The Nation Newspaper

Tag: governors

  • A tale of two governors

    A tale of two governors

    •Obstruction of justice by Fayose and Wike smacks of impunity

    Fears that the Nigerian state still has a long way to go in the quest for development seem to have been supported by recent actions by Governors Nyesom Wike of Rivers State and Ayo Fayose of Ekiti who chose to obstruct, rather than support law enforcement agencies in the performance of their constitutional responsibilities. It is unfortunate that, after 17 years of civilian and pseudo-democratic governance, governors could still be mobilising thugs to ambush operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    In Ekiti State, Governor Ayo Fayose stormed a branch of Access Bank in Ado-Ekiti where bank officials, acting on the instruction of the EFCC, had held the wife of a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain and aide of former President Goodluck Jonathan, pending the arrival of the commission. Mrs. Precious Fani-Kayode who was in the state as a guest of the governor, was said to have branched at the bank with a view to making a withdrawal. She informed the governor that she was being held by the bank officials.

    Contrary to expectation that the governor would get across to the EFCC leadership at the federal or state level, he chose to storm the bank and threaten the operatives on official and legitimate assignment. It is difficult to understand why a governor would choose to act in that manner.

    Even if he had reasons to deprecate the action of the EFCC or suspect that they were out to witch-hunt his guest or embarrass him, there is still no justification for his action. At the time he raced to the bank, he did not have access to the EFCC side of the story; all he heard was from Mrs. Fani-Kayode who was clutching a baby. We shudder to think what would have happened if the EFCC officials had chosen to shoot their way out of the scene.

    In Rivers State, Governor Wike chose to adopt a similar method of standing in the way of the law. Alerted that officials of the DSS were at a judge’s apartment to effect arrest at about 1.00 am on October 8, the governor, by his own admission, called up politicians and party rough necks to frustrate the operation. Whether it was a “sting operation” as the DSS men said, or a raid as the governor has dubbed it, it is our view that having ascertained that the men at the judge’s lodge were led by the director of the service, with the commissioner of police (CP) standing by, a decent governor should have made a retreat.

    By his action, he has fuelled the suspicion that the judge was working in concert with the ruling party in the state. Governor Wike’s explanation that he could not believe that the security officials were on legitimate operation flies in the face of the fact as the DSS director and CP are members of the state security council that he presides over. Besides, what has he done to turn the hibernating judge over to the DSS more than two weeks after?

    We urge our security officials to be more careful in handling their assignment. It is possible Mrs Fani-Kayode had deliberately gone to the bank with the baby to create a scene. If that was the case, it would appear she had succeeded, given the way the matter was reported.

    All said, we call on leaders the PDP to take more than passing interest in men elected on their party’s platform if the party is to play a constructive role in this democratic dispensation. Governors Fayose and Wike have been cited in the news channels for the wrong reasons for too long. When Governor Fayose is not accused of leading thugs to beat up judges in open court, he is charged with running opposition legislators out of state. Wike’s Rivers State records the highest rate of violence in the country. These cannot augur well for the country or the party.

    Nigeria is not a banana republic where jungle justice reigns. Governors who enjoy immunity under the Constitution should not act with impunity or be disdainful of the laws of the land.

  • US and 12 North’s governors

    How I look forward to that day when a president or governor of mine would be in power for four years without travelling to any oyinbo man’s country for one reason or the other. That for me would be the day that Nigeria finally attains independence. But Nigeria remains in bondage – colonial bondage, mental bondage that has left us bewilderingly underdeveloped.

    Look all around you. It has to be a British international school or American university for it to be of acceptable quality. There has to be a white skin managing our football or running our shop for it to gain validity. On the social media, you see our young, virile men wedding some shrivelled white women who could have been their grandmothers right here in Nigeria’s marriage registries with friends and relatives ‘rejoicing’ with them.

    We didn’t want the Whiteman; we fought for freedom from colonialism but today ship about 80 per cent of our resources both at individual level and as a nation back to the Whiteman. Every young man or woman wants to travel ‘abroad’. Most of our pregnant women would rather travel to the US to be delivered of their baby. We want to dress like the Whiteman, we eat mainly imported food.

    But most troubling is that our leaders – the politicians, intelligentsia and the business class who ought to know better – seem to think that what defines their essence best are their foreign bank accounts, mansions abroad, the foreign schools their children attend or how many times they fly abroad each year.

