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  • Key challenges of Nigerian Pension Industry and possible solutions (1)

    Nigerian Pensioners have high expectations on the new Government to ensure an effective implementation of pension regulations existing in the country. These expectations arise from the need to have sustainable standard of living in retirement and their benefits paid as at when due.

    The different pension regimes operating in Nigeria, Defined Benefit (DB) and Contributory Pension (CPS) Schemes, give rise to varying set of problems that limit the capacity of key stakeholders within the Nigerian pension industry to meet pensioners’ expectations.

    This paper highlights the key challenges facing the stakeholders in the pension industry and the possible solutions from an actuarial perspective. In broad terms, the challenges arising from different areas of pension management include but not limited to the following: Transitional Pension Management, Guaranteed Minimum Pension, Additional Voluntary Contributions, Pension Protection Fund, Investment Guidelines, Public Education and Enlightenment.

    Transitional Pension Management

    Key Challenges

    The current problems that beleaguered pensioners from Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) defined benefit (DB) scheme in Nigeria (which have always been to the fore) include, inter alia:

    • Delayed or non-payment of pension entitlements and misappropriation of existing pension funds.
    • Low standard of living (or high poverty incidence) among pensioners due to pension increases not in line with salary inflationor no pension increase at all.
    • Too frequent verification of pensioners by Pension Transitional Arrangements Directorate (PTAD)(section 42 of PRA 2014) leading to pensioners dying during verification exercises.
    • Inadequate Enforcement of Pension Regulation– Over 10 years of existence of CPS, not all State Governments had enacted their pension Laws to establish CPS which is a sign of regulatory weakness. The actuarial valuations of the old DB schemes required by PENCOM at the point of implementation of the new CPS have not been carried out even for those State Governments that have already established their CPS.

    Possible Solutions

    The establishment of PTAD and various penalties for pension funds mismanagement introduced by PRA 2014 would address some of the lingering challenges of pensioners in the public service pension administration in the country.

    However, below are other ways to address the problems described above:

    • Create pensioners’ biometric database that is suitable for future actuarial valuation, demographic and financial projections, which would also eliminate ghost pensioners.
    • Adopt a pragmatic approach to pensioners’ biometric verification process (a system of self-verification by pensioners capable of automatically updating the pensioners’ database) having conducted an initial face-to-face verification in order to minimize the frequency of subsequent face-to-face verification exercise.
    • An automation of pension/gratuity calculation and payment system to ensure that pension increases are implemented on a timely basis relative to increase in workers’ salaries and also allowing pensioners to receive their pensions/gratuities as at when due. The Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) for the Federal public service should be emulated at the State and local Government levels,
    • A periodic actuarial valuation of the old DB pension scheme as required by law needs to be carried out in order to ascertain the value of the pensioners’ liabilities at a given date as the scheme runs off. This will enable a realistic annual pension budget estimate to be made for the Government(s) which will reduce the insufficient funds being allocated for pension payment. This would help in the administration of PTAD in minimizing the delays and arrears in pension payment.
    • PTAD should set up a realistic pension stabilization fund (to be invested) with the primary aim to stabilize the pension/gratuity payment system which is always in arrears. This will ensure that money is readily available to pay the arrears of pension liability.

    In summary, the relevance of professional actuaries and information technology experts cannot be ignored in the implementation of the above suggested solutions.

    Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP)

    Key Challenges

    The guaranteed minimum pension (GMP), which will be specified from time to time by PENCOM, is a provision for protecting all retirees who have not accumulated enough to have a decent standard of living in retirement (Section 84(1) of PRA 2014). Thus, it is anincome support from the government, which can act as a safety net for pensioners.

    The modalities for implementing GMP are yet to be finalized by PENCOM for more than 10 years of its existence. This may be due to the computational complexities involved in determining the GM that require actuarial techniques which might not have been considered important.

    Possible Solutions

    The assessment of the level of GMP including the cost of guarantee requires stochastic modelling techniques, a task under the control of an actuary whose services PENCOM should obtain on a regular basis.

    Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVC)

    Key Challenges

    There is lack of valuation of an individual member’s DC plan (individual projectionsof likely pension benefit at retirement) by PFAs with a clear objective to measure sustainable retirement income (using metrics such as replacement ratio which represents a sensible estimate of the standard of living in retirement) before allowing an individual to make his/her choice of AVC. The concept of replacement ratio provides an effective connection between the accumulation and de-accumulation phases of a DC plan member’s life cycle.

    With the exception of tax benefit, there is also no incentive for additional savings (AVC) towards retirement, particularly where there is a GMPto be funded by the Government. Thus, there are relatively small RSA balances of some retirees pending the implementation of GMP. This results in a growing sense of disenchantment with the token monthly pension benefit being received by pensioners under the new CPS relative to the huge gains (from investment returns and dividends) the Pension Fund Administrator (PFAs) are currently making.

    The above arises from the expectation that all returns on invested funds belong to contributors (employees) except for the minimal fees/chargesexpected for the pension operators. The lack of frequent review of fees/charging structure (including the stipulated fees by PENCOM representing the maximum amounts) chargeable by operators and possible non-disclosure of hidden charges, interests and commissions accruable to pension assets might also be the cause of above dissatisfaction.

    Possible Solutions

    The fees/charging structure needs to be constantly reviewed by PENCOM in order to eliminate any hidden charges in order to increase the RSA balances.

    There is also a need for sensitization of potential benefits to workers in making AVC having considered the expected living standard in retirement.

    • Dr. Pius Apere (PhD / FCII) is Deputy Managing Director

    Linkage Assurance Company PLC

  • Comments

    ‘Re: Senate v. efcc.  Irrespective of the moral, criminal or ethical intonation involved, my disappointment is the antagonism of the unity forum of Lawal/Akume group in opposing an alleged corruption against Lamorde. They did not want lamorde’s questioning within the same senate. If that was why he wanted the Senate leadership which was arranged for him; then, those who denied him the senate presidency, acted rightly. Let toyin saraki face justice and defend herself and lamorde to face justice as well, to defend himself. That shoud be the stage for us to develop. side-support won’t help us. From Lanre Oseni’

    For Segun Gbadegesin

    A top cop and tales of sleaze is quite revealing. Okiro is supposed to be languishing in jail in a modern society for all these criminal atrocities. Buhari should act now or else. From Obiora, Owerri.

    The allegation of corruption level against EFCC chairman is a planned distraction from corrupted politicians not to face prosecution from graft agency over the corruption-oriented-governance they operated. The chairman should not lose focus and from doing his work to ensure that looted funds were recovered for the betterment of Nigerians and infrastructural development. They must vomit all the looted funds and face jail sentence to serve to deterrent to others who may likely engage in the same act. From Gordon Chika Nnorom, Umukabia, Abia state

    Re: Senate v. EFCC. Having started on a debased or devalued foundation, the Eighth National Assembly seems cut out to destroy anything Nigerian including the EFCC. A petition is an official document asking a court to take a particular action. The Public Petitions that fall within the arm of the National Assembly are mainly to reform or review some law. George Uboh is exposing likely crime against the public. Hence, the petition should have been directed by the National Assembly to the Inspector General of the Police. But because the Senate President’s has issues to settle with the EFCC, he is converting the Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions to Judicial Probe Panel. Those elected to lead us  in this new era should be of sound mind and morality. Nigeria must survive! From Elder L O . David . Efon-Alaaye , Ekiti State.

