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Tag: hidden agenda

  • Exposed: Oyegun’s ‘hidden agenda’ on tenure extension

    Party: no such plot

    Rather than go away, tenure elongation is still haunting the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Some of its members yesterday cried out over the content of a memo presented to the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting on Monday by Chairman John Odigie-Oyegun.

    They claimed that a portion of the memo was aimed at achieving tenure extension through the backdoor.

    But the party leadership denied having any hidden plan to extend its tenure.

    The NEC rejected tenure elongation for Oyegun and other members of the National Working Committee (NWC).

    It, however, granted them waivers to recontest at the party’s congresses and convention for which no dates have been fixed.

    President Muhammadu Buhari was at the NEC meeting to, according to him, “nail the coffin of tenure elongation and also declare my re-election bid”.

    But in his memo, Oyegun said the Simon Lalong Technical Committee recommended, among others, that: “if for reasons of inability to fulfil constitutional and or legal conditions requisite for the conduct of a valid elective congress or convention, then, the party may as a last resort leverage on the NEC resolution of February 27, 2018, which in our view is lawful in the circumstances.” The NEC, on February 27, approved tenure extension for Oyegun and his team, but reversed itself following the President’s intervention on March 27.

    Referring to the committee’s report, Oyegun insisted that the February 27 decision of NEC neither violated APC constitution nor the 1999 Constitution.

    Sources said yesterday that the adopted memo may “trigger problems”, especially if the proposed congresses and convention are not held.

    “I suspect a plot to frustrate and subvert the congresses and convention, especially since waivers have been given to the NEC to supervise the exercise and recontest in the intra-party elections. There may be no commitment to successful congresses and convention. The exercise can be programmed to fail to achieve tenure elongation through the backdoor.”

    Other recommendations approved by the NEC include a 21 days statutory notice for the holding of elective congresses and convention to be given to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) immediately; the current zoning formula for party offices be retained; requirements of Article 31 (111) be waived in line with the provisions of Article 13.4 (xv) to avoid disruptions in the management of party affairs at all levels; and all pending suits in respect of this matter be withdrawn.

    Oyegun recalled that on February 27, the NEC voted to authorise all elected officials to continue in acting capacities for a period not exceeding 12 months after the expiration of their tenure.

    He said the President observed that the NEC’s decision might have contravened the party constitution and the 1999 Constitution.

    The chairman noted that, following the President’s observation, the NEC authorised him to set up the Lalong committee to advise the party on the way forward.

    The 10-man committee, he said, was mandated to examine the President’s position and recommendations.

    Oyegun said the committee affirmed the “constitutionality and legality of the NEC Resolution of February 27” and the “need for elective congresses and convention.”

    Quoting the committee’s report, Oyegun said: “After citing relevant statutes and authorities, the committee concluded that the decision taken by the NEC at its meeting of February 27 did not violate either the constitution of the party and that of the federation.

    “In essence, APC is competent through its relevant organs, to constitute caretaker committees to run the affairs of the party upon the expiration of the tenure of its elected party officials where, for some reasons, it is impracticable to hold elections before the requisite effluxion of time.

    “The committee is of the view that it is the requirement of the constitution that the party should hold democratic congresses and convention every four years. The issue however, is whether or not this requirement accommodates certain exigencies or circumstances that might prevent or make the holding of the congresses and convention impracticable.”

    Oyegun said the Lalong committee recommended as follows:  “That although the decision taken by NEC on February 27 is legal and constitutional, and violated neither the party constitution nor that of the federation, it is still in the best interest of the party to conduct congresses and convention.

    “However, in doing so, all reasonable measures should be taken to minimise opportunity for acrimony or rancour while ensuring that all prescribed constitutional and legal conditions are met.”

    Dispelling fears of the NWC extending its tenure, APC spokesman Bolaji Abdullahi said the party was already preparing for its congresses and convention.

    He described the NEC’s decisions as a stop gap measure, pointing out that there is nothing constitutional about them. Abdullahi dismissed insinuations that the party leadership may leverage on that not to hold congresses and convention.

