration went a step further by declaring June 12 Nigeria’s Democracy Day. Do you think that is substantial enough and puts an end to the immortalisation of June 12?
I think the argument we should be making is that June 12 must represent substance. If you declare a day as Democracy Day, that is significant enough except people will now say that Abiola should be recognised posthumously as President.
I am not against it if they want to resurrect it. What is more significant is that June 12 has been recognised as Democracy Day. In the country, it is historical unless the lawmakers develop a brainwave and decide to revert it. People who could revert to an old anthem can do anything.
June 12 has its own life now. In America there is something called the Spirit of 1776, which guides Americans on the path of patriotism. Do you think Nigerians can rightly say there is this spirit of June 12 in how democracy is practiced in the country?
All we have analysed so far shows there’s a vacuum and we are yet to value June 12. If you look at it from the point of view of other sections of the country, you will see Buhari’s action as being driven by national reconciliation. A section of the country was denied the presidency and we needed to right the wrong. In righting the wrong, I have not seen that nationalist vibe to it. For instance, the North, even though some were part of the struggle, did not see it as a national issue the way people in the South-West see it. For them, it is a reconciliatory gesture, but it has yet to assume that position like the Spirit of 1776 in America.
Most of the current practitioners hardly know anything about June 12. I have not seen any of them who were deeply involved in the struggle. However, we have the current Kaduna State governor, Uba Sani, who worked with Shehu Sani, who was the Vice President of Campaign for Democracy, Kaduna Zone, at the time. President Tinubu was there before he went into exile. All those making noise now were not there. That is why they don’t value democracy. It is also the reason they only line their pockets while the Nigerian workers can barely feed themselves.
You have a country that produces oil, but citizens cannot access petrol. Now, they are talking about compressed natural gas, CNG. If they do that, who says there won’t be scarcity of gas like petrol? The current state actors do not have a bearing. To make June 12 have a national spirit is to ensure that whoever comes to power must know the direction of the country.
President Tinubu and a few others in this administration were also involved in the June 12 struggles. But there is this feeling out there that these people who were supposed to be the beacons are not living up to the June 12 creed now that they are in government…
When we talk about June 12, we have a way of describing many people as being part of the struggle. Who are those in government who were part of the struggle? Maybe Bayo Onanuga, who was an Editor at The News. Dele Alake just happened to be in Concord at the time, and Concord belonged to Chief MKO Abiola. That doesn’t make them June 12 activists. All Nigerian journalists at the time were at the barricade. Some journalists like Nosa Igiebor were clear about June 12 and what it represents.
Unfortunately, the President who was there is not exhibiting the values of democracy as far as I am concerned. He needs a think-tank. His policies so far haven’t shown that he has a think-tank or a team that is thinking. It will be a disaster for all of us in that struggle to see a president, who was part of that struggle, derail and engender dictatorship in the country.
The civil society played a major role in the June 12 struggle. When you look at the role of today’s civil society given the perceived maladministration in the country, what comes to your mind?
The point to make is that in terms of the conceptualization of civil society, we often miss the point. When you talk about civil society, there is a difference between social movements and Non-Governmental Organisations, NGOs. What we have today are NGOs with a remit that is often dictated by the funders. Social movement could be a coalition of groups like market women associations, professional associations and others, who come together to pursue basic causes about the transformation of society. That was what we had when we were fighting the military.
People didn’t know the Campaign for Democracy, CD, didn’t receive any funding from outside during that period. People funded the organisation through their personal pockets. Beko Ransome-Kuti gave us his house to use as an office. We all know what happened to Beko.
He was detained severally and he eventually died. You need a life and death matter to wake people up from slumber to come together to fight bad governance in the country. The NGOs that are also funded by donor agencies and democracy promoters have their agenda. When Nigeria began the democratization process in 1999, these funding agencies directed their funding to government through the Ministry of Budget and National Planning.
The funds were not given to the civil society to the extent that the civil society was directed to apply for funding through the ministry. Hardly can you point to any NGO in Nigeria today that has an independent source of funding. We need to rebuild the civil society as fighting organs and not NGOs that are doing creative accounting to their funders.
You were detained severally for the sake of June 12 and had a close shave severally. Can you share your June 12 story?
June 12 reminds me of the crisis of governance in this country. And like veterans, when you look back, you just thank God that you are still alive to even talk about it. I wasn’t sure I was going to come out of detention alive, particularly when I heard that Ken Saro-Wiwa had been hanged by Abacha. I was in Birnin Kebbi Prison at the time.
