The Nation Newspaper

Tag: KOGI

  • Why Anambra, Enugu, Kogi can’t be declared oil bearing states, by DPR

    The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) yesterday said that Anambra, Enugu and Kogi states can only join the list of oil producing states after meeting necessary conditions.

    In a letter to the Senate Committee on Petroleum (Upstream), the DPR said that the three states could only be declared oil bearing states if the oil firm in the area, Orient Oil, scales up its operations from oil prospecting to oil mining lease.

    The Department insisted that the states cannot be categorised as oil producing states for now because they have not met the necessary requirements.

    Chairman of the Committee, Senator Tayo Alasoadura, said the issue at stake has to do with a referral to the committee on the contentious boundary between the three states.

    He noted that a report that said “the Federal Government confirms Anambra oil producing ‎status” threw up the matter to the front burner.

    Alasoadura said his committee lacked the power to declare an oil-producing status on a state.

    He said that the committee believed that the agency is in the best position to settle the matter with the National Boundary Commission (NBC).

    The Ondo Central senator said the committee wrote to the DPR “but their response was not quite satisfactory.”

    That is why we want to hear from your commission.

    He noted that the committee decided to hear from the National Boundary Commission because “when we had a similar issue in Ondo State in the past, it was your commission that resolved it.”

    Senator Chukwuka Utazi (Enugu North) noted that the issue of OPL 915 and 916 dated back to antiquity.

    Utazi said: “I didn’t know that this motion would come up, because we had already resolved the issue when Senator Isaac Mohammed Alfa was away.

    “Kogi and Enugu states do not have problem; the two are in agreement. But Enugu and Anambra are not in agreement.

    “We in Enugu want to be declared as oil producing state too. Let that be done pending when the boundary commission finishes its work.”

    He added that Orient Oil, within seven years, moved from 3,000 to 10,000 barrels a day.

    According to him, “an oil company that had been able to move from 3,000 to 10,000 barrels per day should have graduated from oil prospecting to oil mining lease.”

    He said that they would go to the DPR to find out why Orient Oil refused to move from oil prospecting to oil mining lease.”

    Senator Alfa said there was no contention on the desire to recognise the affected communities as oil producing communities.

    Acting Director-General of the National Boundary Commission, Adamu Adaji said that the issue is a tripartite one involving the three states.

    He said: “We carried out preliminary field work on Kogi-Anambra boundary, but the challenge we have is the document we are using, which was produced before independence.

    “We had to use a provincial boundary map produced by the colonial masters. We discovered that the descriptions on the map are not too clear.

    “We scaled out seven points, and about five of them were discovered, but the remaining two resisted.

    “Some youths from Ibaji community accosted our staff at some point that they will not agree with the legal document we were using. We are relying on Legal Instrument of 1954.

    “The work was stalled because the people of Ibaji were of the view that we must identify the points between Anambra, Kogi and Enugu before we could do anything.

    “When we made an attempt in 2015, our effort was aborted. We met with the then governor of Kogi State and he promised to talk to the community to cooperate with us.

    Read also: DPR deploys satellite to halt $2.8billion loss to oil smuggling

    “What we want now is to get the states to cooperate so that we can work. The three states were not quite forthcoming for us to do the job. That is what we have been trying to do now.

    “If we cannot rely on the map, we plead that the states should cooperate for us to come to a boundary that is acceptable to all.”

    Senator Magnus Abe noted that from what the commission said, “it’s already doing something, but the problem is except the commission does what some people want, the work can’t be done. Except there is the right atmosphere for them to work, nothing can be done.”

    Abe suggested that the only way the issue could be resolved is for the committee to invite the states to come and “we set up a joint team with the boundary commission so that we can have adequate security ‎before they can go and do their job.

    “Now that there is oil there, the next thing you may have is that the people will start acquiring guns and start shooting themselves.”

    Senator Gershom Bassey said that the National Boundary Commission cannot completely be exonerated from the blame. He noted that in his state, Cross River, “there have been communal clashes because the commission has not done its job.

    Philip Gyunka said that it appeared the commission does not want to hurt some communities.

    “I want to advise here that whatever you think can solve the problem, please try and do it.”

    Alasoadura, however, explained that the Boundary Commission cannot do anything without the cooperation of the states.

    States, he said, should also establish their own boundary commissions so that they can work directly with the NBC.

     

  • Senate rejects oil producing status for Kogi

    Senate yesterday rejected a motion seeking recognition for Kogi State as an oil producing state.

