The Nation Newspaper

Category: Editorial

  • President for life

    President for life

    Biya declared winner of Cameroon election for eighth term.

    In Cameroon, President Paul Biya has been declared winner of the October 12 election by the electoral authority. He is said to have received 53 per cent of the votes to the 35 per cent by the opposition leader Tchiroma Bakary. Since then, Cameroon has lost its peace, as young people, especially from the opposition’s stronghold, have cried foul and businesses paralysed in the business capital, Douala.

    The Cameroon election has once again called global attention to the integrity of the polls and democracy in Africa. For a man who has been in power since 1982, and whose health status has come to the fore of recent, the worst that many feel could have happened to the country was to be reelected. However, if he had indeed received the popular votes in a credible election, it could be said that it is the business of the people. But, both foreign and domestic observers have called attention to a lot of malfeasance at the polls, in which the man declared winner could not even stand the rigour of campaigning. For much of the campaign period, Mr. Biya was out of the country, reportedly receiving medical attention. How then is he expected to run affairs of the 20 million people in the next seven years?

    In many parts of Africa, election disputes are at the root of intractable conflicts and crises. Sit tight leaders are resented by their people, and because they have resolved to remain in office for life, they plunge their countries into very costly wars that attract foreign support for factions, thus making the issues difficult to resolve.

    West, Central and the horn of Africa have had enough of terrorist incursions that this internal dissension being caused by massive protests, arrests and killings occasioned by the election could further complicate things in the Central African country. Unfortunately, the African Union has remained a toothless bulldog, unable to meaningfully mediate conflicts or keep the peace in member countries.

    Cameroon should not be the next breeding ground for insurgents and separatists on account of this election. If AU could do nothing to call the ruling party to order, the United Nations should do so before things get out of hand. The 92-year-old President who appears to have become more of a captive of a cabal should be called to order, and if possible, carefully eased out of power as a bull would from a Chinaware shop. Where deemed necessary by experienced observers and credible statesmen, a conference of stakeholders should be convoked to ensure that everybody is carried along. In a country where the term of office is seven years, a 92-year-old should not be allowed to hold on to power while the world watches the country sink and disintegrate.

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    It is not in the interest of neighbouring countries to stand aloof while all this is going on. World powers could be made to prevail on the nonagenarian to step down if only for peace to reign. Election disputes were at the heart of the military takeover in the Sahel states and the consequent pullout from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The sub region is yet to recover from the complications it introduced to the joint efforts to combat the war against terrorism. Cameroonians are bound to feel the effect of the ongoing conflict on the economy. Economic activities have already been paralysed in the commercial capital, and the spiral effect would be felt all through the country.

    It would appear that the country is on auto pilot at the moment, with no dominant figure with legitimacy at the helm of affairs. If the drift is not arrested on time, the opposition that went into the election with a united front behind Tchiroma Bakary could dig in, receive support externally and the country could then go up in flames. One reason some forces appear to be holding back their support for the opposition is that he is seen as one of those who solidly backed Biya for so long.

    For 16 years, he was a minister in the President’s cabinet, serving as the spokesman at some point. Even as the government became unpopular with the military called out to shoot civilians in a bid to quell riots, it was Bakary who stuck out his neck to defend the government. So, when he came out with the change slogan, many did not believe him. It took some strident campaign for some to see him as the point man of the opposition Forum for Change Coalition.

    At this point, the groups should accept to come together to hold the centre together. When things fall apart as observed by the late Professor Chinua Achebe, the centre would collapse on all. It is not in the interest of anybody if this should happen to a country as strategically important in Africa as Cameroon.

    Africa has had enough leaders who saw Louis XIV as their model. Men like Idi Amin of Uganda, Marcia Nguema of Equatorial Guinea, Jean Bedel Bokassa of Central African Republic, among others. Like Biya, Yoweri Museveni has been in power for so long, since 1986. This tendency to equate Africa with inability to hold credible polls and keep democracy afloat has to stop. The development in Cameroon is an opportunity to start the process.

  • Kessington Adebutu at 90

    Kessington Adebutu at 90

    •We felicitate ‘Baba Ijebu’ as he joins the nonagenarian club

    “My main business is gaming,” Chief Kessington Adebutu, who turned 90 on October 24, said in a newspaper interview to mark his landmark birthday. It is remarkable that he made a name for himself as a gaming giant and a philanthropic titan.   

    Popularly known as ‘Baba Ijebu’, a nickname that is synonymous with his company, Premier Lotto Limited, he is widely acknowledged as the pioneer of the modern lotto and pools betting business in Nigeria. The company is rated as “Nigeria’s most trusted bookmaker, online sport betting and lotto platform.”

