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  • Bye…EMT; enter EAC

    President Muhammadu Buhari may have set a new economic tone for his administration when Monday last week, he replaced the Economic Management Team (EMT) headed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo with a new body – Economic Advisory Council (EAC), headed by Prof Doyin Salami. Other members of the EAC are: Dr Mohammed Sagagi (vice-chairman); Prof Ode Ojowu; Dr Shehu Yahaya; Dr Iyabo Masha; Prof Chukwuma Soludo; Mr Bismark Rewane; and Dr Mohammed Adaya Salisu (secretary). The new body, according to presidential spokesman Femi Adesina will report directly to the president.

    The EAC, he said, will “advise the President on economic policy matters, including fiscal analysis, economic growth and a range of internal and global economic issues, working with the relevant cabinet members and heads of monetary and fiscal agencies”. Aside monthly technical sessions and scheduled quarterly meetings with the president, he also disclosed that the chairman may “request for unscheduled meetings if the need arises.”

    Expectedly, the move has generated controversies – much of it – we daresay are needless. In the first place, it remains entirely the prerogative of the president to put in place such advisory bodies as he might deem necessary in the discharge of the burden of governance so long as these are within the ambit of the relevant statutes.  Secondly, having been in the saddle in the last four years, the president must have reflected on the overall impact of the former team’s activities vis-à-vis the administration’s stated goals, hence he came to the inevitable conclusion that fresh hands are needed at this point in time.

    Thirdly, for a presidency often accused of insularity, it certainly marks a new dawn that it is now seen as pooling ‘outsiders’ – albeit individuals regarded as being among the nation’s brightest and best – into the policy-making orbit. Here, it bears stating also that whatever perceived autonomy said to have been enjoyed by the former EMT was only within the latitude permitted by the president as the chief executive.

    Without necessarily passing any judgment on the former team, the relevant question is whether a new team is what is needed at this time. Here, it is sufficient that the president has concluded that he needs one. Although, he did not as much say why the previous team had to go, it is not difficult to speculate on. Fact is, the efforts put in by his administration in the last four years have not translated to much economic growth. Despite generous claims of achievements in the area of economic diversification, non-oil contributions remain modest even as oil still retains a substantial share of the growth equation.

    The famed potential of agriculture remains to be demonstrated as the sector is yet to truly live up to its billing. The same with manufacturing; any talk of backward integration has been extremely modest; to compound the misery of the sector, our manufacturing companies, unable to make forays into export markets, have long been reduced to perennially sourcing for foreign exchange generated by other players. The summary of course is that our economy remains uncompetitive. As a result, unemployment, particularly of the youth, has remained alarmingly high.

    The situation would ordinarily compel fresh, if not entirely unconventional ideas. And to the extent that the president is assumed to know where he’s headed, he deserves the benefit of the doubt.

    However, as it is all too often the case, constituting an A-team to advise is only the minor part; allowing them the freedom to discharge their duties, or even accepting their expert recommendations is a different ball game altogether. By requiring that the EAC report directly to him, our understanding is that the president seeks to communicate the priority that he places on its assignment, which is perfectly in order. We expect that nothing should be done to either frustrate or truncate this desire. In the end, what Nigerians want is the measurable impact of their expert advice on the economy, and ultimately, their well-being.

  • Ministers’ score card

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo a few days ago declared at the Annual National Management Conference of the Institute of Management in Abuja that all the ministers recently appointed will render their first performance report to the Presidency in December 2019. Having been given specific mandates, the vice president believes the ministers have their duties cut out for them.

    The presidential election took place on February 23, 2019. The ministers were inaugurated on August 21, almost four months after the president and the vice president were inaugurated on May 29. The stark reality that virtually all sectors of the Nigerian economy are suffering from endemic management failure was highlighted by the vice president. A good observation, we must agree.

    We totally align with Prof. Osinbajo that the ministers must hit the ground running. We also commend the idea of keeping them on their toes and for them to be subjected to regular evaluation to determine those to continue and the ones to be dropped. Nigeria at this point in time must be treated as though in the economic emergency ward, literally.

    However, we must point out that the lateness in nominating these ministers was a bit worrisome, both to the local and external economic watchers. We are in a world that works with the speed of light and actions and words of policy makers matter every minute. The speed with which the ministers should have been appointed would have made some difference and had some psychological impact on them and equally made them realise the sense of urgency needed.

    Read Also: To new ministers: Start as you mean to go on

    While we applaud the idea of accountability at that level and the need to make ministers responsive and responsibly accountable, we also acknowledge that barely four months on their duty posts might be too short a time for some comprehensive and valid evaluation of their performance. We believe that standing on past administrations’ style of blindly nominating ministers for Senate screening without their knowing their portfolio is an ill-wind that blows no one any good.

    Most of the ministers were posted to territories they have some real learning to do and a December performance card period might not truly show their performance capabilities. This however does not imply we disagree with the proposal. We commend any step that can elicit a sense of purpose and accountability, not only from ministers but from all public servants, including those in the states and local councils.

    Like the vice president rightly observed, there is a total endemic sectoral decay, but a stampeded evaluation might be counterproductive. We suggest that, like the ministers were told during their two-day pre-inauguration retreat, the real economic situation of the country must propel them to swift and committed action. They must be advised to be less partisan and see the country as deserving of their total allegiance and commitment.

    We equally believe that there must be an internal mechanism of monitoring such that immediacy of corrective measures is possible, to save the economy from drowning further. Those ministers that seem too lethargic to move on with the progressive economic rejuvenating steps must be dropped and more dynamic and upwardly mobile people appointed in their stead.

    Nigeria has an abundance of natural and human resources; so, she has no business being the poverty capital of the world. The periodic evaluation is welcome in ways that do not appear like hurrying into perdition. Consistency in policy execution seems to be alien to past administrations in the country. The government must not be permissive with ministers but must not rush the evaluation processes in ways that might be counterproductive.

    Being chosen from more than a hundred million Nigerians must be seen as a rare honour and an opportunity to truly serve and not to be served or be upgraded to untouchables. We urge the Presidency to remain consistent in evaluating the ministers’ productivity transparently. That way, those involved would realise that their image is at stake and might be persuaded to be more focused.

  • How lengthy should a judgment be?

    Does the Nigerian judicial system have a culture of lengthy judgments and rulings? Is this a cog in the wheel of speedy justice delivery? Lawyers examined these issues at the recent public presentation of the second edition of Babalola’s Law Dictionary of Judicially Defined Words and Phrases in Lagos. ROBERT EGBE reports

    ‘’They are sometimes valuable, but often they are what I have called vanity judgments. Such judgments, of which virtually every appellate judge, not least myself, has been guilty, are at best a waste of time and space, and, at worst, confusion and uncertainty.”

