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  • Agitation for restructuring political, says Agbakoba

    Agitation for restructuring political, says Agbakoba

    •Ex-NBA President: Nigeria’s sovereignty not sacrosanct

    Former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) President Dr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) yesterday argued that the agitation for restructuring is a political calculation for 2019.

    At a briefing in Lagos, Agbakoba said most politicians advocating restructuring today will abandon it when they get power.

    He said: “What Nigeria needs is a new deal and the present political elite cannot deliver it because of entrenched personal interest.

    “Going forward, civil society needs to wrest power from this ruling political elite to achieve a new system that is inclusive and works for all and not a few. Nigerians need to determine if they want to stay together and under what arrangement. I believe Nigeria needs federalism.”

    Asked whether he was proposing a conference where the agreement to live together would be reached, he said: “The President is the one to initiate the discussion and pull people together. What Nigeria needs is a political system that we all accept. Right now, we don’t have it.”

    He faulted the Federal Government’s position that Nigeria’s sovereignty was not negotiable.

    “Nigeria’s sovereignty is not sacrosanct. Government needs to adopt a flexible stance. The attitude should be: ‘How do we bring Nigerians together?’” he said.

    According to Agbakoba, in Nigeria’s evolution from colonialism, independence, military rule and “military democracy”, there has been authoritarian governments and “exclusion of the people”.

    Nigeria, he said, was yet to produce a “home-grown constitution”.

    “No serious effort has been made to engage the people and build consensus. The colonial and post-colonial constitutions did not emanate from the full involvement of the Nigerian people. The result is that Nigeria has remained a geographical expression,” he said.

    Agbakoba argued that contrary to the Acting President Yemi Osinbajo’s position, every constituent part of Nigeria has a right to self-determination as guaranteed by Article 1 (2) of the United Nations (UN) Charter and Article 20 (1) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

    Agbakoba said self-determination has origins in natural law and fundamental rights, which led to the American declaration of independence, the French revolution, the Scottish referendum and Catalan referendum.

    “Aspiration for self-determination is not new or peculiar to Nigeria. The caveat, however, is that self-determination must be carried out peacefully and within the law. Nigeria’s situation can be likened to a failing marriage.  To salvage it, the couple need to make adjustments/changes to make the marriage work,” the former NBA president said.

    Agbakoba believes most of those championing restructuring have ulterior motives.

    On President Muhammadu Buhari’s long absence, Agbakoba said how long the President stays away due to ill-health does not matter much as long as the Acting President exercises full powers.

    He said agitations for secession as championed by Nnamdi Kanu of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) must be “according to constitutional law”.

    He said the quit notice issued the Igbo by Northern youth groups was “not politically correct”, but he did not “see what law they broke”.

  • NBA recommends Agbakoba, Fagbohunlu, others for Supreme Court

    NBA recommends Agbakoba, Fagbohunlu, others for Supreme Court

    The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has recommended nine senior lawyers for appointment as Supreme Court justices, it was learnt yesterday.

    They include former NBA president Dr OlisaAgbakoba (SAN), former Abia State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice Prof Awa Kalu (SAN), Chief Anthony Idigbe (SAN), Yunus Usman (SAN) and BabatundeFagbohunlu (SAN).

    The shortlisting was said to have been done by a committee chaired by NBA president Abubakar Mahmoud.

    The full shortlist: Agbakoba, called to Bar in 1978, from Anambra State; Idigbe, called to Bar in 1983, from Delta State; Usman, called in 1983, from Kogi; and Fagbohunlu called to Bar in 1988, from Ondo).

    Others are MiannayaajaEssien (SAN) (1985, Rivers), Prof Kalu (SAN) (1978, Abia), Prof AwaluYadudu (1979, Kano), TajudeenOladoja (1985, Kwara) and AyubaGiwa (1983, Edo).

    They are among 89 lawyers who expressed interest, it was learnt.

    Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Walter Onnoghen asked the NBA to nominate lawyers for appointment as justices of the Supreme Court.