    Ranked as a billionaire, he attributes his enduring success to his business philosophy. According to him, “Above all, honesty is the key.” He added: “When things get rough, my customers don’t panic or rush to collect their winnings because they trust that ‘Baba Ijebu’ will always pay. That’s what I value the most — a good name. That trust is one of the things that has sustained the business over the years.”

    In a country where gaming, perceived as gambling, is generally associated with irresponsibility and unexemplary lifestyles, his concrete demonstration of the concept of giving back is notable and exemplary. 

    The focal points of his philanthropy are health and education. Significantly, in commemoration of Adebutu’s 90th birthday, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu unveiled the N5.2bn medical research centre the nonagenarian built and donated to the College of Medicine, University of Lagos. The centre is named after the donor. As part of the celebration, he also gave N1bn each to four local governments in Ogun State.

    His donations include a media resource centre at the Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ), Lagos, a library at Crescent University, Abeokuta, Ogun State, in 2009, and a N50 million e-library at his alma mater, Baptist Academy, Obanikoro, Lagos State. He also donated a state-of-the-art radio station to Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye, Ogun State, a new building to Remo Methodist High School, and a new block of classrooms to Gaskiya College, Badiya, Lagos, in 2008.

    A native of Iperu Remo in present-day Ogun State, he began his journey to prominence after completing his secondary education in 1955. He had stints at Cable and Wireless Limited (later called NITEL), and Classic Chemical Limited, a pharmaceutical company where he rose to the position of sales manager. In 1963, he left the company to start his own business, Premier Lotto. In 1971, he started the popular Face-to Face pools betting company with his friend and business partner, Chief Adebayo Ayoku.

    With business interests spanning gaming, manufacturing, construction, media, energy, real estate, and banking, he has grown far beyond the gaming industry. His success and his contributions to development have brought him recognition and respect. Through his Kessington Adebukunola Adebutu Foundation, he has established a reputation for high-profile philanthropy, and built significant infrastructure in education and healthcare. 

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    The Federal Government conferred on him Nigeria’s second-highest national honour, Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON), during his 90th birthday celebration. In 2015, Olabisi Onabanjo University awarded him an honorary doctorate in Business Administration.

    It is a testimony to his stature, and social and cultural acceptance, that he was installed as the 4th Odole of Ife in 2019. This is a traditional Yoruba chieftaincy title, officially known as Odole Oodua, conferred by the Ooni of Ife. The titleholder is expected to promote unity, peace, and progress among the descendants of Oduduwa, the legendary figure to whom the Yoruba trace their origin.

    He notably demonstrated a grasp of his role by his successful intervention in what he described as “the misunderstanding” between the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, and the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Owoade, two pre-eminent Yoruba traditional rulers. His birthday celebration in Lagos was a fitting setting.

    Adebutu said: “Because of my position, I called them both and asked them to stop. They were gracious enough to honour my invitation. Both of them attended my ceremony in Lagos, and I used the opportunity to meet them.”

    Adebutu’s “guiding principle” strikingly captures his sense of social responsibility. “A good name is better than riches,” he says. This may well be his ultimate legacy.

    We congratulate him as he enters his nonagenarian years. 

  • Conspiracy of letters

    Conspiracy of letters

    •The media should not be platforms for writers to endorse any military coup

    We have seen a lack of restraint in the media, both online and mainstream, in commentaries through some of their columnists over an alleged coup plot to overthrow this democracy and install a military autocracy.

    The report about a possible overthrow of the present order of civilian governance and replace it with army diktat has filled the media space and even private conversations, speculations and gossips. After the first wave of news reports by some online publications, the military issued a statement denying that there was such a thing, although it provided a caveat and segway for further facts.

    The military confirmed the arrests of about 16 top military officers, including a brigadier-general and lieutenant-colonels. The high command did not disclose their names. The purpose of the arrests, according to their statement, was due to disenchantment about career stagnation. It indicated that investigations were still ongoing.

    That caveat encouraged speculations and reports, both in online and mainstream media, on who may be and may not be involved in the alleged conspiracy for subversion.

    Reports have said that the alleged conspirators wanted to unleash a bloody coup that would have entailed the killings of top elected officers in the land, including the president, vice president and senate president.

    These are all juicy details in the eye of reporters and editors. Yet, no confirmation of these facts has come from the government or the military.

    It is the right of the newspapers and other publications to pursue the facts wherever they may lead. It is in the exercise of press freedom, a hard-worn democratic right, so long as they are powered by facts, not fantasy.

