Nigeria’s former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has congratulated John Mahama on his victory in the recently concluded election in Ghana.

Naija News reported earlier that the candidate of the ruling party in the Ghana presidential election, Mahamudu Bawumia, on Sunday conceded defeat to former President, John Mahama, following the outcome of the Saturday, December 7, election.

In a post via his official X handle on Sunday, Atiku congratulated Mahama, describing the outcome as a landslide victory.

“Your Excellency, Mr. President-elect John Mahama, @JDMahama. My warmest congratulations on your victory. I was told you were on your way to church and thought I could catch up with you before you entered the church for the Sunday service. Once again, kindly accept my hearty congratulations on your landslide victory,” Atiku wrote on X.

Earlier, Ghana‘s ruling New Patriotic Party candidate, Bawumia, called his opponent, John Mahama, to extend his congratulations.

“The people of Ghana have spoken, the people have voted for change at this time and we respect it with all humility,” he said in a press conference.

Mahama has also acknowledged on his X account that he had received a congratulatory call from Bawumia.

Ghana‘s ruling New Patriotic Party candidate, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, announced on Sunday that he had accepted his defeat in the recent presidential election.

Naija News understands that Bawumia has pushed a phone call to his opponent, John Mahama, to extend his congratulations.

“The people of Ghana have spoken, the people have voted for change at this time and we respect it with all humility,” he said in a press conference.

Mahama acknowledged on his X account that he had received a congratulatory call from Bawumia.

The Vice President remarked that Mahama had secured the presidency “decisively,” along with the opposition NDC party’s victory in the parliamentary elections, based on the ruling NPP party’s internal vote count.

Bawumia faced challenges in distancing himself from the criticism regarding the government’s management of Ghana’s economic crisis and the rising cost of living, which emerged as the primary issue during the election.

Meanwhile, Ghana’s Communications Minister, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, has been defeated in her bid for re-election in the Ablekuma West constituency by Reverend Kweku Addo of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

Ursula, who has held a parliamentary position since 2012, received 26,575 votes, whereas Reverend Addo emerged victorious with 31,866 votes. The results were confirmed by the returning officer from the Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC), indicating a total of 58,441 valid votes cast.

Additionally, Tourism Minister Andrew Egyapa Mercer, a notable member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), also lost his parliamentary seat in the Sekondi constituency to Blay Nyameke Armah of the NDC.

Mercer, who had been the representative for the area since 2016, garnered 11,084 votes, while Armah achieved 14,558 votes.

In his acceptance speech, Armah expressed gratitude to his constituents, declaring, “This victory belongs to the entire constituency, and we will work together to revitalize Sekondi.”

Furthermore, Interior Minister Henry Quartey was defeated in the Ayawaso Central constituency by Abdul Rauf Tubazu of the NDC. Quartey, who previously served as the Greater Accra Regional Minister, received 23,345 votes, while Tubazu claimed victory with 29,755 votes.

Tubazu conveyed his enthusiasm regarding the win, stating, “This victory is gratifying, and we are committed to serving the people.”

The House of Representatives Committee on Constitutional Review is currently evaluating a proposal aimed at amending the 1999 Constitution to restrict the number of ministers appointed by the president to 37.

This proposal, titled “A Bill for an Act to Amend the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to Streamline the Number of Ministers to be Appointed to the Federal Executive Council,” is presently under consideration by the committee, which Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu chairs.

Naija News reports that the bill is sponsored by representatives from the Darazo/Ganjuwa and Kaga/Gubio/Magumeri Federal Constituencies of Bauchi and Borno states, respectively.

The bill aims to revise Section 147 (1) of the Constitution to state, “There shall be such offices of Ministers of the Government of the Federation, not exceeding 37, as may be established by the President.”

It is worth noting that the Federal Executive Council under President Bola Tinubu currently consists of 45 ministers, including substantive ministers and Ministers of State.

Traditionally, the Nigerian president appoints a minister from each of the 36 states of the federation while also allowing for additional appointments based on various considerations in the formation of the cabinet.

“The bill seeks to alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, to specify the maximum number of ministers to be appointed to the Federal Executive Council to address duplication of duties, minimise the cost of governance, and enhance efficiency to service at the federal level,” the Bauchi lawmaker, Mansur Soro said during an interview with The PUNCH.