    Our men in power who ought to show better examples if not patriotic zeal seem not to know any better or care. With only a few exceptions, most governors travel abroad more than they tour their states. Recall that President Olusegun Obasanjo shuttled the world as if time was running out on him. He claimed he was trying to reunite an estranged Nigeria to the rest of the world. He claimed he was on the hunt of foreign investors.

    President Goodluck Jonathan also did a bit of sight-seeing and Muhammadu Buhari after him has not lagged behind in executive junketing. It explains why Nigeria’s Presidential Jet Fleet is among the largest in the world. Obasanjo and Jonathan acquired more jets and Buhari would not let go of them even in these lean times. Such is the colonial tragedy that a country that cannot maintain a national carrier has more jets in its presidential fleet than UK, US, Germany and Japan put together.

    This long prologue brings us to the matter of the day. As you read this, 12 governors from the North may still be in the United States of America. According to report, they have travelled under the auspices of the US Institute for Peace (USIP). They were also hosted at the White House on Wednesday. It was not reported whether the governors met with President Barack Obama. But they met with Obama’s National Security Adviser, Susan Rice; US secretary of State, John Kerry among other top state officials. Recall that last August when Kerry visited Nigeria he only toured northern Nigeria and met with the 19 governors of the North. That visit sparked heated controversy, as many in the South viewed it with deep suspicion. They wondered whether Kerry was on a state visit or a visit to the Northern Nigeria.

    The Christian Association of Nigeria described it as divisive and inimical to the unity of Nigeria.

    With this current visit, which was almost secretive, apprehension is rife as to the motive. Yes with religious extremism in the north of Nigeria, which culminated in the Boko Haram terror war of the past five years, it is understandable that the US would want to engage the leaders of the North a lot more. But other parts of the country, especially leaders with foreign mentality, would feel left out and indeed take it as being punishment for being of good behaviour.

    Beyond the north-south dichotomy, as far as most of these governors are concerned, it is the photo opportunity with Obama, Kerry or Rice that matters. For them, visiting America is merely a junket of sight-seeing, shopping and salting away a few more dollars.

    Our governors are hardened and cast in bronze. Nothing moves them except the sweet perquisites of office, looting of treasury and the next election. This is the life of most Nigerian governors; they don’t care much about anything else. They know the cause of the problems at every level but they would rather not do the right things.

    For instance, which of the governors would truly be accountable? If governors apply as much as 70 per cent of the resources available to their states, there would not be so much poverty and strife in Nigeria.

    It is common knowledge that the complete decimation of our local government administration is at the root of most of Nigeria’s problems today. Which of these governors in the US would commit to properly setting up the LGAs in his state? Which of them will apply the funds of the LGAs judiciously, accountably and for the people in the LGAs?

    Even if Obama visited these governors everyday; if they lived in the US and worked in Nigeria, nothing will change if they have the same overlord mindset.

    Just as Alhaji Kashim Shettima, governor of Borno State, who led the northern governors, feared that Nigerians did not trust their motives for being in the US, we do not trust them; they have not earned our trust. Hear him: “Majority of our citizens will quickly conclude that we are here on jamboree…

    “Our visit to Washington is an opportunity to re-engage with our American partners on the most vital issues that can help us to quickly make transition from volatility to a phase of peace development in northern states of Nigeria.”

    It is remarkable that elected chief executives of Nigerian states would have to travel thousands of miles to the Whiteman’s land, burning public funds to gain insight on the problems in their backyard. This is happening in 2016. What a calamity!

     

    Abati and the demons of Aso Rock

    It might be said that the average Nigerian’s mind may still be fixated at the levels of spirits, demons, principalities and strange, unseen powers. Reuben Abati knows this and he exploited it to the hilt. Last weekend, the social media was abuzz with Abati’s article: The spiritual side of Aso Rock.

    Abati was the chief spokesman for the immediate past president, Goodluck Jonathan. To conjecture or ‘reveal’ if you like that some unseen spirits live in Nigeria’s number one address is indeed a wild-fire material and to come from a ‘learned’ authority who has just left that rarefied edifice, must be some form of holy gospel.

    But Abati, one of the best of this profession, was clearly playing to the gallery. He is trying to whip up primordial emotions and perhaps escape with some excuse as to the crashing failure of his boss while in the saddle. We are neither impressed nor taken in.

