The Nation Newspaper

Tag: President Muhammadu Buhari

  • Cabinet: Performance benchmarks likely for ministers

    Indications emerged on Friday that President Muhammadu Buhari might set performance benchmarks for the nation’s 43 new ministers.

    The ministers may, however, not be inaugurated till after undergoing an induction programme between August 15 and 16.

    But the Office of the Secretary to the Federal Government yesterday announced documentation and pre-inauguration processes for the ministers designate.

    Investigation by our correspondent showed that the President is going to give targets to the new ministers and timelines for delivering on projects.

    It was learnt that the ministers are expected to work on “deliverables” which would have immediate effect on the masses.

    According to findings, the targets for ministers will be in line with the President’s promise to leave “sustainable legacies” after two terms in office.

    A top source, who spoke in confidence, said: “The President will set performance benchmarks for the new ministers. This time around, he believes every minister must live up to expectations and deliver on projects as contained in 2019-2023 Roadmap.

    “So, the ministers will be monitored and rated according to deliverables. Those who are coming are expected to work round the clock.”

    Read Also: Ministers: Old wine in new bottle

    Responding to a question, the source added: “No minister will be exempted from the performance benchmarks. Every minister must add value to the system.

    “All ongoing projects must be completed and realistic short-term new projects will be put in place.”

    Meanwhile, the Office of the Secretary to the Federal Government yesterday announced documentation and pre-inauguration processes for the ministers designate.

    Ex-President Goodluck Jonathan had on August 12, 2012 introduced a Performance Agreement for ministers.

    The agreement, which was drawn by ex- Minister of National Planning, Dr. Shamsudeen Usman, was, however, breached by most of the ministers.

    The mode of performance benchmarks for ministers under President Buhari was unclear as at press time.

    A statement by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha, also indicated that the ministers might not be inaugurated until after undergoing an induction programme between August 15 and 16.

    The statement said: “Following confirmation by the Senate, all ministers designate are by this notice informed that relevant documents for their study and guidance, preparatory to the inauguration of the cabinet shall be available for collection at the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF) (Cabinet Affairs Office) from 10.00am on Tuesday August 6, 2019.

    “Ministers designate are also requested to please bring along and submit to the OSGF, their updated CVs in soft and hard copies as well as any valid identification document.

    “Finally, I am pleased to inform you that, in view of the need to allow ministers designate enough time to study the documents (Status Report on Policies, Programmes and Projects; the 2019-2023 Road Map, FEC Handbook, etc) and considering the upcoming Sallah break, His Excellency, Mr. President has approved an induction retreat for ministers designate to be held at the State House Banquet Hall, Abuja from August 15-16, 2019.”

  • For the love of Nigeria

    It’s no longer news that Nigeria has signed the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement. But what is worthy of note is the processes that led to President Muhammadu Buhari signing the treaty a fortnight ago after delaying it for about a year.

    Nigeria became the 53rd nation to endorse the document, despite the African Union’s Heads of State and Governments resolving in the year 2012 to establish African Continental Free Trade Area treaty.

    It was aimed at creating a single continental market for goods and services in member nations.

    The treaty is also to cover agreements on trade in goods, services, investment, and rules and procedures on dispute settlement, including a range of provisions to facilitate trade, reduce transaction costs, provide exceptions, flexibilities and safeguards for vulnerable groups and countries in challenging circumstances.

    But President Buhari had pulled the breaks a year ago and stopped Nigeria from endorsing the document unlike many other African nations.

    He shunned the bandwagon effects last year and didn’t care if the ‘Giant of Africa’ will be the last nation to endorse the document.

    His eyes were focused on getting it right for Nigeria and not making Nigeria a dumping ground.

    He had then declared that Nigeria will only be signatory to the AfCFTA if the nation’s national interests, regional and international obligations are balanced.

    Buhari had particularly stopped the endorsement of the document in 2018 in response to the opposition against the treaty in Nigeria.

    Read Also: How to benefit from AfCFTA, by NACCIMA President

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Manufacturers’ Association of Nigeria (MAN) topped the groups that kicked against signing the treaty in 2018.

    They had warned that signing the treaty was extremely dangerous to Nigeria as it would open the country’s seaports, airports and other businesses to unbridled foreign interference and domination.

    The groups had pushed for proper consultations and inputs of all interest groups on issues concerning market access and enforcement of rules of origin

    So, Buhari immediately ordered for comprehensive consultations among the stakeholders in the country by setting up the Presidential Committee on Impact and Readiness Assessment African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement in October, 2018.

    By that singular act, Buhari has shown again that he was a listening President as he didn’t use presidential fiat to sign the document in 2018.

    Definitely, the heavens won’t have fallen if he had signed the documents a year ago.

    The Presidential Committee on Impact and Readiness Assessment African Continental Free Trade Area submitted its report to the President on 27th of June, 2019.

    After reviewing over 200 submissions from stakeholders in the country,  the 44-man steering committee, Chaired by Desmond Obadiah, recommended Nigeria to sign the treaty.

    He said “Your Excellency, our reports shows that on the balance, Nigeria should consider joining the AfCFTA and using the opportunity of the ongoing AfCFTA Phase I negotiations to secure the necessary safeguards required to ensure that our domestic policies and programs are not compromised.”

    Receiving the report, President Buhari said “It has been over a year now since the African Union Heads of States adopted the Phase I Agreement on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) at its 10th Extraordinary Summit in Kigali, Rwanda, on 21st of March 2018.

    “Since then, a lot has been said about Nigeria’s decision to conduct a detailed study on how this agreement will impact us as a country.

    “Let me state unequivocally that trade is important for us as a nation and to all nations. Economic progress is what makes the world go around.

    “Our position is very simple, we support free trade as long as it is fair and conducted on an equitable basis.

    “The AfCFTA will have both positive and negative effects on us as a nation and on our region.”

    “As you mentioned in your report, intra-African trade is only 14% of Africa’s total trade. Our consumption is mostly of goods imported from outside the continent.

    “For AfCFTA to succeed, we must develop policies that promote African production, among other benefits.

    “Africa, therefore, needs not only a trade policy but also a continental manufacturing agenda. Our vision for intra-African trade is for the free movement of “made in Africa goods”. That is, goods and services made locally with dominant African content in terms of raw materials and value addition.

    “If we allow unbridled imports to continue, it will dominate our trade. The implication of this, is that coastal importing nations will prosper while landlocked nations will continue to suffer and depend on aid.

    “As I stated during the inauguration of this Committee, many of the challenges we face today, whether security, economic or corruption are rooted in our inability, over the years, to domesticate the production of the most basic requirements and create jobs for our very vibrant, young and dynamic population.

    “Henceforth, we shall ensure that our negotiated agreements create business opportunities for Africa’s manufacturers, service providers and innovators.

    “The AfCFTA we aspire to have should therefore not only create wealth for investors but also jobs and prosperity for our vibrant and hardworking citizens.” he said

    The President went on “I am very delighted to receive your report today and with the time spent, skills applied and energy invested, I am confident that the Committee has been thorough and diligent.