    Re: Like Mark, like Saraki. It has been observed that if you dress up a monkey in an expensive human suit; note, not monkey jacket, plus a beautiful cover-top or Babariga and you take it to United States, it would still behave like a monkey. And that ‘Birds of the same feather flock in group. Mark and Saraki did not make any mistake to have joined the Peoples Democratic (PDP), where “cash is king “(Re: EXPRESSO ) in the past. Mark has so built a world unbeatable financial fortress in National Assembly that  attracts even eight-year term fulfilled non-performing state governors and makes politics a “do-or-die”affair for loafing Nigerians. There is nothing like “better learning” from people like Okupe who abandoned medical care for politics. Saraki and Mark are from the same root. Let us all just pray in our local tongues for President Muhammadu Buhari and Nigeria at least for now. From Elder L O . David, Efon-Alaaye, Ekiti State .

    It is only God that will help Nigeria out of ethnic, local or partisan interests. We hardly see matters differently; rather, we have allowed primordial things to becloud our sense of reasoning. Both the Senate president’s wife and Lamorde must face the wrath of the law. Thank God for this Administration for its corruption crusade. From Abang, J. O.

    To my mind, the identity of the messenger should not be as important as the contents of the message. The credibility or otherwise of the petitioner, the relationship with convicted Ibori are all irrelevant. Can’t an armed robber report a successful operation which later turned sour to the police? Nigerians should be interested in had happened to the recovered loot, including the Abacha’s loot. From Alex

    Re: Senate v. efcc.  Irrespective of the moral, criminal or ethical intonation involved, my disappointment is the antagonism of the unity forum of Lawal/Akume group in opposing an alleged corruption against Lamorde. They did not want lamorde’s questioning within the same senate. If that was why he wanted the Senate leadership which was arranged for him; then, those who denied him the senate presidency, acted rightly. Let toyin saraki face justice and defend herself and lamorde to face justice as well, to defend himself. That shoud be the stage for us to develop. side-support won’t help us. From Lanre Oseni.

    I read your article very carefully: Senate v. EFCC. And my candid opinion is this, we must not for political reason or interest cover the ills of criminals in our corridor of power. Anonymous

    Re: Senate v EFCC. Thanks alot for your brilliant column. This fight is Saraki’s fight, no doubt and he is only compounding issues and tying more ropes around his neck for hanging. EFCC is a body and so it is not Lamorde. If Lamorde is found guilty and removed as the Head to the organisation remains and someone else replaces; investigations and prosecutions will continue more vigorously. If Saraki feels this fake whistle blowing can save him and his wife he had better think even thrice. God bless Nigeria. Anonymous

    I read your comment titled (Senate vs EFCC).It is very interesting and educative, more grease to your elbow. From Hasan Usman Aleadarai, Birnin Yero Kaduna State.  

     

    For Olatunji Dare

    Sir,   in the past, our privileged ‘big men’ and law breakers do not allow the law to catch up with them. They acquit and discharge themselves honourably because our system allows a prime suspect in any case to do and undo.  However, under this dispensation, does anyone need to tell the deaf that the market is over? Mike Okiro and his likes should prepare for the inevitable consequences of their past. From Adegoke o o, bako, Ibadan, Oyo State.

    Are you sure the president, Buhari knows about all these allegations hanging on the neck of Mr Mike Okiro? Otherwise, why should he Okiro retain his present post as the chairman of the police Service Commission. If the head is this corrupt, no wonder the police is the most corrupt institution in Nigeria. Let him be sacked before the next recruitment.  From Pop Inyamah.

    Re: A top cop and tales of sleaze. Thank you, Prof.Dare for not making an oversight of our decayed Police Force and its sleaze. It have always been from its foundations. And “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?”(Psalm.11:3). Recently, the ‘born again’ AIG of Police, Mbu lamented that,’ most governors and local government chairmen have no respect for Commissioners of Police, Why? Because they are virtually buying everything for the policemen ‘State Police! Sleaze bag does deserve some respect. Nigerians desire socially acceptable and complete Police Force now. People like Okiro should go and operate bakery or head a petrol station.We need a globally respected Police Service Commission. From Ladipo O. David, Gwagwalada.

    Thank for your article in The Nation. Okiro should be shown the way out as the chair of PSC and handed over to the security agency for proper prosecution, enough is enough. From Dele Lagos.

    Thank you for your well-presented piece on top cop and tales of sleaze in The Nation’s of August 25, 2015. Infact change the country wants cannot acommondate people like Okiro. He has done well for the force, he should just resign, please. From Alhaji Kasim Umoru, Abuja.

    Re-A top cop and tales of sleaze. Is ICPC the body to advice or prosecute? Is Okiro now the CBN that he would keep the money he ought to have returned? Why was Kaase suspended despite the change mantra? I bet ICPC is out to sabotage the president. They must just have to arrest and prosecute Okiro. Equality before the law. ICPC is using double standards. From Akinlayo. A

    Okiro is a very vindictive personality. He wears a facade of a good man! He is not fit to be in that position and President Buhari should know this. From Tanko Dabit, Jos, Plateau State.

  • Golden ICAN @ 50

    How time flies! Exactly 50 years ago on 1st September, The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) got its Charter, and since then it has been continuous delivery of excellent services and worthy sacrifice all the way.  ICAN, the first Accountancy professional body recognised and registered by the government in Nigeria is unequivocally standing tall with laurels, landmark successes and records of impeccable achievements by virtue of its seasoned professionals, founding fathers and members, who have been pillars of support and institutions which have remained friends and great sources of encouragement to the Institute.

    Celebrating ICAN, therefore, is celebrating the achievements of these icons and great Nigerians. By their collective labour, ICAN has continually been able to create opportunities for millions of Nigerians and non-Nigerians home and abroad to realise their ambitions and potential and help build a Nigeria that hopefully everyone will be proud of. With about 40, 000 members and approximately 30, 000 students of ICAN, the Institute is no doubt one of the largest concentrations of professionals in Nigeria and Africa.  To our the Doyen of Chartered Accountants in Nigeria, Pa Akintola Williams, who turned 96 in August this year, this is clearly a marvelous moment of rich fulfillment.

    Many would testify today that ICAN, for all intents and purposes, has done well for itself and lived up to the founding fathers’ expectations even in the face of myriads of challenges. The path to becoming a member of the Institute looks simple enough. Pass the ICAN examinations and arm yourself with 36 months of audit training and you have your VISA to membership of this towering professional body which is a founding member of International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), Association of Accountancy Bodies of West Africa (ABWA) and Pan African Federation of Accountants (PAFA).

    Yet, not so fast! Many also would swear that the examinations are the most difficult to pass! True, the examination is not for the lily-livered. The integrity of the process which is rigorous and unassailable, is awe-inspiring and the result is that many are called but only few are chosen and those ‘few’ are the ones rendering excellent services in the public interest and making the Institute tick today in various walks of life within and outside the country. The process is simple and not so simple, but doubtlessly based on pure merit, leading to professional and academic excellence!

    ICAN formation was unique. In order to forestall proliferation of accountancy bodies, the forerunner of the Institute ensured that all the professional bodies represented in the country at inception were accommodated to create a formidable body with a solid foundation. This was due to the foresight and ingenuity of the founding fathers led by the Doyen himself, Pa Akintola Williams who is now reverently referred to as the Avatar of Integrity.

    By implication of the Act which was handed over to ICAN in 1965 by Chief Richard Akinjide, SAN, the Institute is saddled with enormous responsibilities and the statutory role of setting the standards of knowledge and skill to be attained by persons wishing to become members of the Accountancy profession in Nigeria, upgrading skills, experience and competences of all practitioners, encouraging and expanding professionalism in Audit and Accountancy in Nigeria and Africa.

