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Tag: interference

  • APC: We welcome observers, but won’t accept interference in electoral process

    The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) declared yesterday that foreign observers are very much welcomed in Nigeria during this year’s elections starting with the presidential polls on Saturday.

    But it warned that no form of meddlesomeness, intimidation or interference by any foreign country in the electoral process in the guise of election monitoring would be allowed.

    The party said those coming to observe the election should be aware that Nigeria is a sovereign state and not a colony of any nation and should therefore apply international best practices in carrying out their functions as election observers.

    National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, said in a statement in Abuja that the party was solidly behind the statement credited to Governor Nasir El’Rufai of Kaduna State, and it was ready to defend Nigeria.

    Onilu said, “We stand fully by the statement as regards any country that thinks we are a colony; that we have a right to defend every inch of this country; and we are not a banana republic.

    “Governor El’Rufai never said people should not come and observe or monitor elections. And he was not referring to people who are genuinely coming to monitor and observe the elections. Nigerians also go to other countries as monitors and observers. So that is acceptable to us. We welcome peer review. What we don’t welcome and what is unacceptable to us is any country thinking we are a colony, we are not. We are a sovereign nation.”

    On the development within the party in Imo State, Issa-Onilu said the National Working Committee of the party was yet to take a decision.

    He said, “We are aware of the situation in Imo and we have made our point clear. Let me reiterate that APC does not have an alliance with any party, including the Action Alliance. We are not in alliance with any party whatsoever in this election.

    “However, we welcome support for our candidates from any party, but we do not have such an arrangement that accommodates the candidate of any other party besides APC candidates. In Imo and all the thirty-six states, including the FCT, we are campaigning for APC candidates and we expect APC candidates to win elections anywhere we are campaigning in a free and fair atmosphere.

    “We are also aware of the fact the party’s local chapter has taken some disciplinary action as regards the Imo State governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha. In the last few weeks, we have been going round the country to present our scorecard before Nigerians and to seek a renewal of this mandate to continue the good work that President Muhammadu Buhari has embarked on.

    “The National Working Committee has not been able to meet on that and many other issues pending. In due course the NWC will meet and that may be one of the issues that will be considered.

    “As at today, the real issue in Imo is to emphasise the fact that APC is supporting all APC candidates in Imo and we do not recognise candidates that are not from the APC. We encourage the people of Imo to vote massively for APC candidates. The governorship candidate in Imo remains Senator Hope Uzodinma,” he said.

    Responding to the criticism that greeted the recent   redeployment of Commissioners of Police to the states, the APC spokesman said, “a few weeks ago, it was the same PDP that was crying that the police had been compromised and that the former Inspector General of Police was poised to deliver the election to APC. Now the president has taken the position by appointing a new IGP. Now I don’t know where the noise is coming from.

    “There is no need to deceive ourselves. The whole noise about the posting of commissioners of police is about Kwara State; Dr. Bukola Saraki is scared stiff remembering all he had done in the past when he had the control. What he normally used the police for, the way he used to manipulate INEC and he is thinking that the same thing may happen to him.

    “How could you suggest to the police not to carry out its routine exercise. If the police think it is part of its preparation to ensure a free and fair election, provide security before and after the election is to move its personnel around, how does that bother anybody?

    “It is because Bukola Saraki has realised without having control over INEC and the police, there is no way he can win his seat to come back as a senator. He cannot even deliver his polling unit, without being aided by the police and INEC and that is what he has been doing before but is no longer available for him.

    “But let me assure him and his co travellers, the APC doesn’t need those illegal things to win elections. In fact, we need them to do their jobs; we need them to provide a level playing field to all political parties. That is all we want from the police; that is all we want from INEC. We don’t need the template Bukola Saraki and the PDP have been using and we are not going to use it.”

     

  • Elections, interference and migrations

    In  his new  book  on conceding power  in the 2015 Nigerian presidential  elections,  the gallant loser former President Goodluck Jonathan accused  the former US President Barak  Obama of interfering in the election with his body language in wanting the opposition to Jonathan  to win. That  too, obviously was one of the serious  and patriotic  reasons  that  made  the losing president to make the phone call  that sealed  his place in history  as  a peaceful  and loving Nigerian  leader, and the first  to lose power and transfer it peacefully  after losing  an election.

    Subsequent  events in both the US and  elsewhere  have shown  that Obama’s role in Nigeria was not an isolated event or  peculiar  to our shores. The successor to Obama, President Donald  Trump  is fighting for the  life of his presidency over allegations and investigations by the Mueller Probe that  Russia intervened in the US 2016  presidential  elections in a way  that helped  Trump  defeat his Democratic Party  opponent  Hillary  Clinton.  Of  course  Trump is furious and unrelenting in denying any  such claim shouting each time that the probe was a witch  hunt  and  there  was  indeed  no collusion. Trump  is  in  his third  year in office and he is stoutly denying collusion with  Russia  because his legitimacy is at stake.

