...whittles down powers of agency’s chair
The Senate has passed a bill to amend the law establishing the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), which steeply cuts down on the power of the commission’s chairperson.
If it gets concurrent approval of the House of Representatives and the assent of Nigeria’s president, it may cripple the prime anti-corruption agency’s capacity to fight corruption, a review of the proposed legislation has revealed.
The upper chamber passed the legislation on Thursday seeking profound changes to the administration of the anti-corruption agency by devolving powers and responsibilities which the commission’s chairman wields for the day-to-day running of the agency to its board, which ordinarily meets periodically.
Responsibilities to board members
The bill seeks to create Commissioner (Investigative Matters), Commissioner (Legal Matters), Commissioner (Prevention, Systems Review and Financial Intelligence), Commissioner (Asset Recovery and Management), Commissioner (Anti-Corruption Education and Mobilization), and Commissioner, (Forensics and Emerging Technologies)—also, six other zonal commissioners representing the six geo-political zones.
The section added that “provided always that in assigning responsibilities to the commissioners, the president shall have regard to their geo-political zones and respective disciplines.”
By assigning responsibilities and functions to the board members, the lawmakers are elevating them from their mere supervisory roles to being involved in the daily running of the commission, which many fear would create a bureaucratic snag in the commission’s functioning.
Chairman’s administrative order
Aside from assigning responsibilities to board members, whom the bill seeks to rechristen as commissioners, the bill also tries to strip the chairman of the power over “administrative order”.
For instance, Section 7 of the Principal Act gives the power to issue administrative orders to the chairman, but the amendment seeks to provide the power of administrative order to the board.
“The Chairman may issue administrative orders to be called “standing Orders”, which shall conform with the provisions of the general control, training, duties and responsibilities of officers of the Commission, and for such other matters as may be necessary or expedient for the good administration of the Commission and to ensure the efficient and effective functioning of the Commission,” section 7 of the existing Act reads.
The new provision replaces Section 4(2) of the ICPC Act, which deals with the number of commissioners that constitute the quorum for board meetings.
Meeting without chairman
One of the amendments with the most far-reaching implications, the provision makes a meeting of the commission to be duly constituted with or without the chairman. It provides that “any five board members,” replacing “Chairman and any four (4) members of the Commission” in the principal Act in attendance, shall appoint a chairman to preside over the meetings.
The bill also seeks to substitute “chairman” for the word “commission”, a hazy description that may allow far-reaching decisions of the commission to be taken with little or no participation of the chairman.
It also means that, even when the commission’s chairman is fully involved, he has to subject some expedient administrative functions to the bureaucratic decision of the board.
Political influence and other concerns
Furthermore, the bill seeks to amend section 70 of the existing Act by transferring the power to make rules from the chairman to the Commission.
“The chairman of the commission may make rules for giving effect to the provisions of this Act and without prejudice to the generality of these provisions may make rules,” section 70 states.
However, by replacing the “commission” to take the place of the “chairman” in the principal Act, the Senate is seeking to give the board the responsibility of developing rules governing the operation of the commission.
“It will subject the ICPC to external political influence,” Olanrewaju Suraj, the chairman of the Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA), said while reacting to the designation of the members as commissioners.
He added that his organisation and several other civil service organisations recommended improving the commission, but not by giving operational control to political appointees, whose influence may be tainted by political considerations.
In addition, the bill also seeks to remove the power of the chairman of the ICPC to issue oral commands to the commission officers. The amendment to section 4(8) means that the ICPC chair can only give written directives to officers.
Lukman Adefolahan, an anti-corruption expert, while speaking with PREMIUM TIMES, said even though the ICPC has an SOP, however, for prosecution’s sake, the Chairman of the commission should issue a written directive
“If the ICPC gives oral directive to officers that someone should be investigated—can you tender that in court? everything you want to do as far as investigation is concerned must be written.
Technical capacity
The new portfolios the amendment bill seeks to create require technical ability and qualification that the existing act did not capture, and the bill failed to provide clear requirements for qualification.
Section 3(3) of the Act provides that the board of ICPC must include; a retired police officer not below the rank of commissioner of police; a legal practitioner with at least ten years post-call experience; a retired judge of a superior court of record; a retired public servant not below the rank of a Director; a woman; a youth not being less than 21 or more than 30 years of age at the time of his or her appointment and a chartered accountant.
While the existing Act is clear regarding the technical skill required, the amendment did not clarify.
