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Tag: balance

  • Tact and balance

    Tact and balance

    • Both Presidency and Parliament must hug productive partnership and mutual respect

    It’s fair — the call by the National Assembly for President Bola Tinubu to severely sanction heads of federal ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) that shun parliamentary summons.  

    Yet, democratic practices are hardly deepened by presidential muscle-flexing, when the Constitution has empowered the National Assembly to enforce its rules, if it meets any obstacle in doing its work.

    So, what is required is tact and balance on both sides, built on mutual respect, fired by a patriotic zeal to deliver value for citizens, the principal investors and majority shareholders in any democracy.

    Still, to build strong democratic institutions, in a growing democracy, there can be no controversy over the call that the President should sanction executive heads that get tardy with parliamentary summons, particularly with money bills, as the yearly budget.

    At the opening of public hearing on the 2024-2026 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP), a clearly miffed Senate President Godswill Akpabio let out his pique.

    “Any serious appointee or any head of any agency that is interested in the success of President Bola Tinubu’s administration ought to be here,” he said.  “Any head of agency that sends representation here is not a serious person.  Therefore, the President must take a second look at such a person’s appointment. It is not a threat but the truth.”

    That some MDA heads hug the conceit of sending aides to honour parliamentary summons, if it wasn’t an emergency, should be frowned upon.  Under the presidential system, such heads are no more than presidential hirelings, no matter how rich their resumes are.  The National Assembly deals with the President.  So, every appointee should relate with the legislature with civility, a grace parliament too should return.

    In the House of Representatives too, James Faleke, chairman, House Committee on Finance, was also riled that many MDAs summoned over their finances stayed away.  The National Assembly is starting work on MTEF/FSP, a prelude to baking the 2024 Appropriation Bill, due for passage, latest by December 31.

    Indeed, MDAs’ inputs are critical to affirm or adjust the MTEF/FSP, as sound basis for the budget: crude oil price pegged at US$ 73.96; exchange rate: N700/US$; oil production: 1.78 million barrels-a-day; debt service: N8.25 trillion; inflation: 21%; GDP growth: 3.76%.  

    Read Also: Shettima approves committee to pilot FG’s human capital development programme

    Given the race against time to deliver the budget, the National Assembly needs prompt MDA response, in the final allocation of scarce funds.  In theory, it could shut out the tardy agencies, if they don’t come defending their finances to get their estimates approved.  But who will “zero allocation” benefit?  That justifies the call on the President to tweak the ears of his appointees.

    Indeed, there should be no controversy over that call. Oversight, which nurtures checks and balances, is fundamental to democracy.  So, the President should rally MDAs to treat legislative summons as top priority.  Indeed, such promptitude should be routine in executive-legislative interactions.  The polity can only be better for it.

    In due course, however, the National Assembly should garner enough institutional awe to enforce the power the Constitution has given it: issue a bench warrant against any official of state that treats its summons with levity.  At that juncture, it wouldn’t need the President’s help to force through its legitimate demands, whether on money bills or other parliamentary businesses.

    But the key word here is “awe” — deep respect, more potent than naked fear.  The National Assembly can earn that only if it abhors frivolities by its summons; and shuns abuse of its powers.  It’s more than a whispering campaign that some, if not many of the so-called “summonses” are euphemism for brazen abuse of power, toward a nefarious end, which is no way parliamentary.

    In the final analysis, healthy checks and balances flow from tact and mutual legislative-executive respect.  That is the golden threshold both arms should attain for sane governance.

  • Hanging in the balance

    ANYONE can do anything with a million dollars. But it takes more than money to make something out of nothing”. This quote naturally tells us that we can do some much and execute lots of ideas when we have money. Dreams and ideas naturally translate to reality when we have money and resources to carry them out.

    Money, companionship, opportunities are usually possible when the mega bucks abound. Without this, then we are talking about a life being compared to that of the rag. Poor, ragged, empty and worthless condition. But in the midst of physical and emotional poverty you can metamorphose to another state.

    From experience, many would tell you that nothing good comes easy. You really need to put great effort into the love nest to make it work. This brings to mind the rags-to-riches phrase and it takes you from obscurity and emptiness to your heart’s desire.

    Yes, we all agree that money is indeed a mean to certain ends but there are so many other factors that must blend together to achieve a successful outcome. If this is not done, then the resources that should matter would obviously go down the drain.

    The crux of the matter here is that money on its own cannot move mountains, whether for physical, emotional or other ends.

     

    In Dolly Parton’s song, ‘Coat of many colours’, the lyrics talks about a box rags in the season of her youth. A box of rags naturally suggests a collection of something useless, old, garbage, something awful and obviously something many would love to dissociate with.

    Instead of looking at the odds, the young girl and her mother decided to make the best out of nothing. Parton’s mother put the rags of many colours to use. Even though every piece was small, her mother sewed the rags together with passion and love. There was no money and her little girl needed something to keep her warm. This naturally would be a time when issues of love and romance would be at the peak.

    This led to the creation of a coat of many colours. Of course, a coat is for comfort, protection and warmth .This basically are the things required in a relationship which can make or mar the relationship.

    Even though the material used was weak and worthless, the maker of the coat reproduced something worthwhile with love. To support this show of motherly love, her mother related this to the biblical Joseph’s coat of many colours. Her dream was for the coat to bring her daughter good luck and happiness and she blessed it with a kiss. On her part, little Dolly just couldn’t wait to wear it.

    Even though her friends laughed at her rags, she wore it with great pride.