    Equally,  the legitimacy  of the Buhari Administration  could be at stake  over  this unsubstantiated  claim of a loser getting wise after the event  and seeing  the  gloom  of defeat in a different light on the eve of another election in which he is trying frantically, like a sinking man grasping at a straw, to save the fortune of his party  the  PDP  in the coming 2019 presidential elections. The peaceful  transition  leader  should be brought back to earth  with statistics  and  media  reports  that  showed clearly that on the  eve of the 2015  elections,  massive  insecurity  and blood curling  terrorism typified  by  a boisterious Boko Haram assault, lack  of electricity  and incompetence to find  the Chibok girls  had made the PDP government  of  President Goodluck  Jonathan one of the most  hated  and incompetent government Nigerians    had ever  seen    or  experienced,  and its reelection  or  even un electability was a forgone conclusion that  needed  no foreign prodding from Obama’s American  government.

    Again  that is not to say  that  elections  are  simply national issues  nowadays. Far  from it,  and it  is  becoming  even easier to interfere  in elections  and blame Face  Book  or  social media for something that is a creation of technological innovation and creativity. For example  US  President Donald  Trump  has turned twitter into a potent weapon of both domestic and diplomatic politics for both policy making and adversarial campaigns against  both  real and potential opponents and  this  helped  the Republicans to increase  their  majority in the senate  in the last November 16  Mid Term elections in the US.

    More  ominous  however    is  the use of elections to  explain a naval and diplomatic  tussle between Russia  and Ukraine  this week  by the ubiquitous Russian President Vladmir  Putin  who  cheekily said Ukraine President  Poroshenko  is trying to escalate  an incident in which Russian  navy  ships rammed Ukrainian vessels  it said violated its sea borders  and territory,  thus violating Russia’s territorial integrity.  President  Putin  of  Russia  said that  his Ukranian counterpart  President  Poroshenko  is trying to divert attention away  from  his unpopularity at home in the next presidential elections slated  for March  2019  in  Ukraine. The President of Ukraine on his part  has asked the  EU  and  NATO  to deploy their ships in the waters between Ukraine  and Russia to deter  further Russian  aggression. Undoubtedly  the  Russian president  is enjoying himself  at the expense of international  law  and order in the way he  has attacked Ukraine  and gone on to  brazenly    suggest  an electoral  excuse for Ukraine in defending its territorial  integrity on international  waters in consonance with the Law  of the Seas.

    Putin  had said Russia interfered in the US 2016  presidential elections against Hillary  Clinton  because  she was Secretary  of State  in 2011  when the US  sponsored  protests  against  his election for  president in Russia  and that  the 2016  hacking in favor of Trump was  a retaliation against  the Democratic  Party presidential  candidate.  Which  boils down  to a tit  for tat  or what  the  Israelis  call an eye  for an  eye, which  is the law  of Moses.  Yet that has not  brought  peace or  security  to the  any nation      more  especially  Jews either in history  or even in modern times.

    Indeed  according to  new  reports including a CNN survey  this week Anti  Semitism  is on the rise in  Europe  and the US  and  even  in Germany which  is  Hitler’s  nation in which 6m  Jews  were eliminated in the Holocaust. In  Germany, Holocaust  denial  is a punishable crime.  But  nowadays Anti  Semitism  in the west  comes from  two  major  angles. One is  from those in Europe and US who feel  Jews  are  running  western civilization  to the detriment  of other  whites,  which  was what Hitler whipped  up  leading to the Holocaust. The  second  is  the Anti Semitism  of  Arabs and migrants  in EU nations and US  against  the  state  of Israel  and the denial  of Palestinian rights  and nationality  by the state  of Israel.  Yet  paradoxically it was Angela Merkel  the German chancellor  – who  was blamed by Trump  especially – for allowing over 1m Arab refugees into  Germany in 2015  that  her opponents claim will not integrate  – but threaten European  security.  Angela  Merkel had  since paid  a steep electoral price for what  was  an  act  of mercy  and has even lost  her leadership of  Germany as she has said she would not seek  reelection to her office again. But  then  the EU  and  the rest of Europe  and even  the US except  its president must  acknowledge  that  the migration  issue  is the issue  of the day polarising their  people  and  reinventing  nationalism  and populist leaders  like Trump  and the leaders in Poland, Hungary, Czech and  Slovak  Republics.  Some  have claimed it is at  the heart of even Brexit.

    In  a pragmatic  sense  however  what  is unsettling Europe is  also not far  from Africa. Angela Merkel  visited Nigeria, Kenya  and some  African nations in the hope of giving economic aid so  that Africans will  not flee their nations and risk  dying on the Mediterranean  and high seas  to  Italy,  where they  are not wanted on their  way  to  Europe.  Incidentally our  own  version of EU  migrants’ fear is the resort to ethnicity and tribalism  in the competition for power in 2019.  The  Igbos now  look to  the PDP  and Peter Obi  who is the presidential  running mate to the PDP presidential  candidate. The  Yorubas  as we have seen are following the APC  and  Buhari  because  you  don’t bite the finger that feeds you. Both  are a mixture of nationalism  and  populism  the  two ideologies bedeviling  western  civilization at the moment. Yet  in colonial  times we were  told that tribalism or  love of the nation state,    was abhorrent. Nowadays  it is the vogue in both former colonial  and colonized  nations. Once again  long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

  • Interference in arbitral proceedings can affect growth, says institute

    The Nigerian Institute of Chartered Arbitrators (NICARB) has warned that spurious resort to judicial intervention by parties to arbitration proceedings and awards could hurt economic growth.