    NBA, therefore, called on lawyers to nominate suitably qualified candidates.

    A January 30 “Notice to All Legal Practitioners”, signed by Mahmoud read: “Pursuant to Section 231(2) of the 1999 Constitution, the Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria has invited the NBA to nominate suitably qualified legal practitioners to apply for appointment as Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

    “Interested legal practitioners are hereby required to send their hard copy profile…The deadline for the submission of profile shall be on 3rd February, 2017 at 5pm prompt.

    “Please take note that this notice is urgent and important and the deadline shall not be extended.”

    A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Kunle Ogunba, expressed concern that appointing lawyers straight to the Supreme Court may kill the morale of judges and justices of the Court of Appeal who had been dreaming of being elevated.

    Ogunba is also opposed to the appointment of someone from outside the Bench as a Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN).

    He said: “I don’t think it’s good for the system to bring somebody from the outside who has never been a judge, and then he’s sitting at the uppermost echelon of the judiciary, just like that.

    “The problem of incompetence could be solved, not by a kneejerk reaction of bringing somebody from the outside, but to put a template by which justices are appraised.

    “It could be based on number of judgments. So if someone is junior to you in hierarchy surpasses you in terms of judgment output, ordinarily he should get it.

    “When they do that, even the incompetent ones will sit up. The person you are bringing from outside who has not been tested on the job, are you sure of his output or quality?

    “To cure that evil of non-performance, it doesn’t necessarily mean you have to bring somebody from the outside.

    “Again is the effect it will have on morale of other justices. There are too many justices of the Court of Appeal eyeing the Supreme Court, where the slot is even limited to 21 slots.

    “If somebody has been deemed good enough to be appointed a judge, then he should be deemed good enough to be elevated.

    “The only thing you should do if you don’t want to elevate him is to tell him to his face that he has not performed. Then you appoint someone that is less in rank. That is the way to go.”

  • Agbakoba doubts regulators’ ability to curtail ports crimes

    Agbakoba doubts regulators’ ability to curtail ports crimes

    Maritime lawyer, and former President, Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Mr. Olisa Agbakoba has frowned at the multiplicity of agencies at the ports and their competences at curtailing crime.

    He queried what over 14 agencies of government, such as Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), National Agency for Food, Drug, Administration Control (NAFDAC), Nigeria Investment Promotion Council (NIPC), Nigerian Police and others are doing in face of importation of fake and substandard materials into the country.

    He advised the government to implement the port reforms that were approved over a decade ago, regretting that the government had come up with one reform or the other without tangible results, thereby leaving the sector in disarray.

    He spoke during a workshop on Reforming the maritime ports organised by Financial Derivatives Company and the Lagos Chamber of Commerce &Industry (LCCI) in Lagos recently.

    Agbakoba berated the government for inaction on several points, especially on failure to make necessary reforms to conform to changes worldwide in handling international transportation, including what he called inflated tariff and port charges which have made our ports to be the most expensive in the African Sub-region he said.

    He also questioned the politicisation of port administration, bureaucracy in ports administration and management, lack of port marketing and user responsiveness, inefficient port services and lack of competition.

    Taking a swipe at the 10-year-old port concession and performance, Agbakoba said it had failed in making  ports cost- effective with appropriate laws and competent regulators.

    According to him, there is no need to keep the multiple agencies  as they clog cargo clearing at the ports.

    It will be recalled that in one fell swoop, government banned 28 agencies and reduced the number of bodies to six. Affected in the shake-up, where the Directorate of Naval Intelligence, Nigerian Plant Quarantine Services, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission, National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency and the Federal Environmental Protection Agency, among others. But unfortunately government has not mustered the political will to implement the reforms.

    NIMASA Director-General, Dr. DaukokoPeterside said Port Reforms shouldn’t be all about increase revenue but efficiency and trade facilitation. He said government is convinced about the need to cut the agencies at the ports to make for efficiency. The NIMASA chief stressed that multiplicity of agencies is the reason why tracking and surveillance at the ports is not efficient and is working towards cutting the agencies from 28 to six.