    “Let me assure you that your report will form part of the consideration in our decision on the next steps on the AfCFTA in particular and on broader trade integration subjects.” he said

    Keeping his promise, Buhari signed the treaty in Niger Republic last week Sunday.

    Looking back, the President, by allowing the consultation has shown again that he is a real democrat.

    The main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party, may not see it this way as it has consistently asked the President to be more democrat in every aspect of governance in the country, including obeying court orders and adhering to the rule of law.

    But above all, Buhari, through the processes that led to signing the AfCFTA treaty, has exhibited his love for Nigeria again.

    He showed that he will not allow any harm to come upon Nigeria under any guise.

  • Yoruba question in Nigeria conundrum, by Alaafin

    The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi III, in this letter to President Muhammadu Buhari, calls attention to the killings and kidnapping in Yorubaland.

    Let me start since your first inauguration in 2015 as President and commander-in-Chief of the country, I have never been timid or shy of my total support for the success of your administration to deliver the country to the promised Land. My confidence had always been based on Your Excellency’sability, fitness and competence in leading the country, to the Promised Land, where Law and Order prevail, individual liberty is guaranteed, the economic well-being of the citizens is assured.

    That my confidence in Your Excellency remains unshaken to date. In recent time, however, I am worried about the security situation in the country, especially in the South-West geo-political zone, nay the entire Yoruba speaking area of the country including Kwara, Kogi and Edo states.

    This has to do with the incessant and increasing menace of Fulani herdsmen that have laid siege in almost all the highways of Yoruba land. Whether in Owo, Akure, Ilesa/Ife-Ibadan road or Ibarapa zone and Ijebu area of Ogun State, the story is the same.

    I have help series of consultations with opinion moulders and eminent Yoruba leaders across the board about the menace of these cattle herdsmen with such assault like raping of our women and in some occasions, in the presence of their husbands. That is apart from the massive destruction of our agricultural lands; which ultimately points to imminent starvation.

    On top of it all is the menace of professional kidnappers usually in military uniforms. What is more worrisome about the kidnapping notoriety is what looks like impunity which these kidnappers enjoy their nefarious activities. After due consultations with Yoruba leaders and as the pre-colonial head of the Yoruba nation, we are worried by the audacity of these lawless people in effecting their illegal acts in broad daylight on our usually bushy highways without any arm of security being able to do anything. Worse still is the confidence with which they demand ransoms and collect such illegal levies at designated spots without any arm of security being able to lay siege on them as it was the practice in the recent past.

    Now, we cannot even talk of parading suspects, when in actual sense, no major arrests have been made in this part of the country. Without arrests, we can not talk of their facing of the law. Unfortunately, and painfully indeed, in the face of the apparent helplessness of our security agencies, where do we go from here?

    It is at the wake of this manifest frustration of our people that our people have found it unavoidable, even though reluctantly to resort to alternative measures to safeguard their lives and property. Suffice to say that is the most part of Yoruba land, their pre-colonial military structures have not been totally collapsed. Hence, such structures like Odua People’s Congress, Agbekoyaand other vigilante groups.

    Having stated the above, and having established my premise as a stakeholder in your administration in the firm belief that we all believe in the Nigeria project, kindly permit me, Mr President, to make the following points and submissions as the Alaafin of Oyo, the king and Head of all Yoruba at home and in the diaspora and the Chief Custodian of Yoruba culture and values.

    The people of Yoruba land in the traditional six State of the South-West-political zone and extending to some parts of Kogi, Kwara and Edo State live in palpable fear because of a new wave of insecurity of life and property they now witness on a daily basis and which is alien to them. This new uncomplimentary development is not unrelated to the new wave of criminal activities usually associated with banditry, armed robbery and lately, kidnapping and rape of genuinely innocent and law-abiding citizens. I remember when these nefarious activities were first noticed in Oyo/Oke Ogun area of Oyo state, I took proactive steps to stem the tide and to amicably normalise relations between farmers and herders. Our initiative succeeded because we were dealing with genuine farmers and herders who had a commitment to Nigeria and who were interested in promoting their economic activities in a peaceful, prosperous and united Nigeria.

    However, it is becoming obvious that the nature and character of banditry and kidnapping today are different from what they used to be. Today, it is not merely infraction in the course of doing business, but a blatant and criminal violation of the constitutional right to life and liberty of innocent citizens of Yoruba land. A few publicly known instances will suffice.

    1. Certain individuals were kidnapped along Erio-Aromoko road, Ekiti State. They were tortured and exposed to danger in the forest for upward of two weeks. These victims included the Secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association, IkoleBranch, Adeola Adebayo whose decomposing body was eventually found after a ransom price of four million Naira had been paid.
    2. Two officials of the FederalRoad Safety Corps both Yoruba were picked up along Ilesa-Akure highway. In the process of this kidnap, an unnamed individual died.

    iii.    Musibau Adetumbi, a legal practitioner based in Ibadan was going to attend an Appeal Court session in Akure when he was kidnapped along Ilesa-Akure highway.

    1. Professor Adegbehingbe, a surgeon at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife was adopted along Ibadan-Ile-Ife highway.
    2. Dr Muslim Omoleke, the administrative Secretary of the National Electoral Commission was kidnapped around Ilesa, Osun State.
    3. Mr Ayo Oladele, an employee of Guinness Nigeria and an Old Student of Christ School, Ado-Ekiti was adopted and taken away and lately,

    vii.  Dayo Adewole, son of a member of your 2015-2019 executive council and Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewale was kidnapped on his farm at Iroko, a village along Ibadan-Oyo road.

    There are many other instances of kidnapping, raid, rape and banditry not publicly known but which were reported to the Police and other law enforcement organisations.

    As ugly as the picture above seems to be, the people of Yoruba land have remained generally peaceful and have resisted concerted efforts to push them into civil disobedience or adopting self-help mechanisms to protect themselves in their homeland. They have demonstrated confidence in you and in your ability to stem the tide of these criminal activities. Yoruba have been restrained from believing the newfound Islamization or Fulanisation theory.

    I am therefore writing to you, as a concerned stakeholder in your administration, to alert you and demonstrate to you, the urgency of the need to quickly respond to these and other issues concerning Yoruba land. There is a general impression among opposition group that you are not known to take decisive and proactive steps in many matters of national interest and that you are not usually too disturbed about the gale of insecurity in Yoruba land.

    May I also share with you the outcome or product of my wide consultations in Yoruba land to let you know, beyond what official security reports will make available to you, that there is a growing feeling of frustration, disappointment and despondency among our people, which if not immediately addressed, could lead to other serious national catastrophes and security challenges.The present state of insecurity is posing enormous challenges to people’s engagements in other economic activities. The incessant and increasing menace on our highways and farms in Yoruba land is making farming and other economic activities hazardous and dangerous. I recall with sadness that the Old OyoEmpire disintegrated because the slave trade introduced insecurity that made all other economic activities which had supported and enhanced the prosperity of Oyo to decline. It is never my wish that any part of Nigeria will ever go through this harrowing experience again.

