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Tag: Nigerian Newspapers

  • A nation of hubs

    Hardly a day passes in Nigeria without one structure or facility being advertised as a hub for one activity  or another.  If the structure is not already existing and thriving, it is going to come on stream and be designated a hub by the time you finish reading this article.

    That, at any rate, is the impression created by the news outlets, and such is the national fascination with hubs. Going by the frequency with which all kinds of hubs bob up in the media, a visitor to these parts writing an Instagram or tweeting for the benefit of friends back home might be led to describe Nigeria as  a nation of hubs.

    That would be no great exaggeration.

    In some important ways, Nigeria itself is already a hub.  It is the hub of international trade and commerce, though only a small portion of that is captured in the official charts.  Think of the thousands – nay, the tens of thousands – who stream into Nigeria on a given day from the West Africa region, through official entry points and a frontier that is as porous as a sieve, with many of the settlements dotted along it qualifying as authentic smuggling hubs in their own right.

    Lagos is of course Nigeria’s ultimate hub.  It is the point of convergence for people pouring in from the vast Nigerian countryside and from the ECOWAS region, the nation’s commercial capital, a pace setter in many ways, where with a little imagination and a great deal of hustling, you can get by.

    Abuja, where virtually everything runs a close second to Lagos as a hub – the hub of government.  It is the seat of the Presidency and a sprawling federal bureaucracy, the federal legislature, and the judiciary, the foreign missions.  Government in all its many guises and disguises is the business of Abuja.

    Back in 1990, South Africa’s hugely theatrical foreign minister, Frederik “Pik” Botha, proposed to the visiting General Olusegun Obasanjo, statesman-at-large and a key member of the Eminent Persons Group which helped pave the way for the dismantling of apartheid, the concept of a Pretoria-Abuja axis as a mechanism for advancing and consolidating the fortunes of the continent in the post –apartheid era.

    To that proposal, Obasanjo added a third component: Cairo.   (Full disclosure:  I was travelling with Obasanjo).

    The overarching idea was that South Africa, being the most developed country in Africa, and Nigeria being the largest and most influential Black nation, would together with Egypt, the preeminent Arab nation and gateway to the Arab world, work closely to shape policy for the Organization of African Unity, now the African Union, and the future of the continent.

    As far as I know, the proposal was never explored.  In light of recent developments, this is regrettable.  Instead of pursuing with Nigeria and Egypt the cause envisaged by the concept of a Pretoria-Abuja-Axis, South Africa has descended into xenophobia, looking the other way as its nationals terrorize and murder African immigrants in their midst and loot their property.

    This may well be the best time to revive the concept.  Africa’s best-known elder statesman Obasanjo, is best qualified to lead the effort, working behind the scenes and deploying his personal rapport with the leading statesmen and public figures across the continent.

    “Axis” carries an unsavoury connotation from the World War 1 alliance of Germany, Italy, and Japan rooted in fascism.  If Botha-Obasanjo’s proposal is to be taken up now, the arrangement will have to be called by any other name but an axis. The Lagos-Abuja-Cairo Hub, perhaps?

    As I was saying, if our policy makers had their way, virtually every facility or structure, actual or merely contemplated would be a hub or on the way to being transformed into one.

    On account of being an early adopter of the internet and other information technologies, more on account of their limited availability than his savvy in such matters, one peripatetic governor was lionized endlessly for having transformed his fly-over Sahel state into an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) hub, and for instituting “electronic governance.”

    He was at home everywhere except in his domain.  He travelled the world in search of the most vaunted  of economic operators – the foreign investor.  He was away for such a long stretch at one time that only the threat of impeachment by a state assembly that had grown weary of its own of docility brought him back.  Even so, he soon took off again, in search of foreign investors.

    It was a futile quest, as his successor would discover. There was nothing “on ground” to show for all that peregrination.  The ICT hub was nothing more elaborate than an assemblage of a server and ancillary devices in one room.  School children sat on dusty floors to take their lessons under the shade of trees, not in the smart classrooms he expected to find.

    The man who wrought those wonders lived for a while thereafter as a registered member of the Senate of the Federal Republic, with all the obscene privileges but only a few of the duties appertaining thereunto.

    Elsewhere, they build an airport of sorts in the middle of nowhere, literally, and call it a hub for cargo transportation in Nigeria and West Africa.  They build a three-star hotel that will probably go to seed after a year or two, and call it a hospitality hub.   They lay the foundation for a hospital and proclaim it a healthcare delivery hub, guaranteed not only to curb the medical tourism that accounts for huge financial outflows every year but actually reverse it.

    A private firm is building a huge oil refinery that will serve as the hub of oil processing in Nigeria and West Africa for export, with a capacity matching or exceeding that of the four government-owned refineries that have been on life support for several decades.  Yet they are going to expend billions of dollars refurbishing those plants again, over and above the zillions already spent refurbishing them.

    The goal must be that, by the time the refurbishing is complete, each of the refineries will function as an independent hub, to complement the one under construction.  Why settle for one hub when you can have    five hubs.