Limit of the powers of governing board
Although establishment Acts of various parastatals of government may have some peculiar provisions, governing boards are generally set up to provide guidelines and liaise with the supervisory ministries for effective monitoring.
But the day-to-day administration of the agency is handled by a chief executive who doubles as the accounting officer.
A former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, had in 2018, during the induction of governing boards of parastatals, warned against the interference of the board in the day-to-day operations of agencies.
“A board shall not be involved directly in the day-to-day management of a parastatal or agency,” he said in his speech. Adding that “a board must only operate on a part-time basis.”
Despite the clear guideline, Section 3 (11) of the new amendment seeks to change “members of the commission” to commissioners who will be involved in the day-to-day running of the commission’s activities, and the legislation seeks to give board members control administration of the agency.
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Constituency projects
Many have said the new amendment bill was a way of the National Assembly getting at the current chairman of the ICPC, Bolaji Owasanoye, who has focused on exposing fraud and mismanagement of funds meant for constituency projects by federal lawmakers.
Mr Owasanoye, a professor and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, was appointed as ICPC chair in 2018.
On his watch, the commission has tracked over 4,000 constituency projects valued at over N200 billion through its Constituency and Executive Projects Tracking Initiative (CEPTi).
The in-depth tracking of government-funded projects is a novel initiative by an agency that has existed since September 2000, about 23 years ago.
The tracking initiative, which is in its fifth stage, is said to have forced about 450 contractors to return to sites to complete abandoned projects. The projects are valued at over N45 billion.
As of 2019, an estimated N2 trillion had been budgeted for ZIPs since 2000, according to ICPC. Despite the enormous releases, citizens continue complaining about “shoddy completion, non-completion or outright non-existence of these projects in their locale”.
The commission also revealed how some lawmakers’ conduct in handling some projects denied “the public due and legitimate service of the projects.”
The first phase of the constituency project tracking by the ICPC focused on the 2109 projects.
About 490 Zonal Intervention Projects (ZIP), also known as constituency projects, each costing at least N100 million, were tracked in the second phase of CEPTi in 2020.
The CEPTi report on 2020 projects revealed how three senators from Kebbi, Taraba, and Jigawa states allegedly abused their office and converted the public property to personal use in executing some multi-million-naira worth of constituency projects.
In its earlier report focusing on 2019 projects, the ICPC revealed that lack of adherence to the provisions of the public procurement law and regulations is a major reason for the persistent infractions in the execution of constituency projects.
It noted that although the roles of lawmakers in project execution were limited, “in practice, MDAs are not involved in the conception of ZIPs” and that “sponsors (federal lawmakers) nominate contractors and take physical custody of items procured by MDAs under the pretext that they would distribute to beneficiaries”.
The National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) on Sunday directed its members to withdraw their services nationwide over the sudden removal of fuel subsidy by the Nigerian government.
The NUEE in a notice signed by its acting general secretary, Dominic Igwebike, urged its members to comply with the directive and stop work from the early hours of Wednesday.
President Bola Tinubu, on Monday, in his inaugural address at Eagle Square, Abuja, declared that there would no longer be a petroleum subsidy regime as it was not sustainable.
Following the announcement, the NNPCL on Wednesday directed its outlets nationwide to sell fuel between N480 and N570 per litre, an almost 200 per cent increase from the initial price below N200.
In its reaction Friday, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) announced it would embark on a nationwide protest next Wednesday if the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) refuses to reverse the new price regime in the oil sector. The Nigerian Union of Journalists also threatened to join the strike action on Wednesday.
Reacting in a letter to its member on Sunday, the NUEE said its decision was a sequel to the NLC emergency national executive council (NEC) meeting held on 2 June at the Labour House Abuja over the sudden removal of fuel Subsidy, which it said brought untold hardship to Nigerians as well as increased inflation in the economy.
“To this effect, all National, State and Chapter executives are requested to start the mobilisation of our members in total compliance with this directive,” the statement said.
“Please note that withdrawal of Services nationwide commences from 0.00 hours of Wednesday, June 7, 2023.
“You are encouraged to work with the leadership of State Executive Councils (SEC) of the Congress in your various states with a view to having a successful action,” the letter said.
The Commissioner of Police in Enugu State, Ahmed Ammani, has ordered the deployment of officials across the state to ensure public safety on Mondays and all days in the state.
This follows the 1 June order by the new Enugu governor, Peter Mbah, cancelling the weekly sit-at-home order by the proscribed Independent People of Biafra (IPOB).