    Apart from the massive destruction of farms and crops planted on them, the new wave of Fulani, pretending and disguising as herders have unleashed a reign of terror on Yoruba land. They destroy crops, they kidnap men and women, violate and rape our women, right in the presence of their husbands. What this portends definitely more than the simplistic interpretation of farmer/herder clash but the deliberate acts of hostility and criminality. What makes it worrisome is the fact that for reasons best known to the Police establishment, they have not been apprehending or pretend to be in the defence of victims. There is always a tendency to blame the victims and demonstrate helplessness in apprehending and bringing perpetrators to book to face the full wrath of the law.

    It is even said, Mr President that these criminal pseudo herders go about their nefarious activities in broad daylight and many times in military uniform. They carry sophisticated weapons, the likes of which are only available to state actors.

    There seems to be no doubt that the security apparatus of the country is both overstretched and rustic. The philosophy of policing the State, protecting life and property and ensuring the existence of atmosphere that is conducive to life and living in Nigeria is lost on the security personnel. In Yoruba land, we are scared and worried about the outrageous audacity and effrontery of these criminal elements in carrying out their activities and without any challenge by security operatives. In a situation where money exchanged hands, the Police are adequately equipped to trace every paper money issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria. Intelligence gathering concerning money paid as ransom should lead, finally to these criminals since they would eventually make transactions with the proceeds of their illicit and criminal activities.

    As no major arrest of Fulani pseudo herdsmen has been made till date in Yorubaland, suspects cannot be paraded, let alone arraigned. Even threatened a sitting traditional ruler and asked him to comply with certain directives go about as if they are indeed above the law and beyond arrest. It is unheard of that the State could be seemingly helpless in the face of these criminal assaults on its integrity and capacity to carry out the most sacred of its mandate; preserving life and property.

    Mr President, let me assure you that the Yoruba people traditionally have what it takes to defend themselves and interests against all enemy attacks. What is of immediate concern is the possibility of these traditional self-help mechanisms of defence to conflict with the legal and constitutional framework of the security organisations. This is indeed my greatest fear, recluse the situation is fast degenerating into what could trigger the complete breakdown of law and order under a constitutional state arrangement. Thus latent frustration must be nipped in the bud to avert a breakdown of the state system in Yorubaland. I am aware that members of the Odua People’s Congress scattered all over the world are already being mobilised to stand in the defence of their land and are ready, willing and able to raise an army of volunteers as was done in 1968 by the Agbekoya.

    It is trite saying that a stitch in time saves nine. For me, and relying on ancient wisdom, the dilemma of a possible breakdown of state authority and power could still be managed and the slide to anarchy arrested. Historically, and even now, ethnic relations between the Yoruba and the Fulani had been managed adroitly through excellent statesmanship and participatory administration of inter-ethnic group relations. I have had many instances of settling farmer/herder disagreements in my Palace to the extent of instituting workable modalities for inter-communal conflict management and peacebuilding. What is strange is the new wave of criminally-minded Fulani groups. What is again disappointing is the ease with which these criminals will leave our country should there be anarchy in the land. They have other places to return to, but Nigerians don’t have another country apart from here.

    This is a serious national emergency when Fulani herdsmen are engaged in criminality all over the country and the sitting federal government seems helpless and generally unperturbed by what is going on in the security organisations. There is no doubt that some leaders of these security organisations are either incompetent or bankrupt of ideas. Some are even compromised to take any decisive actions against criminals. What we are witnessing in Nigeria is an anomaly because it is inconceivable that in the 21stcentury, when the whole world is making appreciable progress in providing an enhanced standard of living, Nigerians will be living under the fear of banditry, brigandage, rape, kidnapping and terrorism.

    Insecurity is posing a direct threat and imminent danger of living in Nigeria. It is capable of de-robing the country in the comity of nations and passing it off as uncivilized and barbaric.

    As more and more countries issue travel restrictions to Nigeria and parts thereof, it is just a matter of time for Nigeria to lose whatever gains it has made in repositioning itself for more decisive participation in the international system. I trust that you will not allow this to happen and will quickly and decisively take immediate steps to re-establish confidence in your government and demonstrate the capacity of the state to protect all legitimate interests.

    I wish you God’s guidance, courage and wisdom to do what is right, appropriate and necessary to build the Nigeria of our dreams, where no ethnic group is oppressed or taken for granted.

    While urging you to take out time to read and consider this letter as coming from a stakeholder in your administration, I wish to assure you of the warmest regards of the Royal stool.

  • Victims and victors of the Nigerian condition

    Chief Reuben Fasoranti became a personal victim of a country he had worked very hard to improve since he became a member of the first class of the University College of London in Ibadan. And his victimhood is an unusual one. He has not personally been tortured, harassed, or unjustly detained by the state as it often happens in non-democratic states. He has been tormented vicariously through the violent death of his daughter on a national highway at the hands of kidnappers. The killing of his daughter, who was neither a politician nor an activist but a law-abiding Nigerian woman, Funke Olakunrin. along a highway in a state that Fasoranti himself had spent his intellectual energy to nurture, as school teacher, school principal, commissioner of finance in young Ondo State, leader of Afenifere, a socio-cultural organisation traditionally perceived by many Yoruba people as standing for values of Freedom for All; Life more Abundant, a home-spun slogan for ideology of social democracy for Nigeria in the era of Chief Obafemi Awolowo.

    Even in his depressed state, Pa Fasoranti is still preoccupied with his search for a good Nigeria. In the tradition of a patriotic and forward-looking elder, and with the torment of having his daughter violently killed written all over his face, he called on the country’s president in the following words: “President Muhammadu Buhari has called to commiserate with me. But all I need from the president is to find solutions to these killings in the country.” With such statement at a time of extreme personal pain arising from inadequate security in his country, he demonstrated what real patriotism calls for, a stoic response to personal pain for the sake of achieving a better public order for the larger community. This is the stuff of which tall men that this our land deserves are made.

    There must have been several victims of kidnappers whose names do not ring bells, like Mrs. Olakunrin’s in the country. Even for stellar social statisticians, it must be hard to know how many such invisible Nigerians had lost their lives to kidnappers and murderers on the highways in the last few months. Personally, I know of a relation of a close friend of mine who was kidnapped at Omifon, a few miles from where Funke was gunned down. In his own case, he was lucky to have been kidnapped and kept in the rain forest of Omifon for days until his ransom of N1million arrived from his generous church members. Details of this man’s kidnapping and suffering in the forest for four days did not get into the media because of his invisibility. It is encouraging that Pa Fasoranti’s demand from President Buhari is no longer for his daughter but for the sake of invisible men and women that may be killed if security across the land is not restored in good time.

    Paradoxically, as citizens agonise about lack of safety and security, the government commences the process of granting amnesty to illegal aliens in the country. The amnesty for illegal visitors is not to leave the country within six months of promulgation of the policy. In the words of the president, delivered by the Secretary to the Federal Government, “I am declaring a six-month amnesty period for illegal migrants already in the country to submit themselves to the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) for the purpose of this registration…. The registration will be carried out without any payment or penalties. I’m enjoining all migrants staying in Nigeria whether regularly or otherwise, to take advantage of the amnesty window to register with the NIS.”