    In retrospect I am surprised that we still refer to some areas as Nigeria’s food basket. The basket is in reality a hub.  Thus we should be talking of Benue as Nigeria’s yam hub, Kebbi as the nation’s rice hub (no disrespect to Ebonyi and Abeokuta and other claimants) Ondo as the cocoa hub, those marauding cattle  herders permitting, Kano as the wheat and groundnut hub, Zamfara as the cotton hub, and so on and so forth.

    Former Agriculture Minister Akinwumi Adesina left some work undone in this regard.

    Our Pentecostal churches are now miracle hubs, with the biggest miracle hub of all situated appropriately along the busiest highway in Africa, the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, where miracles are required all the time to avert looming disaster.

    Long live our hubs.

  • Electricity market and unfavourable, helpless regulator

    The issues that starve Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) of adequate energy supply are becoming complex. Is the regulator helpless? JOHN OFIKHENUA asks.

    There is a cry for help by Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) value chain operators. Will the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) come to their aid?

    Electricity distribution companies (DisCos) want NERC to intervene over non-adherence to power purchase agreement.

    The Generation Companies (GenCos) asked the commission to come to their aid over what they called arbitrary 0.75 per cent administrative charge that the Nigerian Electricity Bulk Trading (NBET) Company slammed on them.

    The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has issues with the power distributors. Yet, there has been no policy pronouncement from the regulator.

    The question of why the operations of the 11 privatised electricity distribution companies (DisCos)) are still far from optimum performance does not have a straightforward answer.

    The success of the operation of the electricity market is predicated on the strength of the entire value chain.

    This is why an isolated analysis of the DisCos cannot be plausible as the entire value chain ought to have a very watertight relationship.

    In other words, the three value chains: generation, transmission and distribution are interdependent to the extent that the strength and weakness of one of the sub-sections rob off on the others.

    This was the position of the representative of the Sunday Odutan, who discussed the power supply enigma with The Nation on phone last week.

    Being the Executive Director, Research and Advocacy of Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED), which  is the umbrella body of the DisCos, he has become the mouthpiece of the 11 private power firms collectively, except Yola Electricity Distribution Company that its management reverted to the Federal Government.

    He explained that this is so because the operation of the sector is a chain.

    The ANED spokesman, therefore, sought the technical and commercial realignment of the entire power sector to manifest its efforts to the consumers.

    His words: “There is the need of an alignment of the value chain: technical and commercial alignments. If there is problem with generation, it will affect distribution. If there is a problem with transmission it will affect distribution. Performance of one is dependent on the performance of the other. That is why it is called a value chain.

    “The problem of the sector, which include the DisCos, is that there is no alignment. They need to align the value chain. There should be commercial and technical alignment. Technical alignment results when you are generating 10,000mw, you must be able to transmit 10,000 megawatts. You must be able to distribute 10,000mw. Then the commercial alignment is when you are buying electricity at this price, you must not be forced to sell below the cost. That is commercial alignment.”

    Odutan, who signed the publication picked holes in capacity figures that the TCN was showcasing.

    He said: “1. Maximum energy ever transmitted or wheeled by TCN is 4,557mw (even with a peak generation of 5,375mw February 7, (2019) with its tested wheeling capacity of 5,500mw.

    “2. TCN’s claimed transmission capacity increase based on a simulation of 8,000mw remains exactly that, a computer simulation with no real-life application.

    “3. 2,000mw of the available generation of 7,652.6mw remains constrained, largely because of lack of gas, given that 25 out of our 28 power generation plants are fueled by gas, as well as transmission and hydro constraints.

    “4.Electricity distribution capacity has been determined as 11,000MW (Siemens May, 2019 Electrification Roadmap for Nigeria Report).”

    The company’s General Manager, Public Affairs, Mrs. Ndidi Mba said that ANED twisted the National Grid Data and statistics, subtly inferring that there is no load rejection by Discos and that TCN has not been able to deliver the volume of power demanded daily by each Disco.

    She said: “ANED is deliberately out to deceive the good people of Nigeria with misanalysis of a simple data set.”

    Citing an example with the Kano Electricity Distribution Company (Kano Disco), Mbah pointed out that the Disco, on August 22, 2019, Kano Disco nominated to take 310.60MW while the MYTO allocation to Kano Disco was 359.38MW. She pointed out that Multi-Year Tariff Order (MYTO) allocation is a percentage of electricity on the grid that is made available to all the Discos. Discos’ day head nomination is what the Discos say they can off-take out of the MYTO allocation for the next day, while actual consumption is what they eventually take from the available MYTO allocation at the TCN/Disco interface points.

    The TCN put it to the association that “For Kano Disco, even though it is nominated to take 310.60MW, it was able to actually off-take only 154.17MW, leaving a total of 205.21MW representing 57.10 per cent of MYTO allocation to it unutilised.