    These responsibilities ICAN has sought to achieve over the years through rigorous but qualitative training with a view to producing thoroughbred professionals who can hold their own anywhere in the world; effective statutory regulatory and supervisory role that contribute in no small way to the growth and development of the private and public sectors of the economy; delivery of world class Audit and Accountancy services to individual and corporate citizens, governments, NGOs and other clients in Nigeria, Africa and all over the world in consonance with prevailing laws, statutes and guidelines; collaboration with other local and foreign professional bodies in the pursuit of global best practices and good governance and in discharging professional services in its core specialisations.

    It is also public knowledge that ICAN has always been at the forefront at every stage of the crusade against corruption in Nigeria, with its members serving on probe panels, participating in audit and forensic investigations and giving professional advice and trusted solutions when contacted.

    In the present probe exercise of the present administration which is a commendable step in the right direction, it goes without saying that not much could be achieved without the expertise of chartered accounts and ICAN whose members are responsible for auditing many of the quoted companies in the country.

    However, if any probe would be effective, President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) would do well to note the following which are in line with the ICAN motto of Accuracy and Integrity: There must be no sacred cow, injustice or sympathy for any individual or institution, no matter his relationship to any member of the ruling government; the exercise must be thorough, honest, extensive, and exhaustive; there must be fair hearing and the exercise must permeate the states and local governments; due process, transparency, and the rule of law must be strictly adhered to; probe must not be ‘open ended’, it must have time frame, and such timing must not be unduly prolonged; all prosecutors and judges must be well paid, protected, monitored and made to live in secluded areas or reserved location while probe lasts; special courts and judges have always been  favoured by the majority in Nigeria because of the busy schedule of the conventional courts and time constraints; probe

    should not be a distraction to PMB who has the onerous task of fulfilling the promise of economic rebirth and human welfare development which he made to Nigerians.

    It is noteworthy that PMB will be judged by his achievements in terms of the exchange rates, cost of living, state of infrastructure, inflation, external reserve, standard of education, other micro and macroeconomic and human development indices – not only probe!

    The structure established over time by ICAN is available for the present administration to latch on to for the purpose of realising its objectives. For one, ICAN has established whistle blowers’ protection fund, aimed at reducing corruption in the public and private sector.  The motive of this idea is to ensure financial, ethical, moral and legal standards among members of the Institute in the discharge of their duties.  The fund aims at protecting members and the public from any form of reprisal or victimisation when an alarm is raised on financial impropriety in any public or private establishment against individuals or groups within the country.

    ICAN also has a strict Code of Conduct and Professional Ethics by which its members must abide, the breach of which is sanctioned.  As testament to the professional worth of this golden body and that of its members, its members are still the first choice and the preferred option of all blue chip and multinational companies within and outside Nigeria as duly licensed and recognised auditors because of the proven track records of satisfactory performance and non-compromise of integrity, code of conduct and international standard.

    ICAN has really come a long way and the founding fathers and the entire membership should roll out the drums as they are doing in the first week of September to commemorate the 50th anniversary of this phenomenal body which has become a household name in the country today and the envy of many a professional body.

    • Bammeke is a Lagos-based Chartered Accountant and ICAN Council Member

     

  • On ‘Emmanuel’s will’ and futile wishes

    It is really appalling that one so often gets to read some gibberish in newspapers, all in the name of commentaries or opinion.

    In this latest, my attention was drawn to a piece, titled, “Emmanuel’s will”, written by Olukorede Yishau, published in The Nation newspaper edition of Friday, August 28, 2015. In his column, Above Whispers, Yishau made lame attempts to portray the Akwa Ibom State Governor, His Excellency, Mr Udom Emmanuel, and his predecessor, Senator Godswill Akpabio, in bad light whilst inventing false scenarios in order to drive home his jaundiced viewpoint.

    It is unfortunate that those who ought to know better sometimes condescend to mislead the public with personal bias and prejudices dressed as public affairs analysis. So, what is the kernel of Yishau’s musing against the Akwa Ibom Governor? I will make haste at this beginning to lay bare how the writer unwittingly invalidated his entire ‘hypothesis’ with his own inking.

    Lifted from the last paragraph of his essay, Yishau submitted, “My final take: what is Emmanuel really afraid of? A fight with Akpabio? Or is he just postponing the fight? Or he does not want to open Akpabio’s yansh in the public? Or is the oracle still in charge and capable of pulling the rug off Emmanuel’s feet? Whatever it is, it is the people and accountability that is being taken for granted.”

    Before I proceed with the arguments and interrogation of Yishau’s real intention, another poignant conclusion of his is pertinent here: “…THERE IS NOTHING WRONG IN TAKING LOANS ONCE THEY ARE JUSTIFIED”. One therefore wonders why Yishau embarked on the whole academic exercise of blowing hot air on the issue of Akwa Ibom State’s debt profile, if he knows, as he confesses, that there is nothing wrong with taking loans once they are justified. What does he want to achieve in this twisted castigation of Governor Udom Emmanuel over the disclosure or not of the debt profile of his state?

    If Yishau is fair and objective-minded, he would agree that playing to the gallery is not the norm of serious governance and politicking. Will the so-called disclosure of loans taken by the State Government write off the debt? Is the disclosure an instrument of debt rescheduling? What are the benefits of amplifying the indebtedness of Akwa Ibom State, or indeed any other State, on the pages of newspapers to the disclosing authority?

    Yishau should well know that, before the State Government takes up any loan facility, local or foreign, there are constitutionally prescribed procedures by which such loans are approved and accessed. One of such is that it must be tabled before the State Legislature, where the people’s representatives evaluate the necessity of such loans as justified by the Executive. As such, the undertaking of trying to personalise issues surrounding the loan portrays mischief.

    More worrisome is the fact that, in canvassing reasons to energise his opinion, Yishau thinks aloud. His dark wish of seeing a political street brawl between Governor Emmanuel and his predecessor, Chief Godswill Akpabio, is carelessly leaked. Hear him:”… what is Emmanuel really afraid of? A fight with Akpabio? Or is he just postponing the fight?” Haba Yishau! Even you, an otherwise respected opinion moulder?

    Yishau should do well to answer these questions: what will be the value- added of any political fight between predecessor and successor? How does such a brawl advance the course of the much-needed good governance and attainment of development in the state? Who stands to benefit from the stoking or outbreak of acrimony between leaders of a state who enjoy a robust relationship? Until Yishau comes clear on all these questions and justifies his call for that big fight he so anticipates, I will hold this as his biggest folly ever.

    Of course, Yishau is not infallible, so we can excuse him this goof. My counsel is simple: those who have the rare and sacred privilege of wielding a platform as credible as a commentarial slot in a national medium of the stature of The Nation must not abuse it by employing its advantage to foul the air of reasoning. Honestly viewed, that is what Yishau’s subtle pressure on Governor Emmanuel to embark on a dog-fight with his illustrious predecessor amounts to. The public, I dare posit, have absolutely nothing to derive from such event.

    I have followed Yishau for quite some time on his beat, which he presents as a weekly intervention restricted to South-South people and matters. One sore point stands out however. His interventions on Akwa Ibom issues are consistently garnished with slander and spite for Governor Emmanuel and his predecessor. This trait has spiced his reportage on the Governorship Primaries of the PDP via which Governor Emmanuel triumphed, the coalition of the other PDP aspirants who didn’t make it then known as the G-22 and post election events in Akwa Ibom. Yishau is decidedly anti-Akpabio and has blacked out the internationally acknowledged sterling performance of his administration, which gave him the acronym The Uncommon Transformer.