    The motion was rejected following observations by senators at plenary that the Senate lacked the powers to declare any state as oil producing entity through a mere motion.

    Senator Isaac Alfa, who moved the motion, however, refused to withdraw it despite persuasion from his colleagues to do so, saying: “I have moved the motion and I am not ready to withdraw it.”

    Senator Alfa moved the motion following what he described as restiveness in border communities contiguous to Kogi, Enugu and Edo states.

    The Senate urged governors of the three states and other stakeholders to resolve the communal crises in their various communities.

    It also called on the Federal Government to direct the National Boundary Commission to its report on the determination of the boundaries contiguous to OPLs 915 & 916.

    It’s the quest for derivation from oil resources in the OPLs 915/916 that has continued to trigger communal clashes in the communities.

    The lawmakers similarly appealed to the Federal Government and governments in the affected states to ensure that the displaced persons in the communities are allowed to return to their homes and adequate compensation paid to them.

  • Kogi: How not to remove a Chief Judge

    A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Jibrin Okutepa, writes on the propriety of removing a Chief Judge without recourse to the National Judicial Council (NJC).

    I read on social media that Kogi State House of Assembly passed a resolution recommending to the State governor the removal of the Hon Chief Judge of the state, Hon Mr Justice Nasir N. Ajanah.

    I was initially tempted to regard the news as one of those fake and April fool stories. But upon further inquiry I came to realise that the news may not be fake after all.

    But, wait a minute. Did the Kogi State House of Assembly seek legal advice before embarking on this suicidal constitutional iniquity and insubordination? I do not think so.

    For if it did, it could have been properly guided. On the 17th of February 2012, the Supreme Court of Nigeria settled the point that no state House of Assembly and governor can remove the CJ of the state without going through National Judicial Council (NJC).

    This is what the Supreme Court said:

    What is relevant for determination of this issue is to fish out and examine the powers of the National Judicial Council in Paragraph 21 of Part 1 of the Third Schedule to the Constitution which reads-

     “21. The National Judicial Council shall have power to – (a) recommend to the President from among the list of persons submitted to it by (i) the Federal Judicial Service Commission, persons for appointment to the offices of the Chief Justice of Nigeria…

    (b) Recommend to the President the removal from office of the Judicial Officers specified in sub-paragraph (a) of this paragraph and to exercise disciplinary control over such officers.

    (c) Recommend to the Governor from among the list of persons submitted to it by the State Judicial Service Commissions persons for appointment to the offices of the Chief Judges of the States and Judge of the High Courts of States, the Grand Kadis and Kadis of the Sharia Court of Appeal of the States and the Presidents and Judges of the Customary Courts of Appeal of the States.

    (d) Recommend to the Governors the removal from office of the judicial officers specified in sub-paragraph (c) of this paragraph, and to exercise disciplinary control over such officers.

    It is quite plain from the provisions of Paragraph 21 sub-paragraphs (c) and (d) of Part 1 of the Third Schedule to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, that the National Judicial Council is the body that had been assigned the duty and responsibility of recommending to the Governors of the States of the Federation suitable persons for appointments to the offices of Chief Judges of the States and other Judicial Officers in the States.

    In addition to its role in the appointment of Chief Judges of the States and other Judicial Officers, the same National Judicial Council is also empowered under Sub-paragraph (d) of Paragraph 21 to recommend to the Governors of the States the removal from office of the Chief Judges of the States and other Judicial Officers of the States and also to exercise disciplinary control over such Chief Judges of the States and other Judicial Officers of the States.

    Therefore, from these very clear and ambiguous provisions of the Constitution, Governors and the Houses of Assembly cannot exercise disciplinary control touching on the removal of Chief Judges or other Judicial Officers in the states.

    Please see the case of Hon. Justice Raliat Elelu-Habeeb & Anor V. the Hon. Attorney General of the Federation & Ors(2012)LPELR-15515(SC)  at 68-70 as per Mohammed JSC as he then was and later CJN.

    It is clear from the decision above that if the Kogi state house of assembly has sought guidance it should have spared the state of the decision it took.

    Kogi state should avoid being constantly in bad news for bad reasons. There is no doubt that the NJC has been given powers in appointment and removal of CJ of the States.