    It said this also tasks the confidence and reliance on arbitration as a viable and potent option for settlement of commercial and investment disputes.

    NICARB’s Registrar/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Shola Oshodi-John stated this at  a briefing in Lagos to announce the institute’s Annual Conference, which will hold on October 24 and 25 at the Oriental Hotel in Lagos.

    The conference themed, “Enforcement of arbitral awards and economic growth in West Africa,”will discuss topics, including ‘Incidents of setting aside arbitral awards and its implication’; ‘Enforcement of Arbitral Awards: Challenges and prospects’; and the ‘Role and impact of ICT in Arbitration and enforcement of Awards.’

    Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu and Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) President, Mr. Paul Usoro (SAN) will deliver the keynote address.

    Oshodi-John said: “Recent judicial decisions on arbitration related proceedings and awards present a very disturbing trend that is unfavourable and producing negative impact on the economic viability

    and growth of West Africa’s Economy.

    “This trend places Arbitration and other ADR mechanism on a balance as most awards become subject of litigation in courts. Parties and practitioners are largely disadvantaged by this development and as such, the need to charting a path to address these challenges.”

    She noted that the conference will provide an opportunity for business owners, legal practitioners and other professionals to discuss the current mode of enforcing arbitral awards and its impact on West

    Africa.

    “More specifically, the conference will serve as a platform for positioning West Africa as a preferred seat for arbitration proceedings and also ameliorating the drawbacks associated with delay in enforcement of arbitral awards,” Oshodi-John said.

    According to her seasoned experts, including the President, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) Mr. Abimbola Ogunbanjo; Statistician-General, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Mr. Yomi Kale; Federal High Court

    Judge, Justice Binta Nyako and Dr. Paul Ananaba (SAN), among others, will dissect the subject.

    Oshodi-John said they will propose reforms that will “enhance the desired change and promote our region as a viable destination for Arbitration processes in creating a fertile environment for economic advancement.”

  • ‘Insulate prosecuting agencies from political interference’

    ‘Insulate prosecuting agencies from political interference’

     An address by Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) President Abubakar Mahmoud (SAN) during a visit to President Muhammadu Buhari at Aso Villa

    A few months ago, we had joined many Nigerians to pray for your recovery and good health. We are thankful to the Almighty that those prayers have been answered. I would also like to congratulate you and your family as you celebrate,  your 75th Birthday. We wish you many happy returns of this day, in good health so that  you may continue to enjoy your growing family and also to continue to serve your country and humanity.

    Your Excellency, we cannot on occasions such as this fail to bring up a few matters to your attention. And of course to request that you look into them. The matters I would like to bring up today, on behalf of the Nigerian Bar Association, would center around three broad thematic areas: a. National Security and Governance

     

    The Economy and Welfare of the Citizens

    The Judiciary and the Legal Profession I would therefore like to thank your Excellency in advance, for your patience and the opportunity to speak on these issues. Before I go into these issues, it is perhaps appropriate to say a few words about the Nigerian Bar Association. 5. The NBA  Umbrella professional association of all lawyers in Nigeria.

    We presently have approximately 110,000 members across the country organized in 125 Branches. The NBA is the largest Bar Association in Black Africa, second in Africa perhaps only to the Egyptian Bar. It is easily the most influential Bar Association on the continent.  The NBA as a Self-Regulatory Organization, combines regulatory  responsibilities as well as representational role of its members. Our motto is  Promoting the  of Rule of Law. We speak not only on behalf of our members but also on behalf of ordinary citizens especially on matters of national importance, matters that affect the rule of law in the country or could affect the rights and freedoms of ordinary citizens.  Our constitution enjoins us to protect the independence of the Judiciary and also the independence of the legal profession both of which are considered critical components of all democratic societies.

     

    National security and governance 

    On Security  Your Excellency, I want to on behalf of the Bar Association congratulate you and your administration on the giant strides you have made in the area of National Security. A few months before your election, the survival of Nigeria as corporate entity was a matter of debate. Fear and anxiety were pervasive. Today the situation has much improved. We are all more confident about our safety and security. The insurgency in the North-East is now more or less contained. We salute your steadfast leadership and congratulate men and women of Nigerian Armed Forces for these successes.  We are of course aware that a lot remains to be done to completely secure the region. We are also aware that insurgency is a complex regional problem that requires multifaceted approach. We therefore wish to encourage the Government to do more to secure the North East Region. In addition to the insurgency, we are aware of the several flash points of conflict:  The situation in the Niger Delta which remains of critical importance, the lingering Biafran agitation in the South East,  the various communal conflicts in Southern Kaduna, the  Plateau, Taraba etc, the recurring feud between the Herdsmen and Farmers across  many states,  all these remain significant issues and have continued to undermine the peace and security in the country. We want to urge your administration to continue to do more to improve peace and security.