“We need to reduce the cost of governance and address inequality in the number of ministers to be appointed from each state and cases of overlapping mandates of ministers. In my opinion, a minister per state is enough while also considering the Federal Capital Territory,” he added.

The lawmaker elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) expressed disagreement with the notion that the president has the authority to appoint more than two ministers from a single state in order to include technocrats.

The President has numerous other key government agencies and additional ministerial parastatals available for the inclusion of technocrats or politicians. Currently, Ogun State is represented by four ministers, while other states have only one each.

The lawmaker questioned the fairness of this situation.

In a related matter, the committee led by Kalu is deliberating on a proposed bill aimed at amending Section 62 of the Constitution to ensure adherence to the federal character principle in the selection of principal officers within the National Assembly.

Ghana’s former President John Dramani Mahama has won the country’s presidential election after his main opponent, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, conceded defeat.

“The people of Ghana have spoken, the people have voted for change at this time and we respect it with all humility,” Bawumia said in a news conference on Sunday.

The defeat in Saturday’s election ends two terms in power for the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) under President Nana Akufo-Addo, marked by Ghana’s worst economic crisis in years, involving high inflation and a debt default.

Bawumia said he called Mahama, of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), to congratulate him.

Earlier, NDC spokesman Sammy Gyamfi told reporters the party’s internal review of results showed Mahama won 56.3 percent of the vote against 41.3 percent for Bawumia.

“It is very clear the people of this country have voted for change,” Gyamfi said.

The vice president said Mahama won the presidency “decisively

The NDC won the parliamentary election, according to the NPP’s internal tally of votes.

Mahama, who was president of Ghana between July 2012 and January 2017, confirmed on X he had received Bawumia’s congratulatory call over his “emphatic victory”.

Blaring horns and cheering, the 65-year-old’s supporters were already gathering and celebrating outside the party campaign headquarters in the capital, Accra.

During his campaign, he promised to “reset” the country on various fronts and tried to appeal to young Ghanaians.

His win marks a historic victory, making him the first president in the three decades of Ghana’s Fourth Republic – since the 1992 return to multi-party democracy – to reclaim the presidency after being voted out.

Ghana’s economic woes dominated the election after the gold and cacao producer went through a crisis of default and currency devaluation, ending with a $3bn International Monetary Fund bailout.

On corruption, Mahama vowed during the campaign that he will create a new office tasked with scrutinising government procurement above a $5m threshold.

He said unchecked procurement processes are a major source of corruption.

But Mahama also voiced support for the anti-LGBTQ bill passed by Ghana’s parliament in February but which is yet to be signed into law and has sparked international criticism.

Ghana’s election commission had said official results were likely due by Tuesday.

With a history of democratic stability, Ghana’s two main parties, the NPP and NDC, have alternated in power equally since the return to multi-party politics in 1992.

The Federal Government has set aside N700bn from the federation account for the implementation of the distribution of free electricity meters under the Presidential Metering Initiative, according to the Special Adviser to the Minister of Power on Strategic Communications and Media, Bolaji Tunji.

In a chat with The PUNCH on Friday, he noted that the PMI was on course with a target to deliver two million meters yearly.

He revealed that the amount reserved for the project had reached N700bn and procurement had started.

He said, “The Presidential Metering Initiative is still on course. Two million meters every year, delivery of the first batch will start by the first quarter of next year. About N700bn provision has been made, and the money is ready.”

The special adviser further revealed that the government would fulfil its promise to deliver 1.3 million electricity meters out of the 3.2 million meters under the World Bank Distribution Sector Reform Programme initiative this month.

“The DISREP programme will commence this month,” he noted.

However, an analysis of the Federal Account Allocation Committee meeting minutes obtained by our correspondent between April and August showed that the government had saved N420bn from a monthly deduction of N100bn.

The amount deducted from the monthly federation revenue before allocation to the three tiers of government was aimed at bridging the metering gap in the country, which currently stands at 50 per cent.

Recall that N120bn was deducted from April revenue as the first tranche for the PMI, bringing the amount deducted from the federation account for the initiative as of August to N420bn.

In May, the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, said that the government would provide an initial N75bn as seed capital while the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority pledged to inject N250bn annually for the initiative.

The minister also disclosed that the initiative would leverage debt financing from diverse financial institutions to bolster the PMI’s resources.

The Managing Director of Abuja Distribution Electricity Distribution Company, Mr Victor Ojelabi, recently said that the PMI would unlock about N1tn in revenue currently tied up in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry due to a large number of unmetered customers.

