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Tag: Muhammadu Buhari

  • Onaiyekan, CAN criticise Buhari over killing of priests, insecurity

    PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has again come under fire over recent killings of some Catholic priests and other Nigerians.

    The Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, His Eminence John Cardinal Onaiyekan and the Director of Legal and Public Affairs of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Kwamkur Vondip, expressed concerns over increasing insecurity in the country.

    They especially condemned the high rate of kidnapping in the country.

    The duo, who were reacting to the recent killings of Catholic priests in Enugu and Taraba states, spoke on phone with our correspondent.

    The clerics expressed sadness about the development and faulted government’s method of security operations.

    Onaiyekan urged President Buhari to be strict and use all legal means without fear or favour to end the killings, kidnapping and other criminal activities.

    He said: “The insecurity is getting out of hand and it is affecting everybody. In a way, we can say that we are not surprised that even the priests are not exempted from the general insecurity in the land. It is not as if those hoodlums or the bandits will take their time to make sure that they do not kill a priest. They don’t seem to have any sense of horror about anything.

    “The only thing I can say about this is that my priests are also being killed. It only shows how terrible the situation is. And I must say that I am also sad when we saw President Buhari himself speaking on the issue and insisting that the people responsible for killing the reverend father should be fished out.

    “On one hand, I commended his efforts, and on the other hand, we should ask too that not only the reverend fathers but all those who are killed; those who killed them should be fished out. Everybody’s life is precious and it is given by God. We are praying on this issue and doing our part.

    “Everybody knows what President Buhari should do to stop this menace and I am sure Buhari also knows what to do. There is no excuse because the rate of insecurity we have in our land, no matter under what name, weather it is insurgency of Boko Haram or banditry in the Northwest or herdsmen killings in the Middle Belt or kidnapping, we have never had it so bad.

    “The government should have known that their efforts so far have not yielded adequate results. It is the duty of government to make sure that people are safe in the country. You do not have to be in the opposition to know that. When they themselves are travelling on the road, don’t you see how they protect themselves? They always have armed policemen with them. That is a clear sign that the road is not safe. If the road is safe, would they need so many soldiers and policemen to protect them? If they are using so many soldiers and policemen to protect themselves, what about the rest of us?

    Read Also: PDP knocks Buhari over escalating insecurity

    “The matter is serious and we are not at war. Other nations are tackling their security challenges.”

    Vondip said some highly placed Nigerians were benefitting from the insecurity in the country hence.

    The lawyer said the situation could have been addressed with the budgetary provisions by the government.

    He said if need be, the Service Chiefs, who are not performing, should be sacked by the President.

    Vondip said: “For a nation as big as Nigeria, something is wrong with our security setup. With the kind of leadership we have and what they say on daily basis about their willingness to fight insecurity and crime, you can see that all is not well.

    “My belief is that there is something underneath. There are a lot of compromises, and many of our national leaders know this. Some people are compromising in the same circle. The same people that are meant to protect the people are the ones arranging these killings, just like you saw in Taraba State between the police and the military. That incident should not be taken lightly.

    “My suggestion is that the investigation should go beyond that, beyond what is happening, because a lot of our military men are being killed in the North. Each time the military is embarking on any operation, they will be ambushed. It is not a normal situation.

    “There people that are leaking vital information to cause confusion and their purpose is either they have a project they are fighting for or they are having some financial gains.

    “We have a nation with highly educated people, but you have not found anybody taking time to investigate that there should be an independent opinion on what is happening from security experts. But we seem to be quiet.

    “So, anybody who speaks against it will seem to be speaking against the government, as if we are not living in this country.”

     

  • Buhari sends emissary to Ramaphosa

    PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday condemned the renewed wave of attacks on Nigerians by their South African hosts. He sent an envoy to the former apartheid enclave with a mission to “express Nigeria’s displeasure over the treatment of her citizens”.

    Also in a statement, Nigeria’s High Commission in South Africa described the situation as “anarchy”. The government alleged that Nigerian-owned businesses were targeted in Johannesburg and it called on Nigerians to come forward to report what had happened to them.

    South African President Cyril Ramaphosa also criticised the attacks.

    He said: “I condemn the violence that has been spreading around a number of our provinces in the strongest terms. I’m convening the ministers in the security cluster today (yesterday) to make sure that we keep a close eye on these acts of wanton violence and find ways of stopping them.

    “The people of our country want to live in harmony; whatever concerns or grievances we may have, we need to handle them in a democratic way. There can be no justification for any South African to attack people from other countries.”

    Posting a massage on his official Twitter handle, Ramaphosa said: “We express our deep pain, support, solidarity and love to the families, friends and loved ones of all those who have lost their lives in the last month (Uyinene Mrwetyana, Leighandre Jegels, Nolunde Vunsindo, Meghan Cremer, Jesse Hess to mention but a few)”

  • Uproar over killing of Nigerians in South Africa

    ANGRY youths in their hundreds on Tuesday protested the continuous killing of Nigerians in xenophobic attacks in South Africa.