    Mass amnesty for illegal migrants is, without doubt, a radical departure from killing of Nigerians, for example in South Africa and Libya. Furthermore, the president’s amnesty to yet to be numbered aliens is a radical departure from what happened to Ghanaians in 1984 when they were asked to leave Nigeria in droves. Nigeria is likely to be seen by children of Ghanaians as being unusually liberal for offering free residency permits to undocumented Africans in 2019.

    Giving amnesty to citizens is also likely to encourage the new African Continental Free Trade Agreement. But the issue is the timing of amnesty amidst the heat of the tension created by reports that many kidnappers believe or perceive to be foreigners, especially to those victims who have had the opportunity to have being within ear-shot of their abductors. Why is the federal government in a hurry to ‘e-register’ illegal immigrants that government characterised as ‘irregular migrants.’ Sunday James, Nigeria Immigration Service spokesman and a Deputy Comptroller of Immigration had told The Guardian: “It is not illegal migrants; it is irregular migrants across the country we are registering. What we are doing now is to register every non-Nigerian.”

    But what makes a migrant irregular and not illegal? Who determines how many of such irregular migrants are already in the country? What motivates the federal government to give free residence status to migrants that have not petitioned for resident’s status? Any why is the mode of registration online? These questions are important because of the security implications of unconditional amnesty to migrants who have violated the country’s laws by not presenting valid entry documents and have not themselves asked for change of status? This policy in juxtaposition with cries by citizens about insecurity can create puzzles in the minds of many citizens that the federal government needs to solve.

    Mr. James’ further comment: “People are trying to misconstrue this directive by Mr. President. People should stop giving ethnic colouration to good plans by government. It is good for Nigeria. At least, it would help in our security situation, governance and planning.” Citizens have a right to expect that it is the duty of their government to protect them from threats from Nigerian nationals and migrants from other nations—be they legal or illegal, or regular or irregular. It is not fair for public officials to assume that any time citizens complain about government policies, they do so out of preoccupation with ethnic politics.

    Immigration legislations and executive orders in all democracies are subject to input from citizens by way of debates or lodging of public complaints.  It is the duty of the government in a democratic federation to educate citizens about policies that may affect their safety and security, without being seen as spoilers by government officials. At least it is possible for people to enter Nigeria from many countries in West Africa and Central Africa. Therefore, the emphasis should not be on people who have complained just about irregular migrants of Fulani descent.  Nigerian nationalism justifies posing of questions and expression of worry about an amnesty policy that has volunteered to throw resident’s permits at fellow Africans that may not be more value-added individuals than the millions of jobless young men and women in Nigeria.

    In a democratic federation where access to land is constitutionally a state matter, how rational is it to have a policy of mass amnesty that is valid for six months and without any input from the National Assembly? Such opportunity provides opportunities to legislators from various parts of the country to suggest quota, categories of immigrants that will not add to the burden of public order and become public charge to states that are struggling to pay the new minimum wage and to reduce the number of months for e-registration. All of these posers are important to ensure that new waves of irregular citizens do not join those already inside during the six months of the amnesty.

    A time that Nigerian leaders are citing disadvantages of increasing desertification, rise in criminal acts between herdsmen and farmers at the instigation of migrants from other countries, fear of population explosion within Nigeria, and rising crisis of confidence about the country’s capacity to secure its own citizens  is not an appropriate time to have a presidential amnesty for an undetermined number of migrants—be they Yoruba from Benin Republic and Togo; Fulani from Niger, Mali, Chad Republics; and Ibibio or Ibom from the Cameroons. We need to reduce the number of Nigerian victims of insecurity before we extend unsolicited benefits to immigrants that avoided proper entry into the country. Such benefits can wait until the country is able to determine the number and preparedness of such immigrants to benefit from unconditional amnesty.

  • N30, 000 minimum wage: Group mobilises for warning strike

    Apparently piqued by what it described as the federal government uncooperative stance towards implementing the N30, 000 new minimum wage, a coalition of civil society including the Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN) have set machinery in motion to mobilise workers to embark on warning strike to press home their demands.

    In a statement signed on behalf of the coalition by the duo of Abiodun Bamigboye, Acting National Chairperson and Chinedu Bosah, National Secretary respectively, the group said the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration has no excuse whatsoever not to implement the new wage.

    In the statement which reads in part, they frowned at the planned move by the federal government to deploy what they termed ‘divide and rule’ tactics.

    “We demand that this must be paid to all workers both in the public and private sector and without retrenchment. In particular, we condemn the recent declaration of the Buhari government that it would henceforth unilaterally commence payment of N30, 000 minimum wage to workers on level 6 and below while negotiation on consequential adjustment has not been concluded as a dishonest manoeuvre by the Buhari regime to arm-twist the labour movement in order to shortchange workers.”

    Expatiating, they raised some posers, “On what template do you base the N30, 000 minimum wage you want to pay to workers on level 6 and below when the ongoing negotiation over the details of adjustment for all categories and levels of the workforce has not been concluded? What would be the basic wage and what would be the allowances constituting the total wage package of workers on level 6 and below including the adjustment for the various steps in between these wage levels?”

    The group however urged the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and United Labour Congress (ULC) to immediately convene a joint meeting to deliberate and agree on a one-day warning general strike and nationwide mass protest in order to warn the federal government, and the state governments waiting in the rear, that Nigerian workers demand immediate implementation of the full value of the N30, 000 minimum wage without retrenchment.

    “The labour leadership has to face the reality of the class struggle in the country. As a Political Party, we do not doubt the inherent capacity of the labour movement to actualize the implementation of the N30, 000 minimum wage in both public and private sectors if it is prepared to take the road of mass struggle,” they stressed.

  • Ooni after visit to Buhari: Southwest wants no war

    WAR mongers were told yesterday to stop their message.

    The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, reflected on the security situation in the land and urged political leaders against blowing issues out of proportion.

    He said the Southwest would not want to experience any war, warning that the drumbeats of war “is sounding loud across the country”.

    The monarch spoke at the State House, Abuja, after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari.

    He told reporters that he was at the State House for talks with the President on behalf of traditional rulers on how to improve the security situation.

    The Ooni said: “How to improve security. I came to speak on behalf of other traditional rulers. Before I came here, I discussed with the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, who has been there for close to 50 years and we cannot take away such a very massive experience in terms of knowing the structure of Nigeria.

    “And also by virtue of that, Alaafin is in constant touch with Awujale, Oba Sikiru Adetona and very much; we are all on the same page.

    “So, I’m here and I had a discussion that is very fruitful with Mr President about what we all know – the security situation in the country.

    “We made him to know that the issue at hand in the Southwest is real – the issue of insecurity.

    “We live in the remote and rural areas of the southwestern part of the country, most of those bushes and those forests are being occupied by strange people and we have decided to take it upon ourselves to try as much as possible to work with the government to fish them out.