    The Supreme Court dealt with this point in the most admirable fashion thus:

    Going back to Section 271(1) of the 1999 Constitution, it is also glaringly clear that the National Judicial Council has been given a role to play in the appointment of Chief Judges of the States where the Section states –

    271(1) The appointment of a person to the office of a Chief Judge of a State shall be made by the Governor of the State on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council subject to the confirmation of the appointment by the House of Assembly of the State.

    It can be seen here again, although the Governor of a State has been vested with the power to appoint the Chief Judge of his own State, that power is not absolute as the Governor has to share the power with the National Judicial Council in recommending suitable persons and the State House of Assembly in confirming the appointment.

    It is in the spirit of the Constitution in ensuring checks and balances between the Three Arms of Government that the role of the Governor in appointing and exercising disciplinary control over the Chief Judge of his State is subjected to the participation of the National Judicial Council and the House of Assembly of the State in the exercise to ensure transparency and observance of the rule of law.

    The cross-appellant has made heavy weather on the interpretation and application of Section 292(1(a)(ii) of the 1999 Constitution which is said to have conferred unfettered powers on the Governor of Kwara State and the House of Assembly of Kwara State to remove the Chief Judge of Kwara State from office on an allegation of misconduct.

    The relevant Section of the Constitution states:- 292(1) A Judicial Officer shall not be removed from office or appointment before his age of retirement except in the following circumstances:-

    (a.) In case of- (i.) The Chief Justice of Nigeria;

    (ii) The Chief Judge of a State, Grand Kadi of a Sharia Court of Appeal or President of a Customary Court of Appeal of a State, by the Governor acting on the address supported by two-thirds majority of the House of Assembly of the State, praying that he be so removed for his inability to discharge the functions of his office or appointment (whether arising from infirmity of mind or of body) or for misconduct or contravention of the code of conduct.

    The provisions of Section 292(1(a)(ii) of the Constitution above also deals with the power of the Governor to remove the Chief Judge of a State in conjunction with the House of Assembly of the State.

    Although, it is true as argued by the learned senior Counsel to the Cross-Appellant that the above Section 292(1) made no provision for the NJC to play any role in the removal of a Chief Judge of a State, the fact that the Council has a vital role to play in the appointment, removal and exercising control over a Chief Judge of a State under Section 271(1) of the Constitution and also under Paragraph 21 of Part 1 of the Third Schedule to the same Constitution is not at all in doubt.

    Furthermore, the conditions specified under Section 292(1)(a)(ii) of the Constitution for the exercise of the power of removal must be satisfied before such power can be validly exercised by both the Governor and the House of Assembly.

    This is because any exercise of power to remove a Chief Judge must be based on his:-

    *Inability to discharge the functions of office or appointment;

    *The inability to perform the functions of his office could arise from infirmity of the mind or of body

    *For misconduct

    * The contravention of the code of conduct

    All these conditions or basis for the exercise of power to remove a State Chief Judge must be investigated and confirmed by credible evidence and placed before the Governor and the House of Assembly before proceeding to exercise their power of removal granted by the Section of the Constitution.

    For example, the ground of removal for inability to perform the functions of his office or appointment cannot be ascertained and confirmed by the Governor or the House of Assembly in the absence of any input from the NJC under which supervision the Chief Judge discharges his functions as Judicial Officer and which body also is directly responsible for exercising disciplinary control over the said State Chief Judge.

    It is not difficult to see that for the effective exercise of the powers of removal of a Chief Judge of a State by the Governor and House Assembly, the first port of call by the Governor on his journey to remove a Chief Judge of the state shall be the NJC.

    The Council is equipped with the personnel and resources to investigate the inability of the Chief Judge to discharge the functions of his office.

    It is for the foregoing reasons that I hold the view that in the resolution of the issue at hand, the entire provisions of the 1999 Constitution in Sections 153(1)(i), (2), 271(1), 292(1)(a)(ii) and Paragraph 21 of Part 1 of the Third Schedule to the 1999 Constitution dealing with the appointments, removal and exercise of disciplinary control over Judicial Officers, must be read, interpreted and applied together in resolving the issue of whether or not the Governor of a State and the House of Assembly of a State can remove a Chief Judge of a State in Nigeria without any input of the NJC.

    This is because the combined effect of these provisions of the Constitution has revealed very clear intention of the framers of the Constitution to give the NJC a vital role to play in the appointment and removal of Judicial Officers by the Governors and Houses of Assembly of the State.

