The Nation Newspaper

Tag: restructuring

  • Restructuring returns to front burner

    Restructuring returns to front burner

    The call for the restructuring of the Nigerian federation has been on the front burner of national discourse for some time now. Proponents of the idea believe that the 1999 Constitution has virtually imposed a unitary system on the country. Assistant Editor LEKE SALAUDEEN examines the implications of the warped arrangement for national development and stability.

    NIGERIANS are yearning for the restructuring of the polity to create room for the federating units to tackle the country’s persisting under-performance and failure to achieve development potentials. The present constitutional arrangement, which over-concentrates power at the centre, has been blamed for the country’s woes, because the monthly sharing of revenue encourages indolence.

    In the opinion of many observers, the current structure is more or less a unitary system of government masquerading as a federal structure. Being a complex plural society, with 170 million people, divided into over 250 ethnic groups and over 700 linguistic groups, the observers argue that Nigeria can only continue to exist as a nation on the basis of a federal system of government in the true sense of the word.

    To revert to true federalism, they say, the federal arrangement must be devoid of all the structural and institutional deformities and encumbrances foisted on it by the former British colonial master and by a devastating and prolonged military rule. In a true federal set up, the powers and responsibilities of the centre and the federating units or states must be equal and coordinate. The way things are now, states and local governments take directives from the Federal Government. A federal constitution is always a compromise between the need or the desire for union and the rights and responsibilities of the states forming the union.

    Former Commonwealth Secretary-General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku believes that given its history and pluralistic character, a federal system of government is inevitable for Nigeria to achieve its development potentials and enjoy an enduring political stability. He said: “If the country is to tackle more effectively the challenges confronting it, it would need to restructure its present governance structure.

    “The structure and governance system in the United States of America, with which our constitution is frequently compared, attest to the efficacy of federalism when properly organised. The strength of the United States federalism lies in its unity in diversity, the vitality and strength of the constituent states, which yields some powers to the federal government while still retaining their cherished autonomy. This arrangement is nourished by the country’s equally powerful institutions and generations of its committed leadership.”

    Anyaoku made reference to the speech of Alexander Hamilton at the convention to ratify the constitution of the United States on June 17, 1788, when he spoke about the balance that American federalism created and the immense benefit this balance offered to the American people. According to the former Commonwealth scribe, quoting Hamilton, “this balance between the national and state governments ought to be dwelt on with peculiar attention, as it is of the utmost importance. It forms a double security to the people. If one encroaches on their rights, they will find a powerful protection in the other. Indeed, they will both be prevented from over passing their constitutional limits by a certain rival ship, which will ever subsist between them.”

    Anyaoku noted that it was the absence of such balance that is lacking in Nigeria’s federal structure and which has continued to be a clog in the wheel of the country’s progress, especially since after the First Republic.

    Constitutional lawyer, Richard Adejumo, identified the deficient political structures of the country as a formidable obstacle to the attainment of true federalism in Nigeria. He said many of the 36 states created show neither economic viability nor ethnic homogeneity. Except in some few states like the Southwest and Southeast; others portray domineering majorities and restless minorities; some also contain rival ethnic groups with possible revolting instincts. Under these circumstances, it might be impossible to expect stability in a federation, he stressed.

    Adejumo noted that before independence in 1960, the country had operated a federal system of government based on three regions with each region fully responsible for its internal affairs, except foreign affairs, defence and banking matters handled by the Federal Government. Even after independence, the three regions and the newly-created Midwest operated the federal system in accordance with the provisions of the 1960 Constitution.

    He regretted that the military coup of 1966 and the subsequent civil war of 1967 to 1970 altered the political system by introducing a unitary command system. The military governors of the states were made answerable to the military Head of State at the centre. “Though the 1979 Constitution had accepted the concept of federalism, but indirectly conferred on the President the powers of the former military Head of State. It appeared so in practice and not in law.”

     

    Call for new federating units

     

    There have calls to transform the current six geo-political zones into federating units. This is based on the belief that the current 36-state structure is unsustainable because many of the states are not viable. The former Commonwealth scribe is one of those who share this view. He said: “The relatively non-viable 36 states have become economically handicapped that most of them now find it difficult even to pay the salaries of their civil servants and the minimum wage of N18, 000.”

    To remove this imbalance, Anyaoku said the National Assembly should convert the existing six geo-political zones, which have been recognised and are being used for a number of political decisions and actions, into the new federating units.