    “On the same day, Kaduna Disco on the other hand, requested 280.00MW while MYTO allocation to them was 359.38MW, but the Disco actually collected only 166.52MW from TCN substations, leaving 192.86MW equivalent to 53.66 per cent of MYTO allocation unutilised.”

    The challenges that the NESI is grappling with are not limited to the blame game between the TCN and the DisCos.

    The electricity Generation Companies (GenCos) have their own issues impeding their operations. Forty per cent of the power generation capacity has been shut down. With the low demand from the DisCos and TCN’s weak capacity to wheel the available energy, it is obvious that the GenCos are limited to the capacity of the two other value chains.

    With the shutdown of some of the hydro plants in Kanji and Jebba which Mainstream Energy Solution Limited operates and the Shiroro Hydroelectric that is operated by North South Power Limited, the energy generators are at the mercy of whatever decision the TCN and DisCos take since Eligible Customer regulation that ought to have relieved them is yet to take its root firmly. There is a third force within the government circle that is conniving with some operators to thwart the policy that should have allowed the Gencos to bypass the DisCos to supply energy to the customers.

    Only last week, the NERC directed that owing to the forecast of the Nigerian Metrological Agency that there will be ravaging flooding resulting from long duration of rainfall this year,  the three hydro stations  “must run” compulsorily. The commission explained that a major consequence of this meteorological event on the operations of the three hydropower stations (i.e. Jebba, Kainji and Shiroro) has been high rate of reservoir fill-up which poses extreme environmental risks to lives/property downstream from the plants that could result in submerging entire villages along the riverbanks.

    According to NERC, the increasing cost of wholesale energy to distribution licensees in NESI is attributable to the generation mix of dispatched energy. It mandated the firms to operate the plants immediately or in the event of any deviation or non-compliance with the terms of the order, the NERC mandated the SO to compulsorily submit detailed written justification to the Commission within 48 hours.

    Besides, the thermal GenCos, at the weekend, raised the alarm threatening to declare a force majeure.

    Addressing reporters in Abuja, under the umbrella of Association of Power Generation Companies (APGC), the Executive Director, Joy Ogaji, revealed that the NBET informed the GenCos on a new policy that requires the payment of 0.75 per cent charge on each of their transactions.

    According to her, the NEBET claimed that the directive is an order from the presidency.

    She also revealed that the NBET has made the payment of the charges a condition precedent to the release of the N600 billion.

    The said “0.75 per cent administrative charge is compulsory as it is a Condition Precedent (CP) for GenCos to access the N600 billion the Federal Government has approved for immediate payment to gas suppliers and GenCos.”

    In a press conference that she entitled “NBET slams GenCos with 0.75 per cent unregulated administrative charge,” Ogaji described the role of the NBET in the electricity market as a credit worthy off taker created to incentivise private investment in power and act as the buffer to the GenCos.

    She said with this renewed confidence for investors and the promise to provide incentives and the needed comfort by bearing the off-take market and default risks such as liquidity/payment risks, the GenCos invested in the power sector and are, above all odds, keeping to the terms of their contract, generating power in anticipation of the 100 per cent payment promised in the Transition Electricity Market (TEM).

    She recalled that the Federal Government, in its magnanimity, intervened to ameliorate the plight of the GenCos by introducing various instruments to partially pay GenCos for energy delivered while capacities not utilised but made available was unaccounted for. The Federal Government, according to the APGC spokesperson, has once again stepped up and approved the N600 billion as a short term intervention to pay for energy generated and delivered while it resolves the issues faced by other critical players in the NESI .

    Ogaji revealed that in order to assess this fund, GenCos are faced with a bullish behaviour from an agency that is supposed to be representing/protecting their interest.

    In previous situations, they were threatened to sign various obnoxious agreements (Security Trust Deed and PPA Activation agreements or such documents) before they are paid, she alleged.

    The APGC said NBET, on September 13, 2019 issued a letter to individual thermal GenCos directing them to obtain, as a matter of urgency, their respective board approvals or resolutions, bequeathing responsibility for payment of gas and transportation to the respective supply companies for an administrative charge of 0.75 per cent.

    Ogaji said the letter gave each GenCo three working days ultimatum to respond with the board resolution i.e. September 18, 2019 or face non-payment of energy invoices.

    “It should be noted that NBET, like other market participants, is a licensee of NERC and as such is expected to understand that in a regulated market, every expense/cost must be backed by a regulatory approval for effective computation of the market tariffs.

    “The generation companies are not aware that such approvals have been issued by NERC nor is there any policy directive to this effect.

    “The fact that NBET is placing the extortionist 0.75 per cent ‘administrative charge’ on GenCos who are already convulsing in the NESI, is an aberration on the duty of care placed on NBET.”

    The APGC noted that NBET, therefore, needs to come out clean and make known where and when a stakeholders meeting, involving all parties such as the Regulator (NERC), NBET, Gas suppliers and GenCos held to discuss and explore the intricacies of such multi-party transaction before issuing such a directive.