    In the result, I entirely agree with the two Courts below that having regard to these relevant provisions of the 1999 Constitution the Governor of Kwara State and the House of Assembly of the State cannot remove the Chief Judge of Kwara State from Office without the participation of the National Judicial Council in the exercise.

  • Kogi guber: Bello faces tough battle

    As aspirants prepare for the Kogi governorship primaries ahead of the November 2, 2019 elections, Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan, reports that for the sitting governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, who is seeking re-election on the ticket of All Progressives Congress (APC), it seems to be a tough battle

    FOLLOWING Independent National Electoral Commission’s announcement of the November 2 date for the governorship elections in Kogi State, many politicians have come out to declare their interest in the governorship seat of the state. Festus Okoye, chairman of INEC’s Information and Voters’ Education Committee, made the announcement. One of the aspirants that have indicated interest is the incumbent Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello. He officially declared interest to seek re-election come November 2. Expectedly, he wants to run on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

    While announcing his second term bid at the Banquet Hall of the Government House, Lokoja, Bello said he consulted very widely with the leadership of his party at all levels and also with his people at the grassroots before making up his mind to run again. He said he got the nod of the people of Kogi State that he should run for another term.

    “I would like to inform the good people of the state, the All Progressive Congress (APC) family and supporters from the state, the local government areas down to the wards and polling units, as well as various stakeholders, opinion moulders, families and friends of my interest to run for a second term in office as the Executive Governor of Kogi State,” the governor said.

    Sources within the governor’s camp revealed to The Nation that prior to his public declaration this week, he had met with party leaders, chieftains and several other stakeholders within the Kogi State chapter of the APC, to seek their support for his re-election bid.

    “I can tell you confidently that majority of the leaders and chieftains of the APC in Kogi State are ready to work for the re-election of Governor Yahaya Bello. We strongly believe he is the only candidate that can win Kogi for the APC come November 2. He will win the ticket of the party and go on to win the general election,” our source, a party executive committee member, said.

    Faleke, others want APC ticket

    But if Bello and his supporters are hoping that he will pick the governorship ticket of his party with ease, then they may have to think twice. This is because a couple of prominent chieftains of the ruling APC are now eyeing the party’s ticket ahead of the November 2 governorship election in the North-central state.

    One of those said to be currently working round the clock within the party to garner support in his bid to snatch the ticket from the governor is Hon. James Faleke. Faleke, the current Member representing Ikeja Federal Constituency of Lagos State, was the running mate of Abubakar Audu in 2015 governorship race.

    An associate of the Reps member told The Nation that he is currently consulting with party leaders and members across the state in his bid to galvanise the people behind him as he sought to fly the banner of the ruling party in the November 2 governorship election. Although he is yet to publicly announce his gubernatorial bid, party sources said he has informed party leaders and his disciples of his ambition.

    Another APC chieftain, Babatunde Irukera, is also consulting ahead of APC’s primary election. Irukera, who is the first son of Elegbe of Egbe, a prominent traditional ruler in the state, according to his supporters, is determined to pick the ticket of the ruling party.

    Similarly, former Commissioner for Agriculture in the state, Dr Tim Diche, has also joined the governorship race in the state. He is aspiring to be handed the APC ticket. Diche contested in the primary of the APC in 2015. He is from Adun-Woiwo in Bassa LGA of the state. He vowed to fast track development in the state when and if he eventually becomes the governor.

    According to the former commissioner, his ambition is being boosted by the demands and calls from the people of the state who feel he has what it takes to pilot the affairs of the state better. “Kogi State is not working at the moment. I want to adopt a new governance strategy for the development and prosperity of Kogi State,” he said.

    Also, a former Military Administrator of Oyo and old Ondo states, Ahmed Usman, has declared intention to contest the next governorship election in Kogi State on the platform of the ruling APC. The retired Army Colonel said his decision was informed by the current sufferings of the people of the state arising from bad leadership. “I am in the race to save the people of the state from this agony and squalor. I cannot fold my arms and watch the people continue to suffer,” he said.

    The former Military Administrator, while urging party faithful to support him to get the ticket, promised that under his leadership, the state would witness accelerated development. “As a former military officer of the infantry corps, he would use his wealth of experience and exposure to mobilise the people of the state for development if given the mandate, promising to run a transparent government.”

    Audu’s son too

    Outside the APC, the son of late former governor of the state, Prince Mustapha Audu, is also threatening the re-election bid of Governor Bello. Recently, the young politician announced that 17 political parties have adopted him as their preferred candidate and next governor of Kogi State. According to the candidate of the Young Progressives Party (YPP), Governor Bello should forget about being re-elected.

