The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Furore

  • Furore over new councils in Osun

    Furore over new councils in Osun

    The jury is still out on the creation of additional 31 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) by Osun State governor Rauf Aregbesola. Correspondent ADESOJI ADENIYI examines the arguments for and against the councils.

    The creation of 31 Local Council Development Areas (LCDA), three area councils and two administrative councils, in addition to the existing 30 councils and one area office in Osun State, is generating ripples. The Area Councils are: Ife North (Oyere-Aborisade), Ede North (Owode Ede), and Ifelodun (Iba). The Administrative Offices are Orolu (Diisu-Ayekale) and Okinni (Okinni).

    Before creating the councils, Governor Rauf Aregbesola dissolved the management of the existing ones headed by the executive secretaries. Also, their deputies, special advisers and other functionaries were relieved of their duties.

    After several legal procedures, the request for additional councils by the people was sent to the House of Assembly through an executive bill. Aregbesola presented the bill to the House for the creation of additional 27 local council development areas from the existing 30 local government areas on December 16, 2013.

    Following the passage of the bill into law by the 26-member House, the government set up a committee headed by former Speaker Mojeed Alabi, now a member of the House of Representatives from Egbedore/Ejigbo Constituency, to look into how the state could create viable councils with sustainable socio-economic potentials. It took the committee some weeks to submit its report to the governor. At its inauguration, Aregbesola pointed out that the state would create local governments that will meet the required standards, noting that the basis for the exercise was the genuine desire and consent of the people.

    During the inauguration of the committee, the governor stressed that government is determined to ensure that all legal, technical and constitutional procedures are followed, hence, the referendum at the wards. He said: “As it is in democracy, what we are trying to do is to feel the pulse of the people to know what their preferences are. I am sure the state will not have any problem as being envisaged by some people because we will do everything possible to meet the constitutional requirement. We are working round the clock; as you can see, voting is taking place all over the state to know the feeling of our people on the creation of additional local governments. We will create councils that will meet all constitutional requirements. It is the genuine desire of the people for self-government.”

    Also, the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSIEC) conducted a referendum. According to the its chairman, Otunba Oladunjoye Oladitan, the essence of the referendum was to authenticate the consent of the people. He noted that the turnout was overwhelming during the exercise. He said: “I am particularly impressed by the number of people that trooped out to vote; it has clearly shown that the people are actually desirous of having additional local governments. Our own assignment is just to conduct a referendum with the voters register at our disposal and thereafter send the result to the Osun House of Assembly for further action. The turnout witnessed today is overwhelming.”

    It was not a surprise, therefore, when the governor, in a recent broadcast, announced the creation of the councils. Various comnunities have been looking forward to it, because many of them had made requests for the sitting of the headquarters in their localities. As the governor made the announcement, many of them jubilated, agreeing with Aregbesola’s remark that the creation of the new councils at this time of financial challenges would help to achieve even development.

    According to the governor, procedures had been put in place to reduce cost amd foster development. He added that the primary responsibilities of the newly-created councils are to bring development to the people, ensure market management, revenue mobilisation and generation. The governor also said the state would be saving a huge cost, adding that the same number of staff will still run the councils and that new appointments will not be made.

    Aregbesola further disclosed that the local government system will be managed by Council Managers for three months. The managers shall be appointed and deployed by Local Government Service Commission from among the substantive grade level 14 officers in the local governments. He said: “Many would be wondering why we are creating more councils at this time of financial challenges. We have also given sufficient consideration to this. With this new parliamentary system, it will cost less to run the new councils and save a lot of money for the government than in the past. The beauty of this new system is its parliamentary nature, which requires the chairman and the vice chairman to be elected by the councillors from among their own ranks, thereby saving cost. Also, because the geographical space of the local government makes it the smallest unit of administration, it is easier to get things done at this level. The local government is also the ideal training ground for political leadership.”

    But, some community leaders are questioning what the government has done. For instance, some are of the view that the governor has introduced the parliamentary system in the local councils, without the backing of the constitution. They also doubt that running the councils as claimed by the governor would be cost effective. They referred to the governor’s claim that no new staff will be required for the new councils. Many are also wondering whether new secretariats will not be constructed or rented for effective administration of the new councils.

    The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) do not agree over the newly-created councils. While the PDP described the new LCDAs as “part of confusion introduced into governance by Aregbesola,” the APC congratulated the people, saying it is a step in the right direction. The Director of Publicity and Strategy, Osun PDP, Prince Diran Odeyemi, said  Aregbesola has introduced several confusions to governance. He said: “The creation of additional 31 LCDAs, when the existing 30 local government areas are unable to pay workers salaries, let alone embark on any developmental projects in the last five years of being in office, is an evidence that our governor is confused and bereft of ideas. Aregbesola is controversy personified and infusing such clumsiness into the governance of Osun State once a pride among states in the country, is now a laughing stock.

    But, the APC spokesman, Kunle Oyatomi, said: “It is a joyful culmination of the long-standing aspiration of the people to have government closest to their communities. This is one great moment for Osun State, because the landmark achievement of creating new local governments will further enhance peace within and between communities, as well as increase the potential for more efficient internally-generated revenue for the local governments and the state. So, people should stand firm and fully give their support to the government, which in spite of the financial challenges is ensuring that Osun is not standing still.”

    The House of Assembly has explained that the new LCDAs were those approved by it. According to the Chairman, House Committee on Information and Strategy, Hon. Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, the governor took a bold devision

    Observers say the creation of additional councils will be of mutual benefits to the government and people, because it would afford the government the opportunity to reach the grassroots and effectively monitor the generation of revenue. They also believe that it would create room for even development in all parts of the state.

    But, for these objectives to materialise, they added, there should not be acrimony and suspicion among communities, as presently being witnessed in some quarters. One of such observers said: “For instance, the people of Aagba, Ada and Ororuwo, have rejected the citing of headquarters of the recently established Boripe North LCDA in Iree and have thus demanded a reversal of the decision. The communities have written a protest letter to the governor. In the letter signed by Alaagba of Aagba, Oba Rufus Olayinka Ogunwole, Olona of Ada, Oba Abimbola Abioye, and the reagent of Ororuwo, High Chief James Dada, they maintained that the reversal was necessary because it was at variance with the content of the White Paper released on the memorandum written by the three communities in 2012.

    They complained that Iree was not part of the struggle for the creation of the new LCDA and Ada was proposed as the headquarters of Ifesowapo LCDA as presented by the three communities before the Prof. Alabi committee.

  • Furore over selection of new Olubadan

    Furore over selection of new Olubadan

    Ascension to the Olubadan of Ibadan throne hardly attracts controversy because of the organised process for filling the stool. But the Seriki chiefs’ plan to vie for the throne is causing ripples. The Serikis have gone to court to compel the government and kingmakers to consider one of them for the stool. Will they have their way?  BISI OLADELE and TAYO JOHNSON examine the issues.

    •The late Oba Odulana
    •The late Oba Odulana

    Barely 48 hours after the Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Samuel Odulana Odugade 1 died, controversy over who succeeds him  reared its head. The Seriki chiefs, led by Chief Adebayo Oyediji are laying claim to the throne threatening to upset the age-long arrangement of choosing the Olubadan.

    The late tenure of Oba Odugade was one of the most peaceful, particularly in the area of traditional matters. Issues raised by dissenting voices were resolved amicably through the wisdom of the traditional ruler and other members of the Olubadan-In-Council.

    But as soon as his death was announced, Chief Oyediji also announced his intention to ascend the throne based on a court judgment and agreements with the two lines producing the Olubadan – the Otun Olubadan and Balogun lines.

    Supporting his claims with court documents, Oyediji, in an interview with reporters, said: “A judgment was delivered on December 1, 1989 which ordered that the Olubadan chieftaincy line should accommodate the Seriki line as the third line to produce the Olubadan. The judgment ordered that Seriki should be promoted the same way along with others in the two other lines.

    “Before the judgment, the Olubadan kingsmen appealed to us that they had agreed that we should be the third line. This was documented when Chief Adeyemo signed on behalf of the Otun Olubadan line, Olubadan Ashanke for the prescribed authority and Chief Ogundipe also signed for the Balogun line while I and four others also signed for the Seriki line. We presented it to court before the judgement.

    “After that, Chief Durosaro and Chief Ayorinde from both chieftaincy lines filed a case at the Supreme Court that they were not part of the agreement but the motion was thrown out.

    “Chief Omowale Kuye also filed a case against us but it was rejected by the court. We filed another case in 2007 and it is still in court till now.

    “We got two injunctions between 1999 and 2009 that the Olubadan should not promote the chiefs in the other two lines but they have refused to respect court order.

    “We are the ones that ought to be the Balogun and Otun Olubadan currently if they had followed the agreement we both signed and the court judgement. We are now ready to battle it to the last with the Olubadan-In-Council that they must respect court order for the past 27 years now.”

    The octogenarian also accused members of the council of corrupting the promotion process by tactically excluding Seriki chiefs from the process.

    •Seriki Oyediji
    •Seriki Oyediji

    He said: “They did not have any respect for Rule of Law and court order. They have been corrupting the promotion process. If there will be any Olubadan, because I am the leader of the Seriki Line, then I am the next Olubadan. We shall resist any attempt by any chiefs or government to install any Olubadan.