    Read also: Enough is enough of herdsmen killings in Southwest- Ooni

    “Why I’m here again is, everybody is beating the war drum; we don’t want war; who can stand war? We want something better for our youths.

    “Everybody is beating the drum of war; we don’t want war; Who can stand war? We want something better for our youths.

    “We should better use them for something good other than shouting war and anarchy. We don’t want that.

    “We told the President that and he is on the same page with us. Politicians should be careful not to throw things out of proportion.

    “We should make sure things are right. Mr. President has actually given good directives to security chiefs, especially the IG (Inspector-General); they will visit each and every traditional ruler’s palaces that are very sensitive in Southwest with immediate effect, he is going to give that directive.

    “He said that everything must be done to put all security agencies to good use and work with the locals to separate the bad eggs.

    “We need to work very closely with them and every other security agencies in the country, we will put them to use now; it is very important to us to put them to use and work with the locals; it is very important so that we can separate the corn from the chaff.

    He went on: “We shouldn’t keep over hyping it and say what is next is war; no. We know what Mr. President has been saying about southwestern part of the country for a long time, the peace and peaceful co-existence in the Southwest. We still want to keep that; we don’t want any war to happen; we don’t want any attrition; we don’t want any anarchy. So that is the reason why I came to discuss with him.”

    According to Ooni, the President assured him that he will speak on Ruga because it is being taken out of context.

    “Another thing that he assured me, which I will go and give back to much more experienced traditional rulers in the Southwest and our leaders across board, is that he has assured that he will say his own side of the story about Ruga because he wants to let the world and Nigerians, in particular, know the true side of the story because it’s being read out of context.

    “So, we should give him that opportunity to speak as the number one citizen of the country. What is important for me is the youthful exuberance nature of our youths in Nigeria, for them not to take laws into their hands, go into all those places and start to kill and maim. We don’t want that. The drums of war are resonating too much and we are very worried.”

    Reminded that his statement that southwesterners should defend themselves could be misconstrued as beating the drum of war, he said: “I mentioned to you it is real that we have wrong people in our midst. So, when we have wrong people in our midst, how are we not going to defend ourselves? That is why I came here, that in terms of defending ourselves, we need more Federal Government apparatus to defend us because we don’t want to be defenceless; it is very important.

    “It is about the mission of defending ourselves that I am here; we need reinforcement from the Federal Government and I just mentioned to you that the President has said he will give directives to the IG to go and see every nook and cranny of our traditional institutions in the Southwest and that would probably extend across the entire country because he mentioned to me that he worked in Northeast and Northcentral, discussing and working with the traditional institutions.

    “So, for us to defend ourselves is for me to come here to meet Mr. President for us to have reinforcement. We understand our territory more than anybody. We understand our territory very well.  What is important is that everybody in the Southwest right now, we are all on the same page. We don’t want war and we want to work with the government to defend our land.”

    On the stigmatisation of the Fulani across the country, Oba Ogunwusi said: “Well, it is not about stigmatisation, it is about separating the corn from the chaff. A lot of them (bad eggs) are mixed up with the good ones.

    “We are not saying all Fulani are bad; it’s not only about the Fulani;; it’s about the bad miscreants that are even hiding under the name of Fulani.

    “We want to try as much as possible to work with the government right now. They have all the security apparatus. They are meant to defend us. That is what we are looking up to now. We have to stand up and meet with Mr. President and he has given us a listening ear and you’ll see a lot of result, going forward.”

     

  • OML-25… Communities’ tales of woe

    For close to 40 years, the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) has been operating in the sleepy oil-bearing communities of Offoin-Ama, Belema and Ngeje in Akuku-Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State. The communities complain about alleged gross neglect, marginalisation, impoverishment, enslavement, maltreatment and environmental devastation. Irked by the unsavoury situation, the host communities staged protest which caused the closure of the flow station in the area. ROSEMARY NWISI reports.

    The sleepy oil-bearing communities of Offoin-Ama, Belema and Ngeje in Akuku-Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State have been in the news of late. This was as a result of the controversy surrounding the continuous shut down of Oil Mining Lease (OML)-25 flow-stations, operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), is generating.

    The three Kula communities, Offion-Ama, Belema and Ngeje share hosting rights to the flow station located in a part of the island Kingdom of Rivers State.

    The multinational oil giant has allegedly operated in the environment for almost 40 years. Despite these long years of operation, the communities have become poorer while the oil operators get richer. The communities have made every effort to make the oil company to consider the welfare of members of the host communities without success.

    Members of the communities decried alleged gross neglect, marginalisation, impoverishment, enslavement, maltreatment, environmental devastation; failure to comply with the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) it signed with the host communities, among others necessitated the shutdown of the facility by women and children of the communities since the past two years.

    But the company denied the alleged neglect, insisting that the welfare of their host communities remains paramount to it.

    The SPDC is operating the flow station as a consortium with 32.3 per cent stake on behalf of SPDC, Total E&P and Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC), in Joint Venture with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) which controls 60 per cent stake while an indigenous oil company known as Belema Oil Producing Limited has 7.7 per cent participating interest in the facility which it inherited from Chevron Nigeria Limited.

    The people declared Shell persona non grata, insisting that it is no longer wanted in the environment and should leave their land.

    A chief of the community called for the withdrawal of the firm’s operational license and for the facility to be divested to another indigenous oil producing company.

    He said SPDC has failed in carrying out its corporate social responsibility in the kingdom after it has degraded the communities and left them in a worse state than it met them.

    They insisted that it (Shell) divests the oil facility to an indigenous oil company that has a stake in the facility, and that the host communities be given  the-right-of-first-refusal in the divestment of the facility.

    The protesters took over the flow station on August 11, 2017 to demonstrate their dissatisfaction against Shell’s activities in their communities.

    The women, who live, cook and engage in petty trading at the oil and gas platform vowed not to vacate the place for SPDC to come back.

    However, SPDC claimed that it has spent over 300 million dollars in the development of the Kula Communities.

    But the people denied the claim, describing it as false, unfounded and provocative.

    To attract the attention of wider society to the deplorable state of the oil-rich communities, their chiefs and leaders held a world press conference at Offoin-Ama and the flow station respectively. They also conducted reporters drawn from local and international media round the communities for on-the-spot assessment of the areas and to verify the claims by the oil firm on the developmental state of the communities.

    However, from Offoin-Ama to Belema down to Ngeje communities, the sights and sounds are the same-tales of woe, lamentation, impoverishment and high level of poverty among the people. The sights evoke some complete state of pity and despondency.

    There are no signs of social amenities in the communities visited. There are no hospitals, good schools, no habitable houses and power supply. Houses in the areas are all shanties, made of polythene bags and trampoline. The rich among them built their houses with woods.

    Hunger, poverty, hardship and total and criminal neglect of the areas are prominent features of the areas and these are etched on the faces of the residents. There is complete lack of government’s presence whatsoever in the places visited despite their huge financial contributions to the state and federal government coffers.