    He added: “The 36 states can be retained as development zones within the regions, but without full administrative paraphernalia. And it would be up to the six federating regions to consider and meet any demands for the creation of new development zones within them. As more viable units for planning and attracting investments in larger development projects, the six regions will facilitate the necessary shift from the present philosophy and reliance by the 36 states on “sharing the national cake”, to focusing on production and internally generated revenue within the regions.

    “In n addition, internal security and crime control can be more effectively managed by the people in the regions who and are more familiar with the local environment.”

     

    New power sharing arrangement

     

    The lopsided relationship between the centre and the federating units makes it imperative for Nigerians to clamour for a new proper sharing formula that would put the country back on the path of true federalism.

    A political scientist, Professor Ayo Olukotun, said the success of any federal system of government has to do with how powers are shared between the central government and the federating units. He added: “If there is concentration of power at the centre, as it obtains today, the states would remain mere appendages. In this kind of set up, the system is unable to impact positively on the citizenry. This is the tragedy of Nigeria’s federal system.”

    Olukotun emphasised that equilibrium must be struck in such a way that the centre will not be too weak to the point of threatening the unity of the country, nor too strong to the point of emasculating the component units.

    Public affairs analyst Dr. Alhassan Mohammed, shares Olukotun’s view. He said that over concentration of power at the federal level, as it is in Nigeria today, is not the best way to achieve the much-needed development. He said there is need to grant greater autonomy to state and local governments.

    He justified his call for new power sharing formula when he said that the central government is too far away from the people and cannot possibly cover the whole country in an effective manner. This is why the Federal Government has not been able to make the desired impact in service delivery and infrastructural development in the country. He cited the security situation in the country as a proof that centralisation of power at the federal level is not working.

    He added: “If the state and local governments were allowed to set up their own police force, rampant bombings and killings going on in the country would have stopped because the security apparatus at the local level would be more conversant with the criminals and their hideouts. Through joint efforts with the local police, the criminals would have been rounded up.”

     

    An equitable revenue

    sharing formula

     

    Revenue allocation has remained a contentious issue since the military intervention that set aside the constitutional provision on revenue allocation. Section 134 (1) of the 1960 Constitution stipulates: (a) “There shall be paid the federation to each region a sum equal to 50 per cent of the proceeds of any royalty received by the federation in respect of any mineral extracted in that region and any mining rents derived by the federation  from any region.

    “The federation shall credit to the Distributable Pool Account a sum equal to 30 per cent of the proceeds of any royalty in respect of the mineral extraction in any region and any mining rents derived by the federation from any region.”

    So, the remaining 20 per cent is kept by the Federal Government as its own share. Under the colonial rule, the revenue allocation was fashioned in such a way that regions will derive revenue from the Federation Account according to the functions and powers which the regions would carry out under the constitution.

    Elder statesman, Alhaji Femi Okunnu, said we are not ready to face the historical truth about the basis of the revenue allocation; the reason why in the colonial era and, until 1979, why Federal Government was assigned only 20 per cent of the revenue allocation instead of the 54 per cent the Federal Government now takes for running the central government.

    Okunnu said that was how government at independence up to the time of Murtala/Obasanjo regime followed the fixed constitutional formula of 20 per cent to the Federal Government, 50 per cent to state of origin and the remaining 30 per cent to distributive pool to be shared among the regions.

    The former Federal Commissioner of Works and Housing said the Federal Government functions as listed in the 1999 Constitution include: Weights and Measures, Traffic on the federal roads, Declaration of Water ways, Stamp duties, Quarantine, Designation of professional occupation, Passport and Visa, Insurance, Law of Evidence, Defence, Awards of National Honour, Law on Copyright and such other functions which do not require a great deal of expenditure.

    He called for a review of the sharing formula and suggested that the Federal Government allocation should go down to 25 per cent, if not 20 per cent as before; state of origin at least 25 per cent, if not 35 per cent, and the remainder should go to distributive pool.

     

    Derivation and

    resource control

     

    The oil-rich Niger Delta region is pushing for the return to status quo, to give the federating units the control of their economic activities and finances. An economist, Dr Frank Ezimora, noted that the contentious issue had been settled by the 1960 Independence and 1963 Constitutions. He said it was the law of Nigeria before and after independence that the federating units, the regions controlled their economic activities and finances, keeping 50 per cent of all revenues and contributing 50 per cent to the Federation Account, out of which 30 per cent was shared among the regions, leaving 20 per cent to the Federal Government.

    Ezimora said the law was changed in 1969 by the Yakubu Gowon-led military administration, when the crude oil from the Niger Delta became the mainstay of the economy. The change was effected without consultation or mandate from the people, he added.

