₦airaland Forum

I’m not surprised at all.
Osinbajo is always saving this country from calamities. He’s responsible for the peace we are enjoying in the Niger-Delta region.

Why we need a new set of practice directions for virtual court proceedings

Having contemplated the computerization of court proceedings over the years, the endorsement of virtual court proceedings by a Supreme Court ruling is wise as it has saved “our system of justice another catastrophic round of technical decisions around the constitutionality of virtual proceedings”, among other issues, according to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN.
 
The Vice President stated this on Thursday at a webinar on media coverage of virtual court proceedings in Nigeria, organized by the Gavel International Ltd.
 
According to Prof. Osinbajo, “we are at a point where at least we know that virtual hearings are legal. This means that the Supreme Court is satisfied that appropriate means can be found to ensure that hearings are public and that the press and indeed members of the public can access the proceedings.
 
“I think that an opportunity that this offers us is to get rid of this issue of technicality as much as possible. And I am so pleased that the Supreme Court did not even hesitate in saying that virtual proceedings are legal. It is really a breath of fresh air considering the ways that we tend to magnify the issue of technicality to the point where you wonder where justice is.”       
 
Continuing, the Vice President said “I am hoping that the opportunity we have in virtual proceedings will also be an opportunity to dispense with several of the unnecessary technical rules that we have in our adjectival law, laws of procedure, evidence and all that. And hopefully, we are able to get to the heart of trials and the heart of the matter such that we are buck down unnecessarily by technicality.”
 
BELOW IS THE FULL TEXT OF THE VICE PRESIDENT’S SPEECH:
 
SPEECH BY HIS EXCELLENCY, PROF. YEMI OSINBAJO, SAN, GCON, VICE PRESIDENT, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA AT A WEBINAR ON MEDIA COVERAGE OF VIRTUAL COURT PROCEEDINGS IN NIGERIA ON THURSDAY 3RD SEPT. 2020
 
First let me thank my dear brother, Mustapha Ogunsakin, CEO of Gavel International for the kind invitation to participate in this important conversation on the questions around the reporting of virtual court proceedings. 
 
Reporting of court proceedings is a crucial exercise of the right to fair hearing, a cornerstone of which is that hearings must be held in public. How that right will be given full expression when court proceedings are within the encrypted confines of virtual platforms is really the subject of our conversion today.
 
The Attorneys General of Lagos and Ekiti States deserve our commendation for bringing the matter before the Supreme Court. They asked the court to determine whether having regard to the constitutional requirement that court proceedings, save for some exceptions, must be held in public and whether court hearings by the use of technology, by remote hearings of any kind, whether Zoom or WhatsApp, Microsoft Themes, Skype or any other audio-visual or video-conference platform are constitutional.
 
The Supreme Court while dismissing the suits themselves as premature and speculative nevertheless said that as things stood today virtual proceedings were Constitutional. This wise approach of the Court probably saved our system of justice another catastrophic round of technical decisions around the constitutionality of virtual proceedings.
 
It may also be cautiously taken as a signal that the Supreme Court expects the lower courts to go down this new path with as little attention to technicality as possible.
 
So, we are at a point where at least we know that virtual hearings are legal. This means that the Supreme Court is satisfied that appropriate means can be found to ensure that hearings are public, and that the press and indeed members of the public can access the proceedings.
 
The technical issues around this are straightforward enough. If for example, the Zoom platform is the preferred option, the host, the registrar of the court will simply invite the press by making available the relevant coordinates of the meeting to enable the press (not just the print media) log on to the proceedings.
 
Just as the physical court can only sit a determined number of persons so the virtual court, depending on the platform being used, would probably have a stated number of persons who can access the proceedings.
 
Practice directions may have to indicate how and in what order invitations would be issued especially to the public.
 
News Reporting today is of course no longer the preserve of traditional media. Every blogger, micro blogger and other social networking services are now entitled to describe themselves as the press. And I can say that they have the same constitutional protections as the traditional media would have, given that our definition of freedom of expression does not restrict this to the press as we understand that expression.
 
But this also means that all of the bloggers and micro bloggers and other social networking services are also subject to the same restrictions and liable to the same sanctions as the traditional media if they violate issues of confidentiality, avoidance of prejudging of cases, scandalizing witnesses, jeopardizing fair trials by media trials, and all of the various violations that are possible.
 
I think we are at an interesting place because in the past it was always the traditional media that could be sanctioned for violations but now it seems that practically everyone on social media who chooses to publicize the proceedings of a court will be subject to the restrictions that the traditional media have always had.
 
In 2018, a British court jailed, for 18 months, the chair of the UK legal defense league, Mr Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (Tommy Morrison). Now, here is a man who was broadcasting on social media outside of Crown Court in Leeds in the UK where a trial was taking place.
 
He was accused of broadcasting live, and within hours of this broadcast, over half a million people had viewed the broadcast, and the court felt that his actions could have cost it over hundreds of thousands of pounds in re-running the trial  because of the prejudice that was introduced by reporting the case live, in the manner that he did.
 
Now, the questions here are; where are the limits to the sort of reporting that will take place? Because when you have virtual recording such as we have here, actually recording can be controlled by the host but it is possible for anyone to record with another device and broadcast it on social media. Now, these types of situations are what practice directions may have to address.
 
Clearly, no one is allowed, except with permission, to publish proceedings of the court but we really need to determine how this will work. We need to ask the relevant questions, and I think that in developing this practice direction, the media has to very quickly occupy the space, so that the courts do not, without adequate information, and sensitivity to the rights of the press, develop a set of practice direction that create more trouble than they are designed to solve.  
 
This is one of the reasons why these sorts of conversations are important, because I hope that the proceedings of our conversation here will go possibly to the Supreme Court and to the Chief Judges of our courts so that they get a sense of what needs to be done by way of practice direction and what the problems may be.
 
Just by way of the sort of consideration that the media ought to have in reporting virtual proceedings, of course, there are system requirements that have to be looked into. It is not enough for one to simply say that he or she has access, we have to look at all the system requirements. What I have found, in the past few months where I have been involved in quite a few zoom meetings, webex meetings and all of these different platforms, is that very often, if the devices on either side are not adequate or the bandwidth is not adequate, the whole thing becomes a mess and it is impossible to actually get the best quality.
 
I think it is also important that there should be some kind of standardization so as to ensure that the equipment that are used are the right kind of equipment that should be used for this virtual court proceedings.
 