Under the initiative, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission announced the approval of N21bn for the 11 electricity Distribution Companies to provide meters for end-use customers at zero cost.

The Distribution Sector Recovery Programme is a comprehensive initiative aimed at addressing the challenges and inefficiencies within Nigeria’s electricity distribution sector.

Recently, the NERC acknowledged that the country’s metering gap remains substantial despite installing 3.03 million meters since privatising the power sector in 2013.

It said 6.15 million out of 13.33 million registered customers had been metered, bringing the metering rate to 46.14 per cent in 2024.

…over author’s detention

The determination of the police to stop activists from protesting the continued detention of human rights lawyer, Dele Farotimi, is creating deep anger.

Despite Ekiti State Police Command’s claim that the decision to prohibit the planned protest was reached to ensure the safety of lives and property in the state, activists have refused to back down and declared Tuesday, December 10 as their preferred day.

In fact, the activists have threatened to extend the demonstration to Lagos, Abuja and the United Kingdom to draw attention to what they termed the illegal arrest, detention and trial of Farotimi.

Ever since officers from the Ekiti State Police Command arrested Farotimi following a defamation petition filed by Chief Afe Babalola, SAN, various individuals and organisations have expressed sadness over the development.

Among them is the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, which argued that the offence for which Farorimi was arrested had been decriminalised under the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2011, disclosing that defamation as a criminal law was repealed by the Supreme Court in a case between Aviomoh v. Commissioner of Police & Anor (2021) in 2021.

The rights lawyer, in his book: ‘Nigeria and its Criminal Justice System,’ had alleged that Babalola corrupted the Supreme Court to procure a fraudulent judgement in the service of his clients.

Bail application

Unconcerned, the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, AAC, in the 2023 general elections, Mr Omoyele Sowore, and other rights activists in London have planned a protest for Tuesday when the court hearing of bail application filed by Farotimi’s legal team is schedule to sit.

Although the Police Public Relations Officer of the state’s command, DSP Sunday Abutu, in a statement, said: “any form of unlawful gathering, demonstration or protest is unacceptable as the intelligence report available has it that some unscrupulous individuals have planned to hide under this protest to hijack it and unleash mayhem and create apprehension in the state,” Sowore urged Nigerians to use the demonstration in calling for Farotimi’s release.

Venue

The publisher of Sahara Reporters said this via his X, formerly Twitter, noting that the point of convergence in Abuja will be the Ministry of Justice and Federal High Court, Abuja; Ekiti convergence point is the Police Headquarters Ado-Ekiti ; convergence point in Lagos will be the Afe Babalola Chambers at Emmanuel House, Plot 1, Block 4, CMD/Jubilee Road, Magodo; and meeting point at the United Kingdom is King’s College London.

Sowore stated: “The @PoliceNG can’t ban protests anywhere; we are getting loads of Nigerian citizens to shut down Ado-Ekiti on December 10, 2024, from 7 am. Buses are ready for those coming from out of state.

#FreeDeleFarotimiNow 1. Abuja convergence: Ministry of Justice and Federal High Court, Abuja 2. Ekiti parapo convergence: Police Headquarters Ado-Ekiti 3. Lagos convergence: Afe Babalola Chambers, Lagos Address: Emmanuel House, Plot 1, Block 4, CMD/Jubilee Road, Magodo GRA, Lagos 4. London UK CONVERGENCE: King’s College London Address: Strand, London, WC2R 2LS global online and offline revolt against the nigerian judiciary! Date: December 10, 2024. Time: 7 AM West African Time.”

Days after the Central Bank of Nigeria ordered Deposit Money Banks to guard against artificial cash scarcity in the country, findings by Sunday PUNCH revealed that the trend still persists in some parts of the country.

In a circular dated November 29, jointly signed by Acting Directors Solaja Olayemi (Currency Operations) and Isa-Olatinwo Aisha (Branch Operations), the CBN outlined measures aimed at improving cash availability.

According to the circular, the CBN directed banks to ensure efficient cash disbursement through both Automated Teller Machines and over-the-counter channels, warning of penalties for non-compliance.

The apex bank also urged customers experiencing challenges to report incidents with details such as account name, bank name, transaction amount, and date. Dedicated phone numbers and email addresses were released for Nigerians to report difficulties accessing cash.

