The All Progressives Congress has said contrary to misgivings in some quarters about its commitment to fulfilling its campaign promise of restructuring the country, steps so far taken by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), towards the implementation the report of 2014 National Conference and the report of the Nasir El-Rufai-led APC committee on true federalism was enough proof that restructuring has begun.

This was contained in the September edition of the in-house monthly magazine of the APC, The Progressives. The piece was titled, ‘Calm Down! Restructuring has begun’ and the e-copy of the magazine was accessed on Monday.

According to the party successive administrations had wasted billions of taxpayers’ money to hold national conferences with the reports and recommendations of such conferences not implemented.

The publication said unlike previous attempts which yielded little or nothing, Buhari has taken steps to implement part of the recommendations of the 2014 National Conference as well as those of the 2017 Governor Nasir El-Rufai-chaired APC committee on True Federalism, which came out with far-reaching recommendations.

It said President Buhari has implemented recommendations including poverty reduction and social inclusion as well as economic diversification.

“With these aforementioned fundamental reforms being introduced into the nation’s polity already in place, and with many more still in the pipeline, Nigeria under President Muhammadu Buhari is on the path of an irreversible political and economic rejuvenation. To the advocates of restructuring, calm down, the exercise has begun in earnest.” The publication added.

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1598951428/apc-says-nigeria-already-being-restructured

Adeboye declines interview after Villa closed-door meeting with Buhari



The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), on Monday, received the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Both of them met behind closed doors at the President’s office.

They were joined at the meeting by the Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, who is also a pastor at the RCCG.

The Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, also attended the meeting that started around 3pm and ended a few minutes after.

The cleric did not speak with State House correspondents at the end of the meeting.

Also, the Presidency had yet to issue a statement on the meeting as of the time of filing this report.

Buhari’s meeting with Adeboye, however, took place at a time religious leaders and bodies were kicking against a section of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, which the President signed into law on August 7, 2020.

One of the contentious aspects of the law is Section 839, which provides for religious bodies, non-governmental organisations and charity organisations to be regulated by the Registrar of the Corporate Affairs Commission and a supervising minister.

The leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria and the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigerian has opposed the law.

The Head of Media and Public Relations, RCCG, Pastor Olaitan Olubiyi, had in a recent interview said Adeboye’s position on the law was not different from that of CAN and the PFN.

Olubiyi had said, “The stand of the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God and the leadership of the church on issues like this is not always different from whatever the Christian Association of Nigeria and the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria say.

“We always align ourselves with whatever the stand of the leadership of CAN and the PFN on issues like this is.”

https://www.google.com/amp/s/punchng.com/adeboye-declines-interview-after-villa-closed-door-meeting-with-buhari/%3famp=1

The Northern Elders Forum on Sunday slammed the National Assembly over constitutional review, describing it as a waste of resources and energy.

The organisation called on the National Assembly to direct its energy to convince the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), to stop the insurgency in the North-East; killings in most parts of North-Central and North-West and other parts of the country.

The NEF Director (Publicity and Advocacy), Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, expressed these views during a press briefing in Abuja.

He said, “Since 1999, past National Assembly spent huge amount of Nigerian people’s money on jamborees that gave them false hope that the three arms of government respect the overwhelming desire of Nigerians for a holistic and genuine review and amendment of the 1999 Constitution.

“The NEF is convinced that this repetitive initiative of the Senate is of no value and a predictable waste of time.

“Nigeria’s future rests largely on its willingness to address major constraints to equity and justice, a functional structure, consistent good governance, security for all citizens, a credible electoral process, growing understanding between and among all groups and an economy that grows and narrows inequalities between and classes and regions.”

“Forum advises the National Assembly to direct its energy and mandate towards convincing President Muhammadu Buhari to bring an end to the insurgency in the North-East and killings in most parts of North-Central and North-West and other parts of the country.

“It advises the Senate to jettison the wasteful idea of giving Nigerians the impression that it is involved in a serious review of our constitution.”

The NEF also recommended the alternative of leaders of thought, elders, groups and professional organisations and representatives of government to freely discuss every element of the co-existence as a country under principles of voluntarism, genuine representation mutual respect and integrity of the process.

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1598863744/address-insurgency-nef-salms-assembly

Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrasheed Akanbi, has said a former Lagos State governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, should be made a rallying point for the Yoruba race.

Akanbi, who called on Yoruba people to support Tinubu, said the national leader of the All Progressives Congress has the attributes of the late Premier of Western Region, Chief Obafemi Awolowo.

The royal father said this while receiving the Special Adviser to Osun State Governor on Civic Engagement, Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, who paid him a visit at his palace in Iwo.

Oyintiloye in a statement he signed on Sunday quoted Akanbi as saying, “Tinubu should be made the image of the Yoruba nation who shall be speaking on our behalf because he’s a symbolic living legend.

“Because of his sterling qualities which he has exhibited over time, he could be likened to our late foremost leader, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, whose charismatic personality and progressive leadership have immensely contributed to the plenary development of the Yoruba nation.

“It’s time Yoruba rallied support round Tinubu and not crucify him like Awolowo who was made to suffer despite his sacrifices and the developmental monuments such as the establishment of the University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University, the Cocoa House, Western Nigerian Television, the first television service in Africa and free education policy, among others, which were recorded under his leadership.”

The monarch urged Yoruba people to acknowledge Tinubu’s contributions to the development of the nation in his lifetime.

He also commended the regime of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), for “its achievements in every sector of the nation’s economy,” while calling for support for Osun State Governor, Adegboyega Oyetola.

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1598861754/tinubu-should-made-rallying-point-for-yoruba

The Federal Government, on Friday, highlighted several atrocities committed by Ghana against Nigerians living in that country, warning that it would no longer tolerate further hostile actions.

The government noted that 1,150 Nigerian shops were shut in the country since 2018, and that over 200 Nigerians were sentenced and languishing in Nsawam Maximum Prison alone in Ghana, while 825 Nigerians had been harshly deported from Ghana since 2018.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in a statement titled, ‘Nigeria will no longer tolerate harassment of its citizens in Ghana – FG,’ said the government was deeply concerned over the incessant harassment of its citizens in Ghana and the continuous acts of hostility towards the country by Ghanaian authorities.


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The Federal Government, on Friday, highlighted several atrocities committed by Ghana against Nigerians living in that country, warning that it would no longer tolerate further hostile actions.
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The government noted that 1,150 Nigerian shops were shut in the country since 2018, and that over 200 Nigerians were sentenced and languishing in Nsawam Maximum Prison alone in Ghana, while 825 Nigerians had been harshly deported from Ghana since 2018.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in a statement titled, ‘Nigeria will no longer tolerate harassment of its citizens in Ghana – FG,’ said the government was deeply concerned over the incessant harassment of its citizens in Ghana and the continuous acts of hostility towards the country by Ghanaian authorities.


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This is coming against the backdrop of the imposition of a $1m trade levy on Nigerian traders in Ghana and the shutdown of their business premises by the Ghanaian authorities.

Ghana’s Ministry of Trade had also given the traders a 14-day ultimatum to pay the fee, failing which it would close their shops. The deadline for the payment was August 24.

Over the past two weeks, the Ghanaian authorities had ordered the closure of shops owned by Nigerians doing businesses in the country. Since August 10, a task force went across the country’s capital to identify shops owned by Nigerian traders and shut them.

Mohammed stated, “The Nigerian Government is deeply concerned by the incessant harassment of its citizens in Ghana and the progressive acts of hostility towards the country by Ghanaian authorities, and will no longer tolerate such.

“In this regard, the Federal Government is urgently considering a number of options aimed at ameliorating the situation. The Federal Government has been documenting the acts of hostility towards Nigeria and Nigerians by the Ghanaian authorities. These include seizure of the Nigerian Mission’s property located at No. 10, Barnes Road, Accra, which the Nigerian Government has used as diplomatic premises for almost 50 years. This action is a serious breach of the Vienna Convention.

“Demolition of the Nigerian Mission’s property located at No.19/21 Julius Nyerere Street, East Ridge, Accra, another serious breach of the Vienna Convention. Also, aggressive and incessant deportation of Nigerians from Ghana; between January 2018 and February 2019, 825 Nigerians were deported from Ghana.

“Also, closure of shops belonging to Nigerians; over 300 Nigerians shops were locked for four months in Kumasi in 2018; over 600 Nigerian shops were locked in 2019 and, currently, over 250 Nigerians’ shops have been locked.

“Furthermore, residency permit requirements, for which the Ghana Immigration Service has placed huge fees, which are far higher than the fees charged by the Nigerian Immigration Service. These include the compulsory non-citizen ID card (US$120, and US$60 for yearly renewal); medical examinations, including for COVID-19, which is newly-introduced (about US$120), and payment for residency permit (US$400 compared to the N7,000 being paid by Ghanaians for residency card in Nigeria).”

The FG further complained that the Ghana Investment Promotion Council law appeared targeted at Nigerians, noting that it negated the ECOWAS Protocol on Free Trade.

The minister also cited outrageous stipulations in the GIPC Act. When the Act was initially promulgated in 1994, a foreigner is required to invest at least US$300,000 by way of equity capital and also employ 10 Ghanaians. This Act has now been amended twice, with the 2018 GIPC Act raising the minimum capital base for foreign-owned businesses to US$1m. Though targeted at foreigners, it seems GIPC’s definition of foreigners is Nigerians. The GIPC Act also negates the ECOWAS Protocol.

“The Federal Government would like to put on record the fact that even though over one million Ghanaians are resident in Nigeria, they are not being subjected to the kind of hostility being meted out to Nigerians in Ghana.”