By and large, my belief is that we are at a very interesting place in court proceedings, we have all been talking for years about computerizing our court proceedings (e-filing etc.), no one knew that we will quickly come to the place that we are in today. So, in some sense, it’s thanks to COVID-19, we have been very quickly dragged to the virtual space, and it is a good thing that it is the case.
 
One of the questions I would want to ask is, what type of platform will really serve our purposes in court proceedings? I know that several people already use virtual platforms for arbitration but for purposes of trials, I am not so sure these sorts of platforms are the best. This is because we have to look at situations if we are examining witnesses, we are showing them documents. What happens in those situations? Do we suspend some of the rules of evidence or some of the rules of procedure? How does a photocopy of a document look, virtually? If you show me an original document virtually, is it still an original document or it’s just a copy of the original?
 
So, there are issues that we need to resolve. We need to resolve several issues of procedure and evidence, so that we are better able to navigate these proceedings in a manner that not only serves the ends of justice but also in some obedience to the law.  
 
I think that an opportunity that this offers us is to get rid of this issue of technicality as much as possible. And I am so pleased that the Supreme Court did not even hesitate in saying that virtual proceedings are legal. It is really a breath of fresh air considering the ways that we tend to magnify the issue of technicality to the point where you wonder where justice is.       
 
I am hoping that the opportunity we have in virtual proceedings will also be an opportunity to dispense with several of the unnecessary technical rules that we have in our adjectival law, laws of procedure, evidence and all that. And hopefully we are able to get to the heart of trials and the heart of the matter such that we are bugged down unnecessarily by technicality.
 
So, I will end it by saying again, my thanks to the Gavel International for putting this very important conversation together. And I hope that this won’t be the last of this kind of conversation especially around virtual court proceedings and because the implications for our procedural laws are so broad and deep that we must certainly engage even much deeper in order to be able to arrive at a system that will work especially for the ends of justice.  
 
 
 
Released by:
 
Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity
Office of the Vice President
3rd September 2020

REMARKS BY HIS EXCELLENCY, PROF. YEMI OSINBAJO, SAN, GCON, VICE PRESIDENT, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, AT THE PUBLIC PRESENTATION OF BOOKS ON POLICY, POLITICS AND GOVERNANCE WRITTEN BY MR SIMBO OLORUNFEMI ON TUESDAY SEPT. 1, 2020



Let me first say how honoured I am to join you at this presentation of books by Mr Simbo Olorunfemi. Simbo Olorunfemi has emerged as one of the most important thought leaders on politics and governance in Nigeria.


He has through the years and in very many articles and sundry commentaries ranging from the economy, to development, international relations and partisan politics, consistently applied rigour, deep thought and scientific discipline to his analysis of the people, the events and the policies that have shaped these issues, and the societies and publics that they impact.



I think his strength is in his capacity to take on the big issues, the complex ideas such as ethnicity and cultural politics and also the more retail questions around the daily disputes on rightness or wrongness of government policy or their efficient or sloppy implementation, all with the same clarity of thought and presentation.



His projections on political outcomes are eerily accurate, and his prescriptions are practical and clearly thought through even if controversial. His three latest works ‘The Devil is not in the Politics’, ‘Politics is not a Game for Gentlemen’, and ‘Every day for the Goliaths’ (what manner of democracy is this), is a successful attempt to put in print his thoughts in various interventions under broadly descriptive titles. And I think an incredibly insightful review of the books have been done.



We are by the way he has put this together, been able to follow and argue with his thoughts on the dynamic interaction of politics, policy and governance. Central to his analysis is leadership.



As the events of the last few months around the world have proven to us, leadership is indeed consequential. If there was any doubt about the fact that the quality of leadership is central to the fortunes of society, this pandemic has established that to us in plain terms.



It may literarily mean the difference between life and death. If leadership is that consequential, it must then suggest that politics, may be, belong in the same existential category, being the production line for leadership.



Simbo Olorunfemi strengthens the point by the metaphor of politics and policy being Siamese twins, intertwined and interlocked; one being a propeller, the other the engine.



Success for a political leader, he submits, involves a smart fusion of both, such that policy drives politics and policies are strategically framed, pursued and executed without losing sight of one for the other.



Perhaps one may add that this is where the purpose of politics is the attainment of power for the prosecution of the public good not as an end in itself or for personal or other parochial interests. And this may be no small matter as one sees time and time again the tragedy of self-absorbed, self-seeking leadership.



Some have argued that one of the challenges that we have faced as a nation is that of reluctance of our best minds to get involved in politics, leaving it to the second eleven, as they say.



A chapter from which the book ‘Politics is not a Game for Gentlemen’ derives its title, speaks to the point. Simbo argues that puritanical idealism can only take one so far in politics, and that to be successful and be in a position to attain power or influence policy direction, a bit of pragmatism is needed, founded around strategic thinking, and in acknowledgment of the fact that all politics is local.



To be successful, it is necessary, he says, to approach it at the retail level and not with a wholesale mentality. Indeed, this is true. But clearly, where the rubber hits the road is the crucial collision of theory and praxis. How much compromise is too much or what is too little. I will leave the argument for another day.



But the other point is in my respectful view, the error of assuming that the failures in governance is on account of professionals and other decently engaged people leaving the space to career politicians.



I fear that this sort of analysis is factually incorrect because as a matter of fact very many of those who hold political office are actually qualified in some discipline or the other. And as Simbo points out in ‘Every day for the Goliaths’ (one of the pieces there) that the decay extends to the judiciary, the banking sector etc. must tell us that the problem is deeper.



The question, in my view, is what the elite consensus is? The elite in most societies determine that direction even if the primary purpose is self-preservation. I think that the problem we have is that there is so much concern with narrow parochial interest. The Nigerian elite is unable, even out of self-preservation, to find a consensus, not only to move the nation forward but also to prevent itself from destruction.



I had the privilege of working with Simbo and several others a few years ago on political strategy and tactics for our party, the APC. His commitment and passion for nation-building was always so evident. His taking the trouble to detail his thoughts in writing and put them out for debate and analysis is a commendable but, I must say, sadly disappearing activity.



In the era of the mindless tweets, and other digital enablers of lightning-speed communication and the puerile attention span they nurture, the space for critical thinking on public affairs is narrowing and the public intellectual is fast becoming an endangered category which is why Simbo’s latest efforts deserve all our commendation.