    These were the words of Lord David Neuberger, president of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom from 2012 to 2017 while speaking in November 2016, on the need to reduce the length of Supreme Court’s judgments.

    Like Lord Neuberger observed, excessively lengthy judgments can be counterproductive, not just for judges, but also for lawyers, litigants, students and other members of the public who may need to read them.

    The appropriate length of judgments was the theme of the public presentation of the second edition of Babalola’s Law Dictionary of Judicially Defined Words and Phrases.

    Chief Judge of Oyo State, Justice Muktar Abimbola, who was represented by Justice Iyabo Yerima; Senior Advocates of Nigeria, including Mr. Uche Obi, Mr. Seyi Sowemimo, Mr. Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika and Prof. Konyinsola Ajayi, who was represented by his junior, Mr. Olaniyi Osotuyi, were some of the guests at the event.

    Others included the Chairman, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Lagos branch, Mr. Yemi Akangbe; and the Director, Lagos State Office of the Public Defender, Mrs. Yinka Adeyemi, who represented the Lagos State Solicitor-General.

    Babalola’s Law Dictionary’s editor, Mr. Olumide Babalola, said it was important to review the relevance of lengthy judgments by the courts in the face of overwhelming court dockets.

    He observed that judgments usually become lengthy when judges include arguments of counsels before giving their own decisions.

    Read Also: Appeal court sets aside high court judgment over Atan, Ota land

    This practice, he noted, sometimes create confusion, with some lawyers wrongly taking arguments of counsel as the decision of the judge.

    Like Babalola, foreign judges are concerned about lengthy judgments with difficult terminologies.

    In 2016, an English High Court Judge Mr Justice Peter Jackson delivered a judgment that was hailed as an exemplary instance of plain English.

    Sir Jackson went to previously unheard-of lengths to make a judgment in a family court case comprehensible even for the children it affects – by replacing dry terminology with several down-to-earth phrases and even a smiley face symbol.

    The ruling, which was, published online, is thought to be the first in English legal history to incorporate an emoji, or web symbol, to explain a point of evidence.

    Babalola said: “Some judgments have close to 100 pages; and from page one to 99, what you will see are arguments of counsel. The remaining one page is actually the decision of the court.

    “It happened in court one time, when a counsel cited an argument of counsel as the decision of the court and it is very easy to get lost in that when you are reading the entire judgment.

    “I got a judgment in 2017; it was just five pages and a lawyer called me and said, ‘Are you sure this is the court judgment?’ and I said yes.

    “The lawyer was surprised because what we are used to is having lengthy judgments. So, when we don’t have lengthy judgments, we disparage the judge as rather lazy. I keep reading old decisions of the Supreme Court; some of them, three pages, some five pages, 1976, 1980s decisions of the Supreme Court and they captured the point.

    “So, if that could be done in the past when they didn’t have this number of cases, I think it calls for deliberation and recommendation, for the judiciary to see whether we still need to continue to have lengthy decisions.”

    Obi, who delivered the keynote address, shared Babalola’s view.

    He said, “Unduly lengthy and wordy judgments are, in the considered view of this speaker, elitist and many a times incomprehensible.

    “We should shed the customary thinking that core issues for determination in every dispute cannot be sufficiently addressed unless a ‘treatise’ has been written. Observing brevity in judgment writing, in a constructive and pragmatic manner, will usually be adequate in distilling the relevant issues for determination.”

    But not everyone agreed that shorter judgments are more desirable, effective or practicable than lengthy ones.

    Justice Yerima noted that it might be impracticable, in some cases, to deliver short judgments.

    “I have judgments that even after I have reread and done all the editing, still end up being 74 pages, 80 pages, and what I do when I’m delivering is that I just – there’s another instruction that you must read word for word, every judgment, everything, we should read it word for word.

    “So, when I want to read a judgment that I know is about 70 plus pages, for instance, I tell the counsel that ‘The judgment is ready (because I print it out), the first 15 pages are the evaluation of the evidence, you know what you said, you know what you said. Do you still want me to read it? It is 15 pages.

    “If they say ‘My lord, we can dispense with that’, then I go into the body of the judgment. So, that’s the picture. You have to show your understanding, evaluate all the issues and evaluating alone can take 15-20 pages, even in criminal matters.

    “A ruling I delivered two or three weeks ago on no-case submission: six accused persons, the least count was about four for each person, out of about nine counts. They brought their written addresses for their no-case submissions.

    “To show understanding of the no-case submission of each of the counts, you have to take each of the counts. Has the prosecution proved its case to warrant the defendant to enter his defence? Now you do four, five counts for six accused persons. Now, how can that be short? Because, if you make it short, they’ll say ‘Oh, she has no understanding of what it entails.’ So, I think every case should be decided on its merit.”

    Sowemimo suggested that lengthy judgments are neither a particularly immediate problem nor a cause of justice delay. He observed that trial delay is a more pressing concern.

    He said: “The topic seems to suggest that lengthy judgments are our problem and we need to dispense with them. But I seem to take a different view that the judgment themselves are not the problem, they form a very insignificant part of the trial process.

    “You have cases in our court that are five years old, 15 years old, 20 years old and they have not reached the judgment stage. It is not the judgment itself that gives us the problem because even the Constitution says you have to deliver it within three months.”

    He suggested that the main issue is how to create a system that allows judges to deal with cases within one or two years.

    Sowemimo said: “Mr. Val Obi highlighted a number of the problems we have which result in delay in trial of cases, a lot of it on the part of lawyers, adjournments and frivolous appeals.

    “I’m yet to see a trial process in Nigeria where documents are tendered without some objection or the other, even when they have been front-loaded. That is what takes a lot of our time.

    “So, I think, well, we should be concerned about the length these judgments, but that really depends on the style of each judge and, where a judge has to deal with recondite points of law, he may need to write very lengthy judgments. We only ask that it should be sound.”

    He went on: “But I believe that it is not the judgments that are our problem, we need not dispense with lengthy judgments, we should rather address those other issues which delay the trial of cases especially on the part of lawyers, adjournments and sometimes also on the part of judges, because we realize that after we have come from a long vacation, the next thing you hear is that they’re having judges’ conference and the next day, there are other things.