    On our part, the NBA has been doing its best to contribute to addressing these issues. Early in October 2016, I set up two Task Forces: the Niger Delta Task Force and the North-East Task Force. These we charged with the responsibility of coordinating our intervention in the two regions with the ultimate aim of promoting peace, reconciliation rehabilitation, and reconstruction in the regions. In the North East for instance, the justice sector has all but been destroyed for most part of Bornu State and parts of Yobe and Adamawa States.

    We are mobilising to support the rebuilding of justice sector institutions. We are also working to support the victims of these conflicts. We have been able to attract international support to aid our intervention. We have just been able to secure the support of stitutions; v. The need to secure the investigative and prosecutorial agencies from political interference.

    At the meeting of the National Executive Committee of our Association held in Uyo Akwa Ibom State on  November 23, we noted with concern the seeming dissonance amongst the various agencies of the administration. We were concerned that many agencies appeared to be working at cross purposes. We noted with particular concern the unhealthy relationship between the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Department of State Security (DSS). We also noted the appalling handling of the Pension Fraud and some of the High Profile Suspects by various agencies. We called on Your Excellency to do something urgently to rein in the erring agencies and officials. We felt this was necessary so as not to undermine confidence in the government and promote lawlessness in the country. We will like to reiterate our call on your Excellency on the need to address the seeming dissonance amongst various departments of government. Government needs to be seen to be acting in a coordinated fashion in order to maintain confidence of the citizens.

     

     Economy and Welfare of Citizens 

    Mr. President, we would like to commend you on the efforts and successes you have achieved in promoting good governance, fighting corruption and getting the economy out of recession. We are aware much has been achieved in the two and a half years of your administration. We do not in any way underrate the enormous challenges of governance and the problems that your administration inherited. We are also aware that many new initiatives have been introduced to enhance economic management, address issues of youth unemployment, extreme poverty and improve the diversification and competitiveness of the Nigerian economy. The Nigerian Bar Association has the requisite expertise amongst its members to contribute to policy work in all the areas of the economy and we are willing to cooperate and work with government to improve economic management in all Sectors.

    In August this year we organized one of the most successful conferences not only in the history of the NBA but I dare say it was the most successful of conferences in the country in recent times. The theme of that conference was “African Business, Penetrating through Institution Building”. The theme was carefully chosen to address the twin dilemma of promoting prosperity in our country, and indeed the whole continent, and understanding the constraints that impede that, the most significant of which is institution building. We wanted to draw attention to some of the key challenges of promoting economic growth and development not only of the country but across Africa. The conference attracted a rich international faculty and huge array of participants from the public sector, the business community and of the legal, with nearly 12,000 participants it was the largest conference in the country. Your Excellency, we have developed a Policy Book containing a range of specific recommendations which we would like to, at the end of this meeting, present to you as part of our contribution to improving governances and economic management in the country. We are confident that the recommendations if implemented will significantly improve the economy, enhance prosperity and build more confidence in the country especially amongst its youth who are increasingly being frustrated by lack of opportunities.

     

     The judiciary and the legal profession

    The  Nigerian Bar Association, believes that the Judiciary and the legal profession have a pivotal role to play in the national development. A strong and independent judiciary is the bulwark of democracy and the rule of law. We recognize that in recent years, there has been a dwindling confidence both in the Judiciary and the legal profession. The NBA on its part therefore, has made the reform of the legal profession, a top priority in order to rebuild confidence in the legal profession. The judiciary also must regain the confidence of the Nigerian people. The country deserves a more effective, efficient and transparent administration of justice.

    We are therefore working hard to support efforts of the judiciary in this regard and the various reform initiatives currently being pursued by the Chief Justice of Nigeria Justice Walter Samuel Onnoghen  to address issues of integrity in the administration of justice and rebuild confidence. I also want to recognize the effort of the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mallam Abubakar Malami (SAN)  in the work he is doing to enhance the administration of justice. Worthy of note is the recently lunched National Justice Policy which seeks to achieve greater synergy and efficiency amongst justice sector institutions. Whilst commending these efforts, the NBA would still proffer some additional suggestions.

    Before I do that however, we cannot fail, particularly since this is the first time we would have the opportunity of meeting your Excellency, to register our strong disapproval with the very strong arm tactics employed back in October 2016 by Security Agencies in trying to address the allegations of corruption in the judiciary. We do not wish to stir any old controversies, but your Excellency Mr. President will appreciate the need to ensure that these ugly events to do not recur. No citizen of Nigeria is above the law, not lawyers not judges. However, nothing must be done to encourage wholesale undermining of the Judiciary as an institution.

