Comprehensive palliatives promised by President Bola Tinubu to cushion the effects of the removal of petrol subsidy may take a while to come, going by the slow pace of work of the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) the President has raised for the assignment.
The committee had been constituted on June 19 with a time frame of eight weeks to deliver on its mandate.
The implication is that by August 18, the committee’s report should be delivered to the government to enable it work on the comprehensive package of palliatives for Nigerians.
The panel is chaired by Governor Nasir Idris of Kebbi State with members such as Governors Bala Mohammed of Bauchi, Charles Soludo of Anambra, Uba Sani of Kaduna and Hyacindu Alia of Benue, as well representatives of the Organised Labour and Civil Society Organisations.
But a member of the committee says more than one month after, they were not going at the anticipated speed, saying the deadline for the assignment may not be met unless the government fast-tracked the process.
“So far, we have stayed more than one month and we feel that we are not going at the speed we anticipated”, Trade Union Congress (TUC) President, Mr Festus Osifoh, who is representing TUC on the committee, said after its meeting in Abuja. “We want government to fast-track the action to ensure that between now and the next two weeks; all the committees must have submitted their reports so that the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) can conclude its work immediately because we cannot continue to blow grammar while Nigerians are suffering and trekking long distances to work”.
Osifo noted that the Federal Government gave a two-month ultimatum for discussions to be concluded on both sides.
His words: “As of today (last Thursday), we have formed technical committees on cash transfers, intervention funds, reduction of cost of governance, fixing energy and power, developing CNG as an alternative to PMS and fixing of refineries.
“We also have technical committees on education and health as well as mass transit.
“Government gave a timeline of eight weeks, beginning from June 19. Going by that calculation, eight weeks is going to end by August 19.
“We are ready to work because the plight of Nigerian workers is a great concern to us. “Anything that would affect Nigerian workers is what we fight to correct.
“Beyond the workers, it is also about the well-being of the masses because we have a lot of Nigerians that are today unemployed.
“What we are canvassing across these technical committees is to ensure that whatever is put in place should be aimed at alternative and cheaper energy like the CNG.
“There should also be a consideration for palliatives that would better the lives of the people and the issue of reduction of cost governance.”
Earlier, the committee Chairman had assured that Nigerians would have a cause to smile soon as the body was doing its best to bring succour and ease current difficulties.
“The committee sat and deliberated on possible ways to cushion the effects of subsidy removal and very soon Nigerians will start reaping the benefits of this”, the Kebbi governor had said.
“We are determined to come up with a good and suitable outcome that will benefit Nigerians, therefore, be rest assured that the committee is up to the task.
“All we need is patience, support and cooperation from all Nigerians to enable us to achieve the set goals and objectives of establishing the committee by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.”
Damagum denies taking sides with ex-Rivers gov in party crisis
The national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is due to take a definite decision on the immediate past governor of Rivers State, Mr Nyesom Wike, following his nomination as minister by President Bola Tinubu.
Wike has been locked in a running battle with the PDP after the party decided to go into the last elections with its then National Chairman, Dr.Iyorchia Ayu, and presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, both from the North.
The Acting National Chairman, Ambassador Umar Damagum, told The Nation on the phone yesterday that consultation was already in progress on the Wike issue.
“We are already consulting with the PDP Governors Forum on the matter and the National Working Committee (NWC) will be meeting on Monday to take a definite position on it,” Damagum said.
The chairman said that contrary to allegations that the PDP has gone to bed since the outcome of the elections, the leadership has been engaging the various party organs in consultations with a view to addressing the various challenges confronting the party.
Damagum said: “There is no lull in the PDP like you said, just because you have not seen us moving to the streets. Consultations are ongoing with key stakeholders.
“Among those we are consulting with are state chairmen, the PDP Governors Forum, past National Chairmen and a select group of PDP elders.
“We are also meeting with the leadership of the PDP Youth organ next week. So we have not been idle as some people might think.”
On why the party has not convened its National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in the last 10 months, Damagum said there were still issues to be resolved before NEC meeting can hold.
The PDP constitution stipulates that NEC meeting must hold every quarter (three months) and vests the National Chairman with the power to convene the meeting. The last NEC meeting was convened on September 8, 2022.
But Damagum said he alone cannot take the decision to convene NEC meeting.
He said: “The fact that I am the chairman does not make me the Alpha and Omega in the PDP. There are stakeholders in other organs of the party who are also critical to any decision to convene the NEC. Among them are the organs I mentioned earlier.
“And don’t forget that we still have our case in court”, referring to the ongoing presidential election petition where the PDP and its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, are challenging the victory of President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Asked to clarify media reports that he was receiving backing from the Wike camp, Damagum said he was neutral in the entire fray and that he would remain neutral in the overall interest of the PDP.
The chairman said he was not aware of any moves by some interest groups within the party to remove him from office.
Some online publications had reported yesterday that the Atiku camp was plotting Damagum’s removal from office over his alleged romance with the Wike group.
The nomination of Wike for ministerial position in the APC administration is causing ripples in the PDP.
The former Rivers State governor and four of his fellow PDP governors, Seyi Makinde (Oyo),Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia ),Samuel Ortom (Benue) and Ifeanyi Ugwuayi (Enugu) opted not to work for the party in the presidential election on account of the issue of national chairman and presidential candidate coming from the same part of the country.
Our correspondent learnt yesterday that Wike has been working in the background to draw his four other friends in the G-5 closer to President Tinubu.
A source close to ex-Governor Ortom confirmed the development to our correspondent in a telephone chat on Friday.
According to the source, who does not want his name in print, Ortom had resolved his differences with the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume. The SGF is the leader of the APC in Benue State.
Akume, who was Benue governor from 1999 to 2007, used to be Ortom’s political godfather before they parted ways shortly before the 2019 general election.
Akume was instrumental to how Ortom joined the APC and got elected governor in 2015 on the party’s platform.
The two politicians, however, had a disagreement that led Ortom to later defect to the PDP where he secured the party’s ticket for his re-election in 2019.
The source confirmed that Ortom and some of the G-5 members were in Abuja yesterday for a scheduled meeting with Akume.
According to him, Wike was billed to be part of the scheduled meeting where some key decisions were expected to be taken.
The source said Akume might lead the group to meet with President Tinubu after the meeting.
“You must be aware that ex Governor Ortom has already reconciled with Senator Akume. The initial arrangement was for President Tinubu to reconcile them. But they have made the President’s job easier by being able to settle their differences on their own,” said the source.
In what looks like an unending supremacy battle, Muslims and Osun devotees again clashed in Ilorin penultimate weekend as Islamic cleric stormed Yemoja community in a bid to stop the traditional worshippers from performing their rites at a river in the community.
For the umpteenth time, a rowdy scene broke out when some Muslim clerics and Osun devotees clashed in the Yemoja area of Ilorin, Kwara State penultimate weekend. The latest clash occurred when some traditional worshippers performed some rites at Yemoja River, prompting the Muslims to confront the traditionalists at the river bank.
A group of Islamic clerics led by one Imam Baba Olokuta Agidi was said to have threatened to deal with the traditionalists if they did not desist from carrying out the rites at the river; a development that was said to have angered the traditionalists.
The cleric and some Muslim leaders had got wind of the activities of the Osun devotees through a video posted on social media, that they were making sacrifices at the river, but they did not know their exact location. Irked by the development, the Muslim leaders fruitlessly combed the town for three days to know the whereabouts of the Osun devotees.
Their search paid off penultimate Sunday when they were tipped off that the Osun devotees were visiting the river again. The Muslim clerics stormed the riverside and confronted the traditionalists.
A video obtained by our correspondent shows that a group of traditional religion worshippers also warned the Islamic clerics not to test their will.
“We are at the Iyemoja River, because we saw a footage posted on the social media wherein it was claimed that some people parading themselves as traditionalists came to this river to offer sacrifices and that they would be seriously dealt with. However, what amazes us is the fact that this river is called Yemoja River and not Zem Zem River (in Mecca, Saudi Arabia).
“As far as we are concerned the people behind the threat to poison the river with charms if we traditionalists come to carry out sacrifices here are just blabbing. They (Muslim clerics) should desist from issuing threats to us.
“Won’t passersby that drink from this Yemoja River die if the clerics make good their threat to poison this river just because we traditionalists come here to make appeasement?
“Do the Muslims intend to kill other people that drink from this Yemoja River? And what do Muslims want to do with this river by asking us not to come here and threatening to poison it?