    “So, before you even have the first three months of the legal year, you fimd that you’re already in Christmas period, so these are the things which delay. There has to be attitudinal changes.”

    For Mrs. Adeyemi, the length of a judgment depends on the case.

    She said: “It will depend on the case before a court. If it is a case that the issues have been determined, it is expected that when the judgement comes, it’s going to be very short. But where it involves long facts and all that, just like my lord has said here, it will involve the judge to take into consideration all the issues there.”

    Mrs. Adeyemi also observed that beyond judgment length, “the trend all over the world is that court proceedings should be made available to the public.

    “If that is so, it has even gone to the level of human rights issue that everybody must have access to court proceedings and, if that is so, it is believed that court judgments should be made so simple so that people who have access to the judgment will be able to make use of it like the media and the litigants themselves.

    “But, most importantly, the content of that judgment is what matters, the verbosity that everybody has been talking about should be removed, it (the judgment) should be understandable to anybody taking it, reading it and making use of it.

    “We must also have in mind that these judgments serve as precedence even for lawyers, so everybody must be able to access it and able to understand what the court had written.”

  • Coscharis introduces BMW X7

    Coscharis Motors Nigeria Plc, the exclusive franchise owner of BMW in Nigeria, will reveal the first-ever BMW X7, the pinnacle of BMW’s X Sport Activity Vehicle line-up and a statement of the luxury class at this year’s Banana Island Festival on Saturday.

    According to Coscharis Group General Manager, Marketing and Corporate Communications, Abiona Babarinde, the objective of the event is to offer customers and prospects an opportunity to see and feel the all new BMW X7 within their home and work contexts.

    Babarinde said: “The BMW X7 becomes the second BMW model to be launched at the Banana Island Cultural festival. The very first was the BMW 5 series in 2017.

    “The BMW 7 series will be a new definition of automotive luxury,” he further stated.

    Coscharis Motors BMW Brand Manager Cletus Aregbeshola said the BMW X7 builds on the comfort, handling, safety and technology of all the previous BMW X Sport Activity Vehicle model lines that have been produced at Plant Spartanburg since 1999.

    “BMW’s latest premium Sports Activity Vehicle is designed to reflect the personality and requirements of the owner. It not only adds a new top model to the X family, but also defines a progressive approach to luxury for the BMW brand,” Aregbeshola said.

    The X7 offers standard three row seating for seven with optional Second-row Captain’s Chairs offering a more exclusive seating arrangement for six. Standard two-axle air suspension, 21-inch alloy wheels and advanced driver assistance systems ensure that the new BMW X7 lives up to expectations of style, driver engagement, passenger comfort and all-weather and all-terrain capability.

  • Judiciary to-do list for new legal year

    Judges have resumed for the 2019/2020 legal year after a long vacation.They must deal with challenges such as congested dockets, archaic filing methods, obsolete procedures and other factors that cause delays. ADEBISI ONANUGA,ERIC IKHILAE and ROBERT EGBE highlight tasks before the judiciary.

    Kingsley Ibe is barely two years at the Bar, but he is already familiar with some of the shortcomings of the judicial system.

    The University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) alumnus and First Class graduate of the Nigerian Law School, who ditched his dream of becoming an astronaut for a law career, is displeased with some of the things he has observed about the profession.

    He said: “Cases unnecessarily last in court for many years… The incessant adjournments, extension of time to file papers, frivolous applications and other unnecessary procedures make litigation cost much time.

    “Another problem, more of a problem of the judiciary as an arm of government, is that most court rooms are so uncomfortable. Some are even dilapidated. You cannot imagine a Government House or a Legislative Chamber that way. The court premises and rooms are not compartible with the pride of the profession.”

    Ibe’s observations are nothing new. The judicial system has several challenges, some of which are decades old. They include judicial delay, perceived corruption, and dependence on the Executive for funding, among others.

    All of these have added to a generally low level of litigants’ trust in the system, not only in Nigeria, but across the continent. Distrust of judicial system is not a Nigerian thing.

    A  2017 survey by Afrobarometer, which collects samples from respondents across 36 African countries, suggested that just over half of the people on the continent have faith in the integrity of judges and their local courts. It found that Africans are more trusting of religious and traditional leaders than courts.

    In the survey, only 38 percent of respondents said they trusted courts in Nigeria.

    Afrobarometer’s figures are comparable with that of the World Justice Project (WJP) Rule of Law Index 2019.

    In 2019, the World Justice Project named Denmark as the country with the best judicial system in the world, measured by rule of law – for the fifth time in a row. No African country made the top 60.

    The index is based on 48 parameters, measuring the level of corruption, human rights, state openness and criminal justice system, among others.

    It ranked Nigeria’s criminal justice system as 12 out of 30 in Africa and 72 out of 126 in the world.

    Tasks before the Nigerian Judiciary

    Upon resumption from the annual vacation, superior courts in Nigeria usually hold valedictory court sessions and judges’ conferences. Both events serve as platforms for the courts to review their performances in the previous year and strategise for improved outing in the new legal year.

    As the courts settle for the 2019/2020 legal year, there are several pending issues the judicial sector must attend to, should it desire to improve on the court’s performance and stakeholders’ satisfaction.

    Judicial delay

    The long period it often takes for some cases to be concluded is something Seyi Sowemimo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), knows well.

    At a recent event on the length of court judgments, Sowemimo said: “You have cases in our court that are five years old, 15 years old, 20 years old and they have not reached the judgment stage. It is not the judgment itself that gives us the problem because even the constitution says you have to deliver it within three months.”

    He said the main issue was how to create a system that allowed judges to deal with cases within one or two years.

    Sowemimo also observed that “a number of the problems we have which result in delay in trial of cases, a lot of it (are) on the part of lawyers, adjournments and frivolous appeals.

    “I’m yet to see a trial process in Nigeria where documents are tendered without some objection or the other, even when they have been front-loaded. That is what takes a lot of our time. “

    He went on: “But I believe that it is not the judgments that are our problem, we need not dispense with lengthy judgments, we should rather address those other issues which delay the trial of cases especially on the part of lawyers, adjournments and sometimes also on the part of judges, because we realise that after we have come from a long vacation, the next thing you hear is that they’re having judges’ conference and the next day, there are other things.

    “So, before you even have the first three months of the legal year, you find that you’re already in Christmas period, so these are the things which delay. There has to be attitudinal changes.”

    Stakeholders have, over the years, noted that other causes of delay in the court system are inadequate deployment of technology in court operations. Judges still record proceedings in long hand; processes are served manually, hearing notices and other communication activities between law chambers and the courts are still conducted manually.