    We believe that the investigations of allegations of corruption in the judiciary could be done in line with the tenets of the rule of law and due process and respecting accepted administrative measures and conventions that will protect the institution whilst pursuing corrupt elements within. As we move forward we will like to reiterate: i. Our support for all efforts by your administration to assist the judiciary to rid itself of all elements of corruption in order to enhance public confidence in the administration of justice. ii. Your Excellency, the NBA will like to commend your administration for significantly improving the level of funding of the judiciary. We note the proposed N100 billion in the 2018 Budget proposals will be a significant enhancement over the 2017 Budget. The 2017 Budget of the Judiciary was about N70 billion. This was approximately 1.1 per cent  of the National Budget. The proposed N100 billion is still only about 1.2 per cent of the National Budget. These figures still remain far from the internationally recommended funding ratio vis-à-vis the national budget which should be a minimum of 2.5 per cent of the National Budget. iii. The NBA remains very concerned about what appears to be blatant disobedience of court orders by this administration.

    We are firmly of the view that the strength of any State or Government and indeed any system will be better demonstrated by rigorous adherence to dictates of the rule of the law than by the government itself disobeying the orders of its own courts. Your administration would be sending a strong message to ordinary citizens by directing that ALL agencies especially security agencies to respect and obey orders of court. There are many citizens being held in disobedience to court orders, we urge that your Excellency does something about this. iv. We commend the recent modest efforts by this administration to decongest the nation’s prisons which generally remain overcrowded and in appalling conditions. We are working with the Attorney General’s task Force to support prison decongestion. The Statistics however remain appalling. Out of a prison population of 72, 179 persons, only 23,491 are convicted persons. That is over 67 per cent of persons held in our prisons are persons awaiting trial. Many of the prisons are carrying 3 to 4 times their capacity.

    Whilst efforts must be maintained to scale up prison reforms, we urge the administration to do more to expand and modernize the facilities to make conditions humane and consistent with the objectives of rehabilitation. v. We strongly recommend far reaching reforms to deal with the issues of prisons in Nigeria. There appears no reason why Prisons must remain in exclusive legislative list for instance. We will like to assure Your Excellency that we remain willing and committed to promoting the goals of the administration in building strong institutions and improving the Justice Sector in particular.

    The NBA is working to support Criminal Justice Reforms and has recently secured substantial funds from International partners to work on the improvement and adoption of Administration of Criminal Justice Act across the country. We are collaborating with various agencies generally to support justice sector reforms and access to justice. These include the Legal Aid Council, the National Human Rights Commission and recently also the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Sustainable Development Goals with whom we have signed an MOU to work on the attainment of the Goal 16 of the UN SDGs.

     

    The legal profession

    I will like to use the remaining few minutes we have with you to give you a brief summary of what we are doing to reform the legal profession as part of our efforts to rebuild public confidence in the profession. Since I became President, I made it a top priority to look at the regulatory framework of the profession. We are determined to advocate for far reaching reforms that will modernize the profession and bring it at par with international standards. This we believe is necessary. Nigeria deserves a modern legal profession that will enjoy not only the confidence of the Nigerian Public but also of the international community. It is critical in our view, to our journey to economic prosperity.

    The Committee I set up in December 2016 has since submitted its report with far reaching recommendations including a draft new law that we hope will replace the Legal Practitioners Act. This law if approved and passed, we hope, will introduce far reaching changes aimed at enhancing legal education, setting better entry standards, continuing professional development and discipline. The law sets out clearly the regulatory objectives and defines more clearly the role of regulatory agencies. 8.7 Y we have in the last several months exposed the draft law alongside the report of the Committee as we are seeking to galvanize support of all stakeholders. We have engaged with various Law Societies and Bar Associations and legal regulators around the world to better understand current trends in regulating the legal profession. Only three weeks ago, I led a team of about 30 Nigerian Lawyers to the UK where we held intensive three days consultations with various agencies involved in the regulation of the Legal Profession in the UK. The report of this mission will be shared with all stakeholders.

    I want to urge your administration to support our efforts to reform the legal profession. A strong modern legal profession is key in our view to building the country’s legal system. Necessary  for peace and development.  Necessary for attracting confidence of all those who seek to do business with Nigeria. If Nigeria must transit to a modern economy and be competitive globally, it must have a respected legal profession and judicial system. This is our objective. Thank you very much your Excellency, for your attention. God Bless the Nigerian Bar Association! God Bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria!!! Abubakar Balarabe Mahmoud ( SAN),  President, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).

  • $25b contracts: PENGASSAN vows to resist interference in NNPC administration

    $25b contracts: PENGASSAN vows to resist interference in NNPC administration

    Oil workers, under the aegis of Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), have vowed to resist any attempt by officials not designated for the administration of the  Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to meddle in the affairs of the association.

    The workers warned that they would stop non-executive officials from using top management positions in the NNPC to settle cronies at the detriment of dedicated members of the staff.

    In a statement by the Secretary of the Group Executive Council (GEC) of PENGASSAN in NNPC, Comrade Sulaiman Sulaiman, they noted that the recent re-organisation in the NNPC was in good faith and it encouraged internal growth.