“The Muslims are calling us idol worshippers, but we want to let them know that we are genuine indigenes of Ilorin. We are traditionalists and we can never be ashamed of our religion.
“Therefore, this Yemoja River we are standing beside, should any Muslim cleric come here to do evil to the water, such person would face calamity before he gets home.
“May water kill anyone that comes to this river to do evil. Anyone that attempts to poison this river because of us will be swept away alongside his children by the river.
“We traditional worshippers are peace loving people. Hence it is absurd to hear that some people have been threatening to kill those who come to carry out sacrifices here.
“We are warning you (Muslim clerics) to stop threatening us, because we also have charms that we inherited from our forebears and we might be forced to bring them out to liberate ourselves.
“As you can see, the water the Muslims said is laced with poisonous substance is what we are drinking now and nothing has happened to us.”
The traditionalists had barely finished their comments when a group of Muslim clerics stormed the scene and an altercation ensued. In the middle of the confrontation, the Muslim leaders led by Imam Baba Olokutaagidi again warned the traditionalists never to set their foot on the river again.
There was eruption of cacophony of voices as the Muslim leaders said they would resist any attempt by the traditionalist to use the river for sacrifices.
They said the Yemoja community where the river is located is not the name of the river. Rather, Imam Baba Olokutaagidi said the river is known as Odo (River) Oko Olowo.
Hear them: “We have come back to confront those idol worshippers at the Odo (River) Oko Olowo.
“This river is not where you idol worshippers can make sacrifices or appeasement at all.
“We will not tolerate that. We don’t want Osun river worshipping in Ilorin.”
When the confrontation subsided, Imam Baba Olokutaagidi reiterated that the traditional worshippers were not welcomed in the community.
He said: “The matter on ground does not call for altercation or fighting except you (traditionalists) want to fight, and we would advise you to bring it on because we are ready for you.
“The Mogaji (community leader) is here with us. He was duly turbaned by Ilorin monarch and he is a Muslim…”
In the course of the confrontation, one of the Muslim leaders at the scene interrupted Imam Baba Olokutaagidi declaring the traditional worshippers as persona non grata.
“We don’t want anything that has to do with do with idol worshipping at this river…we are also spiritually endowed but we chose to run away from trouble… I am not happy seeing you here and I do not want you to wait for too long here…
“We trailed you to this area and the presence of these clerics here means that the Emir of Ilorin is aware of their mission here…we have been seeing the sacrificial pots not far away from here, and a car crash just occurred this morning here (suggesting there is a link between the sacrifice and the accident).”
Continuing, Imam Baba Agba Olokutaagidi said that he was alerted to the activities of the traditional worshippers at the river three days earlier. Hence, he decided to trail them.
He said: “Three days ago, I was alerted that some idol worshippers were carrying out sacrifices at River (Yemoja) Oko Olowo. We tried in vain to locate the exact axis of the river until around 11pm when we saw a post on the social media which detailed how some idol worshippers robed in white apparel with heathen pots emerged from three commercial tricycles and went to this river to carry out sacrifices. Hence, I came to this river three days ago and threatened to lace the river with a poisonous substance.
“Any religious activity that is at variance with our religious beliefs in Ilorin that would make anyone to come and worship this river, such persons will end up leaving here with calamity.
“We brought some Tirah, which we intended to use to teach these idol worshippers a bitter lesson. Unfortunately, it started raining and we couldn’t bring out the Tirah as rain water could render it ineffective.
“We then promised that we shall return to confront the idol worshippers with our Tirah some other time when rain would not prevent us from bringing it out from the underneath of our dress to teach them a lesson. Hence we are here today.
“Although we are not your enemies, we would not accept anything that is ungodly from you. You cannot worship river goddess in Ilorin, the city of Alimi. We won’t accept it.
“What we know about Ilorin is that it is not a city of pagans. They cannot revive a culture of paganism that has long been eradicated in Ilorin.
“Prophet Muhammed (SWT) was instructed by Allah to eradicate paganism in Mecca and he did. So also paganism has long been cancelled here in Ilorin and cannot be revived again.
“We cannot ask those of you who are indigenes of Ilorin not to live here, but we cannot allow you people to give Ilorin a bad name.
“We don’t want to see anyone of you at this river anymore. If we hear that you idol worshippers carry out any sacrifice in any river anywhere in Ilorin, we will come for you and ensure that such persons become physically disabled when they get home.
“Although this community is called Yemoja, this river is not Yemoja River, and as such cannot be used as an excuse to worship it. The leaders of this community are here and you people should behave yourselves. We don’t want any celebration of Isese festival in Ilorin.”
The traditional ruler of Yemoja community, Alhaji Mogaji, explained that he tried in vain to prevent the traditionalists from carrying out sacrifices at the river.
“We learnt that they (Osun devotees) were at the river and that others were coming to this river in three commercial tricycles, and I asked my people to block the path to the river with logs of wood.
“When they eventually arrived, we denied them access to the river. However, their colleagues who had finished their propitiations and were coming from the riverside threatened that we would be swept away by the river if we tried to stop them and other Osun devotees from using the river, and we were upset by their comments.
“I was born and raised here in Yemoja Village and my forebears never offered sacrifices to this river. We are all Muslims in this community.”
However, the traditional worshippers vowed to resist any further attack or intimidation from Muslims who they claimed were fond of stopping them from freely practising their religion.
“The Muslim clerics said they had poisoned the river and that is why we went to the river and drank from it and nothing has happened to us as we speak.
“We traditional worshippers will never be afraid of Muslims. The fight has just begun and we will stand by our members in any part of Kwara State.
“Despite the attempts to stop us from using the river, we are also taking some steps on that matter and we will never be afraid of the Muslims.”
The latest clash trails a recent warning issued by a Muslim group to an Osun priestess not to go ahead with her plan to celebrate Isese (traditional) festival in Ilorin in her own interest.
The priestess, Yeye Adesikemi Olokun Omolara Olatunji, had reportedly released fliers on the social media announcing a three-day festival aimed at celebrating some Yoruba deities.
Members of the Muslim group Majlisu Shabab li Ulamahu Society had stormed the residence of the priestess Yeye to stop her from hosting the event and imposed a ban on any form of Isese traditional religion festivals in five local governments in Kwara State.
The four local governments are Ilorin West, Ilorin East, Ilorin South and Asa.
Members of the group, in a viral video posted on Facebook a few weeks ago by one Arowolo Abdulfatai, said the visit followed reports of an imminent traditional festival known as Isese, which was to be hosted by the priestess.
The development has since been generating mixed reactions across the country with people speaking for or against the attempt to stop traditional worshippers from freely practising their religion.
Nobel laureate Prof Wole Soyinka, in an open letter to the Emir of Ilorin recently, condemned the development, saying: “It is sad to see the ancient city of Ilorin, a confluence of faiths and ethnic varieties, reduced to this level of bigotry and intolerance, manifested in the role of a presiding monarch.
“Your Royal Highness, it is conduct like this that has bred Boko Haram, ISIS, ISWAP and other religious malformations that currently plague this nation, spreading grief and outrage across a once peaceful landscape, degrading my and your existence with their virulent brand of Islam,” he said.
“It is conduct like this that has turned, before our very eyes, a once ecumenical city like Kaduna into a blood-stained mockery of cohabitation. It is conduct like this that makes it possible for a young student, Deborah, to be lynched in the very presence of armed police, on mere allegation of having belittled the image of a revered prophet.
OSun river
“It is action of this nature, perpetrated in obscure as well as prominent outlets of the nation that turns a young generation into mindless monsters, ever ready to swarm out and kill, kill, kill. Simply kill for the thrill of it, but under presumption of religious immunity.
“It is conduct like this that then nerves one extremist to wake up one day in a Scandinavian country, publicly announce his intention, and proceed to make a bonfire of copies of the Qur’an.
“Reprisals followed, equally mindless, trapping humanity in an ever-ascending spiral of costly but gleeful violence.”
He added: “…rein in those agents of division, of triumphalist intolerance, such as the Majlisu Shabab Ulamahu Society. There is a thin line between power and piety.”
“Call Yeye Ajasikemi OIokun Omolara to your side, make peace with her and make restitution whichever way you can for this grievous insult to our race. We know the history of Ilorin and the trajectory of your dynasty – but these are not the issues.
“The issue is peaceful cohabitation, respect for other worldviews, their celebrations, their values and humanity. The issue is the acceptance of the multiple facets of human enlightenment.”