    To address this, observers have advised court heads to work on ways to improve infrastructure and work tools; deploy more technologies and come up with a deadline for judges to cease to record proceedings in long hand.

    They further suggested that the National Judicial Council (NJC) should make information and communication technology proficiency a key condition in the recruitment of new judges.

    Ibe also advocated a change in attitudes and amendment of Rules of Court.

    He said: “First of all, I will change our attitude towards litigation. Even the Rules of courts, as they are, don’t help the situation. I will start addressing the problem from there. The Rules should set a good timetable for cases. All necessary papers could be put in within a specific period, after which hearing commences for a few days, depending on the nature of the case, after which lawyers address the court and the court adjourns for judgment.”

    Protection of judicial sanctity and integrity

    That judicial integrity and sanctity need protecting is not in doubt. The judicial profession is a conservative one.  As courts strategise for the new year, stakeholders have advised court heads to evolve new ways of addressing the growing threat to judicial sanctity and integrity.

    They noted the effects of many incidents, including rising unethical conduct among judicial officials, on public confidence in the court system.

    Observers spoke of the need for a further review of the judges’ recruitment process to ensure that only lawyers with passion for the Bench and commitment to duty are engaged.

    They equally suggested that besides working to prevent future occurrences, court heads should address pending cases of infraction that appeared to have been glossed over. They cited the case of the fourth most senior member of the Supreme Court’s Bench, Justice Sylvester Ngwuta.

    Justice Ngwuta’s status has become an item of discussion in judicial circle, particularly among officers and senior lawyers, who have expressed concern over the reluctance of the Supreme Court and the NJC to act on the issue.

    Justice Ngwuta has not sat in open court since November 4, 2016 following a directive by the NJC that judicial officers, who were 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 by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) on October 7 and 8, 2016.

    While his colleague Justice John Okoro resumed duties shortly after the raid, Ngwuta was charged to court.

    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), for 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). He held that it was wrong to subject Justice Ngwuta to trial before his court, without first subjecting him to the disciplinary procedure of the NJC.

    On May 15, 2018, the CCT also held in like manner and struck out the charge against Justice Ngwuta.

    A member of the tribunal, Atedze William Agwaza, said in the ruling, “in resolving issues raised by parties in this application, it is hereby held that the defendant/applicant, though a public officer, is also a judicial officer, and subject first to the discipline and management of the NJC.

    “This is in line with Section 158(1) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended). Paragraph 21 (b) of Part 1 of the 3rd Schedule of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and the decision of the Court of Appeal in the case of Nganjiwa V. FRN (supra), which forms a precedent binding on this tribunal.

    “Our hands are, therefore, tied in the light of the aforesaid decision. Based on the above, the application of the defendant/applicant is found merited, and hereby granted. The defendant is hereby discharged accordingly,” Agwaza said.

    Since the decision by the CCT, Justice Ngwuta has not resumed judicial functions. He has not been sighted sitting as a member of any panel of the court.

    Need for transparency and accountability in the deployment of budgetary allocation

    One could be excused to assert that the Judiciary remains the most opaque sector of all, in view of its seeming predilection for acting behind closed doors. Beyond the announcement that a lump sum is allocated to the judiciary in the annual budget, nothing is known about its disbursement.

    The judiciary often exhibits a strange aversion to being scrutinised while, in most cases, it rejects requests made under the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act, by the media and civil society organisations, for details of how its budgetary allocations are expended.

    Need to uphold judicial independence, separation of power

    Court heads should also impress it on judicial officers that the fast- eroding public confidence in the judicial process results partly from the perception that the court is not independent.

    The various courts, observers often noted, should be more assertive in the new year, with more judges engaging in judicial activism and taking decisions that strengthen the democratic doctrines of rule of law and separation of powers.

    How Africa’s ‘second busiest judiciary’ plans to tackle the problem

    Judicial officers in the Lagos State Judiciary, often described as ‘Africa’s second busiest’, and arguably its most innovative, are aware of the problem.

    Chief Judge of Lagos State Justice Kazeem Alogba recently pledged to work towards transforming the sector. As part of his New Legal Year agenda, he has promised the establishment of a smart judiciary through the provision of a first-class judicial services, in line with international best practice, sustenance of the independence of the judiciary and reformation  of the administration of justice system.

     Smart judiciary

    Justice Alogba explained that the “smart judiciary” envisaged for Lagos would be achieved by deploying technology that would enable the courts to dispense complicated cases on time.

    He said: “We will be deploying more tools of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the provision of our services. In-video conferencing of court proceedings has already started and we will be doing more in this area.”

    Anti-corruption

    The CJ promised to continue in the stead of his predecessor, Justice Opeyemi Oke, in the fight against corruption.  He said he would embark on “rigorous training” for judicial staff to enhance capacity, promising that he would maintain zero tolerance for corruption within that arm of the government.

    Dearth of judges

    Justice Alogba lamented the dearth of judges in the state, pointing out that Lagos had 54 judges in its employment to dispense thousands of cases filed daily in courts. He planned to appoint more judges to deal with the high volume of cases. He also pleaded with the state’s Executive to increase funding of the judiciary for improved service delivery.

    Decongestion of courts

    One major problem confronting all levels of the courts in the country has been congestion of cases in the dockets of the judges which causes delay in justice administration.

    Addressing judges of the Federal High courts last Thursday, Acting Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, disclosed that judges of the court were overburdened with about 116,623 cases.

    He said in the last quarter alone, about 16,144 cases were filed of which 12,692 had been disposed off.

    He said the development was an attestation to inadequacy of judges at the courts, thereby slowing down the dispensation of justice. He noted that the record was an indication that more judges would be needed to speed up the wheel of justice delivery.

    The situation is not any way better in Lagos, with about 54 judges and 120 magistrates in a state with about 20 million people.

    Last year, former Justice Oke declared a state of emergency in the judiciary, following the evaluation of 2,886 old case files, including a 70-year-old case, under its Backlog Elimination Programme (BEP). The 70-year-old case, which was the oldest, sought to “seeking to enforce a judgment”.

    The BEP was designed to decongest the courts by re-evaluation of old cases and finding ways of resolving them through Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) or accelerated hearing.

    Justice Oke noted that “delay has led to public ridicule of the judiciary which is supposed to be the hope of the common man. This delay, coupled with the continuous filing of new cases, has led to congestion of the court with a ridiculous number of backlog of cases, the result of which the courts are now in a state of emergency.”