    Our brother has also declined to see that Governor Udom Emmanuel is already off to a flying start and is focused on delivering on his Five-point agenda of Wealth Creation; Economic and Political Inclusion; Poverty Alleviation; Infrastructural Consolidation and Expansion; and Job Creation.

    I will not allay Yishau’s fear about the strong camaraderie existing between the duo of Their Excellencies, Governor Emmanuel and former Governor Akpabio. They are not going to fight anytime soon or later as you wish. Indeed, for those who are waiting to be entertained with a fight by both leaders, they should prepare for a long wait. The fact as it stands now is summarised as follows:

    (I) Governor Emmanuel is focused on the onerous responsibility of delivering on his campaign promises to the people who overwhelmingly elected him and will not be distracted.

    (Ii) Former Governor Akpabio has since moved on. After selflessly serving his people for eight fruitful years, he is now the Senator representing Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial District in the National Assembly and is currently the Minority Leader of the Senate. That enormous responsibility is soaking up his time and there is no room to bicker.

    (iii) The vast majority of Akwa Ibom people are grateful to Senator Akpabio, CON, for his stewardship and are equally satisfied at the pace his successor, Governor Emmanuel, has started implementing his promise to industrialise the state, create wealth and develop skills among  Akwa Ibom people. Nothing else matters to them, least of all a needless fight between their illustrious sons.

    ‘The vast majority of Akwa Ibom people are grateful to Senator Akpabio, CON, for his stewardship and are equally satisfied at the pace his successor, Governor Emmanuel, has started implementing his promise to industrialise the state, create wealth and develop skills among  Akwa Ibom people’

     

    • Umanah is Commissioner for Information and Communications, Akwa Ibom State

  •  How far can Buhari go?

    Nigeria’s major shortcoming as an independent nation is her clashing contradictions. Another challenge is that the memory of her people is short; indeed, too short that since we tend to forgive and forget the past so easily, it has become practically difficult for the sinners of, especially, our immediate past to either repent or be treated to the real wages of sin. For instance, despite Yakubu Gowon’s geo-political absurdities and socio-economic silliness, he is now Nigeria’s chief prayer warrior. Sani Abacha, the Maximum Dictator, is now seen as a saint compared to Olusegun Obasanjo, the Maximum Democrat; while the Maximum Democrat is already comparing his place and space in history to Abraham Lincoln. Emeka Odimegwu-Ojukwu, who rated personal ambitions above national pursuits, eventually became “the voice of the injury of the Easterners” while Alfred Papapreye Diete-Spiff, that military governor who once humiliated professionalism, is now seen as the ‘beacon of hope’ for the oppressed and the depressed people of the Niger Delta.

    Besides, while Michael Ani, Victor Ovie-Whiskey, Eme Awa, Ephraim Akpata and Abel Goubadia died without treating Nigerians to what derailed their plans for the country, Humphrey Nwosu, on his own part, was literally too dull to comprehend what his job as umpire entailed. And Maurice Iwu only ended up wooing Nigerians into another round of electoral mess. Tragically, we now seem to have lost interest in our ability to put things right that, even, in the face of mind-boggling revelations of how our commonweal was recklessly abused and selfishly converted, we think ’go and sin no more’ remains the best approach to issues of governance.

    This is Nigeria in 2015! Nigeria, now the world’s 7th largest country has also been rated as the world’s 2nd most deadly country. No thanks to the terrorist activities of Boko Haram and its affiliates! Again, Nigeria is not only the largest economy in Africa with over-$500m dollars in Gross Domestic Product (GDP), she also ranks as the 21st largest economy by nominal GDP. But more than 60% of her population is below poverty level, courtesy of poor government and administrative laxity. Though Nigeria now ranks 6th in agricultural output globally; and first in Africa, her food exports continue to decline even as imports are on the increase. As if these are not enough, Nigeria is ranked 10th largest country with illicit financial flow even as her debt profile under former President Goodluck Jonathan alone was about 34.2% of Nigeria’s total debt. The country’s services sector is 63rd in the world but her economic situation remains precarious, thus making life ”an absurd desire” and lack “a sign that we were born wrongly”.

    In 1985, Nigeria had 19 states, with a population of 83.9million. Now, it has 36 states, and Abuja, her capital city; and with a population of about 177,155,754. By that year, Nigeria’s per capita incomes had dropped to about one-quarter of their 1970s’ high; and oil had become the major source of income for the government. Then, our oil export stood at 1.82 million barrels per day; and the cost of a barrel was US$18. Now, Nigeria produces about 2.52 million barrels per day with a barrel selling for less than US$45. Naira as at 1985 exchanged at NGN0.894 to the dollar. Now, it hovers between NGN200.00 and NGN250.00 to US$1. In any case, we need not forget that it was the introduction of the infamous Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) by the Ibrahim Babangida-led junta in 1986 that eventually changed the face and the fate of the naira-dollar relationship.

    Thirty years ago, a prospective secondary school leaver would gladly aim at lofty and profitable ambitions that would make his family proud. Babangida came and unwittingly mortgaged the spirit of courage and creativity of Nigeria’s youth. Before Judas Iscariot was Judas Maccabaeus. But Judas lost his place and popularity among Christian and Jews alike after the Betrayer came to fulfill ”all things … which were written in the law of Moses.” Now, our youth would rather prefer graduating as ‘yahoo boys’ to appreciating the true meaning of meritocracy and social justice.

    Having said that, where do we go from here and how far can the president go in clearing the Augean stables? What can this land, which currently sacrifices transparency on the altar of efficiency, do to feel the beauty, tenderness, and freedom of healing that the Buhari administration is bringing on board? Indeed, this is why I am deeply worried!

    In its July 17, 1966 reaction to Nigeria’s first coup, The Sun (a prominent British newspaper), described democracy as a ”sophisticated form of government needing time and economic security to develop.” Students of history will readily admit that Nigeria’s political space is full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Of course, that’s why I don’t envy the president. Amid this chaos however, it is gratifying to note that Buhari has within a short period of time in office done a lot to close up the gulf that has hitherto weakened our collective resolve to forge a common front. Needless to repeat that its results, so far, have been awesomely impressive; at least, we know how Nigeria was before former President Jonathan took over as president in 2011 and we also know how bad things had gone by the time Buhari was taking over on May 29, 2015.

    ‘Where do we go from here and how far can the president go in clearing the Augean stables?  …we know how Nigeria was before former President Jonathan took over as president in 2011 and we also know how bad things had gone by the time Buhari was taking over on May 29, 2015’

    Let me by way of conclusion state that the hallmark of a leader is his ability to realise that change begins with selflessness and sacrifice; that discipline is very germane to effective leadership even as war on corruption ensures better service delivery; and that political process gets corrupted when unfettered pursuit of money becomes a way of life. Therefore, irrespective of constraints like age, party patronage, artificial sentiments and class solidarity, Nigerians see in Buhari a man who understands better the complexity of the issue at stake as well as how to confront all those stubborn situations that have hitherto resisted remedy. So, as he defines concrete objectives with a view to realising the vision and showing to the world that a sustainable pathway to development is possible, one can only pray for him and wish him well! After all, who knows but that Buhari has come to this presidential position for such a time as this?

     

    • Komolafe wrote in from Ijebu-Jesa, Osun State, Nigeria

  • Corruption and NDDC 

    During the time of Mr. Godwin Omene, the first MD of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), the Niger Delta Regional Development Master Plan was initiated and developed by GTZ and this provided a very comprehensive plan of how the region can be developed across various sectors. A lot of effort went into developing that plan and even today it is still relevant for the proper development of the region. Rather than use the plan to develop the region it was used as an excuse to agitate for more funds which were then diverted into private pockets. Slowly the NDDC budget got captured by political and other vested interests.