    Defending the re-admittance of NAFDAC at the ports, its Head of Operations at the Ports, Mrs.  Maureen Ebigbeyi said though the agency was asked to leave the ports at the height of the reforms in an alleged efforts to make the ports efficient, cheaper and more user friendly, the country paid heavily for it.

    She said the action opened the country to the importation of harmful goods and substances at the ports to regulate and control drugs imported into the country regarding its quality and safety.

    She said: “No regulated product should be allowed into the country except it is certified, but we see false declaration almost on a daily basis. It can be left to the imagination the danger the citizenry would have being exposed to if that policy of excluding NAFDAC from the ports was continued. We see false declaration daily; we intercepted 13 containers of drugs with wrong dosage and strength in Port Harcourt that was wrongly declared as clothing material. The nation was saved because of the vigilance and intelligence of our agency if that huge number of unwholesome drug was allowed into the country who knows who may have been endangered by the dishonest actions of our business men”.

    The NAFDAC chief explained that before the reforms can make sense and be acceptable, the Nigerian Custom Service (NCS) must be efficientwhile down-time  at  inspections reduced to the barest minimum. She suggested that only critical agencies should be involved in cargo clearance unlike what is obtainable now where non critical agencies clog the clearance process.

    On the way forward, Ebigbeyi called for sincerity on the part of our business men who deliberately import unwholesome foods and drugs into the country in the name of making quick fortune.

    Director of Compliance, SON, Mr. Bede Obayi also called for a single window for regulators at the ports. He said the greatest challenge they have is that of fake bill of lading. He recalled how a business man imported substandard house- hold cables capable of igniting fire at homes and offices and wrongly labeled it as agriculture equipment.  He said though they are not in the ports now but are called in whenever their services are required it will be a monumental mistake if their services are dispensed with in the name of port reforms.

  • Agbakoba urges more muscle for NJC, INEC, others

    Agbakoba urges more muscle for NJC, INEC, others

    A former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) President, Dr Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), yesterday urged the National Assembly to review the 1999 Constitution to strengthen the National Judicial Council (NJC), the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and some other Federal institutions.

    In a letter to Senate President Bukola Saraki, the NJC member said recent events had made it imperative for the National Assembly to strengthen national institutions which support the nation’s “fragile” democracy.

    The institutions, he said, also include the police, the Independent Corruption Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), the Accountant-General as well as the Attorney-General of the Federation, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the National Human Rights Commission, the Judicature, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Code of Conduct Bureau.

    Agbakoba said: “Section 153 of the 1999 Constitution establishes some of these national institutions but they are only Executive agencies. They have no practical constitutional guarantees for independence and effective functioning.

    “We should borrow a leaf from Chapter 9 of the Constitution of South Africa, titled: Institutions Consolidating Democracy. It is suggested that Chapter 9 of the South African Constitution should replace Section 153 of the 1999 Constitution.

    “The National Assembly can do this by either exercising its powers under Section 9 by introducing a Fifth Alteration Bill, titled: Institutions Consolidating Democracy, or by exercising its powers under Section 4 (1) and 315 (1) by repealing the present Constitution entirely and simultaneously with a new Constitution.

    “I had taken the view that the Constitution is a living document and should be altered as situations arise. But with recent happenings, I do not believe this approach is feasible in the context of our fragile democracy. I propose a new Constitution for Nigeria.

    “I enclose Prof Ben Nwabueze’s suggestion of how the National Assembly can make a new Constitution for Nigeria. I believe it is compelling.”

     

     

  • Agbakoba advises Buhari on economy

    Former President, Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Dr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), has advised President Muhammadu Buhari to take an inventory of how much the country needs and identify what to do with the money before embarking on raising funds

    He said: “I have followed with interest the debate on the propriety or otherwise of Federal Governments proposed sale of national assets to deal with the recession.