    “It is the governor that has been preventing us from charging them for contempt of court, because governor has immunity. He is the one approving their promotions. ý

    “They must not promote any chief or install any Olubadan until they consider the Seriki Line and reverse all the promotions they have done.

    We have filed a motion now to stop the government from installing any Olubadan apart from me, and the case was heard on January 28, 2016.ý”

    In the motion filed before an Oyo State High Court, the Seriki Chiefs are seeking, among others, an order setting aside “the purported appointments made by the first defendant (Oba Odulana) to fill vacancies existing in the chieftaincy titles of Ekerin Olubadan, Ashipa Olubadan, Osi Olubadan, Otun Olubadan, Ekerin Balogun, Ashipa Balogun, Osi Balogun, Otun Balogun and Balogun of Ibadan since November 21, 2008 up till the last appointment made by him on January 1, 2016;

    “An order setting aside the purported approval granted by the Governor of Oyo State on January 5, 2016 or thereabouts to the appointments made by the 1st defendant (Olubadan) on January 1, 2016 to fill vacancies existing in the chieftaincy titles of Ekerin Olubadan, Ashipa Olubadan, Osi Olubadan, Otun Olubadan, Ekerin Balogun, Ashipa Balogun, Osi Balogun, Otun Balogun and Balogun of Ibadan.”

    A major grounds for the motion was that the court, on November 21, 2008 granted an interlocutory injunction restraining Oba Odulana, Chief Omowale Kuye and Chief Sulaimon Omiyale from “selecting, appointing and promoting any person into or filling any vacancy now existing or that may later exist in the Ekerin Olubadan, Ashipa Olubadan, Osi Olubadan, Otun Olubadan and Olubadan chieftain cues pending the hearing and final determination of the originating summons filed by the Seriki Chiefs.

    ýBut the Olubadan-In-Council will not have all the claims taken as the grounds for determining who succeeds Oba Odulana.

    After a council meeting at the palace of Oba Odulana penultimate Thursday, the highest traditional organ in Ibadan pooh poohed Serikis’ claims, saying only the council determines who becomes the Olubadan of Ibadan land by working closely with the government as stipulated in the Chieftaincy Law of the state. The council insisted that tradition and Chieftaincy Law prescribe Chief Saliu Adetunji as the 41st Olubadan.

    The meeting was attended by Balogun of Ibadland, Chief Saliu Adetunji; the Otun Olubadan, Senator Lekan Balogun; Otun Balogun, Chief Owolabi Olakulehin; Ashipa Olubadan, Chief Eddy Oyewole; Osi Balogun, Chief Olufemi Olaifa and Ashipa Balogun, Chief Abimbola Ajibola.

    Addressing reporters after the meeting, the Ashipa Balogun, Chief Ajibola, said it is undisputed that Adetunji is the authentic Olubadan-in-the-waiting.

    His words: “Any other person or claim to the throne is untrue. In this institution, we have lines. There are only two lines recognised so far, both by law and otherwise. They are the Otun Olubadan Line and the Balogun Line. There is no third line.

    “Nobody is competent to say he can be Olubadan. He cannot appoint himself. He cannot put himself there. We are not aware of any judgment that he is claiming because there is no Seriki or whatever. The 1959 Declaration Law says Seriki, if there are two vacancies in one line, should come there. No other judgment can over-rule the law; that is the law. They have no Seriki now.”

    Chief Ajibola noted that the only recognised Seriki then was the late Adisa Akinloye, adding that since he died long time ago, there was nothing like Seriki again in the system.

    “How can they say they want to be Olubadan? Who is going to sign for them? In the succession system, we have two lines – the Otun Line and Balogun Line. All the members of the council will not sign for whoever they (Seriki chiefs) propose. Who is going to sign for them? The high chief queried.

    He continued: “The governor will not even listen to them. As kingmakers, whoever we present as the Olubadan to the governor is the one government will approve. Are they going to sign for themselves? They are not part of our meeting. We have never had any meeting with them. They have not been promoted.

    “What they should do, they should do it right away in time. They did not ask Olubadan before he was late to promote them. So, there is nobody competent so far to lay claim (as Seriki).

    “Well, we have filled the vacancies. There is no existing vacancy. Where are they going to come in? At the moment, the only person competent to come in would have been Seriki and there is none. This Chief, Oyediji, claiming he wants to be Olubadan, is only the Osi Seriki. He has not been promoted.

    “He should apply to Olubadan to promote him first before he starts arguing. He has no locus. He won’t present anything to the governor. The governor knows the right thing. He won’t listen. There is a system for everything; only Seriki cannot sign for it. We are not ready to sign because we don’t recognise their system.”ý

    Meanwhile, Justice Mukthar Abimbola of the Oyo State High Court had, on Thursday last week in Ibadan, adjourned the case till February 16 for further hearing.

    As the legal fireworks have begun, observers are expecting to see the beginning of the end of the controversy surrounding the selection of Oba Odulana’s successor.

  • Furore over recurring delays of luggage

    Furore over recurring delays of luggage

    Recurring violation of passengers’rights by foreign carriers is causing unease at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja. Twice in a fortnight, Turkish Airlines’ delay of passengers’ luggage has sparked a huge row, KELVIN OSA OKUNBOR reports.

    There is growing discontent over maltreatment of Nigerian passengers by some foreign carriers.

    The growing dissatisfaction is predicated on the non-arrival of passengers’baggage on Turkish Airlines flights at the Abuja Airport. This has happened twice in a fortnight.

    The passengers allege that foreign carriers not only deploy older aircraft on the route, they also violated passengers‘ rights.

    Part of the rights violations include delayed arrival or missing luggage, flight delays and, some times, flight cancellation. Weak regulation and poor consumer protection are part of the reasons impunity by these carriers have remained unchecked,passegers allege.

    Experts said it was time the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and Consumer Protection Council (CPC) lived up to their regulatory duties of protecting the rights of passengers.

    About 27 foreign carriers operate into Nigerian cities, including Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Enugu and Kano. Some of the carriers, including Turkish Airlines, enjoy multiple entry points into the country.

    Turkish Airlines flies from Istanbul into Lagos, Abuja and Kano.

    Apart from charging exorbitant fares, some foreign carriers violate passengers’ rights.

    The affected carriers have carried on with impunity without being called to order by the regulatory authorities.

    This trend has brought about passenger dissatisfaction, due partly to non-enforcement of consumers’ rights by the agencies saddled with this responsibility.

    On December 20, last year, passengers on Turkish Airlines Flight TK 624 landed at the Abuja Airport from Istanbul without their luggage, a development that forced the affected passengers to invade the tarmac to stop the aircraft from taking off.

    Following the security breach at the airport over the incident, Minister of State, Aviation, Hadi Sirika ordered the suspension of the Airport Manager and Head of Security. Sirika said the reason given by the duo for the security breach was unacceptable.

    Only last weekend, Turkish Airlines arrived at the Abuja Airport without the passengers’ baggage. This trend, industry watchers said, is unbecoming of the carrier.

    Managing Director, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Saleh Dunoma, advised the airline  to resolve the cases of passengers arriving without their luggage once and for all.

    Dunoma expressed  the government’s displeasure over the maltreatment, stressing that the practice was unacceptable, beside its being a breach of security at the  airport. He called for a lasting resolution of this act, which he said could disrupt the peace and harmony of the airport.

    Dunoma, however, appealed to passengers to remain calm and law- abiding as the Authority is making frantic efforts to finding a lasting solution to the issue and safeguarding their rights.

    Only last week, NCAA forced the airline to pay compensation to the passengers.

    The Authority’s helmsman , Captain Mukthar Usman, said Turkish Airlines was forced to pay the compensation in line with its regulations. ”The Airline under the supervision of the Consumer Protection Officers (CPO) of the Regulatory Authority, ensured that all the passengers were paid as contained in the Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations (Nig.CARs).

    “In addition, a cargo flight and an Airbus were arranged to freight to Abuja, all contentious backlog of baggage that were earlier short landed. All concerned passengers have collected same as at the time of this report. The monetary compensation ranged between N8,000 and N80,000, depending in the level of infraction.”

    According to NCAA regulation, passengers have rights that must be obeyed by airlines. The regulation states: ”A passenger shall have the right to his/her baggage carried on the same flight that such passenger takes, subject to the considerations of safety, security, or any legal and valid cause.

    “In case a checked-in baggage has been off-loaded for operational, safety, or security reasons, the air carrier shall inform the passenger at the soonest practicable time and in such manner that the passenger will readily know of the off-loading.

    “If the passenger’s baggage has been off-loaded, the air carrier should notify the passenger, even if it had already announced that the baggage would be on the next flight.

    “The air carrier shall carry the off-loaded baggage in the next flight with available space, and deliver the same to the passenger. The air carrier shall immediately tender an amount to the passenger, as compensation.”

    Last month, the Consumer Protection Council, issued an ultimatum to Turkish Airlines to stop the maltreatment of Nigerian passengers .

    The Council in a letter to the airline dated December 29, last year, signed by its Director-General, Mrs Dupe Atoki, said the airline violated passengers rights.

    Mrs Atoki said: “The baggage of the passengers of December 20 flight started arriving piecemeal only on December 25, indicating that the airline boarded passengers knowing full well that their baggage would not be transported with them.