    Lawyers’ expectation in the new legal year

    Lawyers’ expectations for a better judiciary in the new legal year are high as always.

    Dr Fassy Yusuf said the 2019/2020 Legal Year should witness the rejigging of the justice delivery system; court decongestion, technological refinement, effective service delivery and positive attitudinal change.

    He urged the judiciary to “polish its image and strategically communicate with all its stakeholders for understanding and empathy.

    “It must also establish a Watchdog mechanism for handling cases of infractions by judicial officers and workers.

    “Above all, the redemption of the sanctity of the judiciary must be sacrosanct. The temple of justice must never be desecrated again.”

    Administration of justice

    Executive Director, Crime Victims Foundation of Nigeria (CRIVIFON), Mrs. Gloria Egbuji, said her expectation for the new legal year is general improvement of administration of justice.

    She said she expected that experiences of the past years would “add up as a lesson  to the new year so that good things learnt will be improved upon and bad ones dropped.”

    According to Mrs. Egbuji, senior lawyers and Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) must continue to justify the expectations of the people on them, especially new SANs.

    She craved the highest standard of excellence from all lawyers, new wigs and old, given that enormous responsibilities are expected of them as “learned people “

    Mrs. Egbuji added: “I expect the senior lawyers to mentor and groom the younger ones and give them a sense of belonging. The bottom line here is that rule of law must be preserved and promoted at all times by all officers at the temple of justice.”

    Judicial independence

    The CRIVIFON Executive Director said the judiciary must “strive and make bold to maintain and regain its independence and full confidence of the masses

    “There should be no corrupt practices at the judiciary as these have damaging impact on the system. All erring officers must promptly be brought to book and the strategies provided by the national judicial policy strictly adhered to.

    “I also expect continuous legal education for the judges and lawyers to catch up with the dynamics of world issues. Service to community should be the key element for all judges in accordance with the judicial oath”.

    Mrs. Egbuji said the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) management, at state and national levels should, in the new legal year, ensure that the Bar is positioned above other professions. She added that there should be no internal political squabbling among the officers.

    Delay in justice administration

    She admonished Chief Justices (CJs) of the various levels of courts to take “a good look at the heavy caseloads in their courts and the delayed justice they are causing the litigants.”

    According to her, “the stringent bail conditions given to people that approach the criminal courts should be reviewed with a view to not always sending those brought to court as overnight cases to prison because that will negate the constitutional provision of being innocent until proven guilty, particularly in Lagos Judiciary.”

    Small claims court

    She further called for the establishment of more small claim courts, speedy enforcement of court orders and easier access to records for appeals.

    “Transparent services of court processes by court bailiffs/sheriffs” she said.

    Mrs. Egbuji further called for more reforms of the election tribunals for speedier delivery of judgments among others.

    She added: “Finally, I expect more provisions of legal aid to poor people who do not have access to justice. The Legal Aid Council can do better than what it is doing now. Many poor people are languishing in prison, awaiting trial because of poverty and no legal assistance.”

    The judiciary, she noted, must ensure that “cases that come to it are determined on their merits according to law.”

  • ‘My call to Bar was my parents’ happiest day’

    Law School was not easy for Oladoja Adedamola, but he survived it through hard work and prayer. The 2015 Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) alumnus tells KAMIYE TAIWO that the day he became a lawyer was his parents’ happiest.

    First of six siblings

    My name is Oladoja Ayuba Adedamola. I am the first born of three boys and three girls. My father is involved in agribusiness while my mother is a business woman. I’m from Tede, Atisbo Local Government Area (LGA) of Oyo State.

    OAU Alumnus

    I had my primary education at Aisha Model College, Saki and junior secondary education at Ansar-Ud-deen Comprehensive College, Saki and senior secondary at Ahmadiyah Muslim School, Saki, Oyo State.

    I got my degree in Law from the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, after which I was posted to the Nigerian Law School, Enugu (Augustine Nnamani Campus). I was called to the Nigerian Bar on November 29, 2016.

    First lawyer in nuclear family

    None of my parents are a lawyer, but my uncle is a lawyer in the Ministry of Justice in Oyo State. I was not opportuned to accompany him to court when I was young.

    Inspired by Gani Fawehinmi

    I was inspired to study Law by the late Gani Fawehinmi (SAN), because of the active role he played to uphold the Rule of Law and, most especially, his role as a human rights activist.

    How I survived Law School

    Law School wasn’t easy but I survived through hard work and prayer. Law School syllabus is so cumbersome and the period stipulated for the programme is so short, so, law students have to be very hard-working. During my time at the Law School I made audio recording of lectures which I listened to after class if I didn’t feel like reading and it really worked for me. I did go to the field on weekends to play football and, sometimes, I visited the gym to play table tennis.

    We had a party for my Call to Bar

    My call to Bar was memorable because my parents were present at the conference centre in Abuja. I think that was one of the happiest day for my parents because they produced a lawyer. We just had a small party with my uncle who accommodated us in Abuja.

    Why young lawyers are poorly paid

    No doubt, many young lawyers face challenges with remuneration. I have the same issue with my principal. But I know that this challenge often occurs because some clients fail to pay for legal services rendered to them. Invariably, if a principal can’t get adequate value for the legal services he renders, it will be very difficult for him to pay juniors in the office.

    My principal later called me that we should operate an ‘associateship’ kind of system where I work for him at the same time learn without any salary. But I receive appearance fees for any of the cases I handle on his behalf. But all monies received as professional fees from any client who comes to the office through me belong to me. Sometimes, my principal joins me to interview a client that comes through me, yet he doesn’t share from the money paid by such client.

    I would marry a lawyer because…

    Yes, because not female lawyers are arrogant. Some were brought up in a good family.

    What I would change about Law practice

    I would like to create laws that would eradicate delay tactics among lawyers to speed up justice delivery in our society.

    My mentors

    Femi Falana and Gani Fawehinmi of blessed memory

    SAN, professor or judge?

    I prefer to be a SAN, especially through active practice. A judge, unlike a SAN, lives a kind of restricted life. There is a level at which a judge can relate with the public due to the position. I can’t live a restricted life.

    The future

    I want to be a notable SAN in the legal profession.

  • Jumia opens online store

    Jumia has unveiled an online store  in partnership with other top brands  in Lagos.

    Speaking during the launch, Jumia Nigeria Chief Executive Officer (CEO),  Juliet Anammah, said the Jumia Mall is dedicated to various brands on the website.