    “I will not make any comment on the propriety of the proposed sale.  However, I am of the view that the Federal Government needs to do two things: First, an inventory of financial requirements– How much money do we need?  Second, an inventory of need- where do we put the money? pointing out that findings from these inventories will provide a guide for government.”

    He urged Buhari to toe the path of US President Barack Obama when the American economy went into recession.

    His words: “I will also recommend President Obama’s approach to the American recession. President Buhari should propose to the National Assembly a Re-investment and Recovery Bill and an Emergency Economic Stabilisation Bill to stimulate the economy and bailout the ailing financial system.”

  • Agbakoba proposes new laws to tackle recession

    Agbakoba proposes new laws to tackle recession

    Former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) president, Dr Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), yesterday proposed two new laws to help get Nigeria out of recession.

    He urged President Muhammadu Buhari to forward to the National Assembly a Reinvestment and Recovery Bill and an Emergency Economic Stabilization Bill.

    According to him, the bills would help stimulate the economy and bail out the ailing financial system when passed into law and implemented.

    He further urged Federal Government to do an inventory of its financial requirements to determine what it needs and where to put the money.

    In a statement, Agbakoba said: “I have followed with interest the debate on the propriety or otherwise of Federal Government’s proposed sale of national assets to deal with the recession. I will not make any comment on the propriety of the proposed sale.

    “However, I am of the view that the Federal Government needs to do two things: first, an inventory of financial requirements – how much money do we need? Second, an inventory of need – Where do we put the money? Findings from these inventories will provide a guide for government.

    “I will also recommend President Obama’s approach to the American recession. President Buhari should propose to the National Assembly a Reinvestment and Recovery Bill and an Emergency Economic Stabilisation Bill to stimulate the economy and bail out the ailing financial system.”

  • Agbakoba writes Buhari, Saraki, Dogara on way out

    Agbakoba writes Buhari, Saraki, Dogara on way out

    EX-Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) President Dr Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) has written to President Muhammadu Buhari, with suggestions on how Nigeria can get out of recession.

    In the September 15 letter, which he also sent to Senate President Bukola Saraki, and House of Representatives Speaker Yakubu Dogara, Agbakoba said Nigeria was suffering from “malignant metabolic economic syndrome, complicated by inflation, high interest rates, unemployment, weak infrastructure and results of the global fall in the price of oil.”

    According to him, it is a gloomy state of affairs which, if not treated with urgency by introducing strong fiscal, trade and monetary policy, could lead to depression.

    Among Agbakoba’s recommendation is that the money from the Treasury Single Account should be returned to the banks at single digit rates, and that banks’ recommended lending rate should not exceed five per cent.

    The banking sector, he said, requires strengthening, and must be empowered to lend.

    “I feel that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) should focus on productive value of the economy, and not the numerical value of the naira.

    “The recent devaluation of the naira by the introduction of a floating naira exchange rate has not yielded positive results, as we see the naira spiralling downwards.

    “In fact, the new forex regime caused a drop in the GDP from $500 billion to some $350 billion by reducing per capita income to below $600,” Agbakoba said.

    He recommended switching from Austerity Policy to Growth Policy, which he said will instil hope and form the basis for the way forward.

    According to him, to boost the economy will require massive spending on infrastructure and public works, which will also require manpower resources.

    “This is the Keynesian economic model. This way we will spend our way out of recession with the objective of reducing inflation. The CBN should reduce the MPR (Monetary Policy Rate) to single digit of say five per cent, and create a framework for quantitative easing,” he said.

    Agbakoba said Nigeria needs to establish a Development and Guarantee Bank to provide financing for national development, which can be supported by asset securitisation.

  • Agbakoba: How Nigeria can get out of recession

    Agbakoba: How Nigeria can get out of recession

    A former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) President  Olisa Agbakoba yesterday warned that Nigeria could remain in recession until the fourth quarter of 2020 if new economic models are not adopted.