    Both Abati and his principal were swept off by the strong tidal currents of power. It’s understandable, it happens to even the best of leaders. Abati needs to be more sober and reflective so we can all learn the mistakes of that colossal failure. To fail twice would be double tragedy.

  • Why Northern Governors are in Washington 

    When I arrived at the entrance of the United States Institute of Peace a short while ago, I recalled the last time I was here in March 2014, when the Institute organized a security symposium for members of our forum. Since my last visit here, I can point to many benefits that my primary constituents –the people of Borno State –have derived, since they sponsored my trip here. The 2014 symposium was dominated by issues of security and the Boko Haram insurgency, of which Borno State was the epicentre.

    The discussions we had then must have contributed in many different ways to the commitment and responses of the United States government and the international community in helping Nigeria to fight the insurgency. Our visit here in 2014 proved to be highly beneficial in the fight against Boko Haram, which affected Borno State the most but also had a destabilizing effect on nearly every other state in Northern Nigeria and the country at large.

    Soon after that symposium, the United States government increased humanitarian and development support for Borno State through the United States Agency for International Development, USAID.  But then, my visit today for the 2016 symposium is not just about Borno State. My colleagues and I are here to seek benefits that should accrue to all the 19 Northern States of Nigeria.  We look forward to many more benefits that will accrue to our region after this important symposium.

    Ongoing economic recession in Nigeria has made life very challenging for our citizens but the federal and state governments are tackling it in many different ways. As you would shortly see in a 14-minute documentary, the North of Nigeria is grappling with all kinds of problems.

    Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, by the time we wake up tomorrow, print, online and broadcast media houses in Nigeria would have screaming headlines, that “Ten Northern Governors storm Washington” in the midst of economic recession, when our national currency, the Naira, has sharply depreciated against the U.S Dollar. Majority of our citizens will quickly conclude that we are here on a jamboree. Well, leadership isn’t only about popular decisions; leadership is about doing what is right at a time that is right.

    Our visit to Washington is an opportunity to re-engage with our American partners on the most vital issues that can help us to quickly make transition from volatility to a phase of peace and development in the Northern States of Nigeria. Over the past few years, we have realized that the indices of development in our region have not only been some of the most damning in our country, they have also been the background against which the problems in our region have manifested. These range from the deepening problems of Boko Haram, rural banditry, spontaneous religious and inter-tribal violence, deadly clashes between pastoralists and farmers, cattle rustling as well as the Mother of them all, which is pervasive poverty that gives birth to the many forms of crime.   The emergence or the re-surfacing of insurgencies are not episodic events. They manifest through lingering processes which eventually symptomatize into aprons like Boko Haram and ISIS.

    We have the greatest respect and admiration for the American government and we hold the United States Institute of Peace in very high esteem due to its track record. It is for these reasons that even though we anticipate criticism at home for this visit, we came here with high expectations. We believe that our hosts, USIP and officials of the U.S government will work with us with the utmost sincerity of purpose to guarantee quick benefits that will improve the living conditions of our people. As governors of the 19 northern states, we hope to secure tangible benefits that we can point to our people as proof, that our visit here is not a jamboree as they would assume.

    We in the Northern States Governors Forum recognize that our partnership with USIP is strategic. Some of the benefits we derive from this partnership include deepening cooperation towards eliminating conflicts. We may not be able to point this benefit tangibly to our people but we know for instance, that the United States is the world’s pre-eminent agricultural power and the number one food exporter. On the other hand, No land in the world is better suited for agricultural cooperation than Northern Nigeria.

    Your highly adored and respected first lady Mrs. Michelle Obama has a programme for intervention on girl-child education in Africa. We eagerly look forward to benefit from this programme as well as many other areas in which we can partner with our American friends to tackle our under-development and weak infrastructure. What is needed is the will and I can assure you that all the governors of the northern states here and those at home, are irrevocably committed to these partnerships in the service of our people. The Northern Nigeria provides a good eco-system for all developments and development partners. What we need is sincere will from our development partners and I am sure that our development partners have the will.

    Finally, on behalf of my colleagues, let me express our profound gratitude to the American government, to the Board and officials of the United States Institute of Peace, to the United States Agency for International Development, to the European Union and to all partners who have stood in solidarity with us through development support in different parts of Northern Nigeria. We are also grateful to USIP for organizing this symposium that once again, brings the underdevelopment in Northern Nigeria to the front burner of discussion. But even as we discuss, we cannot ignore the fact that the outcome of the U.S election in 21 days to come, may affect the full implementation of our goals after this symposium. Favourably, our country is not as close as Mexico for us to worry about a ‘wall’ that could come between our forum and the United States after January 20.

