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Tag: Governor Abdullahi Sule

  • Court urged to dismiss N100.5b defamation suit by Gov Sule

    Court urged to dismiss N100.5b defamation suit by Gov Sule

    The Vice Chancellor of the University of Mkar, Benue State, Prof. Zacharys Anger Gundu, has prayed a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to dismiss or strike out a defamation suit filed by the Nasarawa State governor and Governor Abdullahi Sule.

    The request is contained in a notice of preliminary objection filed against the suit by the defendant through his team of lawyers, led by Sebastian Hon (SAN).

    In the objection, Gundu queried the competence of the suit and urged the court to decline jurisdiction because the suit is frivolous and constitutes an abuse of the process of the court.

    In faulting the suit’s competence, Gundu noted, among others, that the claimants failed to comply with the mandatory condition precedent to the validity of the originating processes, as provided for in Order 2 Rule 8 of the court’s Civil Procedure Rules), 2025.

    He added that the suit constituted an abuse of process for joint pleadings and reliefs by the claimants, when the first claimant (the Government of Nasarawa State) has no right of action, cause of action and or reasonable cause of action against him (the defendant).

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    The defendant noted that while the claimants pleaded the alleged defamatory words spoken by him, the name of the first claimant is not mentioned anywhere in the words pleaded in the statement of claim as being allegedly defamatory.

    He added that the first claimant has no right of action in defamation since a government cannot sue for the common law remedy of damages and other reliefs for defamation.

    Gundu, who also filed a statement of defence, raised the defences of justification and fair comment.

    In support of his defence of justification, the defendant argued that the alleged defamatory words were made with reference to the actions of a public servant (the second claimant) in the performance of his public duties as the governor of Nasarawa State.

    He added that the words complained of reflect the practical and empirical happenings in Nasarawa State under several Governors of the state.

    In support of his defence of fair comment, the defendant said he made those comments complained of over a matter of public interest.

    He added that the said comments were a fair assessment of the security and land tenure situation in Nasarawa State, where the second claimant is not only the governor, but is also the Chief Security Officer of the state and the Chief Trustee of all lands in the state.

    The Nasarawa State government and Governor Sule had sued Prof. Gundu over comments he made while participating in a programme organised by a television state, which the claimants alleged portrayed them as encouraging insecurity in the state.

    They are praying for series of reliefs, including an order compelling the defendant to publish retractions of the said comments; an order for N100.5 billion in damages and cost of prosecuting the suit.

    On Monday, Justice Hamza Muazu took arguments from lawyers to parties in relation to the defendant’s preliminary objection and adjourned ruling till a date to be communicated to them.

  • How Nasarawa officials sold job appointment letters to 2,277 – Sule

    How Nasarawa officials sold job appointment letters to 2,277 – Sule

    Nasarawa Governor Abdullahi Sule has explained how government officials sold appointment letters to about 2,277 poor applicants before recruiting them as teachers. 

    He threatened to hand over to security agencies suspended officials of the Nasarawa State Teachers’ Service Commission (NSTSC) over alleged extortion of money from applicants for employment.

    Sule handed down the threat after getting the report by the committee set up to investigate irregularities in the recent recruitment of teachers by the Nasarawa State Teachers Service Commission, at the Government House. 

    Alarmed by the enormity of the irregularities, Governor Sule said he is left with no option than hand over the suspended officials to the security agencies, especially that money was collected from the applicants in exchange for appointment letters. 

    “These people, we would report them to the security agencies. Because this is beyond administration. The aspect of them collecting money from people, I don’t even have the power to handle that. The security agencies should be involved to see how these innocent children should get back their money,” he said. 

    While expressing dismay over the findings of the investigative committee, the Governor said the suspended NSTSC officials have not been fair to the state because they went overboard to recruit 3, 277 teachers instead of the 1, 000 approved by his administration. 

    “How do we accommodate 3, 277 teachers today in Nasarawa State? Where are you going to get the money to pay them? Where are you posting them? That is not even the biggest worry. The biggest worry is that the entire exercise was not done on merit, which means we have engaged people who are not qualified to be posted as teachers,” he said.

    On the fate of the 2, 277 teachers recruited without approval, Sule said: “This exercise is a complete destruction. If we employ 3000 teachers, there is no way any school in the rural areas would have only two or three teachers. We employ people because of vacancies that exist. You can’t go employing teachers without knowing where to post them.”