Beko Ransome-Kuti and I met Ken Saro-Wiwa on the evening he was returning to Port Harcourt. And we were telling him not to go back and that he would be picked up. He was a stubborn man. He went back and they picked him up. That was the last time Saro-Wiwa saw freedom until the day he was hanged. I knew that Ken Saro-Wiwa wasn’t in Port Harcourt the day the killings he was accused of instigating took place. When I learnt he was killed, I lost hope because I was accused of seeking foreign assistance to form an army.
I felt that if that was my accusation, mine was finished. What I did was that I started learning Hausa so that in the event that I decided to jump the prison wall, I would be able to speak with the people. The pain is that I haven’t seen all the values we fought for and represent. In fact, the current elite treat people with integrity as lepers. They are frightened when they see us.
During those periods that you were detained, did you ever think of quitting the struggle?
The reason I am alive was because I was completely innocent. I was committed to the struggle. At the time, I wasn’t afraid of anything. When you get to that point, you don’t consider death as something you could be scared of. I was driven from Lagos with three armed men to Kebbi. I was first taken to Anka and Arugungu. For six months nobody knew where I was until the late Chief Anthony Enahoro filed a suit in Lagos, asking them to release or charge me to court.
It was within those six months that I managed to smuggle a letter out of the prison, which got to Femi Falana Chambers. That was how the world knew I was in Kebbi. The journey itself was a journey of death. If you believe in a cause, you don’t have a reason to regret it. It is more painful today when you don’t see that kind of commitment anymore.
We were young men at the time who were fresh from school. When you look back today, you don’t find that kind of spirit anymore. Our role now is to inspire hope in Nigeria, and hope is possible. History moves irrespective of our will. The direction this current President is headed, which is impoverishing Nigerians, will lead to a change, but I may not know the colour of that change.
Court orders final forfeiture of private varsity built by ex-civil servant with ‘stolen funds’
Admin
The federal high court sitting in Abuja has ordered the final forfeiture of NOK University and all of its assets said to be linked to one Anthony Hassan, a former director of finance and accounts at the federal ministry of health.
In a 2022 ruling on an ex parte motion marked FHC/ABJ/CS/688/2022, and filed by Ekele Iheanacho, counsel for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the federal high court had ordered that the institution be temporarily forfeited to the federal government.
The commission had alleged that Hassan diverted public funds with which he acquired the identified assets.
The EFCC also alleged that the former director diverted the funds running into billions of naira through the government integrated financial management information system (GIFMIS).
GIFMIS, an IT-based system for accounting and budget management, was designed by the federal government to actualise integrated and automated information systems and promote modernised fiscal processes.
In a statement on Saturday, the EFCC said it had filed an order of final forfeiture of the said properties.
The statement said Iheanacho established before the court the fact that Hassan built NOK University using proceeds of unlawful activities traced to him.
Physical assets of the university forfeited include the senate building, ICT building, faculty of medicine building, science deanery building, two academic buildings, a faculty hall and other buildings.
The judge also ordered the interim forfeiture of Gwasmyen water factory, Gwasmyen event centre and Gwasmyen international hotel, all said to be linked to Hassan.
“The Commission, had, through its investigative Officer, Adaora Asabe Oragudosi investigated some verified intelligence bordering on criminal conspiracy, stealing, abuse of office and money laundering against some staff of the Federal Ministry of Health where the properties ordered forfeited were traced to the defendant,” the statement reads.
Delivering judgment on the matter on Friday, the court held that the respondent failed woefully in tilting the scale of evidence in his favour.
[TheCable]
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) is poised for President Bola Tinubu’s verdict on the newly proposed ₦62,000 minimum wage, which emerged from recent discussions between the Federal Government and the Organised Private Sector.
NLC President, Joe Ajaero, expressed that the President’s response would significantly influence Organised Labour’s forthcoming actions.
The proposal, adopted at Friday’s meeting of the Tripartite Committee on the new minimum wage in Abuja, was initially met with resistance from labour representatives.
Trade Union Congress (TUC) President, Festus Osifo immediately rejected the figure, stating that labour would not accept anything less than ₦250,000 as a fair minimum wage.
In addition, the NLC issued a statement criticizing state governors for their refusal to even meet the previously proposed ₦60,000, labelling their stance as detrimental to the welfare of economically vulnerable groups.
Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, alongside TUC President Osifo, confirmed the ₦62,000 figure at the conclusion of the Tripartite Committee meeting.
Governor Uzodimma explained that the committee’s recommendation would be forwarded to President Tinubu, who is expected to submit an executive bill to the National Assembly outlining the final minimum wage figure.