    They attacked businesses linked to South Africa, whose citizens have been ceaselessly killing Nigerians and destroying their businesses.

    There was an attack on Shoprite outlets at Circle Mall in Lekki, Lagos, which turned bloody, MTN facilities at Apapa also in Lagos and in Uyo, the  Akwa Ibom State capital.

    The Uyo office of MTN had its glass doors and windows smashed by the angry youths. Attempts by protesters to torch some other MTN offices in Lagos were foiled by security operatives.

    Some placard-carrying youths were at the Ikeja Shopping Mall to protest the killings. They chanted revolutionary songs and disrupted businesses at the Ikeja Mall, which houses the Shoprite outlet.

    The Ibadan Mall where Shoprite is located was picketed by youths.

    In Surulere, Lagos, another set of youths attacked and looted PEP shops at Eric Moore before the police came to disperse them. PEP is South African largest single brand retailer.

    At the Lekki Mall, two people were feared dead in the confrontation between the police and the youths while no fewer than five policemen were taken away injured.

    More than 60 people were arrested.

    A police van was burnt by the rampaging youths who carted away goods including electronics and other household items from the stores after driving out workers.

    The attack which started in the afternoon was still ongoing as at 9pm with the police struggling to contain the protesters. The police shot sporadically when the youths refused to heed the advice to halt their activities, leading to stray bullets hitting the people that died. But there was no official confirmation of deaths as at 10pm last night.

    Both the federal and the Lagos State governments called for restraint.

    The Federal Government condemned the killing of Nigerians, which Vice President Yemi Osinbajo described as “unacceptable and unconscionable”.

    President Muhammadu Buhari dispatched a delegation to South Africa to meet tomorrow with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

    In Abuja, Minister of Foreign Affairs Geoffery Onyema summoned the South African High Commissioner and requested for a halt to the killing of Nigerians and the attack on their businesses. He also called for compensation for the victims.

    The attacks on businesses linked to South Africa in the country followed consistent killings of Nigerians in South Africa and the looting and destruction of their shops.

    Businesses at Shoprite outlet in Osapa London, Sangotedo on Lekki-Epe Expressway, were said to have been grounded as protesters specifically ordered all customers inside the outlets to leave.

    The Lekki protest which commenced around 3:30pm turned violent after stray bullets killed two young men. Policemen were drafted to disperse the youths, who had forced their way into the mall.

    According to sources, the protests started when a group of angry women, said to be relatives of those who fell victims to the attacks in South Africa, entered the Lekki Shoprite started and upturning shelves with groceries and toiletries.

    The police shot sporadically following attempts by the mob to set Shoprite ablaze.

    Read Also: Foreign minister’s tweet on Xenophobia sparks row

    It was learnt that three youths died. But there was no confirmation from the police.

    In no time, more youths converged and ordered everyone out of the outlet gathering used tyres in preparation to setting the place on fire.

    According to a resident, Semiu Ibrahim, more than 17 police vehicles were deployed as they released teargas canisters.

    He said a young man killed was an observer.

    “Those protesting wanted to burn down the place and the police started shooting. They threw teargas as well. The whole thing started around 3:30pm. They came and asked people in the mall to leave. They wanted to burn the place.

    “The police pleaded with them not to do it but they were not listening and the police started shooting. Bullet hit and killed a young man who was observing what was happening.

    “There were about 20 police vehicles there. The protesters were more than 100”, he said.

    Lagos Police spokesman Bala Elkana, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), said they had to send reinforcement to the place because the mob was out to burn the facility which “doesn’t even belong to South Africans in the first place.”

    He said: “We are still battling with this issue. I do not know for now if anyone was killed. But I can tell you that those youths were not protesters. They were out to burn down the shopping mall and cause problem.

    “The police had to quickly move in to prevent that. They are riotous and we had to send in reinforcement. We are still here,” he said last night.

    Some youths staged a peaceful protest at the Dugbe, Ibadan branches of Shoprite and StanbicIBTC Bank.

    The two are among the popular companies owned by South Africans in Nigeria.

    An eye witness told The Nation that the youths, numbering about 50, stormed Shoprite around 5:00 pm to register their displeasure over the killings. He said they did not disturb operation of the company though they caused a stir in the shopping mall which houses many other retailers and the historic Cocoa House.

    On sighting the protesters, the management of Odu’a Investments Limited, owners of the property, alerted the police which quickly drafted its men to the premises.

    The eye witness added that the youths moved over to the nearby branch of StanbicIBTC Bank after only 15 minutes before moving over to the bank.

    In Uyo, Scores of youths launched an attack on the MTN office located along Ikot Ekpene road and a few metres from the town campus of the University of Uyo.

    Earlier on Tuesday, some private radio stations aired phone-in programmes on the killings and attacks on Nigerians in South Africa.

    Many callers expressed their anger over the unfortunate plight of Nigerians and called on the government to take drastic actions to stop the onslaught.

    The Nation gathered that the attack on the MTN building started at about 2.30pm with the rampaging youths destroying glass doors and windows of the facility.