However, as of Friday, Nigerians in some major cities told Sunday PUNCH that they still experienced significant difficulty obtaining sufficient cash over the counters and at ATMs in some commercial banks.

An Abuja resident, who declined to be named, said his bank only dispensed N5,000 over the counter on Friday.

When asked whether this was a bank-wide directive, she stated that it might be due to the limited cash available, adding that customers were often advised to use ATMs.

He said, “As of Friday, it was just N5,000. But if the ATM is loaded, you can withdraw as much as it dispenses. That’s probably all the bank could afford on Friday. Most times, customers are advised to use the ATM, which dispenses fresh mints.”

Similarly, a United Bank for Africa customer in Abuja said his bank dispensed N20,000 over the counter, while ATMs dispensed N20,000 to customers and N10,000 to customers of other banks as of Friday.

A Zenith Bank official in Delta State revealed that their branch paid a maximum of N20,000 to customers, both over the counter and through ATMs.

“It’s N20,000 maximum. The ATM also dispenses N20,000,” she stated.

A Lagos resident, Tunde Ajiboye, shared on Facebook that he withdrew N20,000 from a GTBank ATM in Ikorodu and later withdrew another N30,000 over the counter at Lotus Bank, also in Ikorodu, on Friday afternoon.

In Akure, Ondo State, the cash crunch was also pronounced. A resident, Oluwaseyi Oluwalade, said he visited an ATM terminal in Akure but couldn’t withdraw any cash.

“I rushed to a PoS operator, but I still didn’t get cash. I was asked to make a transfer, which I did on Friday, but I could only collect the cash on Saturday afternoon,” he lamented.

Another Akure resident, Adeniyi Samuel, who works for OPay, confirmed complaints from PoS operators about insufficient cash in banks.

“Many of our operators rely on filling station attendants or BDC operators to get cash because banks give very little over the counter or at ATMs,” he explained.

In Imo State, residents also decried withdrawal limits.

A resident, who asked to be identified only as Onyekachi, said, “We cannot withdraw more than N20,000 in the banking hall. You spend so much time, only to be given a maximum of N20,000. It’s frustrating.”

A similar scenario unfolded in Abia State, where banks limited withdrawals to between N5,000 and N20,000. ATMs dispensed as little as N5,000 to non-customers and N10,000 to customers.

In Kwara, residents also struggled to access cash.

Ibrahim Taiwo, a resident of Ilorin, said banks paid a maximum of N10,000 over the counter and N40,000 at ATMs. He noted that PoS operators increased their charges by N50 across withdrawal amounts.

In Osun and Oyo states, withdrawal limits varied between N10,000 and N50,000, depending on the bank and location.

Reacting to the situation, a source at the CBN accused some banks of favouring high-end customers by giving them bulk cash at the expense of ordinary Nigerians. The source assured that the CBN was committed to penalising erring banks.

However, a banker in Ogun State accused the CBN of being insincere, claiming, “The amount given to us is not enough to load ATMs for two days.”

A Polaris Bank staff member in Lagos linked the scarcity to the naira redesign policy under former CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele. He noted that the policy destroyed old naira notes but failed to replace them with adequate new notes, leading to persistent scarcity.

“People are skeptical about depositing money in banks, fearing a repeat of last year’s issues. This is affecting the availability of cash,” he concluded.

The National President of Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents in Nigeria, Fasasi Atanda, accused petrol stations, supermarket operators, traders, and other businesses that handle large volumes of cash daily of contributing to the current cash scarcity.

Atanda alleged that instead of depositing their cash earnings into banks as expected, those entities hoarded the money and sold it at inflated rates to cash dealers.

“There is no reason for cash scarcity if there are no saboteurs. There is cash commoditisation. Today, we have saboteurs who are dealing in the sale of cash. They sell cash in bulk; they have their sources, and they buy in bulk and sell. What you can’t get in the banks, you will get from cash dealers.

“We are aware of petrol stations, restaurants, supermarket operators, and others selling their cash instead of depositing it in banks.

“People often wrongly accuse agents of selling cash. Agents are not selling cash, we are servicing the people and the charges are for the cost of data and transportation. In reality, if the government can take care of these costs, agents can render their services free of charge,” Atanda said.

He urged the CBN to engage PoS operators as official agents of cash distribution, adding that this would address the challenge of cash scarcity in the country.

The acting Director of Corporate Communications for the CBN, Mrs. Hakama Sidi Ali, did not respond to calls and a text message sent to her phone as of press time.