    She said: “This website helps consumers to find products that are 100 per cent authentic, to enjoy a return policy of 15 days on the platform, as well as a warranty on every product.

    “Consumers can also enjoy faster delivery because those brands have their products seated in our warehouse, and we are able to provide those products to consumers as fast as possible.

    “This means that anyone who has a shop can sell their products on the website.  People can browse and go directly to a particular brand section that they desire just the same way they go into a regular physical mall.

    “So, this is the same way we have a dedicated space on the website where they can access those brands directly. It means that if the brands are running an offer, they will find it offline as well as online. So the rest of the website is the marketplace.

    Read Also: ‘Jumia’ll leverage internet, data for growth’

    “We also have other things on the websites such as Jumia Global, which are items coming from abroad that can be found on this space as well.

    “So, if they want to go to the brand stores they go to Jumia Mall, and if they want to see the assortment coming from abroad the go to Jumia Global, but if they want to see the other products coming from small shops, then they can browse on the regular categories on the Jumia website.”

    Head of Mobile Category, Jumia Nigeria, Kolawole Osinowo the first thing that the firm has done with Jamal Mall is to ensure that the products coming in are either coming from the brand’s directly, or they are coming from the authorised distributor or reseller of the brands.

  • Cross-border trade in legal services: current realities and future possibilities

    Text of a paper presented by the Solicitor-General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Justice, Mr. Dayo Apata (SAN) at  the just-concluded Annual General Conference of Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) in Lagos.

    The global topic of this session is “Trade in Legal Services: Current Realities and Future Possibilities”. The subject of discuss covers various areas, hence the need to particularize on the legal/regulatory challenges of the topic.

    Indeed, the cardinal area of focus borders on the legal services delivery in the 21st century vis-à-vis globalization and its consequential effects on cross-border legal services, and the regulatory mechanisms required to checkmate the practice.

    The basic question is: How can law and legal regulations catch up with technological innovations?

    What is the position of Nigeria with respect to cross-border trading, and whether there are adequate regulatory legal frameworks.

    Other important issues are cross-border trading in legal services and its enormous effect on the world market, the importance of digital legal services as facilitated by the advancement in technology that is readily accessible through one or few clicks on a simple digital device, such as a smart phone, iPad etc.

    Another issue is the effect of African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) which Nigerian State has signed (but yet to be domesticated by the National Assembly), on the trade in legal services as it affects the Nigerian economy.

    What is trade in legal services?

    This is the commercial exchange both in domestic and international market, of legal services to clients for a remuneration which can occur anywhere.

    It is also the act of rendering skilled legal services to a client within a particular jurisdiction or beyond, for certain fees.

    Cross-border trade in legal services

    Trade in services between States and citizens across borders is not uncommon. However, with the introduction of digital trading, it has changed the nature and operation of trade in services by reducing the relevance of traditional at-the-border barriers to trade, like tariffs and licenses.

    In view of this, there is need for regulatory mechanisms and domestic policy regulating trade in digital legal services in Nigeria.

    We shall see later if the signing of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), by Nigeria will help in this quest.

    Emerging formations and need for collaboration in trade in legal services.

    Due to the emerging trends on trade in legal services and how it is currently rendered, there is need for us to collaborate with our foreign counterparts.

    This can be realised through agreements between States in the form of General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), which will foster such economic growth.

    The World Trade Organization, in collaboration with the IBA have contributed to the growth of the trade in legal services; also the IBA has published guidance on the operation of such trade globally.

    In view of the already existing collaboration in rendering these services, the unknown outcome of the application of regulating mechanism is still an issue.

    Modes of supply of legal services

    The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) covers virtually every aspect of services trade and various modes of supply of services which are:

    • Cross-border supply (Mode 1) – Trade that takes place from the territory of one Member into that of another without movement of the service provider. • Consumption abroad (Mode 2) – Services consumed or purchased by nationals of a Member in the territory of another Member where these services are supplied.
    • Commercial presence (Mode 3) – Any type of business or professional establishment, including branches and representative offices.
    • Movement of a natural person (Mode 4) – Temporary presence of natural persons in a market for the purpose of supplying services.

    Current realities in trade in legal services in Nigeria

    Currently, the Legal Practitioners Act is the chief legislation that provides the requirement for licensing a person (whether foreign or not) as a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

    It provides that such a person (both Nigerians and foreigners) must be called to the bar to be able to practice as a barrister and solicitor in Nigeria.

    The only exception to the above is provided by section 2(2) of the LPA, which empowers the Chief Justice of Nigeria to grant a person warrant for purposes of specified proceedings and appeal brought under such proceedings.

    The import of the above is to the effect that only persons whose names are on the roll can lawfully engage in activities of legal practice in Nigeria.

    Future challenges

    Importantly, rigid provision canvassed above on the eligibility of a person to practice as a legal practitioner in Nigeria does not only stand as a current challenge to us all but will continue even in the future if nothing is done to amend and regulate it.

    Other countries have moved away from this rigid approach. Investors are not persuaded to invest in such rigid legal regimes and there is need for us to liberalize our procedure for grant of license and then regulate the digital services offered across borders.

    Other challenges includes: jurisdictional problem of determining where the services was rendered and the absence of specialized courts to address the issue.

    Regulatory policies and mechanisms: The enactment of the Cybercrimes Act in 2015 for regulation of electronic transactions

    It is expected, that the statutory provisions as contained in the Cybercrimes Act, shall limit the incidences of identity/qualification/ license falsifications and fraudulent issuance of electronic legal services.

    Review of the Nigerian legal regime

    The promulgation of the new Evidence Act, 2011 has brought in substantial improvements in aid to digital trade in legal services. See Sections 84 and 93 of the New Evidence Act which provide for the admissibility of computer- generated documents, the recognition of electronic signature and waiver of its proof by means of writing on a tangible medium.

    However, with respect to the above, some cybercrimes are not defined under our laws, e.g. scamming, cybersquatting, cyber-attack, PIN theft, hacking, phishing etc., and hence are not punishable by virtue of section 36 (12) of the 1999 Constitution as amended.

    In addition, there are no specialized courts or establishments saddled with the responsibility of regulating and treatment of issues arising from trade in digital legal services.

    Regulatory structure and relevant trade liberalizations (domestic policy change)

    In view of the fact that trade in legal services belongs to the group of “accredited” professional services, caution should be adhered to in its liberalization; thereby reserving certain areas of practice.

    Services rendered and mode of remuneration must be in line with the laid down laws of the host country so as not to contravene an existing code of conduct.