    “Although we had no money,

    I was rich as I could be

    In my coat of many colours

    So with patches on my britches

    Holes in both my shoes

    In my coat of many colours

    I hurried off to school

    Just to find the others laughing

    I couldn’t understand it

    For I felt I was rich

    And I told them of the love

    My momma sewed in every stitch

    But they didn’t understand it

    And I tried to make them see

    That one is only poor

    Only if they choose to be.”

    Interestingly, this applies to our emotions too. Most times, what we are left with are emotional rags. Things that make us cry each time we look back from where we are coming from and where we finally find ourselves. Instead of having our emotions lined with rich fabrics like lace, silk, cotton, velvet or linen that is sweet to behold, you are overwhelmed with rags that are no longer attractive. Interestingly, the most important thing you need to forge ahead is not the rags or the lace of emotions. The crucial thing that is going to see you through the affectionate lane is your attitude. You have to develop the right attitude all the time, it would be the only tonic required to make it a successful emotional journey.

    There are different steps to take in order to make your relationship wax stronger no matter the odds that come your way. First, you have to be sure that the feeling you are experiencing is love and that these feelings are mutual. Once this is ascertained, then you can move on to the next stage which entails showing love to each other.

    This will help to maintain and increase the loving feelings that you have for one another. Unfortunately, it is not everyone who knows how to express such feelings properly. Sometimes, what you think is going to help project your love may just turn out to be a turn off for the person that you are desperately trying to impress.

    Conversely, not expressing love can also hurt the bond you share with your partner in a terrible way. So if you are trying to work out a successful relationship, then you must be committed to your partner’s emotional well-being, even when it isn’t easy. This means sharing affection with your partner, through good times and bad, when it’s most needed and when it’s least expected.

    This task is usually easy when you are the romantic type. Romance is essential to have at least some of the time. Candles, candlelight, compliments, romantic bubble baths, and romantic dinners are good ideas. So it is wise to try to inject a romance into some of the things you do and how you relate with the one you love.

  • Balance of terror in Rivers

    Chibuike Amaechi and Nyesom Wike are two of a kind. They both belong to Ikwere Igbo sub ethnic group of oil-rich Rivers State of Niger Delta. Both suffer from a ‘sense of entitlement’ syndrome, a common affliction among youths of this oil-rich area that remains underdeveloped despite accounting for 80% of the resources freely deployed by a dysfunctional centre to develop other areas.  As products of an environment where ‘self-help’, a euphemism for anarchy  has unfortunately come to be seen as an acceptable prevailing culture, it is no surprise both do not regard their periodic unleashing of their thugs and militants on hapless people of Rivers as a national embarrassment  and a disservice to high offices they hold.

    Amaechi first tried the self-help option to consolidate his judicial victory with moral victory over Obasanjo who wanted to play god by unilaterally disqualifying him after winning the River’s PDP governorship primary election in order to accommodate his favourite. All he did back then to win the sympathy of his people was to portray himself as a victim of an overbearing representative of dominant ethnic group. However, by the time President Jonathan was attempting to undermine his candidacy in a governors forum election, self-help strategy for him, had become an art. This time around, all he did was to identify with opposition’s grievances over government handling of the Sovereign Wealth Fund, the mismanagement of the Excess Crude Account and PDP fuel subsidy’s N1.6t fraud. He went on to defeat President Jonathan’s candidate, Jonah Jang of Plateau State by 19 to 16. Jonathan’s attempt to portray him as enemy of South- south to which they both belong for refusing to endorse him for a second term only earned him a bruised nose as Amaechi’s shrill cry and lamentation became “They have taken our oil wells from Etche; they have taken our oil wells from Kalabari; they have taken our oil wells from Andoni and they are battling to take over those in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni. We are losing our oil wells every day; if I speak, they will say that I am stubborn, but we have to defend our rights; part of the problems we are facing now is that we are fighting to protect our oil wells.”

    When five members of Rivers House of Assembly swearing in the name of their messiah, Patience Jonathan, the President’s wife, purportedly impeached the House Speaker supported by the majority of members with the connivance of the police, Amaechi, now a veteran of self-help tactics, invaded the house with his own thugs and policemen. He personally took charge not only to rescue his loyalist lawmakers but to teach the five lawmakers that they did not have a monopoly of violence. Okey Chinda, leader of the five lawmakers loyal to Mrs. Jonathan had his head battered with the maze and had to be flown abroad by PDP for medical treatment.

    President Jonathan was also no stranger to self-help tactics. When Rivers State House of Assembly, with little encouragement from Amaechi suspended the chairman of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area which had become Wike’s recruiting base for thugs in readiness for the 2015 election, Jonathan responded by directing Joseph Mbu of Rivers State Police command to illegally take over the LGA, an action described by Dakuku Peterside, a federal legislator from the area at the time as ‘the height of lawlessness which each day moves us closer to anarchy’.

    The experiences Wike garnered as Amaechi’s faithful ally, trusted Chief of Staff and chief enforcer of his self-help tactics before politics threw them asunder came handy during his 2014 gubernatorial battle. By demonizing Buhari and APC as northern parasites trying to steal the resources of South-south, he was able to whip up such sentiments that some of his supporters were prepared to shed their blood. Wike has continued to hold on to power backed by a Supreme Court verdict and a threat to visit more violence on his opponents with his thugs and militants in the event of another re-run election.