    According to the body, with the introduction of “an additional burden of 0.75 per cent to GenCos, gas invoices payments implies that NBET is looking to rake in a windfall of not less than N2.7 billion as its administrative fees for a service of only collating and submitting invoices to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) that, in effect, makes the payment to GenCos and the gas parties.”

    The GenCos are worried that, according to Ogaji, if NBET is allowed to carry on with this shenanigan for services that are nothing more than being a “delivery truck” since Market Operator (MO) does the major work of preparing the invoices and settlement statement for NBET to pass same to CBN for payment. She noted that NBET, acting only as a “conveyor belt” or “agent” of GenCos funds, is currently paid 2.5 per cent of the total market payments.

    She insisted that the NBET does not have the moral right to receive 100 per cent of its service charge from the Market Operator (MO) while it does virtually nothing to enable GenCos receive their invoices in full.

    To her, what is expected of NBET, as the obligor for the GenCos, is to come up with viable strategies to make the GenCos whole and not to be creating a gaping hole in their limited finances.

    While soliciting government’s intervention, she said: “We will be strongly recommending to the government and other key stakeholders that the administration of the GenCos finances reverts back to the Market Operator (MO) while NBET focuses on engagements with new entrants or intending power project developers.

    “In addition, if NBET gets its way in executing its planned action, it will set in motion a significant precedent that any entity can take up the role of a regulator in the NESI, giving directive without the relevant stakeholder engagement and regulatory (NERC) approval.”

    Ogaji submitted that as it stands, the relationship between the GenCos and other markets participants and agencies of government is progressively becoming a master-slave or master-servant relationship; GenCos being the slaves or servants.

    She said: “It’s unfathomable that any going concern gets paid only 15 per cent of its invoices and yet is expected to perform within the requirement of the performance and other relevant market agreements entered into. The time may just be right for GenCos to declare force majeure and release themselves of all market obligations. Surely, GenCos will remain blameless for taking such actions.”

    Meanwhile, the NBET Managing Director, Dr. Marilyn Amobi, who The Nation asked to respond to the GenCos claim, said via a text message that “I don’t know what Joy Ogaji is talking about.

    “NBET deals with generation companies and has never dealt with Joy Ogaji and her association.”

    NERC noted that it was probing the discrepancy between energy received as reported.

    It is yet to make public its findings.

    Observers believe the challenges will remain until the regulator acts, lest the NESI collapses under its watch.

  • We are over-worked, underpaid, says CJN

    Justices of the Supreme Court are over-worked owing to the rising volume of cases being brought before the apex court, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Ibrahim Muhammad, said on Monday.

    The CJN, who blamed the development on Nigerians’ preference for litigation, suggested a constitutional amendment to stop the termination of interlocutory appeals at the Supreme Court.

    Calling for an enhanced remuneration for judges, Muhammad blamed lawyers for contributing to the high volume of cases.

    He said: “As rightly observed, Nigerians are the most litigious people on earth. In every little disagreement, we rush to court; and in every lost case, we rush to appeal even up to the Supreme Court, no matter how infinitesimal the issue might be.

    “That has obviously accounted for several appeals pending in Supreme Court. The attitude of some of our lawyers, too, is less salutary.

    Read Also: Are judges, lawyers undermining ACJA provisions?

    “Some do not even mind throwing their integrity and reputations to the winds by taking briefs that they know don’t hold ground, just for pecuniary reasons.

    “So disturbing is the fact that even in the face of failure, they would still persuade their clients to push the case further on appeal.

    “However, the attitude of some of our lawyers has to be properly checked by the Nigerian Bar Association.  l have stated it severally that lawyers must desist from  the practice of filing needless appeals at the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court.

    “Let it be known that the Supreme Court will henceforth be unsparing in punishing blatant abusers of court processes.

    “There should also be amendment of the Constitution to stop interlocutory appeals from coming to the Supreme Court. It should be ending at the Court of Appeal.

    “From my experience, an elevation to Supreme Court is an elevation to hard work, restlessness and sleeplessness.”

    Muhammad spoke in Abuja on Monday at an event marking the Supreme Court’s New Legal Year and the inauguration of 38 new Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs).

    The CJN, who faulted claim that the independence of the judiciary has been compromised, said the arm of government was independent in its operations and decisions, but requires more funding to function effectively.

    He said: “The Nigerian judiciary, to a large extent, is independent in conducting its affairs and taking decisions on matters before it without any extraneous influence. “At the Supreme Court, like I have always said, we are totally independent in the way we conduct our affairs, especially in our judgments.

    “We don’t pander to any body’s whims and caprices. lf there is any deity to be feared, it is the Almighty God. We will never be subservient to anybody, no matter his position in the society.

    “Be that as it may, when we assess the judiciary from the financial perspective, how free can we say we are? The annual budget of the Judiciary is still a far cry from what it ought to be.

    “The figure is either stagnated for a long period or it goes on a progressive decline. The only thing I can do at this juncture is to plead with all concerned to let us enjoy our independence holistically.