    “Passengers who travelled with minors, were put to great inconvenience and hardship as they were unduly deprived of their belongings and other items necessary to accomplish the purpose of their trips and all such passengers, including those whose destinations were outside Abuja, were forced to repeatedly check at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja on the fate of their baggage, thereby incurring extra and unbudgeted expenditure, including hotel accommodation.”

    In line with global aviation practice, Turkish Airlines, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), ought to inform passengers of the development. But Turkish Airlines failed to comply with this regulation.

    The failure of Turkish Airlines to comply is contrary to the information contained its website on how to handle passenger luggage .It reads: ”We will make reasonable efforts to ensure that all checked baggage is available as soon as possible after a passenger’s flight arrives at the gate.

    “In the unlikely event your baggage does not arrive at your destination with you, we will initiate a search and make reasonable efforts to return the baggage to you within 24 hours.

    “In addition, we will pay compensation for lost or delayed baggage as required by applicable international agreements.”

     

  • Furore over suspects abducted from police custody

    Furore over suspects abducted from police custody

    Several weeks after two suspects were allegedly abducted from the custody of Ikorodu Police Station, there appears to be no clue yet on their whereabouts. An audio recording of a meeting the parents of one of the suspects had with the police and exclusively obtained by our correspondent, KUNLE AKINRINADE, reveals a plea by the DPO of the station with the distraught parents to soft pedal on their demand for the whereabouts of their son.

    Bisiriyu Kabir is anything but happy at the moment. The once bubbling man hugged sadness with the disappearance of his son in controversial circumstances. Waidi vanished from police custody without a trace after he was arrested on November 20, 2015.

    Bisiriyu’s bloodshot eyes tell the story of the bouts he has had with tears. For a few minutes inside his sparsely furnished room at his Ikorodu residence, he struggled with his guttural voice to recap the arrest of his son and alleged abduction from the police cell where he was detained. His voice gave way to emotions midway and tears rolled down his cheeks.

    If Bisiriyu was sad, even more so was his wife and Waidi’s mother, Karimot. With the weight of her jaw on one of her palms, she stared into space as she bemoaned the family’s plight with words of lamentation intermittently punctuated with heavy sighs.”Unh, I want to see my son alive and police must bring him out from where he is being kept,” she said.

    Which parents of the ages of Bisiriyu (53) and Karimot (45) would not be devastated realising that their son has not been found more than one month after he was said to have been abducted from the police cell?

    As the story goes, 26-year-old Waidi, a musician, was arrested during a raid carried out by men of the Ikorodu Police Station on November 20, 2015, on Shelewu Street in Igbogbo area of Ikorodu and was subsequently detained at the station on suspicion that he belonged to a secret cult.

    As he was being taken to the station, Waidi was said to have managed to call his father on his mobile phone and the latter quickly rushed to the station to secure his son’s bail only to be turned down by policemen at the station after they allegedly spoke with the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of the station, Mr. Remi Adesoye, on the phone.

    Bisiriyu said: “The police have ruined my joy this year. My son is a hip- hop artiste and has already recorded some songs. He was preparing to record new songs for his forthcoming album when he was arrested on November 20, 2015.

    “He even used his mobile phone to call me at the time he was arrested on Shelewu Road, Igbogbo, Ikorodu, and I quickly rushed to the station where I saw him being driven into the station in a police van.

    “ I inquired from the leader of the police team that arrested him and he said my son would soon be released to me on bail. One of the policemen I met told me that the N4,000 I brought to the station was not enough to secure his bail and I left.

    “I later came back with N5,000 but I was told that the DPO had taken over the case after speaking with one Lanre Olabinjo, a chieftain of the local vigilance group, Onyabo. On Saturday November 21, I brought food for my son at the station and was there till late evening trying to secure his bail, but I was told that the DPO was not around.

    “I went to the station again on Sunday to give him food, the policemen at the counter said he (Waidi) had gone out with the DPO. I later learnt from one of those detained with him in the cell that he was abducted from the cell by three masked men at about 3 am on Sunday. I was told that a senior police officer led the masked men to the cell and that my son was forcibly taken away bounded and crying. I gathered that the masked men were members of the Onyabo vigilance group.”

    Exasperated by the indifference of the police to the whereabouts of Waidi, Karimot wrote a petition to the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr Fatai Owoseni, asking for thorough investigation of the DPO’s alleged complicity in the abduction of his son from police custody.

    The petition, dated November 25, 2015, written on her behalf by a human rights activist, Prince Apata Akinsemoyin, reads: “On November 20, 2015, along Shelewu Road, Ikorodu, Waidi Kabir, alongside others, was arrested during a police raid, taken to Ikorodu Police Station and detained there.

    “The news reached his father who headed straight to the station and met Waidi Kabir in detention. He requested for his bail, but there was no favourable response. He has been going there to give his son food and, to his surprise, when he visited the station on Sunday November 21, 2015, Waidi Kabir was not found in the cell, according to the policemen he met at the counter.”

    The petitioner further accused the police of complicity in the disappearance of her son.

    She said: “He (Kabir’s father) repeated the visit on Monday November 22, 2015, only to be informed that Waidi Kabir had been released on bail. This aroused his curiousity regarding who the surety was, but no positive response was forthcoming from the police.

    “I am the mother of Kabir and also visited the station. The officers I met at the counter after checking their records said Waidi Kabir, who was arrested during a raid, had been released, but when and to whom?

    “I hereby wish to bring it to your attention that up till now, the whereabouts of Kabir is still unknown and we strongly suspect a foul play. The time has come to critically interrogate the DPO and the role he played in this matter. If Kabir has been released, who was he released to?

    “The circumstances in which he was released to the surety needs to be clarified, because Kabir is 26 years old, and if he was released, he could have come straight to his father who paid him several visits and took food to him while in police custody, more so that his father had actually requested for his bail but was bluntly refused. So, on what ground was he released to the (unnamed) surety and for what offence was he actually arrested?

    “This is strange to me and we would like the police to produce the surety, else the entire policemen involved in this matter need to explain the sudden disappearance of Kabir from police custody at Ikorodu Police Station.”

     

    Like Waidi, like Omobowale

    While the Lagos State Police Command was battling with the mystery surrounding the alleged disappearance of Waidi from the custody of Ikorodu Police Station, another family accused the embattled DPO of complicity in the disappearance of another youth, Sodiq Omobowale, from the  police station.

    Omobowale was said to have been arrested by men of Onyabo, led by one Lanre Olabinjo, at his residence at Atewo Jaiyesinmi Itumeko area of Ikorodu on July 7, 2015, and was accused of belonging to a cult group. He was detained at the Ikorodu Police Station and all efforts by his family to secure his bail were fruitless.

    A few days later, Sadiq’s family was allegedly told by a police source that their son had been released to the Onyabo vigilance group. To date, the 23-year-old youth is nowhere to be found.

    The Nation gathered that efforts made by Omobowale’s mother, Mrs Kemi Agbaje, and a relation, Ibrahim Azeez, who went to the station to secure his bail yielded no fruit. Agbaje said she was later informed by policemen at the station that her son had been released to the dreaded vigilance group by the DPO.

    She said: “When we approached men of the Onyabo vigilance group, they told us to look for him at the Lagos State Police Command, and we have also visited many police stations and prisons all to no avail.

    “We went to the Lagos State Police Command headquarters in Ikeja, the Federal SARS at Adeniji Adele and Ikoyi, Kirikiri and Badagry prisons, but the name of my son was not found in their records. The DPO later said that my son was a cultist and that we should not bother looking for him.”

     

    Dilemma

    The Lagos police spokesman, Joe Offor, however, told The Nation that a formal complaint had not been lodged by Omobowale’s family.

    Speaking on behalf of the family, the Coordinator, Women Arise for Change Initiative in Ikorodu, Mr. Adebayo Obatungase, said: “I have been following reports on one Waidi Kabiru who was also missing from the same station and it is worrisome. I can’t understand why the police would allow some people to abduct a suspect detained in a station. We are appealing to the authorities to show concern on this matter.

    “Omobowale’s mother (Agbaje) brought the matter to our notice and all efforts to locate the boy were in vain. We urged the state Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, to do everything he can on this matter”.

    If the family members of Omobowale were ensnared by despondency, which accounted for their long wait before crying out over the mysterious

    disappearance of their son from the said police station, it has not been so with Waidi’s parents, who have not taken the matter lightly with the police in the last few weeks. Waidi’s father, Bisiriyu, said he had been piling pressure on the police to produce his son but there had been no clue on his whereabouts.

    Bisiriyu said: “We have visited the Lagos State Police Command, Ikeja and State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) Panti, Yaba, more than three times. Although the police have not been able to produce my son, I won’t stop putting pressure on them until my son is returned to me alive.”

    He also said that he had appealed to one of the leaders of Onyabo, Lanre Olabinjo, whose group was mentioned in the abduction saga, “but Lanre (Olabinjo) harassed me and asked me never to approach him again on the matter since he was not the police that detained my son.”

    In a telephone conversation with our correspondent, Olabinjo said Waidi was a notorious cultist who had been on the wanted list of the police but had escaped arrest because the police was not sure of his identity. Olabinjo added that he was only invited to identify the suspect when he was arrested and that he and his men were not responsible for his disappearance from police custody.