    He said: “I can assure you that we are preparing for congresses and convention. The congresses and convention will hold and so, there is nothing like anybody leveraging on that to ensure that congresses do not hold so that some people will remain in office”.

  • Maritime Academy: Unmasking hidden agenda 

    In January 20, 2017,  in Abuja, the Minister of Transport, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi,  set up a-7-man Ministerial Committee with the following terms of reference: to advise on restructuring and repositioning of the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN), Oron, for optimal training capacity, recommend appropriate measures to be taken by the Federal Government to upgrade the institution and maintain a world-class standard of training and certification that will effectively serve our local and international needs/requirements of the maritime industry.

    This step was certainly a necessity long overdue. But that the matter was once again revisited with supposedly new steam was most welcome. In the simplest terms, the committee was mandated to do a surgery on the premier institution, share ideas with the host communities and major stakeholders, and come up with recommendations that will make a long-awaited difference and stand the test of time.

    From a historical perspective, the Chairman of the Committee, Chief Adebayo Sarumi, a former Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), is a highly respected professional of note. However, it must be said that Chief Sarumi has weak antecedents with the Academy. We recall with deep pains that he directly or indirectly ensured that the sum of Twenty-Five Million Naira that was once allotted for the construction of the institution’s only Survival Swimming Pool was never released, while other sister agencies in the transport ministry like NIMASA and Nigerian Shippers Council complied with the ministerial directive. Today, the Academy does not have a survival pool, which is a worrisome disadvantage to the cadets. The ill-will and distrust Chief Sarumi created for himself can best be imagined!

    Expectedly, the stakeholders in their separate position papers collectively and unanimously reaffirmed their tested commitment and readiness to work with the committee and the government to realise whatever renewed goals and template were to be set. Principal amongst the demands by the stakeholders were the need for the Academy to be upgraded to a degree-awarding institution; adherence to local-content laws and federal character principle that statutorily give preeminence to the host communities in terms of quota and percentage, and confirmation of the incumbent Registrar/Acting Rector of the Academy, Pastor Mkpandiok A. Mkpandiok, as the substantive Rector. Observable aberrations in the aspect of the spread of Management Staff in the Academy were also respectfully questioned.

    There are strongly held speculations that the committee may have come with a hidden agenda, although, perhaps, without the knowledge of the Minister of Transport. Many critics are of the strong belief that the Minister is a poor student of history, judging by the composition of members of the Ministerial Committee. Such speculators claim that Chief Sarumi’s ultimate preoccupation is to retrench and rejig the system with his favourites.  The stakeholders actually do not believe these; except that the forms/questionnaire already circulated by Chief Sarumi, wherein staff are expected to indicate their qualifications, sex, state of origin salary, etc seem to have offered some food for thought.

    If the committee has no hidden agenda to frustrate the vision for degree-awarding status, reposition the Academy for global competitiveness, boost man-power and infrastructural development, why must the committee hire consultants on human resource management and finance to handle the restructuring agenda which was the core mandate of the Ministerial Committee? These consultants are believed to lack even basic knowledge of Maritime matters, yet are the ones to scrutinise and reposition the Academy.

    That sounds threatening when one considers some other questions on the said questionnaire, viz: Did you undergo any induction course when you joined the Academy? How familiar are you with the mandate of MAN? In what way have you contributed to the overall performance of the Academy via application of training skills? When was your last promotion? Describe the staff apparatus system/method that informs promotion? How objective will you say the criteria and process guiding staff promotion in the Academy is?  How has the culture of the Academy impacted on the development of the community? Etc.

    Of course, the tension and the speculation generated by the content of the questionnaire are enough to demoralise the staff and soak the Ministerial Committee in more controversies. The committee has lost focus on the fact that the current staff strength was one of the prerequisites for the upgrade of the institution. Hence, the emphasis of the committee should be toward the upgrade of the institution to a world-class Maritime Academy, which requires engagement of more hands.

    Rather than retrenchment, the committee should re-deploy some staff to departments where they will be more useful to themselves and the Academy. These are all Nigerians and the Federal Government Policy is to create jobs. Any retrenchment at this point can lead to crisis and therefore counter- productive in terms of committee’s report.