    They said: “We are convinced that the recent re-organisation in NNPC is in good faith and in tandem with our call to allow internal growth in the system through hard work and positive appraisals.

    “We shall continue to reject and vehemently resist attempts in meddling in the day-to-day running of the organisation by non-executive officials of the Corporation. We will no longer allow our institution to be an avenue to settle friends and cohorts into management positions of NNPC at the detriment of dedicated staff with all the requisite qualifications within the system.

    “Problems will continue to occur as long as the Chairman of the Board continues to meddle into the day-to-day running of the organisation, which is a management role. Any attempt to allow this happen will spell doom for the country and create a window for abuse.”

    The senior staff said good practice in corporate governance required absolute segregation of oversight role from the management’s day-to-day functions.

    They asked: “Why should a board chairman seek to meddle in internal organisational adjustment?” They noted that the chairman should focus on performance appraisal of the Board’s committees and its members, rather than wanting to dictate appointments or award contracts in NNPC.

    The workers, contrary to claim in the said letter of the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, to the President, members of staff are no longer afraid to talk or express their opinion, especially with the domestication of the whistle blowing policy and re-constitution and launch of the Anti-Corruption Committee by the GMD.

  • Labour berates NHIS boss for interference

    Labour berates NHIS boss for interference

    Orgnaised Labour under the aegis of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) has berated the Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Professor Usman Yusuf, for allegedly sponsoring some faceless individuals to parade themselves as unit officers of the association in the organisation.

    In a statement in Abuja, ASCSN National President Comrade Bobboi Bala Kaigama and Secretary-General Comrade Alade Lawal emphasised that the NHIS Executive Secretary had no right under the law to decide for the union those to manage its affairs.

    “We, therefore, reject in its entirety the decision by Professor Yusuf to be sponsoring one Owen Udouwen, who had been making noise that he is the Unit Chairman of the ASCSN in the NHIS. We hereby disown Udouwem because he is not representing the association and demand that Professor Yusuf should stop forthwith from meddling in the affairs of the Association,” the union’s executives said.

    They noted that the rejection was necessary in order not to trigger industrial crisis in the NHIS. ”Prof. Yusuf has enough to do in NHIS if he is serious enough to accept that the job of Executive Secretary of NHIS is a serious one.

    “For the avoidance of doubt, the Unit Chairman of the ASCSN in the NHIS is Comrade Omomeji Abdul Razaq.  There is no faction whatsoever in the Association and there is a ruling of the National Industrial Court (NIC) to that effect,” the Union stressed.

    The association recalled that when Yusuf arrived at the NHIS, he wore the toga of an anti-corruption crusader and the union pledged to cooperate with him. But the union said unfolding events in NHIS have proved otherwise.

    “As we write, the NHIS is enmeshed in endemic corruption thus necessitating the upper legislative Chamber (Senate) to turn its searchlight on the organisation,” the ASCSN added.

    The union’s helmsmen said following the secondment of 15 persons into the NHIS, the Association kicked against the impunity and reported the management of the NHIS to the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment and the Presidency, which then directed the Labour Ministry to intervene.

    It pointed out that the Labour Ministry set up a committee to look into the complaint of the union and that members of the committee were drawn from the Federal Ministry of Health, NHIS and ASCSN to examine the issue of secondment and other labour related matters carried out by the NHIS Executive Secretary and report back.

    The union said at the end of its assignment, the committee reached an agreement that the secondment of 15 officers by NHIS was illegal and the Executive Secretary was directed to send those so seconded packing to wherever they came from.

    It added that the committee found out that some of those seconded were placed on level 15 as opposed to level 09, which they were in the establishments they came from.

    “It was also resolved that all unit officers of the Association posted away from the NHIS headquarters by the Executive Secretary should be brought back to their desks,” the Union emphaised.

    The ASCSN pointed out that in order to protect workers from arbitrary acts of employers, Conventions 87 and 98 of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), which Nigeria ratified stipulate that workers should not be dismissed or subjected to any prejudice because of union membership or participation in union activities.

  • Senate probes alleged DSS interference in Election Tribunals

    Senate probes alleged DSS interference in Election Tribunals

    •Daura to appear before panel today

    Investigation into the alleged interference in the Rivers State Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja by the Department of State Services (DSS) has commenced in the Senate.

    The upper chamber has invited the Director-General of the DSS, Lawal Daura, to explain the allegation.

    Daura is billed to appear before the Senate Committee on Ethics and Public Petitions, which has been mandated to conduct the investigation today.

    The probe is said to be sequel to a petition by members of the Rivers State House of Assembly to the Senate on the allegation.

    The petition signed by 31 members of the House was referred to the Ethics and Public Petitions Committee last week.

    The petitioners claimed, among others, that the DSS had arrested some officials of the Independent National Election Commission (INEC) and members of the Election Petition Tribunal and subjected them to serious intimidation, harassment and coercion to compromise the independence of the tribunal and pervert justice.