  • ‘Fresh calls for restructuring are baffling’

    ‘Fresh calls for restructuring are baffling’

    CHIEF Frank Kokori, former Secretary General of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas (NUPENG), is a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Delta State. He spoke with Correspondent, Polycarp Orosevwotu on the Buhari administration, the economy, true federalism and the anti-corruption battle.

    How would you assess President Muhammadu Buhari’s one year in office?

    Buhari has done so well. I am saying this because he is operating from a very difficult situation as we all know. The country went through 16 years of massive corruption under the PDP administration, where there was no sense of decorum in the way they managed the country. Where all they do are based on money, to the extent that everything in this country is now being monetized, no social responsibility or sacrifice, all is money.

    You can now see why we find ourselves in this kind of mess of PDP 16 years of misrule and corruption. And if you could recalled, for almost 12 years out of the 16 years of PDP government, oil price was hovering between 70 to 130 dollars per barrel. And we saw what happened recently when the oil price fell down below 30 dollars, so we are in real trouble, coupled with this social crisis that is happening in the Niger Delta with the so called Niger Delta Avengers that had emerged from nowhere bombing everywhere and destroying government facilities.

    Critics of Buhari’s fight against corruption say it is lopsided. Do you agree?

    Those petitions were sponsored ones and they were not substantiated. When you say a man is corrupt, one should be able to substantiate one’s position with facts. People saw that Amaechi was one of the committed and dedicated members of the APC party, who had made sacrifices, so how do we handle him, they decided to come out with framed petitions to rob him, but there were no evidence to show that the man was what they describe him.

    Now, coming to the issue of UK allegations, l do not want to say anything but we should not also forget that some reports could be sponsored without a substantive evidence. PDP chieftains know themselves and all they have done to corrupt the country, so, they should not unnecessarily drag people into their misfortune to give them a bad name.

    Do you think Buhari should named the looters?

    No, the Buhari’s government is in the right track because he has to apply wisdom in all that he is doing. In a situation where one is recovering money from looters and the process of investigation still on, not closed, releasing the names of the looters will now amount to self defeat, so it was a wise decision taken by the federal government. Who will come out and say the Southsouth governors are not corrupt; they are the most corrupt governors in this country. If you see states like Kano, Bauchi and others are doing well with less allocation compare to the Southsouth governors that get high allocations and yet cannot account for it for the past 16 years, except Southsouth states like Cross Rivers and Edo that are also doing well.

    Some people are of the view that Buhari govt is not addressing the economic problems, what’s your comment?

    There is no doubt about it that people are suffering, but if you look you will see the government is playing his card for everybody to see. So, when I see critics saying Buhari is not doing anything, l feel bad because PDP has emptied the treasury, so they could have money to sponsor and publish what they do not see because somebody has been paid to do that.

    When I see some of these handbill critics, I ask what did they do for 16 years when there was so much money in foreign exchange. You talk of excess crude account, and here was Jonathan few days ago, saying he was being deceived that his greatest mistake was to allow people to influence him to play on Nigerians people. Great country with a great leader, when they are passing through boom period, they must remember to save for a rainy day. So, let us give this man some time to put the country in the right path.

    What is your take on the clamour for restructuring of the country?

    You and l know it is impossible at this time because those who are making the call, where were they before now; when PDP and their brother Jonathan were in power. When Obasanjo was in power for eight years, he couldn’t call for conference because of his greed for third tenure, when it was a year to leave, he hurriedly call for National Conference and when he could not succeed, it ended abruptly.

    The PDP is a self centered party. they had 16 years to restructure this country but they did not, and the man who entered for few months ago, you are telling him to restructure the country, I mean, is it not a shame, when intellects and elites talk about this thing. Then, look at the Niger-Delta region, who are the greatest victims of marginalization in this country. we have prayed and prayed that our son become the president, vice president for 2 ½ years, Acting President and President for six years, what did he do when everything was under his pocket, nothing.

    The Nigeria President is so powerful; did he remember his people that are suffering and to create a true federalism for the people in the Southsouth? No. Jonathan came to power in a well-wind of good will. Even, when he was to be an acting president, the civil society took the battle against the northern cabals with other groups that you must make this man an acting president when the cabers were busy deceiving the country that Yar Adua was climbing the mountain. He became the acting president and finally he was elected the president; what did he do even when people cried to him on true federalism? It was after 18 months when his popularity had dropped from 100%  to almost 25%, that he hurriedly like Obasanjo, with less than 18 months to leave, that he wasted billions of naira organizing a Jamboree national conference but could not sponsor it through the national assembly.