    As the budgets increased over the years, the value of the projects started to blow up. The use of variations to existing projects went out of control. For instance, a contract originally awarded at N3.39 billion to ROUDO NIG. LTD for Sandfilling and Shore protection of Ogu Town ended up costing N8, 133 billion, a whopping 230% increment. Construction of Isielu-Okaigbene Idungboko road awarded to JID CONSTRUCTION COMPANY LTD for N2.35 billion ended up at N3.73 billion, increased by 160%. Construction of (the same?) Isielu-Okaigbene Idungboko road was also awarded to INTER-BAU CONSTRUCTION NIG. LTD for N585 million and ended up at N3.67 billion, an increase of 620%. Construction of Ikot Ukap Ndiya internal roads in Nsit Ubium LGA awarded to OSMOSERVE GLOBAL LTD for N1.2 billion ended up at N2.86 billion, an increase of 235%. This is just the tip of the iceberg of hundreds of projects varied in this manner. One key factor connecting these projects is that they tend to be large infrastructure projects like roads, bridges, shoreline protection, canalization and dredging.

    Since inception NDDC has had about N2.2 trillion budgeted of which about N1.4 trillion has been received. As of 2008 the Commission had awarded just over 2,500 projects which rose sharply to 6,000 projects by 2013 and now 8,000 projects in 2015 based on recent comments in the press by the last Chairman of the Board, Senator Bassey Ewa Henshaw. According to him, the Commission needs about N1 trillion to complete outstanding projects.  The Chairman revealed that the total projects outstanding is now at 8,000 projects worth N1 trillion and about N800 billion is needed to clear outstanding liabilities. So what happened to the almost N350 billion received between 2011 and 2015?

    There are various mechanisms used to defraud the Commission and siphon the funds afore-mentioned. If the network of corrupt officers at the Commission are not removed and the mechanisms documented here are not dismantled, whoever President Muhammadu Buhari brings into the NDDC to replace the existing Board is likely to fall into the ‘bear trap’ of corrupt practices that have been ingrained into the fabric of the Commission’s administrative systems.

    1. Budget Fraud: The problems starts at the budget process where a lot of fake projects are smuggled into the project by special interest groups that include the Executives, Board members, National Assembly NDDC committee members, the Presidency, State Governors and assorted politicians and connected businessmen.
    2. Hidden Budget Execution: Sometime around 2004 the National Assembly complained that the Commission was repeating projects in its budgets. Whenever NDDC budgets are approved by the National Assembly it contains funds for visible and ‘invisible’ projects. Off balance sheet spreadsheets are used to maintain a schedule of hidden budget heads and the management of this spreadsheet and the scheduling of projects to be paid through this fund is a key aspect of the fraud at the Commission.
    3. Procurement Fraud: The whole ‘due process’ is a fallacy at NDDC. The Procurement Unit has perfected the creation of award letters to the highest bidders. You cannot get an award letter without parting with some money. All the paperwork is faked and in most cases where there is urgency driven by Executive demand there is no paperwork at all. There are no publications and even when they do publish, the process is rigged in favour of their preferred contractors. Contracts are shared amongst the Executives with their Special Assistants acting as agents to solicit desperate businessmen who pay 15% of the face value of these contracts and the Procurement Unit prepares the paperwork for the favoured contractor.
    4. Project Design and Project Monitoring Fraud: This is especially grave and works by inflating the quantities required in the Bill of Quantities (BoQ) for large-scale infrastructure projects. For instance the BoQ may specify that a canal be dredged to 10 metres depth and this is used to price the contract but in reality the contractor will only dredge the channel to 5 metres depth and the excess funds are shared. This type of fraud is used across road construction, shoreline protection and canalization projects. A famous case is the East-West Expressway between Warri and Port Harcourt where the Ministry of Niger Delta had to redesign the road due to bad design by the NDDC. The irony is that a careful review of the BoQs always reveals the over-specified quantities and the responsible staff members. The Project monitoring process is badly compromised which is why most roads built by NDDC last for no more than 9 to 15 months before they are washed away by the elements. As such we suffer collective lack of infrastructure and loss of our common wealth.
    5. Financial Management and Reporting: At the heart of the fraud at NDDC is the misrepresentation of payments and how they are presented in the accounts for external auditors. The Directorate of Finance & Supply keeps a very close lid on information maintained within its SAGE software to the point where SAGE is kept in a separate network and accessed by very few persons within the Directorate, ostensibly to keep out hackers. The Directorate abets the ongoing looting of the Commission by making questionable payments to favoured contractors who are acting in cahoots with the Executives, prioritising scheduling of payments to contractors who are willing to pay for the ‘service’, hiding of questionable payments within other legitimate transactions and more. Contractors who are not connected wait years for payment for completed works whilst fraudulent payments get prioritised and expressly processed.
    6. Documentation Fraud: During major contract award periods it is standard practice to move the procurement team into hotel accommodation where they can perfect the paperwork in connivance with favoured contractors and produce the documents for at least 3 companies who submit responses to the tenders; the winning company is simply supplying all the ‘competition’ required to fool any external review of the procurement process. The Memos raised during the project monitoring process are also suspect because the word of the field engineer who inspects the project and signs off the field report is what is used to justify the payment certificates raised.  Most of the contents of these field reports will not stand rigorous analysis by independent engineering assessors.

    With about 8,000 projects outstanding and N1 trillion outstanding liabilities, the Commission cannot afford to award any more projects and rather should be focused over the next 4 years on clearing up existing liabilities and sending staff and contractors who have misappropriated public funds to the justice system for prosecution. Perhaps we need an AMCON-like management for the NDDC to clean up the place and institute deep reforms before new project awards can be commenced.

     

    • Hanson, a public affairs analyst and activist wrote in from Lagos.

  • Tambuwal’s campaign to keep Sokoto clean  

    On 1st October 1968, the then Prime Minister of Singapore, the late Sir Lee Kuan Yew launched the “Keep Singapore Clean Campaign” programme. The aim was to make Singapore the cleanest and greenest city in the region by addressing the problem of inconsiderate littering. It also sought to instil in Singaporeans the importance of keeping their homes and public places clean. Two decades after the launch of the campaign, the tiny island-nation did not only emerge as the cleanest in the region, but on the global map as one of the cleanest and neatest cities in the world. Till date, Singapore has consistently remained among the 10 top neatest cities on the globe.

    The recent initiative to keep Sokoto clean by Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal who made a pledge of One Million Naira to the cleanest street in Sokoto should be a welcome development and something worthy of emulation by his co-Governors in Nigeria. Waste management has become a serious challenge which many developing nations have not given a proper attention despite it hazardous implications. In the case of Nigeria, it’s a phenomenon as even the capital city of our nation is not immune or can boast of proper waste management and refuse collection method.

    Campaigns are meant to have a long term impact. However, human errors, wrong judgement or a lack of foresight during the introduction of campaigns can sometimes lead to failures or even disasters. For example, in 1958 the new China launched the Four Pests Campaign in a bid to eliminate rats, flies, mosquitoes and sparrows. The sparrows were targeted because they ate the farmers’ grain seeds. In a short time, millions of Chinese were mobilised for the campaign. Sparrows, as well as other birds, were shot, with their nests and eggs destroyed. Soon, the Chinese government realised that, besides eating grains, sparrows were also natural predators to many insects. It was too late then. By 1960, rice farms in China were swarmed by locusts, leading to the Great Chinese famine in which millions died of starvation.