    Chairman of the committee, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, (PDP, Imo East Senatorial District) at the commencement of sitting yesterday warned those involved in the matter against delay.

    Anyanwu said members would demand prompt response to invitations and questions during the probe.

    The chairman said the committee would pay serious attention to allegations of abuse of office against the DSS.

    He, however, noted that the petitioners should provide specific details to assist the committee to conduct a thorough investigation.

    Anyanwu said, “The issue of independence of the judiciary is a very serious pillar in the dispensation of justice.

    “That is why the committee takes the allegation of intimidation of Tribunal members’ very seriously because if the judiciary is intimidated, then the independence is compromised.

    “So we want all details about this allegation supplied to the committee without delay.”

    Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Ikuinyi-Owaji Ibani, who led other members to the committee, defended the petition.

    Ibani noted that INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in Rivers State, Mrs. Gesila Khan and some other senior officials of the commission were also arrested and detained by the DSS in Abuja.

    He said: “We make bold to say that they lack the power or the authority to invite any judicial officer serving in the Rivers State Election Petition Tribunal for questioning concerning their handling of election petitions pending before them based on some purported petitions from interested parties.”

    “While we commend the stance and efforts of President Muhammadu Buhari to instill discipline, strengthen institutions of State and deepen democratic values where all Nigerians will have equal opportunities, we are appalled by their present clandestine and surreptitious moves aimed at derailing an efficient, transparent and unbiased justice delivery system and thereby bringing the judiciary into disrepute, public ridicule and odium.”

    Ibani added that “embarking on this condemnable mission, the DSS purports to be acting on some pre-arranged petitions from persons who are directly interested in the outcome of the various election Petitions from Rivers State.”

  • No interference in our affairs, says Yero

    Kaduna State Governor Mukthar Yero has denied any form of interference in the administration of the state.

    He said the development of the state had continued undisturbed since he assumed office last December.

    The governor, who spoke on the Hausa service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), said those who alleged interference missed the point.

    He said since he assumed office after the death of his predecessor, development had not stopped and no one had interfered with his administration.

    The governor, who was in London to receive the International Peace and Security Award from the Global Peace Movement, added that Kaduna was a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) state and no there was no division in the party.

    Speaking after receiving the award, the governor promised that his administration would bring Kaduna back to its pre-crisis days.

    He said: “I assure you that this award will spur us to take more positive steps in ensuring that we midwife genuine reconciliation that would lead to enduring peace and unity in the state.

    “We shall return the state to its pre-crises era when people lived together as neighbours, irrespective of the languages they spoke or their religious beliefs.

    “We are not unaware of the obstacles that need to be surmounted, but it is our task and we shall continue to work towards its actualisation.”

    Yero thanked the organisers for the award, promising to put in more effort in actualising the cardinal objectives of the administration.

    The President-General of the Global Peace Movement, Mike Uyi, said the award was in recognition of the positive impact of various peace building initiatives of the administration.

    Uyi said the honour came after his organisation independently toured the state for a first-hand assessment of the impact of peace initiatives and rural development in July.

    “We had personal interactions with the people and they expressed happiness with the peace building process initiated by the administration.”

  • Accord party petitions INEC over Labour Party interference

    National Vice-chairman of Accord Party (AP), South East zone, Mr. Inno Igboekwe, yesterday petitioned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) urging the commission not to recognise the Chief Barth Igwedibia-led Anambra State executive of the party.

    Igbokwe in his petition to the INEC dated August 19, 2013, made available to The Nation which reads in part, stated that “The state chapter which has been waiting for directives to conduct its ward and local government congresses was not given dates for the aforementioned congresses and was overlooked and not informed of the purported congress that has been supposedly held and we were faced with a situation whereby a few unscrupulous politicians alien to Accord gathered to proclaim themselves newly elected members of the state Exco of the party.

    “Considering that the Electoral Act made it categorically clear that ward and local government congresses should precede the state congress, it is obvious that the event of 17th August was a mere sham as there were no ward and local government congresses before the said state congress.”

     

     

     

  • ‘Bar leaders must resist interference’

    ‘Bar leaders must resist interference’

    The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) is preparing for its National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State between tomorrow and Friday. Its President, Okey Wali (SAN), has given an insight into the agenda – the independence of the Bar. In this interview with Legal Editor John Austin Unachukwu, he speaks on the Bar leaders’ meeting, which he attended in Geneva, Switzerland and the state of emergency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states, among others.

     

    What happened at the meeting in Geneva?

    It was a very refreshing experience to watch Bar leaders from various parts of the world addressing issues of common interest such as the problems of regulation, Bar services, generally, regulation is always high on the agenda of such meetings because, all over the world, there are issues of regulation. the legal profession is insistent on self regulation and resisting regulation from government agencies.

    How did you address this?

    We had to discuss problems of money laundering, terrorism vis-a-vis regulation. The fact remains that one thing is central to the position of Bar leaders all over the world — the independence of the Bar. It was resolved that Bar associations must resist interference in the independence of the Bar, knowing full well that the twin pillars of the rule of law are the independence of the Bar and the independence of the Bench.