    “If you say that I am independent, but in a way, whether I like it or not, I have to go cap in hand, asking for funds to run my office, then I have completely lost my independence.”

    Noting that inadequate funding was hampering operations at the judiciary and dampening staff morale, the CJN described the prevailing situation where the financial autonomy of the judiciary was still not being respected as violation of the constitutional provisions of separation of powers and independence of the three arms of government.

    He added: “I am using this medium to appeal to governments at all levels to free the judiciary from the financial bondage it has been subjected to over the years.

    “Let it not just be said to be independent but should, in words and actions, be seen to be truly independent. There should not be any strings attached.

    “We would not like to negotiate our financial independence under any guise. Even as I speak now, some states Judiciaries are still having issues with their respective governments. A stitch in time will certainly save nine. Let the judiciary take its destiny in its hands.”

    Muhammad, who sought mutual respect between the judiciary and the legislature, urged the legislature to always ensure prompt amendment of law where judicial pronouncements are made.

    “With due respect, l urge the legislative arm to closely be watching the decisions of the Supreme Court. If the court makes any decisions, without anybody telling the legislators to act, they should immediately follow suit by making laws that will encompass such decisions.

    “The Supreme Court has no legislative powers to make laws but only interprets the Constitution. It doesn’t amount to asking for too much if the judiciary requests the legislature to effect certain amendments to existing laws.

    “There is no reason for the legislature to delay any amendments sought by the Judiciary. I would also like to solicit for mutual respect and relationship between the legislature and the judiciary.”

    Recalling some happenings in the court the previous legal year, described the circumstances leading to the exit of his immediate predecessor, Justice Walter Onnoghen as an unfortunate event.

    “I was appointed in acting capacity in the course of the year after the unfortunate events that shook the Nigerian judiciary to its very foundation.” he noted

    Muhammed, who promised to improve on what he inherited, called for the review of the nation’s criminal laws, which he said has to be done on a continuous basis to ensure that laws are relevant and meet today’s demands.

    The CJN promised not to shield corrupt judges even as he tasked all agencies of government to abide by the principle of rule of law.

    He said: “The judiciary under my leadership will not lose its firm grip on the mantle of honesty, transparency and integrity and I expect every Judicial officer and of course, legal practitioners too, to tag along.

    “If any judge is found wanting and you have evidence, please, write your petition to the National Judicial Council immediately for prompt action.

    “The task of ridding the judiciary of corruption is a collective one; and my commitment to it is total. I am assuring you that I will pursue it vigorously in order to bequeath an enduring legacy to my successor.

    “The rule of law which is the bastion of every democracy across the world will be strictly observed in all our dealings and we must impress it on the ‘ governments at all levels to actively toe that path.

    “The rights of every citizen against any form of oppression and impunity must be jealously guided and protected with the legal tools at our disposal.

    “All binding court orders must be obeyed; and nobody, irrespective of his or her position, will be allowed to toy with court judgments.

    “We must collectively show the desired commitment to the full enthronement of the rule of law in the land. As we all know, flagrant disobedience of court orders or non-compliance with judicial orders is a direct invitation to anarchy in the society.”

  • Malami urges judges to ensure justice in election cases

    Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) Abubakar Malami on Monday urged the court to always do justice, particularly in election cases.

    Represented by the Solicitor-General and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Justice, Dayo Apata, the AGF urged the Supreme Court to always uphold its resolve to ensure justice and resist the temptation of yielding to the pressures of different political actors.

    Apata is one of 38 who were inaugurated in Abuja on Monday by Chief Justice Ibrahim Muhammad as Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN)

    The AGF said: “In the light of the concluded general elections and its aftermath election tribunals’ judgments, over which our courts of first instances and appellate courts, decided on different election issues presented before them, this address serves as a clarion call on the Court of Appeal and to this apex court of the land, to be courageous in delivering landmark decisions in favour of justice, equity and fairness.

    Read Also: SANs to Malami: obey all court orders

    “Also, this court should not be seen to bow to the pressures of different political actors, being the last hope of every litigant irrespective of any irregularity that might have occurred in the course of dispensing justice by different election tribunals.

    “It is important that this court as a final arbiter remains just and resolute in resolving all issues presented before it.”

    The 38 SANs are: wife of Supreme Court Justice Olabode Rhodes-Vivour, Mrs. Adedoyin Rhodes-Vivour; Apata, rights activist Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa; Abdullahi Haruna; Manga Nuruddeen; John Asoluka; Adedokun Makinde; Daniel Enwelum; Emmanuel Oyebanji; Tuduru Ede; Abdul Ajana; Ama Etuwewe; Oladipo Olasope; Leslie Olutayo Nylander; Olusegun Fowowe and Andrew Hutton.

    Others are: Olukayode Enitan; Paul Ogbole; Olaniyi Olopade; Samuel Agweh; Olusegun Jolaawo; Prof. Alphonsus Alubo; Ayo Asala; Abiodun Olatunji; Olumide Aju; Chimezie Ihekweazu; Prof. Mamman Lawan; Prof. Uchefula Chukwumaeze; Usman Sule; Safiya Badamasi and Echezona Etiaba.