I am therefore honored to invite you to join me in presenting these books to all who seek better societies and know that they are indeed possible by the honest implementation of the thoughts and ideas of men and women who, like Simbo, apply their talents to finding answers to the myriad issues of development.



Congratulations Simbo, thank you very much.





Laolu Akande

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity
Office of the Vice President

Our key worry was how this would affect jobs. Through the Economic Sustainability Plan, the FG's focus is to save jobs and create new ones. Similarly, there is a survival fund and payroll support for artisans, private school teachers & small businesses.

We are currently compiling the data, the criteria is already set. There are plans also for other sectors including the hospitality and aviation sector.

*ON THE ECONOMY*

Economics like politics is local. In comparison to other economies we have fared better. We however recognize that there is a severe decline. The Economic Sustainability Plan is our response to that and we will focus on local industry, local resources and local production.

*ON AGRICULTURE AND HOUSING*

For the Agriculture, we have registered farmers using the GIS system, tied them to big agric businesses, provided some financing and Government will be final offtakers for their produce. This is to ensure that local production goes on.

As regards Housing, 11 State Governments have provided land and these houses are to built by young engineers, architects and artisans. We hope to build thousands of 2-bedroom apartments for about 2 Million Naira each.

*ON 2023 PLANS*

I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to serve Nigeria and right now I am focused on doing just that. There are issues to be tackled and that has my undivided attention.

*ON THE LIVES LOST IN KADUNA*

First, my heart goes out to everyone who has lost someone or has been a victim in Southern Kaduna. I am so sorry for everything you have experienced.

Let me say that I have been involved in the resolution of issues in Southern Kaduna since 2001 through a Non-Governmental Organization and I think these issues have gone on far too long.

*WHAT IS THE GOVERNMENT DOING AS REGARDS TO THE SOUTHERN KADUNA SITUATION?*

First, we have improved security in Kaduna. We now have a military base, we have airforce surveillance, the combined military team from the army and the navy to take care of the volatile situation there.

The President has also held security meetings and I have attended all of them where the issues have been discussed. Possibilities of engagement have also been looked at.

I have similarly engaged with community leaders in Southern Kaduna and I have also engaged with the Governor to look at what peace keeping efforts are possible to deal with the perennial issues that have resulted in the disgraceful human conditions there.

In addition, those responsible for the mayhem must be apprehended and prosecuted so impunity doesn't reign.

*CAMA*

On the reviewed CAMA - The legislation is huge and has over 800 sections and covers a wide range of issues on companies.

There is a small portion that is for incorporated trustees. That section regulates charities. Churches and Mosques are regarded as charities.

My view is that for anyone who has concerns, they can aggregate those concerns as a proposal and present that proposal to the National Assembly for amendment.

The issue has generated controversy but the solutions seem quite evident.

Abdulbasit Suleiman is a Yoruba boy from Ogbomosho

OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT

PRESS RELEASE

SOUTHERN KADUNA CRISIS:
“WE WONT SWEEP UNDERLYING ISSUES OF JUSTICE, MARGINALIZATION UNDER THE CARPET” --OSINBAJO

*Concerns about CAMA can be addressed through NASS amendment, VP adds

To effectively deal with the Southern Kaduna crisis, the Buhari administration will not sweep the major issues underlying the conflict under the carpet, according to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN.

According to him this includes "ensuring justice, fixing economic marginalization and the prosecution of persons responsible for these murders -this is to ensure that the impunity doesn't worsen."

Prof. Osinbajo spoke at the ongoing Nigeria Bar Association Annual General Conference during a Special Conversation featuring him and the Speaker of the House of Representatives Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila.

The Vice President also urged those who have concerns about the recently signed CAMA legislation to approach the National Assembly for possible amendments, since "we are in a democracy."

Speaking on the way forward in the Southern Kaduna conflict and making reference to his personal experience, the Vice President said, “I have been involved since 2001 through the work of the Macedonian initiative, an NGO that focused on providing relief materials to displaced persons in Southern Kaduna and several other places especially in North Central part of Nigeria. There have been judicial commissions and all sorts, but the problem remains. So, there is the need to address the underlying issues. You can't sweep under the carpet, justice and the cries of economic marginalization.

“The fact is that we must prosecute persons responsible for these murders or otherwise impunity will worsen. And also support those who have lost their bread winners.”

Continuing, the Vice President said “the mindless callous killings in Southern Kaduna are heartbreaking. And again we must condole those who have lost loved ones and those injured or who have suffered loss of property. These tragedies are unacceptable and they are avoidable.”

Highlighting what the Federal Government has done and is currently doing to deal with the situation, Prof. Osinbajo said, “First is the improvement of security in Southern Kaduna. Now, we have a military base there, for the first time. We also have a lot of Air Force surveillance.

“We have about 500 conventional and Mobile Policemen in Zangon-Kataff and Kaura Local Government Areas and then the combined military team of the Army and the Navy who are also on ground 24 hours. This is basically to just take care of the volatile situation there.”

Continuing, the Vice President said “the President has also had several Security Council meetings and I have attended all of those, where the issues were discussed and the possibilities of engagement have also been discussed.”

On a personal note, the Vice President added “I have also engaged with community leaders in Southern Kaduna and also I have engaged with the governor to look at what peacemaking efforts are possible.”

The Vice President expressed optimism that the issues would be resolved noting that “some of the peacemaking efforts have been fairly successful” as recent peace efforts between the Zangon-Kataff and the Fulani communities would yield positive results.

He said “but there is also a lot of work going on to ensure that some of these fundamental issues are being addressed and it's an evolving situation, but it's something we can't afford to ignore and it's gone on for far too long and it's redressable and possible for us to resolve.”

Responding to the issue of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020, the Vice President said the solution to the concerns is evident, noting that an amendment to the CAMA Act could be sought by those expressing concerns about sections of the law.

He said “we have a process by which this can be redressed. Whatever the proposal for amendment may be, whatever the view of the leadership of the church may be, regarding the question of how the trustees, whether they are interim trustees or not, can be put into a proposal that will be brought to the National Assembly for consideration for amendment to the law, that is the process which is entirely opened and ought to be pursued.

“We are in a democracy and there is a process by which things can be done and that process is the one where you bring forward amendments to the National Assembly and they will do whatever is considered useful in the circumstance.”