We are deeply concerned about the negative tilting of a very harmless statement by President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, about his deep concern and that of the Senate on the plight of the ordinary Nigerians as a result of the prevailing economic situation In the country.
The statement "Let The People Breathe" made during Plenary on 26th July 2023, was made by Senator Akintunde Abiodun while speaking on the motion to halt the planned electricity tariff hike.
We want to assure the general public that all matters discussed during Senate sessions are of utmost importance and are treated with great seriousness by the President of the Senate and his Distinguish. colleagues.
It is crucial to clarify that the intentions of the mover of the motion and the com-ments of the President of the Senate were never to make light of the hardships, suffering and economic challenges faced by Nigerians at this critical juncture.
The purpose of the proposal was to firmly reject any plan of Increasing electricity tariffs for Nigerians, considering the ongoing economic challenges that Nigerians are faced with.
The primary focus of the current National Assembly under the Chairmanship of Senator Akpabio is on the implementation of effective and well-structured policies that truly benefit the people. He has repeatedly assured Nigerians that the current Senate will work for all Nigerians.
The President of the senate deeply empathises with Nigerians and has never considered the current economic crisis in the country as a matter of jest. His unwaver-ing commitment lies in serving the best interests of the Nigerian people with the release of the ministerial list and the subsequent screening and swearing-in of the ministers, we have high hopes that the newly appointed officials will promptly ad-dress the challenges and bring the much needed relief and succour to all citizens, thereby, easing the current hardship and pains experienced by Nigerians.
Signed,
Media Unit
On Saturday (today), the Department of State Services (DSS) grilled the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the forthcoming governorship election in Kogi State, Ahmed Usman Ododo.
Naija News learnt that Ododo was invited to the office of the DSS for investigation over a petition against him reportedly by some members of the opposition party in the state.
Confirming the event, the spokesperson to the Kogi State Government, Kingsley Fanwo, took to his social media page to reveal that Ododo willingly honoured an invitation by the DSS.
However, Fanwo, who accompanied the APC governorship candidate to the DSS office, did not reveal the allegations in the petition. He rather described the allegations as “frivolous and unfounded”, maintaining that the APC governorship candidate honoured the invitation by DSS “to respect a constituted authority.”
Fanwo explained on his Facebook page that Ododo was drilled by a team of Operatives at the DSS for hours, “and he gave convincing explanations to the interrogators.”
He was thereafter allowed to go by the DSS operatives.
Fanwo’s Facebook post read: “The candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Alh. Ahmed Usman Ododo today honoured the invitation of the DSS to answer questions regarding a petition against him by some members of the opposition.
“The DSS invited him, and as a law-abiding citizen who is aspiring to lead the state, he honoured the invitation.
The allegations contained in the petition are frivolous and unfounded, but it was incumbent on the APC Governorship Candidate to respect a constituted authority such as the DSS.
“Alh. Ododo was drilled by a team of operatives at the DSS for hours, and he gave convincing explanations to the interrogators.
“We commend the professionalism of the DSS and pledge our cooperation to whatever measures taken, or that would be taken to ensure a peaceful Kogi and a peaceful poll in November 2023.
“We assure supporters of the APC GOVERNORSHIP candidate that he has since left the DSS Office to continue his consultations with Kogites ahead of the Guber poll. Our commitment to peace and tranquillity is ironcast. Every Kogite and every supporter of Alh. Ahmed Usman Ododo should endeavour to be peaceful in all their activities towards the election.”
President Tinubu’s Ministerial Nominee, Stella Okotete Under Investigation For Abuse Of Office
AdminAs President Bola Tinubu’s ministerial nominees prepare to face the Senate for screening, several allegations and issues are emerging against the chosen candidates.
One of these nominees, Stella Okotete from Delta State, is currently being investigated by the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) over allegations of “Abuse of Office.”
According to a CCB letter dated 21st March 2023, Okotete is under investigation for potential breaches of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers.
The Bureau has asked Okotete to provide all necessary documents for their investigation.
The President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, announced on Thursday the list of 28 ministerial nominees sent by President Bola Tinubu. The screening is set to begin on Monday at the National Assembly.
The list includes former Governors Mallam Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna, Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, and Dave Umahi of Ebonyi, as well as former Executive Director of the Nigeria Export-Import Bank (NEXIM), Stella Okotete, and the immediate Governor of Jigawa State, Abubakar Badaru.
The letter from the CCB concerning Okotete is titled, “Alleged Breach of Code of Conduct for Public Officer.”
According to the Bureau in the letter, it was currently investigating a case of alleged breach of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers against your office, adding, “In view of the foregoing, you are requested to furnish the Bureau with the Certified True Copies (CTC) of the following documents: i. Copies of your letters of Appointment, Promotion Letters, Record of Service and Payslips from 2019 till date. ii. All lists of loans processed and approved under you. iii Acknowledgement slips of all Assets Declaration made to the Code of Conduct Bureau since you joined the Public Service. iv All documents of your buildings and landed properties both developed and underdeveloped in Nigeria and abroad. v. Bank Account Statements of all your personal bank accounts from January 2019 to date. This request is made pursuant to the mandate and powers of the Bureau as enshrined in the 3° Schedule, Part 1, Paragraph 3(e) to the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended; Section 137 (a) and (b) and 138 (a) and (b) Panel Cede laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990 and section 104 of Evidence Act 2011.”
Those who wrote a petition against her to the President of the Senate are also referring to a 2019 report of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions which in its recommendation that was adopted revealed that Stella Okotete was indicted for forgery and was recommended for voluntary resignation or sack over fraudulent misrepresentation.
According to the report of the 8th Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions which was then chaired by Senator Samuel N, Anyanwu, who is presently the Gubernatorial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in the November 11 Imo State Governorship election, Stella Okotete was found guilty after it thoroughly went through oral and written submissions available to the committee by the petitioners, Myson Law Practice on Behalf of Ilaje Global Think Tank Initiative and Stella Okotete. It was revealed that Okotete fraudulently misrepresented her qualifications to hold the post of Executive Director at the bank.
The Senate document observed that the chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC did not have 15 years post-graduation experience which is required to occupy the office as specified by the Central Bank of Nigeria circular of 15th October, 2015.
Other members of the committee who signed the report then include; Senator Mao Ohuabunwa, Senator Mohammed Shitu, Senator Peter Nwaoboshi, Senator Jeremiah Useni, Senator Matthew Urhoghide, Senator Dino Melaye, Senator Omotayo Alasoadura, Senator Binta Garba, Omogunwa Yele and Senator Philip Gyunka.
Also, a petition by Barrister Aare Oladotun Hassan Esq of Juryman Associate Chambers to disqualify the appointment of Okotete as a Ministerial designate based on a pending case instituted against her at the Federal High Court has also been submitted to the Senate.
In the letter acknowledged by the office of the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, the Ministerial nominee has a pending suit at the Federal High Court with No:FHC/ABJ/C8/2233/2023 bothering on serial false misrepresentation and forgery.
The letter read; Based on lis pending case before the Federal High Court suite No: FHC/ABJ/C8/2233/2023 /Public complaint against criminal conspiracy to wit: Violation of the CBN’S regulations on Appointment of Heads of Financial Institutions, GROSS contemptous Violation of Senate Ruling and Unimplemented 2019, Senate resolution on removal recommendation over serial fraudulent misrepresentation, No NYSC RECORDS, FALSE information in respect of her CV on Appointment as Delta State Government’s Director of Millennium Development, No accurate records, lack of prerequisite qualifications and deceitful withholding of CBN’s statutory position, obligations and duties as the Executive Director of the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM) against Stella Erhuvwuoghene Okotete.
In a related development a group, Campaign for Transparency Network, CTN, has also asked the Nigerian Senate to reject Okekete based on her questionable Academic records.
In a statement signed by the Programme Director, Ebube Nwanka, Okotete has no School Leaving Certificate but however proceeded to the University of Port Harcourt where she underwent through Remedial Studies after which she got admitted via direct entry into the Benson Idahosa University, Benin City, Edo State.
Ebube alleged further that Stella Okotete as an undergraduate had carryovers in four courses that she did not retake. The University upon discovery did not approve of her graduation from the institution, adding that the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificate presented by Okotete was fake.