    The rest are Godwin Omoaka; Emeka Ozoani, Alexander Ejesieme; Jephthah Njikonye; Aikhunegbe Malik; Alhassan Umar and Oyetola Muyiwa.

    Speaking for the new SANs, Mrs. Rhodes-Vivour promised that they will all uphold rank’s dignity.

    In what seems a precursor to his eventual resumption of judicial functions, suspended Justice Sylvester Ngwuta of the Supreme Court, participated in activities marking the commencement of the court’s new legal year on Monday.

    Fully dressed in the official robe, Justice Ngwuta sat among other Justices at the inauguration of the new SANs, which held in the Supreme Court’s ceremonial courtroom.

    Justice Ngwuta, now one of the most senior Justices of the Supreme Court, has not sat since November 4, 2016, following a directive by the NJC that judicial officers being investigated on corruption related allegations, should cease to perform judicial functions until the conclusion of investigation.

    He was one of the two Justices of the Supreme Court, whose houses were raided, among other judges, by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) between 7 and 8, October, 2016.

    His other colleague, Justice John Okoro, resumed duties shortly after the raid; Ngwuta was charged.

    He was first arraigned before the Federal High Court in Abuja on corruption related charges and later, arraigned before the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), over his alleged failure to declare some of his assets. Both charges were filed by the office of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF).

    On March 23, 2018, the Federal High Court upheld his challenge of the competence of the charge and discharged him.

    Justice John Tsoho, in a ruling, relied on the Court of Appeal decision in the appeal by Justice Hyeladzira Nganjiwa (of the Federal High Court) and held that it was wrong to subject Justice Ngwuta’s trial before his court, without first, subjecting him to the disciplinary procedure of the NJC.

    On May 15, 2018, the CCT struck out the charge against Justice Ngwuta.

  • Nigeria loses $1.5b yearly to delayed FIDs on major projects

    The Federal Government is losing over $1.5 billion (about N540 billion) yearly to the delay in taking final investment decisions (FIDs) on major oil projects that can produce 875,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd).

    Kaptepia Capital Principal/Executive Director Tosan Omatsola, who dropped the hint, listed such projects as Bonga South-West and Aparo; Bonga North and Bosi, among others.

    Omatsola, who had worked in various oil majors, including BP, Texaco, Ivanhoe Capital and Westbridge Energy, spoke at a workshop organised in Lagos by the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE).

    He stressed the need for the Federal Government to increase its investments in major upstream oil projects as the country is seriously lagging behind its contemporaries in the world.

    In his presentation titled: “Exploration and Production (E&P), Major Capital Projects (MCPs) and global portfolio ranking the E&P industry,” Omatsola noted that a couple of major oil projects have been on the table over the years waiting for FIDs.

    Read Also: Nigeria launches battle to quash $9.6b verdict in UK

    According to him, such projects awaiting FID/Sanction included Bonga South-West and Aparo with 225,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil, Bonga North (100,000bpd),Bosi (140,000bpd),Bosi Satellite Field Development Phase 2 (80,000bpd), Uge (110,000bpd), Zabazaba-Etan (120,000bpd) and Nsiko (100,000bpd). This gives a cumulative of 875,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd), which can earn at least $1.5 billion yearly for the government, he added.

    To him, Nigeria has lost a lot of ground in terms of tapping its hydrocarbon resources. He advised that Nigeria should not be eyeing only big  investments and capital but start with little, adding that it is the way other countries such China started. “Let’s start with little things. Currently, we are only scratching the surface of the Niger Delta province, let alone exploring other six sedimentary basins.

    “Like other oil producing countries, we need high temperature high pressure (HTHP) technology to go deeper in a maturing basin such as the Niger Delta,’ he said.

    Quoting McKinsey, Omatsola said: “The challenge of large oil and gas projects is that, as activity ramps up and more oil and gas production moves to frontier and unconventional resource areas, projects are becoming larger and more complex.

    “Such projects involve many stakeholders, including shareholders, local authorities and regulators, and environmental and community advocates. Therefore, Nigeria has optimally tap its low hanging fruits such as the Niger Delta basin.”

    A former top executive in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru, said Bonga South-West and Zabazaba-Etan were estimated to cost more than $10 billion each.

    “When you have inflows of this magnitude into an industry of a country, of course, that is a big investment,” he said.

    Bosi and Uge fields are operated by ExxonMobil, while Chevron operates Nsiko; Shell and Agip operate Bonga and Zabazaba respectively.

  • Navy commander just transfered before murder

    The Commandant of the Armed Forces Command Secondary School and Staff College (AFCSC), Jaji, Navy Commander Oluwayemisi Ogundana, had been redeployed before she was murdered, it was learnt on Monday.

    A source said the deceased officer, who had been posted to the Nigerian Navy School of Engineering (NNSE), Sapele, was waiting for the officer to take over from her before she was gruesomely killed in her residence. Her dismembered body, put in a sack, was found in a shallow well.