    He also showed concerns on the qualifications of the 1000 teachers officially recruited, adding that his administration may consider conducting a fresh selection process for the entire 3, 277 recruited teachers in order to be able to employ 1000 most qualified teachers.

    “The most important thing is not about politics but about the education of our own children. This is beyond politics. We are not going to build a society until we have a society of people who are educated. We can not have a society of educated people unless we have the right teachers,” he stated. 

    Commenting on one of the recommendations of the committee seeking for the government to pay all those teachers employed and posted to schools, the Governor assured that his administration will pay all those recruited and posted outside the official 1000 and thereafter terminate their appointment.

    “I assure you that all those who have been posted to schools, we would pay them. But we would not keep them. There is no way to keep them. If you posted 200 or 300 teachers to a school that requires only 40 teachers, you are really not helping the state. I’m not worried more about that than the fact that they are not qualified. They are not even qualified to be teachers,” he stated.

    Presenting the report before Sule, Chairman of the investigative committee, Silas Dachor, said the committee discovered that the TSC willfully disobeyed the Governor’s instruction to recruit only 1000 teachers.

    The Chairman added that the TSC went ahead to recruit 3, 277 teachers without necessary approval from the Governor. 

    “Indeed, there are hundreds of others in possession of appointment letters who are yet to be posted. This, to say the least, amounts to gross insubordination to His Excellency and a great disservice to the government and people of Nasarawa State.  

    Read Also: JUST IN: Gov Sule dissolves all political appointees

    “Furthermore, the committee found out that the recruitment did not in any way reflect the needs of the school system. Contrary to the rationale of the exercise, which was to fill existing vacancies. 

    “We also found out that the exercise did not show a fair spread across local government areas, and worst still, there was no evidence that the recruitment was based on merit. But merely selective, thus edging out other potential candidates,” he said.

    Dachor added the recruitment exercise was more or less reduced to a racketeering venture, where desperate and unsuspecting applicants scramble for employment on cash and carry basis for the highest bidder.  

    “In relation to this, an Access Bank account was provided for interested applicants who were directed to pay in amounts ranging from N500, 000 to N700, 000 for what was termed appreciation to facilitate issuance of appointment letter,” he said.

    He described the recruitment exercise conducted by the suspended NSTSC officials as being characterized by inconsistent documentation, harp hazard and abnormal procedures, and unethical practices, thereby raising serious concerns about transparency, accountability, credibility and fairness.

  • I came prepared to govern Nasarawa – Sule

    I came prepared to govern Nasarawa – Sule

    Nasarawa Governor Abdullahi Sule has said that he was adequately prepared to perform his responsibilities when he was sworn in in 2019.

    According to him: “I had to understand the state, I spent most of my time outside the state from its creation to certain period, so I had to go into the planning of engaging a consultant. That was when I brought in KPMG to assist me to go to the state and come out with the various aspect of challenges in the state 

    ” The prospects in the state, what are the prospects of Nasarawa state, what are the challenges of Nasarawa state, what are the resources to be used in Nasarawa state, how do we achieve them, what are the low hanging fruits, what are the long vision for the state ” He said 

    Sule stated  he joined politics because of the compelling desire to contribute to the development of Nasarawa State and the country at large.

    The Governor spoke as a guest lecturer at the National Defence College Abuja weekend. 

    Addressing Course 32 participants of the NDC drawn from Nigeria and other countries, the Governor recounted how on his return to Nigeria from the United States and after the creation of Nasarawa State in 1996, he felt a compelling desire to give his contribution in developing the state.

    “There was no Nasarawa State at the time I went to school in the United States.  I went to school in 1980. Nasarawa was not created until 1996. Why did I join politics?  A lot of people worked very hard to be able to get this state created under none other than the late General Sani Abacha, a man Nasarawa State will never forget. 

    “Based on that, I do not have the opportunity to be part of that story. Now that I was not there during the struggle for the creation of the state, what can I do? I always had the urge that when I have the authority, I will be part of the development. Because creating the state is one thing and developing the state is another. This is one of the motivations driving me to join politics,” he said.

    Speaking on the topic: “Strategic leadership in Governance- My political experience,” Sule however said he joined politics already prepared to achieve his vision.

    Looking back, he pointed out that driving a successful strategic leadership requires determination, personal values, morals, integrity, accountability, rule of law, probity and prudence, as well as transparency.

    According to him, to be successful as a strategic leader, the mindset must be based on knowledge, experience and exposure, adding that as an engineer, his focus was on what to do, how to do it, with a view to problem solving.