    A sales lady at the shop who narrowly escaped the attack told our correspondent that valuable items were destroyed while phones and cash were stolen by the attackers

    She said: “They ordered people out, destroyed computers, and took away cash and customers’ phones. We ran away through the backdoor to safety.”

    There was no casualty.

    It is not clear if the attack was an isolated incident.

    The police spokesperson in the state, Odiko MacDon, did not immediately respond to calls and text messages sent to him.

    However, an eyewitness who pleaded not to be named said: “The attack on the MTN shop in Uyo is most unfortunate because neither the building nor the computers belong to the South African people or government,” a citizen who did not want his name in print, said, adding, even the people working there are our brothers and sisters.”

  • Ganduje and the politics of exclusion

    Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, the second-term Governor of Kano State, is a well educated man. After a first degree in Science Education, he went on to earn two Masters degrees, one in Applied Educational Psychology and the other in Public Administration. He topped his formal education with a doctorate degree in Public Administration from the University of Ibadan.

    The 18-year gap between his bachelor’s and doctorate degrees were filled with doses of post-graduate education and his foray into politics. Indeed, he obtained his first Master’s degree in the same year (1979) that he became the Assistant Secretary of the defunct National Party of Nigeria in Kano state and also ran unsuccessfully for the House of Representatives.

    He would later succeed in elected office as Deputy Governor twice (1999-2003 and 2011-2015), both to Rabiu Kwankwaso. As Deputy Governor, he held the portfolio of Commissioner for Local Government. Between his two tenures as Deputy Governor, he served as Special Adviser (Political) to Kwankwaso, when the latter served as the Minister of Defence; as a member of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority; and as Secretary of the Lake Chad Basin Commission. Ganduje was eventually elected Governor of Kano in 2015 and won reelection in 2019 amidst controversies.

    Ganduje’s educational and political backgrounds confirm that he is neither unskilled in administration nor is he a political novice. You may quarrel with the way he has deployed his skills but you cannot deny him of adequate training and preparation for political office. He surely has brought his education and political skills to bear on his administration of Kano state. What is in dispute is his politics and his exercise of power.

    It is difficult to tease out Ganduje’s political ideology, given his migration from the People’s Democratic Party, which gained notoriety for corruption and electoral malpractices, to the All Progressives Congress. His political root in the defunct National Party of Nigeria with all its notoriety can only lead to more questions about his partisan politics. Perhaps the best one can say is that he shops for access to power like other political migrants or party switchers.

    What is most worrisome about Ganduje is his bulldozer approach to the quest for power and its exercise. His conception of power seems to privilege control and exclusion rather than facilitation and inclusion. Having fallen out with Kwankwaso, his former boss and friend, he engaged the state police command to prevent Kwankwaso from coming to Kano, where the latter was a two-term Governor and a serving State Senator at the time.

    True, he accused Kwankwaso of overbearing influence on local politics, referring to him as “somebody who had left office (still trying) to influence what happened in the state”. Nevertheless, barring Kwankwaso from entering the state belies Ganduje’s educational pedigree.

    If it took the intervention of President Muhammadu Buhari to restore the appearance of democratic civility between him and Kwankwaso, then it means that Ganduje either lacks that quality or chose to suspend it for personal political gain. All the fight against Kwankwaso was meant to increase his (Ganduje’s) chance of winning re-election, while simultaneously reducing the chances of Kwankwaso’s PDP and its candidate.

    Ganduje was not done. He took the fight to the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, by bulkanizing the Kano emirate into five, thus restricting Sanusi’s area of influence. Ganduje also instructed the traditional District heads not to participate in Sanusi’s traditional Durbar celebration. Ganduje had earlier cancelled another traditional Sallah event, which the Emir of Kano usually attends, citing security concerns.

    Anyone familiar with the eminent history of the Kano emirate would understand the extent to which Ganduje has gone to trample on emirate’s history and tradition in pursuing his own political goals (see Jide Osuntokun’s historical excursion in Ganduje and the emirate of Kano, The Nation, June 13, 2019). The District heads were not unaware of this history, hence their attendance at Sanusi’s Durbar event against Ganduje’s order.

    If Sanusi’s characteristic critical commentary were the only problem Ganduje had with the Emir, then Ganduje could be accused of lacking the necessary political spine to take criticism. However, his grouse with the Emir goes much deeper. It is not unconnected with the latter’s alliance with Kwankwaso in supporting the opposition Peoples Democratic Party candidate against Ganduje during the governorship election.

    Sanusi’s support of Kwankwaso was predictable, although he could have been much more diplomatic in showing it. It was Kwankwaso who installed him as the Emir of Kano against odds from within and outside the emirate council: There were serious protests by the supporters of other keen competitors from within, while the Jonathan presidency did all it could to stop the installation. Ganduje cannot plead ignorance as he was Kwankwaso’s Deputy at the time.

    There are several takeaways from the Ganduje-Kwankwaso and Ganduje-Sanusi conflicts. It is high time we reflected hard on the rampant conflict between politicians who previously had a boss-subordinate relationship, as between Kwankwaso and Ganduje; between Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi and Nyesom Wike; between Peter Obi and Willie Obiano; and between Adams Oshiomhole and Godwin Obaseki.