    They also lamented lack of jobs, business and no artisan workshop anywhere in the area. Apart from a small patent medicine store at Offoin-Ama which apparently serves as health care facility to the people, the other shop in the communities is a bear parlour shop at Belema community.

    Youths of the communities are jobless but cannot obviously say they are idle. They were seen loitering and smoking their hearts out with weed whose pungent smell oozes out as they passed.

    The facility consists of a Gas Plant and an oil flow station which accounts for over 45,000 barrels of crude oil per day and over 135,000 metric tons of gas per day. This makes it a major source of revenue to the Federal and state governments.

    Analysts put the estimate of revenue so far lost by the governments in the two years the business has been shut down to over 2 billion dollars.

    Efforts by the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) who regulates the country’s oil industry to resolve the protracted dispute among Shell and the host communities failed to produce any result.

    Penultimate week, Governor Nyesom Wike wanted to intervene in the protracted rancour with the view of resolving it so the facility could be re-opened for operation.

    The Governor was concerned about the huge sum of revenue the Federal and state governments have lost to the impasse in the past two years and the need for amicable resolution of the problems for operations at the facility to resume.

    He called for a meeting of all stakeholders, including SPDC and the host communities but the communities criticised the Governor’s moves and boycotted the meeting.

    They accused Wike of meddlesomeness, stressing that the Governor has no business interfering in matters of oil and gas, insisting that he lacks the statutory powers to preside over such meeting.

    They described Wike’s intervention as unconstitutional and unpopular, arguing that oil-related matters are on the Exclusive List and not on the Concurrent List of the 1999 Constitution as amended.

    Nonetheless, the Governor set up a committee led by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Dr.  Tammy Danagogo, and gave him seven days to resolve all disputes, reunite parties and re-open the facility within one week.

    The host communities again boycotted the meetings convened by the government where a Memorandum of Understanding was purportedly signed to re-open the oil facility.

    But the Chairman of Kula Supreme Council of Chiefs and the Amanyanabo of Kula Kingdom, His Royal Highness (HRH) Kroma Eleki was in the meeting and signed the GMoU said to be signed in the gathering.

    But he, however, told the participants that the rightful stakeholders were absent and that his signing the agreement will not guarantee the vacation of the facility by the women.

    He said:  “I really did attend the meeting by the state government to broker peace between Shell and the host communities of OML25, flow station. As a government recognised monarch, I am supposed to attend such meetings and to advise the government on the way forward.

    “I did attend and there was settlement agreement to sign and I did sign, but before I signed, I told the government and the public that the signing of that agreement do not lead to the opening of the OML 25 flow station.

    “In any case, Shell has owed us for several years and we needed that money. So, signing the document was for us to access the money and, again, I also did tell them that the people with who they were negotiating at the meeting are not in the position to ensure the opening of OML25 and that the real stakeholders were not in the meeting.

    “I advised them to be patient until they meet with the main stakeholders and that there is need for them to pay a visit to Kula Kingdom and the host communities to see things for themselves before they will be able to broker peace.”

    Speaking on his position in OML- 25, he said: “Since Shell began operations in Kula, they have not done any significant thing for the communities. So, I stand with the people of Kula Kingdom, because of the suffering we are going through.

    “I will not like Shell to come back to operate OML 25, it should give the right to other operators, if possible, to Belema Oil. He is our son, if on the other hand Shell feels that it has gotten license, they want to operate, Belema Oil has a stake in that partnership he should be given the operatorship of that stake, so that whenever they want to sale, he should have the first-option- of -refusal before they can sale it.”

    The spokesperson of Belema Central Women Association occupying the OML 25 flow station, Mrs. Belinda Nokiman relived their ordeal to reporters.

    She decried the poor state of the communities, adding that they do not have good drinking water in the area.

    The woman, who spoke in Pidgin English lamented that they drink pond water that is infested with all manner of dangerous animals and unhealthy creatures such as snakes, fish and toads, among others.

    “Go and see for yourself the kind of water we drink. Here, we drink pond water whose colour is like that of Lipton tea. The pond harbours snakes, toad, frog as well as fish, yet we have oil in our soil. We are tired of all this. It is time up for Shell in Kula Kingdom,” she said.

    At Offoin-Ama, Chief Ibiosiya Nath-Sukubo revealed that the community plays host to several oil wells and oil delivery pipelines of the flow station, among others, expressing worry about possible outbreak of terminal diseases in the community as a result of oil and gas pollution.

    “Offoin-Ama is a co-host to OML-25 and  bellies the six and eight inches delivery lines, myriad of oil wells, the Sego Creek manifold, riser, Eastern Gas Gathering Lines (EGGS I) and NCTL among others. It is a principal oil-producing and pipeline community and a contributor to over 200,000 barrels of oil and over 1.5 million standard cubic feet of gas (mmscf).

    “We are prone to serious ecological hazards such as earthquake and Tsunami, among others. The people’s natural source of income which is fishing has continued to diminish,” he said.

    Continuing, Chief Nath-Sukubo reiterated the failure of SPDC to take seriously the welfare of its host communities in the area. He urged them to divest the flow-station to Belema Oil, maintaining that Shell will never be allowed back to the area.

    “SPDC has been at the centre stage; operating in the area for almost 40 years without providing basic amenities for the people to, at least, alleviate their suffering.

    “No potable water, good schools, electricity, roads and health facilities, among others. In fact, life expectancy is very low, hence in early August 2017; the community rose up in anger and shut down its operations in the OML 25, especially at the expiration of its lease.

    “The information was that SPDC is concluding plans to divest the said field to Crester Energy Resources, a non-indigenous company. Kula communities of Belema, Offoin-Ama and Ngeje resisted the move.

    Collaborating Sukubo’s views, the Paramount Ruler of Oko Royal House/Belema community, HRH King Bourdillon Allen Ekine called on the Federal Government to revoke Shell’s operational license forthwith.

    He called on the Federal Government to send a fact-finding team to the communities to see the state of the communities to confirm their state.

    “Our demands are that Shell’s operatorship license of OML25 be revoked and handed over to an indigenous operator with proven capacity to develop its host communities and build national wealth.

    “That Nigeria Navy, the Director of the Department of State Service (DSS), Rivers State Command, the Commissioner of Police in Rivers State and other security agencies should not be used by the Rivers State Government against our communities.

    “That His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari (GCFR) should set up a special fact-finding committee to visit the area to see the level of neglect, backwardness and suffering of a people that have hosted Shell for over 40 years, with a view to setting us free from the evil of SPDC.”

    He called on leaders of thought in the country to prevail on Governor Wike to allow the peaceful dialogue that has been orchestrated by NAPIMS and the office of the Vice-President to progress.

    In the same manner, those indigenous to Ngeje community also called on Shell to reach an agreement with Belema Oil-Producing Limited, and allow it to operate the OML25 flow station on behalf of the JV partners pending the divestment of the facility by SPDC.