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    What is wrong is for editors and publishers to turn their publications to avenues to condemn democracy and imply that any coup at this time or anytime is justified. Some publications of the mainstream variety have done that already.

    It is against the very spirit of liberty under which newspapers blossom in this era. Newspapers should not give their nods to opinions that support military autocracy. It is democratic suicide. It is an act of intellectual subversion of the act of free people. It is also an act of incitement. It is irresponsible.

    Such articles have given the impression that democracy is not good for us and we must not exercise patience with it. Those articles betray a loss of memory and lack of historical sense. This democracy came as a consequence of blood, tears, sweat and toil, apologies to Winston Churchill.

    Newspapers and magazines were shut down. Journalists were killed; they worked on the sly and underground, and were locked up. Civil rights activists as well as human rights veterans died and even suffered terminal physical abuses. Politicians were killed, some of them also ran underground and fled the country to mobilise.

    It was not so far away or long ago, and hence it is baffling that editors and publishers can allow unhinged pens to write off democracy.

    In the west from where we borrowed the tradition of liberal journalism, no opinion section undermines democracy, not even in the virulent rightwing media of the United States and Europe. Europe had military hegemony, and they have forsworn them. 

    Even while some Americans and Europeans are not happy with the bullying of some of their elected leaders, no one has called for another form of government. That explains why no one is elected forever. It is never perfect. Hence there is periodic reevaluation in the form of elections. Autocracy, especially of the army, provides no such outlet.

    Journalism should never be cited as an excuse for democracy to fall. At times like this, restraint should overtake exuberance.

  • Nnamdi Kanu

    Nnamdi Kanu

    • Architect of own (mis)fortune

    On October 20, protests for the unilateral release of detained leader of the proscribed Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, (IPOB), Mr Nnamdi Kanu, took place in parts of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja; Lagos, and a few other locations in the country. Organised by human rights activist and publisher, Mr Omoyele Sowore, the action was predicated on what was described as the ‘delayed trial’ of the pro-Biafra separatist agitator, thus creating the insinuation that the government was manipulating a protracted and unending judicial process to keep Kanu out of circulation in perpetuity.

    It has also been alleged that the IPOB leader had since been cleared of all charges by a Court of Appeal and that the Federal Government had failed to obey the judicial order that he be released.

    There were also those who anchored their calls for Kanu’s release on the prerogative of mercy recently exercised by President Bola Tinubu in favour of a number of convicted persons who were granted pardon for an assortment of reasons, arguing that the same gesture be extended to Kanu.

    True, Kanu’s trial has been ongoing since 2021 when he was forcibly repatriated back to the country and ordinarily ought to have proceeded further than it has four years after. But the truth, which Sowore and his fellow protesters seek to obscure is that Kanu has largely been the architect of the snail’s speed at which his trial has progressed.

    It is pertinent to note that Kanu was first arrested in October 2015 and charged before a magistrate’s court in November of the same year for alleged acts of terrorism and treason. Although his release was ordered by a Federal High Court in December 2015, the Federal Government brought fresh charges of treasonable felony against him, necessitating the continuation of his trial.

    Nevertheless, he was granted bail in April 2017 by Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court, Abuja, with the conditions that he should not grant press interviews or address gatherings of people. Later that year, he jumped bail and fled the country, citing the alleged invasion of his country home in Abia State as the reason for his action.

    But even from his base abroad, Kanu continued to make incendiary radio and social media broadcasts to the country, employing insulting, derogatory and abusive language against non-Igbos and inciting his supporters to violence.

    The sit-at-home Monday protests inspired by IPOB in the Southeast was capitalised upon by rogue groups and criminal elements, leading to the loss of several lives across the region, paralysing educational institutions and leading to colossal economic losses in a region known for the commercial vibrancy of her people.

    In the same vein, his inflammatory and inciting directives from his base abroad are known to have contributed to the scale of destruction during the #EndSARS protests in 2020, with Lagos State, for example, suffering losses estimated at no less than N2 trillion and the deaths of several people, including security personnel in the state and other parts of the country.

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    However, Kanu was repatriated back to Nigeria in June 2021, his trial before Justice Nyako resumed and his bail revoked. The presiding judge expunged eight of the 15-count charge against him, asking him to defend himself against the remaining seven.

    In 2022, he was discharged by the Court of Appeal and the charges against him ordered to be dropped but this decision was overturned in 2023 by the Supreme Court which decided that he must defend himself against the seven charges for which he was arraigned.

    On this issue again, Sowore and his associates sought to mislead the public. However, Kanu’s theatrics forced Justice Nyako to recuse herself from handling the case, thus causing further waste of time as the case was reassigned to Justice James Omotosho and the trial had to begin afresh in 2024.