    Ladies and gentlemen, what works in today’s world is coming together with sincerity because like the American Henry Ford said, COMING TOGETHER IS A BEGINNING, KEEPING TOGETHER IS PROGRESS AND WORKING TOGETHER IS SUCCESS.

    We look forward to successful partnerships.

     

    • Shettima, Governor of Borno State and chairman of Northern States Governors’ Forum, delivered these remarks on Tuesday, October 18, at the opening of a three-day symposium hosted by the United States Institute of Peace in Washington.

     

  • Lecturers blame governors for LAUTECH crisis

    Lecturers blame governors for LAUTECH crisis

    •SSANU urges Ooni, Alaafin to intervene

    THE Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) yesterday blamed Oyo and Osun governors for the ownership crisis in the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso.

    The union urged the Ooni of Ife, Alaafin of Oyo and other traditional rulers in the two states to join  the governors in resolving the crisis.

    SSANU expressed concern about the crisis, which is threatening the life and property of workers in the institution.

    The union said it was unfortunate a university established years ago would degenerate into a crisis of statism.

    SSANU’s National President Samson Ugwoke said in a statement that the governors and traditional rulers from the two states should intervene in the crisis and resolve it in the interest of workers and students.

    In the statement by the association’s National Public Relations Officer (NPRO) Abdussobur Olayiwola Salaam in Abuja, Ugwoke said it was unfortunate the governors allowed the issue to degenerate.

    He noted that they would not have allowed it to degenerate to the point where  security of workers, students and the environment in which they operate was no longer guaranteed.

    Ugboke added that ethnicity or statism was not expected to be an issue in a citadel of learning because the quality of a university is measured by the number of foreign and international workers and students.

    The statement said: “The union had tarried a while before making any public statement or comment on the issue, in the simple confidence that the spirit of Yoruba unity and solidarity would have prevailed and sorted out the impasse.

    “Unfortunately, our expectations have been dashed and we are now forced to intervene in this issue in the hope that our voice is heard and sanity is restored to the university.

    “The concept of the ‘university’ is coined from the word – universal. Thus, a university, in its real and pristine sense, is a universal or international community with no national or ethnic borders. The quality of a university in this day and age is measured by the number of foreign and international staff and students it is able to attract.

    “The fact that it was established and is being funded by a particular body or government (either state or federal), does not make the university a property of its financiers. It is in the concept of the “university”, that once a university is founded, it becomes a universal, global or international property. Thus, ethnicity has no place in the scheme of things in the university…

    “SSANU decries this unfortunate development, which apart from jeopardising the lives of our members has put the university in a state of disrepute. We, therefore, call on governments of both states to initiate reconciliatory processes to resolve the problems.

    “We urge traditional rulers and eminent royal fathers from both states to intervene in the crisis and resolve it in the interest of staff and students…”

     

  • Governors, workers, and salary arrears

    It is true that as of today, Nigerian workers, artisans, market women and indeed, majority of Nigerians except politicians in the ranks of president, vice-president, ministers, members of National Assembly, successful business men and women and some privileged ones who have easy access to the public purse are groaning under unusual, unimaginable, excruciating financial condition. Some say it has never been this bad. Some attribute the present bad condition of Nigerian citizens in the land of plenty to wickedness, greed and selfishness on the part of our leaders. As I would say, human beings are basically selfish, which informs the biblical golden rule: “do unto others as you wish them do unto you” or the great German philosopher, Immanuel Kant’s Categorical Imperative: “Act in such a way that you would wish your action to be a universal law of nature”.

    Unfortunately, the above condition of Nigerians is real. People are hungry and angry. Our friends from the US would find it unimaginable under the sun that people would work anywhere for one month without pay, not to talk of 5, 10, or 20 months! How do workers survive in Nigeria? How do they meet their monthly financial obligations on house rent, food, hospital bills, school fees, repayment of loans or bank over drafts which workers obtain every month from the banks to be paid back immediately from monthly salaries? There is the microeconomic issue of thrift societies like esusu where workers must contribute certain amount as compulsory savings every month without fail. This collective arrangement is derailed or aborted if one misses a month’s contribution! Such a profitable saving device among workers is no longer possible, as people no longer receive their salaries every month. The consequence of this for workers is bye-bye to thrift societies.

