A popular security expert, Bulama Bukarti, has said the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal (PEPT) may not deliver the much-anticipated judgement on the 2023 presidential election today.

Recall that the Court of Appeal, in a statement on Monday, had fixed Wednesday, September 6, as the date it would deliver judgment on the petitions challenging the victory of President Bola Tinubu in the February 25 presidential election.

But in a post on his X handle on Tuesday, Bukarti stated that the tribunal may not give the ruling as expected today due to the ongoing warning strike by the National Labour Congress (NLC).

In the post titled: ‘PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION PETITION JUDGEMENT MAY NOT BE DELIVERED TOMORROW’, Bukarti asserted that the NLC strike might ground activities at the court premises.

The security expert said, while the judges may not participate in the strike, the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN), which is affiliated with the NLC, has issued orders to close all courts in the country for two days.

Burkari stated that while the strike would result in the closure of the court premises and judges’ offices, making it impossible to deliver the judgment, the tribunal could delay judgment until after the strike.

He said: “Is it possible for the NLC’s strike tomorrow to prevent the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal from delivering its judgment? I believe it’s a possibility.

“While the judges themselves may not participate in the strike, the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN), which is affiliated with the NLC, has issued orders to close all courts in the country today and tomorrow.

“If this occurs, it would result in the closure of the tribunal premises and judges’ offices, making it impossible to deliver the judgment. If such a scenario unfolds, it could have a significant impact, garnering headlines.

“However, the Tribunal could delay judgment until after the strike, potentially towards the late evening or the early night hours.

“But this may not work, as JUSUN may refuse to open the court after working hours, or NLC officials may put it under lock and key until Thursday morning. I am keen to see what will happen tomorrow.”

The Parish Priest, SS Peter & Paul Pro-Cathedral, Lagere, Ile-Ife; Rev Fr Dr. Peter Oluseyi Adeyemi has on Sunday 3 September 2023, in his address, expanded on how digital age has impacted religion and religious activities.

In his opinion, there is a tendency to presume that saintliness was possible in the past but impossible in this current time, because of the technological advancements in all aspects of human existence. His other reasons for this assertion is that; the world of today which relishes the digital age has  positively and negatively impacted on the way things are done - not only as it pertains to human existence but also in religious observances.

He then asserted that; though it is difficult to become saints in the presence of digital advancement, however, not impossible. According to Fr Adeyemi, digital technology is fundamentally changing what it means to be human; most especially - to be a religious or spiritual human being.

He worried of the digital world full of virtual deception vis-à-vis religious practices. Though the priest agreed that the digital phenomena, such as the interconnected networks, coupled with its socially interactive applications, like - Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter and others, have come to stay since it has been so-much integrated into the fabrics of the society; the implications for human spirituality according to him,  are staggering.

Some of technological invention that further triggered his worries is the current reality of robots, leading prayers in some religious gathering. Another is the ongoing attempt to manufacture spirituality-enhancement- technologies that can provide shortcut to meditation using cognitive augmentation via brain-computer interfaces (BCIs).

The priest noted that, though there is possibility that such inventions may enhance stronger, calmer, quick and sharp reasoning - or even intense and transformative spiritual experiences; which may contribute to virtuousness - through the help of biomedical moral enhancement (BME).

What bothers him the most is its negative implications on human freedom and freewill in relating to God; this, according to him, is because; human efforts to worship God may then' become a cosmetic and impersonal affair.

Former governor of Ekiti state, Kayode Fayemi, says democracy in the country is not working despite the end of the military administration in 1999.

This is as Fayemi said the protest that trailed the fuel subsidy removal during the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan in 2012 was due to political interests.

He spoke Tuesday in Abuja while delivering a keynote address at a national dialogue organised to celebrate the 60th birthday of Prof Udenta Udenta, founding national secretary of Alliance for Democracy (AD).

In January 2012, President Goodluck Jonathan announced the removal of fuel subsidy, causing a significant increase in the pump price of petrol, from N65 per litre to N141.

This decision ignited widespread protests across major cities in Nigeria, known as ‘Occupy Nigeria.’

After more than a week of protests, the government adjusted the petrol price to N97 and later reduced it to N87.

While speaking at the event, the ex-governor criticised the “winner-takes-all” nature of Nigeria’s democracy stating that the nation’s current challenges could not be effectively addressed without adopting proportional representation, where election rewards are distributed among contestants based on their share of the vote.