    At a news briefing in Lagos, the Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) called for a council of economic advisers made up of economists, statisticians and other financial experts to map out economic recoverystrategies.

    Agbakoba urged the Federal Govermment to reduce raging inflation at 17 per cent in the medium-term, implement this year’s budget to reflate the economy, provide massive social benefits, and create a robust private sector-led market by waking up dead capital trapped in the national housing stock which he said is valued at N7trillion.

    According to him, a full deregulation of the forex market by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will allow a level playing field and remove distortions such as round tripping.

    To him, CBN’s focus on forex management is encouraging round tripping and creating what he described as an asymmetry.

    Agbakoba, a graduate of the London School of Economics and Political Science, said the proposed emergency powers for the President was welcome if it is only to make the procurement process more efficient, as according to him, a massive spending in public works will help boost the economy.

    He urged the Federal Government to study the “new deal” policy deployed by the late United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt to get his country out of the Great Recession.

    “He created massive public works programmes, especially the momentous Tennessee Valley Authority; enacted the Glass-Stegall Banking Act, directing banks not to speculate or trade but lend; enacted the National Industrial Recovery Act to deal with massive employment, and created the Works Progress Administration, putting back millions to work on public infrastructure,” Agbakoba said.

    The development lawyer urged the Federal Government to give the funds in Treasury Single Account (TSA) to banks at single digit rates and supervise usage.

    “There is need for massive legal regulatory and institutional reform in the financial services sector because money is oxygen to the economy, but it is not flowing as a result of bottlenecks,” he said.

    Agbakoba believes the CBN should focus on the productive value of the economy and not on numerical value of the naira.

    He said: “The CBN is trying to defend the dollar, but what it should be doing is pushing the productive value of the economy, then it won’t matter what the rates are. Why is the CBN regulating dollars in the first place? I don’t see what business they have regulating foreign currency.

    “Government has no business been in business, be it banking, schools, health. What we need to do is to say: anybody who has foreign currency should trade it on the market and sell on the daily price, so that the diaspora people will bring their money and sell it. If I have dollars in my account that clients have paid me, I can sell it.

    “When you do demand-side economics, meaning you want to control demand, you will have problems. The correct approach is supply-side economics. Let CBN absolutely deregulate the foreign exchange market and let’s see where the rate will go.

    “So, an open liberal economy with strong social regulation is the best way to go.”

     

  • Agbakoba: EFCC is overworked, needs help

    Agbakoba: EFCC is overworked, needs help

    A former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) president Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) yesterday said the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) would function more effectively if its workload is reduced to investigation alone.

    He said powers to prosecute should be vested in an independent and highly resourced prosecuting agency, such as a proposed National Prosecuting Agency.

    “The international best practice is that one agency investigates, another prosecutes and the court adjudicates. The EFCC as currently composed is overworked and will not efficiently deliver on investigation and prosecution,” Agbakoba said in a statement by his non-government organisaition, the Human Rights Law Service (HURILAWS).

    According to him, the suggestion by NBA president Abubakar Mahmoud (SAN) that EFCC should only investigate but not prosecute was not out of place.

    “HURILAWS applauds the call by Mahmoud for a debate on the efficacy of the war against corruption in Nigeria. Where corruption is endemic like in Nigeria, strong institutions are critical to achieve success.

    “It is in this context that the debate on the propriety of the EFCC investigating and prosecuting financial crimes at the same time is appropriate.

    “Whilst we have no objection with the EFCC investigating or the courts adjudicating, we believe the powers to prosecute should be vested in an independent highly resourced prosecuting agency.

    “We appreciate the enormous work done by the EFCC since its establishment in 2003. Thirteen years on the Federal Government needs to rejig the EFCC and other crime fighting institutions to perform optimally.

    “We support plan by the Attorney-General ?of the Federation (AGF) to establish a National Prosecuting Agency,” HURILAWS said in the statement jointly signed by its Legal/Programme Officer, Collins Okeke.