Mohammed also stated that “the negative reportage of issues concerning Nigerians resident in Ghana by the Ghanaian media is fueling an emerging xenophobic attitude towards Nigerian traders and Nigerians in general.

“The immediate fallout is the incessant harassment and arrest of Nigerian traders and closure of their shops. There is harsh and openly-biased judicial trial and pronouncement of indiscriminately-long jail terms for convicted Nigerians. There are currently over 200 Nigerians in the Nsawam Maximum prison in Ghana alone. Nigeria has, time after time, demonstrated its fidelity to the long cordial relations with Ghana. But indications, especially in recent times, are that Nigeria’s stance is now being taken for granted. This will no longer be tolerated under any guise.

“In the meantime, the Federal Government wishes to appeal to its citizens resident in Ghana to remain law-abiding and avoid engaging in self-help, despite their ordeal.”

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1598703094/levy-can-tolerant-hostile-actions-anymore-berates

Over 16,000 people have signed a petition on Change.Org calling on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to investigate All Progressives Congress leader, Bola Tinubu.

The petition, which was started a week ago by Reno Omokri, a former aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, had garnered 16, 243 signatures as of 9.30 am on Friday.

The petition is titled, ‘Calling on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to investigate Bola Tinubu for contravening the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act of 2011, by having bullion vans ferry alleged large sums of money into his house on the eve of the 2019 Presidential election’.

Omokri wrote, “Dear citizens of Nigeria, let’s take our country back by signing this petition to compel the EFCC to investigate and prosecute Bola Tinubu for contravening the Money Laundering Act, by ferrying bullion vans into his house. Don’t say ‘na today’, or ‘leave matter’.

“We as Nigerians must stop confusing cynicism for wisdom. If we do not fight for our country, who will? George Floyd’s death sparked a revolution in America and we joined. We did not say ‘na today’, or ‘leave matter’. You and I can make a difference with this petition. #EFCCMustInvestigateTinubu.”

Tinubu had while responding to questions on the bullion vans in his home, said he was free to give anyone money since he was holding no government position.

He had said, “Is it my money or government money? I don’t work for the government. I am not in an agency of government and let anybody come out and say I have taken any contract from the government of President Mohammed Buhari, APC in the last five years.

“They should prove it. I am on my own and I’m committed to my party. So, even if I have money to spend on my premises, what is your headache? Excuse me, if I don’t represent any agency of government and if I have money to spend…., if I have money, if I like I give it to the people free of charge, as long as is not to buy votes…..who are those watching my house looking for bullion vans? They must be mischief-makers.”

Several groups had in the last one year submitted petitions to the EFCC demanding Tinubu’s probe but there has been no official reaction from the EFCC.

The Convener, Concerned Nigerians, Deji Adeyanju; Ariyo-Dare Atoye of the Coalition in Defence of Nigerian Democracy and Constitution and Adebayo Raphael of the Free Nigeria Movement as well as many others had written the EFCC calling for Tinubu’s probe.

Adeyanju’s The petition noted that Section 7 (1) (b) of the EFCC Establishment Act 2004 gives the commission the power to investigate properties of any person that appears to the commission that the person’s lifestyle and extent of the properties are not justified by his source of income.

It added, “To the best of our knowledge, Mr Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a private citizen who ordinarily should not be seen with a convoy of bullion vans.

“The questions begging for answers are: What are Bullion Vans doing in the house of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu? ?Who owns the content, believing to be cash in the Bullion Vans that were seen entering the house of Bola Ahmed Tinubu on the eve of Nigerian Presidential elections?

“Has the commission, based on its core mandates, investigated the source of the Bullion Vans? ?Is Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s house, now a bank where bullion vans now take money to?”

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1598610312/over-000-sign-petition-demanding-efcc-probe

The Governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje, said on Thursday that he would not waste time to sign the death warrant on a Kano-based singer, Yahaya Sharif, who was sentenced to death by an Upper Shariah Court for blasphemy.

Ganduje made the remark at a stakeholders meeting on the issue at the Government House, Kano.

He said, “Kano State Government has accepted the judgement passed by the Sharia Court and it has also accepted the provision of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

Ganduje noted that the convict had a 30-day grace to appeal the judgement, adding that if by the end of the 30 days the convict had not appealed, he would not waste time to sign the execution order.

“In the event the convict appeals the judgement, we shall wait and follow the case up to the Appeal Court. If he further appeals to the Supreme Court, we shall follow the case there. If the Supreme Court upholds the two lower court judgements, the governor of Kano State will not add one minute to sign the execution order,” he said.

Ganduje lamented that the issue of blasphemy was taking its toll in recent times, stressing that the government would not rest on its ores until it contain the situation.

He commended the ulamas for their commitment to ensure the culprit was punished accordingly.

He also commended security agencies for being up and doing to avert possible breach of the peace or break down of law and order during the height of the issue.

In their separate remarks, the Islamic clerics said they were 100 per cent in support of the governor to sign the death warrant as it is the only way forward for any abuse against the prophet.

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1598603918/blasphemy-would-not-waste-time-singing-death

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has charged lawmakers representing Rivers State at the National Assembly to defend the interest of the State fearlessly.

Wike also advised the lawmakers to resist distraction and remain united while consulting with the party regularly in the course of the duties.

According to a statement the Commissioner for Information and Communications, Paulinus Nsirim, the governor gave the charge while presenting 15 Sports Utility Vehicles to members of the National Assembly at Government House, Port Harcourt on Tuesday.

Wike who was represented by the Rivers State Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Desmond Akawor, said the gesture was aimed at easing the movements of the lawmakers and engendering effective discharge of their legislative duties.

It reads partly, “Resist distraction, remain united, consult the party regularly and defend the interest of the state fearlessly. This gesture is to ease your movement and enable you discharge your legislative duties effectively.”

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1598518884/wike-gifts-national-assembly-members-with-suvs

The Senate berated the Minister of State for Employment, Labour and Productivity, Mr Festus Keyamo (SAN), again on Wednesday over the recruitment of 774,000 Nigerians for the Federal Government’s Special Public Works programme.

Spokesperson for the Senate, Dr Ajibola Basiru, in an interview with The PUNCH, described as false, a claim by the minister that each member of the National Assembly was given 30 slots in the ongoing nationwide public works recruitment.

As the Senate condemned Keyamo, the Ogun State Chairman of Special Public Works, Senator Gbenga Obadara, in an interview with The PUNCH, said four doctoral and 200 Master’s degree holders were among applicants in the state.

Recall that the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), had a few months ago, approved the employment of 774,000 workers as part of efforts to cushion the economic hardship caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under the programme, Nigerians, who will be unskilled workers, will earn N20, 000 each on a monthly basis for three months.

At least, 1,000 workers will be recruited from each of the 774 local government areas of the country.

The programme ran into a hitch last month when the National Assembly and Keyamo disagreed over who should handle the recruitment.

The Senators had insisted that the programme should be handled by the National Directorate of Employment.

But following the President’s intervention, the crisis was resolved. Two weeks ago, the Chairman of the Extended Special Public Work Selection Committee in Rivers State, Dr Innocent Barikor, was quoted to have said that the minister had directed that every governor should be given 40 slots in each local government area, while each senator and House of Representatives member would enjoy 30 slots in their various council areas.

We didn’t beg for slots, we weren’t given any – Senate tells Keyamo

But Basiru, in the interview with The PUNCH, said there was no time the minister gave 30 slots to each member of the National Assembly.

He, therefore, warned Keyamo against using the programme to blackmail the lawmakers.

Basiru explained that the Red Chamber never approached Keyamo to negotiate for slots and that no such gesture had been received from him.

Basiru said, “We are not interested in how they are recruiting persons into the public works programme because it is not our project.

“We are not aware of any slot. We don’t want any slot. We did not ask for any slot and we were not given any slot.

“We will reject any blackmail from anybody. Nobody should use the issue of slots to blackmail us. We are not interested in the slots.

“We only hope that by the time we are doing oversight functions, they would have implemented the programme according to the budget.

“We reserve the right to exercise our own oversight functions and we just hope that it would be well implemented in the interest of Nigerians.”

Keyamo could not be reached for comment as he did not respond to calls for reaction to the allegations of blackmail.

He had yet to reply an SMS sent to his phone as of the time of filing this report.

But some state coordinators, who spoke to The PUNCH on Wednesday, said 30 slots were given to each of the National Assembly members.

Recall that the Minority Caucus in the House of Representatives had on Tuesday rejected the slots allotted to each member of the House.

The Minority Leader of the House, Ndudi Elumelu, in a statement described the allotment of 30 out of the 1000 slots per local government to each member of the House as grossly unfair.

Reacting to the lawmakers’ complaints, Keyamo said the 30 slots given to each member of the National Assembly were just a privilege and not a right.

He also said it was irrelevant whether the federal lawmakers accepted the slots or not because their constituents would still be the beneficiaries.

He had said, “The question of slots to certain persons was never a question of a right or entitlement, it is just a privilege given to them to recommend persons within their constituencies.”

In Ogun State, the Chairman of Special Public Works, Obadara, in the interview with The PUNCH, said four doctoral and 200 master’s degree holders were among 20,000 applicants in the state.

Answering a question from one of our correspondents, he said, “Four PhD and 200 master’s degree holders have applied.”

Obadara said the committee started distribution of forms four weeks ago and that almost 20,000 persons from 20 local government areas had obtained the forms.

Speaking on the challenges facing the committee, Obadara described 20,000 slots allotted for the state as “a drop of in the ocean.

“Poverty is ravaging. Unemployment is extremely on the high rise. People with master’s degrees and even PhD degrees are applying for 20,000 jobs. That is the problem. It cannot cover everybody. We cannot blame the Federal Government.”