“Today, I read former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s interview in TheCable saying our liberal democracy is not working and we need to revisit it, and I agree with him. We must move from the political alternatives. I think we are almost on a dead end of that.”

“What we need is alternative politics, and my own notion of alternative politics is that you can’t have 35 per cent of the vote and take 100 per cent. It won’t work! We must look at proportional representation so that the party that is said to have won 21 per cent of the votes will have 21 per cent of the government. Adversary politics bring division and enmity,” he said.

He also acknowledged that all major political parties in Nigeria, including the PDP, APC, and Labour Party, had previously included the removal of subsidy in their manifestos.

However, he emphasized that the actual implementation of the policy in 2012 was driven by political considerations rather than a genuine commitment to the policy itself.

“All political parties in the country agreed and they even put in their manifesto that subsidy must be removed. We all said subsidy must be removed. But we in ACN at the time, in 2012, we know the truth sir, but it is all politics.

“That is why we must ensure that everybody is a crucial stakeholder by stopping all these. Let the manifesto of PDP, APC and Labour Party be put on the table and select all those who will pilot the programme from all parties.”

Among those at the event were Jonathan, former Minister of Education, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili; and former Minister of Aviation, Osita Chidoka.

Abia State Government said it will invest the N2bn palliative so far released by the Federal Government into transportation.

The Commissioner for Information and Culture, Prince Okey Kanu disclosed this while briefing the press alongside some of his colleagues after this week’s State Executive Council meeting chaired by Governor Alex Otti.

The Commissioner said that details of how to deploy the fund would be made available soon, adding that the State Government would roll out its own palliatives after it is through with that of the Federal Government which is going on smoothly.

The Special Adviser to the Governor on Policies and Interventions, Rev. Father Christian Anokwuru revealed that a total of 16,800 bags of rice was received from the Federal Government, disclosing that each ward would get 90 bags.

He added that 55 bags have been shared to each of the 184 wards while the remaining 35 bags would get to the wards tomorrow.

Operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS), on Tuesday, nabbed some officials of State Emergency Management Agency diverting palliatives meant for the citizens to cushion the effects of fuel subsidy removal.

Some of the suspects arrested at a popular market in Lafia, Nasarawa State capital where the items were being resold included officials of Nasarawa State Emergency Management Agency (NASEMA) and their accomplices

Spokesman of the secret police, Peter Afunanya, who disclosed the development to journalists in Abuja, explained that some of the diverted items were recovered from the suspects

Afunanya called on members of the public who may have information relating to the emerging trend to report same to the relevant security agencies for necessary action, saying the culprits would be punished according to laws.

“The Department of State Services (DSS) has received reports from some State Governments relating to diversion or sale of palliatives meant for their citizens.

“Consequently, the Service undertook investigations in that regard and has recovered some of the items as well as apprehended the suspects,” the DSS spokesman noted.

He noted that while their operation was ongoing in other states, the service has already intercepted a suspected criminal syndicate in Nasarawa State responsible for the diversion and sale of the palliatives meant for the vulnerable in the place.

Daily Trust reports that the federal government had a few weeks ago shared thousands of bags of rice, a staple food, across 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory in order to cushion the effects of fuel subsidy removal, particularly on the vulnerable citizens.

The Kogi East Senatorial Election Tribunal sitting in Lokoja has sacked Senator Jibrin Isah, (Echocho), the Senate Committee Chairman on Customs Excise and Tariffs, cancelling the election in 94 polling units in the district.

Consequently, the chairman of the Tribunal , Justice K.A. Orjiako, ordered Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a supplementary election in the affected 94 polling units in the district.

Dr Victor Adoji, Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), through his Counsel, Mr Johnson Usman (SAN), had challenged the return of Senator Isah on the ground that the elections were cancelled in some polling units where the PVCs collected were more than the margin of win.

The petitioner (Adoji) had pleaded with the tribunal to annul the election of Senator Isah and ordered for a supplementary election in the affected 94 polling units in the senatorial district.

In a unanimous judgement, Justice K.A. Orjiako agreed with the submission of the petitioner’s counsel (Usman SAN) and annulled Isah’s victory, including withdrawal of his certificate of return to that effect.

The tribunal chairman, Justice Orjiako declared in his ruling: “Since the PVCs collected in the 94 polling units is 59,730, while the margin of win is 26,922 votes, the Returning Officer ought to have declared the election inconclusive without making a return.