Speaking on the Federal Government’s reaction to the contraction of the economy as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and related issues, Prof. Osinbajo said the Buhari administration’s response is robust and focused on local production using home-grown resources.

Citing the example of specific efforts of wealth and job creation using local resources, the Vice President said under the agriculture component of the National Economic Sustainability Plan (NESP-AGRO), 5 million farmers whose produce would be off-taken by government have been registered.

He added that progress is also been made under the housing component of the plan known as NESP-HOUSING with 11 State governments already given land and more states expected to join with the target of building about 100, 000 housing units, including 2-bedroom apartments at between N1.8 - N2 million cost, and in the process, engaging young architects, builders, among others.

Commenting on the other aspects of the stimulus package, the Vice President said, the Federal Government has, as part of the NESP, a survival fund and payroll support for artisans, private school teachers and small businesses.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, spoke about the collaboration between the Executive and the Legislature under the Buhari administration in addressing some of the critical issues facing the country.

He said the actions of the House of Representatives would continue to be guided by the legislative agenda adopted by the House at its inauguration in 2019 which is in line with the vision of President Muhammadu Buhari.


Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant to the President, Media & Publicity
Office of the Vice President
27th August 2020

PRESIDENT Buhari ENDS ESTIMATED BILLING IN NIGERIA
*Directs nationwide mass metering

Details below in NERC STATEMENT


NIGERIAN ELECTRICITY REGULATORY COMMISSION
PRESS RELEASE: NERC COMMITTED TO PROTECTING CUSTOMERS
In response to media reports that there is an increase in tariffs for Nigerians, NERC wishes to clarify that tariff reviews going forward will only follow service-based principles. Under these service-based principles DISCOs will only be able to review tariff rates for customers when they consult with customers, commit to increasing the number of hours of supply per day and quality of service.

In all cases poor and vulnerable Nigerians will not experience any increase. In line with these expectations, DISCOs are directed to engage with their customers on a Service Based Tariff structure. Under the Service Based Tariff Structure, DISCOs can only review tariffs for customers under the following conditions:

Customers are consulted and communicated a guaranteed level of electricity service by the DISCOs based on hours of supply
Customers are metered
No estimated billing through the strict enforcement of the capping regulation. This means that unmetered customers will not experience any cost increase beyond what is chargeable to metered customers in the same area.

Even under the above conditions, there will be no change in tariff for the most vulnerable as tariffs for those consuming 50KW or less remain frozen. Customers receiving less than 12 hours of supply will also not experience any change in tariffs.

In addition, the President has directed that there should be a nationwide mass-metering program in an effort by the Federal Government to put a stop to estimated and arbitrary billing for electricity. He has also approved a waiver of the import levy on meters, so that those that do not have meters can be supplied as early as possible at reasonable costs.

The general public and all stakeholders in the power sector are by this statement urged to disregard any reports of an arbitrary tariff increase affecting Nigerians.

James. A. Momoh
Chairman, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission

Judicial Reforms Urgent, Buhari Says To NBA, Recalling Experience With Prolonged Court Trials

*Asks: “Why can’t we have time limits for all cases?
In what is deemed a significant contribution to the ongoing public discourse on the need to urgently reform the administration of justice system in Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari’s voice has brought a sharp focus to the matter especially regarding the slow pace of trials in the courts.
Represented by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, the President entered the discourse on Wednesday at the opening session of the virtual 2020 Nigerian Bar Association’s (NBA) Annual General Conference themed “Step Forward” which coincides with the body’s 60th anniversary.
 
Speaking on the theme of the conference which he said translates into “taking responsibility”, President Buhari explained that the situation has become necessary given the current and pre-existing challenges confronting the system.
 
According to the President, “why can’t we have time limits for all cases? Why can’t we put in place the rules that will say that a criminal trial all the way up to the Supreme Court must end in 12 months, and that a civil trial must not exceed 12-15 months? I think that, for me, will be stepping forward.
 
“Step forward means taking responsibility. It may also mean making progress, boldly taking on the challenges of the future.”
 
The President listed a few areas where “I believe we need to step forward and resolve some of the nagging problems of our systems of administration of justice.”
 
Going personal on the issue of delay in trials, the President referred to his experience at the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunals in 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2019. He said until recently, court trials had been “terribly slow” and capable of frustrating genuine efforts aimed at promoting general progress of the society.
He said “I am not a lawyer but I have been both a casualty and a beneficiary of the judicial process. I was before the courts for two and a half years- 27 months from 2003 in the now famous case of Buhari and Obasanjo. It took me two and a half years to fight for a four-year Presidential mandate.
“In 2007, I was again in court for 20 months, almost two years, also as petitioner and later then appellant in the case of Buhari and INEC. And in 2011, again as petitioner in the case of CPC and INEC. I spent another 8 months in court. At the end, I lost all three cases. I wondered then why it needed to take so long to arrive at a verdict.
“In 2019, my status improved, I was now no longer petitioner, I became first respondent in the case of Atiku and Buhari and the whole process took barely 6 months.”
Still on the areas requiring reform, President Buhari said “the second issue for me is the multiple and sometimes conflicting orders of courts. Recently, my party, the APC, had an internal crisis. In the six-week period before I chaired the meeting of the party to resolve the issues, there were at least 10 different conflicting rulings of the courts across the country.
 
“Again I am not a lawyer, but surely these sort of multiple and conflicting rulings of courts sometimes ex parte, really make a mockery of the judicial process.”
 
Continuing, the President said “third issue is the seeming bias towards technicality over the clear common sense justice of cases. If justice is to be seen to be done, then the outcomes of cases must make sense to the average person and not just to the refined minds of learned persons alone. Justice must make sense to lawyers and non-lawyers alike.”
 
My fourth issue, the President said, “is on the appointment of judges. I believe that we must continuously improve on the selection processes for appointment of the men and women who serve as judges.”
“First we must cast our nets wider in search of judges, especially at the appellate level. Second we must put in place primarily merit-based selection processes including mandatory tests and interviews for all applicants for judgeships.
 
“While our Constitution urges Federal character for balance, this is not an excuse for mediocrity. If a particular zone is to produce a judge why can’t we find the best talents in that zone. Our country has excellent men and women everywhere,” the President said.
 
President noted that “Reform is urgent because the fabric of our society is stitched together by our system of justice and law enforcement. We cannot afford to have the stitches come undone.”
 