However, a Police action plan has been instituted to investigate the series of allegations against Okotete. The action plan cited on Friday Reads “Re: Case of Criminal Conspiracy, Offense to Wit: Falsification of Documents, Fraudulent Misrepresentation of Qualification to Hold CBN’S Statutory Position, Corrupt Practice, Monumental Fraud and Misappropriation,” the police authority ordered for discreet investigation of the allegations.
The police investigation plan partly read: “The petition was endorsed to the DIG FCIID Abuja via letter No. CB:7000/IGP SEC/AB)/VOL.613/ 312 dated 23/01/2023 and re-endorsed to the CP GI Section via letter No. CB: 7000/X/FHQ/ABJ/VOL.592/85 dated 03/02/2023 for discreet investigation”.
Former Kaduna Central lawmaker, Shehu Sani has identified five major reasons military coups are happening in West Africa.
Speaking on Saturday amidst the most recent coup in Niger Republic, Sani said the five factors are responsible for the collapse of democratic governments in West Africa.
He blamed the political class, economic challenges, security challenges, expanding influence of Russia and China as well as failure to sanction those who carry out the coups.
According to the former lawmaker via his Twitter account, “I think there are FIVE factors that are responsible for the collapse of democratic Governments in West Africa and now giving rise to military coups.”
1. Strangulation of Democracy by the political class and shrinking civil space.
2. Economic challenges that lead to widespread poverty and hunger.
3. Security challenges; the spread of terror groups and overreliance on the military.
4. Expanding presence of Russian and Chinese influence in the economic, security and political sphere.
5. Failure of sanctions to have any meaningful impact on coupists.
Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, has suggested that the recent leak of a Lagos State Government memo regarding the secret mass burial of 103 victims of the 2020 EndSARS protests may be the first of several unexpected revelations.
Adegboruwa, a member of the Justice Doris Okuwobi-led Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry on Restitution for Victims of SARS-Related Abuses, stated this on Channels Television’s Law Weekly.
“The leaked memo from the Ministry of Health of Lagos State is one of the many surprises that people will still see in the course of time so long as the government has not come to terms with the reality of the events of October 20th, 2020,” Adegboruwa said.
The senior lawyer argued that the reality of fatalities from the night of October 20, 2020, when soldiers stormed the Lekki Toll Gate, a major site of the protests, is undeniable.
“To blanketly assert that there was no death or there was no blood spilt in any way at all as a result in particular of gunshots by members of the Nigerian Army is to do a disservice to the souls of those people who are affected,” Adegboruwa added.
The leaked memo, dated July 19, 2023, which sparked outrage, indicated that the Lagos State Government approved a sum of N61,285,000 for the mass burial of individuals identified as victims of the 2020 EndSARS protests.
This came three years after the incident drew global criticism and condemnation from human rights organizations.
In response, the Lagos State Ministry of Health confirmed the letter’s authenticity but clarified that the bodies were not from the Lekki toll gate.
Instead, they were collected by the Lagos State Environmental Health Unit from various other areas within the state.
Tribunal Takes Fresh Action On Donatus Mathew, ‘Okada Rider’ Who Won House Of Reps Seat On Labour Party’s Platform
AdminThe National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Kaduna has upheld the victory of Donatus Mathew who contested and won the Kaura Federal Constituency seat on the platform of the Labour Party (LP) in the last general elections.
Naija News reports Mathew was an Okada rider when he contested the election held on February 25, 2023, and defeated all other aspirants for the legislative seat.
On Friday, the tribunal affirmed his victory and dismissed the petition brought by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) House of Representatives candidate for Kaura Federal Constituency, Gideon Gwani.
Gwani, a Minority whip in the House of Representatives in the 9th National Assembly had approached the tribunal to challenge and invalidate the election of his Labour Party (LP) counterpart.
However, Justice F.A. Fiberesima on behalf of the three-man panel of the tribunal while delivering judgment on the case on Friday, dismissed the petition against the LP lawmaker and ordered the PDP candidate to pay N 1.6 million damages to Donatus.
The counsel to the respondent, Zakari Sogfa told newsmen on Friday that two prayers were brought by the petitioner against his client but were dismissed by the tribunal.
“The first prayer was that the Respondent, Donatus was not qualified to contest the election that produced him as his party’s flag bearer for Kaura Federal Constituency.
”He based that conclusion on the ground that Donatus was not sponsored by his political party and that there were electoral malpractices in five areas, but the two prayers were struck out by the Tribunal for lack of merit.”
He revealed that the tribunal further ruled that Gwani did not have the right to determine a political party who should sponsor its candidate other than who should fly its flag and how it should go with its elections as such were pre-election matters.
Videos showing some angry citizens of Niger Republic beating up a female politician and another male politician have surfaced on social media and have gone viral.
The videos are making rounds on the internet at a time the country is going through a coup in which some members of the nation’s military force decided to take over power and force the President, Mohamed Bazoum to step down from power and vacate office.
As seen in the video shared by popular security analyst and counter-insurgency expert, Zagazola Makama via his Twitter handle, the youths attacked a female politician and beat her up.
Luckily for her, however, some other youths intervened and rescued her from the mob before much harm could be done to her.
Also, another unidentified male politician was similarly attacked.
Their offences could not be ascertained as of press time.
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How DSS, EFCC, ICPC Ignored Petitions Against FCC Chair Accused Of Corruption, Job Racketeering
AdminIt has come to light that the Department of State Services (DSS), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) allegedly disregarded separate petitions filed against the Chairman of the Federal Character Commission (FCC), Dr. Muheeba Farida Dankaka, who is currently facing probe by the House of Representatives.
The petitions, obtained by THE WHISTLER, contained serious allegations of corruption, job racketeering, nepotism, and certificate forgery, among others, leveled against Mrs. Dankaka by federal commissioners within the FCC.
These petitions, which were submitted in both 2021 and 2022, accused Mrs. Dankaka of running a job racketeering ring within the FCC in disregard for the very Act that established the Commission.
The allegations also reportedly pointed to her involvement in nepotism and running a corrupt network that favoured certain individuals in federal appointments.
The situation escalated on Wednesday, as Mrs. Dankaka and some of the commissioners engaged in a heated exchange of accusations and counter-accusations during a hearing before the House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating job racketeering at federal establishments.
The hearing shed light on the gravity of the accusations and the urgency of the matter.
However, what raises eyebrows and adds more controversy to the situation is the alleged inaction by the DSS, EFCC, and ICPC, regarding these petitions.
Despite alleged substantial evidence brought forth by the federal commissioners, the anti-corruption and law enforcement agencies seemingly turned a blind eye to the matter, failing to initiate any formal investigation or take appropriate actions against Dankaka who has been the FCC chairperson since July 2, 2020, when former President Muhammadu Buhari swore in current members of the Commission for a five-year term.
In the petition addressed to the ICPC chairman on January 18, 2021, two of the commissioners who wrote on behalf of others noted that prior to their nomination by President Buhari, they had been inundated with allegations that FCC was notorious “as the source of job racketeering” and that lopsided job postings in various Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) “were not corrected by the Commission as required by law”.
The commissioners — Augustine O. Wokocha and Abdul Wasiu Bawa-Allah — noted that “the sacrosanct foundation of the creation of the Commission in section 153(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) is that application and enforcement of the principle of federal character” in government appointments and job postings.
They accused Dankaka of violating several provisions in the FCC Act and hijacking jobs meant to be distributed equally among different sections of the country despite knowing that “the Commission was patterned along parliamentary structure” to ensure fair and equitable distribution of employment opportunities, social and economic amenities, services, and infrastructural facilities “are jointly carried out by all states representatives and inclusive of a representative from FCT”
“Painfully, the chairman of the Commission has since the assumption of office held members to ransom, taking over members’ jobs and or giving out members’ assignments to directors and or administrative consultants in the Commission with impunity. Since we assumed duty as the chairman and members of the Commission, the chairman has been committing one form of grave infractions or the other and advice and cautions rendered to her were rejected by her,” said the commissioners
Listing some of the sins of Dankaka, the commissioners added, “…one of the malfeasances, perhaps the most egregious is her unilateral decisions to employ 22 people of whom 50% of them are not only from her state but from her senatorial district. The chairman hurriedly wrote to the IPPIS upon sighting our allegation to that effect in our memo requesting for the cancelation of the said recruitment which she had already denied that she knew nothing about. A copy of the letter addressed to the Director IPPIS is attached as annexure ‘C'”
They added, “There are more infractions that should be of interest to your exalted agency and it includes but not limited to the following:
“A. Diversion of public funds and keeping secret details of the financial transactions of the Commission from Hon. Commissioners. Failure to release to Commissioners duty tour allowances since assumption of office till date but releases same to herself and her aides and her consistent failure to disburse monthly running cost to the state offices of the Commission in the Country thereby crippling the statutory responsibilities of the state offices, this act is not only criminal but unpatriotic.