    The underlying theme in the disputes is the overbearing influence of the former boss. There is a lesson here for former Governors: Once you leave office, let your successor be his own man or woman. At the same time, subordinates-turn-Governor must always acknowledge and respect their benefactors. They should remember that they, too, will have to learn new ropes as ex-Governor tomorrow.

    Clearly, Emir Sanusi, as the traditional ruler of Kano, should have been much less outwardly critical of Governor Ganduje, the democratic political leader of the state. Recent events pitting them against each other show that ach of them requires much more tact and diplomacy in dealing with the other.

    On the surface, Ganduje’s treatment of Kwankwaso went too far, given the long-time relationship between them. Similarly, Ganduje’s tit-for-tat approach in responding to Sanusi went too far, having won re-election, despite the latter’s support for his rival.

    The above notwithstanding, Nigerian politicians should brace up for rancorous encounters with highly educated and exposed traditional rulers.

  • Nigerians protest in South Africa

    NIGERIANS in South Africa on Tuesday protested against continuous attacks by the South Africans.

    The Nigerians protested at the Nigerian Embassy in South Africa, accusing the embassy of not doing enough to protect Nigerians in that country.

    An official of the Foreign Ministry, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, informed our correspondent that the fracas that led to the latest attacks on foreigners was as a result of fake news by one of the local media.

    According to the official, the local media wrongly reported the fracas between taxi drivers and drug dealers which led to the attacks on foreigners by a mob.

    Read Also: ‘Why we attacked Nigerian embassy’

    With lots of Nigerian businesses destroyed in the mob attack, Nigerians in South Africa embarked on a protest to ventilate their anger, in the process, damaging some properties.

    The government of South Africa has threatened a crackdown but has so far been unable to prevent acts of violence.

    Last week, President Muhammadu Buhari and his South African Counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa met on the sidelines of a Summit in Japan.

    Both leaders agreed to meet in October, with xenophobia expected to dominate agenda at the meeting.

  • FG to Nigerians: Attack on South African businesses in Nigeria will hurt Nigerians more

    Attacks on South African businesses operating in Nigeria will be  to the detriment of the country, Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed has said.

    The Minister therefore appealed to Nigerians who were reported to have retaliated by attacking some notable South African business in the country to exercise restraint in the attempt to get even with South Africans who had been looting and burning Nigerian businesses in South Africa.

    In a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, described as deeply disturbing the reports that some Nigerians, angered by the xenophobic attacks in South Africa, have started attacking South African companies in Nigeria.

    He said that targeting South African companies in Nigeria for attack is, for Nigerians, a classic case of cutting off your nose to spite your face, because the investors in such companies, especially MTN and Shoprite, are Nigerians.

    Read Also: Wizkid condemns xenophobic attacks in South Africa

    Alhaji Mohammed said the majority of the workers in the South African companies operating in Nigeria are also Nigerians, meaning that its Nigerian workers who will be hardest hit if such companies are forced to shut down for fear of attacks.

    He assured Nigerians that the Federal Government is already taking decisive measures to put an end to the persistent xenophobic attacks against Nigerians in South Africa.

    ”President Muhammadu Buhari has dispatched a Special Envoy to convey to his South African counterpart, President Cyril Ramaphosa, his concerns and also interact with his South African counterpart on the situation.

    ”Also, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama, acting on the instruction of Mr. President, has summoned the South African High Commissioner to Nigeria to get a brief on the situation; express Nigeria’s displeasure over the treatment of her citizens; and secure assurance of the safety of their lives and property,” the Minister said.

  • Supreme Court rejects suit querying Buhari’s qualification

    THE Supreme Court has dismissed a suit querying the authenticity of President Muhammadu Buhari’s academic claims and his qualification to contest the last presidential election.

    The suit was filed by Kalu Kalu, Labaran Ismail and Hassy El-Kuris.

    It was an appeal against the July 12 judgment of the Court of Appeal, Abuja.

    The apex court on Monday, through its five-man panel, averred that it lacked the jurisdiction to hear the appeal on the grounds that it was statute barred.

    The panel, led by Justice Mary Odili, directed the appellant’s lawyer, Ukpai Ukairo, to take a decision on what to do with his case.

    On sensing the court’s disposition, Ukairo applied to withdraw the appeal, and the court dismissed it.

    Earlier, the court frowned at the decision by a lawyer from the Federal Ministry of Justice, Abdullahi Abubakar, to announce appearance for President Buari.

    Justice Odili said: “The court notes the inappropriate appearance of Mr. Abdullahi Abubakar, a state counsel from the Federal Ministry of Justice, representing the first respondent (Muhammadu Buhari) in his personal capacity.

    “This practice must be discouraged. The appeal, haven been withdrawn, is hereby dismissed.”

    Read Also: Buhari returns to Abuja

    Another member of the panel, Muhammad Dattijo, noted that Abubakar’s conduct was inappropriate for a public servant.

    He cited the example of former United States President Bill Clinton, who he said did not involve public lawyers in handling his numerous private cases while in the office.