    Singapore had launched over 200 campaigns in the seventies and eighties. Many of these campaigns have had positive effects. They include: water-saving, speak mandarin campaign, Greening Singapore, keep Singapore clean campaign, public health campaign, wash your hand, anti-drug, Breastfeeding, safe water, anti-spiting, anti-smoking, anti-littering and keep Singapore crime free.

    The Keep Sokoto Clean scheme will require intensive usage of media and campaigns in other to achieve its goals. Sometimes, a campaign represents an era, and some of its posters go on to become iconic representations that are even remembered after decades.    The masses should be educated to know the merits of living in a clean environment and also to make them recognize why it really matters to their health. But this could only be possible with the support of citizens whose cooperation with the government is very essential to make the environment clean, safe and fresh.

    The government should use posters and banners in major languages to be displayed in public places such as shops, markets, restaurants, offices, factories, community centres, motor parks and public notice boards. Mini-posters, stick-up strips, leaflets, pamphlets and car-bumper stickers should also be distributed with the Clean Sokoto campaign slogan. In addition to the distribution of collaterals, various public and education activities should be organised in major languages. These include talks and lectures by health officials, inspections and spot checks by government officials, rallies, exhibitions and estate cleaning exercises by the residents.

    The cleanest offices, streets, estates, shopping complex, restaurants, markets, government buildings and schools should be rewarded. The information should be announced publicly, highlighting both the cleanest and the dirtiest. Not only would the offenders be branded as litterbugs; film clips and photographs of dirty premises, streets or people caught in the act of littering should be shown and broadcast in the mass media.

    Besides the use of social pressure, the Keep Sokoto Clean campaign should not only be rewarding as promised; the governor should lead the campaign alongside top government functionaries as did by the late Sir Lee Kuan Yew in Singapore in order to give the scheme prominence. In order to enforce the campaign, specific amounts of fine should be used as a way to control the offenders. The state environmental agency and other stakeholders should from time to time send officers on patrol to counsel members of the public against littering and its consequences.

    The government must empower the unit saddled with the responsibility of implementing the scheme with adequate budgetary allocation, technical and logistic support. There should be adequate provision of waste roll-off containers at vulnerable streets, refuse carts, development of proper sewage systems and drainages. In other to enforce the scheme, laws need to be enacted to make it compulsory for all commercial and public offices to have refuse disposal bags and containers at their business and operations premises. The collection of refuse and waste for proper disposal by the concerned authorities at least twice or once in a week should be timely in other to avoid pollution of the environment. With recycling technology, waste collected in the city can be successfully recycled for economic benefit.

    To ensure that good habits are cultivated from a young age, children and students should be special target groups of the campaign and teachers should be involved to remind students not to litter the environment. The cities of Calgary, Luxemburg, Zurich, Adelaide, Freiburg, Singapore, Kobe, Stockholm, Vienna and Oslo which are today ranked as the cleanliest cities in the world didn’t just wake up in a day and achieved the status. The idea was initiated, nurtured and sustained just as Governor Tambuwal has indicated his willingness and zeal to make Sokoto a clean city. It is an undeniable fact that a cleaner city would lead to a more pleasant life, safe drinking water, low level of diseases and pollution, thus creating the necessary social conditions for higher economic growth through industry and tourism. The administration should place more importance on educating and enlightening the citizens on the need to be more conscious and thoughtful about their actions in relation to cleanliness.

    The Keep Sokoto Clean initiative if well implemented, nurtured and sustained would have a positive impact on the city throughout the coming years. While lauding the foresight of Tambuwal’s administration to make Sokoto a clean city, it is imperative for his administration to evolve and broaden the programme by making “Greening” of the city part of the “Cleaning” campaign just as the Singapore model.

    • Yahaya wrote in from Kado-Estate, Abuja

  • Jail: Who goes first?

    The stance of the Muhammadu Buhari administration on prosecution of those who have looted Nigeria’s treasury lean is crystal clear. If there is anything Nigerians believe Buhari owes them, it is to bring sanity to the nation’s political space and redefine our value system that is fast depreciating.

    There is panic in the land; those who have participated in wicked deflation of the nation’s treasury are going through hard time. The Nigerian masses on their path eagerly await announcement of jail terms of their oppressors, possibly know jail numbers and who is sleeping where among the nation’s major prisons; who goes in first is the question the masses are asking and when.

    The country is witnessing a dimension of stretch tug of war between the masses and advocates for soft stance on probing of past administration of Goodluck Jonathan, with Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) claiming witch-hunt allegation on the part of those who have been nabbed for alleged corruption and looting., though the PDP is unable to come up with a singular defence that those alleged are innocent. What an irony?

    Truly, what does Buhari owe us as a people? What direction do we intend to channel our cause after a new administration has been ushered-in? When are we planning to take off and join the comity of nations who are advancing frontiers for growth and development in the 21st century reality?

    All the above may not produce immediate answers with the Abubakar Abdussalami National Peace Committee (NPC) junketing around Aso Rock to persuade President Muhammadu Buhari to tread softly on probing of loots. Again, the masses have been asking “what was the mandate of NPC and time-line” as an intervention group. While insinuations were going that the latest visit of the committee to Aso Rock was to beg Buhari on behalf of former President Jonathan to save his (Jonathan) face from embarrassment that may emanate if the probing continues, a position swiftly denied by the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto and member of National Peace Committee, Hassan Kukah, it is unfortunate and revealing while Kukah in an interview immediately after the meeting stated that former President Jonathan saved the nation from chaos and crisis and should be left to go even he had stolen all the money in the world.

    The position of Kukah has since left many questions unanswered as to the place of value in our system.

    Logically, the role of the Peace Committee was to proffer soft landing for former President Goodluck Jonathan when it was obvious that the tide of the masses’ decision prior to last general elections was in favour of Buhari and the reality that Jonathan was not willing to leave power if he lost. That intervention role was largely to the benefit of Jonathan to concede defeat and leave office without further overheating the polity. Since then, the committee was proud of their achievement for having broker the peace, a good one indeed, but swiftly resuscitating at the instance of President Buhari’s anti-graft crusade.

    For the Change promise made by Buhari to be fulfilled, Mr President must do the needful to renew confidence of the people in leadership in Nigeria. If Buhari wanted to let go, the mind boggling figures realised to be missing is so whoping that generations to come will never forgive him for allowing the commonwealth of the people to be carted away when he had all the opportunities to help people recover their money back.

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) according to Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole withheld N3.8 trillion out of N8.1 trillion from crude oil sale from 2012 to 2015. A Minister in the Jonathan government allegedly made away with $6 billion, an amount that is sufficient to alleviate poverty in a number of states in the country. The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC)is yet to account for N183 billion while  $13 billion dividend from the nation’s Liquefied Natural Gas is also missing just to mention a few. The situation becomes so terrible that former President Jonathan said he was hearing most of the revelations on corruption for the first time.

    The peace brokered by the National Peace Committee was a fine gesture but the truth is any pressure on President Buhari to prevent him from doing the needful now is more injurious to the nation than the Peace Committee’s initial efforts and success, and is totally unacceptable. Anyway, the hard stance of the president on anti-graft is an interesting movement Nigerians are happy with. Going by international cooperation agenda before the current government, the whole world is even waiting to assess the seriousness of Buhari’s administration by its posture on fight against corruption and aggressive looting.