    Generally speaking, people feel aggrieved and angry that our political leaders never feel the pangs of extreme poverty occasioned by nonpayment of salaries and pensions. Rather, our leaders live in opulence as if they don’t know that Nigerians are suffering as many families cannot afford one decent meal a day. Many have died from hunger and from their inability to pay for needed drugs that are meant to keep them alive. Some had committed suicide out of neglect and frustration while some of our selfish leaders live in outlandish opulence and could even afford to comfortably take their families abroad for medical treatment at exorbitant cost in foreign exchange, and still draw estacodes to the bargain. This is a perfect demonstration that human beings are basically selfish, and there seems to be no cure for this disease, especially in Nigeria.

    However, our top political functionaries from the presidency to the governors and National Assembly members may have a calculated alibi for the current plight of the common man by invoking the self-inflicted economic recession. I know that, as a matter of fact, Nigeria had no problem of payment of workers’ salaries until sometime in 2013 under Jonathan’s administration. Now they have joined the ranks of pensioners who have always been a forgotten section of the society simply because they could not embark on strikes. Right now, the federal pensioners are having a running battle with the government not only for nonpayment of three years arrears of their pensions, but for wicked and illegal deduction of 20% as tax on nontaxable pensions. Perhaps our governments deliberately want the pensioners to die instead of taking proper care of them at old age as governments in civilized countries do for their pensioners seen as respected senior citizens.

    But there is no way we can discuss the present bad situation of workers and pensioners without going back to the memory the lane – Jonathan’s profligate administration. That was why, in one of my writings entitled “Aregbesola: more sinned against than sinning?” (Nation, April 7, p19) I argued, not only on behalf of Governor Aregbesola, but also on behalf of all governors including the President and the Federal Government in the present dispensation. The core of my argument and defence was that, with the monumental corruption and emptying of national treasury by Jonathan’s administration, the problem of nonpayment of salaries which started before the end of his administration was inevitable.

    In fact, I had envisaged this problem by warning the All Progressive Governors in an earlier article entitled “APC Governors beware!” (Nation, March 29, 2014, p21) in the following excerpt: “Since about July last year (i.e. 2013), the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory have been starved of funds through a drastic reduction of 40% of their statutory allocations attributed to shortfall in oil revenue. For instance, the State of Osun which used to receive monthly allocation of between ¦ 4.4 – 4.6bn now gets ¦ 3.2bn, a shortfall of a whopping ¦ 1.2bn per month! Consequent upon this, some states have not been able to meet their obligation to workers in the payment of salaries and pensions as and at when due”. For this strange development, I asked the affected governors all over the country to raise local and international alarms about the coincidence of the alleged 40% cut in monthly statutory allocations, with the time of the Ekiti and Osun States governorship elections in 2014, and presidential and National Assembly elections the following year, 2015. I then wondered about the motive that led the federal government to begin starving the states of funds at that time and why it coincided with the disappearance of $20bn, earned largely from bumper oil revenue which ought to have gone to the states, into thin air! I then posited that the 40% shortfall for all the states was a ruse, as only the APC states would be affected while the PDP states, their governors and National Assembly candidates for the 2015 elections would get hefty money through the back door, at least from the $20bn missing oil money – a gigantic loot which I said would be shared by PDP and governorship candidates, including the pursuit of Jonathan’s presidential ambition. Now, the sharing of part of the loot as exposed from Dasukigate has proved me right. So also are several looted funds allegedly supervised by the then Minister of Petroleum, Mrs. Alison-Madueke and many others still under investigation. Fortunately, some of these looted funds from bumper harvest of oil revenue are being recovered.

    The question now is, why should people now groan under an unprecedented economic crunch even after some appreciable loot have been recovered? The loots belong to Nigerians who are citizens of the 36 states of the federation and not the Federal Government which is only a custodian of the nation’s wealth with its own share as prescribed by the constitution. But there can be no Federal Government without the state governments as its essential and irreducible components. If you are told that The Federal Republic of Nigeria is made up of 36 states plus the Federal Capital Territory, then the Federal Republic of Nigeria is only an abstract entity, unknown to villagers in their individual states. So when I tell you all the states that constitute The Federal Republic Nigeria and you ask me “where is The Federal Republic of Nigeria?” you are making what philosophers call a category mistake. There is no Federal Government outside the 36 states and the Federal Territory.