    “Clinton, in his numerous private litigations, never used government organs, but rather personally sponsored all his private cases.”

    Kalu, Ismail and El-Kuris, by their appeal, were praying the Supreme Court to, among others, set aside an earlier judgment of the Court of Appeal, Abuja, which upheld the decision of the Federal High Court, Abuja, that the suit, being on a pre-election matter, was statute barred, having not been filed within the 14 days allowed by the Constitution.

    They, on November 5, last year, filed the suit at the Federal High Court, Abuja, and challenged the authenticity of President Buhari’s educational qualification, as contained in the Form CF001 he submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) before the conduct of the last presidential election.

    The trio claimed to have learnt about the information in the Form CF001, allegedly submitted by President Buhari, when INEC published the list of successful candidates in this year’s general election October 25, last year.

    They argued that their cause of action arose on the date of the publication.

    The trio, among others, prayed the court for a declaration that President Buhari submitted false information on his educational qualification and certificate to the INEC to contest election into the Office of the President of Nigeria and that he should be disqualified.

    They also prayed for an order of court directing INEC to remove President Buhari’s name as a candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and an order restraining him from parading himself as a candidate in this year’s presidential election and restrain the APC from recognising him as its candidate.

    In a judgment on May 2, Justice Ahmed Mohammed of the Federal High Court, Abuja, dismissed the suit for being statute barred.

    Justice Mohammed held that the suit was not filed within the 14 days period allowed for the filing of pre-election matters under Section 285 of the Constitution.

    The judge also held that the cause of action arose on September 28, last year, when the APC held its primary election to select its candidate for the 2019 presidential election.

    On appeal to the Court of Appeal, Abuja, a three-man panel of the court, in a judgment delivered on July 12, upheld the verdict of the Federal High Court that the suit was statute barred and dismissed it.

    The Court of Appeal also held that the cause of action arose on October 18, last year, the date President Buhari submitted his Form CF001 to INEC.

     

  • Stakeholders disagree on NDDC Board’s composition

    THE reconstitution of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Board drew more reactions on Monday.

    Some of those who reacted hailed President Muhammadu Buhari for the caliber of people he nominated into the Board. Others kicked and demanded a reversal of the presidential decision.

    The Western Ijaw Consultative Assembly kicked against the nomination of Bernard Okumagba, an Urhobo as the Board chairman, arguing that an Ijaw ought to have been nominated to head the board.

    In a statement titled: “Western Ijaw Consultative Assembly Delta Ijaw rejects NDDC Board MD nominee” and signed by Chief Ebipade Gbegha (Chairman) and  Ogbein Zidideke (Secretary), the Assembly described Okumagba’s nomination as injustice to the Ijaw.

    The groups’ spokesman said: “The Ijaw in Delta State wish to notify President Mohammadu Buhari and the National Assembly that the nomination of Bernard Okumagba of the Urhobo extraction in Delta State as the Managing Director (MD) in the new Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) board instead of an Ijaw nominee from the state is totally unacceptable.

    “This is because it is a clear case of oppression, injustice and alienation of Ijaw in Delta State by some selfish politicians acting like new pirates in power.

    “We state without fear of equivocation that any executive position slot for Delta State should be given to the Ijaw as it is our turn in line with the rotational arrangement as prescribed by the NDDC Act of 2000 Section 12 (1) which states that ‘there shall be for the commission, a managing director, and two executive directors who shall be indigenes of oil producing areas starting with the member states of the commission with the highest production quantum of oil and shall rotate amongst member states in the order of production’.

    “The emphasis on the rotation within member states with the highest production quantum of oil is to ensure equity, justice and fairness in states like Delta, where there are more than one ethnic group producing oil.The Ijaw riverside communities are the highest producers of oil and gas in the region, and by implication, the highest revenue generators in Nigeria.

    “We also bear the brunt of the pollution, degradation and environmental impacts of oil and gas exploration, production and transportation. In spite of our enormous contributions and sacrifices, we are still the most underdeveloped part of Nigeria.

    “The NDDC, which is a product of the Niger Delta struggle, was initiated as an interventionist agency to cater for the oil-bearing/impacted communities from age-long neglect.

    ‘Though all members of the region contributed to the struggle, the Ijaw no doubt sacrificed and contributed the more in the struggle. Youth of the Ijaw laid down their lives in agitating for creation of the NDDC and were tagged all sorts of names in the process.”

    But in Akwa Ibom, some youth groups hailed the appointment of a former commissioner for Culture and Tourism in the state, Victor Antai, into the NDDC Board, saying that the nomination would promote peace and bring development to the region.

    Oro International Youth Forum and Akwa Ibom Integrity Youth Foundation described Antai as a grassroots politician who will bring peace and progress to Niger Delta.

    According to them, with Antai at the helms of affairs of the Commission in the state, youth restiveness would be a thing of the past.