While urging stakeholders in the sector to further leverage technology to enhance the speed of court processes, the President said “digitization of court processes, records and services is very much the new frontier of justice delivery and will dramatically enhance access to justice and affect trial timelines.”
 
Speaking on his administration’s efforts at addressing security concerns, President Buhari said his government acknowledges the apprehensions of the people, and restated the commitment to address them.
 
He however noted that “the fight against insecurity and to establish law and order, requires the full cooperation of all especially the various structures for law enforcement and administration of justice at all levels,” referring to how both the Federal Government and the States need to work together on prosecuting criminal cases for instance.
 
“If like some of us, you listen to the radio, you will often hear ordinary people asking questions about why criminals have not been sent to jail. So for example, they would ask why a suspected murderer has not being prosecuted. Of course the question many will ask is, ‘so, what is Buhari doing about that?’.”
 
Earlier in his remarks, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad restated the commitment of the judiciary to adapt to changes within and around its environment, citing the adoption of virtual court proceedings as an example.
 
He said the judiciary under his watch will not condone practices that have, over the years, negatively impacted the image of the justice sector, noting that abuse of court processes, among others would no longer be tolerated.
The week-long event will feature discussions and presentations by distinguished personalities and scholars with a focus on the theme “Step Forward”.


https://www.yemiosinbajo.ng/judicial-reforms-urgent-buhari-says-to-nba-recalling-experience-with-prolonged-court-trials/

Watch full video of Osinbajo’s speech here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdz9yM9cHoQ

*Watch:* VP Osinbajo delivers President Buhari's speech, earlier today, 26th August 2020, at the 60th NBA Annual General Conference


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdz9yM9cHoQ

Osinbajo represents the present and future of Nigeria. Technology is the new oil

Press Release

IPC condemns former Minister's verbal assault on Journalist


For immediate release, Tuesday August 25, 2020


The International Press Centre (IPC) condemns the verbal assault inflicted on a Journalist by a former Minister of Aviation, Mr. Femi Fani Kayode.

The journalist, Eyo Charles, who reports for the Daily Trust Newspaper, was seen in a video posted by The Cable, an online newspaper. asking the former Minister at a press conference in Calabar, Cross Rivers State, Nigeria, if he was funded to embark on a tour of projects in the state to which he responded with verbal attacks.

The Minister was also seen threatening to deal with Journalist Eyo Charles, who has since claimed that a security detail in the entourage of the former Minister confronted him after the press conference.

IPC views this development as repulsive and unacceptable since there was nothing wrong with Journalist Eyo Charles wanting to know if the tour was an independent initiative or a sponsored one.

"The former Minister had the option of not answering the question and the abuses were totally out of place in the context of the event", the Executive Director of IPC, Mr. Lanre Arogundade said.

IPC therefore demands that the former Minister should apologise to the Journalist and give an assurance of his safety in view of the alleged further threats.

IPC is of the view that journalists who are saddled with the constitutional obligation of monitoring governance and holding the government accountable to the people should not be subjected to harassment in the course of duty.

SGD:

Olutoyin Ayoade
Communications Officer
International Press Centre, Lagos
tayoade@ipcng.org

I will choose Yemi Osinbajo

this is an assault on journalism. Journalism is a noble profession. A profession that have rules. A profession that is practiced by the best of the world - yes (subtract me). Canada's Deputy Prime Minister is a journalist! The founding fathers of Nigeria - Obafemi Awolowo and Nnamdi Azikiwe were journalists!

Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, CFR (24th August 1937 – 7 July 1998), often referred to as M. K.O. Abiola, was a popular Nigerian Yoruba businessman, publisher, politician and aristocrat of the Yoruba Egba clan.

He ran for the presidency in 1993, and is widely regarded as the presumed winner of the inconclusive election since no official final results were announced.

He died in 1998, after being denied victory when the entire election results were dubiously annulled by the preceding military president Ibrahim Babangida.

May his soul continue to Rest In Peace.

*Sowore*
Nigerians have slammed Mr Omoyele Sowore after he called on the Nigerian Bar Association to cancel Governor Nyesom Wike's invitation, same way it did to Governor El-Rufai of Kaduna State.

Those who latched out at Sowore, opined that the self-acclaimed activist has lost the support and confidence of Nigerians, as he often speaks from both sides of his mouth.

Others, however, submitted that both Sowore and Wike should not be taken serious, as they have insignificant impact on the society they claim to fight for.

*Human Rights*
Many Nigerians have flooded social media to endorse a petition on change.org, which seeks to disqualify former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Governor Nyesom Wike from speaking at the 2020 Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association.

They said both Obasanjo and Wike have terrible records of human rights abuses, and as such should not be availed the opportunity to speak on the revered platform of the NBA.

*DSS*
The invitation extended to ten leaders of the All Progressives Congress in Edo by the Department of State Services has been misconstrued by some people on social media, who insinuated that it was a plan to rig the September Governoship Election in the State.

Others, however, dismissed the claim, saying the invitation had nothing to do with rigging. They added that it is not unusual for the DSS to invite political parties to warn them against security breaches before, during and after elections.

*UNILAG*
Nigerians have hailed the Federal Government for stepping into the leadership crisis in the University of Lagos.

While some said that the directive for Babalakin and Ogundipe to rescue themselves from official duties would bring integrity to investigations sorrounding the matter, others were of the view that the intervention was long overdue.

*NDLEA*
The hashtag trended on Twitter after some online news platforms reported that the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency destroyed 20 metric tonnes (20,000 kg) of illicit drugs in Borno State.

Nigerians also reacted to the report that the Agency is proposing drug tests for ladies before marriage.

Lauding the NDLEA for its achievements, Twitter users decried the pervasiveness of drug abuse in the society despite spirited efforts by the Government to arrest the situation.

NaijaOlosho:
Why do I feel these allegations might all be true

Osinbajo trying so hard to save his name against 2023 but we say no to any form of Yoruba presidency in 2023 and beyond

You are wired to reason that way.

The administration of President Muhammadu Buhari remains commitment to the protection and safety of all Nigerians.
 
The Federal Government continues to take urgent measures to tackle the violence and security challenges in the Southern part of Kaduna, restore law and order, and ensure the security of lives and property in the area and in the State.
 
RECENT DEPLOYMENT
 
There has been an increase in the deployment of Special Forces from both the Army and the Air Force, so as to beef up security in Southern Kaduna.
 