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1598512577/774-000-jobs-four-phd-200-master

A former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, has apologised for referring to a journalist, Eyo Charles, as “stupid”.

Fani-Kayode said this in a statement on Wednesday.

He said, “I met with my advisors till late last night and I wish to say the following. I hereby withdraw the word ‘stupid’ which I used in my encounter with a journalist in Calabar. I have many friends in the media who I offended by losing my cool and using such words. I hereby express my regrets for doing so.”

The former minister, however, denied allegations that he was threatening to harm the Daily Trust reporter.

“I do, however, wish to state categorically that no threat of physical harm was ever made to the journalist in question and neither did I send anyone to threaten him. Anyone that says otherwise is lying and I challenge them to bring the proof.

“I would never seek to physically harm a journalist. For the last 30 years I have defended and worked with journalists and fought for the right of freedom of expression,” he said.

Fani-Kayode said he remained a friend of the media and would be the last to seek to disparage those that are honourable and noble within its ranks.

The former minister had come under heavy criticism for calling the reporter ‘stupid’ during a press conference in Calabar, the Cross River State capital.

In a video that has since gone viral on social media, Fani-Kayode is seen giving the Daily Trust reporter a dressing down for asking him a “stupid question”.

The journalist was said to have asked Fani-Kayode who bankrolled his recent tour of several southern states.

However, the former minister, who was infuriated by the question, said the journalist was stupid.

He said, “I am saying this on live TV. What type of stupid question is that? Bankrolling who? Do you know who you are talking to? I will not take any questions from this man. What type of insulting question is that? Which bankroll? To do what? Who can give me money for anything? Who do you think you are talking to? Go and report yourself to your publisher? Please don’t insult me here. I don’t want to take any questions from this man.

“I could see from your face before you got here, how stupid you are. Don’t ever talk to me like that. Who do you think you’re talking to? Bankroll who? You think I am one of those ones you… from who, when, how? You have a small mind, very small mind. Don’t judge me by your own standards.”

The Nigeria Union of Journalists had condemned the former minister while the management of Daily Trust had threatened to report to the police if any harm came to its reporter.

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1598432579/withdraw-the-word-stupid-fani-kayode-apologises

The Gombe State Governor, Inuwa Yahaya, on Tuesday, lamented that the immediate past administration in the state wasted over N3bn on an abandoned mega park project.

Yahaya stated this when he inspected the uncompleted park, which was started by the administration of his predecessor, Ibrahim Dankwambo.

The governor said, “Water passing through this building has caused a lot of havoc to the college of education nearby and that school is very dear to us. Today, it has close to 10,000 students.

“This project was supposed to cost N6.2bn; it started in 2012 and was supposed to last 28 months; it should have been completed in 2014, but they abandoned it. About N3bn has been paid; there are certified works worth N420m; records have not been found.

“Over N3bn is wasted and has caused havoc to the environment; you hold whoever that decided to put these structures in place responsible and liable for whatever happens to us.

Yahaya directed contractors and consultants handling the project back to site, and asked them to be guided by all the protocols of professional development and control.

Dankwambo had yet to reply to a text message sent to his mobile phone for his reaction as of the time of filing this report.

One of his aides, however, promised to contact him and get back to our correspondent, but had yet to do so as of the time of going to press.

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1598428417/dankwambo-wasted-over-n3bn-abandoned-park-project

A former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, has come under heavy criticism for calling a journalist, Eyo Charles, “stupid” during a press conference in Calabar, the Cross River State capital.

In a video, which has since gone viral on the social media, Fani-Kayode was seen giving the Daily Trust reporter a dressing down for asking him a “stupid question.”

The journalist was said to have asked Fani-Kayode who bankrolled his recent tour of some southern states.

The former minister, who was infuriated by the question, said the journalist was stupid.

He said, “I am saying this on live TV. What type of stupid question is that? Bankrolling who? Do you know who you are talking to? I will not take any questions from this man. What type of insulting question is that? Which bankroll? To do what? Who can give me money for anything? Who do you think you are talking to? Go and report yourself to your publisher? Please don’t insult me here. I don’t want to take any questions from this man.

“I could see from your face before you got here; how stupid you are. Don’t ever talk to me like that. Who do you think you’re talking to? Bankroll who? You think I am one of those ones you… from who, when, how? You have a small mind, very small mind. Don’t judge me by your own standards.”

The viral video has been trending on social media for several hours with many condemning Fani-Kayode’s outburst.

However, some people defended Fani-Kayode’s response, insisting that the question was insulting.

But the Nigeria Union of Journalists condemned the former minister.

The NUJ President, Chris Isiguzo, said in a statement on Tuesday, that the former minister assaulted the journalist and threatened him for asking a question.

Isiguzo said the question posed to Fani-Kayode was appropriate because the former minister had been touring several states without revealing his true intention.

He said, “By denigrating the journalist, Fani-Kayode has exposed himself the more as an intolerant person who will not want his activities closely scrutinised by the media.

“It is instructive to remind the likes of Fani-Kayode that it is the constitutional right of journalists to monitor and keep a check on people and institutions in power. By delving into politics and holding political office, Fani-Kayode is very conversant with the watchdog role of the media.”

The NUJ President said it was ironic that Fani-Kayode who was highly critical of the government could take issue with simple questions.

“We are more shocked that the same Fani-Kayode who had in recent times, used his social media handles to call leaders to account is at the same time attacking a journalist for a simple demand for him to unmask those behind his nationwide tour. He had already visited six states. This is indeed, terribly disappointing,” he said.

However, Fani-Kayode said he had no apology for his conduct.

The former minister said on the contrary, the journalist involved had apologised to him.

The former minister said, “During my tour of the South and after a long and successful press conference in Calabar, Cross River state, a journalist put up his hand for the last question and said, ‘well we do not know who is bankrolling you’. This is not a question but an assertion and an insult.

“And if this insulting assertion were made before (Donald) Trump or OBJ (Olusegun Obasanjo) I know how they would have reacted…I have no apology to offer for it. The young man apologised to me during the press conference and sent his apologies to me after the conference. I have accepted his apologies in good faith and moved on.

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1598427624/fani-kayode-under-criticism-for-calling-journalist

A former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Dr Obadiah Mailafia, on Monday failed to honour the invitation by the police in Abuja.

Mailafia’s lawyer, Yakubu Bawa, who addressed a press conference in Jos on Monday, faulted the police invitation, saying he “find the service of the letter of invitation on Dr Mailafia by the Nigerian Police Force through the office of the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Force Criminal Investigation Department, strange and alien to our extant laws and procedure.”

The police had last week invited Mailafia to appear at the Force Headquarters in Abuja on Monday.

The former CBN deputy governor had been grilled and released twice by the Department of State Services over the comments he made during a radio programme alleging that a serving northern governor was the commander of Boko Haram.

Bawa said, “It is imperative to state that the case the Nigeria Police Force is investigation, where the name of Dr Obadiah Mailafia purportedly featured prominently cannot be unconnected and unrelated with the case the DSS is investigating, which borders on internal security

“It is sacrosanct to note also that the DSS is the only statutory body empowered by law to investigate alleged crime against internal security not Nigerian Police Force.

“Section 3 (a) of the Security Agency Act stipulates this position and in consonance with the said provision, the DSS had assumed investigation into the matter.

“We have carefully analysed the letter of invitation served on Dr Mailafia, as well as the intention of the Nigerian Police Force as clearly stated in the said letter of invitation and upon which we immediately approached the high court of justice in Plateau State and filed an action for the enforcement of his fundamental rights to personal liberty and fair hearing as enshrined in our constitution.

“We have served the Inspector General of Police, Deputy Inspector General of Police, FCID, and the signatory of the said letter of invitation, one DCP Omar Mamman Sanda, by substituted means through the Commissioner of Police Plateau State command having obtained a court order to do so.

“We are praying the court to make a judicial pronouncement on the letter of invitation served on Dr Obadiah Mailafia; we are equally subjecting the invitation made by the office of the DIG, FCID, to Mailafia to appear for an interview on Monday under judical scrutiny.

“We strongly believe that it is significant to hear the decision of the court on these germane issues, and it is necessary also for the office of the DIG Force CID to wait for the judicial verdict in order to know whether it is appropriate and in tandem with our extant laws for the Nigeria Police Force to invite Dr Mailafia in the midst of an ongoing investigation by the DSS on a matter that is related to internal security.”

The counsel called on the police to desist from taking any action that was unlawful until the court made a pronouncement on the matter.

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1598341908/mailafia-declines-police-invitation-secures-injunction

RENOWNED economists, Prof. Obadiah Mailafia and Mr Bismarck Rewane, have said that the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System will lead to greater transparency and reduce the issue of ghost workers in universities and polytechnics.

Recall that the Academic Staff Union of Universities rejected the IPPIS and are currently on strike to protest against the policy.

Recently, the Joint Action Committee of the Non-Academic Staff Union and Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities said its members would begin strike once the schools reopen.

The economists, who spoke with The PUNCH described the IPPIS as a more efficient way of paying workers’ salaries.

Mailafia urged the Federal Government and the university lecturers to find a fair and transparent settlement that would work for everyone.

“Both sides have a point; for the government, there is the need for a greater transparency in the salary system. There are workers who have died, left and someone comes up to collect their salaries in the university system. It is illegal and should be stopped.”

He maintained that the lecturers were right about varsity autonomy and added that the autonomy had been abused.

“You have lecturers lecturing in four or five different universities and collecting almost equal pay. There is no possibility that they’ll give enough attention to their place of primary assignment.

“These issues need to be looked into. Teaching in three, four, five universities is a big problem. We need to sit down and find a practical solution that works for everyone.