    He said: “I am not in any way responsible for the disappearance of Waidi a.k.a. Cyan from police custody. I only went to the station to identify him when he was arrested on November 20. For your information, Waidi is a cultist and member of Aiye confraternity and has killed more than 25 people in Ikorodu.

    “The police had been on his trail for a long time but it has been very difficult to arrest him because they could not ascertain his identity. And that was the reason why I was invited to the station to identify him and I told the police he was the one they were looking for.

    “In the case of Sodiq Omobowale, he is a member of Eiye cult group and he had killed more than 11 people before he was arrested. He even confessed to the killings when he was apprehended and handed over to the police. As a rule, once we arrest criminals, we hand them over to the police, and I would not know the kind of guts that would have enabled us remove suspects from police custody.

    “I am a member of the Peace and Security Committee of Ikorodu Local Government Area, and I will not do anything to tarnish my image or that of Onyabo. As a matter of fact, these cultists had even attacked me more than four times in broad daylight. The police should be asked for the whereabouts of Waidi or any other suspect and not me or Onyabo.”

     

    Futile damage control effort

    When our correspondent called the embattled DPO before he was arrested on December 2, 2015, he did not respond to the enquiries forwarded to his mobile phone.

    A few days later, precisely on December 7, 2015 at about 10.39 pm, a male caller, who simply identified himself as Mr Adelabu, called our correspondent on his mobile phone on behalf of the DPO, asking for a meeting with some unidentified community leaders over the matter.

    Adelabu said that Waidi was a deadly cultist and had been in the habit of carrying out killings, after which he would vanish into thin air.

    He said the DPO had asked him to arrange a meeting between some elders of the community and our correspondent in order to stop action on the report that was to be published. Adelabu’s unsolicited intervention was however rebuffed by our correspondent who insisted on talking to the DPO or nobody else.

    It was gathered that the DPO also told some community newspapers in Ikorodu that Waidi was released to one of his family members called Ibrahim Akala.

    In his reaction, Bisiriyu, however said that none of his family members bears such name, saying: “It was an after-thought for the DPO to claim that he released my son to one Ibrahim Akala, who is not known to my family.”

    It was gathered that the DPO also asked traditional chiefs and community leaders to prevail on Waidi’s parents to leave the matter to God.

    A meeting with the chiefs at Itupate area of Ikorodu on December 20, 2015, was deadlocked as Bisiriyu and his family members refused to be intimidated to stop the demand for the whereabouts of their son.

    Fruitless attempt was also made by the DPO’s emissaries who, during a visit to the grandmother of the suspect, Mrs. Ajoke Pedro, on Lagos Island on Monday January 4, 2016, asked for her intervention to stop the demand for Waidi’s whereabouts.

     

    Crime fighting or conspiracy?

    A cross section of residents told The Nation that men of Ikorodu Police Station might have hatched a plan to contain cultists in the community by faking their disappearance from custody.

    “The police have been finding it difficult to stop incessant killing of people by cultists in this community. Perhaps, the idea to exterminate some of the identified notorious culstists made the DPO to disguise their disappearance from the police custody. Although, it is necessary to tackle the deadly activities of the cultists but any action in tandem with human rights abuse or extra-judicial killing on the part of the police or any group is anti-democratic,” said a resident who did not want his name in print.

    A resident of Ireshe Street, Ikorodu, who spoke in confidence, said the abduction of the suspects from the station was a crime fighting measure taken too far.

    He said: “While every sensible resident of Ikorodu would be happy to see the cultists quieted by law enforcement agents, especially the police, it is indiscretion on the part of the DPO to resort to self-help without aligning with the provisions of the law in handling the suspects.

    “The DPO cannot justify the mistake he made in releasing Waidi to an unconfirmed surety and also claim same in the alleged disappearance of Omobowale. It is absolutely unjustifiable.”

     

    Embattled DPO begs Waidi’s father in exclusive audio recordings

    While the whereabouts of Waidi remains unknown, the DPO was heard begging the suspect’s family members in two audio recordings of a secret meeting held in his office on the day he was summoned to the Lagos State Police Command, Ikeja, by CP Owoseni.

    In the audio recordings exclusively obtained by our correspondent, the DPO was heard telling Waidi’s father, Bisiriyu: “Please be patient with me because all the press war will not resolve this matter…Please, let’s settle this matter amicably; all this press war will not work even though you claim that it was your in-laws that took the matter to the press. I want you to be patient enough and God willing, his whereabouts would be unravelled.”

    Bisiriyu, in the recordings, asked the DPO if his son was still alive or not and faulted the DPO’s claim that Waidi was released to a man unknown to his family.

    “What I want to know is whether you have killed my son or he is still alive so that I can have enough rest because I don’t believe what you (DPO) are saying that my son was released on bail to an unidentified man. I was at the station till 7 pm and I saw him (in the cell) before I left on the day you claimed to have released him to the unknown man.”

    Responding, the DPO said: “As at 7 pm, I was still attending the Ikorodu Oga Day at the town hall in Ikorodu, where the Kabiyesi (traditional ruler of Ikorodu) addressed members of Oriwu Club and presented awards to some people. He (Waidi) was released on bail at about 9.30 pm and I thought that the person to whom he was released was one of your relatives. But please, be patient with me because all the press war you have embarked upon cannot resolve this issue.”

    “None of my relatives came to secure my son’s bail,” Bisiriyu countered the DPO.

    In the audio recordings, Olabinjo, a chieftain of Onyabo, who was also accused of complicity in the abduction saga, affirmed that Waidi was a deadly cultist and added that he would not be part of any attempt to secure his freedom, despite the fact that his late father once married a woman from the family of Waidi’s father.

    “I swear by the holy Quran that if I have any means of securing freedom for Waidi a.k.a. Cyan, I’ll not do it. I am not afraid to say that it was Cyan (Waidi) that killed another cultist called Caesar. He stabbed him to death and he also shot dead one Aiyeke… Cyan and one Femi Alanpo are childhood friends and were together the day Alanpo was killed by one “Small Jesus”, but Cyan managed to escape from the scene.

    “All of them (warring cultists) used to be friends until their membership and loyalty to different cult groups set them against one another. May Ogun (the god of iron) kill me if all I have said about him are lies.”

     

    The way out

    In the opinion of a senior policeman attached to the Ogun State Police Command, the DPO should be compelled to produce the suspects or face the consequences.

    The top police officer, who spoke in confidence, said: “The policeman involved in this matter was careless. He should have confirmed the identity of the surety and ascertain his competence before granting the bail or releasing the suspect to him. The police authority should give the affected officer a query. In most cases, the officer would be asked to look for the suspect by all means.

    “The names and addresses of the person(s) seeking bail for suspects are usually disclosed in the appropriate sections of the bail bond. But that is not enough to authenticate the surety before bail is approved. It is stated that ‘a substantive surety must show cause’ and this means that the surety must be able to produce suspect(s) on request and is liable to prosecution should the suspect(s) jump bail,” he added.

    A Lagos-based constitutional lawyer, Mr Bolaji Adejumo, said the police must produce the suspect dead or alive, failing which he said the parents of the suspect can ask the courts to compel the police authorities to produce the suspect.

    He said: “Whenever a suspect is arrested and detained without reasonable evidence that he was released to indentified surety, the onus is on the police to produce the suspect either dead or alive.

    “The family or parents of the suspect can approach the court with a writ of Habeas Corpus compelling the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Commissioner of Police (CP) and the DPO to produce the suspect.

    “Let the DPO come to the court and reveal the whereabouts of the suspect(s). Did the DPO inform his superiors that he was looking for the suspect(s) before their parents cried out? Since he did not, we cannot then assume that the suspects are missing and any other thing remains within the realm of speculations.”

    In his comments, rights activist, Prince Akinsemoyin, said: “Waidi’s arrest by the patrol team along Shelewu Road, Igbogbo in Ikorodu, was not a mere coincidence but a cruelly, cunningly planned abduction.”

    The spokesman of the Lagos Police Command, Mr Joe Offor, in a telephone conversation with The Nation, said: “Following the alleged abduction of Waidi Kabir and the petition sent to the Lagos State Police Command by his parents, the Commissioner of Police (CP), Mr Fatai Owoseni, questioned the DPO and asked him to provide evidence of the identity of the surety to whom the suspect was released to on bail.

    “The DPO later brought a bail bond signed by the surety following which the CP ordered him to either produce the suspect or the surety within four days. The DPO at the expiration of the ultimatum could not produce either the suspect or his surety. Hence, the CP ordered his arrest and detention at the SCID while investigation is ongoing.

    “At the end of our investigation, we shall issue a public statement on the outcome of our findings in the matter.

    But Offor said the case of Sodiq Omobowale had not been formally brought to the attention of the Lagos State Police Command for action.

    He said: “Unlike Waidi’s case that was reported to us, we have only read about the case of Omobowale in the media. The police can only act on complaints officially brought to our attention and necessary action shall be taken on such matter.”

    Will Waidi and Omobowale be found? This is a million naira question for the police authority to answer as there are no clues to their whereabouts at the moment.

  • Furore over indiscriminate waivers

    Furore over indiscriminate waivers

    Ordinarily, import duty waivers are mechanisms employed by countries to meet their economic goals, especially in protecting local industries, creating jobs, promoting exports, as well as generating and preserving foreign exchange.