    It would be recalled that Mustapha’s father, the late Abubakar Audu, participated in the 2015 Governorship Election in Kogi State as the candidate of the APC, but he died before INEC declared the election inconclusive. Governor Bello was brought into the race by the APC to replace him during the Supplementary Election that year.

    “Today is the beginning of our freedom, Lugard House gate is open. We shall occupy it. We are tired of half salary, no school fees. We are tired of suicide in Kogi State. Today we are ready to move Kogi forward. I am contesting in order to liberate the people of the state from poverty and negligence by the present government of the state,” he said.

    He pointed out that if elected, the issue of civil servants in the state would be solved immediately, particularly in the area of workers welfare and salary. He also promised to bring the dividends of democracy closer to the people as his administration will embark on meaningful development. He also assured the people of the state of his readiness to govern the state and bring meaningful development if given the chance.

    Aspirants divide Kogi APC

    Following the sharp division that currently pervades the rank and file of the ruling party in the state over who should fly the banner of the APC come November 2, some stakeholders last Sunday said they were worried over the fortunes of the party in the state, urging the national leadership to intervene in the way aspirants are going about their gubernatorial ambition.

    The Nation gathered that leaders and chieftains of the party, including members of the State Executive Committee, are currently divided as they all line up behind various aspirants of their choice. According to reliable party sources, unless something urgent is done to reunite the party; the governorship primary election may de dogged by a serious crisis.

    Party elders, under the auspices of Kogi Rescue Group (KRG), said there was the need for genuine reconciliation in the party so that it would perform well in future polls. They claim the ruling party has never been this divided since its formation, urging the national leadership to call the gladiators to order before it is too late. A statement signed by Alhaji Yusuf Idah, on behalf of the group cautioned against using the results of the 2019 General Elections to rate the APC in the state.

    The statement read in part, “During the general elections, the APC won seven House of Representatives seats out of the nine in the state. It lost West Senatorial and two seats of the House in the National Assembly elections. In the state Assembly election, the APC won all the 25 seats available. The election was, however, allegedly marred by violence.”

    While calling on Comrade Adams Oshiomhole to call the governor to order, the group advised that Hon. James Faleke, a frontline aspirant and leader of a faction of the party, should be invited and discussed with in the interest of peace and unity within the party ahead of the November election. “Remove Faleke from the equation and the APC will be served the Adamawa and Bauchi dishes,” the group said.

    The party elders accused Governor Bello of frustrating efforts made to reconcile aggrieved members of the party. “The National Working Committee must call all warring factions to a meeting and agree on the way forward. This is the major consideration to bring to the table if the APC must win the forthcoming governorship election and subsequent elections.”

    PDP talks tough

    Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has declared that it will end the reign of Governor Bello in the state by winning the November 2019 governorship election as it is determined to “salvage the state by enthroning a people-oriented government.” The party made the boast after a crucial meeting of Kogi PDP stakeholders in Abuja during the week.

    Kola Ologbondiyan, the party’s spokeman, said leaders resolved to “forego all personal ambitions and work together for the interest of the party and the Kogi people ahead of the election.” He added that the party’s winning feats in Bauchi, Imo, Rivers, Adamawa, Bauchi and Osun states will be repeated in the forthcoming Kogi governorship election. According to him, PDP has the support of the people of the state, who are eager to be liberated from the misrule of the APC under Governor Yahaya Bello.

    “As we all know, our people have gone through pains, pangs, acute poverty, hunger, dehumanization, brutalization, job losses, untimely deaths, suicide and all sorts of anguish as a result of the misrule of the incumbent APC government. The people of Kogi state are therefore looking up to the PDP for a rescue and we cannot afford to fail them. We must therefore not allow anything to demoralize us as the winning streaks, which our party displayed in Imo, Adamawa, Bauchi, Osun among others, will be repeated in Kogi state by the grace of Almighty God.

    “In this race, we must also bear in mind that we have the support of the people. Kogi state has always been home to the PDP notwithstanding the temporary setback of the APC. We must therefore prepare ourselves, stand with the people and salvage our dear state from the pangs of misrule. Our people yearn to move forward and we must give them that leverage which they earnestly seek,” he said.