    Amaechi and Wike’s last week clash in public was but a display of balance of terror by two friends turned arch-enemies. It will be recalled Wike as minister for education never skipped a weekend without being in Port-Harcourt to mobilise his thugs and militants for the 2014/15 election even at a period when the ministry he was supervising was in disarray with all federal universities and polytechnics on a strike which in the case of the polytechnics dragged on for close to a year

    It is not difficult to see the obvious parallel between Amaechi’s last week trip to Port Harcourt and those of Wike as minister of education. Amaechi came fully prepared. It was as if he was going to war. According to Wike’s spokesperson, Simeon Nwakaudu, who claimed his principal was attacked while on project inspection at Nwanja Junction on Trans-Amadi Road, Port Harcourt., “the Minister of Transportation had over 50 SARS personnel, soldiers and mobile policemen in his motorcade.”  He further alleged it was “the SARS personnel and soldiers in the minister’s convoy that knocked down the governor’s escort rider and attacked the policemen in the pilot car”. He did not however say how this translated to an attack on Governor Wike who did not arrive the scene until about 10 minutes later.

    On his part, the minister  claimed in a statement, that while being “accompanied  by cars of many of his supporters, the minister’s black jeep was intercepted and blocked at the junction by the security motorcycle outrider attached to Wike after two cars had passed through. Suddenly, gun-toting security men attached to Wike’s convoy surrounded the minister’s car, threatening to shoot”.

    The question to ask Amaechi is what he was doing in Port Harcourt with 50 SARS and a bullet-proof SUV and accompanied by several cars of his supporters if he was on a peaceful mission and not on a show of force. It will not be out of place to conclude that at a time Amaechi was expected to be working as a minister of transport, he was engaged in juvenile show of force probably to raise the morale of his thugs and militants just like Wike, his estranged ally did as minister of education.

    Beyond the assault on our sensibilities by merchants of violence and patrons of thugs and militants, our greatest tragedy is that Nigerians had expected from President Buhari and his APC, an end to the monumental wastes that defined the Jonathan era. Instead, we are daily assailed and assaulted by governors and ministers’ convoys of over a dozen expensive cars with lorry loads of security personnel, all at taxpayers’ expense. It is more tragic that these office holders and public servants are wasting resources at a time many states owe unpaid arrears of workers’ salaries.

    Leaders who consider themselves as legitimate representatives of their people have no need to run away from those they are elected or appointed to serve if they have nothing to hide. Most members of our current political class are too young to know we once had an organised society when our leaders like those of developed societies of Europe, take buses, drive their own cars and lived among those they served unlike today when what defines leadership of small sub ethnic group like Ikwere of Rivers State is balance of terror.

  • ‘Pay us our pension balance’

    ‘Pay us our pension balance’

    When over 500 men and women were abruptly disengaged from the employment of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH in 2007, they took solace in the ‘good news’ that their benefits had been sent to the management, and ready for collection. But ten years after, they have only been paid less than half of their entitlement, with many of them wilting and dying of poverty, hunger and illness. Medinat Kanabe reports.

    THEY were strong, active and not ready to retire, but the management of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH was tired of them and summarily disengaged them by compulsorily retiring them back in 2007.

    The over 500 retirees were sad but their sadness was taken over by happiness, when they received messages that their retirement benefits were ready and had been sent to the hospital management for express disbursement. However, ten years after, they claim the LUTH management has yet to pay their entitlements in full. In fact, most of them lamented to The Nation that they had only been paid just about half of their total pension benefits or less, despite the management’s promise that they would all get their entitlements before 2008.

    To add salt to injury, some of the retirees claimed that they were offered ‘fresh’ employment, but as LOCUM staff in the same LUTH to do the same job on a N20, 000 monthly salary, as against their old salaries of nearly N50, 000. The Nation learnt that at the height of the protest, two of the re-employed staff got sacked.

    One of the retirees, who craved anonymity said, “I was working as a cleaner under the administration before we were disengaged in 2007. I was about 54 years old then, so I was not ready to retire. We were sad but when we received the SMS that our money had been sent from Abuja and that we should go for it, we were relieved.

    In the SMS, we were instructed to go and collect our money the next day but the management of LUTH said we should wait until the following week. When we got there the following week, we suddenly discovered that they had reduced our money by more than half.

    “Since then, I have written different letters to the management, even to the Federal Government but we have not received any positive response. As a result, I have been struggling to eat; even the house I built, I have not been able to affix doors or windows due to lack of money. The part payment they gave us was not even enough for me to offset the fees of my children, who were then in the university. My husband left  my children and I  many years ago, so I had to take care of them all alone. Even though all of them are married now, they don’t earn much at work to take up my upkeep. Besides, I don’t want to rely on my children for food. They are good children but they have their own issues, so I’m begging that LUTH pays my money.”

    Another retiree said, “Help us, they have really made us suffer. They are the ones that sacked us when we were still very strong, willing to work and doing our job well. After relieving us of our job, they wrote out how much each of us was entitled to and we were happy that even as we had been sacked, they were ready to give us our money. Personally, I already had in mind the business I wanted to do.

    “When the message came, we were told to go and collect our money the next day but we later got a message from LUTH that we should go to an open field in Surulere, Bode Thomas the week after to receive payment.

    On getting there, we heard that they were cutting (reducing) our money. We were all angry but helpless. They would call us one after the other to meet with the cashier, who sat in front of a computer. The cashier would look at us and then use a pen to cancel the amount originally written on our print-out. They were cutting it and writing the new amount on another paper. I was shocked because even though I couldn’t read; I knew something was wrong.

    “That was how they reduced my money from N1, 999, 000 to less than one million. As I speak, they are still owing me over one million naira. After everything, we went to the admin block and began to protest. We saw the Chief Medical Director CMD then, Prof Akin Oshibogun running away and we chased after him and called him names including “a thief.” As we did this, he then turned and told us that since we had chased him and called him names, he would punish us. Since then, we have not been able to get our money. Even when we went to him to beg, he refused, saying we will never be able to collect the money.