In his conversation with The Nation, Ajaero mentioned that Labour is prepared to wait for the President to consult further before making his decision public.
He recalled how the current ₦30,000 minimum wage was set, noting that a lower figure had initially been suggested before being raised by the then-president prior to legislative approval.
Organised labour, consisting of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), condemned governors on Saturday over their recent stand on the new minimum wage in the country.
Naija News recall that the governors under the aegis of the Nigeria Governors Forum rejected the proposed ₦60,000 minimum wage for Nigerian workers.
The Director of Media and Public Affairs for NGF, Halimah Ahmed, noted in a statement released on Friday that the governors said the proposed minimum wage was too high and unsustainable.
The governors said if the ₦60,000 minimum wage is adopted, many states will allocate their entire Federal Account Allocation Committee funds to salaries, leaving no resources for development projects.
However, reacting on Saturday, the Organised Labour faulted the NGF’s position, saying every part of the new minimum wage agreement should be implemented and any of the state governors who can’t pay it should resign.
In an interview with Punch, Tommy Etim, the Deputy National President of the Trade Union Congress, said, “There is no minimum wage. Every segment of it should be implemented. For the governors, we have said it very clearly. If you cannot pay minimum wage, please resign because you were voted for governance, not only infrastructure.
“If you build the entire infrastructure and the people are not living to use it, who will use it? When they were campaigning did they tell us that? They didn’t tell us that. They make use of the poor to get to the top and when they get there, they start thinking outside the box. All the money they spent in electioneering campaigns, if they applied that to build infrastructure, to develop the revenue generation that would have solved some socio-economic challenges in their domain.”
Describing the NGF statement as a recipe for industrial unrest, he said, “In this same country, the governors said that ₦30,000 was too much for governors to pay but it is in the same country that a governor emerged with over ₦80bn. What an irony! We cannot jump processes. We will also look at it together. Labour will be meeting. We are giving Mr President the benefit of the doubt to work the talk. The end will justify the means.”
Puts current figure of out-of-school children at 989,234
Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano State, yesterday, revealed that upon assumption of office on May 29, 2023, his administration met no fewer than 4.7 million pupils sitting on bare floors in primary schools across the state.
Yusuf, who spoke while declaring state of emergency on Education in Kano at the Open Arena, Kano Government House, said the lack of instructional materials further compounded the problem.
According to him, it left teachers and students to struggle with outdated and insufficient resources.
His words: “Above 4.7 million pupils are sitting on bare floors to take lessons while about 400 schools have only one teacher for all classes subjects and all pupils. Rather than building more classrooms and providing basic furniture in the schools, as well as hiring more teachers, the administration we took over from chose to butcher the land belonging to those schools. In some places, it demolished classrooms to create space for shops.
“Those schools that they could not sell, they closed them down and got them vandalized. The encroachment of public school lands and the conversion of these vital institutions into private business premises is an affront to our communal values and a direct assault on our commitment to public education. This reckless appropriation of educational spaces for commercial use is unacceptable and must stop immediately.
“Today, I stand before you with a profound sense of duty, compelled by the pressing need to address the precarious state of our education sector. As your elected governor, entrusted with the solemn responsibility of steering our state towards prosperity and progress, I cannot ignore the glaring reality that confronts us in the realm of education.
“And with education being our number one priority, and believing that education is not only a public good, but is also the greatest asset that any people can bequeat to its upcoming generation because no people can grow beyond the quality and standard of their education system, we must, therefore, take radical but practical measures to reposition education provisioning in our state.
“It is with a heavy heart that I bring forth this discourse, as the challenges we face in the education sector are as formidable as they are alarming, and the urgency with which we must act is undeniable.
“Our educational landscape, once a beacon of hope and opportunity for our youths, and an example for other states to copy, now stands shrouded in the shadows of unacceptable neglect and decay. Our beloved state is witnessing an alarming proliferation of out-of-school children, with the current figure standing at 989,234 children.”
More...
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) have confirmed that they have not received any formal report or petition regarding the alleged ₦423 billion misappropriation by the administration of former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai.
The Kaduna State House of Assembly had previously established a 13-man panel chaired by Deputy Speaker Henry Danjuma to investigate El-Rufai’s tenure.
This followed claims by the current Governor, Uba Sani, about inheriting a significant debt burden which he detailed during a town hall meeting. According to Sani, the state was left with “$587 million, ₦85 billion, and 115 contractual liabilities.”