    In a statement signed on behalf of the community by the Legal Adviser, the Secretary and  the Head of the community, Chief Egbelekuro Gaga Ekine Egebelekuro and Chief Ibinabo Kiliya respectively, noted that since Belema Oil has  7.7 per cent participating interest in the facility, he should be given the-right-of-first-refusal in the divestment of the oil field.

    “That the GMoU should be activated and all monies due to the entire Kula Kingdom be paid and a new GMoU negotiated and implemented,” it said.

    The people are also asking for employment opportunities for those indigenous to the host communities and Kula Kingdom and the other contracts for the natives.

    In a statement signed by the Managing Director of the company, Mr. Igo Weli, Shell has high regards for its host communities in the Niger Delta region as it has for communities in other places.

    Weli assured that the host communities in Kula have always benefited in the contract awards and unskilled jobs of the company, and pledged the commitment to continue  to carry them along.

    “Shell JV’s committed to the welfare of its host communities in the Niger Delta remains unshaken, even as we debunk every allegation that we neglected the development of communities in Kula Kingdom and Belema.

    “The host communities of OML 25, including Belema and Offoin-Ama have continued to benefit from contract awards, employment of unskilled labour and our social investment programmes, including yearly award of regular and special scholarships to eligible candidates from the area.

    “Notwithstanding that, SPDC has divested its equity in OML 24, which covers most of the communities in Kula and Belema. The SPDC JV has continued to implement agreed social investment programmes such as scholarships and entrepreneurship schemes for the communities. With the divestment of its interest in OML 24, SPDC relinquished operatorship of the facilities in that field,” he said.

  • ‘Buhari should appoint committed party members’

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Enugu State has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to appoint only core and committed members of the party as ministers.

    It said the president should resist the temptation of appointing those who want to reap where they did not sow, or persons who would constitute a cog in the wheel of progress.

    Chairman Ben Nwoye, who spoke after the State Executive Council (SEC) meeting at the party’s secretariat, noted that state chapters across the country suffered serious setbacks during the first tenure of President Buhari due to appointment of non-core party members as ministers and into other key positions.

    The party, which passed a vote of confidence in Buhari and the Nwoye-led exco, posited that engaging opportunists, or those who do not sincerely believe in the APC philosophy and Mr. President’s next level agenda, would be counter-productive, especially at the state level.

    According to Nwoye, such non-core member ministers would always use their position to engineer crisis for their selfish interest in their states. He insisted that for APC to change its perceived negative narrative in some states, the president should assemble a formidable cabinet members made up of men and women who truly believe in the party’s supremacy.

    Read Also: I never criticized Buhari’s appointment – Sen. Sani

    He said: “We call on Mr. President, not to make the mistake of appointing non-core members of our party as ministers but he should rather engage those who have contributed immensely to the progress of the APC, and sincerely believe in its ideology to help him drive the next level agenda.”

    The party also appealed to the National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, and the National working committee (NWC), to lift the suspension of one of its chieftains and Director-General of Voice of Nigeria (VON), Osita Okechukwu, who was suspended some for alleged anti-party activities.

    He said: “We appeal to our National Chairman and the NWC to reconsider their position on the suspension of one of our members, Mr. Osita Okechukwu, who is a core committed APC member, and ardent supporter of Mr. President.

    He has contributed immensely to the growth and progress of the party in Enugu State and Nigeria.

    “Mr. Okechukwu has always been at the fore front of promoting the APC led federal government’s programme and policies, including the next level agenda. He remains one of the party’s strong pillars in Enugu State.

    “The party also thank President Buhari for appointing Mrs. Maria Aniobi, from Aninri Local Government Area, as a member of the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission (RMFC) board. We assure him that she will not let him and the party down.”

  • ‘NDDC committed to delivering quality projects’

    Acting Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Prof. Nelson Brambaifa has said the commission is committed to delivering quality projects in the Niger Delta. He promised that standards will not be compromised.

    A statement on Sunday by NDDC’s Director of Corporate Affairs, Charles Odili, said Brambaifa gave the assurance at the inauguration of a new road in the Government Reservation Area (GRA) Layout Extension in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

    According to him, the commission would continue to execute projects that would positively impact the people’s lives.

    Brambaifa was accompanied by the Bayelsa State Coordinator Francis Kolokoro; Director of Bayelsa Office Emmanuel Audu-Ohwavborua, and others.

    Read Also: Dickson to Brambaifa: NDDC diverting project money to fund elections

    According to him, President Muhammadu Buhari deserved praise for the increasing number of completed projects in the region. He urged stakeholders’ to hail President Buhari for supporting the accelerated execution of development projects, by ensuring that funds were made available for NDDC to carry out its mandate.

    The NDDC chief, who admonished the people to support the Federal Government, also praised them for their peaceful conducts when projects were being executed in their areas.

    He urged them to sue for peace, stressing that development would be impossible chaos.

    Brambaifa said: “Peace is very important in order to assist the government in spreading development in the Niger Delta.”

    The NDDC chief noted that the road would serve the residents well as it would enhance their businesses and social activities.

    He said: “This is a sign of better things to come. More projects will be launched in the days and weeks ahead.”

    The NDDC team earlier visited Governor Seriake Dickson, who called for greater collaboration in the design and execution of projects by the commission, and urged NDDC to focus more on big-ticket projects.

  • Fresh fears over state assembly autonomy

    Although President Muhammadu Buhari has signed into law the bill that seeks the autonomy of state Houses of Assembly, Assistant Editor, ‘Dare Odufowokan, reports that there is anxiety in some states that some state governors are out to frustrate the initiative

    LAST May, the federal government announced that it had concluded plans to assert the independence of the legislature in the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Briefing newsmen on the activities of the Presidential Implementation Committee on the autonomy of state legislature and state judiciary, chaired by the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly matters (Senate) who is also the secretary of the panel, Sen. Ita Enang, said the government has arrived at an effective national implementation strategy for the initiative.

    President Muhammadu Buhari last year assented to the constitutional amendments granting autonomy to the two arms of government at the sub-national levels. “We want to ensure the full import and purpose of the initiative, which is release of sums due to the legislature and the judiciary to the heads of these arms of government to be disbursed and applied by them in accordance with approved budget,” Enang said back then, raising the hope of state legislators across the country who had been waiting eagerly, since 2003, for the financial autonomy of the state assemblies, so as to free them from what they called the highhanded interference of state governors in the affairs of the legislative arms of government in the various states of the federation.

    Few days after the announcement, Nigerian state governors also pledged to implement financial autonomy for state legislature and judiciary to ensure transparency and openness in governance. They made the pledge through the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) at the opening session of a two-day conference on the implementation of the initiative held at Transcorp Hotel, Abuja. The then Chairman of the NGF, Abdulaziz Yari, who was the governor of Zamfara, said the governors will work with the federal government to implement the law. He said the autonomy of the legislature and the judiciary is critical to sustainable development.