    “Many of us have died since then. We are begging them to pay us our money. The part payment they gave us was deployed to the education and training of my children, who were very young then. My husband is late, so I am the only person taking care of the children. I now work as a Locum Staff  as a cleaner collecting N20, 000 in  LUTH.

    Dupe Oyeyemi, who was employed just about 4 years before the disengagement, however says she was worse hit.

    “They were supposed to give me N600, 600 but they gave me N300, 060.  I suffered more because I was just four years and some months in service. There was a time one man said he would assist us in collecting the money. He said he would go to Abuja to help us collect our money, so we all contributed N1, 000 each with all our documents, but he came back the next month to request another money, which we gave him. About 600 of us gave him N1, 000 about 5 times go to Abuja. His name is Adeniran, our former chairman.

    “But another man who took pity on us went to Abuja without collecting any money from us. He got back and told us that he went to the Accountant Generals office. He said he was showed the LUTH file but our CMD, Prof Oshibogun had instructed that we should not be paid because we called him a thief. They told the man that together with the other union, we should  go and plead with Oshibogun and get a note of release from him to take to Abuja. But Adeniran on hearing this went to abuse the man and told him not get involved because it was the money we’d been contributing to him that he had been using to feed himself.

    “That was how the man stopped assisting us. We also got information from a reliable source that the money was in Union Bank, LUTH branch for years. The matter, we learnt was between Oshibogun and Ayo Olagunju, the LUTH Union Bank branch manager at the time. After a while, we heard that the matter had gotten to Abuja and they sent some people to Lagos to the Union Bank branch. I remember that day; they wanted to handcuff Olagunju but after they went to the office of the CMD, the matter was settled and nobody talked about it again.

    After that day, we heard that the money had been transferred to Abuja. As you see me now, I still have children in the university and all I earn to cater for them is a meagre N20, 000 as a LOCUM cleaner here. I was working in the kitchen before and I was okay with it but now, see me cleaning toilets. It is my brothers and sisters that are feeding me now because before the salary comes I would have bought drugs for my health.”

    Recalling what happened on the day they were given the part payment, she said: “That very day, I had a confrontation with the Union Bank branch manager when she was driving other bank representatives away from the field. They heard about the money and came so that we could pay the money directly into our different accounts but she was busy chasing them away. I didn’t realise that they were going to defraud us.”

    A male retiree, who gave his name as Adeosun Samuel, said he was supposed to receive N1.2million but was given N570, 000. Out of the urgency to survive and in the absence of any immediate option, he said, “I joined LOCUM security in LUTH, where they pay me N20, 000, and before the end of the month, I would have bought things on credit worth more than my salary.

    Another male retiree, Ekundayo Remilekun who is also a LOCUM security man, said he was receiving N45, 000 before he was disengaged. I was supposed to be paid N1,096,000 but I was paid N547, 000, so I am being owed N549, 000. I am 62 years old and cannot do any work other than this security job, and my wife is a farmer. That is why I am asking them for the money, so that I can use it to survive.” He said.

    Another retiree, Rabiu, said he was supposed to be paid N1.2 but was given N600, 000. “When I collected the money, I had a building project that I spent the money on. I built the foundation but up till now, I have not been able to do anything on it since 2008.”

    All efforts to get the LUTH management to respond to the issue since May when this reporter began interacting with these retirees, proved abortive. Even a letter written by The Nation to the LUTH authorities as far back as May 15 is yet to get an official response.

    A visit by this reporter to the Idi Araba complex of the teaching hospital on July 6 did not yield much.  She was told that the letter reached the Chief Medical Director’s office on May 24 and left for the DA’s office on June 2.

    After checking through the files in the office and making this reporter wait for hours, an official in the DAs office told her that they could not find the letter at the moment and promised to get back to her on July 14. They were yet to get back as at the

  • Obaseki: Striking balance between politics and governance?

    Obaseki: Striking balance between politics and governance?

    There is disquiet in the Edo State All Progressive Congress (APC). Observers are watching with keen interest how Governor Godwin Obaseki will pilot the affairs of the party as the new leader of the party. His actions in the past two months have however, shown that it is no longer business as usual in terms of governance.

    His body language from the first day he assumed office was a message to political associates as he shunned many who had stormed the government house to celebrate his electoral victory.

    Obaseki had promised to separate party politics from governance. He said he would focus on governance because government has to work for politics to succeed. “Initially, We will emphasize more governance. Let us put in place a governance structure so that our political structure can survive and endure”.

    The question on the lips of many is how far can Obaseki strike a balance between providing political leadership and good governance? How many feet will he be ready to chop off like his predecessor did? Can he go against some party leaders who are perceived as demi-gods in the state?

    As his administration got close to 100 days, several actions have been taken that has endeared Obaseki to the people and showed that the governor is serious about not mixing governance with politics. On his first day in office, Obaseki shunned family members and political associates who had visited government house for celebration. Many supporters who had hoped for immediate appointment were disappointed as they were turned back at the gate.

    Not many believed Obaseki would be true to his words when he said that he would stop all illegal levies and taxes being paid by market women and commercial drivers as well as the operation of private tax collectors on behalf of the state and local government. Some aides said Obaseki believed that it was wrong to allow non-state actors to collect government revenue. The decision to sack private revenue collectors came as a shock as revenue agents were party chieftains and regarded as untouchable.