    General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) encourages members to ensure that their regulations are administered in a reasonable, objective and impartial manner.

    Qualifications and licensing requirements and technical standards must be based on objective and transparent criteria, and not more burdensome than necessary to ensure the quality of the service.

    Suggested steps to address the Regulatory Issues – Nigerian Perspective

    Identify the regulatory challenges and gaps;

    Develop regulatory outline that addresses the issues and challenges raised;

    Propagate policy framework to attract investors and foreign lawyers;

    Develop ‘best practices’ to build local capacity. It is also recommended that a committee is set up to address the following. i. reduce obstacles to liberalized legal services; ii. reduce adverse effects of a liberalized legal services; iii. provide for equal playing field; and vi. Promote the capacity of Nigerian Law Firms for the new regime.

    The legal effect of African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) to the trade in legal services in Nigeria.

    The crux of AfCFTA is the reduction of trade barriers such as removing import duties and non-tariff barriers.

    The domestication of AfCFTA in the near future will cover a market of about 1.2 billion people and a GDP of $2.5 trillion, across all 55 member states of the African Union.

    In light of the above proposal for the domestication of AfCFTA, there will be an urgent need to amend the Legal Practitioners’ Act and the Rules of Professional Conduct, so that the aims and objective of this treaty with respect to trade in legal services will be achieved.

    Digital trade in legal services and its challenges in regulation

    Digital trade is the cross-border transfer of data, products, or services by electronic means, usually the internet- Nigel Cory, Associate Director for Trade policy at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF).

    This emerging legal trend obviously changes the pattern of global commerce, and in many ways, reduces the relevance of traditional at-the-border barriers to trade, like tariffs and licenses.

    Consequently, with the above innovation there is need to regulate such digital trade in legal services by legislation so as to checkmate anticipatory crimes and to maintain orderliness in the legal profession.

    Also, to be able to regulate digital trade, there is need to understand with the aid of internet and other web/media facilities, how innovational technological legal services can be rendered across several borders and regions at the same time.

    There is therefore the need for a holistic approach by all the regional Bars and Law Societies to decisively regulate the practice of Digital Trade in Legal Services globally.

    With this, the problems of where such digital legal services originated, who rendered same (whether a licensed/authorized legal practitioner or an automated machine), whether there was a cross-border rendering of such digital legal services and what are the regulatory obligations to be met before rendering such services can decisively be dealt with.

    A major challenge of regulating digital trade in legal services is the likely rise in volume of e-commercial litigation arising out of contractual disputes.

    Also, the lack of a specialized statutory regime governing cyber-related contractual agreements, remains a key obstacle.

    Conclusion

    In light of all that has been discussed above, we recommend the following:

    • Need to constantly sensitize lawyers in Nigeria to the inevitability of the globalization of legal services and encourage them to adopt a positive attitude and take benefit of the trend.
    • Amendment of the Legal Practitioners’ Act (LPA) in order to adopt some modes of supply of legal services; • The rules of Professional conduct should be streamlined in order to encourage cross-border collaboration amongst law firms; •. There is urgent need to foster cross-border liberalization in creating free market; v. Immediate domestication of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) by the National Assembly; • The NBA should propagate effective collaboration between itself and other regional bar associations in order to create a global regulatory framework;  • NBA should collaborate with the IBA in organizing innovative courses on Trade in Legal Services/ Digital Trade in Legal Service for lawyers; • Vii. NBA should set up a Committee charged with the sole responsibility of creating a legal frame work in regulating cross border digital trade in legal services, in order to address the issues comprehensively;
    • Nigerian lawyers should endeavor to take courses in International Trade Law/Trade in Legal Service as part of post-graduate specialization so as to improve on the quality of digital legal services offered to the prospective clients.

    In light of the above, it is imperative to note that these recommendations are necessities of our present legal practice, hence the need for us to act together towards the actualization of the above goals.

  • Repositioning Maritime Academy for greater efficiency

    The Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron, Akwa Ibom State was established in 1979 to train shipboard officers, ratings and shore-based management personnel. After initial high performance, the Academy slumped into decadence. However, the tide is changing, reports MUYIWA LUCAS

    Ismail Aniemu, a maritime stakeholder of over 18 years, expressed surprise when he entered the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN), Oron, Akwa Ibom State last week.

    His last visit was six months ago.  Since then, things have changed in the institution.

    Aniemu, the publisher of Journalngonline.com, a publication with bias for maritime industry, said: “I cannot believe what I am seeing. I hope I have not missed my way.”

    Indeed, the story of MAN, Oron elicits much more reaction given its sorry state until three years ago. For instance, in May 2009 the academy was criticised by the Director of Lagos Channel Management. He said the  Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) had found that the academy did not meet international standards.

    He listed the challenges to include lack of teaching facilities to handle the number of students, and unavailability of seafaring vessels on which students could complete their mandatory one-year sea term. Students seeking proper training had to attend the Regional Maritime University in Accra, Ghana. Captain Thomas Kemewerighe, a graduate of the academy, said Nigeria does not have people qualified to provide proper training. He said most of the graduates ended up as “okada riders”.

    Same year, the government announced that a project launched by the Federal Ministry of Transport, the Nigerian Seafarers Development Programme, would send a first batch of 27 students to the Academy of Maritime Education and Training in India to study for a Bachelor in Science and Bachelor in Engineering  in marine-related subjects. Sadly, MAN Oron was not considered for this programme by the Indian institution.

    In August 2009, three human rights groups petitioned President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua to investigate alleged cases of corruption and financial malpractices at the academy. They claimed that 43 students had died in avoidable circumstances in the past year.

    Determined to abate this scourge of disappointments and place the institution in the right stead, the government, after a thorough study  by an  Interim Management Committee (IMC) in 2017 of the Academy, came up with recommendations aimed at  restructuring and repositioning of the institution.  Subsequently, Commodore Emmanuel Effedua (retd) was appointed Rector of the institution.

    “The IMC, in its report, said the bane of the Academy, among others, was its poor academic environment, numerous abandoned projects and poor application of resources that they got from the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA). So, to get what we are looking for, we have to reverse those three identified anomalies. We have been able to complete those projects that have been abandoned. Now, I am correct on the appointment of Commodore Effedua as Rector of this school whose work has shown that his appointment is was done in the best interest of Nigerians,”  Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, said on May 6, this year, when he visited the school.

    Read Also: Maritime Academy: Promoting girl child education

    He added that his decision to visit the institution was motivated by the rapid transformation that the new Management has brought to the 41-year-old institution.