    It has become glaring that Kanu is unwilling to commence his defence despite the prosecution having closed its case and the court adjourning twice to enable him open his case and giving him six days to begin and conclude his defence.

    A panel of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), at the behest of the court, affirmed that Kanu was fit to undergo trial contrary to his claim of being seriously unwell. The IPOB leader had since sacked the entirety of his legal team and opted to defend himself, despite lacking any legal expertise.

    On Monday when he was supposed to open his defence by calling witnesses, Kanu declined to do so, affirming rather that the evidence so far had not established any case against him and requesting to be granted bail or released. The presiding judge has been quite liberal, perhaps indulgent, in granting him another week to file a written address to support his claim that no valid case had been established against him despite the court having earlier overruled the submission by his counsel that he had a case to answer.

    Kanu seems to seriously underestimate the gravity of the offences for which he has been charged. Those calling for the exercise of the presidential prerogative of mercy on his behalf are perhaps unaware that pardon can only be granted where there has been conviction and a definitive decision on his guilt or otherwise cannot be reached without a trial.

    In the same vein, it is hardly justifiable to call for a political solution of the problem when Kanu has neither demonstrated remorse nor shifted position to make compromise a possibility.

  • State security trust fund

    State security trust fund

    • Public-private partnership is the way to go

    It is interesting that state governments are catching up with the model of state security trust fund that the Lagos State Government pioneered under the Tinubu administration in 2007. Since then, Kogi, Enugu, Akwa Ibom, Abia and Borno states have adopted the model as a way of guaranteeing security of lives and property. The latest state to elect to travel that road is Delta. On October 15, led by Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, state officials gathered to bring prominent indigenes together to raise funds for the purpose.

    Security is a major business of governments, but this is even more so in Nigeria now, as all forms of insecurity have become pervasive in the land. In the Niger Delta that hosts major national economic assets, it is even more important for all tiers of government, organisations and institutions to collaborate in ensuring that the national interest is protected.

    At the launch of the Delta State Security Trust Fund were people like former managing director of Zenith Bank, Mr. Jim Ovia, Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede of Access Bank, among others. The group was lucky to have the benefit of having Mr Marvel Akpoyibo, a retired Deputy Inspector-General of Police, who explained the purpose of the Fund to them. He broke down what the fund being raised should be spent on to the gathering.

    The man who stole the show was Mr. Government Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo who donated N10billion and pledged his full support. The founder of Tantita Security firm saddled with securing the Niger Delta oil rigs and cutting down the debilitating stealing of the national treasure in the region was one of the first indigenes of the state to demonstrate that he had caught the vision.

    In Lagos where the scheme started, it has been hugely successful. Prior to the initiative, armed robbers were everywhere, particularly invading banks and killing customers in addition to willfully carting away cash.

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    However, after the institution of that fund, and the wholesome endorsement by the private sector, lives became more meaningful and residents could sleep soundly at night. The security task force in the state was better kitted, more mobile and had their morale boosted. Policemen who lost their lives had their next of kin adequately rewarded.

    This is the model for others to improve on. It is obvious that the Federal Government alone cannot be saddled with the task; neither should it be left for state governments. Corporate citizens and individuals should be involved, in the interest of all.

    While section 14 of the 1999 Constitution saddles the government with the task of securing lives and property, the people, especially the high net worth individuals, ought to show more than a passing interest in ensuring that lives are not nasty, short and brutish in this age and time as described by the philosopher Thomas Hobbes in the 17th Century.

    However, government should not seek to appropriate or misappropriate the fund. It should be spent on the purpose for which it is being set up. To do this, the private sector should be made fully involved in administering the fund. This will guarantee transparency and thus encourage more contribution by all.

  • Rear view

    Rear view

    •Omi Eko offers a future of solid water transport from a storied past

    Lagos had a storied past of water commerce — Ebute-Ero, Ebute-Elefun, Ije, Oja Oyingbo, Ebute Ejinrin, Badagry, the Lagos Marina, etc — all jetties, linked to markets.   Boats berthed at these jetties to discharge and convey buyers and sellers, on weekly market days. More than roads, the vast Lagos waterways powered this traffic.

    If the proverbial ‘Oja Oyingbo’ was packed to the brim — as the Juju music legend Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey crooned in one of his great numbers — it was the Lagos Lagoon, more than the roads, that ensured that commercial mobility and opportunity.

    Now, “Omi Eko”, the waterway shuttle project that the Lagos State government just launched, at the Three Cowries Jetty, near Falomo, Ikoyi, Lagos, is set for a glorious encore — but with much more value-added.