“Additionally the security personnel engaged on casual basis who are on meager stipends of N10,000.00 (Ten Thousand Naira) monthly were last paid in July, 2020. Our findings revealed that funds budgeted for running cost and security personnel monthly stipend were diverted to unbudgeted items, a typical example is the payment for the administrative consultants which she hired who were never budgeted for in the 2020 budget. Further to the fact that these administrative consultants are illegally given offices in the Commission as permanent staff to the detriment and displacement to the staff of the Commission, illegally allowing the consultants to work on the official files, minutes on mails among others. Most requests made by Commissioners and or staff of the Commission are ‘KW’ by the chairman while she quickly grants and approve most requests that directly affect her and her office. The germane question is where does she gets the money to pay herself and her aides and purchase items for herself while Commissioners and staff of the Commission are left to their fate in this regard.
“B. The Commission made far reaching decisions on 7th November, 2013 wherein the approve limit of the chairman for goods and services and capital projects respectively shall be in conformity with the approved limit of the federal government as contained in circular ref. No. SGF/013/1/5/1/111/57. The award of the sum of N35, 706,002.00 (Thirty Five Million, Seven Hundred and Six Thousand and Twenty-Two Naira) to a contractor for media advert was over and above the budgetary provision for publicity and advertisement which is N7,409,534 (Seven Million, Four Hundred and Nine Thousand, Five Hundred and Thirty Four Naira). Even the content of the media advert is shallow and thereby required thorough investigation to determine the actual cost expended on the media advert. A copy of the plenary decision is attached as annexure ‘D’ and Federal Character Commission amended budget 2020 as annexure `E’ respectively .
“C. Similarly, our investigation revealed that the chairman approved the purchase of three vehicles for the Commission without recourse to the plenary for consideration and approval one of the vehicles was reported to have been given out unilaterally to the head of audit unit by the chairman while he was carrying out internal audit of the Commission and this followed the unilateral amendment of FCC civil service structure with the removal of procurement section from the department of general services in clear violation of Section 9 of the Federal Character Commission (Establishment) Act. The vehicles were neither registered nor insured and apart from procurement document nothing to show that those vehicles belong to the Commission. Five vehicles that are pool vehicles are in the custody of the chairman.
“D. The job racketeering status for which the commission is known for is believed to be well and alive under indiscriminate granting of waivers not to advertise to MDAs without enforcing the principle of federal character. There is a guideline at the Commission that clearly stating the procedure to follow before a waiver not to advertise is granted to MDAs. The committee Chairman under which a particular MDA seeking for waiver, must go through the analyzed nominal roll of the organization vis-a-vis the character balancing index (CBI) and thereafter render an advise to the chairman for the granting of the waiver. In a flagrant disobedience to this guideline which is criminal in the Commission Act for anyone who flout it, the chairman is well known to liaise directly with CEO’s, sorts things directly with them, granting waiver and certificate of compliance without recourse to the commission as enshrined in Rule 28 of the Rules for Plenary, 2015 and thereby creates injury to many job seekers and in the process build animosity among Nigerians.
“E. We also noted from our investigation that in their quest for cover up of the job racketeering, the normal process mandatory for the office of the Monitoring and Enforcement to prepare summary of activities of the operational committees monthly and yearly for the Commission but because the director in the department is the anointed man of the chairman and the shady deals are jointly carried out and issues of waivers and compliance are shrouded in secrecy hence the failure to prepare the report for the Commission which is another clear violation of the Constitution and the laws of the Commission. Copies of the report are attached as annexure “F &G” for your perusal.
“F. The chairman of the Commission intentionally used her office to step down five contracts for 2020 which had sailed through the Commission’s tender’s board process and approval for the award of the contracts to the most qualified that were cleared for the job. We urge your Commission to investigate the rationale behind the stepping down of those contracts when the Federal Government 1,2,J fifth/ Jordan,’ ctinds to the Commission’s account for the jobs. The fundamental issue is that assuming the budget performance of the 2020 appropriation was not extended to 31St March, 2021, the funds wouldn’t have been available now for the 5 contracts again which the Commission requested for in the budget and same was granted because the funds had already been retired back to the government account in December, 2020.”
The aggrieved Commissioners had warned that “…Dr. Muheeba Farida Dankaka is found of lobbying, influencing and luring anyone or bodies of authorities that receive complaints against her and we believe that ICPC will stand tall in the interest of the country and her people at large to get to the root of the matter by causing a forensic investigation to be made into this matter thoroughly by disciplined officers who will go beyond the scope of this petition owing to the level of the rot in the Commission and prosecute the culprits so as to serve as deterrent to others.”
Prior to filing the petition against Dankaka, the Commissioners had through an internal memo dated November 18, 2020 called her attention to their displeasure with the way she was running the FCC “with clear disregard” to provisions of the Constitution, public service rules and other relevant laws and regulations.
They recalled mandating some Commissioners led by retired Major General Suleiman Barau to prevail on Dankaka for “corrective actions”.
They, however, regretted that Danaka “not only rejected the move but insulted, embarrassed and humiliated the team” adding that she “also went ahead to warned (sic) and threatened (sic) our honorable representatives never to attempt taking that up with you again.
“The chairman went ahead to call the team such unprintable name as 37 characters. This is clearly an affront on the entire Commission, our respective states that nominated us, the President of the Federal republic of Nigeria who appointed us and by implication the entire country, just to put mildly.”
‘CERTIFICATE FALSIFICATION’
In another petition filed against Dankaka before the EFCC, a civil society group, Lygel Youths and Leadership Initiatives, accused the FCC boss of falsifying certificates and misrepresenting her identity to secure her appointment by President Buhari as Chairman of the Commission.
While Dankaka was alleged to have claimed that she held a honorary PhD from the Pacific Western University, Denver, Colorado, USA, in 2007, the group noted that the National Universities Commission (NUC) had declared the University’s study campus in Owerri where Dankaka allegedly got the PhD from as “illegal and consequently shut it down,” hence had no capacity to issue such certificate.
Attaching different documents to the petition to back their claims, they raised other issues around the FCC chairman’s academic qualifications, including inconsistencies in the names on her MSc and WAEC certificates:
“That Dr. Muheeba Farida Dankaka’s name on the master degree certificate obtained from Ahmadu Bello University is Muiba Nike Salau which is not consistent with the name presented to the Senate by President Muhammadu Buhari -(Muheeba Farida Dankaka).
“That Dr. Muheeba Farida Dankaka’s name appears on the first degree certificate obtained from Bayero University, Kano as Muibat Adenike Salawu, the name is also at variance with the name officially presented by the president to the Senate for screening and confirmation and the name with which she appends her signature for official documents in office.
“That Dr. Muheeba Farida Dankaka’s name on the West African Examinations Council School Certificate obtained in 1978 is Salawu Muibat Adenike which is not consistent with other documents she claimed to have had. It is clear from our investigation carried out on the Testimonial obtained some years later that she enrolled at St Clare’s (ANG.) Girls’ Grammar School in 1975 and graduated in 1978.
“It is a notorious fact that she spent three years in the Senior Secondary School, a claim that was not consistent with the then educational system in the country. Further to this, there was nothing to show that she accounted for the missing years before her enrolment in the school mentioned.”
Meanwhile, AFTER allegedly failing to get the ICPC and EFCC to investigate and prosecute Dankaka for corruption and job racketeering, the FCC commissioners approached the Department of State Services (DSS) with the same allegations in a petition dated September 22, 2022.
In the petition, Wokocha and Bawa-Allah urged the DSS Director-General to “carry out a covert operation” at the FCC headquarters with a view to obtaining evidence of the alleged job racketeering ballooning under Dankaka’s watch.
They warned that failure to stop the FCC chairman “could grow to breed more corruption and potentially (lead to) death”.
One of the FCC commissioners told THE WHISTLER that despite the petitions to the different agencies, nothing had been done to stop the trend.
When THE WHISTLER contacted him for his reaction to the allegation, the DSS spokesperson, Peter Afunanya, simply replied “No comment”
Wilson Uwujaren, the EFCC spokesman, did not respond to phone calls put across to him by our correspondent.