“Consequently, this honourable tribunal hereby granted the reliefs sought by the petitioners. We also set aside the Certificate of Return issued to Jibrin Isah.

“The tribunal hereby also orders INEC to conduct a supplementary election in the affected polling units where election did not hold or was cancelled in order to determine the winner,” he added.

With a thriving and fertile environment for extortion and racketeering, process for obtaining the Nigerian passport has turned the booklet into a hire purchase document where applicants pay official cost at point of application, connoting preliminary downpayment, and thereafter compelled to pay a bribe as balance in installments or in full, depending on the deal reached with Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) officials involved in this underhand deed.  This is the practice nationwide.

Applicants who fail to comply with this process risk delayed services characterized by uncertainty, except for Very Important Persons (VIP) and those with direct contact with top officials of NIS who enjoy some level of waivers exempting them from any form of bargains.  Despite this, a balance sum is made as gift at the end of the exercise to the facilitating official in appreciation, but at the discretion of the applicant.

Sadly, some of these NIS officials have also extended these unethical practices to foreigners and the country’s missions abroad.  As a government agency providing direct services to foreigners, NIS is the face of Nigeria.  How it carries out its activities and obligations rub off on the country’s image with implications on public perception.  Its conduct can be used to gauge corruption in the course of passport, visa, work permit and expatriate quota issuance.

The hire purchase process is embodied in two recognized methods of application, namely, online and physical through NIS official.  In the online, applicants are required to apply through dedicated portal on the internet where payment is made and appointment date assigned for biometric capture.  Fixed date for collection is not known, and applicants need not contact NIS officials prior to application.  

But applications through NIS officials are directly handled and facilitated by a contracted official who superintends over the process.  Based on the agreed sum, payment is made inclusive of official cost, and thereafter, dates for biometrics capture and collection are given to the applicants.   Processing time through this method is short and definite.  This is the preferred choice for NIS officials due to attractive illicit returns.   

Unfortunately, while the online method is officially and openly canvassed as the appropriate channel, it is softly and covertly discouraged by unscrupulous NIS officials owing to inducement constraints.  Once these NIS officials are aware you have applied online, you are treated like a leprosy patient to be avoided. You may not even get a response for a simple enquiry relating to collection date.  Sarcastically, they ask you to go back to the internet to get a date.  This is done to discourage applicants from applying online.  

At any passport office, online applicants are subjected to indecent conditions, including standing in scorching sun almost all day, and drenched in a state of uncertainty.  In some instances, they are crammed into small office spaces, either waiting for biometrics capture or collection of passports or making enquiries for collection date.  Sometimes, they go through this process next day with no definite assurances.  

Persons applying through NIS officials are not subjected to these depressing conditions.  They are given special treatment which enables them to reduce their waiting time either for biometrics or other formalities.  Their transaction timelines are guaranteed.  Once their passports are ready, they are contacted by the handling official for collection.

Kickback charged by NIS officials for direct applicants is contingent upon delivery time, whether for fresh passport application or renewal, and this ranges between N30,000 and N60,000, depending on negotiation.  However, any frustrated online applicant may also speak to any NIS official for intervention to facilitate the process, but this requires a bribe of not less than N20,000 or higher, depending on compromise.

Despite being fraught with corruption, the public is still advised to apply online to avoid touts, as asserted by the acting Comptroller General of NIS, Caroline Wura-Ola Adepoju on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily.  According to her, “our applications are available online and we are trying to sensitise our applicants that they should go online for these applications to avoid patronising touts”, assuring that “for a fresh application, it takes six weeks to get the passport ready, while it takes three weeks for renewal”.

This declaration is at variance with realities at all NIS passport offices.  It is either Caroline Wura-Ola Adepoju is feigning ignorance or lack the courage to admit prevailing anomalies.  Having risen from the ranks to become Controller General, she cannot deny knowledge of unethical practices in the system and the plight of online applicants.  Touts operate within the precinct of NIS, and mostly, in collaboration with some NIS officials. Besides, passports are not ready in weeks as current minimum waiting period is two months, just as online applicants are still required to visit the offices for biometric capture despite automated process.  

The cost for a 64-page passport with a 10-year validity period is N70,000 while same page with five years period goes for N35,000, just as a 32-page passport with a five-year validity period costs N25,000.  Officially, NIS says applicants are not required to pay any other fee outside these costs, but in practice, it is not true, as actual costs are padded.   