    It’s an innovative project to further integrate water transportation into the government’s THEMES-plus policy framework. It’s also set to modernise the waterways as choice Lagos commuter hub, thus reducing pressure on the over-flogged roads.

    Omi Eko, planned over two phases, is well and truly ambitious.  It could alter the Lagos transportation — and economy — for good.  Omi Eko, with its smart ferries, could also boost water-driven tourism, now the near-monopoly of the well-heeled.  That putative expansion is a win-win for the Lagos economy.

    The first phase is an infrastructural-support push: the dredging and adequate marking of a marine track, covering 140 kilometres.  That track covers 15 priority ferry routes.  Under that phase, 25 ferry jetties and terminals will be put in place, with old ones upgraded — all fitted with electric charging points, for the electric ferries soon to be deployed.

    Also attached to jetties/terminals are boat maintenance depots. This phase will also build roads connecting the jetties/terminals to the main arteries linking the final commuter communities and destinations.

    Obvious and paramount in this first phase is the all-crucial question of safety, in these days of boat mishaps, in some parts of the country.  Safety is critical for commuter confidence; and it’s reassuring that the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA), the implementing agency, is giving safety due attention.

    The second phase is the business side: the “make-or-mar” of the dream.  It plans to infuse 75 electric ferries, fool-proof and fraud-resistant ticketing, and sound shuttle information management to give a rich travel experience that would keep commuters trooping back for more.

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    If management makes the difference between failed and thriving ventures, LASWA should develop the capacity to handle the business.  Also imbued in the plan is adequate technology transfer to strengthen LASWA’s technical capacity: for prompt maintenance and repairs, as well as forging spare parts.

    Aside drawing passenger traffic to some 25, 000 yearly, Omi Eko is projected to cut travel times by some three hours per trip.  Funding for the informal boat sector, outside the government-backed ferry services, will also be taken care off. Indeed, building an integrated lagoon economy is logical thinking, as 15 local governments in the state are linked by water.  That should provide more jobs for the youth.

    Omi Eko came under the EU Gateway Initiative, with the French Development Agency (AFD); and the European Investment Bank (EIB), which provided a “subsidised” €360 million, out of a €410-million loan.  LASWA’s ability to grow a lean-and-mean water transport business is vital.  For this upgrade, LASWA should draw inspiration from the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), which already runs the Lagos integrated road and rail services, with the Blue and Red urban rail lines.

    So, LASWA should brace itself to make Omi Eko a thriving business, sustainable and profitable to pay off its loan.  If that is well done, LASWA should, in no time, sit back as industry regulator, while private sector players, big and small, drive the business.

    But there is another aspect that should also be emphasised: marine security.  While safety is clear from the infrastructure plan, security is muted.  In this era of kidnapping for ransom, security should receive that added attention.  As more commuters get drawn to water transport, there is likelihood for opportunistic crimes, targeting the busy commuter channels.  Robust marine security should, therefore, form a doughty part of the mix.

    With Lagos defined by water — the Lagoon and its mightier cousin, the Atlantic Ocean — not integrating this mass of water into its transport mode is a clear waste.  Though Omi Eko is picking up from a storied past, using every resource of the state to boost citizen wellbeing is smart policy thinking.

  • Saving Warri

    Saving Warri

    •All ethnic stakeholders must work with the peace committee to avert another bloodbath

    It is strange that, after all that the city of Warri, in Delta State, suffered in lives, limbs and resources for years at the turn of the century, some are imagining another spasm of bloodbath. Yet, in human experience over centuries, we have never foresworn wars in spite of documented blood trails.

    It makes sense, however, to strike a note of warning to all those who are obliterating commonsense in the former vibrant metropolis. They stand the risk of wiping out Warri from the face of the earth if they continue with their rancour.

    It all began with a new effort to remap the city for the next round of elections. Even though the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said it has not concluded its redistricting effort or what is called the delineation of constituencies, divisive rhetoric has fouled the air.

    Although it is taking ethnic shapes, it is actually the politicians across the various political parties who are fuelling the fire. In the quest to win elections, they seem ready to slaughter one another.

    The major ethnic group in the centre are the Itsekiris, Urhobos and Ijaws. They have been neighbours for centuries, and have engaged in all that neighbours do. They trade together, party together, intermarry, and they betray linguistic affinities, cuisines and fashion sense. They suffer and battle common foes like want and diseases. The differences in their ways of life are often subtle.

    It is this cooperation that welded them together into a formidable region and strengthened Warri into a commercial and cultural powerhouse. To help its prosperous run, oil was discovered in its environs and a major refinery sprung up in its precinct.