    In a message by its President, Christian Bassey Nyong, the Oro International Youth Forum described  Antai  “as an astute politician, a sterling administrator and effective leader, your service as a state commissioner was equally glorious and satisfactory to the Oro people, thus your willingness to sacrifice your time and effort for the development of your people in many capacities have contributed to your being selected for this new challenging responsibility which is not a surprise to us.

    “We are grateful to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari for appointing a grassroots politician with a heart of gold as NDDC Board Member and based on your pedigree, we believe that you will contribute effectively to the development of the region and help to further develop the Oro Community and Akwa Ibom State at large.”

    Read Also: Governors reject NDDC board nominees

    The Akwa Ibom Integrity Youth Foundation said: “We are particularly grateful to the President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari for finding an illustrious son of Akwa Ibom State to occupy this very exalted position to beer reposition the region for a more rapid development.”

    In Ondo, two groups – the Justice Council of the Oil Producing Communities in Ondo State (JCOPC) and National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) urged the President to reverse the appointments in the interest of justice.

    They charged the Federal Government to honour the Act establishing the NDDC in the interest of the rule of law.

    JCOPC said its members and the entire oil producing communities in the state were shocked that the constitution of the board as announced by the government violated the NDDC Act.

    A statement by its spokesman Prince Segun Odolo said: “We condemn the purported composition because it violated the Act of NDDC and it is capable of causing disharmony among the member states of the commission.

    The NYCN in a statement by its Secretary General Blessing Akinlosotu called for immediate review of the appointment.

    He said the office of the chairman must rotate among the member states in alphabetical order, while that of Managing Director (MD)/Executive Director (ED) shall rotate according to the production volume.

    The group said: “Based on the Act, Delta State is to produce the next chairman of the commission while Ondo State will produce the MD in line with the provision of the Act.”

    According to JCOPC, “Ondo State is the fifth largest producer of oil in the country, following the quantum of its production in ranking order as Akwa Ibom (31.4 per cent); Delta (21.7 per cent); Rivers (21.4 per cent);  Balyesa (18.1 per cent); Ondo (3.7 per cent) Edo (2.1 per cent); Imo (1.1 per cent); Abia 0.7 (per cent) and Cross River (0.8 per cent”.

    The group lamented that Ondo has never occupied the position since the establishment of the interventionist agency.

    It rejected the appointment on the grounds that the composition violated the Act that established NDDC, describing it is a continuation of the subversion of the commission’s Act.

    JCOPC said: “The composition is an aberration and a rape on the sanctity of the Act that established the NDDC. We call on Mr. President, a man of justice to right the wrong.

    “While Ondo state was denied the opportunities of becoming the chairman and Managing Director, the stakeholders said some states had occupied the position on two occasions. Apart from the position of the managing director, nobody from Ondo state has ever been considered for the post of Executive Directors in the NDDC.

    “As the fifth largest producer behind  Akwa Ibom, Delta, Rivers and Bayelsa states, who have taken their turns, it is now the turn of Ondo State to occupy the position of the MD of the commission.”

  • Here comes Transportation varsity

    The Federal Government’s plan to establish a Transportation University has generated mixed reactions among teachers, experts and industry stakeholders, ADEYINKA ADERIBIGBE writes.

    The Muhammadu Buhari-led administration, which will mark its first 100 days in office on Thursday, may soon flag-off a landmark project – a University of Transportation.

    It would be the first specialised institution of its kind, aimed at developing human capital, capable of driving through research, the various transportation interventions being introduced by the administration.

    Transportation Minister Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, who made this known penultimate Friday, said the ground-breaking of the university would take place this month, in Daura, Katsina State.

    The university project is one of the requests from the Chinese government aimed at boosting Nigeria’s capacity to train the manpower required to sustain the ongoing transformation in the sector.

    It would be the nation’s premier tertiary institution for training transport professionals since independence. It is coming 99 years after the International University of Logistics and Transportation (IULT) was founded in Poland, and over 70 years of a similar varsity in Moscow,  Russia.

    Expected to draw inspiration from across the globe, where similar institutions had been established, the university would address manpower training, research and policy, which had been obtained offshore, especially in China.

    According to Amaechi, 150 Nigerians are slated for scholarships in all parts of Transportation Studies in China. While the first set of 60 left in 2016, another set of 60 is expected to proceed next year; the last set would follow later. On their return, they are expected to boost the industry, especially the railway tracks and rolling stocks.

    Since Nigeria’s independence, the transportation sector has remained the most neglected, despite the demand for experts to manage it.

    The only institution that held sway in the sector, until lately, was the Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology (NITT), established in the 50s by the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), to train its workforce on railway operations.

    The institute was taken over by the Ministry of Transportation, when the railway bankrupted. But the intervention had not impact  the sector, as the institute since inception, has remained a mere appendage and not recognised beyond awarding diploma certificates for short-term courses on transportation, especially rail systems and logistics.

    Transportation studies, in the main, have remained a mere appendage of either departments of Geography or Urban and Regional Planning in many of the recognised federal and state universities across the country.

    That was the story until 2008, when the Lagos State University (LASU) elevated Transportation Studies by establishing a School of Transportation Studies (LASU-SOT), the first, not only in Nigeria, but also in Southern Africa. A similar faculty of transportation existed only in Cairo, Egypt.