    A teacher in the school, Bernard Simon, is being held as a suspect. Also in custody as an accomplice is Ibrahim Mamman.

    The military police are investigating the circumstances surrounding Commander Ogundana’s murder.

    The Nation gathered that Cdr. Ogundana had started packing her luggage for the trip to her new station. But her travel bag was used to pack her mutilated body.

    A source close to the deceased said  her assistant was the first to notice that something was wrong because Cdr. Ogundana requested her to buy some snacks on her way home.

    Read Also: Tight security as military interrogates suspected killers of Cdr. Ogundana

    After buying the snack in town, the aide went to her residence but found her door shut.

    It was gathered that the aide called her mobile telephone line many times without response, an unusual development that triggered the suspicion.

    She was said to have contacted the woman’s sister who told her she might have gone for a meeting, if she was not in her apartment.

    The source said: “She went home and returned the next day, yet she did not see her madam. But she observed a strange thing; the net leading to her apartment was torn.

    “At the same time, her husband was said to have been worried because he had not been able to reach her, which was strange. They told him they were having the same challenge and he advised that they should make a report since it had been days already.”

    It was gathered that the suspected killer had earlier gone to apologise to her for past offences, without knowing it was part of the plan to make her lower her guard.

    The source added: “The woman was reserved. She was a meek and quiet person. She was left-handed and stammered a bit too. The claim by the teacher that she promised him N2.5million was pure nonsense because it is impossible. Where would she have got the money in the first place?

    “The truth is that Mr. Bernard was the Secretary of the Parents Teachers Association (PTA) and he went about complaining that the Comamndant was blocking them from making money.

    “Commander Ogundana heard it and confronted him. She asked him what he meant by saying she was blocking them from making money.

    “She said it was obvious she will not be able to work with him and told the chairman of the PTA that they should remove him. The Commander was a very straight forward woman.

    “There was a meeting with the PTA and when she came in, she saw that Mr. Simon was acting as secretary. She said she was not going to take part in the meeting unless he stepped aside. She stood outside until the chairman told the secretary to leave the books for his deputy.

    “Days after, she told her PA that the teacher came to her house; that someone knocked her door, and when she looked through the window, she saw it was the teacher. She asked what he was doing at her house and he said he came to apologise for all the wrongs he had done.

    “She told him it was wrong to come to her house, and that if he wanted to apologise, he could do that in the office. The Commandant did not allow people into her house. The only people with access to her house were her aide and her sister who lives in Jaji.

    “Her PA also said the teacher came to her office and apologised. She was already packing her things to leave the school because she had been posted out.

    “It was one of the  bags she bought that her killers used to pack her body. They killed her inside her room and mutilated her body, took it out and dumped it inside a well. It is so disheartening what they did to her because that woman did not deserve to die that way.”

    Sources added that “about two months ago, a Major who was on Senior Course at the AFCSC was also found dead in his room. The Major was suspected to have been murdered the day he was supposed to proceed on a foriegn study tour.

    “That is why they are interrogating them thoroughly to get to the root of the matter. Bernard, who was a staff member of the college where Commander Ogundana was the Commandant, has confessed to killing her.”

  • Kaduna Governor enrols son in public primary school

    Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has enrolled his six-year-old son, Abubakar Al-Siddique, in primary one at Capital School, Malali, a public school.

    This is in fulfilment of the promise he made in 2017.

    The governor was on Monday accompanied by his wife, Aisha Ummi, to the school where their son began his primary education.

    In 2017, Governor El-Rufai, speaking as a guest of Freedom Radio’s Hausa phone-in programme, “Barka da War haka”, said he would revamp public schools and promised to enrol his child in a public school when he turns six.

    The governor said: “The move is part of reforms to revamp public schools and make them more competitive.

    “We are determined to fix public education and raise its standard so that private education will become only a luxury.

    Read Also: PHOTOS: El-Rufai enrols son in public primary school

    “As we make progress, we will require our senior officials to enrol their children in public schools.

    “I will by personal example ensure that my son, who will turn six in 2019, will be enrolled in a public school in Kaduna State, by God’s grace.”

    Briefing reporters after he enrolled his child, El-Rufa’i said it was a commitment that had been fulfilled.

    “I made that commitment because I believe that it is only when political leaders have their children in public schools that we will pay attention to the quality of public education.

    “I went to a public school like this. In fact, the school I attended is not as good as this one, but here I am, because of the quality teaching I got.

    “My intention is to ensure that our public schools offer quality education. So we are encouraging our senior public servants to send their children to public schools.

    “Once public schools are improved and are nearly as good or even better than private schools, no one will waste his money taking his child to a private school,” he said.

    Ummi, the child’s mother, said: “I am glad that we are able to send a strong message to our leaders and the elite that we need to start making things work from our homes.

    “By the time we start attending public hospitals and sending our children to public schools, the system will get better. This is a very huge step.”