When Dankaka appeared before the House of Reps committee investigating the matter on Wednesday, she swore that “I had made my money” before joining the FCC and didn’t need to soil her hands to get rich.
At the resumed hearing, Moses Anaughe, the commissioner representing Delta State, openly accused Dankaka of selling employment slots and sometimes demands 10 percent of the total vacancies in MDAs.
“Dr Dankaka will request the chief executives to come to her office and discuss 10 per cent. She does collect 10 per cent from all MDAs of all the employment she is signing. All those 10 per cent she is collecting, those are the slots that she employs agents that are selling.
“I have two employment letters here of her children in juicy agencies where the annual salary is N6.1 million; the other is N8.2 million. I have the appointment letters here.
“I just also want to inform this committee if she finds any agency doing employment that is paying more than these MDAs, she will move them to that MDA. She moves them from MDA to MDA.
“She has a lot of agents selling slots for her. After selling, they have a central pool where they remit all the monies, whereby they will withdraw and collect USSD and give it to her. I have all the account details here. In my submission, we have a lot of things to reveal.”
But responding to the allegation, the FCC chairman said “I now believe the adage that says when you fight corruption, corruption will fight back.
“I did not come to this place (FCC) to make money but to serve my father’s land.
“I swear with Almighty God, apart from the oath, I can take an oath with the Quran. Before I came here, I had made my name. I had made my money.
“Before I got to this place (FCC), they were selling slots. The place was like a marketplace. You can find out from people that live in Abuja if I am lying,” she said.
[ZOOM MEETING] CITY TALKS WITH REUBEN ABATI: President Tinubu’s Ministerial List - Jideofor Adibe
AdminCity FM is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Programme: CITY TALKS WITH REUBEN ABATI
Time: 12:00pm
Guest: Professor Jideofor Adibe (Professor of Political Science and International Relations)
Topic: President Tinubu’s Ministerial List
Date: 29TH JULY, 2023
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/92877141732?pwd=VEJWb29OL2VVekZUTHRpdWYxK0xxZz09
Meeting ID: 928 7714 1732
Passcode: 600206
CITIZENS, including lawyers, human rights activists, academics, and artisans have
faulted the palliative measures put in place by some state governments to bolster the consequence of the removal of fuel subsidy on the people, saying it was a wrong strategy.
Some governments announced payment of N10,000 monthly for public sector workers, some allowances for medical personnel and occasional distribution of food to the poor and most vulnerable households as well as free bus rides for students of tertiary institutions. In their reactions, a number of the residents insisted that it was a rip-off while others said the Federal Government should have put in place a proper plan before getting rid of fuel subsidy.
Professor Ihechukwu Madubuike, two-time Minister of Education and Health, said that for any palliative option to be meaningful, it should not be selective but one that would impact everybody. He argued that the effects of fuel subsidy removal “is on everybody” irrespective of one’s socio-economic status, hence, nobody should be discriminated against in government palliatives.
“The effects of fuel subsidy removal are on every citizen. So, the government should think of cushioning plans that everybody will benefit from.” Professor Madubuike blamed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for hastily removing fuel subsidies without any ready action plan to cushion the effects of the removal.
He said that the savings from the fuel subsidy should be evenly distributed to benefit all citizens irrespective of their class because everybody gets the heat of the subsidy removal.
He said that the first step to be taken by the government to cushion the effects of subsidy removal was to crash the cost of governance. He said it was a contradiction for the government to be talking of fuel subsidy removal on the one hand, only to be recklessly increasing the cost of governance on the other hand. “Our Presidents are behaving like kings and monarchs. But monarchy is gone even in Britain, people oppose it now”. The former Education Minister who decried the high cost of governance in the country insisted that only a conscious downscaling of the cost of governance will save Nigeria from imminent insolvency. The former Minister for Health also strongly advocated a shift from consumption to production. He regretted that Nigeria had remained the only oil-producing country without a functional oil refinery, a development, he said, smacks of cluelessness in leadership. “We must think differently if we must move forward as a nation. We must start producing something, and stop being a consuming nation”.
Mr Ayo Fadaka, former South-West Zonal Publicity Secretary of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP said, ”we have a fundamental economic problem that can only be addressed through a comprehensive action and not tokenism as currently obtained by state governments reactions. The Tinubu administration that exacerbated our economic woes is yet to put on its thinking cap in the midst of this crisis and that is disappointing. Government at all levels must think deeply and rescue Nigerians from serious economic woes, as failure to do that is simply to plan for a crisis. We are all poor now and rapidly reverting to hitherto unimaginable practices as people now trek kilometers to eke a living, this is not an advancement but retrogression.
Before Tinubu’s inauguration, the poor could still get an uninspiring meal for N100, that is no longer possible today because of the accelerating and galloping speed of inflation. The devaluation of the Naira clearly indicates that President Tinubu did not come into office prepared to tackle the sloppiness of the Buhari era but to accentuate same and this is disappointing when due cognisance is accorded to the education and training of both men, Buhari was a soldier with a questionable O Level result while Tinubu is a certified accountant with a pedigree. We are suffering in today’s Nigeria and we need help, I just hope that one day soon, social crisis will not erupt and create a dislocation that will be very costly to the nation.
Situation is volatile – Bishop Edem, C-River
Bishop Edem Offiong of the True Worshipers Assembly, Calabar, Cross –River state, said, “The situation is dire. The church offering has dwindled, attendance has gone down drastically, and the joy of being in the presence of the lord has disappeared from the faces of many members owing to what they are going through. In spite of the low offering, after service, many members line up to see me and from what we have collected, we share to them. Therefore, how can you see people dying and you keep money for programmes or development of the church. We have to give out. The palliatives talk is just trying to take the mind of Nigerians away from the real issues they are going through. Very soon, you will see people dying of hunger, diseases, and abject needs. Perhaps, this government is bent on placating its creditors in International Monetary Fund, the European Union, and China who are insisting on reduction of the country’s population to get more loans.
Palliative is a joke – Prof Ossopong, UNICAL, C-River
A Professor of Political Science at the University of Calabar, Ntimasu Ossopong, submitted that “provision of palliatives to cushion the effect of subsidy removal is just a joke. 90 percent of Nigerians feel the pain of what is going on in the country, so who do you palliate and who do you leave out. How can N10, 000 or N8, 000 meet the needs of an average Nigerian? Those talking about palliatives to cushion effects of what we are facing are just not serious yet. As a professor I live at 8 Miles, in the outskirts of Calabar and each day I come here (University of Calabar), I buy 10,000 fuel which cannot bring me here the next day. My salary is less than half a million. If I take taxi, I pay N3, 000 back and forth. Moreover, at my status, I cannot ask students to give me money and yet my needs are mounting. Some junior lecturers earn far less, yet, they have families, and other needs. Therefore, the whole thing is just funny.
On his part, Comrade Nnanna Nwafor, the Executive Director, Foundation for Environmental Rights Advocacy and Development (FENRAD), expressed doubt in the sincerity of government with the various palliative measures being promised. He said he was not convinced that government was serious in rolling out any palliative to cushion the biting effects of subsidy removal on the citizenry. Nwafor who said that the impacts of the subsidy removal on the masses had been devastating, said that government ought to have adopted gradual/phased subsidy removal instead of unprepared outright removal. He advocated social welfare packages that every citizen would benefit from, but regretted that such programme would be sabotaged or abused due to endemic corruption in the country.
According to him, “all these palliative measures cannot go a long way to addressing the suffering people due to government insincerity, corruption and government long term of betrayal and lack of data to ensure the most vulnerable persons are captured. I can see insincerity and lack of trust by government to fulfil this promise.”
Palliative is wrong approach – Nsuke, MOSOP president, Rivers
President of the Movement for Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP) and lawyer, Fegalo Nsuke, said, “People need a functional system that offer opportunities and encourage production and not to be made to live on humanitarian gestures. Moreover, given Nigeria’s resource endowments, citizen’s living standards can significantly improve with investments in infrastructure and investor-friendly incentives.
“The present state of Nigeria is pathetic and I do not think things will get better with palliatives given the state of our roads and distribution system, power supply, and other essential infrastructure. Therefore, the government should begin with building infrastructure and providing security for farmers to boost food production while other sectors are being developed. The palliatives will not be sustainable if standards of living continue to decline. We also have to face the realities.