    Besides, former Governor Adams Oshiomhole’s efforts to stop illegal levies and taxes, trading on the walkways, activities of thugs did not achieve much results. As at the time Oshiomhole left power, traders and commercial drivers groaned daily as they were made to pay all kinds of levies that ended up in private pockets.

    Commercial bus drivers were supposed to pay official taxes of N400 daily, which is broken down to N200 for the state government and N200 to local government coffers while traders in various markets were supposed to pay about N200 daily, including environmental fees. But, commercials drivers were made pay between N1000 and N3000 daily, excluding payment for feeding of the park chairmen and Secretaries while traders paid over N1000 daily to different thugs whereas only N60 was remitted to the local government coffers.

    The management of Okomu Oil Plc in Ovia South West local government and other companies had complained about the multiple levies its suppliers are subjected to pay to the revenue collectors. Clashes between revenue agents were recorded in 2014 and 2015 each time  the state government attempted to stop them. In fact, issues of alleged multiple taxation almost made the APC lost the September 28 governorship election.

    On January 1, Obaseki showed his mien when he delivered a new year package to thugs and private tax collectors. He announced a ban on all forms of revenue collection in the state and cancelled all revenue contracts local government entered into with privates tax collectors. Obaseki said only state and local government employees would be collecting levies or taxes.

    Obaseki’s action has been welcomed as a brave move. Traders now resist attempts by thugs to force them to pay. Commercial drivers have also stopped payment, unlike before when officials of the Road Transport Employers Association (RTEAN) would be claiming to be collecting union dues.

    Obaseki has embarked on massive road rehabilitation through the Edo State Employment and Expenditure for Result (SEEFOR). Roads rehabilitated and reconstructed are Evbiemwen street, Ogbelaka street, Cooke Road, James Watt, Okhoro-Aghahowa street, Reuben Agho street, Aigalegbe street-Isihor from New Lagos and roads linking Oko Central and Upper Adesuwa. Obaseki has given the contractors January 31 deadline to complete the rehabilitation.

    The Government House mechanic workshop that used to be desolate is now a beehive of activities as Obaseki engaged the services female mechanics headed by Sandra Aguebor to repair and fix government vehicles. A visit to the workshop showed that government vehicles that have been abandoned over minor faults were being fixed.

    An action of Obaseki that shocked many APC supporters was the arrest and subsequent remand of the Youth Leader of the APC, Comrade Osakpamwan Eriyo and Oredo Ward 3 Vice Chairman, Sunday Osaguana. Obaseki did not directly order the arrest of the two APC chieftains but party supporters expected him to intervene and stop their arraignment.

    Last week, Comrade Eriyo, who doubles as the Chairman of RTEAN, and some executive members of the APC were sacked and replaced at a meeting of party leaders in Oredo local government. The Oredo APC leaders it said was to instill party discipline and and party supremacy.

    A social critic, Igbotako Nowinta, said time will tell if Obaseki would be able to do away with those he termed “political ‘leopards’ that have remained unchangeable and an albatross on the neck of the key political players since 2007?”

    His words: “Obaseki, who was part of the Oshiomhole administration, as the leader of the ‘Economic Team,’ and who is the greatest beneficiary of Oshiomhole’s political gifts, has banned the activities of the private tax collectors in the state.

    “Is this guy serious? Is he intelligent and tactical, given the fact that the crowd being controlled by the former private tax collectors played a significant role practically and financially in ensuring that he was elected?

    “It is being argued in many quarters that a man like Godwin Obaseki who came from the blues politically and is still facing a yet to be decided fate, courtesy the on-going tribunal matters will not have the courage or political will to force through his proposed tax reform? The idea to sanitize the tax regime in the state is laudable and long overdue. Can Obaseki do the impossiblea? Is he ready to fight very dirty early in the day, even to deal with those Adams Oshiomhole could not cut off politically?”

  • Achieve a visual balance

    INTERESTINGLY, this is one area that Temitope Olagbegi, Creative Director, Sixth Sense Décor, is passionate about. Some of her creations adorn the homes of the rich, mighty and people who have a great sense of class. “Two things come to my mind. The first is what an amazing job this is and I draw some inspiration from it or there is a lot that could happen here. Every part of the home has its own function and that is actually why they exist. Most women would say their kitchen. Most men would say their libraries or study, the children would probably say it is the upper living room where they can watch TV or their play areas, so it is really relative.”

    Happily, Olagbegi goes on to talk about her source of inspiration and how she transforms empty spaces to wonderlands.

    “The typical Nigerian will say it is the living room and in a sense you might want to agree that it is important because it is a space that speaks about who you are as a person.”

    She adds that “If you enter a person’s living room, you can tell if the person travels, you can tell the person’s passion, the person’s taste, you can tell the person’s aesthetic appreciation. There is so much you can tell from walking into a person’s personal space.”

    Clutter is unnecessary stuff. Clutter is unnecessary things that should be disposed of and anything that should be disposed and is kept is toxic. Not chemically toxic, but clutter disallows the brain from functioning properly.

    Olagbegi then talks about the current trend in interior décor is the classics. “They are coming back, but before now, we used to think that the classics were more for our parents. But you see young people embracing classic just that the fabric will be a little more playful.”

    One of the principles of decor is balance, and balance has to do with even visual distribution of your elements. Across a table, for instance, you want to evenly distribute the weight of the items so that one side of the table doesn’t look heavier than the other part of the table. One part of the room doesn’t look visually heavier than another side of the room; that is what balance is about.”