    My advice to the Presidency is to realize always, that the state governments constitute the essence, existence and soul of what is known as The Federal Republic of Nigeria. The federation is an organic whole, just like any living organism which, if it fails to take proper care of any of its component parts, is doomed to extinction. The non-functioning of just one organ of the body can lead to the death of a person. The same is true of Nigeria, and any nation, as a federation. The problem in one state can cause a lot of problem for the entire federation, or even its death or disintegration, just as we have witnessed in Borno State, and now witnessing in the Niger Delta.

    I think the federal government should take seriously the problem of nonpayment of salaries with governors, as this affects the nation’s economy badly. Citizens have no money to spend while market women, businessmen and women and petty traders cry loud for lack of patronage. There is also the need to reconsider the issue of TSA whose effect is telling heavily on banks and federal institutions which can no longer service the Nigerian people with money that have been seized by the Federal Government. The entire nation suffers while all its money is stockpiled in one place – an overstuffed central bank.

     

    • Prof. Makinde, FNAL, writes from Awolowo Centre for Philosophy, Ideology and Good Governance, Osogbo.
  • Osinbajo, governors meet on N250b revenue shortfall

    Osinbajo, governors meet on N250b revenue shortfall

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) representatives yesterday had a closed meeting to discuss modalities towards making up the over N250 billion monthly shortfall from the Federation Allocation Accounts Committee (FAAC).

    A reliable source at the meeting, who craved anonymity, said this after the meeting.

    He said governors needed to correct the impression that they received huge allocations, and diverted some to private pockets.

    The governors, at an extraordinary meeting last Friday, set up a three-man committee comprising Udom Emmanuel (Akwa Ibom),  Muhammad Abubakar (Bauchi), and Rauf Aregbesola (Osun) to meet the Federal Government to discuss the shortfall.

    Muhammed and Emmanuel made the meeting; Aregbesola was said to be out of the country. But he was represented by the Chairman and director general of the forum.

    The Federal Government deducted N32 billion from allocations to states from the Federation Account in April as repayment for loans.

    Souces said Osun State was  worse hit, as its allocation of N2.030 billion left a deficit of N361 million to be paid in subsequent allocations.

    Bayelsa was next, with N3.207 billion deducted from its N4.812 billion. Deductions from Cross River State was N1.405 billion; Ogun State N1.185 billion; Plateau State N1.248 billion, and Ekiti State N1.067 billion.

    About N3.078 billion was deducted for bail-out funds granted states by the Federal Government.

    At least eight states had no deductions on bail-out funds for April. They included Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Jigawa, Kogi, Lagos, Rivers, Yobe and the Federal Capital Territory.

    They either did not collect the bail-out funds from or the deductions are not yet due.

  • Governors back Buhari on measures

    Governors back Buhari on measures

    President Muhammadu Buhari’s economic policies got the nod of the State Governors yesterday.

    The governors said they were committed to encouraging the President to “continue along the line to bring the country out of recession.”

    The support was one of the highpoints of the resolution adopted at an  extraordinary  meeting of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) in Abuja.

    The meeting came 24 hours after a Ministerial Retreat on the Economy and Budget where President Buhari  urged the ministries, departments and agencies  to begin to think outside the box with a view to fixing the national economy.

    “The challenges we face in the current recession require ‘out-of-the box’ thinking,to deploy  strategies that involve engaging meaningfully with the private sector,to raise the level of private sector investment in the economy as a whole,” Buhari said at the ministerial retreat.

    Besides   the economy,the  governors  asked the federal authorities to treat the issue of insurgency as a national emergency.

    NGF Chairman and Zamfara State Governor, Abdulaziz Yari said the forum also agreed to activate the states task force on polio or the primary health care, which is to be led by the deputy governors.

    The governors similarly  expressed their determination  to pay their counterpart funding towards polio eradication.

    They plan to  engage the Minister of Health to give urgent attention to the eradication of Lassa Fever in the country.

  • Governors laud Sterling Bank’s CSR initiative

    Governors laud Sterling Bank’s CSR initiative

    The Governors of Plateau, Bauchi and Gombe states, Simon Lalong, Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar and Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo have commended Sterling Bank Plc for its role in checkmating desertification experienced in some Northern parts of the country through its tree planting initiative.