    It could be argued, like he earlier reasoned, that Chief Sarumi has no control whatsoever over what will become of his committee’s recommendations to the Minister of Transport, but he can set a bad tone or impute motives that could be ratified in error by his principal if he were not transparent enough in helping the Academy and guiding the Minister of Transportation to have a panoramic picture of the situation in the institution. It is on this basis that Chief Sarumi is advised to concentrate strictly on what the principal terms of reference demand. The argument is that Chief Sarumi, by unilaterally encroaching into unassigned territories, seems poised to frustrate the Academy the more as well as misguide the Minister. The mandate was simple – loosely, to liaise with stakeholders, suggest ways and see to the restructuring that will lead to the upgrade of the Academy

    On the far end, concerns still linger on why Amaechi himself has refused to visit the Academy on his own. Reference is made to the fact that even when two of the Academy’s Rectors died in quick succession within 2016, the Minister never deemed it necessary to visit, send a condolence letter or representations to their burial ceremonies. At the moment, the general morale of the staff is low and one can only wonder what it could be if Chief Sarumi in his wisdom resorts to vengeful, oppressive retrenchment or downsizing.

    Already, the committee as it stands is lopsided in its composition. First and foremost, it is palpable that the interest of the host community was not captured in this instance as has always been the case, and this must be seen as deliberate, gross marginalisation that cannot be taken as an error. For instance, it surprises Akwa Ibom people that Obong Nsesen Ebong, a renowned maritime professional and administrator, who holds the record of the longest-serving Rector of the Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron, a man who till today is looked upon by the community as a pillar, is not a member of the Amaechi-designed committee.

     

    • Anta-abasi  Anwana  is a public commentator and President, Oron Nation Advocacy Group
  • Aftermath of NFF’s sack: ‘Sports Minister has hidden agenda’

    Aftermath of NFF’s sack: ‘Sports Minister has hidden agenda’

    An avalanche of reactions have continued to trail yesterday’s decision of a Jos High Court to sack the president of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), its Executive Committee members and the NFF Congress.

    Justice P.L Lot of a High Court sitting in Plateau State granted an Order of Interlocutory Injunction restraining Aminu Maigari and his Executive Committee members and the NFF Congress, from running the affairs of Nigerian football forthwith, pending the determination of the Motion on Notice before the court.

    A top source within the football house alleged that what transpired yesterday maybe akin to biblical face of Jacob and hand of Esau saga as he tried to paint a picture of a purported script emanating from the sports minister,Tamuno Danagogo.

    Speaking to SportingLife on phone immediately the news of the court judgement broke,the source wondered why the minister acted with military dispatch in ordering that Lawrence Katiken  act as Secretary General of the NFF, and to take over the full management of the federation.

    “We know where all these are coming from.If not why was the minister in such a hurry to ensure that the Aminu Maigari and his executive committee members were shoved aside”he began in the interview.

    Continuing,he said”The board deserved to be commended for elevating Nigerian football to an enviable height in the past four years instead of condemnation”

    Our source also warned of the obvious consequences of incurring FIFA’s wrath when football matters are dragged to court,a situation he believed could affect Super Eagles Nations Cup defence.

    “This is not what we should be talking about when the  Nations Cup qualifiers  start in less than three months from now.Those who are behind the law suit don’t mean well for Nigerian football” he added.

  • ‘If Jonathan has hidden agenda, national conference will not succeed’

    ‘If Jonathan has hidden agenda, national conference will not succeed’

    Pro-National Conference Organisation (PRONACO) chieftain Comrade Linus Okoroji, in this interview with Musa Odoshimokhe, explains how the proposed national dialogue can resolve the national question and restore hope to Nigerians.

    What manner of dialogue should Nigerians envisage?