    However, one policy of government that has been subjected to all manner of abuse is the import duty waivers, estimated at hundreds of billions in recent times.

    The Nation can authoritatively report that in the last few years, the country may have lost a staggering N1.4 trillion on import waivers, as authorities recklessly grant import/export incentives on unapproved goods from rice to fish to kolanuts, with no significant bearing on the economy.

    According to a document released by the Nigeria Customs Service early last year the categories of exemptions approved by government include the provisions of Schedule 2 of the Customs and Excise Tariff (Consolidation) Act: 1995 – 2001, Common External Tariff: 2008-2012 (as extended); the Customs and Excise Tariff etc. Act No. 16, 1997; and the Finance Miscellaneous Act 39 of 1990.

    Sectors of the economy that the law expects should benefit from the policy include agriculture, aviation, health, mines and steel, water resources, gas, power, as well as donations to states, education and related ministries, departments and agencies, MDAs.

    But the list of beneficiaries, made available by a source in the Nigeria Customs Service, include private individuals and businesses whose imports appear not valuable to the economy.

     

    Questionable waivers

    For instance, a total of N91.506billion was given as government concessions to 290 beneficiaries between January 1 and December 31, 2011.

    In the 52-page list, which had Sopon Nigeria Limited as biggest beneficiary, with N32.774billion, there was no indication about the line of business for which it was given the incentive.

    Other beneficiaries included the Aluminium Smelter Company of Nigeria, ALSCON, Ikot Abasi (N47.789million) and (N13.715million), despite not producing since 2007.

    Equally, about N389.15billion was granted to 149 beneficiaries in 2011 through concessions to fuels, lubricants and allied products businesses.

    On the list includes Oando PLC, which received N82.767billion; Capital Oil & Gas Industries Limited (N49.688billion); Integrated Oil & Gas Limited (N20.262billion); Folawiyo Energy Limited (N17.517billion); Sahara Energy Resources Limited (N13.962billion), and Master Energy Oil & Gas Company (N11.503billion).

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, received about N77.979billion; Netcodutsmann Maintaining Energy got N42.079billion; Asora Nigeria Limited (N12.26billion), and McSally Investments Limited (N10.337billion.

    For 2012, a total of N191.545billion was granted to 416 beneficiaries, including individuals like Chibuzor Onyema (N1.87million); Oduola Anugbau Henry (N20.75million); Jude Ogbini (N3.389million); Oduneye Adeniyi (N4.357million), and Moghalu Maduakonam Madubugwu (N142.679million).

    Also included were such private businesses as Newsstand Agencies Limited (N1.138billion) and Mikano International Limited (N2.945million).

    About 287 beneficiaries got a total of N83.260billion in concessions and waivers for imports between January 1 and September 30, 2013, with Dangote Group alone getting about N26.77billion.

    In the year under reference, Asora Nigeria Limited was granted N8.588billion concession for importing kola nuts, while Ndianaefo Ifeanyi Emmanuel was granted N5.643million to import table, kitchen and household articles of cast iron.

    Similarly, Ayotunde Adereju got N2.035million for importing iron/steel wool, pot scourers and polishing pads and gloves, while Asimiyu Mohammed Salawudeed was paid N4.148million for importing tables and kitchen household articles.

    Coscharis Motors Limited, linked with the controversial aviation Ministry armoured car scandal, was granted N698.177million for importing fully built four wheel drive motor vehicles, motorised tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles.

    Between 2010 and 2013, records showed that Coscharis Motors received about N2.46billion concession from the government for importation of vehicles valued at about N7.932billion.

     

    The making of the import duty cartel

    In Nigeria, well-connected importers secure waivers on duty, levy, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS) charges, Comprehensive Import Scheme (CIS) and other charges. As a result, abuse of the waivers is routine as politicians and businessmen continue to collude to undermine the nation’s economy.

    Specifically, since 2010, the import waiver cartel has ensured the sustenance of their nefarious activities.

    Echoing similar sentiments, a senior Customs officer who asked not to be named recalled that: “A company (name withheld) got the authority’s nod to import 250,000 metric tons of rice with waivers on import duty. The company got waivers on import duty, ETLS, CISS and other charges, whereas the company’s name does not exist on the database of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).”

    According to the Customs and Exercise Department, a ton of rice (20 bags) cost $550 (about N82,000), while importers are expected to pay 0.5 per cent as ETLS, one per cent as CIS, 10 per cent as duty and 20 per cent for levy. However all these were waived.

     

    Effects of waivers

    The Managing Director, Nigeria Gas and Steel Limited, Hasib Moukarim, said indiscriminate grant of waivers to foreign firms by the federal government has led to the loss of several billions of naira and millions of jobs.

    He said government should end the regime of waivers and concessions to importers of finished products, stressing that such waivers were depleting government’s earnings, while enriching foreign firms.

    He said for the Customs to meet its revenue target this year, the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Budget Office and the Federal Ministry of Industry Trade and Investment, must synergise and ensure that the waivers achieve its objectives.

    He urged Nigerians to defend the interest of local manufacturers against government’s unfavourable policies and foreign domination of the nation’s emerging market.

    “When finished goods are brought into the country duty-free, we are directly creating employment for workers of the foreign companies because such goods imported with waivers will become cheaper than the locally produced ones and this will increase the demand and sale of foreign manufacturers,” Moukarin said.

    He said by granting waivers to foreign companies, locally produced goods have become more expensive while demand had gone down. He noted that this development is threatening the survival of local companies that the waivers were designed to protect.

    “This type of scenario has forced many companies to retrench substantial percentage of their workforce with the consequence of worsening the unemployment situation in the country,” he said.

    He said for any company to qualify for waiver, or concession, the Federal Ministries of Finance as well as Industry, Trade and Investment should conduct a thorough investigation to verify the authenticity of the items the beneficiaries intend to import without paying duty.

    For instance, investigation has shown that most of the oil mills in Kano, including Nigeria Oil Mills, Kano Oil Mills and PS Mandrid, located in Bompai Industrial Estate, have closed down with attendant loss of over 20,000 direct and indirect jobs.

    Also in Lagos, Port Harcourt and Jos, where there are oil and related mills, the spokesman of the producers, Mr Alaba Salau, said the operators were not finding it easy with many imported vegetable oil in the market.

    He said: “While few of us are just managing to survive, many others are making arrangement to close down and start importation. But that is not a good omen for the country because one of the by-products of vegetable oil mill is used for animal feed by poultry farmers.

    “The irony of granting waivers is that while the federal government tells Nigerians of its resolve to promote made-in-Nigeria goods, in secret, it grants waivers to political associates and cronies to import and make cheap money, thereby undermining local production,” he said.

     

    CBN to the rescue

    Worried about the abuse import duty waivers have been subjected to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) decided to suspend foreign currency funding for about 41 imported items considered a source of strain on the already dwindling foreign reserves stock.

    The items include, vegetable oil , metal boxes, galvanised steel cement, margarine, palm kernel,  poultry products (chicken, eggs and turkey), Indian incense, tinned fish in sauce (Geisha, Sardines), cold rolled steel sheets, roofing sheets, wheelbarrows, head pans  and containers, and enamelware.

    Others are cosmetics, soap, plastic and rubber products, steel drum, steel pipes, wire mesh, steel nails, wire rods, security wire, wood particle and board, wood fibre boards and panel, plywood board and panel, wooden doors, toothpicks, glass and glassware, kitchen utensils, tableware, tiles and wooden fabrics.

    CBN had earlier released a list of the 41 restricted items in its circular, saying that the implementation of the policy would go a long way to conserve the nation’s hard earned foreign exchange and boost production activities in the country.

    But while speaking in Abuja, during a press conference to clarify issues raised by the circular, the CBN governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, disclosed that although the apex bank does not have the power to ban importation outright, it would no longer make available foreign exchange to importers of those products.

    He noted “Four years ago, Nigeria had four rice mills. Today, Nigeria has 30 if not more rice mills. This happened because of the efforts of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, the banks and the CBN, trying to redirect peoples’ focus that we need to increase the production of rice. And indeed, we have achieved great mileage in this direction.

    “Only last week, I met the Governor of Kebbi State and he lamented the unfortunate situation in his state which is a major rice belt in Nigeria where people, our own farmers who have committed their sweat to produce rice have produced paddy. We have paddy glut in Kebbi State today.

    “As I speak with you the government has spent its own money buying close to 200,000 tons of paddy rice from farmers.

    “Aside from that, Kebbi State Government has purchased close to 800,000 tons of paddy and yet we patronise imported rice. Those rice that are imported into Nigeria are not less than seven years old on the shelves and yet we have rice that is produced today in the country and we are running away from them.

    “For the avoidance of doubt, please note that the importation of these items are not banned, thus importers desirous of importing these items shall do so using their funds without any recourse to the Nigerian foreign exchange market.

    “The implementation of the policy will help conserve foreign reserves as well as facilitate the resuscitation of domestic industries and improve employment generation.”

    According to him, the era of unbridled importation of all unnecessary items that have now turned the country into a dumping ground was over in Nigeria as the country cannot achieve the much desire greatness by simply importing everything it needs.

    “Time is ripe for honest conversation. Central Bank in developing countries can’t concentrate on price and monetary stability alone, what we are doing is to identify productive sector and channel money there,” he said.