    Leaving nobody in doubt that he was speaking on behalf of all the governors and insisting that the NGF fully supports Buhari’s reform agenda and shares his passion for transparency and zero tolerance for corruption, Yari said, “We totally aligned with the motion that the legislature and judiciary autonomy is a necessary precondition for an enduring democracy. This enhances efficiency, transparency and accountability in government. May I also assure you that the state governors are collectively committed to the enthronement of a strong and virile democracy in Nigeria and would work with the federal government to achieve the National Implementation Strategy and ultimately ensure full autonomy of the legislature and judiciary at sub-national levels.”

    Enang, who is also the secretary of the panel, speaking at the same event, said the legislature will be able to legislate without fear of the government withholding their allocation. He said with the readiness of the governors to back the initiative, the good times are here for the assemblies. “Money due to the judiciary will go to the account of the judiciary directly and money due to the legislature will go to the account of the legislature directly. Finally, it is intended to ensure that money for the judiciary is not spent on the judiciary or on the judiciary but it is spent by the judiciary for the judiciary and on the judiciary and the same goes for the legislature,” he said.

    Read also: Is local government autonomy feasible?

    NOT YET UHURU

    But findings by The Nation revealed that the struggle for the autonomy of the state assemblies may not be over yet in spite of Yari’s promise that the state governors were ready to throw their weight behind Buhari’s quest to have the legislature freed from the apron strings of the executive arms of government in the states. If anything, there are fresh fears that governors may be moving to prevent the issuance of the executive order needed to make the implementation of the initiative compulsory in all states of the federation. “Majority of our governors are still very much unwilling to let go financial control of the assemblies for political reasons,” a presidential source told The Nation.

    It was also gathered that while a couple of states, including Lagos State, have started experimenting with some level of implementation as regards the financial autonomy of the legislature, many others are still struggling to convince their governors to adhere to the dictates of President Buhari’s assent to the constitutional amendments granting autonomy. “Hiding under the absence of the much awaited executive order, majority of our governors are still unwilling to even toy with any form of implementation as far as assembly autonomy is concerned. They won’t even release monthly dues to the assembly without pressure,” another source, a former Speaker of a state assembly, added.

    Lamenting the current situation recently, the Executive Director, Policy and Legal Advocacy Center (PLAC), Clement Nwankwo, said it is ‘dangerous a situation’ to cripple the legislature and make it unable to function. A situation where the legislature, which actually makes the distinction between democracy and dictatorship, is crippled and made unable to function worsens the reality that democracy represents. Unfortunately only a few clauses of what the National Assembly passed were assented to by Mr. President, but this is very critical in terms of strengthening our democracy, that our legislature is able to function as an independent arm of government, able to moderate the excesses of the executive, particularly at the state level where the development and the transparency of government are very limited.”

    Mudashiru Obasa is the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly and he has never hidden his support for the autonomy of the legislature. Recently, in one of his writings on the matter, he said “Since power belongs to the people in a democratic system, those elected to exercise such authority should do so to the benefit of the people. The legislature, as the closest arm of government to the people, must be seen to be independent enough to exercise the powers bestowed on it by the constitution. Any attempt to abridge this constitutionally guaranteed right, therefore, must be seen as an aberration. It is, therefore, laudable that the government is making moves to correct this lapse in our democracy.

    “The development is courtesy of the Fourth Alteration Bill signed into law recently by President Muhammadu Buhari. The Fourth Alteration Act grants financial autonomy to both the state houses of assembly and judiciaries, which empowers them to receive their allocations straight from the Federation Account (FA).

    Expectedly, the law restores and gives practical affirmation to the globally acclaimed and centuries entrenched principle of separation of powers which is the hallmark of democratic governance. The 1999 Constitution of Nigeria duly recognises the concept but its practice, especially among the federating units, has been quite problematic.”

    LOOMING TROUBLES?

    The Nation gathered that determined to see through the implementation of Buhari’s directive, some state assembly Speakers have been meeting to discuss how to ensure that the initiative is given more support by the Presidency and the National Assembly. “It is a good thing the President assented to the amendment, but across the country, the implementation is still abysmally low. Just a couple of states are doing something with it as we speak. We have resolved to ensure that all governors respect the need for full autonomy of the assemblies as desired by President Buhari,” a source said.

    Another source, a high ranking state lawmaker from Delta State, accused the state governors of paying lip service to the initiative and playing hide-and-seek with the implementation of the amendment. “The governors are still very adamant about implementing the initiative. Don’t be deceived by the lip services they are paying to the issue. But we are determined to force their hands now. Don’t forget that the Senate on May 8, 2019 adopted a motion demanding some stakeholders like State Houses of Assembly, the governors and the Presidency to expedite action on granting financial autonomy to state assemblies across the country. It was done because they saw the unwillingness of the governors,” he said.

    Last Monday, the Speaker of Ogun State House of Assembly, Olakunle Oluomo, says there will be a political revolution across the country immediately President Buhari issued the proposed Executive Order granting autonomy to state assemblies and the judiciary. He spoke in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital, during a legislative luncheon organised by the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR), tagged: “Legislative Agenda for Good Governance” in his honour. Oluomo submitted that legislative powers had only existed on paper because the legislature could not do anything without the governors’ approvals.

    Speaking about the amendment, the Ogun Speaker said “When the governors heard that it has been signed into law, they went haywire. They said it would not work and it has not worked up till today.” Revealing how the state legislatures convinced Buhari to sign the amendment without the knowledge of the governors, he said “When Buhari wanted to sign the bill into law; we played some ‘magomago’. We ensured that the Governors’ Forum was not informed. I, somebody from Enugu, others from Katsina and Plateau states, went, overnight, to the presidency and met a friend who was a legislator at the state level. We told him “go and find a formula for us to get the bill assented before the Governors’ Forum knows.” And that was the deal.

    “So, when they were taking the bill for Buhari’s assent, the governors were not aware. If they were aware, they would have used it as one of the baits for him (Buhari) to get second term in office.” Oluomo urged President Buhari to swiftly issue the Order on the implementation of the autonomy, saying with that, legislators would demonstrate that “We’re not docile. We are not foolish. The moment that’s done, you will see revolution. Legislators at the state level are not docile. They are not foolish. The truth of the matter is “you provide food for the dog, and you hold a stick. How would you allow the dog to eat the food? The dog will be afraid to eat the food.”

    In what is obviously an open support for state assemblies in the coming struggle for the full implementation of assembly autonomy across the country, Obasa, who also chairs the Conference of State Assembly Speakers, said, “to enhance financial autonomy for the state Houses of Assembly and Judiciary for instance, the legislature, having been saddled with the power of making law, is expected to come up with an enabling law, like financial management law that will state how to go about the state financial autonomy without fear or favour. For instance in Lagos State, we have Assembly Service Commission and Lagos State Judiciary Self Accounting Law that ensure the independence of the legislature to a large extent.

    “It must be on record too that with all the powers conferred on the legislature, it can use every means possible to make the executive comply with the implementation of this financial autonomy. For instance, the power to make law, which is addressed by the Section 4 (7) (a), (b) and (c), dictates what the policy of the executive is. In a situation where the executive fails to make the autonomy work, the legislature can withhold its powers in supporting the executive, all to ascertain that its agitation regarding financial autonomy is achieved.”