    Next, she talks about giving young people exposure through the interior decorating academy which is ongoing. “We have started the academy and the whole point is to empower young people and empowerment in things that they love to do so it doesn’t seem like work because they enjoy it and they have a natural flair for it. Our new session runs for the next nine weeks and we are starting this week. We will give students exposure to various modules such as Introduction to Design, Principles and Fundamentals of Design, Colours and

    Psychology of Colours. Beside the fundamentals, students are subsequently introduced to the nitty gritty of designs, the business aspects of running a design outfit and a terminal personal project.”

  • Shoprite: Customers bemoan balance headache

    Shoprite: Customers bemoan balance headache

    Owing to the insignificant amount of the ‘change’ at stake and hiding under the guise of chronic unavailability of coins, cashiers at popular shopping outlet, Shoprite attendants seem to have made it a habit to hold customers’ balance during transactions. Tonia Odiyan, who has been monitoring this trend, catalogues some customers’ lamentation and reports.

    Odiase Obehi is a regular shopper at Shoprite Stores in Lagos, the famed African retail giant supermarket, which birthed in Nigeria about a decade ago. Up until recently, she, like her colleagues, who work in Alausa area of Lagos, did almost all her daily shopping at the Ikeja City Mall Shoprite and thought the store had the best grocery service.

    Not too long ago however, Obehi discovered a trend in her transactions with the supermarket which in her words bothers on ‘short-changing customers.’  She took a conscious decision to pay attention to details on one of her numerous purchase receipts, in which she paid N1, 107.14 for a lunch pack of jollof rice and chicken. To her surprise, the price was rounded up to N1, 110, with no explanation whatsoever – something she considered really unethical. It also ignited her curiosity and a personal quest to unravel why the store indulges in such act.

    In a related case, star actress, Bimbo Akintola and her sister were reportedly involved in a fight with an attendant at The Palms Shoprite, Lekki, Lagos, earlier in the year over a N300 change that the attendant apparently did not want to release. Said Bimbo: “It did not happen to me really, but my sister. The attendant kept our change for over two hours but my sister insisted and demanded for the change.”

    But is it safe to consider this a common scenario with the supermarket outlets? Couldn’t these have been one-off cases, or in Obehi’s case, a case of human error, or an option adopted as a way out of the change quagmire the country has found itself? Against this background, The Nation took time out to find out how many more customers are experiencing this trend, if they consider it dubious; and if the management is in the know, or if indeed it is a habit perpetrated solely by the staff for personal enrichment.

    Interestingly, most of the shoppers spoken to at malls where this store (Shoprite) is located in Lagos, shared similar experiences as above. But for many of them, it has always been a case of ‘how much is the change anyway?’ As one of the respondents pointed out however, one can only imagine how big an ‘ocean’ the little ‘drops’ would amount to for the beneficiaries at the end of each day’s sale.

    Mrs Adesola Sunday used to care less about being short-changed whether by Shoprite or any store at that. “I have never taken keen interest in knowing if I have being short-changed or not because I just enjoy shopping, but last week, it dawned on me that I would have been able to make huge purchases with all the money that Shoprite stores have stolen from me so far.”

    Another customer, Mrs Alade says what Shoprite is doing, short-changing customers is wrong. “I think the store should put their pricing appropriately because if they tell me I am getting an item for N599, it means they are selling at a cheaper rate compared to the store selling at N600 elsewhere. Why then am I not getting the N1 I am entitled to, having bought the item from them?”

    She added that it is her decision to choose if she wants the N1 or not, and not that of the store.

    Mrs. Isah Latifah feels the same way. She said “They should stop deceiving and short-changing us because they are already selling to us at the same price as the normal market. If they want to keep our N4, then they should stop advertising an item they intend to sell at N155 as N151.”

    Another regular customer at Shoprite, Femi Afolabi said he noticed that after buying from the store, the amount on the receipts do not always correlate with the amount he paid for the items. “I did not notice at first, but when the news of how Shoprite shortchanges customers started going around, I started paying attention to my receipts and taking a closer look at the computer when an attendant is punching those buttons to register items bought. Lo and behold, I realised that I pay higher than what I am supposed to pay. For instance, last Saturday, I bought items worth N3, 786.08, I gave the attendant N4, 000 and the receipt stated that she gave me 213.92 or N214.00 as change, but she ended up giving me N210.00. When I asked for the remaining, she said she didn’t have coins to give to me. It was then it dawned on me how much I must have been shortchanged in the past. I have however resorted to paying with my ATM cards; that way, I do not have to lose anything to them for patronising them.” He said.

    Curiously, some shoppers, like Olatunde Olaolu however do not see it as a rip-off, submitting that it is really inevitable. Said Olaolu: “The amount of change that usually remains is minimal, so I feel the short-change is negligible.”

    Another shopper who chose to be anonymous toed the same line: “I feel it is inevitable, so I have no problem with it.”

    Who’s to blame?

    Speaking on who to blame for this unholy habit, a shopper,  Alade Moshood, puts it on the economy, “The fact that we do not use coins anymore automatically means that every price will have to be rounded up to the nearest round figure.”

    Some bankers who reacted to the situation however said coins are still very much in circulation and should be used. According to them, it is Shoprite that has refused to use coins.

    Speaking to The Nation, Adetoye, who works with a bank at Mile 12, noted that coins are still legal tenders, but unfortunately lack acceptance by the populace. “Coins are available in banks but no Nigerian will accept to be paid in coins at any moment of their transaction.”

    While emphasising that this, to an extent has a lot to do with inflation, he said petty items like sweets and biscuits that could ordinarily sell for kobos are now selling to the nearest naira. Afraid that there may not be any hope of correcting this anomaly in sight, Adetoye said: “The chance is very slim considering the weight of the coins and our attitude to lower denominations. So far, I do not suspect any sabotage whatsoever from the chain of coins distribution, but I think good legislation and proper enforcement may change the trend.”