    Warri became, especially in the 1970’s and 1980’s, one of Nigeria’s iconic places for work and leisure. With proud ease, the residents called it Wafi, or oil booming city, and they called themselves Wafarians. Pride became hauteur and hauteur led to ominous complacency. It was in the midst of this feeling that hate developed.

    It was a fight between the Ijaws and Itsekiris over a delineation, and hell broke loose. The two ethnic groups went after each other. Day and night, slaughter defined time. Waves of violence moved from street to street. Innocents died in their thousands.

    The leaders of both groups acquired arms, stoked the rhetoric and drums of war. It began during the military era, and even soldiers on both sides supplied arms and strategy. It was the war of brothers.

    If in the past they did what neighbours did, the only feature of their relationship was bloodletting. So terrible was it that no one wanted to come into the city. Those who had made home of the place wanted to leave. And they left not to return.

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    What was lost was its soul. That soul was characterised by great business names, like Shell Corporation, Texaco, Chevron, John Holt, Leventis. That meant jobs of high value had left the city, and it also implied that its cherished men of means and middle-class culture disappeared.

    When commerce goes, people go, and the result is a rump of its culture. When the hostilities ended, they faced a new battle to bring back its halcyon days.

    For decades, that has been the challenge. If the big businesses have not forgotten the bad memories, the politicians atop the tribes seem to have.

    The governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, has focused on infrastructure programmes while lamenting that he is trying to bring life to it when some politicians want to snuff it out. He has set up a peace committee.

    We hope that commonsense will prevail over malice and the greed of the politicians will not becloud them to the appeals of the better angels of the city.

  • Timely intervention

    Timely intervention

    •CBN’s new rules on ATM failed transactions are good for confidence-building in the system

    In new draft guidelines for the operation of Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) in the country, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has proposed deadlines for banks to   refund customers who experience failed ATM transactions. For customers who use ATMs from banks that are not their own and the transaction fails, the banks are now mandated to pay the refund within 48 hours.

    On the other hand, customers who experience failed transactions and are debited while using ATMs from their own banks are to be refunded immediately or such reimbursement processed manually and paid within 24 hours. This directive addresses inconveniences suffered and resultant grievances expressed by large numbers of affected customers ever since electronic transactions assumed a wider dimension in the country’s financial landscape.

    This is another example of the responsiveness of the apex bank under the leadership of Mr Olayemi Cardoso, to the protection of consumer rights and interests from the previous widespread institutional abuses in the financial sector.

    Earlier, the CBN had penalised banks whose ATMs dispensed cash to  Point of Service (POS) operators to the detriment of bank customers who were unable to access funds through ATM transactions. According to the CBN, the new measures are part of efforts to strengthen consumer protection and stem the erosion of public confidence in the banking sector by modernising Nigeria’s payment infrastructure and aligning local banking practices with global standards.

    The draft document containing the proposed guidelines issued by the bank’s payments system policy department, has been circulated to banks, payment service providers ,card schemes and independent ATM operators, with expected feedback from industry stakeholders by October 31.

    We urge the CBN to ensure that the draft guidelines are speedily finalised and come into effect without delay.

    Some other salutary aspects of the new guidelines are the requirements that banks and ATM operators must install advanced systems to automatically reverse failed or partial transactions to eliminate the need for filing of manual complaints by customers, as well as that institutions in possession of funds from failed transactions reconcile and return those balances expeditiously.

    Furthermore, the new guidelines make it mandatory for ATMs to be equipped with anti-skimming technology, CCTV surveillance as well as being installed in enclosed or properly lit locations. The machines must also display functional help desk contact information, maintain detailed audit logs and comply with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards.

    In addition to mandating the installation of backup power systems, the new rules require that only clean banknotes must be dispensed; ATMs must dispense cash before returning cards to customers; receipts must be issued for all transactions except balance inquiries; ensure the display of clear transaction fees and allow free PIN changes while two per cent of ATMs must have specialised features to assist visually impaired users.

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    Stressing that institutions that violate the new standards will face sanctions, the CBN has promised to enforce compliance through routine audits, physical inspections and monthly reporting by ATM operators of their current deployments and locations.

    The efficacy of enforcement of the new guidelines will no doubt be enhanced by the promise of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) to collaborate with the CBN “to establish a monitoring framework that tracks banks’s adherence to the 48-hour refund rule and ensures prompt redress when violations occur”.

    We identify with the call by the Executive Vice-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the FCCPC, Mr Tunji Bello, for the prompt adoption and implementation of the CBN proposal as “Timely adoption would reinforce accountability within the banking sector and demonstrate a shared regulatory commitment to fairness, efficiency and consumer confidence”.