Workers must get commemorate pay rise to cope with the pains of subsidy removal. Nigerians will not pay same price for energy like citizens of Saudi Arabia and be on a minimum wage of N40, 000 per month (approximately $50). In essence, palliatives will be meaningless in an economy with exponentially rising inflation, increasing unemployment and high insecurity. Government should deliberately invest in building social infrastructure and food production. That will be a better way to mitigate the effects of the subsidy removal than free transport and all that, which are not sustainable.
Mistaken course of action – Akpan, activist, A- Ibom
The Executive Director of COMPPART Foundation for Justice and Peace Building, Uyo, Mr. Saviour Akpan, argued that, “giving palliatives to people as a means of cushioning the effect of fuel subsidy removal is a temporary measure that has no sustainability plan. It is a wrong policy; it is encouraging consumer economy. I do not support the idea of giving money to any group of people because it will create room for laziness.
Government should channel the money into productive ventures that would better the lives of all citizens. Government should ensure development plans that are sustainable through the provision of rural infrastructure .let the money be used to revamp all the refineries in the country, build rural roads and tackle the challenge of rural electrification. Again, there is a need for the introduction of technical and vocational education, especially in rural communities. The problem in Nigeria is that endemic corruption does not encourage inclusiveness in policy formulation and implementation,” he said.
Palliative not the way out – Mumkhai, PDP chieftain, Delta
A Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, leader in Delta state, Alhaji Mumakhai Unagha, declared, “The fuel subsidy is endless as it has brought untold hardship to the entire country. It is not limited to the poor but to the average Nigerians which is very unfortunate. The federal government should urgently find an urgent solution to it; if not the country will slide to anarchy.
I am convinced that the federal government never envisaged that it would have such a negative effect on the masses. Otherwise, President Tinubu would never have announced the removal. Subsidy removal was a well-hatched and planned theory of the West to sabotage Nigeria to which our educated experts never thought of. The idea was wicked and unacceptable. Ordinarily, what we thought was that before the subsidy removal, the various refineries ought to have been put in place and new ones built. I believe that the government will be able to manage the situation to avoid snowballing to a full-blown and uncontrollable crisis. Nigerians are hungry and dying on a daily basis.
The federal government should fix all the refineries, which is the only way to salvage and save the situation. The N500 billion budgeted to remedy the hardship is not the solution, rather reverse it for now. Palliative is not the solution. Now that we have experimented with the removal and its effects proving tough economic hardship, we should reverse it. We need the subsidy.”
No to transfer of N8, 000 to 22m households – West, CLO member, Bayelsa
A member of the Civil Liberties Organization, CLO, in Bayelsa state, David West, said, “The palliatives should be holistic and encompassing to benefit the totality of the people because what is currently going on is just centered around civil and public servants and they consist just a minute proportion of the population.
The vast majority are independent people. Government should invest the subsidy in critical infrastructure that will benefit everybody. Government should invest the subsidy on rebuilding the refineries, making sure that one or two refineries are functional, expanding the railway transportation system and roads, and there should be adequate power, which will reduce the consumption of petrol which will benefit everybody. I am not in support of cash transfer of N8, 000 to 22 million households for six months, and after the six months, what happens? As members of the civil society and citizens of this country, we should hold government accountable.”
No clear-cut policy – Omare, ex-IYC president, Delta
Former president Ijaw Youths Council, Eric Omare Esq., regretted that several weeks after the removal of subsidy, the federal government was yet to have what he termed a clear-cut policy direction to reduce the impact on Nigerians. “Having regard to the hardships being faced by Nigerians because of subsidy removal, I strongly think that there should be palliatives. First, those that should benefit are the low-income earners, students, unemployed and aged people.
However, my problem is that there is no clear-cut policy direction by the government on palliatives to reduce the impact of the subsidy removal. I think that government must, as a matter of urgency, come up with palliatives to cushion the effect of the subsidy removal at the local, state and federal levels. Nigerians are passing through pains.”
Palliative not sustainable- Odi, retired civil servant, Bayelsa
A retired senior civil servant, Elder Chris Odi, said, “I am not too comfortable with the nature of the palliatives because they are not sustainable. For how long will the government continue to distribute food items to the poor? Instead of cash that they will give for some time, the government should add it to the workers’ salaries. Another big issue is how the palliatives will go around to reach non-public sector workers, or how the government will identify the very poor in a country without a proper database.
The way forward for me is to distribute buses to all the states to convey passengers free or highly reduced fare; ensure there is no electricity tariff hike for now; support farmers with farm inputs so that food prices can come down.
In addition, the government needs to fix the roads for easy evacuation of farm produce from the hinterlands to the markets. The biggest palliative, however, will be the fixing of the nation’s refineries so that petroleum products will be readily available for local consumption and export. The government needs to revive the country’s moribund industries to employ the teeming masses. This will facilitate production, which in turn will encourage export and strengthen the naira”.
Fix refineries – Alagoa, ERA, Bayelsa
Programme Manager/Head, Niger Delta Resource Centre, Morris Alagoa, told Saturday Vanguard, “If the federal and state governments want to initiate social security schemes or welfare schemes for Nigerians as some groups and individuals have been advocating over the years, it is fantastic.
Instead of looting treasuries and engaging in money laundering at the expense of the masses, the federal and state governments should provide legal framework for social welfare or social security for identified categories of Nigerians. Such schemes should have legal backing so that no incoming administrations can toy with it. Unless legislated upon, the idea of giving cash to so-called poor in the society is another avenue for those in the corridors of power to steal such funds. Rather, the federal and state governments should use such funds to find lasting solutions to the lingering and epileptic power situation, get functional refineries, including embarking on a thorough research on local refinery and encourage the locals with modular refineries to make products cheaper, available and reduce unemployment and violent crimes. Such a system should create formal avenues for local refiners to obtain crude oil at domestic price and not OPEC price.
What govs should do – Ambakederimo, -S-South leader, Bayelsa
Convener of the South South Reawakening Group, SSRG, Elder Joe Ambakederimo, asserted, “Before the petrol subsidy was removed, many state governments preferred giving handouts to their citizens, who daily throng Government Houses from Monday to Fridays, throughout the month, appealing for one form of support or the order. The state governments should invest in a multi-modal transportation system and establish agriculture commodity boards that incorruptible persons will manage.
These boards will be off takers of farm produce to be sold at subsidies prices. In the short term the cash handout and free bus ride must be across board for many who are not civil servants; who are unemployed or working in small businesses, including providing for owners of small businesses to keep them in business. The medium term strategy would be embarking on a social housing scheme. The long term strategy would be the provision and construction of rural roads for purposes of evacuation of farm produce, and the light rail to get to all the nook and crannies of the state. When people can move around without stress they feel no pain and this is the real palliative.”
Zadok Akintoye, Public analyst: I believe that payment of extra money to civil servants by some state governments may be an evidence of the knowledge deficit on how the economy works and how it would respond to such increases. Putting more funds in the hand of workers will not resolve the value-depletion of the Naira to other currencies, which has further worsened our economic situation. I disagree with government increasing wages, but will suggest that they do what is required in tackling the widening exchange rate of the Naira to the dollar. Increasing wages only postpones the inevitable by tokenizing the core issues affecting our nation. In the short term, the government should remove all taxes on salaries of public servants as an emergency intervention to provide more funds to them at this time; reduce customs levies on goods and services essential to citizens wellbeing; increase levies paid on luxury items and tax the rich more; create new monetary policies that mitigate round tripping and effectively protects the CBN from being taken advantage of; support the Naira against the Dollar and fund the LGA’s directly. The provision of buses and other consumables are not sustainable in long term and would further plunge the country into economic crisis.
What Tinubu should do – Amorighoye, ILoT scribe, Delta
Secretary of the Itsekiri Leaders of Thought, ILoT, Sir Amorighoye Mene, said, “The truth is that all Nigerians, particularly the poor and low-income families, are passing through very difficult times. Therefore, government and private companies should provide bonuses and allowances to cushion the costs of transportation; mass transit vehicles to move people, goods, and services within their domain and subsidize the cost of conversion of vehicles from petrol to gas, which is far cheaper and more environmentally friendly; government should invest in sundry measures to drastically reduce the cost of living, particularly in the area of food items, health care, and education. The government should create the enabling environment to promote private sector growth to create employment for the unemployed, particularly in the agricultural and mining value chain, and other sectors.”
In Plateau state, Comrade Friday Bako said, “N10,000 monthly palliative is not enough to address the high rate of inflation, cost of living and improve the standard of living which today is very low since income per capita is also very low. What the nation needs now are sound economic policies that will stimulate economic growth and improvement in the salaries and allowances of workers to reflect the present realities.”