    Although CBN would no longer provide foreign exchange to import items that can be produced locally, he said that the bank will increase credit allocation to the productive sectors of the economy to reduce import bill.

    “We are spending huge money importing things we can produce locally, it is affecting our Foreign Reserves. Nigeria spends N1.3 trillion on average annually to import consumable goods such as rice, oil, etc which can be produced locally. It is not necessary how much that we save, it is by the fact that we are saying that it is shameful. Even if it is $1 that we spent in importing toothpick, I’m saying that it is shameful that we have to import toothpick. I’m saying that it is shameful for us to import fish in sauce, canned fish in sauce into the country and sardine. I’m saying that for instance, before I was born, palm kernel was taken out of this country to Malaysia and today we go to that country and import palm oil, it is shameful. It is shameful that items that we used to produce in this country we now begin to import them into this country. It is shameful, and I think we need to stop it. That is what we are saying. Current situation calls for self sufficiency. Through this policy, we can conserve foreign exchange and provide jobs for our people, we will look for areas where we can provide catalytic role, this we are resolved to do,” he reiterated.

     

    A senate against indiscriminate waivers

    Thankfully, the senate leadership under Senator Bukola Saraki has reassured the apex bank of its commitment to end the era of indiscriminate import duty waivers.

    Speaking with our correspondent over the weekend, one of the aides confirmed that: “As part of the commitment to zero-tolerance for corruption, the senate presidency under Senator Bukola Sarakai is clearly determined to supportive to end all such impunity including the arbitrary issuance of import duty waivers at the expense of socio-economic growth of the country.”

     

    Stakeholders raise their voice above the din

    Persuaded that the country’s solid minerals’ deposits have the potential to contribute significantly to economic development if well harnessed, Mr. Sunny Ekozin, President of Miners Empowerment Association of Nigeria, has appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to “ ensure that the Nigeria Custom is prevailed upon to ban all solid minerals importation that are available in Nigeria.”

    Speaking at a news conference in Abuja recently, the miners’ boss said, “About 66 per cent of the 41 items banned from Forex are essentially solid minerals base, these are items that can easily be sourced locally. If a total ban or prohibitions of these items are not urgently promulgated, it will lead to an increase in the cost of these items locally for consumers and ultimately inflation.”

    Expatiating, Ekozin said, “By simple arithmetic, Nigeria imports ¦ 860 billion annually of solid minerals of the total annual import of ¦ 1.3 trillion. This is scandalous, imagine the jobs that can be created annually from solid minerals with the injection of this huge sum, it is time for our government to put the political will to bear and save the nation from this shameful and systemic destruction of our economy.”

  • Furore over proposed regulations of mosques, churches, others

    Prominent church leaders yesterday kicked against what they described as dangerous proposals included in the “Exposure Draft of the National Code of Corporate Governance 2015” undergoing public hearings nationwide.

    They said the document prepared by the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN) will not only infringe on religious freedom, but promote terrorism if passed into law.

    The document, it was gathered, was drafted by the FRCN to regulate activities of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and religious bodies, especially on operations, management and finances.

    The draft said religious organisations and Not-For-Profit-Organisations (NFPOs) must appoint executive directors and management committees to run their operations.

    It also said the bodies must appoint non-executive directors entitled to ‘sitting allowances, directors’ fees and reimbursable travel and hotel expenses’.

    Section 9:3 specified that the founder or leader of NFPOs, who have occupied governance positions for ‘more than 10 years, or is aged 70 or above’ must step aside.

    The FRCN said the 30-page policy document was hinged on the need to ensure corporate governance, transparency and smooth transition among NFPOs.

    Reacting to some of the provisions, General Overseer of Life Gate International Church Lagos, Bishop Mike Oke claimed that the document was drafted to emasculate the operations of faith-based organisations.

    “I believe that this is against wanting to checkmate the work of God. No one is against transparency and accountability. We all preach and practise it.

    “But when you ask faith-based organisations to operate like secular bodies, you have reduced their influence. It means we will now have more business meetings than practical fellowships in worship centres.”

    Oke countered the provision that leaders or founders of NFPOs must resign after 10 years or attainment of 70 years.

    “What that says practically is that the FRCN wants to indirectly determine who heads faith-based organisations.

    “Worship organisations are now constrained to follow certain guidelines in choosing leaders as against direct instructions from God. In other words, the government wants to choose leaders for churches and mosques.

    “That is satanic and unnecessary. That is a clever way of emasculating religious organisations and those in this agenda should have a rethink,” Oke said.

    The senior pastor of Living Waters Unlimited Church Lagos, Rev. Ladi Thompson, described the draft as ‘packaged poison’.

    Thompson, a counter-terrorism expert, said: “It would seem that those behind this FRCN were commissioned by unnamed people to create an occasion for the conflagration of Nigeria by terrorists.

    “On the surface the document seems innocent enough until the arsenic drops show up in sections 8.2, 8.3, 8.4, 9.4 etc.

    “When a carpenter attempts to sew a shirt, the product will speak for itself. How else do you address the buffoonery that asks a mosque to employ executive directors or a church to jettison its diaconate when the law of God prescribes something else?”

    He accused promoters of the draft of wanting to plunge the nation into an unnecessary religious war.

    “FRCN must go back to the drawing board while it is being investigated for direct or remote terror connections.

    “If the men in the shadows get a clearance from the security forces, there would still be a need to get tailors to sew shirts while carpenters stick to their jobs to keep our nation united and peaceful,” Thompson said.   FRCN’s CEO, Mr. Jim Obazee could not be reached for comments.

  • Furore over ex-President Jonathan’s BoA appointments

    Some of the last-minute  appointments made by  former President Goodluck Jonathan  through former Agriculture and Rural Development Minister, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina yesterday generated furore at the headquarters of the Bank of Industry (BoA),  Kaduna among directors of the bank.

    According to reports, trouble started when the three directors appointed by Adesina suddenly reported for duty at the Kaduna office of the bank yesterday. Their appearance at a time the management of the bank was having a crucial meeting led to the abrupt end of the meeting.

    A press statement endorsed by an Executive Director, Wholesales Finance, BoA, Alhaji Ahmadu Waziri, explained that the three directors were people of questionable character and they were unfit for the job.

    The statement identified Dr Danbala Danju, Mr Babatunde Igun and Mr. Mohammed Adamu Sambo as the  emergency appointees of Jonathan.

    “The next development in the nominations saga was yesterday (Monday, June 1, 2015) morning, when we were holding an informal Monday Morning Review meeting with the Acting MD/CEO and the Company Secretary. Two gentlemen suddenly intruded the office where we were meeting, and proceeded to present two copies of letters of appointment as EDs, signed by the Head of Human Resource Management at the Ministry, to the Acting MD/CEO,” the statement read.

    Waziri observed that the letter having been signed by a Director instead of the Minister or the Permanent Secretary was unusual. In addition, even though the Permanent Secretary only learnt about the approval on May 28, 2015, after which he gave instructions to the Head Human Resource as to what to do, the letters of appointment were dated May 27, 2015.

    “These gentlemen sent as a new management team are nothing but remnants of the last dispensation being catapulted to this side of change to do nothing but sabotage the expected efforts of the new government in the agriculture sector,” the statement added.

    Waziri pointed out that the sudden appointment was a way to truncate the entire progressive model which the bank has been operating and getting a desire result in the recent past before the ouster of the last administration.

    He therefore called on President  Muhammadu Buhari  to urgently intervene  in order not to jeopardise these ongoing projects and initiatives, and not willing to compromise the future of this institution that we have worked hard to restructure, knowing fully well also that there is much more to be done,

     

  • Furore over Akwa Ibom Senate seat

    •Group seeks Ikot Ekpene poll’s cancellation

    The Re-claim Essien Udim Group has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to cancel the National Assembly election into the Senate for Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District.

    The group described the election as a “sham and a cocktail of electoral irregularities”.

    According to the group, in a transparent democracy, both the process and procedure are as important as the final outcome.

    They said: “Regrettable, the elections into the Senate as well as the Presidential and House of Representatives elections in Ikot Ekpene Senatorial district was characterized by massive rigging of unimaginable proportion before, during and after the elections which ended up rendering the ballot process a barren exercise.

    “All this happened under the watchful eyes of officers and men of the police who accompanied the Commissioner. The impunity did not end there. INEC officials were not given the election result sheets. Rather they were ordered to the Commissioners House where fraudulent election results were written.”

    Also the group said in Abak Local Government Area , there was no election material for the polls, a deliberate conspiracy to disenfranchise the electorate and rig the polls.

    In Essien Udim LGA, the hometown of Governor Akpabio, the group said it was an open secret that the Governor had diverted election materials to his private residence where he had camped both electoral officers and NYSC ad hoc staffs.

    The stakeholders also said in Odoro Ikot clan, results were falsified.

    They alleged that results were also falsified in Obot Akara ,Ini, Ikono, Ikot Ekpene, Ika , Ukanafun , Oruk Anam Local Governments.

    The stakeholders thanked the APC teaming supporters across the senatorial district for maintaining the peace despite the action of the PDP and Governor Akpabio which was highly provocative.