    Indeed, it is noteworthy that the proposed guidelines were informed by the FCCPC’s Consumer Complaints Data Report published in September 2025.

    According to the FCCPC, “The report, which covered the period from March to August, 2025, showed that the banking and fintech sectors accounted for the highest number of complaints nationwide; over 3,000 cases in banking alone, with about N10 billion recovered for customers across 30 sectors.

    ”The findings highlighted recurring issues such as failed transactions, unauthorised deductions, and delayed refunds, all of which the CBN draft guidelines seek to address”.

    We commend this kind of productive inter-agency collaboration.

  • Intolerable laxity

    Intolerable laxity

    •It is unimaginable that vital agric equip are gathering dust for months over sharing formula

    When President Bola Ahmed Tinubu launched the Renewed Hope Agricultural Mechanisation Programme, hopes were high that the drudgery that had hitherto attended farming operations and, by extension, productivity, will soon be consigned to the past.

    In what he described as a ‘bold step towards achieving complete agricultural independence’, and to make agriculture more attractive to our youths”, the president had on the occasion unveiled 2,000 tractors, 2,000 disc ploughs and harrows, 1,000 disc ridgers, 1,200 tractor-trailers, 500 seed drills, 300 boom sprayers, 10 harvesters, and 12 mobile workshop vehicles, among other spare parts.

    The equipment, he had also announced ‘would be deployed nationwide to empower service providers, enable year-round cultivation, and create jobs, particularly for young Nigerians’.

    That was on June 23.

    Four months after, not only are the equipment reportedly gathering dust at the headquarters of the National Agricultural Seed Council (NASC) in Abuja, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, under whose purview the deployment is claims to be awaiting directives from the Presidency on the modalities for distributing the farm implements!

    The agriculture and food security minister, Abubakar Kyari, who received the implements in February, had, at the time proposed three models to ensure accessibility and maximise their impact on agriculture.

    The first was to allow individuals and organisations to purchase the tractors outright; the second involves leasing under which the farmers would have been able to access tractors without full upfront costs of ownership, and the third, setting up tractor service centres within farming communities, to enable small holder farmers to rent tractors as needed for their operations.

    Our initial understanding at the time was that the minister already had sufficient clarity on what needed to be done and therefore only needed ample time to work out the preferred option with, perhaps, the concurrence of the Federal Executive Council coming after.

    We consider it unimaginable that this simple process will require the whole of four months and still counting! Worse is that there are still no indications that the ministry actually shares the sense of urgency let alone the national imperative that underlay the initiative.

    As if that is not bad enough, ‘The Guardian’, quoting an unnamed source within the agriculture ministry, claims that the ministry had yet to begin distribution due to delays in approving the sharing formula. The newspaper would in the same breath quote another official as claiming that the ministry officials have little information about the planned deployment of the tractors aside from what is known at the Presidency.

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    Such discordant tunes, coming from the agriculture ministry, though unfortunate, are hardly surprising. It merely mirrors the dysfunctionality, the appalling lack of harmony and coordination for which the Nigerian bureaucracy has long earned notoriety.

    It is hard to imagine that we are here referring to a flagship programme of the Federal Government which the president personally launched and on the basis of which the minister actually outlined the earlier referenced proposal on sharing, with no follow-ups and actionable plans drawn up.

    What other administrative fiat is the ministry waiting for that the minister could not obtain from the presidency in a matter of days, given that agricultural operations are time-bound?

    And, could the minister have gone ahead to publicise his proposal on the sharing of the equipment without the ministry first ‘owning’ them – so to speak? Isn’t that an implicit way of saying that the ministry officials couldn’t be bothered since it was the presidency that ordered them? Surely, the officials of the agriculture ministry have serious questions to answer. We daresay that such derelictions – in which government projects are treated as nobody’s business – have persisted because no one has been held to account.

    In the meantime, the least that the ministry can do is ensure that the distribution commences without further delay.

  • Fresh on board

    Fresh on board

    • Tasks ahead of new INEC Chairman Amupitan

    Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan on October 23 assumed duty as Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). That was exactly a week after he was cleared for the job by the Senate of the Federal Republic, and on the heels of his being sworn-in by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

    He took the baton from Professor Mahmood Yakubu who held the office for two consecutive terms that lasted 10 years – the first occupant to hold fort for that length of time.

    President Tinubu tapped Amupitan, a professor of Law with specialty in company law, law of evidence, corporate governance and privatisation law and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), for the job about a week earlier on following unanimous endorsement of his candidacy by the National Council of State. The President said he was chosen owing to his apolitical stance, integrity and impeccable record of service.