    Desertification, according to them, has caused a lot of damage to the local economy as it has made farming impossible in affected areas leading to high cost of food items and poor standard of living for the people.

    According to a statement from the lender, the Governors made these remarks during the tree planting organised by the Bank in the three pilot states at the weekend.

    They said the initiative would sustain the environment and checkmate the rising challenges posed by desertification as well as generate the much needed awareness on desertification at local, national and global levels.

    The bank last week, commenced the pilot stage of the tree planting initiative in three states in Northern Nigeria. The initiative, according to the Bank  became imperative as one of the solutions to cushion the effects of desertification in the country, as Nigeria is faced with rapid desert encroachment affecting 15 northern states with various degree of impact.

    The Plateau State Governor, who was represented by the State’s Commissioner for Agriculture, Mrs. Lynda Shekinah Barau commended the Bank for coming up with the initiative, which according to her,  remains the most tested solution to stemming the tide of desertification and is in line with the United Nation’s Sustainable Developmental Goals for environmental preservation.

  • Wabba: strip governors of immunity

    Wabba: strip governors of immunity

    Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President Comrade Ayuba Wabba has said governors should be stripped of immunity because nobody is above the law.

    Speaking with The Nation, Wabba said all citizens are equal before the law, adding that the fact that governors are privileged to provide leadership did not mean they are above the law.

    He pointed out that the issue of immunity was absurd. “Criminal proceedings should, therefore, not be allowed to be deterred by immunity. For civil cases, it may be allowed. This is to strengthen our democracy.

    “If you look at most of the cases that have festered in courts for years, you will see that the immunity granted these public officials contributed a great deal to delaying them.

    “On the fight against corruption, every Nigerian must subject himself to the rule of law and while in office, criminal proceedings should be allowed to be initiated, irrespective of the person involved,” Wabba said.

    He said labour had submitted a formal letter to all the tiers of government, especially the executive, to address these issues.

    According to him, if immunity is removed, having specialised courts for the quick dispensation of justice would advance administration of justice.

    His words: “We will not relent in lending our voice through advocacy, and at the end of the day we should be able to have a result.

    “We call on Nigerians and the media to join us to advance these issues together because those that are enjoying the immunity are not likely to make a move. They are benefiting from the system and so they won’t be happy if for the immunity removal.

    “There is going to be a memorandum, because we will provide an opportunity for organisations and individuals to submit memorandum and be part of the process. Law is about the people and we are the people”.

    On minimum wage, he said discussions had been on for a long time; what is left is for the government to announce the composition of the constituted committee earlier set up and inaugurate it.

  • Uduaghan to Fed Govt: involve governors in Avengers’ crisis

    Uduaghan to Fed Govt: involve governors in Avengers’ crisis

    Former Delta State Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan has urged the Federal Government to involve Niger Delta governors in resolving the crisis the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) has caused in region and the economy.

    Uduaghan noted that the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) to Niger Delta militants failed to yield results because the region’s governors were not involved.

    The former governor spoke at the weekend in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, at the Nigerian Guild of Editors’ (NGE) conference.

    He said the region’s governors should participate in the resolution of militancy and other challenges causing underdevelopment in the region.

    Uduaghan said this would maximise the Federal Government effort to solve the challenges.

    The former governor urged the agitating youth to embrace dialogue with the government to resolve the region’s crisis.

    He said: “The Amnesty did not achieve what it was to achieve because the governors were not involved. The states should be involved. The biggest threat in Niger Delta is that our land is seriously polluted, especially the water. In those days, you could see the sand under the water. We used it to wash our teeth. But it is not so anymore.

    “Niger Delta Avengers are busting our pipelines for whatever reasons; anger. Nigerians are looking at it as something just affecting only the economy; it goes beyond that. Our environment is being ruined.

    “Dealing with the Niger Delta challenge should be a carrot-and-stick approach: engagement first and force, where necessary. Engagements should be deepened. The governors should be part of it.

    “I want to appeal to our brothers in Niger Delta Avengers that what they are doing is not just damaging the economy but the waters. I appeal to them to stop. The media should also help to appeal to them to stop it.”

    Uduaghan appealed to the media to educate Nigerians on the gains of agriculture, adding that the nation needed to embrace agriculture as a major revenue earner.