    Abati, a Resident Internal Control Officer with a bank in Agege said the coins are too heavy and users find it highly inconvenient to keep or move around with. She also said it is not a deliberate policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria not to circulate them.

    On how this can be corrected, Abati said “The chances are very slim. One of the main characteristics of money is its general acceptability; coins are however not generally accepted in Nigeria, mainly because of its weight, and people’s inability to identify genuine ones.”

    From another bank in Alimosho area of Lagos, Olatoye Adepoju, also a Resident Internal Control Officer said the disappearance of coins in circulation could be a result of its non-acceptance by the citizenry, devaluation of the currency and its seeming lack of financial power, as well as lack of legislation to enforce its use.

    Stating that it is not a deliberate policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Adepoju said coins have lost value, and cannot immediately buy anything, but legislation can correct all that and make them relevant for transactionary motives once again. “There is no sabotage from the chain of coins distribution, but it might be a way of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) pushing out the bulk of produced coins in their custody to commercial banks.”

    From a bank in Surulere, Lagos, Okechukwu Nwangwu, a Resident Internal Control Officer told The Nation that there has been no enforcement from the government and the CBN. He however said it is likely to be a deliberate policy from the Central Bank, arguing that the situation has nothing to do with inflation. Nwangwu said: “As long as the enforcement is there, whether inflation or deflation, the general acceptability as legal tender will be there. But there is hope to correct this anomaly if our government wake up from her slumber and strengthen our fiscal and economic policies.”

    He added that he does not think there is any kind of sabotage from the chain of coins distribution, but that the non-usage could be linked to non-enforcement. “Our government should implement and enforce the usage and acceptability of the coins as a legal tender whether there is inflation or not. I also feel that this will assist in curbing inflation.”

    Nancy Akpabio, Senior Manager Branch Operations Group at a bank in Isolo area of Lagos said the disappearance of coins in circulation may be because it has little or no value in the Nigerian economy today. She however does not think it is a deliberate policy of the Central Bank.

    Her words: “Lack of circulation of coins does not have anything to do with inflation and I cannot say for sure if there is hope to correct this anomaly. The general belief points to the fact that there is sabotage from the chain of coins distribution.”

    Another banker in Agege area of Lagos told The Nation that there may be hope to correct the anomaly, though the chances are very slim. He said one of the main characteristics of money is its general acceptability, which seems to have been defeated in the case of the Nigerian coins. He also said this is as a result of its weight, and people’s inability to identify genuine coins.

    Mrs. Amarachi Paul, a bank customer is of the view that the present situation is not proper at all. “If you look at it, N1:00, N2:00; no matter the amount; traders always feel they should round it up to a round figure. But why don’t they right that problem? As it is, the only people the situation favours are those paying through ATM/POS.”

    Brickwall

    Repeated visits by this reporter to Shoprite outlets to seek management reaction to the issue however met a brickwall, as none of the management staff was willing to speak. However a staff of the company at the Lekki office, who gave his name as Mr Kunle, said members of staff are forbidden to speak to the press on any issue concerning the operation of the outfit. He said if any customer has anything to say concerning the operation of the outfit or complaint; it should be channeled through appropriate quarters.

  • Buhari considers balance in SGF choice

    Buhari considers balance in SGF choice

    Three All Progressives Congress (APC) chiefs and a seasoned bureaucrat are in the race for Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF).

    President Muhammadu Buhari is yet to make up his mind  on who gets the job. Besides, he is battling to stave off pressure.

    Those either interested or being strongly recommended   for the SGF  are ex-Governor Rotimi Amaechi (South-South), ex-Governor Ogbonnaya Onu (South-East), APC National Chairman John Odigie-Oyegun (Edo) and a former occupant of the office, Amb. Babagana Kingibe.

    There is a bureaucrat from the North-East whose name was not immediately known yesterday.

    There are three issues Buhari is trying to resolve:

    •should the SGF go to the Northeast or the Southeouth/Southeast?

    •should he be a cosmopolitan young element or an experienced bureaucrat? and

    •how to avoid the “way and manner in which a former SGF turned the office into an ethnic enclave and destroyed the ethos of the civil service”.

    The former SGF reportedly politicised appointments, resulting in a situation whereby two people were given letters for an office.

    The President is said to be concerned about geopolitical balance in appointments.

    The power sharing in the Executive and the Legislature so far has shown that only the South-South is yet to be accommodated.

    The breakdown is as follows: President (North-West); Vice-President (South-West); President of the Senate (North-Central); Deputy President of the Senate (South-East); the Speaker of the House of Representatives (North-East); the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives (South-West).

    But it was gathered that Buhari does not want to subject the appointment of the SGF to Federal Character Principle because of what a source described as “the sensitive nature of the office”.

    A highly-placed source in the Presidency said: “The delay in appointing the SGF is borne out of the fact that the President has left it open for the consideration of many eligible Nigerians irrespective of geopolitical zones.

    “Those recommended for SGF  are ex-Governor Rotimi Amaechi(South-South), ex-Governor Ogbonnaya Onu(South-East), the National Chairman of APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun(Edo); and a former occupant of the office, Amb. Babagana Kingibe, who is a long-time personal friend of Buhari.

    “Apart from playing a crucial role as the engine room of Buhari’s campaign, some forces in the Presidency believe Amaechi combines youthful age advantage and political experience to occupy the office.