    The 58-year-old from Ayetoro Gbede, in Ijumu council area of Kogi State, was until his appointment Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration) at the University of Jos and Pro-Chancellor/Chairman of Governing Council of Joseph Ayo Babalola University in Osun State. He becomes the sixth substantive chairman of INEC since the advent of the Fourth Republic and the second from the field of Law, after the late Justice Ephraim Akpata who was the pioneer chairman.

    At the confirmation hearing where he was asked to take a bow and leave after being interrogated for about two hours by senators, Amupitan outlined his vision for deepening electoral credibility in Nigeria. He also pledged to strengthen institutional reforms within INEC and expand the use of technology to ensure more transparent and efficient elections. Nigeria, according to him, deserves elections where the loser would readily congratulate the winner. “We’re going to see how elections can be made credible such that the loser will come and congratulate the winner and say, ‘You won fairly and well,’” the professor said. He stressed the need for enhanced electoral credibility, saying credible elections would also restore voter confidence.

    The new electoral czar takes office at a time of great expectations from INEC. His first litmus test is the Anambra State off-cycle governorship election holding November 8, which he urged INEC personnel to brace up for on the day he assumed duty. Truth, though, is that he is too new to make much difference in the state of the commission’s readiness hitherto and will have to depend heavily on what he met in place.

    Still, the new helmsman comes to a full plate of tasks, with the electoral commission set to conduct no fewer than four other off-cycle polls, including governorships in Ekiti and Osun states before the 2027 general election. It will be Amupitan’s duty to ensure that these polls reflect the will of voters.

    Meanwhile, timelines leading up to the next general poll are already extremely tight. Under the framework of law as presently obtains, INEC is expected to issue a one-year notice of election, meaning the commission must issue that notice by February 2026 if the election will hold in February/March 2027. Lately, there were reports that national lawmakers contemplate effecting changes in the law to move the general election forward by six months, so to allow time for exhausting petitions arising from the polls before May 29, 2027 inauguration date for new tenures.

    This proposal implies that the upcoming poll could fall in November 2026. If lawmakers push through with the idea, INEC should be ready to issue the notice of election this November – that is, only a couple of weeks from now. And so, the new chairman must double pace in settling down so as to get a handle on the electoral project he will be presiding over in due time. True, the commission has a bureaucracy that keeps its operations going even amidst transition in leadership, but the election call is inevitably that of the helmsman who will answer for the outcomes.

    The new INEC chair couldn’t be more on point when he spoke at his confirmation hearing about the need to deepen the credibility of elections. He has his job cut out there, because much of the ills that presently plague Nigeria’s electoral system hang on this factor. For instance, voter turnout has progressively dwindled against ballooning voter register – hitting a low of all lows at 26.72 percent turnout in the 2023 general election.

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    It is not INEC’s core responsibility to mobilise voters for higher turnout, but that of political parties and other stakeholders like the media and civil society. The commission, however, must lead the charge by deepening election credibility as would boost voter confidence and thus encourage turnout.

    Deepened credibility of elections could also begin to re-acculturate political actors from the tendency to acute desperation that fuels violence during elections and largely accounts for high cost of polls. Much of the expenses incurred on elections by INEC are informed by efforts to stay ahead of desperation-induced malpractices by political actors; and that is not mentioning endless election-related litigations at huge costs to public as well as private treasuries.

    Amupitan said he envisioned the day when losers would readily congratulate winners. That is a lofty goal he needs all the resolve, grit and sagacity he can muster to pursue. The factors of tribe, religion, the big man syndrome and sense of entitlement have beclouded our sense of political propriety, hence acceptance of electoral defeat has become a challenge.

    While at the task, the new INEC boss must find a way to cut the cost of Nigerian elections. The 2023 poll got N355.298billion in appropriation and ranked as the costliest election – in committed sum – since the Fourth Republic began. Of course, we know that it all ties together. Cutting election costs by the electoral commission largely depends on greater civility among political actors; while politicians, for their part, might just be waiting to see indubitable proof of election credibility to de-escalate desperation. That is why it falls back on the electoral commission to better fine-tune its processes so to win greater confidence from political players, just as it does from voters. Amupitan will be in the driving seat of that whole endeavour.

    There are broad-stroke expectations from the new INEC chief, like strengthening the statutory independence of the commission and reinforcing its neutrality from partisans. He is also expected to build on technology deployments by his predecessors to steer this country into full-scale electronic voting. People who know the new electoral czar say he is brilliant, non-partisan and high on integrity. But the tasks ahead require more than those personality traits to navigate the toxic political environment and insider derelictions within the electoral agency itself. We wish him all the luck he needs.