“As an economist, the cost of the strikes is horrendous, not only the loss of productivity, loss of years by students, who are not able to graduate when they should,” Mailafia said.

Corroborating Mailafia, Rewane said the IPPIS platform would help to reduce the issue of ghost workers in varsities.

“IPPIS helps to have one man, one salary. I don’t know why anybody is against IPPIS in the first place. It reduces ghost workers; it doesn’t reduce or increase any lecturer’s salary.

“As an economist, it is a more efficient way of paying workers. In Nigeria, we have a lot of ghost workers. It has nothing to do with those errors NASU complained about; it is the data they gave while being enrolled on the IPPIS platform,” he said.

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1598342188/ippis-reduce-ghost-workers-varsities-polytechnics-mailafia

The Lagos State House of Assembly has summoned the Chief of Staff to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Mr Tayo Ayinde; the Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Mr Sam Egube; Commissioner for Special Duties, Mr Tayo Bamgbose-Martins; and the management of the Lagos State Security Trust Fund over the usage of the three helicopters belonging to the state government.

The Chief Whip of the House, Mrs Mojisola Meranda, raised the issue under Matters of Urgent Public Importance during plenary on Monday.

She said the contractual agreement signed by the Lagos State Government and the entity entrusted to maintain the assets should be probed.

“In 2015, three helicopters were bought under Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to strengthen security in the state. But the helicopters are nowhere to be found now.

“I will want us to look at it and get the concerned parties to tell the House the location of the three helicopters to see if they are just lying fallow or if the state government has entered into an agreement with an entity on the equipment and see to what extent the agreement has been working,” she added.

The Speaker of the House, Mudashiru Obasa, pointed out that the helicopters were meant for security and commercial purposes.

He said the House should know what had accrued to the state from the helicopters so far, adding that it was the first time the Assembly would be talking about the equipment.

“We need to know what has happened to the helicopters,” he said.

He directed the Clerk of the House, Mr Azeez Sanni, to write to all relevant offices and MDAs to give an account on the procurement and maintenance of the three helicopters.

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1598342621/lagos-assembly-probes-three-missing-helicopters-summons

The Deputy President of the Senate, Ovie Omo-Agege, has warned the Federal Government to shelve the alleged plans to scrap the Presidential Amnesty Programme for ex-agitators in the Niger Delta region.

He also charged the people of the region to come up with a new narrative about holding leaders in the region accountable.

Omo-Agege gave the warning on Sunday in a statement issued by his media aide, Yomi Odunuga, titled: ‘Why amnesty programme shouldn’t be scrapped now – Omo-Agege’.

The statement explained that the Deputy Senate President spoke in Abuja when he played host to a socio-political organisation, the New Era Forum.

Omo-Agege described the alleged move to scrap the programme as premature and ill-timed, adding that taking such an action would truncate the fragile peace in the region.

Omo-Agege said, “I don’t think that the timing is right for the amnesty pogramme to be scrapped. We have challenges right now in the North-East through the ravages of Boko Haram as well as banditry in North-West and North-Central.

“Those are enough challenges already in this country. I don’t believe that this is the time to reawaken the agitation of militancy in the Niger Delta region.

“It is my hope and expectation that the policymakers, who are around Mr President, will convey this to Mr President that to the extent that there is any such plan at this time, it is premature and ill-timed.

“That is not to say that this programme must stay in perpetuity, but we don’t believe that the goals set have been completely achieved.”

According to him, leaders in the region have failed, having been unable to judiciously utilise funds released for the development of the region.

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1598269080/scrapping-niger-delta-amnesty-premature-omo-agege

The All Progressives Congress governorship candidate in Edo State, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, says he cannot refund N700m to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, because he never stole the money he was accused of diverting.

Ize-Iyamu, who was the Peoples Democratic Party’s governorship candidate in 2016, said this during an interview on Arise TV on Sunday.

The governorship candidate is currently standing trial for allegedly receiving N700m for campaigns during the build-up to the 2015 general elections. The EFCC alleged that the money came from a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke.

However, Ize-Iyamu said he only ensured the release of the funds, but he never touched it.

The APC candidate said, “The EFCC case against me for N700m, I have made it very clear that the so-called money was never paid into my account. It was never given to me. All I did was that they wanted somebody to verify that the money for campaign came. And I, along with two others, went to the bank and confirmed it.

“From the bank, the money was taken not to my house, but to the house of the leader of the party. And when they got there, the money was distributed to the 18 local government chairmen of the party and they all signed for it. Not one kobo was given to me. These are facts available to the court; these are facts available to the EFCC.

“The EFCC’s own is that we ought to refund the money and I said how can I refund what I did not collect? If I took the money, I may say yes, I will refund it; but I didn’t take it, not a kobo did I take. So, my conscience is clear and my credibility is intact.”

Ize-Iyamu said the governorship election of 2016 was manipulated in favour of Governor Godwin Obaseki, who was the APC candidate at the time.

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1598269534/can-return-n700m-fund-ize-iyamu

The Presidency on Friday listed 35 policies, programmes and projects as the second-term achievements of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.).

Buhari, who won his reelection in 2019 after defeating opposition Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate, Atiku Abubakar, with about four million votes in the February 23 poll, had on August 21 of the same year inaugurated his second-term cabinet.

The Presidency in a statement via its Twitter handle, @NGRPresident, on Friday, listed, amongst other accomplishments, the “presidential assent to a landmark Bill amending the Companies and Allied Matters Act.”

Buhari had on August 7 signed into law, the Companies and Allied Matters Bill, 2020. The bill which has been passed by the National Assembly replaced the 1990 CAMA.

The controversial law has been rejected by the Christian Association of Nigeria which described as “satanic”, section 839 (1) and (2) of the law that empowers the supervising minister “to suspend trustees of an association (in this case, the church) and appoint the interim managers to manage the affairs of the association for some given reasons.”

Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party has criticised the “35 second-term achievements” of the President.

Commenting on Friday evening on Channels Television’s programme, Politics Today, Osita Chidoka, an adviser to the PDP National Chairman, Uche Secondus, said the creation of new ministries should not be tagged as an achievement.

Chidoka, a former Minister of Aviation, said, “I was surprised that the government released a list of 35 achievements this year because a year ago or two years ago, they released 64 achievements. So, even by their quantum of achievements, the government has declined in productivity.

“But when you look at the quality of the achievements, the GDP of this country has fallen from N520bn in 2018 to N350bn… So, everybody is poorer in this government.”

“On the economy, Nigeria’s debt has risen to about N36tn. It has grown three times to what it was in 2015. It has grown from about N12tn, meaning that 90 per cent of our revenue is actually going into debt servicing. So, I don’t know how that can be seen as an achievement.”

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1598098531/buhari-lists-774-000-jobs-cama-second

The House of Representatives has suspended activities of its standing and ad hoc committees, including panels investigating finances of the Federal Government.

The Majority Leader, Alhassan Ado-Doguwa, who made the announcement, in a notice dated August 19, 2020, with reference number NASS/9.HR/OLDR/ADM/VOL.1/0031, said it was a decision by the leadership of the House.

One of the major groups affected by the suspension is the Committee on Treaties, Protocols and Agreements investigating external loans and commercial agreements between Nigeria and other countries, especially China.

The activities of the committee generated controversy nationwide as the Federal Government on Monday admitted the loan agreement with China contains sovereignty clause, which gives the Asian country the permission to seize a facility if Nigeria defaults in the payment of the loan.

The committee Chairman, Nicholas Ossai, had said the clause was not only ambiguous, but also dangerous.

He vowed to go ahead with the probe and ensure the renegotiation of the controversial loan agreement.

But the probe was stalled on Thursday with the suspension of activities of House committees.

Ado-Doguwa’s memo sighted by one of our correspondents on Thursday was titled, ‘Notice of suspension of activities, meetings, public hearings and all engagements of the standing and ad hoc committees.’

The notice read, “The leadership of the House of Representatives has recently met and resolved that, henceforth, all activities of standing and ad hoc committees be put on hold while the House is on its annual recess.

“Accordingly, all standing and ad hoc committee chairmen are, hereby, directed to suspend with immediate effect, all committee meetings, public hearings and other engagements until the House resumes from its annual recess.

“The Clerk of the House should also ensure strict compliance to this circular by all committee clerks and other relevant staffs (sic) of the House of Representatives.”

The National Assembly is scheduled to resume plenary on September 15, 2020, after a two-month annual recess.

Both the Senate and House of Representatives had resolved to continue work at the committee level during the break.

The suspension notice came two days after a drama at the hearing by the House Committee on Treaties, Protocols and Agreements, probing Nigeria’s external loans.

The Chairman of the committee, Ossai, had had a heated argument with the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, over the manner the probe was being conducted.

Before the altercation, Amaechi had warned that the lawmakers’ insistence on the investigation could make China to stop the loan.

At Monday’s public hearing, the Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, walked in and called for a break.

The PUNCH had exclusively reported on Wednesday how the probe had polarised members of the committee.

I am not aware of suspension of committees activities —Ossai

When contacted on the telephone on Thursday, Ossai said he was not aware of the suspension notice. “I’m not aware,” he said.

When asked if it meant that his committee’s probe would continue, the lawmaker said, “Until I authenticate what you are saying now and I find out; I won’t be able to make a necessary decision now as you are telling me. By tomorrow (Friday), I’m going to find out whether it is all according to what you have said.”

When told that the notice must have been sent to lawmakers, Ossai said, “I don’t have it.”

The committee had on Tuesday suspended its hearing and adjourned till Tuesday. It asked the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), and Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, to appear before it on Tuesday next week to shed light on the controversial clauses concerning Nigeria’s sovereignty.