·         Recently, the *Nigerian Air Force (NAF) on 16th of August 2020, deployed Special Forces operatives to Southern Kaduna*, in demonstration of FG's commitment to improve security, and as part of efforts to support ongoing operations in the North Western Zone of the country
 
·         There has been increased deployment of Military and Police Special Forces to the affected areas, in addition to the joint operation code-named "Operation Safe Haven" (OPSH), and more recent Operation Puff Adder.
 
·         Also in August 2020, the military deployed Special Operations Forces to curb the recent attacks and isolated killings in the southern part of Kaduna State.  The Coordinator, Defence Media Operations, Defence Headquarters, Maj-Gen. John Enenche, disclosed in Abuja that troops of Operation Safe Haven (OPSH) has continued to intensify efforts aimed at securing lives and property in the area.
 
 
RECENT ARRESTS
 
·         On August 5, 2020, the Special Task Force, Operation Safe Haven (OPSH), which is maintaining peace in Plateau and part of Southern Kaduna and Bauchi States, arrested eight suspects in connection with the recent killings in Southern Kaduna.
 
·         Six of the suspects were arrested in Lere Local Government Area of Kaduna state, while the other two were arrested at Chawai, a village on the fringes of Kauru and Zango Kataf local government areas.
 
·         Also, the Nigerian troops in conjunction with members of vigilante group, apprehended two armed suspects at Chawai, a village between Kauru and Zango Kataf LGA.

I HATE TRAINS. I HATE BRIDGES. I HATE RICE. I HATE TALLEST BUILDING EAST OF THE NIGER

Let me give the background to this piece. I was reading some comments on Twitter early in the week, when I ran into this one by one Dr Ben Gbenro: “Why are some people allergic to good news about Nigeria? You are angry about the test-run of Lagos-Ibadan rail, you are angry about the development in Onne Port, but will eagerly amplify any negative news even if it’s not true. Something is wrong with you and I am here to tell you.”

Of course, that comment generated responses, both positive and negative. But the one that caught my fancy specially was by Ayekooto, who declared: “We have got to a stage when GMB achievements can no longer be denied but hated. I hate trains. I hate bridges. I hate rice.”

Very profound. A lot of people can no longer deny the many achievements of President Muhammadu Buhari, particularly in the area of infrastructure, building a new Nigeria, and so, they have decided to hate it. Sad. Very sad.

Nobody can deny that there are very serious challenges in the country, particularly in the areas of security, the economy, and standard of living generally. But that is not all there is to Nigeria of today, and those challenges are being addressed very robustly. That hymn says “behind a frowning providence, He hides a smiling face. His purposes will ripen fast, unfolding every hour.” We will surely see an end to the challenges, if we all work together, and eschew hate speeches.

Why then do some people choose to see and amplify only negative things? Why do they choose to remain willfully blind and deaf to positive things? And surrounded and confronted by salutary developments, they keep repeating; what has the Buhari administration achieved? Show us.

You tell them that just last weekend, there was a test run of the Lagos-Ibadan rail project, with brand new coaches that will begin commercial operation before the end of the year.That is happening in a country where we were told we couldn’t afford new coaches when our oil was selling at over 100 dollars per barrel. Now, at about 40 dollars per barrel, we are launching new coaches. Instead of giving credit to a prudent government, they just say; I hate trains.

Okay, if you hate trains, what of brand new airports in Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kano, Enugu, and others in the works? There was a time we were said to parade the worst airports in the world. But not any longer. Buhari reversed it in his four years. What do they say about that? They look up, look down, scratch their heads, and say; I hate airports. I’ve never even boarded a plane in my life, and I don’t want to board. Will I ever enter a plane if I’d been killed by bandits?

Okay. You hate airports and planes. What of bridges being built over rivers in different parts of the country, most especially the Second River Niger Bridge, which the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) built with mouth for 16 years. You tell them that the bridge is almost 50% done, and should be completed in the first quarter of 2022. There’s also the Loko-Oweto Bridge, linking Benue and Nasarawa States. It was started by a previous administration, but almost completed now. Like a cornered rat, their eyes dart furtively from corner to corner, seeking a hole to enter. Finding none, they tell you deadpan: I hate bridges.

Okay. All those are physical structures. So they want stomach infrastructure. You then tell them of the rice revolution, which has freed us from being a net importer of the product in the world. You point out that if Buhari hadn’t put his money where his mouth was, and encouraged us to go back to the land, causing rice farmers to rise from six to 12 million, we would have been in serious trouble when COVID-19 struck. How would we have imported rice, with all international borders closed, and no foreign exchange to even place orders? They pat their tummies gingerly, belch after a hearty meal, and then declare: I hate rice.

A Cancer Centre has been built and commissioned by President Buhari at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH). An ultra-modern diagnostic center also built and commissioned in Kano. And just this week, another diagnostic centre built at a cost of $5.5 million, was commissioned at the Federal Medical Centre, Umuahia, in Abia State. What do they say of all these? “I hate hospitals. May I never need to use any diagnostic centre. It is not my portion.”

You join them to say amen, since you don’t have a hateful heart. And you remind them that the largest ever vessel in the country, Maerskline Stadelhorn, with a length of 300 meters and width of 48 meters, berthed few days ago at Onne Port, in Rivers State. That is the biggest ever container vessel to berth in any part of Nigeria. Onne people were delirious with joy, and praised the government to high heavens, because no vessel had come to their port for 12 years, till August last year, under Buhari. You tell the naysayers the positive economic implications, but they refuse to listen. They dive under water, shouting as they go: We hate container vessels.

You then take them to Yenagoa, in Bayelsa State. Just last week, the skyline of South-south and South-East was transformed, as President Buhari commissioned the tallest Federal Government structure in the region, the 17-story Nigerian Content Tower, Headquarters of Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB).

The architectural masterpiece occupies an area equivalent to four football fields, and has a 1,000 seater conference centre plus a 10 MW power plant. Started in late 2015, now completed, all under Buhari. Engineer Simbi Wabote, Executive Secretary of the agency paid tribute to the resolve, determination and encouragement of the President, that saw the structure to completion in record time. And Wabote, third E.S of NCDMB in its 10 years history, has written his name in gold. Just because he has a supportive President.

Minister of State for Petroleum, Chief Timipre Sylvia, under whose tenure as Bayelsa State Governor the land was allocated for the project, declared: “The commissioning of this building is symbolic in many ways. It shows that Mr President is keen to see infrastructural development in every part of the country...It shows that skyscrapers and other laudable infrastructure can be built in the Niger Delta.”