    “Those are the combinations that I was able to bring into Nasarawa State. Strategic leadership first requires thinking, a vision and that vision better be clear. Coming from the private sector, being an engineer, I understand that all visions must be clear, must be compelling. It must be in the line of planning. 

    “Whatever we plan has to be with knowledge and experience. Then it must go through the process of execution. We don’t just plan and hang it on the shelf. We have to plan and ensure that that planning must be executed and most have an implementation process with total commitment to that implementation,” he stated. 

    Rear Admiral Olumuyiwa Morakinyo Olotu, Commandant, National Defence College, appreciated Sule for doing justice to the topic given to him and for speaking from his heart.

    Rear Admiral Olotu harped on the qualities of a strategic leader as demonstrated by the guest speaker, highliting the significance of motivation, vision, planning, and team work.

    He told the participants to imbibe the leadership qualities showcased by the Governor, particularly urging them to learn to build a team that would assist them in achieving their visions.

  • I will cultivate all arable land in Nasarawa – Sule

    I will cultivate all arable land in Nasarawa – Sule

    Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule has expressed his commitment to maximizing the cultivation of every piece of arable land within the state, which is part of his administration’s vision for agriculture and wealth creation.

    He noted that while the state has vast, fertile land suitable for agriculture, it remains significantly underutilized.

    During a recent trip to China, the governor shared his vision, where he traveled for over five hours on a high-speed train from the densely populated Henan province to the mineral-rich Nanchang in Jiangxi province.

    As the train reached 304 kilometers per hour, he observed the well-cultivated farmlands in that region.

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    In discussions with the Chinese delegation, he outlined his plan to implement a cluster farming method that focuses on crops best suited for specific areas of the state, creating “core agriculture zones.”

    Governor Sule expressed his eagerness for a partnership that would ensure the cultivation of every available piece of land in Nasarawa, similar to the agriculture-rich areas of Henan province.

    He also highlighted the recent distribution of tractors and seedlings to all Local Government Areas in the state as a practical demonstration of his administration’s commitment to improving agriculture.

    In response, Mr. Chen Qiang from the Chinese delegation stated that his team is ready to support Governor Sule’s vision for large-scale mechanized farming in Nasarawa State.

    He acknowledged that Nasarawa’s land is even richer than some areas in China, which further motivates their desire to cultivate in the state and seek collaboration.

    Also present with Mr. Chen were Chen Xiaoping, the interpreter, and Zheng You, Chairman of the Tongyi Group.

  • Sule: Raising accountability, transparency bar through LG autonomy

    Sule: Raising accountability, transparency bar through LG autonomy

    LINUS OOTA writes on the executive bill sent to Nasarawa State House of Assembly by Governor Abdullahi Sule in response to the Supreme Court judgment granting LGAs autonomy.

    Over the years, the politics of state/local government joint account has been largely responsible for the abysmal failure of local governments to meet the needs of the people at the grassroots level.

    Every attempt to grant autonomy to local governments had been met with resistance from state governors who often argued over the right to exercise close oversight over them. In 2020, President Buhari’s Executive Order 20 of 2020 which grants financial autonomy to local governments as well as state legislatures and judiciaries was resisted by the governors.

    The political history and constitutional development of Nigeria cannot be overemphasized by the evolution and continual growth of local government in Nigeria.

    The introduction of the indirect rule system by Lord Frederick Lugard in 1914 signaled the evolution of the Nigerian Local Authority, which later transformed into local government areas and has been a continuous and growing process in Nigeria till today.

    In Nasarawa State, Governor Abdullahi Sule is chatting a pathway and actually engaging the people to be part of the process where decisions that affect their lives are taken, especially at the grassroots level, which is also a pathway towards power devolution.

    The Supreme Court had in early July 2024 ruled that it is illegal and unconstitutional for governors to continue to receive and seize funds allocated to the benefits of LGAs in their states.

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    According to the court, the “dubious practice” which has gone on for over two decades, is a clear violation of Section 162 of the 1999 constitution, as amended.

    In its lead judgement delivered by Justice Emmanuel Agim, the Supreme Court further held that no House of Assembly of any state has the power to make laws that could, in any manner, grant governors the right to interfere with statutory allocations meant for the council areas.

    Stressing that the law mandated that LGAs must be governed by democratically elected officials, the Supreme Court ordered that forthwith, funds meant for councils must be directly paid to them from the federation account “It is the position of this court that the federation can pay LGA allocations to the LGAs directly or pay them through the states.