    Experts said, if properly nurtured, the project could be the catalyst for the growth and professionalisation of the sector.

    The absence of requisite skills in transportation education, transportation engineering and technology, transportation economics, and other critical adjuncts, have been described as the bane of the economic gloom.

    A transportation and logistics expert, who is also the Director Safety Without Borders (SWB), Mr Patrick Adenusi, blamed the dearth of professionals  on gross and misconceptions about transportation.

    For instance, while Amaechi was excited about the institution, which he enthused, would change the narrative of the sector, critics expressed concern about the need for another specialised institution.

    Though a don with the Ogun State University, Ago Iwoye, is non-pulsed that the university might not be at any cost to the nation, anothr queried the new varsity’s site at Daura, the President’s hometown.

    But they all agreed that the absence of training centres had continued to give rise to the preponderance of touts and quacks whose invasion of the road mode have continued to make a mess of the government’s intervention in terms of provision of rolling stocks aimed at shifting attention to public sector transportation.

    The almost total dominance of the road mode by touts, and transport unions agents, popularly called agberos, has continued to tar transportation with the mud of ignominy and this is despite that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) captured the road sub-sector as responsible for 98 percent of the nation’s travel needs.

    Adenusi urged the handlers of the project to collaborate with the LASU-SOT to develop competent professionals who would be able to hold their own in any field of transportation and logistics.

    “It is also envisaged that the project would not only raise professionals on road mode alone, but also encompass other modes of transportation – air, rail, water and perhaps, pipeline transportation,” he said.

    For him, another major advantage is that the school will increase the capacity of public institutions to admit more young secondary school graduates, many of whom are often in the lurch yearly as stricter measures are released year after year to further restrict admission.

    “Besides, products of the university would also be available to the world market, while Nigeria would be able to earn foreign exchange from foreign students who would come to acquire special skills relating to the sector,’’ he said.

    Adenusi agreed with proponents that the university bodes well for the country, as according to him, it would restore sanity to the sector.

    A member of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transportation (CILT), who would not want his name published, said the university would proffer solution to the endemic challenges bedeviling the sector.

    A source at the NITT, Zaria, admitted the project was laudable. He, however, urged the government to prioritise its objectives, set achievable and measurable timelines, and ensure that the Chinese government or the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), does not turn the project into another white sepulchre.

    The source, who did not want his name in print, said failure to do this could derail the project.

    To succeed, the source said, the new university could copy the LASU-SOT template and expand into a full university curriculum. “The curriculum developers need to develop faculties and departments that meet local needs and relevant to the skills readily available in the market. If this is done, government would have prevented the project becoming a mere dumping ground for all expired ideologies and theories which are no longer relevant in the sector.

    Nigeria’s foremost transportation teacher and an advocate of the project, Dr Tajudeen Bawa’Allah, said the government should handle the school over to professionals, who are passionate about the industry, adding that to do otherwise, would be akin to killing it.

    Bawa’Allah, 78, the first LASU-SOT dean, praised the minister for the idea, which according to him, would give transportation studies a place of pride.

    Bawa’Allah, who described transportation as the essence of life and human activity, including procreation, added that no activity is complete without transportation. He described those opposing the idea as ignorant of the pride of place transportation occupies in their lives.

    He challenged the Federal Government to make a success of the dream in the interest of the coming generation. Citing, among others, the impact of the SOT, Bawa’Allah said among the first set of graduates produced by the school in 2013, seven would be completing their doctorates at various universities in the United States.

    He said not only did former Governor Fashola give a building to the university, he also provided foreign scholarships to all graduating students, a practice he lamented was stopped by his successor.

    LASUSOT has three departments, which could stand as take off points for six faculties for transportation university. These, according to him, are: Transport Management,  Transport Logistics and Transport Infrastructure.

    Others are Transport Technology, Transport Planning and Transport Policy.

    The Transportation University would provide the opportunities for education, training and research in transportation related disciplines and industries that are lacking in the country’s niversities, such as Transport Economics, Transport Tunnels, Military Purpose Vehicles, Bridges, Ship building, Jetliner Engine Design and construction.

    The list could be longer, he said, adding that  the university would grow towards full complements of transportation.

    He said the Chinese/Nigeria collaboration is  heart-warming for a well-funded university, the cost implications not-withstanding.

    He supported the siting of the varsity in Daura, saying being the link of the speed train to Niamey in Niger Republic, it would bring development to to the town, and that it would complement the National Railway Project being carried  in conjunction with the Chinese government.

    Training of our youths in China is being done  under the Daura Project meant to serve generations of Nigerians.

  • Next Level’s anti-graft battle

    President Muhammadu Buhari declared in March 2019, shortly after winning his re-election, that his second term in office was going to be tough.

    While receiving the last Federal Executive Council on congratulatory visit in Aso Rock, he had stated that his fight against corruption was going to be intense, among the administration’s three cardinal objectives.

    But doubting Thomases never believed Buhari’s declaration as they thought it was going to be business as usual.