Besides the investigation into loan agreements, also affected by the suspension is the ongoing probe of the $11bn withdrawn from the Excess Crude Account for the implementation of the failed National Integrated Power projects.

Another probe is by an ad hoc committee of the House on the increment of tariffs by digital television service providers, especially DSTV.

We will continue NDDC probe after NASS resumption –Chairman

The House is also investigating the alleged illegal spending and mismanagement of N81.5bn by the Niger Delta Development Commission. The NDDC committee has interrogated the Interim Management Committee and the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio.

The Chairman of the House Committee on NDDC, Mr Olujunmi Tunji-Ojo, told one of our correspondents on Thursday, that activities would be delayed till National Assembly’s resumption.

Also, Chairman of the ad hoc committee investigating tank farms, Mr Sergius Ogun, said the exercise would continue after resumption.

Speaking on the probe of the DSTV and other digital television service providers, the Chairman of the committee, Mr Unyime Idem, in a text message to one of our correspondents, said, “Now that the leadership has suspended all committee’s activities, we don’t have a choice but to wait until when we resume.”

Reverse suspension of probes, SERAP tells House

Commenting on the suspension, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project said it was not in the best interest of the public for the National Assembly to stop the probe into the Chinese loans.

SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oludare, in an interview with The PUNCH, said, “Nigerians have the right to know the exact details about all Chinese loans, including conditions of repayment, spending details; the specific projects and their locations on which the loans are spent or proposed to be spent, and whether the loans are in fact necessary in the first place.

“Transparency in the details of all Chinese loans is good for everyone, as this would help to increase the effectiveness, legitimacy, and contribution of the loans to the development of public goods and services, and the general public interests.”

Don’t compromise probe, CSO warns lawmakers

On its part, the Co-Convener, Centre for Liberty, Raphael Adebayo, cautioned the lawmakers against compromising the probe which he said was about the future of the country.

Adebayo, in an interview with The PUNCH, said Nigerians were waiting for the committee to continue with the probe after their recess, noting that “since the National Assembly is officially on recess, I think it is okay to give them the benefit of the doubt. It is not up to a month for them to resume, so I think Nigerians can wait.”

He stated further, “But the most important thing is they must not compromise the probe. They must remember that the onus is on them, that is, the committee in charge of the probe, to make sure that the collective interest of Nigerians is fought for and protected.”

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1597994643/reps-suspend-panels-sittings-chinese-loan-probe

The Christian Association of Nigeria, on Thursday, rejected the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020, describing it as ungodly and a time bomb waiting to explode.

The body said it rejected the idea of bringing the church under the control of government.

The President of CAN, Dr Samson Ayokunle, rejected the amended law in a statement by his Special Assistant, Media and Communications, Adebayo Oladeji.

He said, “The law, to say the least, is unacceptable, ungodly, reprehensible and an ill-wind that blows no one any good. It is a time bomb waiting to explode.

“We recall that during the first term of the President, there was a public hearing conducted by the National Assembly on the Non-Governmental Organisations Bill tagged: ‘Bill for an Act to Provide for the Establishment of the Non-Governmental Organisations Regulatory Commission for the Supervision, Co-ordination and Monitoring of Non-Governmental Organisations’, which was attended by CAN and many NGOs.

“At the hearing, the bill that sought to bring the religious organisations and NGOs under the control of the government was totally rejected, because it would snuff life out of the church and rank the church as a secular institution. We thought it was all over until we heard of the CAMA that was assented to by the President, making the rejected bill a law.

“The satanic section of the controversial and ungodly law is Section 839 (1) and (2), which empowers the commission to suspend trustees of an association (in this case, the church) and appoint interim managers to manage the affairs of the association for some given reasons.

“While we are not against the government fighting corruption, wherever it may be found, we completely reject the idea of bringing the church, which is technically grouped among the NGOs, under the control of the government. The church cannot be controlled by the government because of its spiritual responsibilities and obligations. This is why we are calling on the Federal government to stop the implementation of the obnoxious and ungodly law until the religious institutions are exempted from it.

“We call on President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently return the law to the National Assembly for immediate amendment. Nigeria should not be compared with any other nation when it comes to the relationship between the religious institutions and the government. In Nigeria, people’s religions are tied to their humanity and of course, their life.”

However, senior officials of the Corporate Affairs Commission told our correspondent that although CAN had the right to kick against the CAMA, it should be noted that about 40 law firms contributed to the new Act.

The officials also stated that about 80 company registries around the world contributed to the CAMA in order to ensure that it was in line with best global standards.

“We cannot stop CAN from protesting against the new Act, but the truth is that it is an Act that had the contributions of about 40 law firms and over 80 company registries around the world,” an official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the controversy generated by the matter, stated.

Another official said the National Assembly was also fully consulted before the CAMA was approved and signed into law.

Referring to some of the tweets of CAC, the official assured CAN that there was nothing to worry about concerning the Act, as it would assist Nigeria in fighting corruption as well as improve transparency.

In one of the tweets, the Registrar-General, CAC, Garba Abubakar, said the new law was done in the best interest of Nigerians and in accordance with best practices, and likened it to the United Kingdom Charities Act.

Basiru simply responded, “We have no comment on the issue.”

The Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Mr Benjamin Kalu, asked those who had reservations about some provisions of the CAMA to consult their representatives at the National Assembly and seek amendments to the law.

Kalu noted that it took the National Assembly over two years to process the bill, adding that the old CAMA had become obsolete after about 30 years.

The lawmaker recalled that a public hearing was organised on the bill, which gave all stakeholders the opportunity to make their inputs to the legislation.

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1598013008/cama-unacceptable-time-bomb-can

Counsel for the late Senator Buruji Kashamu, Mr. Ajibola Oluyede, said his client, before his death, withdrew the lawsuit filed against rival lotto operators in the country, including Sir Keshington Adebutu’s Premier Lotto, popularly known as Baba Ijebu.

Oluyede told our correspondent on the telephone on Thursday that Kashamu, through his firm, Western Lotto Limited, took the decision prior to his death on August 8, 2020.

The lawyer was contacted against the backdrop of a viral video suggesting that Kashamu, while on his sickbed, placed a phone call to Adebutu to beg for forgiveness and pledged to drop legal actions against Premier Lotto.

In the video, Adebutu demanded that Kashamu withdraw the court case against his firm in demonstration of his penitence.

The two businessmen from Ogun State were embroiled in a legal tussle on the proprietary right over ‘Ghana games.’

In a suit filed before the Federal High Court in Lagos, Kashamu’s Western Lotto accused Adebutu’s Premier Lotto and 22 other rival lotto firms of infringing on its trademark.

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1597998653/kashamu-withdrew-case-against-adebutu-firm-before

The Federal Government has suspended requests from civil servants for corrections on their data posted on the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System.

Such corrections that will not be entertained for now are requests for change of date of birth and date of first appointment.

The Head of Service of the Federation, Dr Folashade Yemi-Esan, disclosed this in a circular titled, ‘Mandatory update of employee records on non-core MDAs preparatory to the service-wide implementation of the Human Resource module of IPPIS,’ which was obtained by our correspondent on Wednesday.

Yemi-Esan, however, exempted civil servants whose salaries had been stopped due to errors in the entry of their records during payroll enrolment from the suspension.

The circular read parly, “In the meantime, all written requests from parastatals, agencies and institutions for correction and change of date of birth and date of first appointment on the IPPIS platform has been suspended.

“However, employees whose salaries have been stopped due to erroneous entry of their records during payroll enrolment can forward their request for correction.”

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1597912653/ippis-suspends-birth-date-changes-requests-others

Amnesty International has asked the Federal Government to promote, protect, and respect human rights amidst disturbing signs of violence ahead of the Edo State governorship election.

The human rights organisation in a statement on Wednesday urged the FG to stamp out violence and impunity and prevent bloody elections in Edo State.

It stressed that the government must equally ensure full respect for freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association, before, during and after the election and in subsequent elections in other states of the federation.

These were contained in the statement titled, ‘Nigeria: Authorities must prevent violence and uphold human rights before, during and after Edo State gubernatorial election.’

Country Director, Amnesty International Nigeria, Osai Ojigho said, “The potential turmoil being stirred up by various factions ahead of the gubernatorial election in Edo State should send a clear signal to the Nigerian authorities of the imminent violence ahead of the polls and government must take active steps to prevent a bloody poll.

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1597909968/edo-protect-human-rights-bloody-poll-tells

The Peoples Democratic Party Campaign Council for the Edo State Governorship Election has raised the alarm over an alleged plot by the All Progressives Congress-led Federal Government to arrest its supporters on trumped up charges.

The National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, raised the alarm at a press conference in Abuja, on Tuesday.

The PDP spokesman explained that the APC administration owes Nigerians an explanation on the trending video showing the sacked APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, and the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, at the Presidential Villa, discussing the arrest of certain individuals, ahead of the September 19 governorship election.

Ologbondiyan said “Nigerians were alarmed by the video in which Oshiomhole was seen emphatically urging the Chief of Staff to Mr President on the need to clampdown on certain unnamed Nigerians to achieve political suppression and submission ahead of the Edo election.

“Our national campaign holds that the presence and involvement of the Chief of Staff to the President and the fact that the discussion held within the precincts of the Presidential Villa, have made the Presidency complicit and place a huge burden on President Muhammadu Buhari.

However, The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, described the trending video as “an ingenious patchwork of mischief.”

Shehu said this in a Tuesday statement that the video was extracted from an innocent conversation focused on the emerging incidents of violence in the run up to the election.

He said the President did not support violence of any sort and its propagators would be brought to justice.