    The NBA, in a statement, described EFCC’s reaction as “unduly harsh and negative”, saying it was uncalled for.

    The association said Mahmoud only called for the reform of the agency to enhance its capabilities to deliver on its mandate on a ‘consistent and sustainable’ basis devoid of political interference and on the basis of well-established institutional safeguards that demand the proper regulation of the wide discretionary powers involved in the investigation and prosecution of criminal matters.

    “Combining investigative powers with prosecutorial powers in one single agency, (called the Roskill Model in England), is the exception rather than the norm. In the UK only the Serious Fraud

    “Office (SFO) enjoys such combined powers. But given the institutional safeguards, both within the SFO and the maturity that characterizes the UK Criminal Justice Institutions, the abuse of such powers will be highly unlikely.

    “The NBA Constitution demands that it promotes law reform and legal development. It therefore commits itself to promoting healthy public debate about our institutions and interrogating their capabilities and performance, including all criminal justice agencies such as the EFCC. The NBA will not be intimidated or cowed in the discharge of this responsibility.

    “The NBA condemns in the strongest terms the use of abusive and uncivil language of ‘rogues and vultures’ and such strictures by a public authority. Name calling and use of abusive language is not expected of any public institution. It is unacceptable.

    “The NBA demands unequivocal withdrawal of this statement and an unreserved apology from the EFCC.”

    Mahmoud said neither he nor his firm has ever represented the EFCC or the AGF or been involved in any prosecution or defense of former Delta State Governor James Ibori in any criminal matter

    The NBA President admitted representing EFCC in the case involving the former Rivers State State Governor Peter Odili in a civil appeal on the constitutional challenge of EFCC’s powers by the Rivers State Government, adding that he was yet to be paid his legal fees.

    “In spite of his best efforts, the case has remained stuck in the Court of Appeal, even after all briefs of arguments had been settled.

    “The records of the EFCC will also show that neither Mr. Mahmoud nor his firm has been paid any fee, notwithstanding the nearly 20 court appearances in the matter in the course of the last several years involving air travels (Abuja to Port Harcourt) and hotel expenses,” NBA added.

    Lawyers also took to social media to express dissatisfaction with EFCC’s claims. A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mr Jibrin Okutepa, wrote: “EFCC is cashing on the gullibility of Nigerians to cast aspersions on NBA president and the entire Bar.

    “While I admit that some of our members have been acting in most unprofessional manner the release by EFCC spokeperson is most unacceptable to me. It is actionable and we can’t fold our arms in gentility.”

     

  • NBA presidency: Agbakoba rejects call for fresh election

    NBA presidency: Agbakoba rejects call for fresh election

    Former Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) President Dr Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) has rejected the call for a fresh election by Chief Joe-Kyari Gadzama (SAN).

    Former Kano State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Abubakar Mahmoud (SAN) was declared winner of the NBA election last weekend.

    He polled 3,055 votes to beat Gadzama, who scored 2,384 votes of 5,439 votes cast.

    But the Gadzama Campaign Organisation rejected the result, calling for its cancellation.

     It said the election was not “credible, transparent, free and fair and failed to comply with the NBA Constitution and electoral guidelines.”

    Calling for fresh elections, the organisation said collation was done in secrecy, and accused outgoing NBA President Augustine Alegeh (SAN) of partisanship.

    Agbakoba, in a statement, said virtually every NBA election has been criticised as unfair, adding that he could, however, not recall any case where a loser called for cancellation.

    “As a former NBA president, I urge the Gadzama Campaign Organisation to take the election results in good faith. It will not be in our interest to create challenges for our association. The newly introduced electronic voting system may have had challenges but it was an innovative easy voting procedure.

    “I understand the reaction of the campaign organisation. However, it is important to protect the integrity of NBA. At this stage, what we need as an association is unity. I appeal to the Gadzama Campaign Organisation to accept the election results in good faith and accept A. B. Mahmoud, SAN, as our new president,” Agbakoba said.