    “The only fear of Buhari in Amaechi is youthful exuberance, temperament and a down-to-heart attitude which may not be ideal for a technical and diplomatic assignment.

    “But pro-Amaechi forces in the presidency pointed to Amaechi’s calmness, composure and successful coordination of the Presidential Campaign as signs of his readiness for the job.

    “They also said having staked his integrity and life on the line for Buhari, only the SGF is befitting for Amaechi than a ministerial job.

    “Amaechi’s dimension is a major challenge for Buhari. I think the same forces against Asiwaju Bola Tinubu are working hard to sideline the ex-governor of Rivers State because of his closeness to Buhari.”

    It was learnt that Onu appears the man to beat because of his reserved nature, academic excellence, especially having bagged First Class from the University of Lagos, and his cosmopolitan outlook.

    A former governor said: “You cannot see Onu’s credentials without being intimidated. In all the schools he attended, he came tops.

    “The challenge however is that with the South-East occupying the Office of the Deputy President of the Senate, the zone might not get the SGF again. You can see the danger of being slow in taking decision.”

    Although Oyegun is highly experienced as a former Federal Permanent Secretary, the popular thinking is that he is incompetent as shown in the way in which he handled the crisis in the National Assembly. “This has created a setback for him,” a source said.

    “As a matter of fact, Buhari wants Oyegun to remain in the party. I think they had issues when they were in ANPP and Buhari is favourably disposed to retaining Oyegun in the APC secretariat.

    “There is also anger in the party on how the NWC failed to be decisive on the sharing of positions in the National Assembly. It was a litmus test which will work against him in becoming the SGF.”

    It was gathered that if Buhari has his way, he would not waste time in appointing Amb. Babagana Kingibe, whom he had courted since their days in the former seat of power, Dodan Barracks in Lagos.

    It was learnt that when anti-Kingibe forces came to Buhari recently to de-market the former SGF, the President said: “Kingibe contributed immensely to my campaign. contrary to what you think.”

    “I think age and geopolitical balance are working against Kingibe. But he will certainly play a role in Buhari’s administration.

    “This is why another bureaucrat from the North-East is being considered too.”

  • Striking a powerful balance

    A total woman is one that can strike a balance between family and her career. This way, these two parts would be carried along in such a way that they enhance and project the different parts of her life. This was part of the revelations made at a recent event in Lagos.

    Here, there was quite a number of revelations for the Nigerian career woman at a seminar organised by oil producers, Accenture Nigeria. Happily, the women tried to x-ray some of their achievements, challenges as well as ways to chart a positive way forward for career women bugged down by everyday challenges.

    The seminar, which was an eye-opener for many, came with the theme: Knowing and Growing Your Career Capital. The event brought together women from all works of life from across the country to discuss how top level women can remain visible as well as mentor younger women to manage their careers and balance other personal commitments in their homes.

    At the event were young participants sharing experiences as well as learning how they could access and develop skills to help them grow their careers amidst challenges.

    The Finance and Strategic Director, Cadbury Nigeria Plc, Mrs. Oyeyimika Adeboye, who was the guest speaker, gave a presentation on the theme of the seminar.

    Using her experiences as an example, she urged the women not to see their gender as a limitation to whatever they wanted to do. A participant, Mrs. Damilola Jones, revealed that the discussions put forward were an eye-opener for her, adding that working women are limited in terms of their goals, duties and have often times placed jobs before family.

    On the significance of the event, the Managing Director, Resource (Energy, Utilities and Natural Resources) Accenture Nigeria, Mrs. Abayomi Olarinmoye, said the reason for the meeting was to help women know where to strike the balance between skills, capability, networks, values and career.

  • Why investors are yet to pay 75% balance for PHCN

    Why investors are yet to pay 75% balance for PHCN

    The preferred bidders who have made the initial 25 per cent payment for the purchase of the unbundled Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) are yet to pay the 75 per cent balance, which is obligatory before the handover that is scheduled for July ending, because of the pending labour issues, it was learnt yesterday.

    According to an insider source at the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), none of them (the investors) had paid the balance of 75 per cent.

    The source also explained that even if the investors had paid the balance, the Federal Government would not hand over the entities to them until the labour issues are resolved.

    “None of them has paid yet. They are waiting for the labour issues to be resolved. Even if they finish paying, they won’t be handed over until the workers’ issues are resolved,” said the reliable source.

    The Nation also gathered from another source that the July ending handover date which the BPE has proposed is also dependent on the settlement of the PHCN workers issues.

    It will be recalled that the Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, had on May 1 this year disclosed that the Federal Government would pay the workers’ severance package with PHCN privatization proceeds next month. Although it was not clear whether the proceeds, which he said would all be used to pay the staff, included the 75 per cent that the investors are yet to pay.

    President Goodluck Jonathan approved N348 billion for the payment of severance package, although only N45 billion was appropriated for that purpose in this year’s budget.

    But according to Nebo, government would raise funds to take care of the deficit from the PHCN privatization proceeds.

    Although it is not clear whether the 25 percent the investors have already paid is enough for the deficit, the investors, it was learnt yesterday, are are also waiting for the government to sort out the labour issue before releasing the balance of 75 per cent to the appropriate financial authorities for the BPE.

    Despite this waiting game from both sides, the Minister of State for Power, Hajiya Zainab Kuchi, on Thursday told journalists in Abuja that the fund required for the payment of the workers was available.

    She added that the data computation was already ongoing.

    Her words: ”We have taken over all the problems. We have addressed all the issues. The funding is there for the payment of labour. All they are doing is data computation and as soon as we are done with this, the handing over processes will take place.”