    Especially, those who felt and claimed that Buhari was fighting corruption using double standard.

    To them, Buhari was using insecticide to fight corruption in the National Assembly, Judiciary and the larger society, while using deodorants to fight corruption in the Presidency.

    Apart from claims that Buhari was selective in the fight against corruption in his first term in office, Buhari was also said to have been put under pressure before moving against the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir David Lawal, over alleged contract scam.

    Even last Thursday, a former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Timi Frank, had alleged that Buhari’s government is now more enmeshed in corruption.

    He had declared that governance is now in the hands of looters, claiming that some members of the new cabinet inaugurated last week Wednesday have been involved in high profile corruption.

    While calling on Nigerians to lower their expectations for true dividends of democracy, he asked them to expect unprecedented and astronomical rise in corruption.

    He pointed out that 70 to 80 per cent of the new ministers have, at one time or the other, been the guests of anti-corruption agencies with most of them still battling corruption charges in courts.

    Frank had said, “I urge Nigerians to brace for more hardships as corruption and incompetence have been enthroned with corruption masters turned ministers to run the affairs of government in Nigeria.”

    But the Presidency’s moves in the last two weeks, have shown that the government was ready to expose anybody involved in corruption, no matter how highly placed in Buhari’s administration.

    As a starter, the Chairman of the Special Presidential Investigation Panel (SPIP) for the Recovery of Public Property, Mr. Okoi Obono-Obla, was suspended from office by President Buhari on the 14th of August, 2019.

    He was suspended due to allegations of misconduct, abuse of office, intimidation, unauthorized and malicious investigations.

    His suspension, according to the letter signed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, will also subsist until the conclusion of ongoing probe of his academic records and financial impropriety allegations levelled against him by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

    While the mandate of SPIP is to investigate only cases referred to it by the government, the SPIP under Obono-obla was said to have carried out unauthorized arrests, seizure of assets and prosecution.

    The Presidency was also shocked that Obono-Obla was implicated in illegal secondment of over 100 policemen to the SPIP.

    The suspended chairman was found to be engaging lawyers to file charges against suspects without recourse to the Attorney-General’s office.

    The Presidency was said to be left with the suspension option after Obono-obla refused to follow due process after the Presidency drew his attention to his excesses and made him signed an undertaking to follow the procedure.

    Shortly after Obono-obla’s suspension was made public, the news of the grilling of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, hit the air waves.

    She was said to have been probed over alleged N3 billion contract scam.

    Her offence also included alleged abuse of duty tour allowances, money laundering and stealing of government funds.

    The N3 billion was allegedly traced to her through proxy companies.

    This was said to have been linked to her when some detectives were investigating the activities of a former Minister under whom she served as Permanent Secretary.

    While about N600 million was said to have been traced to the account of one of her aides, the aide had not given any justifiable explanation for the money.

    To get to the root of the alleged scam, the EFCC was also said to have quizzed two Permanent Secretaries and three Directors of Finance.

    While the two above cases are yet to be fully resolved, the Buhari’s administration last Thursday also promised to beam its anti-corruption searchlight in more areas.

    The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), said the anti-corruption agencies would now beam their searchlight on banks that had been aiding corrupt practices in Nigeria.

    “As bad news to the rogues within our financial system, in the next four years, the Federal Ministry of Justice, in collaboration with anti-corruption agencies, will beam searchlight on the financial institutions and non-designated financial institutions in order to make them pay dearly for the dastardly roles they played and are still playing in encouraging and deepening corruption in Nigeria.

    “From arms procurement fraud, INEC bribery case to Diezani case and several others, quantitative data available to the Federal Government abundantly shows that financial institutions are directly involved in most of the major corruption cases investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission from 2015 till date,” he said

    On the August 19, 2019 award of $9bn against Nigeria by a British court, he said “It must be placed on record that the Federal Government strongly views with serious concerns the underhand manners by which the negotiation, signing and formation of the contract was carried out by some vested interests in the past administration in connivance with their local and international conspirators all in a bid to inflict grave economic adversity on the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the good people of Nigeria.

    “As a government that has the mandate of the people, and their interests at heart, we shall not fold our arms and allow this injustice to go unpunished as all efforts, actions and steps shall be taken to bring to book all private individuals, corporate entities and government officials — home or abroad and past or present — that played direct and indirect roles in the conception, negotiation, signing, formation as well as prosecution of the purported agreement.”

    But in Nigeria, there is no step any leader will take that is not viewed with suspicion.

    It’s on record that one geopolitical zone have always suspected the other.

    So despite the current efforts to rid the country of corruption, some Nigerians still believed that there may be an underground plot as the last three major suspects, including the former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen, are from the southern part of the country.

    While the fight against corruption is expected to go round all sectors and geopolitical zones, what is really important is starting at a point.

    From his antecedent, Buhari is not likely to shy away from nailing any of his kinsmen involved in corruption as his main interest is for Nigeria.

    But the next four years will really show how far the President will take the antigraft battle.

    Will it be without fear or favour? Or protection of people from his area as being feared in some quarters? Only time will tell.