The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has called for a minimum remuneration benchmark for medical doctors to curb the mass migration of health professionals seeking better conditions abroad.

Speaking on Saturday after the 3rd National Health Summit (NHS) and the group’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Abuja, the NMA President, Prof. Bala Audu, emphasized the urgent need for standardized pay, improved welfare packages, workplace security, and health insurance to retain doctors and improve health outcomes.

Highlighting disparities in doctors’ pay across states and institutions, the NMA urged the government to ensure fair remuneration while raising concerns about the lack of motivation and mentorship for younger professionals, advocating for an appropriate reward system to sustain the workforce.

He said, “It is a strategy to help Nigeria retain its critical health care workforce and prevent the ongoing ‘japa’ syndrome.

“What it seeks to do is to ensure that every registered doctor who is licensed by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) has a minimum remuneration benchmark that you cannot go below, whether the individual is employed in the public sector or in the private sector.

“And even in the public sector, whether the individual is employed by federal, state or local government, and even within those sectors, whether the individual is employed in a primary health sector, hospitals or in other departments and agencies that require the services of a doctor, such as university lecturers, and others such as customs and other security agencies who employ doctors.

“Everyone must comply with that minimum benchmark. It will produce stability, so this is the essence.

“This initiative is also aiming to tackle internal brain drain, where doctors don’t want to serve in local governments, because the pay package is not as good as in state governments, or where some doctors leave state government hospitals to go and work in federal hospitals when they are needed more in the state hospitals.”

The NMA Chief also stated that the Summit underscored the urgent need for an integrated clinical governance mechanism across all health facilities to improve accountability and outcomes.

Addressing policy implementation, the Summit noted the partial and non-enforcement of provisions in the National Health Act (NHA), Audu emphasizing that “Specifically, it advocated for issuing certificates of standards to hospitals as a means to enhance public confidence in healthcare services.

The Federal government has assured that the President Bola Tinubu administration will never do anything to undermine the ideals of participatory democracy in pushing for its transformative reform agenda.

The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, stated this on Saturday at the 2024 Annual Public Lecture/AGM and Awards organised by the Kaduna State Chapter, Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, NIPR.

The event held on the theme ‘Tax Reform: The Role of Public Relations in Fostering Constructive Dialogue for National Economic Renaissance’.

He said the administration has also been very clear that the Executive will listen to, and work with, all stakeholders to ensure that all concerns are duly and comprehensively addressed.

“The theme for the public discuss, ‘Tax Reform: The Role of Public Relations in fostering Constructive Dialogue for National Economic Renaissance’, has brought to the fore, yet again, the place of constructive dialogue as a vital pillar of democracy.

“Society advances by mutually respectful engagements, where we give voice to diverse opinions, and respect those who we disagree with.

“We will certainly not always agree on all issues, perhaps not even on most. But we will always be guided by the fact that the things that unite us, our common humanity, our nationhood, our sense of patriotism, our collective vision for a Nigeria that works for all, will always be more important and more meaningful than our differences of age, religion, region, ideology, gender, culture, and social class.

“The topic before us today is a sensitive yet important and inescapable one: taxation. All over the world, effective taxation is important as a source of financial power for governments to provide social services for their citizens.

“However, there is plenty of reason to believe and assert that Nigeria’s tax administration system has become long overdue for reform, on account of design and implementation flaws as well as the general attitudes of taxpayers toward taxation.
“In light of this, the ongoing review of the country’s tax laws and realities is timely and crucial, especially as part of a larger set of macroeconomic reforms aimed at setting the country on an irreversible path of growth and development.

“The full details of the new tax bills are available in the public domain. One must commend the Presidential Committee on Fiscal and Tax Reform for an excellent job in this regard, in terms of public engagement so I will not attempt to go over these details again here.

“What I will say is that it is very inspiring and heartwarming to see Nigerians from all walks of life coming out to express their views and opinions on these matters of critical national importance, as such is the very essence and meaning of democracy.

“In spite of the challenge of trust deficit that tends to crop up around matters of governance in Nigeria, we have still been able to have what can be adjudged as robust debate on this sensitive issue.

“President Tinubu has also been very clear that the Executive will listen to and work with all stakeholders to ensure that all concerns are duly and comprehensively addressed.

“We will continue to ensure open lines of communication and engagement with the National Assembly and all other stakeholders on these taxation bills.”