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1597823977/pdp-presidency-disagree-over-leaked-arrest-video

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said the late former American Ambassador to Nigeria, Walter Carrington, leaked to him the plan by the regime of the late military dictator, Sani Abacha, to arrest him in 1995.

Obasanjo said he was in Copenhagen, attending the World Social Summit as a Human Development Ambassador of the United Nations Development Programme when Carrington got in touch with him and warned him about the planned arrest.

He said Carrington even offered him political asylum in the United States to avoid being arrested but he turned down it, despite its “tempting and assuring nature.

Obasanjo said this in a condolence letter to the wife of the late envoy, Mrs Arese Carrington, a copy was obtained from his media aide, Kehinde Akinyemi, in Abeokuta on Tuesday.

Obasanjo said he recalled that Carrington was posted to Nigeria at a time the country was under the military rule, which had run uninterrupted for over a decade “and bred a culture of arbitrariness, flagrant abuse of human rights and disdain for the rule of law, all of which relegated our dear country, Nigeria, to the unenviable league of pariah states in the comity of nations.”

He said, “When I was in prison, he was one of the few foreign ambassadors who regularly visited my wife to encourage her and to find out how I was doing in prison. I can proudly say he was a true friend and brother.”

While expressing sadness over Carrington’s death, Obasanjo said, “I write to convey, on behalf of my family and on my own behalf, our profound sympathy and solidarity with you over the death of your beloved husband and one of the most outstanding diplomats of our time in the world, Amb. Walter Carrington.”

An ally of former President Olusehun Obasanjo, Chief Femi Majekudunmi, in an interview with our correspomdent on Tuesday, said Obasanjo had told him how Carrington informed his of his arrest.

He said, “I was aware of that ; what former president Obasanjo said is true as far as I can recollect. He has said it exactly the way it is.”

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1597826771/obasanjo-says-carrington-offered-asylum-escape-abacha

The House of Representatives Committee on Treaties, Protocols and Agreements has invited the Ministry of Justice to shed light on the sovereignty clause in Nigeria’s loan agreement with China.

The Chairman of the committee, Nicholas Ossai, disclosed this on Tuesday at the sitting of the panel, which is investigating external loans and commercial agreements signed by Nigeria.

Also on Tuesday, there were indications that the committee members were divided as some of the lawmakers faulted the approach of the chairman.

It was gathered that some members felt that the chairman was going to an area that did not concern the panel.

The PUNCH learnt that such lawmakers included members of the Peoples Democratic Party, who feared that the manner the probe was being conducted would expose deficiencies in loans the PDP governments took when the party was in power between 1999 and 2015.

Ossai digging into issues beyond his mandates – Aggrieved lawmaker

An aggrieved member, who spoke to one of our correspondents on condition of anonymity after the committee sitting, said Ossai was digging into issues beyond his mandates.

The lawmaker said, “Was he asked to oversight transport/works/ICT committees? The referral is about contents of agreements. If they are inimical to our wellbeing and our overall sovereign interest, the proper person to invite is the AGF (the Attorney General of the Federation (Abubakar Malami, SAN). He did not call him.

“All the directors of legal services of all the ministries, departments and agencies are (members of) staff of the Attorney General of the Federation office. Why didn’t he (Ossai) call the AGF?

“When Mr President sent a request for loan approval, it was referred to the Committee on Loans Aids and Debt (Management). The committee brought its report, including the agreements and terms. It was discussed and approved by the Committee of the Whole. So, is Ossai now investigating the decision of the entire House and by extension the National Assembly too? Even most of the loans were taken by the PDP.”

I won’t stop probe, we must renegotiate dangerous clauses – Ossai

But speaking to one of our correspondents after the committee’s short sitting on Tuesday, Ossai vowed to continue with the probe and conclude it.

Ossai said, “On Tuesday (next week), we are meeting. I will not soft- pedal on this issue. I’m going all out. To me, I feel Nigerians should be protected. Those clauses, we must make sure today they are renegotiated. We cannot say because you want to take loans, you will hold Nigerians by their jugular.

“Even when we approve loans, the second arm of the passage is a prayer that they will bring the details of those agreements to the National Assembly, which they have never brought.”

The chairman had on Monday described the sovereignty clause in the Chinese loan as dangerous.

At Monday’s sitting, a member, Oluwole Oke, disagreed with Ossai.

The Federal Government had on Monday confirmed the controversial clause relating to the sovereignty of Nigeria.

According to both the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, and the Ministry of Transportation, the clause is a global standard in bilateral agreements.

The committee, at its sitting on Tuesday, suspended its investigative hearing till Tuesday.

Ossai, who led members of the panel into the venue about one hour behind schedule, called for the adjournment after the opening prayers.

Ossai said the lawmakers needed to scrutinise the documents already presented to the committee, while the panel would also demand explanations from the Federal Ministry of Justice.

He said, “You are aware that I, as the chairman of this committee, will not ambush my colleagues in terms of new documents submitted. We need to digest most of these documents and go through the documents clause by clause.

“There is also an important office in this country that has been part of the negotiating team, which is the Ministry of Justice. The Ministry of Justice has been reached. They need to be part of this because of the revelations that are coming up now on most of these clauses. And these are the people who were supposed to have seen the clauses embedded in the documents. So, we also need the Ministry of Justice to be able to interface with them.

“More importantly, we also need the Minister of Finance, who was supposed to be here. The ministry signed most of these agreements with other countries.

“So, I am seeking the indulgence and the permission of my committee members to begin to look at this issue and probably adjourn for one week, to enable us to digest this matter and re-invite the honourable ministers that are here and those that are not here, so that we can conclude this matter as soon as possible, so that we can make our recommendation to the National Assembly.

The committee, therefore, resolved to adjourn till Tuesday.

Meanwhile, ex-diplomats, economists and financial experts on Tuesday disagreed over loans Nigeria obtained from China for rail projects.

While some of the experts allayed fear over sovereignty clause in the loan, others said Nigeria should be careful when taking Chinese loans.

In an interview with The PUNCH in Lagos, an economist and Chairman of the Foundation for Economic Research and Training, Prof. Akpan Ekpo, said Nigeria should be extremely careful when taking Chinese loans.

On his part, a former President, Association of National Accountants of Nigeria, Dr Sam Nzekwe, said there was preference for Chinese loans because they were cheaper, easy to get but lack transparency.

He said, “Chinese people are not like American people who look into the activities of the country to make sure there is no fraudulent activity there.

“If America or the World Bank is giving you a loan, they want to make sure the amount is correct and make it difficult to do back-hand business.

“But Chinese government does not care, what they know is that they want to continue to grow their economy.

“American or European countries ensure they do clean transactions, that is why they don’t want to go there and borrow because they will prescribe ethical steps you must pass to get the loans.”

The President, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, Mr Bayo Olugbemi, in an interview with The PUNCH,“I don’t know whether it is true that our sovereignty has been pledged for the loan, but if it is true, we need to review the terms of the loans very well. It should be a win-win thing.”

No law permits China to seize govt institutions, says Bolaji Akinyemi

But a former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prof. Bolaji AKinyemi, said no international law permited China to seize any Nigeria’s institutions on account of default in loan repayment.

Akinyemi, who spoke in an interview with a French video-sharing technology platform, Daily Motion, however, faulted the use of the term sovereignty clause by the Federal Government, saying immunity was preferable.

He explained that conditions usually attached to Chinese loans were not different from those given by other countries in America and Europe.

Akinyemi said Africans should be outraged that their leaders always took loans they knew ab initio that they would not repay.

He said, “People who grant you those loans must also know that they can get the money back one way or the other. If they grant you loan forgiveness or debt re-schedulement, it is probably because they will ask you when you are negotiating at an international conference for your votes.

“But there is no way they will reschedule your loan or grant you loan forgiveness for nothing.”

He noted that the world started making a distinction between sovereign and economic immunity after Russia, upon assuming control of many companies, claimed sovereignty for its business interests.

Akinyemi said sovereign immunity could only apply to political relations and diplomacy.

He stated, “But when it comes to economic relations, trading, buying and selling, contracts, etc, you cannot claim sovereign immunity for them or else you will be putting your partner at a disadvantage.

“That is what Africans and developing countries should keep in their minds that in the realm of economic relations, you cannot claim immunity even though your state is a party to that contract. That is what this debate is all about.

“I think it is a pity that in the particular contract we are talking about, the term sovereign immunity was used. If I were the minister in charge of that project, I wouldn’t use that term. I would simply say you cannot claim immunity when it comes to repayment of your loans. You cannot claim immunity when there is a disagreement.

“It is interesting that the Chinese foreign ministry has issued a statement that Nigeria’s sovereignty is not at stake in this matter. I am not familiar with the terms of their contract with other African countries, but there is no international law that will permit China to march into any African country and seize any institutions of government. But if it is in the contract, which with their eyes opened they signed, then that is a different thing,” he added.

On his part, a former Nigerian Ambassador to Angola, Amb. Folorunso Otukoya said the sovereignty clause was nothing more than collateral or guarantee protecting China’s interest in the loan transaction with Nigeria.

He said, “What they are calling sovereignty clause is nothing more than collateral, it doesn’t mean they (China) would come and rule Nigeria.

Also former Nigerian envoy to Argentina, Amb. Chive Kaave, also dismissed fears that Nigeria might have been sold off to the Asian giant, noting that the United States which was the highest debtor to China had not been taken over yet.

Lawmakers probe failed $500m Nigerian satellite contract, N180m insurance

In a related development, the House has begun an investigation into the N180.9m insurance premium allegedly paid for the failed NigComSat 1 launched in 2011 as well as Satellite 1-R. Nigeria obtained $500m Chinese loan for the failed NigComSat 1.