Mr. Raymond Gukas noted, ”The entire palliatives plan is a scam. How can they determine who is qualified and who is not? And how many of the needy have bank accounts? Or is it meant only for the city dwellers, what of the villagers without bank accounts are they not Nigerians? There are so many unanswered questions, the same people continue to empower themselves whenever they need to rehabilitate themselves.”
Mr. Solomon Praise, a Private School teacher added, ”This so-called palliative measure is a scam. What modalities are on the ground to ensure that the targeted poor people will be the sole beneficiaries of palliative? Is there a comprehensive data to know who are these poor people, where they are located and what is the number of people in each household? Will the disbursement of the cash be done by hand or via banks and if it will be done from house to house, who are those that will carry out the exercise and how trustworthy are they that the money will not miss? If payment will be via the bank, how many of these poor households even have a savings account? The government should have given palliatives and ensured it is working well before the removal of the fuel subsidy. The money and resources for the so-called palliative should be used to build a strong and stable economy. I am not in support of the so-called palliative measures because it is another way of corruption for some government officials and individuals.
Plateau State Publicity Secretary of the APC, Sylvanus Namang noted, “The palliatives being announced by some states are scratching things on the surface. It needs a holistic approach across all sectors of the economy which had collapsed. When it comes to the states, politics must be removed so as not to equate it with the distribution of political patronage.”
Another APC member, Dr. Elkanah Garang stressed, “The proposed N10,000 will not make a significant impact in the lives of public sector workers with the economic realities of present-day Nigeria. Wages need to reflect the government’s commitment at all levels to ameliorate the inconvenience of subsidy removal. The pressure should trickle down to States and Local Government administrators to ensure funds released by the Federal Government are not misappropriated.”
Mrs Zainab Babaji, journalist said, “It is not feasible. Considering how some other programmes such as the school feeding programme, social investment programme, etc, were managed, there were a lot of allegations of corruption and misappropriation where many people who were captured did not benefit from the programmes. Unless a structure is put in place to ensure prudence, the programme will not be effective.”
Mrs. Kaneng Pam-Hworo from the National Orientation Agency maintained, “My opinion is that the fuel subsidy removal is timely. Palliatives distribution at all levels to the workers and the general public is welcomed to cushion the effect of the untold hardship on Nigerians. The N10,000 monthly payment as palliative for as long as six months will go a long way to assuage the pains and hardship of the people. In addition to the provision of free buses to convey students and workers, the government should ensure that the cost of foodstuff and medicines is reduced to make it affordable to the poor Nigerians.”
Hon Stephen Adewale, Social Democratic Party chairman in Ondo state : Palliatives are essentially temporary aid that might not be attainable or financially viable in the long run. However, these small measures being introduced as palliatives by the state governments will go a long way in cushioning the excruciating effect of the fuel hike until the government is able to successfully introduce a curative measure that permanently alleviates the burden of the fuel hike on the masses. However, state governments must implement palliative policy that will be felt by all citizens in order to guarantee that the actions being implemented reach every individual. First, the ideal method to accomplish this is to implement a successful transport system that will enable students to commute for free. This measure should also be extended to the residents who will pay little as transportation fare.
Ayo Ologun, spokesperson for The Osun Masterminds, TOM
“ The monetary palliative measures introduced for public workers cannot be sustained for a year. The N10,000 proposed for workers by some states is not even enough to buy 20 litres of fuel and how does one survive on 20 litres for 30 days? The government should embrace measures that can benefit majority of the populace. In the area of transportation, government should put buses on our roads, allow students board the vehicles at subsidized rates if it can’t be free. Also, government should look at the possibility of moving farm produce to cities through subsidized transportation to tackle the price hike for food items. If they insisted on monetary provision to civil servants, what will be the fate of other people whose population form over 80 percent of the masses across the country?
In Oyo State, some of the residents said that though the government has tried to cushion the harsh effects of the subsidy removal, the gesture was minimal. Mrs Sidikatu Sulaiman, a trader at Aleshinloye Market said, “the provision of buses by the state government has reduced the hardship to a certain extent. This has greatly relieved commuters who could have been paying through their noses”.
Another commuter, Mrs Esther Ajayi, a businesswoman, said, “many people who are not government workers now prefer to leave their vehicles at home and make use of the state government buses because they are cheaper. We have felt the government response in the area of transportation, the subsidy removal affects other sectors too. Foodstuffs are very costly for average people.”
At various markets like Sango, Eleyele, Bodija, Inalende, Dugbe, traders complained about low patronage saying hike in foodstuff prices has forced people to stay away from the market.
In Ekiti State, Chief Press Secretary to Governor Biodun Oyebanji, Yinka Oyebode, said the government has been putting mechanisms in place to ensure that palliatives measures capture all residents to cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal. He said the governor was not only concerned about civil servants but all residents in the state. Oyebode stated that the palliatives will also capture youths, students, market women, labourers, mass transit workers, local government workers, among others so that they can also benefit from the system.
In Ogun state, a businessman, Mr. Adeniyi Olanrewaju commended Governor Dapo Abiodun, for approving the palliatives for all categories of people, such as civil servants, public servants, pensioners, artisans, farmers market men and women and others.
Also speaking, a community leader, Oladimeji Abayomi, queried how far the N10,000 can go with the present rate of inflation in the nation’s economic. He said, he found it difficult to believe Nigerian politicians whenever they make promises. They are good in making promises, but find it difficult to fulfill the promises made.
The President Generel of Mzough U Tiv, worldwide, Chief Iorbee Ihagh advised the Federal and state governments to pay special attention to rural dwellers in the distribution of palliatives. Chief Ihagh also warned that politicians should not be allowed to hijack the distribution process by allowing political sentiment to gain prominence during the distribution. He advised that people from different political party affiliations should be drafted into the distribution process to ensure that Nigerian were not unjustly excluded from benefitting from the intervention for reasons of their political inclination.
According to him, “I do not agree with the process of giving large chunk of the palliatives to workers because at every month end they get salaries which nonetheless can be augmented. But there are people living in the villages who do not even get up to N5,000 in a year. And they are no longer farming because of the activities of Fulani herdsmen. Hence, the hunger is so much, people go to the farm and get killed. I strongly feel that the palliatives should get to the people living in the rural areas, it should not be restricted to public servants. The actual poor people are in the villages.
These are people who when they see N10,000 will celebrate to high heavens. They do not have money to buy drugs or even their basic needs. That is why the rural dwellers should be given top priority. The government must take steps to take care of the people in the rural areas because that is where the poverty is biting harder”.
[Vanguard]
President Bola Tinubu, on Tuesday, transmitted a list of 28 ministerial nominees to the national assembly for screening, in time before the 60-day deadline set by a recent constitutional amendment.
TheCable had reported that the nominees were selected from 25 states of the federation — excluding 11 states.
An analysis by TheCable Index showed that the minimum qualification of the nominees is a bachelor’s degree and the highest qualification is a doctorate degree. Two of those with doctorate degrees have practiced enough and become professors.
While 16 nominees hold a master’s degree as their highest educational qualification, nine have bachelor’s degrees as theirs and three of the appointees have a doctorate degree.
According to section 147(5) of the constitution, no person shall be appointed as a minister “unless he is qualified for election as a member of the house of representatives”.
Section 65 (1) (a) of the constitution states that a person shall be qualified for house of representatives election if he has been educated up to at least school certificate level or its equivalent.
Even though all of the nominees were qualified, according to the constitution, lawmakers had previously voiced reservations about the bare minimum.
In January 2022, Femi Gbajabiamila, former speaker of the house of representatives, said there is a need to amend the constitution to increase the educational qualification for election into the office of the national assembly.
The house of representatives, in February 2022, began the process of increasing the minimum educational qualification for election as a governor, state and federal lawmaker, to at least a “university degree level or its equivalent”.
WALE EDUN AS ‘OLDEST’ MINISTER
The oldest ministerial nominee on record is Wale Edun, aged 67. The youngest nominee is Betta Edu, 31 years younger than Edun, which supporters have said suggests a generational mix but critics disagree, claiming that there would be a huge disparity in ideas.
TheCable’s analysis is based on available data on the ages of the ministerial nominees.
The youngest minister in President Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet was 44 in 2019, while the oldest was Buhari himself, who was 76 and held the portfolio as minister of petroleum.
Below is a list of the academic qualifications of the ministerial nominees:
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[TheCable]