But they say Buhari hasn’t achieved anything. You show them the 17-story building, and as they gaze skyward, their caps and headgear fall off. You pick the cap and headgear, dust and hand them back. And you ask, brothers and sisters, how now? Rather than admit defeat, they pull the caps and headgear over their eyes, and grumbled: We hate skyscrapers. They make us dizzy.

At that point, you pity them. You realize that they need prayers. They hate everything good. They hate anything uplifting. They hate development. They hate their country. They even hate themselves.

*Adesina is Special Adviser to President Buhari on Media and Publicity

More... https://www.femiadesina.com/i-hate-trains-i-hate-bridges-i-hate-rice-i-hate-tallest-building-east-of-the-niger/

Kaduna Polytechnic Rector, Professor Idris Bugaje, has advised the Federal Government to collaborate with Morocco in enhancing skills in Nigeria, to address poverty causing the challenges of insurgency and banditry in the country.
Professor Bugaje said, the need for Nigeria to invest more in skills development becomes imperative, saying solution to the chronic unemployment that feeds poverty insurgency and banditry lies in such investment.
The Polytechnic Rector made the call while presenting certificate to 33 Quality Assurance Assessors for Skills Training under the National Skills Qualification Framework, (NSQF) which the institution intends to embark upon this year.
While explaining that, the aim of the NSQF training is to facilitate certification of skills to allow graduates move out for greener pastures, Bugaje said the training is starting with Panteka Fabrication and Skills Hub.
According to Professor Bugaje “Nigeria needs to invest more in skills development and collaborate with countries such as Morocco in enhancing Skills in the country. In doing that lies the solution to the chronic unemployment that feeds poverty insurgency and banditry which are the bane of the nation at the moment.

“CTD shall, in addition to the NSQF training, carry out other skills training programmes, such as the ongoing refresher training in welding for Arewa Welders who may potentially be absorbed into the AKK Gas Pipeline project.
“There is also short training programme in welding, plumbing and carpentry meant for up-skilling of Out-Of School Children (Almajiri and others). This is expected to commence this year immediately the campus is re-opened,” Bugaje said.
The Rector also advised that, as part of its urban renewal plan, Kaduna state government should declare Panteka Fabrication Market as state heritage site, following its contributions to the development of the country.

According to him, “What Panteka requires is restructuring and not demolition. The government should fix the market by making good roads networks, drainages water supply and electricity accessible to people.
“The old site should be phase one and anybody who is eager to expand his business should extend it to site two which is built by government.
“The advantage is that the market is close to Kaduna Polytechnic and if such market is pushed into the bush or areas that are inaccessible, there will be low patronage,” he said.

https://thenationonlineng.net/solution-to-insurgency-banditry-lies-in-skills-development-rector/

This was contain in a press release signed by O
Laolu Akande.
The release:
Buhari approves N13b for implementation of community policing.

To drive his resolve to rejig the security architecture in the country & deliver a more effective policing, Mr. President has approved the sum of 13 billion naira for the take-off of Community Policing in the country.

At today's National Economic Council (NEC) meeting presided by Prof Yemi Osinbajo, the Vice President asked Governors, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Finance Minister and the Inspectator-General of Police (IGP) to work out modalities on how the funds would be well utilized to ensure an effective implementation of Community Policing in Nigeria, and then report back to NEC.

Specifically, the Governors would be represented at this consultations by the Nigeria Governors' forum Chairman and two others. There's no relenting in effort to secure lives and property across Nigeria.

Laolu Akande,
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity,
Office of the Vice President.
20th August 2020

*OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT | PRESS STATEMENT*

*PRESIDENT APPROVES RENEWAL OF NDPHC’S MD, UGBO, EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS FOR ANOTHER 4 YEARS*

*3 new additional directors in the offing

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the renewal of the appointment of Mr Joseph Chiedu Ugbo as the Managing Director of Niger Delta Power Holding Company and Messrs Babayo Shehu and Ifeoluwa Oyedele as Executive Directors respectively.

This renewal will take effect from August 25, 2020 for a period of four (4) years.

The appointment of three (3) additional directors have also been approved for more effective and efficient coverage of the company’s areas of activity.

*Laolu Akande,*
*Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity,*
*Office of the Vice President.*
20th August 2020

If these guys are not sent to jail, fake news won’t stop. What’s more worrisome is newspaper houses that are being used to spread the fake news.

cc
Lalasticlala
Please make this go front page

*ATTACKS, ALLEGATIONS AGAINST OSINBAJO FABRICATED BY ONLINE PESTS – VANGUARD EDITORIAL*


Need for action against online pests


IT is five years since the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) Act of 2015 was enacted in Nigeria.


The Act regulates the use of our internet resources to foster socio-economic and political development while preventing crime and abuse of human rights. The Cybercrime Act which is well-received across the civil society spectrum has acted as the shield with which the media and social advocacy community have successfully warded off draconian legislations such as the Protection from Internet Falsehood and Manipulation Bill 2019, which empowered government to regulate the social media.

The Cybercrime Act provides against cyberstalking and bullying. Obviously, beyond the sporadic predation of hapless young people by the police for alleged internet fraud, enough has not been done to use this Act to deal with cyber news stalkers, bullies and malicious purveyors of fake news.

Perhaps, no other public figure has been more harassed than the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. For instance, in the past few months, the VP has come under series of allegations most of which turned out to be false. The Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, has denied allegations by a former party official, Timi Frank, that it gave Osinbajo N90bn to fund the 2019 elections for the All Progressives Congress, APC.


Also, the House of Representatives has confirmed that the N5bn emergency fund Osinbajo approved for the National Emergency Management Authority’s North East relief efforts were from budgeted sources and the VP had no hand in its spending. The suspended Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, has also denied stealing N40bn from the looted funds and giving a N5bn “cut” to the Vice President as widely reported.

The latest allegation, which has also been publicly disavowed, is that Osinbajo colluded with the Auditor-General of the Federation to withdraw N10bn from the Treasury Single Account, TSA. The Vice President, being a cleric and respected legal practitioner, is vulnerable and struggling to cope with this barrage of false publications that seek to sully his name.