    “In this case, since paying them through states has not worked, justice of this case demands that LGA allocations from the federation account should henceforth be paid directly to the LGAs,” the apex court held.

    It’s further declared as unconstitutional, the appointment of caretaker committees, by governors to run the affairs of the LGAs, and that the 36 states are under obligation to ensure democratic governance at the third tier of the government.

    Consequently, the Supreme Court ordered that, henceforth, funds of local government where democratically elected officials are not in place should be withheld. It equally barred governors, their agents, and privies from dissolving democratically elected local government officials in their state, adding that such action would amount to a breach of the constitution and an act of misconduct.

    It is in complying with the Supreme Court judgment that Governor Sule recently sent an executive bill to the Nasarawa State House of Assembly seeking to amend the local government law where the joint account will be abolished, while the ministry for local government and chieftaincy affairs will also be scrapped.

    The bill by the state governor also seeks to restructure the Local Government System in the State to conform with the ruling of the Supreme Court granting financial autonomy to the third tier of government.

    Speaker of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly, Danladi Jatau said the Executive Bill seeks to amend the existing LG law in the State to conform to the Supreme Court judgement.

    “This is a Bill for a Law to Repeal and Re-enact the Establishment, Structure, Composition, Finance and Function of Local Government System in Nasarawa State, 2024 and Other Matters Connected Thereto,” first reading.

    Chairman, Nasarawa House of Assembly Committee on Information, Jonah Ali Dizaho told journalists that the state government wants to restructure the local government laws and to enable it to conform with the issues of the moment and the reality on the ground which is the financial autonomy for LGAs in the State.

    “The amendment of the LG law will among other things abolish the existing joint accounts as well as abolish the State Ministry for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs,” he said.

    The action of the governor has indeed opened a new vista of hope for the local government administration in Nasarawa State in particular, and Nigeria in general because other states will have to emulate this development.

    Governor Sule’s steps clearly go to show that, he appreciates the value of local government democracy, “This is the right way to achieve this goal and objectives of the local government administration as a third tier of government in Nigeria, without financial independence, no meaningful development can take place at the grassroots level,” he said.

    Sule had told the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) stakeholders in Nasarawa State; ahead of the November 2nd council elections that the huge resources going directly into the accounts of the local government as a result of the autonomy granted, the state can’t afford to allow incompetent people run the affairs of the councils.

    According to him “Between 2019 and 2023 when I became the governor of the state, the entire local government allocation for Nasarawa State was between 1.9bn to 2.4bn, but today, the councils in the state receive over N5bn as allocation, so we need people of proven integrity, matured minds and people with foresight to manage the resources of the local government,” he said.

    The governor explained that his administration had strengthened the local government system by encouraging financial discipline “We have been able to save money for local governments to pay salaries even before the federal allocation,” he said.

    He called on the stakeholders to take into cognizance the multi-ethnic and multi-religious sentiments across the various local governments in selecting candidates for the ruling APC.

    The evolution of local government administration in Nigeria dates back to the colonial era when the ‘Native Authorities’ were used to maintain law and order rather than the provision of social services with varying systems of operations in different regions of the country.

    However, the 1976 reform initiated by the military government which introduced a uniform system of administration throughout the country subsequently recognized local government as a third tier of government and granted them financial autonomy to facilitate sustainable grassroots development.

    Unfortunately, the politics of state/local government joint account brought by the 1999 constitution made this third tier of government almost irrelevant in the administration of the country as it eroded away the financial independence hitherto enjoyed by the local government.

    Section 162 paragraph 6, of the 1999 constitution established a state-local government joint account thereby subordinating them to the state government. Because the provision does not allow direct funding of local governments from the federation, successive governors have always found it easy to castrate them and make them perpetual appendages of the state.

    As such, they have turned local councils into conduit pipes for siphoning of the public funds meant for development. More often than not, the state governors treat elected council chairmen with utter contempt, bullying, and riding roughshod on the financial and administrative autonomy of local governments.

    This explains the reason for the absence of essential social capital trust and confidence that exist between the government and the government at the grassroots level. Due to this disconnect, the citizens at the local level have no trust in elected officers of local government.

    By initiating a case at the Supreme Court which led to the full grant of local government autonomy, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has written his name in gold, and Governor Abdullahi Sule’s prompt action to fully legalize the structures and financial operations of the third tier in Nasarawa State through an Executive Bill has contributed his own quota to the accountability and transparency which the Supreme Court noted in its judgement.