Nigerians in diaspora and foreigners living in Nigeria alike are not spared the agonies inflicted by crooked NIS officials.  These are manifested when travelling through the country’s international airports where these NIS officials brazenly solicit for alms in hush tones from travelers without mindful of existential damage to the country’s image.  

At the country’s missions abroad, NIS methods of service delivery are poor and do not conform with international best practices as obtain in advanced economies.  Despite the presence of NIS officials in those foreign territories, they ignore enculturation of prevailing work ethics and civility of their host nations, preferring to hold on to the Nigerian factor where Nigerians in diaspora are subjected to undignified manners in the course of passport issuance.

Renewing or obtaining fresh passports abroad by Nigerians is a nightmare.  Most of these applicants travel long distances either by road or air to get to Nigerian Embassies or High Commissions.  Yet, upon arrival, they are confronted with cold reception and unruly behaviour with a mentality of doing these applicants a favour, resulting in low morale of many Nigerians in diaspora.

I recalled a friend who narrated his experience in the hands of NIS officials in Nigerian Embassy in New York City (NYC) where he had gone to renew his Nigerian passport after flying for over five hours by air from Portland.  On arrival at the Embassy, NIS officials were reluctant to attend to him, not because they were busy, but hiding under cover of arrogance and laziness.  He had to practically beg them before he could be attended to, and thereafter given a date for receipt of his passport, a development connoting a hangover of the Nigerian mentality.  Others are not as lucky as he was.

From Ottawa, Canada to Atlanta and Washington D.C., USA to Bern, Switzerland to London, England to Madrid, Spain to Brasilia, Brazil to Berlin, Germany and to Johannesburg, South Africa, the story of ineptitude, poor work ethics, lack of professionalism, poor service delivery and recalcitrant disposition are the same, leading to stress, trauma and humiliation of applicants.  

As a result of these glitches and contradictions in the operations of NIS, the agency conjures image of graft and ineptitude, just as the uniform constantly reminds the public of existing ethical gaps in the system. While these are symptoms of larger dislocations in the Nigerian system, the greed of some of these NIS officials who take delight in sabotaging the system for selfish gains, should be curbed, failing which, means NIS has been compromised beyond redemption.

It will do the country no good if these greedy officials who have exposed NIS to profound ridicule, undermined and precluded the system from delivering a seamless process for all Nigerians are allowed to sustain their dubious acts of extortion.

It is absurd for a country like Nigeria that is enmeshed with corruption toga to have a preferential service reserved for a category of Nigerians while others are subjected to ill-treatment.  It is therefore, imperative for the entire NIS system to be retooled for transparent, equitable, optimum and improved delivery capacity to save the country from a few elements who are bent on making corruption a lifestyle.

The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) has said the general power outrage experienced across its franchise is due to the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) strike.

This was contained in a statement released via its social media platform X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday.

The company recommended that consumers take necessary precautions to manage the outage effectively.

It urged them to unplug sensitive electronic devices and appliances from power sources pending the restoration of power.

The statement reads, “We are aware of the general power outage being experienced across our franchise due to enforcement by NLC of the two-day warning strike embarked upon by the labour union.

“We apologise for any inconvenience you may be experiencing as a result of this as we continue our engagement with key stakeholders towards minimising the impact of the strike on our customers.

“In the meantime, we recommend that you take necessary precautions to manage the outage effectively. Kindly unplug sensitive electronic devices and appliances from power sources pending the restoration of power.

“We will continue to provide updates on developments regarding the impact of the strike action on our operations through our official social media handles. Thank you for your understanding and continued support during this challenging time. We remain committed to serving you.”

The AEDC supplies power to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Kogi, Niger and Nasarawa states.

Apart from these states, there are currently power outages in Osogbo, Kano and other states as workers disrupted services because of the strike.

Former sporting director at Paris Saint-Germain, Leonardo, has admitted that Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappé lacked support and recognition to create a winning environment during their time together in France.

The star-studded attacking trio won league titles at PSG the past two seasons, but failed to bring Champions League success to the club.

“People, they need to feel comfortable. These players need a state of good spirits, they need to feel support, they need to be recognised.

“And the ones who have do that are the club, us, and the coaches,” Leonardo told Brazilian publication Ge.

Mbappé is into the final year of his current contract at PSG, while Messi left the Ligue 1 champions this summer to join Inter Miami CF as a free agent. Neymar moved to Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal in a €90million transfer.

[DailyPost]