    Similarly, a state chairmanship aspirant of the PDP in the State, Comrade Alfa Fidelis, said PDP will defeat Governor Bello come November if the ruling party presents the incumbent governor as its candidate. “It is an obvious fact that the last election was militarised. I also want to say that the PDP did not have someone who could stand and fight for them.”

     

  • Kidnappers abduct driver, four others in Kogi

    A commercial bus driver simply called Sapamo along with four passengers travelling from Ayetoro/Gbede in Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi State has been reportedly kidnapped along the Obajana – Kabba road.

    The victims were said to be returning to Lokoja, the capital on Monday, when they were attacked and abducted.

    A relation of the driver said the kidnappers contacted the family demanding for N10 million for their release but that “after much negotiation, the kidnappers lowered the ransom to N4 million” for their brother and the four others.

    READ ALSO: Police kill nine suspected kidnappers on Abuja-kaduna road

    All efforts made to confirm the development from the state police command headquarters proved abortive.

    Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Williams Aya was yet to respond to calls put across to his mobile lines.

  • Kogi…Scooping sand for survival

    A viral video. On it, a young lady packing sand from the waterbed of a river in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital to eke out a living.

    The young lady Patience Ojo, is mother of a four-year-old boy. She is 22. But she looks worn out.

    The resident of Crusher area of Lokoja hails from Lampese in Edo State. She was forced to discontinue schooling after Primary Six, owing to lack of a “helper” to pay her fees.

    Locating Mrs. Ojo, after her video went viral, was not a tea party.

    From under the bridge along the popular Ganaja Road, to the Jimgbe beach side on the Ganaja-Ajaokuta road, and then, the Meme Bridge under, by Otokiti Estate, close to the Zone 8 roundabout, this reporter searched for her.

    The viral video was shot by a man, who introduced himself as Mrs. Ojo’s  brother.

    Mrs. Ojo is not alone in the trade. Many families, households and their children engage in the search for sand from the river bed to augment their income.

    Speaking with this reporter last Saturday morning, Mrs. Ojo wore the pangs of hardship.

    As early as 7am, it turned out she was already at work at a location close to the Confluence Stadium in Lokoja, scavenging sand from an erosion pass, directly behind the Kogi State Essential Drug Office complex.

    According to her, even during the rains, she still searched “to get the little sand”, she can get, adding that when the rains get heavy, she would pack it up and “go home”.

    Her colleague, Ruth Daniel (37), with three kids and a jobless husband, bemoaned the hardship they go through eking out a living.

    “The work is hard; we just bear it like that because there is no other thing to do. It is our only way to survive. In the rain or in the sun, that is how we keep our family going,” she said.

    On a good day sand is sourced from the water, head deep inside, a steel bowl in hand and a well balanced basket on the head. That was the image of the young lady in the video.

    With a well-practised sequence; bowl on the right hand; the left hand holding the basket firmly in place on the head and above water, the sand dredger standing firm, bends head first from the waist, scoops and rises to deposit the sand into the basket. This is repeated for about a dozen times, before wading through the water to deposit the haul at a collecting point by the bank.

    Finding shows that about 260 head pans/basket will fill up a tipper lorry (six tyres) from which people like the struggling Mrs. Ojo makes betweens N4,000 and N4,500 per tipper load.

    A trip  sand load of tipper trip serves for ten bags cement for block moulding, while it takes an average of two days for an individual to fill up a tipper. What usually happens however is that many join hands to hasten delivery.

    The business is seasonal, with the peak period being at the end of the raining seasons (October/November), running into March or April. The beginning of rain invariably signifies the end of hussle, and resort to other alternatives, such as farming hands.

  • Kogi executive/judicial faceoff: Court reserves ruling, adjourn indefinitely

    The faceoff between the Kogi State Government and the state’s judicial arm was on Friday, adjourned indefinitely by the Kogi State High Court sitting in Koton-Karfe.

    The court adjourned sine die in the suit filed by the state judiciary against the executive, over alleged attempts to illegally remove the Chief Judge (CJ) of Kogi State, Justice Nasir Ajanah.

    The court also reserved ruling on the motion seeking nullification of the April 2, resolution of the state House of Assembly, recommending removal of the CJ.

    Justice Alaba Omolaye-Ajileye, announced during sitting, that the suit: NO. HC/KK/11CV/2018 brought against the state Executive by the Chief Judge and Chief Registrar, Alhaji Yahaya Adamu was halted abruptly

    The court resumed sitting on Friday with lead counsels to the parties in the suit adopting their written addresses on the motion NO. HC/KK02M/201.