The assembly’s probe was initiated to scrutinize the finances, loans, and contracts awarded under El-Rufai, amid allegations of rampant financial mismanagement.
During a session on Wednesday, Danjuma reported that numerous loans were misapplied and some procurements breached due processes.
Speaker Yusuf Liman, upon receiving the committee’s findings, declared that El-Rufai’s government had misappropriated N423 billion, resulting in massive financial liabilities for the state.
Despite these severe allegations, ICPC spokesperson Demola Bakare informed Sunday PUNCH that the state assembly has yet to approach the commission with an official petition concerning the matter.
Bakare said, “They made that statement, but we have not received the report; but if they bring it, we know what to do. It’s an intention. It’s still an intention, and they have not sent the report to us for investigation.”
Concerning whether the ICPC would commence a probe into the matter if it receives the report of the Kaduna State Assembly, the spokesperson answered in the affirmative.
He said, “That is what we are established to do, if we receive a report, we don’t want to be criticised as killing the report; hence we’ll look into it, and if we’re able to establish a prima facie case, we’ll bring it to a logical conclusion. But we have not received any report in this regard.”
Also, impeccable EFCC sources, who spoke with the platform on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak, confirmed that the EFCC had yet to receive a petition from the Kaduna State Assembly concerning the money laundering allegations against El-Rufai.
A source said, “The EFCC does not work just based on what is reported. But if they (Kaduna Assembly) bring a petition to us, we’ll look into.”
Another source revealed, “There are processes and procedures, however, if they send a petition to the EFCC, we’ll act on it.”
Bukola Saraki, the 8th Nigerian Senate President, has accused former president, Muhammadu Buhari of trying to use the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to frame him up of fraud to weaken his tenure.
Saraki who ruled under President Buhari between 2015-2019, made the accusation on his official facebook handle, while celebrating the Supreme Court’s judgement delivered on Friday, overturning the Federal High Court’s 2018 decision regarding an alleged N3.5 billion fraud case against Melrose General Services Limited.
Prior to the judgment, the EFCC had accused Melrose General Services Limited of obtaining N1.4bn from the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) through false claims.
The Commission therefore, secured the final forfeiture of the said N1.4bn through the Federal High Court, but being dissatisfied with the court ruling, Melrose General Services approached the Supreme Court for redress.
At the resumed session held on 14th March 2024, counsel to the appellant, Kehinde Ogunwumiju informed the apex court of a motion seeking to set aside of the judgment of the Court of Appeal.
He premised his argument on the fact that the money involved in the forfeiture suit is not a proceed of any unlawful activity, but payment for a contractual and consultancy agreement.
He therefore prayed that the decision of the high court on the forfeiture be reversed.
However, the EFCC Counsel, Ekele Iheanacho, informed the court of his counter-affidavit dated 11th March 2024, praying the court to adopt his brief of argument and dismiss the appeal of the appellant
He said: “My Lords, we seek the leave of your noble Lordships to undertake a brief overview of the concept of forfeiture granted by the two courts below in a bid to drive home the 1st respondent `s case.
“There are generally two types of forfeitures used to recover the proceeds and instrumentalities of crimes. They share the same objective, namely the forfeiture to the state of the proceeds and instrumentalities of crime. Both share common two-fold rationales”, he said.
“Recall that appellant filed his notice of appeal against the well-considered judgment of the Federal High Court which was equally dismissed by the Court of Appeal on May 31, 2019, having found that the appellant failed to show that the said funds are not proceeds of crime.
“Further to the background of the matter, the EFCC carried out investigations which revealed among others the sum of N3.5bn was fraudulently paid to the appellant to carry out a consultancy job for the Nigerian Governors Forum, NGF, under the guise that the appellant carried out a consultancy job for the NGF entitling it to the money when it did not do any such work.
“The appellant made several withdrawals within a short time leaving N1,222,384,857.84 before the EFCC intervened.
“Further investigation led to the recovery of an additional sum of N220m which the appellant had paid to WASP Networks Ltd and Thebe Wellness Services”.
Meanwhile, after listening to all the submissions, the five-man panel of the apex court reserved judgment on the matter till 7th June, 2024.
However, delivering a judgment on 7th June, the Supreme Court panel led by Justice Akomaye Agim set aside the judgments of the lower courts and ruled in favour of the appellant, Melrose General Services.
Celebrating the victory of Melrose, Saraki said: “Yesterday’s ruling by the Supreme Court, which overturned the 2018 decision of the Federal High Court regarding an alleged N3.5 billion fraud case against Melrose General Services Ltd., has brought a long and arduous legal ordeal to a just and welcome conclusion.