    As Nigerians await who goes in there first, I mean jail, Nigeria will be taken back 30 years again and change will become a scarce commodity we cannot access in another one century if the chance we have with Buhari to make the change slips off. We must define what we want to do with our destiny as a nation. Without fear or favour, we must summon the courage to breed a society that is fair to all and owned by all. According to renown African-American writer and statesman Frederick Douglas, “where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organised conspiracy to oppress, rob  and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe.”

    Are we ready for real Change? Of course not everyone is meant to be ready for it and those who are opposed to change will mop up all reasons and strategies to scuttle the change agenda. It is good to note that the crusade is not selective and has even since been taken down to the civil service sector where no one goes scot-free with the nation’s treasury without any check.

    Point blank, what the nation needs now is vibrant legislative process for ensuring blockage against corruption. The National Assembly should begin to enact laws that will make stealing unattractive in the country. We must devise mechanism for making looting difficult rather than relying on judicial system for probing corrupt officials, a process that is only an aftermath. We need antidotes against graft and it is important for the National Assembly to devise proactive measures that will place the Legislature on the same page with the Executive on fight against corruption; for now, that is yet to suffice even though the nation waits patiently.

    In most developed democratic nations, the people rely on the Legislature first to check excesses in government. The lawmakers have mandates to speak peoples’ mind and protect popular interest of the people. The NASS should constantly call for private member bill to address actual needs of the people. Even as elected legislature, one cannot be so sure he is representing real voice of the people by his own thinking and assumptions alone. The leadership of the Senate and House of Representatives should mandate federal lawmakers to constantly fall back and conduct public hearing with their people in order to ensure they are actually speaking right for the masses.

    As the revolution train moves, it is a good thing for our country that everybody is beginning to possess a share of ownership of Nigeria as a sovereign nation. Buhari/Osinbajo’s approach to judicial system with inauguration of special anti-corruption judicial committee of credible persons is very laudable. Many other reforms on-going are strategic and driven by best approach that suits our current situation.

    If Kukah and his committee, for fear of the unknown, say the Buhari administration should soften stance on helping Nigerians live better lives by recovering looted funds, we must rise to prevent any suggestion capable of drilling hole in the anti-corruption boat being paddled by this administration and the community of change.

    When next I air my personal opinion on this very topical issue of serious concern, maybe answer to the heading of this write up might have been found; yes, that is about knowing who goes in there first. The people are winning!

    • Olulade is a member of the Lagos State House of Assembly, representing Epe Constituency II
  • Ogun and politics of examination paper

    Ogun and politics of examination paper

    The situation in Ogun State as it relates to the sacked education officials appears to be fluid. It seems some of us who initially wanted Governor Ibikunle Amosun’s head on a platter may now have to recant, or as we say in local parlance, eat our words. The scud missiles of the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), the rocket-propelled grenades of some opinion writers, lawyers and academics and the Molotov cocktails of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) appeared to have been directed at a wrong target. What a colossal error!   I had read an article in the newspapers by one educationist, Ayobami Odesanya, who said “The greatest tragedy in the question paper has not been highlighted by many commentators.

     I discovered to my horror and chagrin that the so-called SUMMARY passage was actually a summary or synopsis of opinions expressed in newspaper adverts sponsored by the opposition in the months leading to the April 11 governorship election in Ogun State!” Initially, I was not strongly persuaded because of the plight of teachers in Nigeria. I joined in the condemnation of the Ogun State governor based on what has now turned out to be one-sided information available at the time. Some of my not too apolitical colleagues at the weekend showed me a couple of leaflets and handbills distributed by the opposition parties towards the end of 2014 and in early 2015. I also saw some newspaper adverts by the leading opposition party in the state. When I married them with the controversial question paper which led to the dismissal of some education workers, I saw a smoking gun. Indeed, some words appeared to have been lifted from the opposition materials.  This is regrettable. I am not an educationist but I agree with the submission of Mr Odesanya: “The action of the teacher or ministry officials who approved the question is totally inadmissible. It’s an attempt to corrupt the pupils politically and discredit the government that has provided them with free education… Condensing into an exam passage published attacks of the opposition political party against the government is totally reprehensible. Children are too impressionable to be drawn into such high-wire politics. We should not toy with their future.”  There is something particularly funny about the Ministry of Education in Ogun State. Was it not in the same ministry that a scam of two hundred million naira (N200,000,000) was uncovered in 2013? I understand huge sums were traced to the accounts of some of those involved. Certainly, the practice must have been going on for years, where money voted for WAEC by the government was diverted into private pockets. If N200,000,000 could be stolen in one year, then not less than N400,000,000 must have been stolen in this ministry under the current administration before the sleaze was discovered.

    It is not clear whether this is the reason the government stopped giving running cost to the schools as investigation revealed it was during the scam that the grant stopped. Could it be they were equally fiddling with the grant which was increased by about 50% by the Amosun administration?   Of course, there is bound to be reactions since the state government has shut all the sleaze doors and blocked loopholes that were being exploited by the workers. And one could see manifestation of such frustration in the partisan political question set for the innocent children. It’s really a shame. We often criticize governments across Nigeria for not devoting enough budget to education but here in Ogun were education officials diverting millions of government money meant to pay WAEC fees of children of the poor into their private pockets!    I think we’ve really been unnecessarily hard on the government. For a state whose IGR is ridiculous in comparison to Lagos to be paying teachers higher salaries deserves commendation rather than scorn. What is more, the number of public schools in most of the states in the country is so small in comparison to Ogun. Lagos with humongous resources has about three or four public higher institutions of learning but Ogun State has more than 10! I wonder what the government wants to do with such number anyway!

    In all, Ogun State alone has almost twice the number of public schools in Lagos. And the number of public schools keeps increasing, necessitating the need to employ more teachers. Perhaps this is the reason why the government dithered in dismissing the over two hundred teachers involved in the WAEC scam, many of them in the service for many years. If, in spite of these challenges, the current governor has been able to renovate over 2,000 school buildings, pay arrears of WAEC fees, salaries, and pensions he inherited, build world class model schools for public school pupils, I think he deserves our understanding and support even if such support is measured. From information in the press, enrolment figures for primary and secondary schools rose sharply as a result of the free education and free textbook policies of the Amosun government. Between 2011 and 2013, enrolment figure for upper secondary school increased from 146,737 to 162,536 while that of lower secondary school jumped from 174,820 to 214,837. And the number has been growing every academic session.

    Last week, the taciturn governor finally reacted to the spate of attacks, which now appeared to have been directed at the wrong person. The news media carried the press release signed by Mr Taiwo Adeoluwa who is the Secretary to the Ogun State Government. Following this press release, I got a copy of the constitution. I discovered that the Civil Service Commission is a creation of section 197 of the Nigerian constitution. I also checked Part II, Third Schedule to the document and confirmed this:  2. (1) The Commission shall have power without prejudice to the powers vested in the Governor and the State Judicial Service Commission to – (a) appoint persons to offices in the State civil service; and (b) dismiss and exercise disciplinary control over persons holding such offices. (2) The Commission shall not exercise any of its powers under sub-paragraph (1) of this paragraph in respect of such offices of heads of divisions of Ministries or of departments of the Government of the State as may from time to time be designated by an order made by the Governor except after consultation with the Head of the Civil Service of the State. It is crystal clear that those of us who had and are currently attacking the personality of the governor are all guilty of jumping the gun and leaping before looking.