    On money laundering, the NBA took a position at its NEC meeting in Makurdi to challenge the law which requires every lawyer to report any transaction with his client in which the lawyer is paid more than $1,000 to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)

    Yes, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was insistent on enforcing that regulation that lawyers must go and register with the Special, Control Unit on Money Laundering (SCUMOL) and had directed the banks not to allow lawyers and other designated Non Financial Institutions operate their bank accounts unless they registered with SCUMOL. So, we went to court and served on the parties and, inspite of that, the threats were still being issued, so we filed an application for injunction. I think that has made them to roll back a bit. We also wrote letters, I remember that I signed letters to almost all managing directors of banks in this country informing them that the NBA was in court over the matter, that their insistent would amount to contempt of court. While the suit and application for injunction were pending, it was only right and proper that they stayed action on the CBN directive. I also wrote a letter to the Governor of Central Bank, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi telling him that, inspite of the service of court processes on him and his organisation, we think that he should not go on and some how, the banks have not been insisting.

    The efforts notwithstanding, what is the way forward?

    Well, the chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde, came to see me and that was one of the issues he raised and we had a committee of members of the Bar, the EFCC, the MFIU, the SCUMOL which agreed that the requirement is unreasonable — every transaction over $1,000 about N150,000 should be reported to the EFCC and SCUMOL. None of them, I believe, has the capacity to take in that magnitude of reports. So, that is where we are right now and I am hopeful that it will be resolved. I have even offered as a mark of good will to drive the process, so the nominations will come in and we will take it from there.

    The Director-General, Nigeria Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS), led a team of his management staff to your office. What was the purpose of that visit?

    We had a very warm meeting with the NIALS DG and his management team when they visited in my office. They donated some books to us and made a commitment to supply copies of every publication of the institute to the NBA towards our drive to build a library that befits the NBA. I assured them that space will not be our problem by the time we are done with the NBA house project . There will be enough space to take in any number of books donated to us.

    We also agreed to collaborate. We agreed to work together on the programmes of Continuing Legal Education (CLE)

    At the NBA fund raising dinner in Abuja, you promised to move to the building site by the end of this month if you raised enough funds; how far now, have you moved to the site, why not and when do you intend to move?

    Yes, we were ready to move to the site by the end of the month, but there were some technical issues that cropped up, the building committee is not set to go with their bids, they had to go through advertisement of bids and so on to get the desired contractor. We are waiting for them and I am sure that as at today, we can find the amount of money they require to go to site, so, we are there financially.

    A cross section of Nigerians have picked issues with President Jonathan over the state of emergency in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states; that the president did not transmit a gazette to the National Assembly as required by law and, that the state of emergency ought to be total with the demolition of every democratic structure in those states. What is your take?

    Well. I don’t agree that the declaration of state of emergency means the dismantling of democratic structures and institutions in the effected areas. There is not definition of state of emergency that says this.

    The President did the right thing. State of emergency means that every law would be relaxed and certain urgent actions could be taken by security agencies which ordinarily they couldn’t have taken in non state of emergency situations.

    I do not have the information available to the president, but like I said before, the President premised his actions on certain grounds: one he said that he had intelligence reports that the Boko Haram group wanted to declare a state of their own, they were planning to break away, that they had certain parts of the country where they operate as being controlled by them. No reasonable government in my Judgment will allow that kind of thing to go on.

    Why did the NBA call for amnesty for this group?

    We did that because we believed that if law enforcement was not working, then they should look at the second angle which is crime prevention and crime prevention would involved intelligence, negotiation and engaging the people that are involved and we called for that. But if the president comes out with a different approach like he has come out with, I have no reason to doubt the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and if that was the position then the government needed to do something more drastic

    What of the issue of compliance with the provisions of the Constitution?

    I listened to the Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma Egba, say the time would start to run from when the gazette is there. Our position at the Bar is that the rule of law must be maintained no matter the provocations. No matter what the position is, the Bar insists that at all times the rule of law must be maintained. Whatever the government needs to do, they must do that according to the provisions of the Constitution, they must do it quickly no matter the pressure on them.

    What is your advice for lawyers attending the NEC meeting in Yenagoa?

    My word to them is that NEC is a very serious business, that is what we have tried to achieve in this administration with our rule that NEC will be for NEC members only. This step was not taken for any selfish aggrandisement, it was taken to ensure that we have a conducieve atmosphere for serious deliberations by those who have either been nominated, elected by the positions they occupy in their branches, or by the positions they occupy at the Bar to come and deal with issues.

    What issues do you intend to deal with at the meeeting?

    We have a lot of issues to deal with at this NEC. Such topical issues include the state, national importance of the Bar, our NBA house, discipline in the profession. Some lawyers’ names were struck off the roll by the Supreme Court because of misconduct. We have the Annual General Conference which is coming and welfare of lawyers. We have a lot of issues to deal with and, in spite of that, I urge all lawyers to find time, sit down and enjoy Yenagoa.