“As much as this case was between the EFCC and Melrose General Services Limited, it was a proxy war, with Melrose serving as a mere pawn in a larger scheme to victimise and persecute me.
“It was always clear that this case, just like my CCT case, was a thinly veiled attempt by the Buhari administration to use the EFCC for political gain.
“The allegations of “Paris Club Fraud” were nothing more than a smokescreen designed to weaken my office as President of the Senate and tarnish my reputation through spurious accusations similar to the Code of Conduct Tribunal, from which I was also acquitted.
“As I said at the CCT, this case too was a politically motivated attack, not on corruption, but on the very foundations of our democracy.
“It aimed to undermine the independence of the judiciary, the separation of powers, and checks and balances—principles I have always fiercely defended.
“They hoped that by targeting me, they could sow discord within the legislature, turning colleagues against each other, ultimately weakening the institution of the Senate, and silencing dissenting voices.”
The former Senate President said because of this he is grateful to Almighty Allah (SWT), the ultimate arbiter of justice, for guiding the Supreme Court to this righteous verdict.
He also commended the judiciary for their meticulous examination of the evidence and adherence to due process, which ensured that justice prevailed.
“I also thank Melrose’s legal team for their tireless efforts in seeing this case to a just conclusion.
“Moving forward, we all have to canvas for fairness in the fight against corruption.
“We should see this verdict as an inspiration to champion the rule of law, promote democracy and its institutions, and tolerate divergent views,” he said.
Former Governor of Sokoto State, Attahiru Bafarawa, has shared his thoughts on the call for the merger of political parties ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Bafarawa, in an interview with Punch, noted that the problem in the country is not the political party, the politicians are the problem of Democracy.
He noted that most politicians in the country were once members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) or the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Bafarawa, who spoke on the claim that the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, visited him and the move for the merger of political parties, said, “I was not visited by Peter Obi. But this merger that is being talked about will not help matters. It’s still the same people in the PDP and APC. It’s not the political party that’s the problem; we, the politicians, are the problem of our democracy. So, it’s not a question of changing A, B, C, or D. There’s nobody who’s not once a member of the PDP or the APC. They are in the same category. It’s like a football game where they’re passing the ball to their colleagues. While they’re doing that, no umpire blows the whistle; that’s why everything is messed up.
“Unless we tell ourselves the truth, be honest with ourselves, and see how we can commit ourselves to moving the country forward together, nothing much can be achieved.”
Speaking on the PDP’s possible presidential candidate in 2027, Bafarawa said if Obi decides to return to the party, “The people, Nigerians, will decide who the flag bearer will be.”
A prominent member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, Joe Korka-Waadah, has disclosed that the party is uniting behind Governor Siminalayi Fubara as the consensus candidate for the 2027 gubernatorial election.
This development arises amidst concerns regarding former Governor Nyesom Wike’s recent stance towards Governor Fubara.
In a statement made available to journalists on Friday, Korka-Waadah noted that the consensus is driven by a desire to ensure continuity and stability in the state’s leadership.
He mentioned that this decision reflects the collective will of a newly formed political movement within Rivers State, which aims to foster unity and progressive governance.
He said, “Due to the litany of political missteps of Nyesom Wike, a new political movement has emerged in Rivers state. His overbearing attitude has compelled a new wave of political force to emerge.
“Stakeholders of all political strides have come together. Reconciliation has taken place among former political enemies in the state. Even those who were lapsed politically are now at the forefront of this battle to save the state from the grip of a known and established hegemon.
“There is a strong likelihood that come 2027, Rivers State may have only one governorship candidate unopposed. Most, if not all other parties would collapse their structures into one.
“Looking at the horizon, in the search for that rallying figure, Governor Sim Fubara would likely be the candidate that would stand unopposed in 2027 from the way things are going.
“Through his sudden twist of fate, from emerging against the odds to reign at the helms, from being guided through soft landing into sudden thrust into adversity, Fubara has been handling it all with tact, humility, open mindedness and magnanimity.
“From his policies, prudent, selfless and transparent management of the commonwealth and respect for even development of Rivers state in the choice and spread of milestone projects, Fubara is proving to be that governor for all Rivers the state has never had in the past eight years.
“Amidst the ongoing consultations, deliberate and debates towards unification through harmonisation of interests, he is proving to be the dominant choice with the feelers from stakeholders.
“For too long, Rivers, our state has suffered as the common conduit powers brokers of national politics feast on to filter away our enviable resources while perpetually dividing us. The time to end that narrative is here. Enough is enough.”