The Committee on Insurance and Actuarial Matters, on Tuesday, gave the management of NigComSat seven days to submit all documents on insurance of the satellites.

The Chairman of the committee, Mr Darlington Nwokocha, at an investigative hearing in Abuja on Tuesday, quizzed managements of two insurance firms–Fasahal Insurance and A & G– engaged by NigComSat, over alleged irregularities as well as their engagements without due process.

Nwokocha noted that the committee’s investigation was based on six petitions filed by concerned Nigerians in the insurance sector and some workers in the organisations.

The lawmaker stated that the probe was to detect the alleged infractions, impunity, contract racketeering and financial recklessness concerning the satellites.

Members of the committee, in their separate remarks, decried the alleged blatant breach of extant regulatory laws, while demanding relevant documents on various transactions among the parties.

The Managing Director/CEO of NigComSat, Mr Abimbola Alale, while speaking on the appointment of the lead insurance company, stated that the Chinese company that manufactured the satellites unilaterally nominated the United Kingdom-based firm to insure NigComSat 2, which was launched in 2014.

Also, the Legal Adviser, NigComSat, Mrs. Alina Okpalefe, who said she was the Secretary of the Project Committee, said no lawyer accompanied the delegation to China where the contract was sealed in 2011.

The Managing Director of Fasahal Insurance, Mr Frederic Adejo, in his presentation, said NigComSat introduced him to the lead insurance firm.

Adejo disclosed that N180,992,836.35 was paid as premium in 2014.

The Managing Director, A & G Insurance, Mr Abiola Ajibowu, told the lawmakers that all relevant documents required by the committee had been transmitted. He also stated that the only evidence of the contract was the policy document, which contained the value of the asset, premium paid and the period of the insurance policy.

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1597822738/crisis-reps-panel-ministry-summoned-over-sovereignty

The House of Representatives on Monday faulted the sovereignty clause in Nigeria’s loan agreement with China, saying it was dangerous.

The Chairman of the House Committee on Treaties, Protocols and Agreements, Nicholas Ossai, who stated this in Abuja at the investigative hearing on external loans and commercial agreements, said Nigeria’s loan agreement with the Asian country was being governed by Chinese laws.

He said despite the fact that the Federal Government in 2014 signed an Executive Order providing guidelines on waiver of sovereign immunity during loan and commercial agreement negotiations, Nigerian officials had been violating the order.

Members of the executive, who appeared before the committee were the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi; Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola; Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Ali Pantami; Minister of Police Affairs, Muhammad Maigari; and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mohammed Bello.

Others included the Director-General, Debt Management Office, Patience Oniha; Permanent Secretary (Special Duties in the Ministry of Finance), Aliyu Ahmed and Director, Legal Services, Gabriel Christopher, both representing the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning.

Ossai, in his opening address, stated that the controversial clauses and agreements had been existing before the Muhammadu Buhari-led regime. He also stated that the probe was not about the ruling All Progressives Congress or the Peoples Democratic Party.

He also said the lawmakers’ probe was not limited to Chinese loans and commercial contracts. Ossai stated, “We will like Nigerians to know that we are not focusing on only Chinese loans. From what we know, Nigeria has over 500 bilateral loan/commercial contract agreements and investment treaties with different countries and institutions. There is no way the committee will do a thorough job without segmenting the issues based on countries, institutions or MDAs.

“The loan agreements we have seen so far show that government officials charged with the responsibility of representing Nigeria in these issues are more desperate to just take the loans at any condition, possibly using non-negotiated loan agreement templates rather than go through the rigour of diligent technical review of negotiating specific clauses with clarity and for national interest.”

The committee chairman said it was a common practice that most international loan agreements would adopt ‘sovereign guarantee’ and a neutral international arbitration centre.

He said, “Even in situations where countries, out of desperation and weak economic position, waive their national sovereignty in bilateral or contractual agreements, the immunity of sovereignty waiver clause will usually be clear and categorically state specific assets associated with the loans for takeover in the event of default.

“However, the immunity clauses in most of these agreements before us are not only ambiguous, but also very obscure and without recourse to the fact that the Nigerian government had issued a circular on the subject matter with Reference Number SGF/OP/1/S.3/X/1739, dated 11th August, 2014, which is an Executive Order, that provides guidelines on issues of waiver of sovereign immunity clause during loan and commercial agreement negotiations.”

According to Ossai, arbitration centres for bilateral loan agreements are known to be generally in neutral places, “unlike what we have in most of the Nigeria/China agreements where Hong Kong that is also governed by China laws was designated as the arbitration centre.”

He explained that government agencies sign commercial agreements in billions of dollars before going to the Federal Executive Council for approval to execute them.

Ossai stated that they proceeded to negotiate the terms of the loans before coming back to the President, who would be asking the National Assembly for approval for billions of dollars to do projects without attaching the negotiated loan and commercial contract agreements details.

‘Nigerian officials signed empty pages of loan agreement’

He added, “This approach is the reason we have government representatives signing empty pages of loan agreement repayment schedule and other key documents required for the loan agreements to become effective.

“We have commercial contracts signed in US dollars, while the loan agreements for the execution of the same contracts were signed in Chinese Yuan currency in the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy/Galaxy Backbone Limited.”

Ossai said the panel also noticed from documents that commercial contracts’ prices signed by the Federal Ministry of Transportation alone were over $33bn “without any clear cut financing arrangements.”

He added, “Most of these commercial contract agreements didn’t also have local content clauses and were witnessed by non-properly designated and authorised officials.”

The panel’s chairman also said there were issues relating to procurement process, evidences of 15 per cent advanced payments, payment of management fees, drawdown process and remittances “and a whole lot of other matters,” which the lawmakers are strongly poised to ask questions about.

‘DMO provided three out of 14 documents requested by lawmakers’

The panel chairman said the DMO DG, Oniha, failed to supply most of the documents requested from the DMO.

Ossai, while grilling the DMO boss, said only three of the 14 documents were provided to the committee, which Oniha denied.

The lawmaker, while asking the DMO boss various questions, said, “In Appendix 2 of your submission, we also noticed that Nigeria will continue to repay accumulated debt portfolio of over $8bn based on principal amount and interest payable from now till at least 19 years, based on the maturity of this loan. Appendix 3 in the contract agreement was also not attached.”

Answering various questions from the panel’s chairman, Oniha said, “What we have at the Debt Management Office is the loan agreement; that is what we work on. We submitted them earlier the first time you asked for the loan agreement.”

$326m loan on rice yet to be disbursed four years agreement signing

Ossai also said the loan on Nigeria’s parboil rice processing project under the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development worth $326m had yet to be disbursed four years after signing the loan agreement.

The session became tensed when it was the turn of Amaechi. The minister was angered by Ossai’s frequent interjections.

According to Ossai, arbitration centres for bilateral loan agreements are known to be generally in neutral places, “unlike what we have in most of the Nigeria/China agreements where Hong Kong that is also governed by China laws was designated as the arbitration centre.”

He explained that government agencies sign commercial agreements in billions of dollars before going to the Federal Executive Council for approval to execute them.

Ossai stated that they proceeded to negotiate the terms of the loans before coming back to the President, who would be asking the National Assembly for approval for billions of dollars to do projects without attaching the negotiated loan and commercial contract agreements details.

‘Nigerian officials signed empty pages of loan agreement’

He added, “This approach is the reason we have government representatives signing empty pages of loan agreement repayment schedule and other key documents required for the loan agreements to become effective.

“We have commercial contracts signed in US dollars, while the loan agreements for the execution of the same contracts were signed in Chinese Yuan currency in the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy/Galaxy Backbone Limited.”

Ossai said the panel also noticed from documents that commercial contracts’ prices signed by the Federal Ministry of Transportation alone were over $33bn “without any clear cut financing arrangements.”

He added, “Most of these commercial contract agreements didn’t also have local content clauses and were witnessed by non-properly designated and authorised officials.”

The panel’s chairman also said there were issues relating to procurement process, evidences of 15 per cent advanced payments, payment of management fees, drawdown process and remittances “and a whole lot of other matters,” which the lawmakers are strongly poised to ask questions about.

‘DMO provided three out of 14 documents requested by lawmakers’

The panel chairman said the DMO DG, Oniha, failed to supply most of the documents requested from the DMO.

Ossai, while grilling the DMO boss, said only three of the 14 documents were provided to the committee, which Oniha denied.

The lawmaker, while asking the DMO boss various questions, said, “In Appendix 2 of your submission, we also noticed that Nigeria will continue to repay accumulated debt portfolio of over $8bn based on principal amount and interest payable from now till at least 19 years, based on the maturity of this loan. Appendix 3 in the contract agreement was also not attached.”

Answering various questions from the panel’s chairman, Oniha said, “What we have at the Debt Management Office is the loan agreement; that is what we work on. We submitted them earlier the first time you asked for the loan agreement.”

$326m loan on rice yet to be disbursed four years agreement signing

Ossai also said the loan on Nigeria’s parboil rice processing project under the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development worth $326m had yet to be disbursed four years after signing the loan agreement.

The session became tensed when it was the turn of Amaechi. The minister was angered by Ossai’s frequent interjections.

When asked if the judgment would be enforceable in Nigeria, the permanent secretary said, “Yes.”

Ossai said, “That means that the particular clause is dangerous. Now, you have a circular, agreed by the Federal Government to guide you in signing agreements. You disobeyed that circular issued by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to guide you. But you were desperate enough to go and sign and waive the immunity clause of Nigeria. And you come on the pages of newspapers and tell Nigerians that, that is a standard. That is not a standard.”