  • Furore over INEC’s PVC distribution

    Furore over INEC’s PVC distribution

    The Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC) is critical to the success of the general elections. But, criticisms have continued to trail its shoddy distribution by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The general feeling among Nigerians is that the exercise has been bungled by the commission. Deputy Political Editor RAYMOND MORDI examines the implications of the flawed process for the polls.

    UNLIKE previous elections, Nigerians appear to be enthusiastic this time around about collecting their Permanent Voter Card (PVC), to enable them to discharge their civic responsibilities during the general elections. But, their enthusiasms seem to have been dampened by the hiccups associated with the collection of the cards from the points where they did their registrations within their localities and later at INEC’s local government offices. The exercise involved voters cross-checking their names in the displayed Voters’ Register and collecting permanent voters cards in exchange for the old ones.

     

    Confusion trails

    distribution

    There is confusion about the distribution of the cards and this is creating doubts about the preparedness of the commission to conduct free and fair elections.

    Some of the aggrieved eligible voters have expressed disgust over the shoddy manner the distribution is being carried out, saying they have done everything possible, but have not been able to get their cards. A legal practitioner and a resident of Surulere, Lagos, Mr. Tekema Wakama, said it is sad that he and many of his neigbhours would not be able to vote due to no fault of theirs. Wakama said although he had complied with directives, by registering again at Surulere Local Government, he has not been able to get his PVC.

    He added: “When they said the PVCs are out, Surulere’s own didn’t come out. It’s among the local government areas in Lagos State that was delayed. We have challenges here, but I pray that INEC should be able to do what is right, so that people would be able to vote for candidates of their choice.” Similarly, an automobile mechanic Malik Ogunde complained about not being able to obtain his PVC, saying INEC did not organize the distribution of the cards well.

    But, Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Mr. Kayode Idowu, does not agree that INEC has not done a good job. He said heaps of uncollected cards have been deposited at the commission’s local government offices and that there is no reason why anybody should not be able to collect his or her PVC. He noted that the collection of PVCs continues till the end of January and that everyone should be able to collect their cards. Idowu who spoke with The Nation via telephone on Tuesday said the commission placed the December 31, 2014 deadline on continues registration because it is publishing the voters’ register, as required by law, on January 13.

    He said: “Yes, the three days initially allotted for collection of the cards was short, but since then, collection of PVCs has been ongoing since the collection exercise was flagged off in phases across the country. We have been calling on the public to make use of the opportunity by going to their local governments to collect their cards; the cards are there. In Ekiti and Osun, where governorship elections were held last year, the implication is that collection of voters’ card has been ongoing in those states since March 2014. There is no reason why anybody should not collect his or her card.”

     

    Enthusiasm waning

    Nevertheless, indications are that some eligible voters who felt disappointed because they could not collect their cards from the polling units when the distribution of the PVCs was flagged off have lost interest in the matter. For instance, Mr. Nwachukwu Okeleke, a security officer attached to one of the old generation banks, said there is no guarantee that other problems would not crop up when he decides to travel to Ifo town, his local government headquarters. Okeleke, who resides in Iju-Ajuwon, a border town in Ogun State, said all the persons who registered at his polling unit in Iju-Ajuwon could not collect their cards throughout the period the distribution lasted.

    He said: “I didn’t see INEC officials at the centre. I was not the only one. I live at Ajuwon and I went to the centre where I registered, but there was no INEC staff giving out cards to anybody. I trekked to other polling centres within the area, but nobody was giving PVC. I later learnt from neigbhours that the registration for the entire area was cancelled. It is terrible. It is true that INEC has asked us to visit our local government headquarters in Ifo, but there is no guarantee that other problems would not crop up when I get there.”

    Like Okeleke, many residents of Iju-Ajuwon who are required to do fresh registration do not see why they should leave their jobs and businesses and travel to Ifo to begin a fresh process of securing their voting cards. Many of those who went to Ifo after the end of the distribution exercise in their locality were not able to collect their cards. They were directed by INEC officials to come back at a later date. But, most of them never returned. Mrs. Joke Adebayo, a trader in Ajuwon, is one of such persons. “How do you expect me to leave my business and go back to Ifo, when it is not guaranteed that I would get my PVC at the end of the day,” she said.  Ifo is the headquarters of Ifo Local Government Area of Ogun State and it is one of the biggest local councils in the state.

    No less a personality than Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State had equally refused to go through another registration process, when he was confronted with an embarrassing situation, November 28, 2014, on getting to Ward G3 Unit E002 in Surulere, Lagos, where he and his wife Abimbola registered. The governor and his wife, as well as other Nigerians who registered at the polling unit, were informed that there were no cards for them because there was loss of data captured during the registration prior to the 2011 polls. The loss of the data was attributed to the crash of the commission’s computing system.

    A week later, INEC’s top officials, including the former Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr. Adekunle Ogunmola, visited the governor’s office to plead with him to rescind his decision because, as a leader, it may have serious implications on the polity.  Fashola had argued that not having a disaster recovery system in a national assignment as important as the one it is handling amounted to irresponsibility on the part of INEC. The governor agreed and indeed asked Lagosians in similar situation to see it as a national duty to  follow the process to the end.

     

    Polling unit transfer

    cumbersome

    Other Nigerians who may not be able to vote because they could not collect their PVCs are those who have relocated from where they registered in 2011 to new abodes. For instance, an estimated 1.5 million Nigerians displaced by the insurgency in the Northeast may not be able to vote in the forthcoming elections. It is not clear indeed whether elections will take place at all the states under emergency rule; in spite of assurances by the INEC that it is committed to organizing elections in all parts of the country. INEC spokesman Nick Dazzang was quoted as saying that the commission has started distributing permanent voting cards to displaced people, many of whom are living in camps. But, he added that discrepancies in the Electoral Act may not allow them to vote, unless this is “reconciled” before the general elections.

    The President of the Nigeria Voters’ Assembly, Mr. Mashood Erubami said INEC is not ready to entertain the idea of transferring from one place of registration to another and as such has been ignoring persons requesting for such transfer. He said this is because the measures put in place for such transfer is not as easy and simplistic as INEC officials are making people to believe.

     

    Low awareness campaign

    There seem to be a confusion as to where people can pick up their PVCs. As a result, the initial euphoria has given way to skepticism. There are reports of PVCs belonging to persons in one polling unit being located in other polling units. A Lagos resident Olusegun Adegoke who was also unable to collect his card during the exercise in the state scored INEC low in area of awareness campaign. “The information was not well circulated; the awareness was low. I did not hear about it at all. I was on my way to work when I saw a crowd. I decided to find out what was happening and discovered that a board had been put up with incomplete names,” he observed.

    Erubami agrees with Adegoke. He said INEC ought to have come up with stronger measures and adequate publicity in alliance with political parties and civil societies, to ensure that citizens were adequately mobilized for the distribution of the cards seamlessly. He added that the shoddy handling of the PVC production and distribution by INEC is a wrong signal about the commission’s readiness to conduct the forthcoming general elections fairly.

    Since INEC has reiterated that any voter without the PVC will not be allowed to vote in the forthcoming general elections, Erubami said the implication is that millions of eligible voters who are yet to obtain the card would be disenfranchised. “As things are now, a lot of Nigerians will be disenfranchised, as it was in Ekiti and Osun states,” he said. The civil society activist noted that INEC’s idea of assigning a single staff to most of the collecting points falls short of what is required to handle the deluge of citizens turning up for the exercise.

     

    Apathy justified

    The Southeast Secretary-General of the human rights watchdog, Campaign for Democracy (CD), Dr. Jerry Chukwuokolo, believes the apathy being displayed by some Nigerians who are reluctant to go and collect their PVCs at local government offices of INEC is not out of place. His words: “They said people should go to INEC offices in their respective local councils, but when you get there it is another matter; you may not find anybody around to attend to you.”

    The human rights activist said in an ideal situation one could attribute what happened during the initial stage of the distribution of PVCs to logistic problems on the part of INEC. ‘But, as it is, nobody sees it that way, because of previous experiences,” he added. Chukwuokolo attributes the fear being raised in many quarters concerning this development to the do-or-die attitude of Nigerian politicians. He said: “From what is playing out on the political scene, every group is trying to outmanoeuvre the other for unjustifiable reasons. In that sense, people feel that politicians are working on INEC, to achieve their own ends.”

    The Enugu-based Chukwuokolo is of the view that the Prof. Attahiru Jega-led INEC was given a free hand by the Goodluck Jonathan administration, compared to Prof Maurice Iwu under former President Olusegun Obasanjo. He also believes that INEC has improved considerably under Jega. He added however: “But Jega, to my own understanding, is not giving his workers the leverage to work, in the sense that he does not give them the remunerations or allowances they need to operate. Most times, he gives preferences to consultants, who are now more or less siphoning the money he should have used to take of his workers. Yet, after all said and done, the workers would still be the ones to execute the job. So, that leaves them at the mercy of politicians, who may induce the workers to do their own bidding.”

     

    Allegation of connivance

    After cataloging the problems that trailed the exercise across the states, the APC National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu expressed disappointment over the development, saying the situation might have been deliberately contrived by INEC to rig the elections in favour of the ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP). He equally queried the eligibility of INEC to conduct a free and fair election going by the shoddy manner it conducted the distribution of PVCs to eligible voters. Tinubu said INEC had four good years to prepare for the coming general elections and there are laws, particularly constitutional and electoral act requiring certain actions to be taken.