Mondays are observed as sit-at-home days by many residents of Enugu and the other four South-east states in compliance with the IPOB directive which the separatists group uses force to enforce. Many people have been killed or injured and businesses destroyed for daring to disobey the directive.
To deter residents from continuing to obey the IPOB directive, Governor Mbah, on Saturday, declared that schools, markets, retail outlets, hospitals, transporters, and malls that continue to obey the sit-at-home order would be shut.
Mr Mbah also set up a task force to monitor compliance with his new directive from Monday, 5 June.
In a statement issued on Sunday by Daniel Ndukwe, police spokesman in Enugu State, the police commissioner said he had ordered strategic units to deploy personnel and operational resources to actualise the governor’s declaration.
The police commissioner said he gave his order to strategic personnel and units such as area commanders, divisional police officers, commanders of Police Mobile Force Squadron Bases, and tactical and operational units.
He said they would ensure maximum public security and safety of residents and property in the state on all days, including Mondays.
“I have ordered them to ensure that the strategies already devised to reverse the ugly trend are implemented to the letter and equally warned them that lapses on their part would not be tolerated.
“I have directed the supervisory officers and personnel under them to live up to expectations by ensuring that every part of the state is visibly patrolled.
“The personnel should also ensure that necessary policing actions are taken to forestall possible adverse activities of the undesirable criminal elements
“Innocent and law-abiding residents deserve to go about their lawful businesses without fear of harassment or physical threats by unscrupulous and subversive criminal elements, enforcing the illegal sit-at-home order,’’ Mr Ammani said in the statement.
He said the military and other security agencies would join police operatives in the enforcement of the governor’s cancellation of IPOB’s sit-at-home order.
He warned unrepentant criminal elements, known to have murdered fellow citizens, and destroyed their property and socio-economic well-being in the name of enforcing the illegal sit-at-home order to retrace their steps.
“Unrepentant criminal elements that take pleasure in wanton destruction should turn a new leaf as security forces shall not spare any person or individuals found wanting,’’ he said.
Mr Ammani enjoined citizens to cooperate with security operatives while remaining law-abiding and vigilant as they fully begin to go about their lawful businesses on Mondays, like every other work day.
He urged residents to promptly report criminals and their activities to the nearest police station or call the police emergency hotlines on 08032003702, 08075380883, 08086671202 or 08098880172 for necessary policing actions.
Medical services at the Delta state-owned hospital in Ogwashi Uku, Aniocha south council area of the state was at the weekend paralyzed after a female youth corper doctor was seriously beaten up by a mobile policeman.
The incident which occurred on Thursday night was said to have caused panic in the hospital even as patients were discharged.
It was reported that other doctors in sympathy with their colleagues decided to down tools until the policeman is brought to book by the relevant authorities.
The doctors were yet to resume work as of Sunday noon when NIGERIAN TRIBUNE inquired.
The crisis started on Thursday night when some policemen on escort to a burial ceremony in Ogwashi Uku town rushed some persons to the hospital following injuries they sustained during fracas that ensued at the wake-keeping ceremony.
According to findings, shortly after the victims were attended to by the doctor, one of the policemen became hostile despite all efforts made by his colleagues to calm him down.
“The policeman holding his gun started shouting at the doctor inside the emergency ward. He said so many things to the doctor. He was insisting that one of the victims in particular (his brother) be treated .
“Despite being told outrightly by the doctor and others health workers that the person and indeed all others have been treated, the man was not satisfied.
“He moved towards the doctor while sitting and gave her a severe blow, kicked and dragged her to the ground until some staff come to her rescue.
“The other policemen sensing more danger hurriedly escape from here.
“Other doctors were so sad what happened to their colleague and immediately decided to shut down”, an eyewitness account said.
In his reaction, the Permanent Secretary in the state health management board, Dr Paul Okunbor described the action of the policeman as unacceptable adding that the issue of doctors in the facility protesting over the matter was being addressed.
Dr Okunbor hoped the police authority would expedite action as it had assured to fish out the mobile policeman .
Confirming the story, the state police public relations officer DSP Bright Edafe said the suspect, a mobile policeman is not from the state command adding that he was yet to be found.
He said the policemen involved accompanied some personalities outside Delta state to a burial ceremony in Ogwashi Uku, assuring that no stone would be left unturned in the command’s investigation to get the policeman in question.