  • CCII executive lauded for peace, development in Ibadan

    The Chairman of Afikarahun Forimu of Ibadan, Chief Lateef Gbolagade Ojo, has hailed the executive of the Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes (CCII) for championing the development of the ancient city and restoring peace between Olubadan and warrant kings installed by the immediate past government in the state.

    He urged the Yemi Soladoye-led CCII executive not to relent in stoking the fire of progress and growth of the metropolis, even after leaving office.

    The chairman said no effort should be spared to give the ancient city a modern look it deserves.

    Ojo spoke in Ibadan while highlighting the achievements of the current leadership of the CCII.

    Read Also: Surveyors hold 50th anniversary in Ibadan

    The chairman said rebuilding Ibadan House and providing basic facilities that lift its standard and comfort could not be ignored.

    The Solodoye led–executive laid the foundation of a new palace for Ibadan, which would have a modern shopping mall for businesses and a police post that would provide security for visitors.

    Ojo said all these were proofs of the resolve of the CCII to give the best to the new palace.

    The chairman praised Soladoye and members of his executive for taking Ibadan to greater heights.

    Describing the CCII executive as trail blazer, he expressed confidence that its achievements would inspire the incoming executive.

  • Sanwo-Olu to accelerate administration of justice

    Lagos State Governor  Babajide Sanwo-Olu has promised to implement reforms that will accelerate the administration of justice in the state.

    The governor said this is because the judicial arm of government plays critical roles in ensuring law and order through the protection of rights of the citizenry, irrespective of status and background.

    Sanwo-Olu spoke through the Deputy Governor  Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, at  a special service held at the Central Mosque, Lagos Island, by the state’s Judiciary to mark the 2019/2020 Legal Year.

    Read Also: Sanwo-Olu approves more courts for Lagos

    He said his administration was committed to proffering solutions to  challenges  slowing down  efficient  justice  delivery in the state.

    The governor identified one of the obstacles to justice delivery as  inadequate courtrooms, adding that the current administration had approved the completion of the combined High and Magistrates’  Courts complex in Ajah.

    The Chief Judge, ustice Kazeem Alogba, expressed gratitude to the executive arm of government  for its support and cooperation.

    The CJ reiterated that the Judiciary under his watch would continue to dispense justice without bias or favour.

    He added that his aim was to create an independent judiciary by ensuring fair and responsive system of justice, with focus on excellence.

  • Plot to impeach Bayelsa Speaker thickens

    The plot to impeach Speaker of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Tonye Isenah, has thickened following his refusal to step down as directed by Governor Seriake Dickson and leaders Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leaders.

    It was gathered that lawmakers loyal to the governor and the PDP had been mobilised to carry out an impeachment proceeding against Isenah, who had insisted that his resignation would not add any value to the PDP’s quest to win the November 16 election.

    It was also learnt that external forces, powered by the opposition, were planning to protect Isenah to enable him retain his office.

    Some of the lawmakers were also said to be against the move to remove the speaker, whom they described as a good fellow, and had vowed to stand against any motion to actualise the plot.

    Isenah was said to have tried to convene a sitting of the House yesterday to discuss issues and adjourn the House till further notice. But PDP leaders, who got wind of the development, reportedly prevailed on their loyal lawmakers not to attend the sitting, which failed to hold for lack of capacity to form a quorum.

    Read Also: I won’t resign, daring Bayelsa Speaker tells Dickson, others

    The speaker came under intense pressure to relinquish his office in the House of Assembly to enable his party balance political equations ahead of the November 16 election. He was said to have reached an agreement with Dickson and other PDP leaders to vacate his office in the event that Senator Douye Diri, who hails from his Kolokuma-Opokuma Local Government Area, becomes the party’s governorship candidate.

    After Diri won the primaries, PDP leaders were said to have asked Isenah to surrender his position to another lawmaker from Southern Ijaw to enable the party garner votes from the council. But Isenah insisted he would not let go of his position before the poll.

    The speaker, in a statement by his media aide,  Aotendeike Boloigha, said he had served the PDP faithfully and was yet to see how his resignation would help the party in the poll.

    But PDP leaders against Isenah were reportedly determined to force him out of the office to make way for a lawmaker from Southern Ijaw to brighten the party’s chances at the poll.

    But a source said Isenah’s travails were based on his refusal to initiate an impeachment proceeding against the Deputy Governor, Rear Admiral John Jonah (rtd).

    “It is not just about an agreement to step down; it is about the deputy governor. The powers that be accused the deputy governor of planning to defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC) as an incumbent deputy governor. They don’t want that to happen.

    “There are insinuations that Jonah wants to join the APC and contest the Bayelsa East senatorial election, which will be vacant if the APC wins the governorship election because the incumbent senator is the running mate to the APC candidate, David Lyon. So, the party leaders want Jonah out of the way but Isenah is refusing to be used to carry out the process,” he said.

    Isenah’s aide on New Media, Dickson Opuene, in his social media posts, also hinted that the speaker was undergoing the travails for refusing PDP leaders’ request to impeach the deputy governor.