    The claimants/applicants in the motion had contended that the House of Assembly defied the pendency of suit and the interim injunctive orders of the court, to have sat and issued a resolution in respect of the matter.

    They prayed for an order of the court nullifying and setting aside the resolution purportedly passed by the House at its plenary sitting of 2nd April, 2019 in defiance of the pendency of the suit.

    The action of the legislative arm, according to the motion, also defied the interim injunctive orders of court, by acting upon a report submitted to it by its Public Accounts Committee and resolving

    Read Also: Obosi Crisis: You lack powers to suspend Chiefs, Family tells Monarch

    R.A. Lawal-Rabana (SAN), Abeni Mohammed (SAN), A.M.Aliyu (SAN), Tawo E. Tawo (SAN) and and three others represented the claimants/applicants.

    Mohammed said that the motion was brought pursuant to Order 11, Rules 1 and 2 of Kogi State High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2006.

    The motion has the Kogi State House of Assembly; Speaker of the House; Hon. Bello Hassan Abdullahi, chairman of the adhoc committee; the Governor of Kogi State and the Attorney-General of Kogi State as defendants/respondents.

    Mohammed, while addressing the court said the claimants/applicants filed the motion supported by a 16-paragraph affidavit with Exhibits “A to G”.

    Adopting their written address, Mohammed said, “We rely on the affidavit and the exhibits and urge the court to grant the prayers in particular, Exhibit A and B.

    Sale Sule, leading another, Yusuf Goodluck for the defendants/respondents said he had filed a counter eight-paragraph affidavit, adding that they relied on the averments.

    Justice Omolaye-Ajileye, after adoption of the addresses by the counsels went on a two-hour stand down to deliver his ruling on the motion.

    Minutes into the two-hour stand down, the judge called counsels to the parties into his chambers, to intimate them on the security situation, as a result of sudden withdrawal of police personnel from the court.

    He said that the security situation with the sudden withdrawal of police officers and men from the court, and the intelligence reports reaching him, it was not safe for the court to resume sitting.

    He therefore adjourned the case sine die but however, told the counsels that they would be notified once the court fixed a date for ruling on the motion.

  • Group wants speakership position zoned to North Central

    A group, North Central Progressive Forum, (NCPF) has urged the leadership of the All Progressives Party (APC) to zone the position of Speaker of the House of Representatives in the 9th Assembly to the North Central zone.

    National Coordinator of the group, Godwin Meliga and its National Secretary, Emmanuel Abbah, in a statement in Abuja on Wednesday, said that north central remained the only zone that had not produced either the Speaker or Deputy speaker since 1999.

    The duo said the group will support the ambition of Mohammed Bago to become the speaker of the 9th Assembly.

    They urged President Muhammadu Buhari, APC Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole and members of the 9th assembly to support Bago who is from Niger state.

    Meliga said: “We have borne it upon ourselves to express to the whole world the political injustice that has been meted out against the people of this zone, even in the ongoing political calculations and scheming happening in the ranks and files of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

    “It requires no further political clarification to assert that the North Central Nigeria occupies a sensitive place in not only the geographical division of the country, but also a critical political status, comprising the following states; Kogi, Kwara, Benue, Niger, Nasarawa, Plateau and the Federal Capital Territory. This logically places the zone on the same number of states as the North West zone, at seven states, with the inclusion of the Federal Capital Territory.

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    “It will therefore not anything close to being a misnomer or economical with the truth, if one could affirm that the North Central zone rightly deserves a special political status and consideration, in major national political discourse and decisions.

    “We therefore call on Mr. President, the National Chairmen of APC, State Governors and Honourable Members of the 9th House of Representatives to uphold the principle of natural justice and give due support to the call for an end to this political injustice against the people of North Central zone.

    “Mr. President, as a man who profess and uphold high integrity, should prove once more his unbroken commitment to the common benefit of all Nigerians, by recognising that it will be least unfair and politically incalculable, to say the least, that a North Central zone that produced the third highest votes for the President’s reelection, with  almost 2.5 million votes, winning an additional state for the APC, with many more Senators and House of Representatives Members, will again be denied the right of producing the Speaker of the 9th House of Representatives, in favour of a zone that already has the Vice President and also delivered a lesser number of votes compared to North Central zone,” he said

    Mr Abbah said the group was presenting Bago as the golden horse of the zone as the Speaker of the 9th Assembly.