    Governor Sule has equally demonstrated that both the executive and the legislature can work harmoniously to deliver good governance to the people of the state.

    With the Governor taking full steps by abrogating state joint accounts to comply with Supreme Court Judgement, where funds meant for local governments will flow directly to their accounts, the next set of council chairmen in Nasarawa from November 2nd 2024 can now determine their priority projects.

    It is actually down of a new era in Nasarawa State, as the era of impunity is gone for good. Until now, there is hardly any state of the federation of Nigeria where one form of illegal or the other is not committed with funds of local government through spurious state/local government joint account projects.

    It takes a man of strong will and courage like Governor Abdullahi Sule to immediately initiate the process of fully complying with the Supreme Court Judgement through an executive bill.

    The Nasarawa State House of Assembly last week conducted a public hearing on a Bill for a Law to Repeal and Re-enact the Establishment, Structure, Composition, Finance, and Function of Local Government System in Nasarawa State 2024 and Other Matters Connected Thereto.

    The Speaker of the House, Danladi Jatau while declaring the public hearing open said that the bill if passed and assented into law, would boost grassroots development in the State.

    “The Assembly was in receipt of a Bill for a Law to Repeal and Re-enact the Establishment, Structure, Composition, Finance and Function of Local Government System in Nasarawa State 2024 and Other Matters Connected Thereto.

    ” This is to conform with the Supreme Court Judgement granting local government autonomy in the country.

    ” His Excellency, Governor Abdullahi Sule as a respecter of the rule of law has done the right thing by sending the bill to the House. What we want is to ensure speedy development at the grassroots,” he said.

    The Speaker assured the people of the state of the assembly’s readiness to work with the inputs provided by the Stakeholders on the amendment bill.

    ” We believe we will get inputs that are expected of us and I strongly believe that at the end of the day, we will come up with a clean bill that will be in conformity with the Supreme Court Judgement,” he added.

    On his part, Hon Musa Ibrahim Abubakar, the Chairman,  House Committee on LG, Community Development and Chieftaincy Affairs said that the public hearing was organized in order to get stakeholders’ inputs on the LG amendment bill sent to the House by Governor  Sule.

    He said that the bill, if passed and assented to would improve on the standard of people at the grassroots.

    ” The proposed amendment sent to the House was as a result of the Supreme Court Judgement granting local government autonomy in the country.

    ” What we are doing is to amend the local government law to be in conformity with the Supreme Court Judgement. This is to strengthen the local government to ensure that local government chairmen carry out their activities effectively,” he said.

    Hon Musa, who represents Doma South Constituency, said that the committee had received memos from the State Traditional Council, Ministry for LG, State Pension Bureau, LG Service Commission, among other bodies, groups, and individuals.

    “We have received all intentions from the state traditional council, Ministry for LG, State Pension Bureau, LG Service Commission among others. We will sit down and look at their presentations and Memos carefully and come out with a clean bill to that effect,” he said.

    The Emir of Lafia, Retired Justice Sidi Bage Muhammad while presenting a traditional council memo appreciated the Supreme Court for granting local government autonomy in order to boost grassroots development in the country.

    He advocated for the direct allocation of five percent of Gross Income from the federation account to the traditional institution account.

    “We are happy with the Supreme Court Judgement granting local government autonomy. Our concern as an institution of government are those things that affect us directly and our people,” he said

    On his part,  the Commissioner for Ministry for Local Government, Community Development and Chieftaincy Affairs, who spoke through the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr. Idris Umar Idris while presenting the ministry’s memo called for the retaining of the Ministry in spite of the Supreme Court Judgement in order to sustain the achievements recorded by the ministry,” he said.

    On their part,  Barr. Sani Bawa, Chairman,  Local Government Service Commission, Alhaji Suleiman Nagogo, Director General, State Pension Bureau and Prof Musa Yusha’u Dalhatu of the Federal University of Lafia, all supported Local Government autonomy.

    The Chairman, the Local Government Service Commission called for a direct deduction of one percent of Gross Income from the LG account for manpower development.

    The Director General of the Pension Bureau advocated for an upward review of local government pensions from statutory allocation of the third tier of government.

    Prof. Musa Yusha’u of the Federal University of Lafia also urged the committee to take a look at the laws that created development areas and possibly return them to their parents’ LGAs for effective service delivery.