    We all need to own up to our mistakes and error of judgement. So the governor even had no power to sack any civil servant!  We should not excoriate public officials for the sake of doing so. Just as public office holders can be wrong, we also, the public watchdog, can be wrong. However, by my own reading of the press statement, it does not mean the approval of the governor would not be obtained before the disciplinary measures were effected. Without prejudice to Part II, Third Schedule of the 1999 constitution, the combined reading of the constitution suggests that the governor cannot entirely be shut out from major employment or major dismissal of workers by the Commission. The Civil Service Commission cannot do major employment without the authority or permission of the governor, because he has to pay the workers. In the same vein, the CSC cannot dismiss workers at such a level that involved very senior officials without seeking the final approval of the governor. But to hold that it was the governor that sat behind a desk in his office and sacked the errant officials, as some of us initially believed, is a grievous mistake.  When the National Judicial Council dismisses a judge and the president accepts the dismissal, no one talks about the judge being sacked by the president. The blaring headline is usually, “NJC hammers, sacks or dismisses a judge.” The process of sacking a civil servant or a judge is extremely tortuous. No one can wake up in his bedroom and then order the sack of a civil servant. There are procedures upon procedures and from my personal study so far all these were complied with by the Civil Service Commission in respect of the sanctioned officials.

    In parenthesis, I wish to use this medium to draw the attention of the governor to the Sango-Akute road. When he started this road, we were all very happy, but construction work appeared to have halted. One understands the current financial situation in the country but kindly give it priority once things begin to improve. Finally, I think the Ogun State Civil Service Commission owes the public a duty to unravel the processes that led to its decisions in order to aid further commentaries on this matter. What does the law say about those that set partisan political question to school children, thereby attempting to corrupt them?

    • Dr Adekanmbi writes from Akute, Ogun State

  • Re: Not whimsical but working Willie

    Just a few months back this year, ace Nation newspaper columnist Olatunji Dare had, while disclaiming authorship of the publication’s Hardball column, described its tenor of discourse as ‘irreverent.’ In its Monday, August 24, 2015 edition titled ‘Whimsical Willie’, the column demonstrated that it also has capacity to make misconceived and misleading commentaries.

    The supposed subject was a lecture delivered by Anambra State Governor Willie Obiano at the School of Media Communications, Pan Atlantic University, Lagos, on Thursday, August 13, 2015. The lecture, ‘Sustaining the Legacy of Growth and Development in Anambra State, which drew applause from the audience, curiously draws the fury of the commentary.

    The first placard against the lecture is introduced with this patronising comment: ‘Governor Willie Obiano was granted a fine platform to show the stuff he is truly made of and showcase his activities in the last one year … but he fluffed the opportunity.’ This statement drips with the sour grapes that the governor was in need of redeeming a lowly image.  On what basis could his reputation have needed shoring up? This is a governor who has attracted $2.4 b investments into the state’s economy in sixteen months of assuming office.  This is a governor who has put in place a subsidised mass transit scheme for the benefit of the masses. The same Obiano had in less than one year increased worker’s salaries by fifteen percent.  This is the same governor currently engaged in massive infrastructural projects all over the state and whose leadership is in accord with civil society.

    You are left to wonder the motive behind the decision to talk down on Obiano’s focused leadership. Could it be that the author[s] of the publication was in the dark about the advances Anambra State has recorded in the past seventeen months?  But given that these strides are out there in the public domain, it is more probable to say that the writer[s] chose to close their eyes to these developments to suit preconceived positions.

    A perceptive leader could not have gone to a public lecture to play to the gallery, pander to any constituency’s subjective interest or massage anybody’s ego. Obviously, Chief Obiano’s purpose at the lecture was not to impress cynics and detractors but to engage in intellectually – enriching discourse on the trajectories of Anambra’s development journey with objective minds.

    But riding on the crest of a strange brand of presumptuousness, the column sought to find fault with the contents of the lecture on these terms: ‘It ought to be apparent to even a dummy that this topic is backgrounded and anchored on the activities of Obiano’s immediate predecessor, Mr Peter Obi. Legacy in simple terms suggests a bequeathal, an inheritance. But Obiano the legatee, spoke in total denial of yesterday.’ The first observation on this outburst is to wonder whether the author[s] of the statement actually read the lecture. Why are they in denial of the fact that Obiano acknowledged the contributions of his predecessor in the Anambra narrative? Readers are invited to peruse the lecture in the Sunnewspaper of Friday, August 14, 2015 to see who between Hardball and the Governor of Anambra State is living in denial.

    Obiano not only credited Peter Obi in his lecture but in my view did so to the point of exaggeration – and I will expatiate on this shortly. Hear the Governor: ‘I found it hard to contemplate that in our 24 years of existence as a state, things began to fall in place only nine years ago when my predecessor Chief Peter Obi took over the reins of leadership and began to implement the APGA model of governance. Even so, I still shudder with bewilderment when I remember the titanic legal battles he had to fight…’

    What the critics of the lecture probably wanted was to see the exercise reduced to a chronology of Obi’s achievements. Perhaps Hardball should hold another lecture on the Peter Obi years to sate its curious desire.  At this juncture it seems necessary to mention that in the very second paragraph of his one-year anniversary speech, Governor Obiano said: ‘…we have returned to this place after 365 days with a great harvest and bouquet of new dreams. Now, before I go any further, I would like to acknowledge the good foundation laid by my brother and predecessor, Chief Peter Obi…’ In the face of these recognitions at significant public functions, the accusation of pettiness against Obiano falls flat on its face. Any dispassionate reader of the lecture will be struck by its extensive survey of the Anambra journey from a geo – historical and cultural perspective spanning human resource development; Igbo worldview; politics in Anambra State to the current challenges facing the state. Well thought-out and well written, it is hard to think of a presentation that could have done greater justice to the topic.

    Thus, the misconceived demand that a discussion on Anambra’s legacies must be dominated by the Peter Obi experience would make a mockery of the continuum of government. And this is where I slightly differ and think that Governor Obiano’s acknowledgement should have gone further than Obi. Beyond the distinction of the APGA model of development shared only by Obi and Obiano, there were other leaders whose contributions, however meagre, form an integral part of the state’s legacy. Chukwuemeka Ezeife, first civilian governor, operated in dire straits and circumstances. Inaugurated four months after the state’s creation, Ezeife with very little funds managed to provide the structures for the running of government machinery and is on record as having built the first government housing estate in the state. The much criticised Chinwoke Mbadinuju administration initiated the Orient Petroleum venture; the Oba international market project and completed the Iyi – agu housing estate. Though burdened with legitimacy deficit, the Chris Ngige regime is credited with network of durable roads and reduction in violent crime. While agreeing with Obiano’s suggestion that these interventions lacked a coordinated and coherent approach, it would nonetheless amount to inequity to shut out these actors as Hardball slyly canvassed.

    The prejudices informing the lecture appraisal becomes clearer with the refusal to credit the present administration for the state’s prevailing economic stability. Consider the sneering that attends the insight into the state’s fiscal merits. ‘We analysed the Nigerian economy and foresaw that oil prices would crash to about $55 per barrel in less than one year. We foresaw that if oil prices crashed, it would bring down our revenue by 50 percent. Having figured that out, we began to work on improving our IGR by restructuring our revenue sources.’ To this profound economic intelligence which has ensured industrial peace in Anambra State at a time many states are in arrears of workers’ salaries and pensions, Hardball rants: ‘One would wager that even organisers of the lecture must have been thoroughly let down as much asHardball.

    Many thanks to Hardball, though. By allowing its tantrum free reign, we are able to see who is whimsical after all. Who else but whimsical Hardball could make the asinine statement ‘to think that he [Obiano] has not managed to initiate an original thought so far in the running of the state’ and expect people to see it as sensible?

     

    •  Afuba wrote in from Nimo, Anambra State.