    My position is not quite different from our stance on the Sovereign National Conference (SNA). I think for now, we should accept it with two hands in whatever guise is has come. We should not give them the opportunity to give excuses. We have been clamouring for it for long. The area I am not quite comfortable with is the move to remove the word “sovereign”. Nobody should tamper with the report. There should be a plebiscite.The people will vote in favour or against it. So, it will be the people’s constitution. This should not be the elite issue, and those who have stood up to kick against it are afraid that it would be politicised.

    Are there antecedents to show that it was hijacked in the past?

    This is in view of what Chief Olusegun Obasanjo did, what General Sani Abacha did at his own time. Having said that, I have seen some of the people in the advisory committee led by Dr. Femi Okorounmu. He has name to protect and I have no reason to doubt him. More so, he is a Yoruba elite and an Afenifere chieftain. When he was in the Senate, he had advocated for a SNC. So, I cannot doubt his integrity. For now, I think we should accept this with our two hands and see how we are going to manage it. What I think would be the challenge is how to get the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO)’s support, which the conference desires. We should return the country to a true federal system. Each region should control its resources. We should look at the PRONACO document and see its position. Today, there is no state in Nigeria that has a working edict. In the pas,t the Northern Region had its own constitution, the Western Region had its own constitution, the Midwest Region had its constitution and the Eastern Region had its constitution. But all these federal paraphernalia have been thrown away. People like Indians and Chinese understand what it means to decentralise governance according to their nationalities. We should not be a different people. We should look at all of these and see how we can move forward.

    Some sections of the country are afraid that it will lead to the breakup of Nigeria? What is your view?

    What is wrong, if the country breaks up? Will the North not survive, if the country breaks? If that is their fear, they should come down to terms with other sections of the country. They should not continue to play the role of a senior brother or owner of Nigeria. If they nurse such fear, they should come down low and give Nigeria the opportunity to survive. The problem we have is the North, which does not want others to survive. They are using the resources of other nationalities, which they want to manage. They should work together with others so that Nigeria will survive in the interest of all and not their own interest alone. That is even the fears of other minorities in the North; the majority wants to trample on them. The oligarchy wants to suppress the minority in their own areas. There is this story we heard from Chief Anthony Enahoro, may his soul rest in peace, that Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, when he was the Prime Minister of Nigeria, in the North, he was not recognised above Sardauna. Sarduana was his boss. That is the way they behave.

    What do think should guide us during the conference?

    It is the matter of sincerity and commitment to examine the issues that are germane to our wellbeing as a country. We should aim at making Nigeria a developing, progressive and people-oriented country. We should look at the welfare of the people, the significance of the common good; that everybody who is a Nigerian should be entitled to benefit from the common good. If you are walking on the street of America and suddenly, you collapse and drop, government hospital will pick you up and take care of you. Nobody cares who you are. They take care of you, until you survive, unless such a person is unlucky and die. In Nigeria, we are living like orphans. People who have no parents, unless you have contact with people in government, that is only when your survival is guaranteed.

    But the time is too short to have a successful conference before 2015…

    Before the military left, the NADECO had been clamouring for the SNC, even during the Abiola struggle. Our slogan was let us have a Government of National Unity. With the Government of National Unity, we should go ahead to have the national conference. And it was thought that, within four years, we would have achieved the goal. All the efforts were truncated by personal ambitions of those who came on board. They instituted kangaroo conferences because they wanted to remain in power. But, if that is the strategy put in place now, it will fail because Obasanjo failed when he tried it. The truth is that, is he going to succeed? If he diverts attention because of his ambition, what is going to be his own gain? My thinking is that he wants to break away from just being the President of Nigeria to being a hero.

    What, if the outcome of the conference is finally tempered with by the Nation Assembly?

    It is going to be wrong to subject it to the National Assembly and, whether they call it National Conference or Sovereign National Conference, it boils down to the end result. The outcome of the conference must not be tampered with by anybody. Once it is tampered with, it means the conference did not hold, no matter how long. And whether a National Conference or Sovereign National Conference, it can only be subjected to a referendum and not the National Assembly. What is the significance of the National Assembly to a National Conference when they are at the House discussing issues that favour them alone and their cronies? The only power to vet the outcome of the conference is the people through a plebiscite.