    Similar tales of woe were echoed by frustrated Nigerians who were initially eager to get their cards across the country. But, Idowu believes the commission has addressed the initial problems encountered by Nigerians in their bid to secure the card. He said INEC has taken care of those who did not find their names in the register initially, with the continuous voter registration (CVR). He added that the situation might have arisen because the fingerprints of such persons were probably not fully captured during the 2011 registration exercise.

    The CVR is primarily targeted at persons who turned 18 years since  2011. But, it also presents a fresh opportunity for those who were 18 years at the time yet did not present themselves for registration, as well as persons who were registered in 2011 and were issued the Temporary Voter Card (TVC), but who for whatever reason did not find their names on the register.

    The registration process includes collection of the applicant’s bio-data, facial portrait and fingerprints (all fingers). INEC had spent N34.4 billion on the procurement of Direct Data Capture (DDC) machines which were deployed for the nationwide voter registration exercise in January 2011. After the registrations, Nigerians who participated were issued Temporary Voter Cards, which was used for the 2011 general elections. The PVC is an improvement on the temporary cards that were used in 2011 because it contains the biometric data of voters. This is to enable the cards to be read electronically with card readers that will be deployed for the forthcoming general election.

  • Furore over allocation of land for aircraft hangar

    Furore over allocation of land for aircraft hangar

    The alleged refusal government, through Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to allocate land for the building of aircraft maintenance hangar in some airports, is causing. Some domestic carriers,  including Arik Air and start up carrier, Air Peace, allege that FAAN’s refusal to allocate land at the Lagos Airport could stall the growth and development of the sector, writes KELVIN OSA-OKUNBOR.

    There has been persistent clamour for an aircraft maintenance centre for the repair  of aircraft in Nigeria. Proponents of the move which has been on for over a decade, believe that Maintenance Repair Overhaul ( MRO) organisations, the industry terminology for aircraft hangars, would save Nigeria huge foreign exchange that goes into fixing airplanes abroad.

    To them, the millions of dollars spent by domestic airlines to fix their aircraft in Ethiopia, South Africa, Morocco, Turkey, Germany, Spain, United Kingdom and the US as well as other parts of Eastern Europe, could be retained at home, if there were state-of-the-art aircraft repair centres. Besides, experts say that the  project would  generate jobs for thousands of Nigerian aviation professionals, including aircraft engineers and avionics experts.

    Worried by this trend and determined to reverse same, some indigenous carriers, including Arik Air,  Air Peace among others, applied to FAAN for land around airports nationwide for the construction of aircraft hangars.

    The operators argued that establishing an aircraft maintenance hangar in Lagos, for instance, could make Nigeria an aviation hub for West and Central Africa. But the request, according to the operators, is yet to be granted.

    The Deputy Managing Director of Arik Air, Captain Ado Sanusi, expressed dismay over FAAN’s refusal to grant the request, saying Arik Air is partnering with Lufthansa Technik of Germany to set up a major aircraft repair centre that will fix aircraft for domestic and foreign carriers in Nigeria, West and Central Africa.

    He said the company applied for land at the Lagos Airport three years ago, which the authority is yet to grant.

    Sanusi said: “There is no doubt that we have the need for maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility in Nigeria. Arik made a request to FAAN three years ago for a parcel of land at the Lagos International Airport. He said Arik went further to sign  an agreement with Lufthansa Technik to build the MRO that will cater for Boeing B737-700 and other wide body aircraft not only for Arik, but for other airlines both in Nigeria and overseas.

    “Suffice to say that this will even generate revenue for the government through the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Nigerian Customs Service and others. However, this has been put on hold until Arik gets final approval for allocation of land at the Lagos airport. Everything has been done; we are just waiting for final approval from FAAN. It has been on hold for the past three years,” Sanusi said.

    Also speaking, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Air Peace, Mr. Allen Onyema, accused officials of FAAN of frustrating efforts by indigenous operators and other investors to set up aircraft maintenance centres around the airport due to non allocation of land. He said: “There are many ways government can assist domestic airlines. If government cannot build an aircraft maintenance hangar in Nigeria, it should assist any operator willing to invest in that area by securing a large parcel of land around any airport in the country.

    “Such a project will create more jobs for Nigerians. Civil servants should change their ways and stop frustrating private enterprise through unnecessary bureaucracy. For over one year, Air Peace has applied to FAAN to allocate it land to build an aircraft maintenance facility, but the authority has not granted the allocation. If FAAN has allocated Air Peace land at any airport, the project since the past one year, would have been completed before we start our flight operations. If they have done so, many banks, given my integrity and track record, would have funded the project because they know that I am credit worthy.

    “If we build an aircraft maintenance centre in Nigeria, our country would become a hub where African countries would fly in their aircraft for repairs. That would generate huge money for Nigeria and Nigerians. People say aviation does not generate enough money, that is not correct, Ethiopia as a country is generating huge foreign exchange from its airline  and aircraft maintenance centre in Addis Ababa. Both projects are the mainstay of its economy. Why can’t we replicate the Ethiopian model right away in Nigeria? That would create massive jobs.”

    Onyema pointed out that having an aircraft maintenance hangar in Nigeria will assure safety while also bringing investment into the country. He said FAAN should help the country, as he is tired of begging for land. “The airport authority should serve the people of Nigeria, and not  lord it over the people. You pay FAAN for offices, you cannot get the offices you paid for. The airport authority should create facilities for people. This country belongs to all of us. Some people do not own the country. There is sufficient land around the airports; they do not want to give it to serious people who can invest to develop the industry,” he complained.

    He, therefore, called on the Minister of Aviation, Chief Osita Chidoka, to direct FAAN to allocate land to committed investors in the aviation sector to enable them set up aircraft maintenance facility. “If FAAN is sceptical about our capacity to utilise the land, they should ask for our feasibility and bankable evidence on how we intend to develop the facility,”he  said, adding, “We have banks that can finance the projects. The new minister should talk to FAAN to release land and we are ready to give evidence of finance.”

    Onyemainsisted that it is not good for airlines to be carrying out aircraft maintenance at the ramp. He said even the Air Force hangar where some domestic airlines repair their aircraft is not big  enough. Besides, there are airlines that want to have their own hangar.

    The Nation learnt that more than 13 years ago, efforts by some individuals in partnership with American firms to set up the National Hangar Project christened Aircraft on Ground (AOG),  at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, did not materialise.

    Investigations reveal that FAAN, in the last few years, allocated some parcels of land to some fixed based/charter jet operators, including Executive Jets/Quints Aviation Centre, Evergreen Apple Nigeria Aviation for aircraft repair centres, which operate at the international wing of the Lagos Airport. Also, rotary wing operator, Caverton Helicopters was recently allocated land at the airside of the Lagos Airport where it is currently building its hangar  and simulator centre for West Africa.

    Former Secretary General of African Airlines Association( AFRAA), Mr. Nick Fadugba disclosed that a study on the construction of maintenance hangar facilities has been in the pipeline for close to 10 years. He wondered what happened to the study. He said Nigeria needs a maintenance facility urgently, as there is no serious aviation nation in the world without a MRO facility. According to him, until Nigeria is able to tap into this, the nation cannot be taken as being serious in the aviation business.

    An expert who pleaded not to named, called on  FAAN to make land available for operators willing to build aircraft hangars. He said: “As a matter of conscious policy, FAAN must give land to the airlines to build maintenance hangar. We should encourage them. You have to provide land for them at their operational base, which is Lagos.

    When you travel abroad you see maintenance hangars all over the place. But when you want to build one here they say you should pay a lot of money. It is ridiculous. In America they give land freely  to build maintenance hangar. This is because it promotes safety.

    “The airlines should be given land because that is what it is meant for. And not when you want to give, you give them small land that they cannot expand. I am saying this because for the future of Nigeria that is where we should go. You need to give more land; you must give the land out. It is at the airside that the aeroplane is. FAAN should not say it has a master plan and therefore, will not accommodate maintenance hangar for airlines at the airside of the airport.

    “What is the master plan for? In the olden days, government gave out a large place for Nigeria Airways to build a maintenance hangar; not that there are many airlines; government should give land to them to build hangar. Building hangar is a massive investment so you have to encourage them to build the facility and the airlines don’t have to pay anything. To promote safety, the aircraft will come and land there for maintenance. The hangar is very, very important. Without it we will still have safety challenges.”

    The Executive Chairman of Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), Captain Nogie Meggison,  also argued that until Nigeria establishes its own MRO facility, domestic carriers will continue to incur more operational costs to repair their aircraft abroad. Meggison said hangars have the capacity to create jobs and retain money that indigenous carriers spent on the repairs of their aircraft abroad. Capt. Meggisson, who is also President, JedAir, said the setting up of the facility would assist in the training of professionals in the country, including aircraft engineers.

    But FAAN has denied allegations that it was frustrating efforts by some local carriers to build aircraft maintenance hangers in the country by refusing to allocate land to them. FANN’s General Manager, Corporate Communications, Mr. Yakubu Dati, said the allegation of non allocation of land to the operators to build aircraft hangars is not true.

    Dati told The Nation that the authority is not aware of any plan to deny operators land at the airport for the building of aircraft maintenance hangar. He said: “I am not aware that FAAN is not willing to allocate land to operators to build aircraft maintenance hangar at the airport.”