This isn’t the first time the idea of petrol subsidy removal would be mooted. The Jonathan administration under which the incumbent Director General of the World Trade Organization, WTO, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, served as Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy also had its fair share of mention in the saga. In fact, former President Jonathan said at that time severally that fuel subsidy was unsustainable and tried unsuccessfully to remove it.
In a video that went viral last week, Okonjo-Iweala is seen narrating how she spearheaded efforts to scrap payment of questionable subsidies and how beneficiaries viciously fought back, culminating in her mother’s kidnapping and demand for her resignation.
“My second example has to do with a very specific one in my country, the clean-up of the fuel scarcity regime in 2012 during my second stay as Finance Minister”, she narrates in the video.
“Nigeria has a physically challenging force of fuel regime, the country exports crude oil and imports fuel because their refineries are in a very bad shape and provides a subsidy for the refined oil as support.
“At the end of 2011, a total of N1.73tr, US $11b equivalent, was submitted as claims for subsidy by 143 marketers, who were importing the product.
“These numbers seemed horrendously large compared to what I had last when I was in government in 2006, which was close to $2b in subsidy.
“So, we decided to study these claims. We audited about $8.4b worth of claims and we found out $2.5b worth of fraud. That is, many of these marketers were trying to claim $2.5b fraudulently.
“With the full backing of the President and the Economic Team, we decided that we were not going to entertain these claims or to pay.
“The pressure from affected marketers was tremendous…not only to say we would not pay but also to say we would clean up the whole mechanism for the subsidy claims and put in place something more transparent, something clearer.
“This did not go down well with them. “When we insisted on our position of non-payment and implementation of the new verification regime, these, and well-connected interests, were angered, and came to blame me personally for this. “There were personal consequences. My 83-year-old mother, a retired professor of sociology, was kidnapped by four young men and held for five days.
“She was totally terrified. She asked them why she had been kidnapped and they told her ‘Because your daughter, the Finance Minister, refused to pay oil marketers their dues’.
“The kidnappers, negotiating with my brother, demanded my resignation, publicly; that I should go on television, publicly and announce my resignation and depart from the country as a condition for my mother’s release.
“Needless to say these were some of the worst days of my life. Imagine when you are in a position, you want your parents, all of whom are here with you today, and your relatives to be proud of you. You want to be a source of good for your family.
“You can imagine how I felt, sitting there and thinking, just because of trying to do something right. To implement a policy that was good for the country, to lead to the taking of my mother’s life. These were some of the worst days of my life.
“With my father’s support and the firm resolve of the President, we all decided I should not give in to the blackmailers and I refused to resign.
“Following a manhunt for my mother by security agencies, she was able to make a dramatic escape after five days in captivity, where she was only given water and half of a sausage roll.
“So, here with the well-justified clean up and reform of a policy, but implemented in a dangerous reform environment where the losers in the reform, where the entrenched vested interests decided to fight back to derail implementation.
“The decision not to resign was a very difficult and risky one but, as it turned out, it worked.
“But on my down days, I ask myself, what if it hadn’t? What if they had gone ahead and murdered my mother, as she overheard them planning to do with one of the handlers on the phone? Could I have justified trading firmness on policy and standing up to blackmailers, implementing a good policy for my mother’s life? What decision would you have made?”
Terrorists at the weekend, attacked communities in Maradun Local Government Area of Zamfara State where they killed many locals and abducted no fewer than 30 girls.
A survivor told the BBC Hausa Service in an interview monitored on Sunday, that one of the abducted girls who managed to escape from captivity, returned with only her head scarf.
The terrorists attacked Sakkida and Jambako communities on Saturday afternoon, killed over 20 villagers at Sakkida and injured others.
According to a villager who survived the attack, ” We woke up peacefully, there was rain and some locals had prepared to go to the farm. Suddenly there was report that the terrorists have attacked a neighboring village, Sakkida. “
“The local vigilante, JTF called the people of Janbako and sought help. Our volunteers and other community members took up arms and. headed to the village. “
” There was a hill before you reach the village. Not knowing that the terrorists had laid ambush behind the hills, they opened fire on our people. Today in Jambako, 22 people were buried .”
“Security operatives were called but they replied that they cannot be able to come immediately because their armoured personnel carrier was not on the ground. They only had Hilux. The security operatives tried, they chased the terrorists. When they came back, they came with motorcycles that belonged to the terrorists,” he alleged.
” Many people were injured, some were shot, others were hit with machetes. In Janbako, there was no any security operative stationed there to provide security,” he alleged.