    He said the north central has relinquished the position of the Senate President in strong support of a fair rotation policy.

    According to him, it will be considered as a betrayal on the efforts and support of the people of the zone, if the ruling party failed to consider and rightfully support the speaker of the House from the North Central zone.

    “Therefore, as the 9th Assembly is billed to be inaugurated by June, with all permutations playing out, the leadership of the North Central Progressive Forum uses this medium to call on all House of Representatives Members-elect, the leadership of APC and the Presidency to tow the path of honour and duly give regard to the North Central zone, if they truly believe in the overwhelming support of our people.

    “We therefore call on all Nigerians, the 9th House of Representatives Members-elect and the leadership of all the political parties in the House to give him the maximum support. A support for Hon. Bago is a support for the North Central, justice and fairness,” he said.

  • Kogi NBA to Gov. Bello: halt action on CJ’s removal

    The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Kogi State branch, has urged Governor Yahaya Bello to stay action on Tuesday’s recommendation of the state house of assembly, calling for the removal of the state Chief Judge (CJ), Justice Nasir Ajanah.

    The call was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of an enlarged meeting of the executives and elders of the four branches of the association; Lokoja, Idah, Kabba and Okene, on Thursday, in Lokoja.

    In the communiqué signed by Dr Michael Obamero and Mohammed Usman, chairman and secretary respectively, they noted that the call was against the backdrop of a subsisting order of the Kogi State High Court, Koton-Karfe, directing the maintenance of status quo in the matter.

    The NBA added that it noted with dismay the very unfortunate state of affairs of the judicial sector in the state.

    It, therefore, called on all the feuding parties to sheath swords and allow the process of peacemaking take effect.

    It read: “As important stakeholders in the administration of justice in the state, the bar feels constrained to analyse all the issues involved and with the sole aim of trying to bring truce to the prevailing rancorous situation.

    “That the bar has noted the resolutions of the Kogi State house of assembly, passed on the 2nd day of April, 2019 on the ongoing crisis.

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    “That his Excellency, the Executive Governor of Kogi State should remove/suspend or cause the Honourable Chief Judge of Kogi State to step aside from office pending investigation of certain allegation against the judiciary”.

    It said in view of the subsisting order of the High Court, Koton-Karfe, for the maintenance of the status quo in the matter, Governor Bello should not act on the house recommendations, to allow for peaceful reconciliation.

    It, however, commended the state assembly for its recommendation on the immediate payment of the nine months salary arrears owed judicial staff, and appealed to the government to commence payment immediately.

    The NBS called on the state chapter of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN), to call off their four months’ old strike, to allow for amicable settlement of the impasse.

  • Kogi judiciary alleges plot by Gov. Bello to sack CJ

    The judicial arm of the Kogi State government has alleged plans by Governor Yahaya Bello to sack Justice Nasir Ajanah from office.

    The judicial service in a statement issued on Tuesday, which was signed by Saqeeb Saeed, Senior Information Officer, Kogi State Judiciary, alleged that the plot being hatched by the governor to remove Ajanah as the state’s chief judge, is to use the speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly to illegally remove the chief law officer in the state.

    The statement read: “Events in the last few days have made it necessary for the Kogi State Judiciary to issue this press statement. The Kogi State Judiciary is aware of clandestine moves by His Excellency, the Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello to use the Speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly to illegally remove the Chief Judge of the State, Hon. Justice Nasiru Ajanah, from office over some trumped up allegations.

    “This dangerous and ill-advised move is coming from the executive inspite of the fact that the matter is now before the National Judicial Council (NJC), and there is a subsisting court order restraining the governor from doing so.

    “The governor is advised not to do anything that will plunge the state into an unnecessary constitutional crisis. Rather, he should obey the rule of law and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which he swore to uphold.

    “Meanwhile workers of the judiciary should remain calm, as the rule of law shall prevail at the end.”

    As at the time of filing the report, activities at the state assembly indicate there are moves in the offing to ease Ajanah out from office as the Kogi CJ.

    It would be recalled that judicial staff members in the state had on Monday marched through some major streets of the capital, Lokoja, protesting the alleged plan to sack Ajanah as CJ.

    The speaker, Prince Mathew Kolawole, had however denied knowledge of such plan.

    Kolawole who was at the government house on Monday, responded to reporters’ enquiry on the issue in the negative, saying he was unaware of the name(s) of such person(s) making the allegations.