Amaechi defends sovereignty clause, says Nigerians happy with projects

Responding, the minister said, “Why I am shaking my head is that if we listened to him (the PS) carefully – and we had that debate which included people like Femi Falana, Bolaji Akinyemi and others – that these are standard clauses which, if you don’t add them, you cannot have a loan.

“I will like to call the attention of the National Assembly to the fact that we have never refused to pay our loans. If we don’t take these loans to develop Nigeria…when I got to Lagos on Saturday to inspect Lagos-Ibadan (rail), the number of people jubilating may not like me; they may not care about me if I walked on the streets but they were jubilating because of the fact that they can take transport from Lagos to Ibadan.”

Speaking with our correspondent on the telephone later on Monday evening, Ossai said he described the clause as dangerous because the agreement with China were governed by Chinese laws and not Nigeria’s.

He said, “We are talking about the Lagos-Ibadan rail line project. He (PS) was talking about Nigerian law but I showed it to him. He didn’t even know what his people signed.”

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1597735379/chinese-loan-confirms-sovereignty-clause

Elder statesman, Chief Edwin Clark, has urged the Federal Government to tread with caution when dealing with issues concerning the Niger Delta region.

He warned the government against going ahead with the rumoured plan to scrap the Presidential Amnesty Programme, saying doing so would truncate the fragile peace in the oil-producing region.

Clark gave the warning at a virtual press conference on Monday, even as he recalled that barely 11 days ago, he cautioned Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo to tread cautiously on the Niger Delta Affairs.

He said, “I have cause to, again, advise or warn the Federal Government to desist from anything that will truncate the fragile peace that we have in the Niger Delta region.

“I say this because, just yesterday (Sunday), rumours were rife that the four-man investigative panel headed by A. A. Lawal, set up by the Federal Government through the Office of the National Security Adviser, Maj. Gen. Babagana Monguno (retd.), to look into the activities of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, had recommended the scrapping of the programme by December this year.

“If this is true, it will be an epic example of what we say in local parlance ‘trouble dey sleep, yanga go wake am’. This is not a threat; it is stating the obvious of what will actually happen.”

The former Federal Commissioner for Information and leader of the Ijaw explained that he was distraught when he received the news about the proposal.

He wondered why a region, which had contributed so much to economic growth, and by extension, political and social development of the country should be treated with so much disdain.

“Our living condition in the region has worsened. The PAP should be allowed to continue for some more time. I wish to advise the Federal Government to tread cautiously, except they have prepared another Operation Crocodile Smile. Wake not a sleeping lion. This is not a threat; it is a clarion call for peace,” he stated.

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1597739847/clark-warns-against-scrapping-niger-delta-amnesty

Human rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, has sued the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed; the Federal Government, and the National Broadcasting Commission for arbitrarily amending the Broadcast Code and hiking the fine for hate speech from N500,000 to N5m.

In the originating motion filed before a Federal High Court in Lagos, Effiong challenged the imposition of N5m fine on Nigeria Info 99.3FM Lagos and the threat by NBC to punish other broadcast stations in the country over alleged hate speech.

The suit comes barely days after the NBC fined Nigeria Info for granting an interview to a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Dr. Obadiah Mailafia, who claimed that an unidentified northern governor was a Boko Haram commander.

The NBC had threatened that any TV or radio station that allows elected officials to be insulted on its platform would be fined N5m or shut down.

The NBC board had also alleged that Mohammed hijacked the responsibility of the NBC and unilaterally hiked the fine for hate speech without consultation.

Effiong in his supporting affidavit told the court that the actions of the NBC, the Minister of Information and the Federal Government had gravely affected his freedom of expression and that of broadcast stations, broadcasters and other Nigerian citizens who also appear as guests on radio and television stations to express critical views about the government and public officeholders.

The lawyer argued that “abusing” or “insulting” the government cannot be criminalised in a democracy.

He contended that the expression “hate speech” is not defined under any written law and cannot be invoked or penalized based on the capricious expectations of the Respondents.

He said that to do otherwise “will amount to setting fire to the constitution” and that “those who are paid with taxpayers’ money cannot be insulated or shielded from insults and abuse by those who pay them (the citizens)”.

The activist reminded the court that “Nigeria has passed the era of colonialism and military dictatorship”. He said that Lai Mohammed, NBC and the Federal Government were “seeking to subvert Nigeria’s constitutional democracy with the attendant liberties and foist a civilian dictatorship on the country.”

The lawyer, therefore, prayed the court to make “a declaration that broadcast stations in Nigeria, broadcasters, guests and callers during radio and television programmes are entitled to a fair trial before a court of competent jurisdiction as guaranteed by Section 36 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and Article 7 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, Cap. A9 L.F.N. 2004 before a sentence of fine or other penalties can be imposed on them over comments, views or opinions expressed on radio and television”.

He further prayed the court to make an order of perpetual injunction restraining the NBC, the Minister of Information and the Federal Government from imposing fines or other penalties on broadcast stations in Nigeria for comments or opinions expressed by citizens during radio or television programmes.

The lawyer also asked the court to nullify and set aside the penalty of fine or other penalties imposed on broadcast stations by the NBC.

Effiong equally asked that the court should set aside the provisions of the extant National Broadcasting Code and any amendment made thereto, which purports to prohibit, criminalize or penalize comments or views expressed by citizens about the government and public office holders considered by the NBC, Lai Mohammed and the Federal Government to be “abusive”, “insulting” or “hate speech”.

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1597743080/hate-speech-fine-lawyer-sues-lai-mohammed

A former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Adams Oshiomhole, on Monday, boasted that the office of the chairman of the ruling party did not make him who he is today.

Rather, the former President of the Nigeria Labour Congress said it was his pedigree as a labour leader that made him.

Oshiomhole said this in an interview with State House correspondents shortly after he met behind closed doors with the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The former governor of Edo State, whose tenure as the APC chairman ended on June 25, 2020, with the dissolution of the party’s National Working Committee, was reacting to a statement credited to the Director-General of the Progressive Governors’ Forum, Dr Salihu Lukman.

Lukman had accused some influential party chieftains of allegedly plotting to return Oshiomhole as the national chairman of the party.

But when asked to react to the allegation, Oshiomhole said he was not unemployed.

He said, “You want me to engage in a fight with a pig? If you engage in a fight with a pig, the pig already is stained by its nature and you will wear your white garment, and in my own case, khaki, to go and wrestle with a pig. I will not.

“When I was removed as national chairman, Edo was APC. So, do I have to win Edo to become the chairman? Do I look so unemployed? I’m 68.

“So, what they don’t understand is that it is not the office of chairman that made me who I am.

“It is my pedigree from my days as a labourer in the textile industry to be the general secretary of textile workers all over Nigeria and becoming the president of the NLC.

“There is no village I go to that people do not know me and it is this that I used to override the godfathers in Edo State for two consecutive terms and even got a governor elected, no violence before becoming the national chairman.”

Oshiomhole said his leaving office as the party’s national chairman had not removed anything from him.

He likened his situation to that of Buhari, whom he said people voted for to become the President based on the trust they had in him.

He said such trust would still remain with the President even after 2023 when he would have ceased to be in office.

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1597735560/pgf-respond-like-fighting-pig-oshiomhole

The Edo State Governor and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the September 19, 2020 governorship election, Mr Godwin Obaseki, has concluded his ward-to-ward reelection campaign in Edo North Senatorial District, promising to bring an end to godfatherism in the state.

A statement on Sunday said Obaseki made the promise while speaking to party faithful in Ward 7, Etsako West Local Government Area, and called on the people to support him in the fight against godfatherism by voting en masse for the PDP.

He said, “On September 19, 2020, we have to tell them that Edo must move forward and bring an end to godfatherism.”

Obaseki thanked leaders of the party and members of his campaign team for their time and sacrifices throughout the campaign which began two weeks ago.

He also urged the people to defend their votes, promising to resolve the lingering kingship tussle in Afokpella.

The Chairman of the Edo State PDP Campaign Council, Chief Dan Orbih, urged the Independent National Electoral Commission to ensure that the people’s votes count in the September 19, 2020 election in the state.

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1597651038/edo-use-gov-poll-end-godfatherism-obaseki

Anambra oil magnate, Prince Arthur Eze, has vowed not to stop insisting that the state Governor, Willie Obiano, does the right thing.

Eze spoke at his Ukpo home in the Dunikofia Local Government Area of Anambra State, on Sunday.

He said “I’m not afraid of anybody. I have installed three African presidents. One of them gave me oil blocks in his country. I have assisted in enthroning many governors in Nigeria.

“I have given a governorship candidate N10bn to assist him prosecute his election. I didn’t know the candidate from Adam. He just approached me and told me about himself and his people; I empthatised with him and gave him the money.

“Obiano is just a small fry. Even this Obiano, I have given him financial assistance as a person and as a governor several times. I have no personal problems with him. My grouse with him is that he is not doing the right things as a governor.

“Many people are suffering under his government. He is not paying the traditional rulers in the state their five per cent entitlement from the Local Government allocation.”

The oil mogul’s rift with the governor had led to the suspension of 13 traditional rulers suspected to be Eze’s loyalists.

In response, the Anambra State Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, C-Don Adinuba, said officials of the state government had decided to maintain “dignified silence” on comments by Eze.

Adinuba warned the mogul not to provoke the state government to start probing his abandoned contracts with the state “because we have his dossier.”

Adinuba said “What he is saying is not relevant and worth replying to. But I think the emergency activism of Arthur Eze baffles everybody and it’s funny. He’s not known for activism. I want to believe he has not forgiven Governor Obiano for beating him all-round in his Dunikofia Local Government Area in a recent election in the state.”

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1597665037/not-afraid-anybody-oil-magnate-eze