Another local told journalists that girls were abducted in Gora village while picking fuel wood in the bush at Daggera, adding that last week the terrorists killed 3 locals and abducted another 3.
” Now they’ve abducted our girls, over 30. They send a message that this year if we want to cultivate our farms in Daggera, we must have a truce with them. We’ve been doing that with them, we can’t even count the number of times we entered into such agreement. We don’t know what to do,”he said.
He said the girls were abducted on Saturday at about noon, adding that among them one was seen running back with only her head scarf.
He alleged that security operatives were yet to go on search and rescue of the abducted Zamfara girls.
According to the BBC Hausa Service, the police in Zamfara confirmed the incident but had no details.
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged President Bola Tinubu to “set up a presidential panel of enquiry to promptly probe the grim allegations that US$2.1 billion and N3.1 trillion public funds of oil revenues and budgeted as fuel subsidy payments are missing and unaccounted for between 2016 and 2019, as documented by the Auditor-General of the Federation.”
In the letter dated 3 June 2023 and signed by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation said: “There is a legitimate public interest in ensuring justice and accountability for these serious allegations. There will be no economic growth or sustainability without accountability for these human rights crimes.”
SERAP said: “Your government should urgently act to follow due process of law in any policy to remove fuel subsidy, ensure that suspected perpetrators of these crimes against Nigerians are brought to justice and full recovery of any missing public funds.”
SERAP also said, “Arbitrarily removing fuel subsidy without addressing outstanding accountability issues in the alleged mismanagement of oil revenues and fuel subsidy payments would amount to punishing poverty and further impoverishing the poor while letting high-profile officials and non-state actors get away with their crimes.”
SERAP also urged him to “name and shame anyone suspected to be responsible for the alleged widespread and systemic corruption in the use of oil revenues and the management of public funds budgeted as fuel subsidy, and to ensure their effective prosecution as well as the full recovery of any proceeds of crime.”
SERAP wants the President “to promptly, thoroughly, independently, transparently and effectively probe all fuel subsidy paid by successive governments since the return of democracy in 1999, and to use any recovered proceeds of crime as palliatives to address the impact of any subsidy removal on poor Nigerians.”
The letter, read in part: “Any removal of fuel subsidy should not be used as a ploy to keep the poor in poverty while those who allegedly stole oil revenues and fuel subsidy payments keep their ill-gotten wealth.”
“Allegations of corruption in oil revenues and fuel subsidy payments suggest that the poor have rarely benefited from the use and management of the revenues and payments.”
“Poor and socio-economically vulnerable Nigerians should not be made to continue to pay the price for the stealing of the country’s oil wealth while state and non-state actors pocket public funds.”
“We would be grateful if the recommended measures are taken within 3 days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall take all appropriate legal actions to compel your government to comply with our request in the public interest.”
“The proposed panel should be headed by a retired justice of the Supreme Court or Court of Appeal, and its members should include people with proven professional record, and of the highest integrity that can act impartially, independently, and transparently.”
[ripplesnigeria]
Rising from a general meeting, the people of the oil-rich Ugborodo community in Warri South-West Local Government Area of Delta State today said they have suspended further protests against Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL) just as they issued a notice to Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) to negotiate with them with regards to the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
The meeting was held in the town hall of Ode-Ugborodo, the headquarters of Ugborodo.
Alex Eyengho, who spoke on behalf of the community, said they suspended the protest against CNL to make room for further discussions.
Eyengho pointed out that the Ugborodo community has held several meetings with CNL after its recent protest against the international oil company.
He further confirmed that there had been a tripartite meeting involving the community, CNL, and a national regulatory commission over the matter.
According to Eyengho, “Chevron is showing some commitment as it concerns the Petroleum Industry Act, PIA.”
He said the community demanded a trust different from others in Itsekiriland.
The community resolved that its trust should be known as “Ekpere Host Communities Development Trust,” he stated, stressing that the action is not in disrespect to anyone but in compliance with the PIA stipulations.
He further disclosed that the Ugborodo community has issued Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), which also operates in its domain, a seven-day notice to negotiate directly with its people, as CNL is currently doing.
“CNL is doing the right thing. We have served SPDC a seven-day notice to comply with the extant law guiding the PIA,” he said.
In its recent protest, the community demanded that CNL provide its indigenes with electricity, water, empowerment, and job opportunities.
Eyengho declared that “CNL has made commitments to attend to it.”