We condemn cyber bullying and fake news in all their ramifications. While we stand firmly for freedom of the media, we believe that practitioners (including bloggers) must remain true to its laws and professional ethics. In holding government to account, the media must remain socially-responsible and do everything not to play into the hands of those waiting for an excuse to tamper with our civil liberties. The law must protect every law-abiding citizen from malicious, online pests.

COLUMNIST Dele Sobowale could be damn forthright. His candour can be seen in his habitual self-confession by calling himself “Area Father”.
Ordinarily, one would have indulged Dr. Sobowale by continuing to classify his weekly verbiage and composition in such light as pure entertainment but for the fact that he carried that comic streak into a matter otherwise requiring sobriety and rigour last Monday in the esteemed Vanguard newspaper.

In the said article titled: “That bad news from VP Osinbajo”, the columnist took charlatanism to a different height. This response is, therefore, informed by the need to save the unwary who might have been tempted to conflate his high-sounding jargons with reason and substance. They certainly are not.
His entire argument can be summarised in three points. First was his querying the competence of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, a professor of law, to lead the management of the nation’s economy. Second was a sweeping statement that the handling of the nation’s economy on the Vice President’s watch in the first term of the Buhari administration was a disaster. Third was the uninformed attack on the National Economic Sustainability Programme, NESP.

To begin with, it is a measure of a poor understanding of issues not to know that the headship of the economic council is constitutionally vested in the Vice President. Just as it is crass ignorance to suggest, like Sobowale did, that Professor Osinbajo is by his legal training ill-equipped to provide sound leadership for the nation’s economic team.
If one may ask Sobowale: What exactly is leadership? It simply means the ability to harness the talent or potential of each member of a team to achieve a group objective.

There are countless examples in history. Lee Kuan Yew generally celebrated for transforming Singapore from a Third World to the First World was a lawyer. Former Chancellor Gordon Brown of the United Kingdom read history. Yet, under him, Britain recorded relative economic progress.
Similarly, Henry Paulson who was US Secretary of Treasury under George W. Bush studied English for his first degree. Coming home, Chief Obafemi Awolowo trained as a lawyer, yet he is still remembered today for providing sound leadership for the Nigerian economy under the General Yakubu  Gowon administration in the ’60s such that the country prosecuted a bloody civil war that lasted more than two years without borrowing a Kobo.

In any case, anyone who has more than a passing knowledge of the successful development model in Korea and Taiwan would know that it is ascribed more to lawyers and engineers, respectively.
Sobowale’s second fallacy was the assertion without evidence that the nation’s economy floundered in President Buhari’s first term. On the contrary, the economy the administration inherited in 2015 was technically bankrupt.
If the columnist’s memory failed him, the rest of us remember that it was indeed a case of perfect storm for the country then as PDP’s 16 uninterrupted years of squandermania climaxed with the steep crash in commodity prices in 2014/2015. Oil prices fell to $30 per barrel from the average of $100 it sold for consecutive years under PDP.

As a result, more than two-thirds of the country’s 36 states were owing salary arrears by the time the Buhari administration came in on May 29, 2015. So, the new government had to assist states with a financial bail-out. This was the true position of the nation’s economy in 2015, as against the lie that Sobowale told in his column.
It took uncommon prudence and creativity of the economic team led by Vice President Osinbajo for the economy to be nursed back to stable health in another two years even without any significant rise in oil price.

Rather than malicious attack, Sobowale ought to praise Osinbajo for inspiring the think-tank that illuminated the country’s path to recovery by the second half of 2018 from the “worst recession” experienced since 1982.
Finally, when people like Sobowale attack NESP as ill-thought, one can only pity them for wallowing in ignorance.
The truth is that the NESP is a child of circumstance necessitated by the unexpected. The writer clearly betrayed limited knowledge of economics, planning and public policy.

For a man who claims to be widely read, it is clear that Mr. Sobowale has not had that intellectual discipline to read either the ERGP or the NESP.
If he had, he would have found answers to some of the issues he raised, including how the figure of N2.3 trillion was arrived at and where they will come from (limited fiscal space and raking in of balances in some Special Accounts and CBN supervised lending to businesses).

Another falsehood by him is the claim that Minister of State Budget and (National) Planning admitted the failure of the ERGP. If Sobowale is sure of his fact, I challenge him to bring out the statement or quote to back his claim.
Economic outcomes
What the Minister of State did was to initiate the process for developing a successor plan to the ERGP which expires at the end of 2020. Indeed, there is an all-inclusive process of articulating this successor plan which goes beyond NLC, ASUU, NANS which is the limited scope of what Mr. Sobowale sees as stakeholders in the national economy.

The truth is planning has a lot of unknowns. No self-respecting economist who is not a reader of tea leaves will say that he can tell with specificity the economic outcomes at the end of a year. Moreover, planning is not about economics alone – a point which Mr. Sobowale recalls in a rare moment of lucidity when he calls for wide-ranging input from various sectors into the planning process.
The IMF predicted X growth for the world economy in 2020 in October 2019, but has had to review that forecast due to the unforeseen COVID-19 pandemic. Now, it is predicting a fall in global output.

In any case, it really does not appear as if Mr. Sobowale, despite all his pretentious quotations from various sources, is given to deep reading.
If he was, he would know that the first order of business in the ERGP was to restore oil production – a task which required building peace in the Niger Delta and which was successfully carried out by VP Osinbajo.
On a final note, one observed in the said article that Mr. Sobowale was full of bile in a manner unbefitting of a man of his experience who should be sharing wisdom. Only those suffering from memory loss would deny that the Buhari administration employed 500,000 young graduates under the N-Power programme.

The rest of us don’t and are reasonable enough to appreciate patriots who are genuinely committed to nation-building.
Mr. Ighodaro, an economist, wrote from Abuja.

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2020/08/coping-with-sobowales-expired-ideas/amp/

When will Atiku issue a press release on this?
Had it been it’s something that doesn’t bothers around him, how would have issued lengthy speech. He can fix his companies yet her is clamouring to fix Nigeria. Hypocrite

Jackson Ude and his cohorts don't understand basic public finance. Auditor General checks the books and is not responsible for disbursement, unlike the Accountant General. So how in the world can the Auditor General have Access to such an amount of money? Timi and Jackson Ude keep showing the world their level of stupidity and ignorance. Timi Frank, on the other hand, is an illiterate who also happens to be a blackmailer. No evidence whatsoever, just blatant lies against a man who has built his reputation over the years.

The tactic is goebellian, if you keep telling these big lies and repeat them, at least some people will believe them.