     The changing fortune

    In the 18 months that Effedua has been in control, stakeholders agreed that he had impacted significantly on the institution beyond what successive administrations achieved in the last three decades. For instance, before now, the academy had suffered fallen academic standards with competent lecturers seeking jobs with oil firms and other government agencies.

    Now, efforts are said to be in top gear to increase the academy’s training curriculum in line with the Manilla Convention (Standards of Training, Certification and Watch-keeping, STCW). There was also the issue of bloated cadet’s enrolment that stretched the training manpower and facilities beyond their limits. This led to infrastructural decay with little or no attention paid to maintenance.

    Deplorable hostel facilities with crowded rooms not good for students’ habitation formed part of the inherited challenges begging for intervention. As many as 18 students stayed in rooms meant for four. Today, hostels and better accommodation are ready for students to occupy, following Amaechi’s order for improved hostel habitation of two students per room, starting from 2020.

    Indeed, a great deal of infrastruc-tural improvement, human capital overhaul, improved teaching and learning backed with technological aids and unprecedented degree of discipline now pervades the institution.

    As part of the drive to address infrastructural challenges and provide conducive accommodation for cadets and staff, the academy under this dispensation, has completed and inaugurated several abandoned project. A nautical science building that was abandoned for close to  15 years at foundation level has been completed and ready for use. What looked like a makeshift library being used with outdated literatures has been rebuilt with up to date reading materials in addition to high quality free books given to cadets.

    A modern lecturers briefing room and state-of-the-art lecture theatres fitted with teaching and learning aids have been put in place. Transportation and power system within the academy have also been boosted. The academy acquired one unit of 650KVA generator and two units of 250 KVA generator. These are, in addition to solar lightings, provided to illuminate the academy at night.

    The future is now

    Though his feats were louder than his voice, Effedua, in a chat with reporters, seems not done as he reeled out more milestones to be attained soonest in the four decades old institution.

    At a briefing, Effedua expressed readiness to produce ICT savvy, studious and up to standard graduates to meet industry and international standards. This is why cadets intake was reduced from 1, 800 to 256 for the 2018/19 academic session. Now, cadets are enjoying free mandatory courses with new Onboard Seatime training for National Diploma cadets.

    Also, under this dispensation, cadets are insured and nautical science students are being enrolled as members of Nautical Institute, United Kingdom while marine engineering students are also members of Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMAREST), UK.

    The enrolment is a further boost to their professional certification. On his watch, the academy went through some major reforms including financial audit, restructuring of departments and directorates, establishment of Directorate of Logistics, creation of course rules for lecturers and introduction of additional short courses.

    Other reforms include checking incidence of fake certificates with printing of new ones carrying security features thereby making them difficult to forge, improved capacity building agenda for staff and outsourcing cadets feeding to more qualified and competent catering outfits to achieve nutrition and hygiene.

    Improved funding

    Effedua added that the academy’s funding has improved in his administration. He described funds released from NIMASA as very commendable under its Director-General, Dr. Dakuku Peterside. In line with subsection 2B under Section 16 of the NIMASA Act, not less than five percent of collections made by agency is to be set aside for the academy as part of its statutory funding.

    According to him, paperwork sometimes delay release of the funds and the academy ends up not getting four-quarter collections  as expected yearly. This process has enabled the academy to January and September 2019, trained over 3000 students from International Oil Companies (IOCs), including Mobil. Such trainings given to IOC’s, has greatly improved MAN’s internally generated revenue (IGR).

    “We need more funding but we are not broke. We have saved money from our IGR with which we want to buy more simulators without any form of external financial support,” he said.

     Blocking leakages

    One early detection for the administration was the composition of its workforce. Eighty per cent of staff were from the host community contrary to Federal Character principle. Although Effedua said there were no intensions to sack them, the administration shall continue to recruit from other parts of the country to achieve some balance in future.

    As part of bringing solutions to chains of its problems, Effedua said: “I met a huge debt profile, which I inherited from a regime that had so much funds and I wondered why they didn’t pay. I have paid over 80 per cent of genuine claims brought  to me. I plugged revenue leakages by avoiding payment of suspected fraudulent claims, which after referring such claims to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), some of those making the claims never showed up again. In the past, funds were not properly channelled for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). It ended in private pockets and I came, determined to stop this. We don’t give money to individuals.’’

    CSR

    He explained that the institution has provided computers to the Oron-based Methodist Secondary School. What we did for them is standard and you may not see it in any university around. “This year, we bought 100 Joint Admission and Matriculation Boards(JAMB) forms for indigent students. We are going to buy for 200 students next year. The local hospital requests for 50 litres of diesel from pregnant women coming for delivery,” he further said.

    Challenges

    But much as the CSR is beneficial to the community, yet there are challenges from the community. “A group of trouble makers brought a casket to our gate as part of protests. They also fell big trees to block the access road into the community. In the face of this harassment, we were determined to do our work. Oron people are peaceful and accommodating only a few of them gave us challenge.

    The Rector summed up the feat so far achieved to the cooperation and support of his management team. He described them as wonderful and part of the academy’s success story.

  • 100 exhibitors for auto parts show

    One hundred exhibitors from Nigeria and other countries are expected to converge on the Landmark Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos for the West Africa Automotive Show (WAAS) in November.

    Besides displaying the latest developments and products in the spare parts and services sector, suppliers, dealers and manufacturers will be available to discuss best practice for the industry.

    Nigerian businesses, according to the organisers, BtoB Events, will account for about 30 per cent of exhibitors.

    There will be pavilions for Morocco and China, smaller groupings from Thailand, Egypt, Tunisia and India, and other countries.

    BtoB Events’ Managing Director Jamie Hill said: “We have a wealth of international exhibitors looking to bring high-tech equipment to Nigeria for the first time and a large number of local exhibitors are looking to expand their business and increase exports to surrounding countries,” he said.

    Lagos, Hill said, was picked to launch the show because it has capacity to become the automotive hub of the African continent with over 11.5 million vehicles on the roads.

    “With over 60 per cent of vehicles on the road being over 12 years old, there is a huge aftermarket industry. The need for high quality and affordable spare parts is becoming increasingly important,” he said, adding: “There is also a real hunger to boost the local assembly of vehicles across the country with the 2013 National Automotive Industry Development plan (NAIDP). With more assembly plants being set up, this, again, significantly increases the demand for spare parts. We are committed to supporting Nigeria to reach its forecast of having 70 per cent of new cars sold being assembled or manufactured domestically by 2050.”