The personal assistant to the Eghare-Aja of the Ugborodo community, Joseph Uwawah, corroborated Eyengho’s claims.
The meeting was attended by Chief Ayirimi Emami, Ologbitsere of Warri Kingdom, Eghare Daniel Uwawah, the Eghare-Aja of Ugborodo community, Prince Perry Atete, and a cross-section of Ugborodo indigenes.
[DailyPost]
An auto crash in Zakirai town on the Kano-Ringim Road in Gabasawa Local Government Area of Kano State has claimed the lives of 18 passengers.
The incident, caused by overspeeding, dangerous driving, and overloading, involved two commercial vehicles and resulted in a head-on collision and the subsequent bursting into flames of one of the buses.
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Sector Commander in Kano State, Ibrahim Abdullahi, confirmed the tragic accident.
He said the incident happened on Friday evening.
“We received a call about the accident at about 8:35 p.m. on Friday and dispatched our personnel to the scene to rescue the victims” he said.
“The accident involved a total of 35 passengers in two buses, out of which 18 were burnt beyond recognition while 12 others sustained serious injuries.”
Expressing his condolences, Abdullahi lamented the magnitude of avoidable road crashes that have occurred in Kano State over the past week.
During a visit to the crash scene on Saturday, he warned motorists, particularly intercity and inter-state drivers, to refrain from overloading, excessive speeding, wrongful overtaking, and other traffic violations that could lead to such devastating accidents.
The injured victims were promptly transported to the Murtala Mohammed General Hospital in Kano for urgent medical attention.
Meanwhile, some of the deceased were given a mass burial at the accident scene, while others were handed over to their grieving relatives.
Considering the recent surge in road accidents, the FRSC has pledged to intensify public enlightenment campaigns and enforce stricter patrol interventions.
These efforts include the operation of mobile courts to swiftly address traffic violations and ensure compliance with road safety regulations.
The tragic incident serves as a grim reminder of the importance of responsible driving and adhering to traffic rules.
Motorists are urged to prioritize safety, and avoid over speeding, overloading, wrongful overtaking, and any behaviour that poses a risk to themselves and others on the road.
The local community and authorities are deeply saddened by the loss of lives in this devastating accident and stand united in their efforts to prevent further tragedies on the roads.
[ChannelsTV]
The Police Service Commission (PSC), says junior policemen who hold law degrees and similar qualifications in other disciplines would be considered for upgrade in due course.
Mr Solomon Arase, Chairman, PSC, made the promise when he received the leadership of the Nigerian Unity Bar Association, Abuja branch, in his office.
This is contained in a statement issued by Mr Ikechukwu Ani, Spokesperson of the commission, on Sunday in Abuja.
The Chairman said qualified lawyers serving in the Nigeria Police Force and appearing in courts with the ranks of Corporals, Sergeants and Inspectors would be elevated soon.
He also said the cases of other policemen who acquired additional qualifications while in service will also receive attention.
According to the statement, Arase said, this would give the affected policemen the required self confidence to perform better.
“The Commission may decide to send these categories of Police lawyers and other junior policemen with additional qualifications on a short service training, after which they would be properly placed as officers.
“The Nigeria Police need the services of more lawyers. The Commission will come up with a win-win situation for all parties,” he assured.
Arase called on the Nigerian Bar Association to advise practicing lawyers to stop criminalising civil matters.
He said “It is wrong and should be discouraged, civil matters should be treated as civil matters and arbitration should serve the parties and the society better.
“We should avoid time wasting in criminalising civil matters and sending them to the police when it can be better handled outside of the force,” he said.
The Chairman added that the Commission was setting up a Compliance Monitoring Unit to ensure that the Police Complaints Response Unit promptly attends to public complaints.
He said that the new unit will be directly under his supervision for effectiveness and efficiency, stressing that the Commission will henceforth ensure that it prevents a system that does not attend to public complaints with dispatch.
The statement quoted Arase as stating the Commission’s desire to collaborate with the Nigeria Bar Association to organise some training programmes on human rights so as to expose its staff lawyers to a better appreciation of its duties.
The Chairman of Unity Bar of NBA, Abuja, Mr Afam Okeke, had earlier congratulated the PSC Chairman on his appointment and pledged the union’s support.
Okeke, however, complained that lawyers who came into the Force as Junior Officers but improved their qualifications, were currently appearing and defending cases in courts for the Nigeria Police Force, but still wearing junior ranks.
[Guardian]
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Once again, Nigeria tops the list of countries blocking funds that effectively prevent airlines from gaining access to these much-needed monies.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) at the start of its AGM in Istanbul, Turkey has warned that these rapidly rising levels of blocked funds are a threat to airline connectivity in the affected markets.
In total, the industry’s blocked funds increased by 47% to (US) $2.27 billion in April 2023 from (US) $1.55 billion in April 2022.
“Airlines cannot continue to offer services in markets where they are unable to repatriate the revenues arising from their commercial activities in those markets. Governments need to work with industry to resolve this situation so airlines can continue to provide the connectivity that is vital to driving economic activity and job creation,” said Willie Walsh, IATA director general.
The top five countries account for 68.0% of blocked funds. These comprise:
- Nigeria (US) $812.2 million
- Bangladesh (US) $214.1 million
- Algeria (US) $196.3 million
- Pakistan (US) $188.2 million
- Lebanon (US) $141.2 million
Last year Dubai based carrier Emirates threatened to withdraw its services from the country and the government responded by releasing (US) $265 million. Many international airlines fly into Nigeria under the legal framework of the Bilateral Air Service Agreements (BASA), signed between their countries and the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
IATA urged governments to abide by international agreements and treaty obligations to enable airlines to repatriate these funds arising from the sale of tickets, cargo space, and other activities.
[airnews]
A letter from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has revealed that the controversial national carrier, Nigeria Air has been unable to move on to phase two of the Air Operator Certificate certification procedure.
Local airline operators had objected to the Federal Government’s delivery of the first Nigeria Air plane on the grounds that it violated a court order prohibiting the government from moving further with the project.
But according to a letter sent to the managing director of Nigeria Air on Friday and dated June 2, 2023, the airline’s request to move forward did not include the formal application form and the required paperwork, as stated in an earlier letter dated May 16, 2023.
The letter reads, “The Authority is in receipt of your letter dated 25th May 2023 on the subject matter. Quite contrary to our earlier letter of 16th May 2023 which enumerated the documents to be submitted with the Formal Application Form OPS 002, your letter of request to proceed to Phase Two has no inclusion of a Formal Application Form and the necessary documents referenced in the Formal Application Form. Hence, the Certification Process cannot progress to Phase Two (2) without these required documents.”
The process of obtaining the all-important AOC involves five stages.
Stage one is the pre-application phase where the NCAA will appoint a certification team and process the pre-application statement of intent form (AC-OPS 001). In this stage, discussions on all regulatory requirements, the formal application and attachments and any other related issues will take place. This is usually a week’s process.
Stage two involves a formal application for intending entrants where documents and manuals (including the curricula vitae of key management personnel) must be submitted for evaluation. The minimum timeframe for the formal application phase is two weeks.
Stage three involves document evaluation where the NCAA will review the applicant’s manuals and other related documents and attachments to ensure conformity with the applicable regulations and safe operating practices. The minimum time frame for the document evaluation phase is three months.
Stage Four: Demonstration and inspection; this is a key stage of the process carried out only after a satisfactory documentation evaluation phase. In this stage, a thorough audit by the certification team at the applicant’s premises will be conducted to ensure that the proposed procedures are effective and that the applicant’s facilities and equipment meet the NCAA’s regulatory requirements.
Also at this stage, other demonstrations like emergency evacuation and ditching will be carried out and after successes in these exercises; a demonstration flight will be carried out. The minimum time-frame for the demonstration and inspection phase is two months.
[RipplesNigeria]
The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) says it will embark on a nationwide protest next week Wednesday over the removal of petrol subsidy.
On Friday, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) issued a five-day ultimatum to the federal government to revert to the old price of petrol or face a nationwide protest.
Joe Ajaero, NLC president, said the federal government had until Wednesday to revert to the old price of N185.
Reacting in a statement on Saturday, Shuaibu Leman, NUJ national secretary, said an emergency central working committee (CMC) meeting of the union was convened virtually.
Leman said discussions at the meeting centred on issues surrounding the decision by the federal government to remove fuel subsidy and the position taken by the NLC.
He said members unanimously adopted the position of the NLC.
“CWC reiterates the argument that although the removal of fuel subsidy will free allocations which can be channelled to the provisions of infrastructure and creation of additional jobs, the sudden removal could, however, lead to social unrest and protests as people may perceive Government as being insensitive to their plight,” the statement reads.
“CWC also notes that already there is an astronomical increase in the prices of petroleum products and high inflation which have drastically reduced the purchasing power of citizens.
“Accordingly CWC directs all State Councils of the Union to mobilise members to withdraw their services and commence protests nationwide from Wednesday next week, 7th June 2023, if the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNCPL) refuses to reverse the new price regime in the oil sector.”
[TheCable]
AHEAD of the inauguration of the 10th National Assembly on June 13, President Bola Tinubu may have given the President of the Senate, Senator Ahmad Lawan, and the Speaker, House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, a definite assignment to ensure that double nominations were avoided in both chambers on that day.
Analysts, at the weekend, interpreted this to mean that the President believed that this was the only way the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) could win all relevant Principal Officers’ positions in the incoming National Assembly.
It was gathered that Tinubu gave the tall order at the Presidential Villa on Thursday night, just as the Presiding Officers were said to have told the President that there was no way a zoning arrangement which excludes the North-Central and gives two slots to the North-West would stand.
Recall there was a meeting between Tinubu and the duo of Lawan and Gbajabiamila at the Presidential Villa on Thursday.
Also recall that the APC had announced the endorsement of Senator Godswill Akpabio and three others for the topmost positions in the National Assembly. Akpabio from South-South was endorsed for Senate President, Senator Jibrin Barau from North-West for Deputy Senate President, Honourable Tajudeen Abass, North-West for Speaker, House of Representatives and Hon. Benjamin Kalu, South-East for Deputy Speaker.
The decision did not, however, go down well with some members of the party and especially those aspiring for the positions of Presiding Officers in both the Senate and the House of Representatives as there were protests, condemnations and strong criticisms across the country.
Consequently, the Senate Whip and a former Governor of Abia State, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, a former Governor of Zamfara State, Alhaji Abdulaziz Yari, and Senator Osita Izunaso, among others, have continually kicked against the decision of the party while vowing to contest against the Akpabio/Barau ticket on Inauguration Day.
Amicable solution
According to a source, Tinubu decided to come into the matter to find an amicable solution to the issue which was already creating tension among senators-elect following complaints about the zning arrangement of the two chambers of the National Assembly.
The source said, “The President has given the duo of Senate President and Speaker a specific assignment to resolve the crisis created by the zoning of Presiding Officers’ positions announced by the All Progressives Congress leadership last month.
“The President wanted to avoid all forms of distractions and ill feelings among members-elect of the 10th National Assembly so that he could concentrate on the onerous task of providing good governance.
“The President is currently tackling the issue of dwindling revenue, poor infrastructure and epileptic power supply, among others, and he needed to concentrate on putting his team together.
“As we are all aware, the National Assembly is very critical. Since the APC has the highest number of members in both chambers, it was the President’s opinion that the leadership must not be imposed.”
It was also gathered that both Lawan and Gbajabiamila had asked all aspirants for Senate President and Speaker to put their houses in order to avoid rancour on the day of inauguration.
Against this backdrop, the Akpabio/Barau Stability Group met at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja on Thursday night for several hours.
Also the Senate Democratic Caucus, which parades Yari, Kalu, Izunaso and others as members, met at Destination Hotel in Wuse 2, Abuja.
A source at the Akpabio/Barau’s Stability Group meeting explained that most of the senators-elect who were invited failed to turn up.
The source said, “Invitations were sent out to all senators-elect by the Stability Group for the meeting, which was called by a prominent senator from the South-West but many of those invited did not turn up.
“It got to a point that some elders of the party like Aremo Olusegun Osoba and Abu Ibrahim were invited to the closed-door meeting, which had about 21 senators-elect in attendance.
Rival meeting
Meanwhile, the meeting called by the Democratic Caucus group at the Wuse Zone two was held simultaneously.
A senator-elect from the North-East, who confirmed the development on the condition of anonymity, noted that the turnout of lawmakers-elect at the venue was highly impressive.
He said, “The meeting convened by the Senate Democratic Caucus had in attendance 57 senators-elect while about 16 others sent in their regrets.
“We are going to take the final decision on the matter on Tuesday (this week) and Nigerians will know that the zoning arrangement done by the APC had collapsed.”
It was also gathered that there were moves by the President and the leadership of the APC to tinker with the zoning arrangement as announced by the APC just as concerns were raised especially on the exclusion of the North-Central in the zoning made for both chambers of the National Assembly by the APC to ensure inclusivity, fairness and justice which may alter current permutations.
[Vanguard]