    In fact, are they serious when they ask Buhari to restructure the country? The Avengers from Niger Delta came from nowhere because they are being used by corrupt politicians to disturb the Federal government’s peace.

  • ‘Fresh calls for restructuring are baffling’

    ‘Fresh calls for restructuring are baffling’

    CHIEF Frank Kokori, former Secretary General of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas (NUPENG), is a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in Delta State. He spoke with Correspondent, Polycarp Orosevwotu, on the Buhari administration, the economy, true federalism and the anti-corruption battle.

    How would you assess President Muhammadu Buhari’s one year in office?

    Buhari has done so well. I am saying this because he is operating from a very difficult situation as we all know. The country went through 16 years of massive corruption under the PDP administration, where there was no sense of decorum in the way they managed the country. Where all they do are based on money, to the extent that everything in this country is now being monetized, no social responsibility or sacrifice, all is money.

    You can now see why we find ourselves in this kind of mess of PDP 16 years of misrule and corruption. And if you could recalled, for almost 12 years out of the 16 years of PDP government, oil price was hovering between 70 to 130 dollars per barrel. And we saw what happened recently when the oil price fell down below 30 dollars, so we are in real trouble, coupled with this social crisis that is happening in the Niger Delta with the so called Niger Delta Avengers that had emerged from nowhere bombing everywhere and destroying government facilities.

    Critics of Buhari’s fight against corruption say it is lopsided. Do you agree?

    Those petitions were sponsored ones and they were not substantiated. When you say a man is corrupt, one should be able to substantiate one’s position with facts. People saw that Amaechi was one of the committed and dedicated members of the APC party, who had made sacrifices, so how do we handle him, they decided to come out with framed petitions to rob him, but there were no evidence to show that the man was what they describe him.

    Now, coming to the issue of UK allegations, l do not want to say anything but we should not also forget that some reports could be sponsored without a substantive evidence. PDP chieftains know themselves and all they have done to corrupt the country, so, they should not unnecessarily drag people into their misfortune to give them a bad name.

    Do you think Buhari should named the looters?

    No, the Buhari’s government is in the right track because he has to apply wisdom in all that he is doing. In a situation where one is recovering money from looters and the process of investigation still on, not closed, releasing the names of the looters will now amount to self defeat, so it was a wise decision taken by the federal government. Who will come out and say the Southsouth governors are not corrupt; they are the most corrupt governors in this country. If you see states like Kano, Bauchi and others are doing well with less allocation compare to the Southsouth governors that get high allocations and yet cannot account for it for the past 16 years, except Southsouth states like Cross Rivers and Edo that are also doing well.

    Some people are of the view that Buhari govt is not addressing the economic problems, what’s your comment?

    There is no doubt about it that people are suffering, but if you look you will see the government is playing his card for everybody to see. So, when I see critics saying Buhari is not doing anything, l feel bad because PDP has emptied the treasury, so they could have money to sponsor and publish what they do not see because somebody has been paid to do that.

    When I see some of these handbill critics, I ask what did they do for 16 years when there was so much money in foreign exchange. You talk of excess crude account, and here was Jonathan few days ago, saying he was being deceived that his greatest mistake was to allow people to influence him to play on Nigerians people. Great country with a great leader, when they are passing through boom period, they must remember to save for a rainy day. So, let us give this man some time to put the country in the right path.

    What is your take on the clamour for restructuring of the country?

    You and l know it is impossible at this time because those who are making the call, where were they before now; when PDP and their brother Jonathan were in power. When Obasanjo was in power for eight years, he couldn’t call for conference because of his greed for third tenure, when it was a year to leave, he hurriedly call for National Conference and when he could not succeed, it ended abruptly.

    The PDP is a self centered party. they had 16 years to restructure this country but they did not, and the man who entered for few months ago, you are telling him to restructure the country, I mean, is it not a shame, when intellects and elites talk about this thing. Then, look at the Niger-Delta region, who are the greatest victims of marginalization in this country. we have prayed and prayed that our son become the president, vice president for 2 ½ years, Acting President and President for six years, what did he do when everything was under his pocket, nothing.

    The Nigeria President is so powerful; did he remember his people that are suffering and to create a true federalism for the people in the Southsouth? No. Jonathan came to power in a well-wind of good will. Even, when he was to be an acting president, the civil society took the battle against the northern cabals with other groups that you must make this man an acting president when the cabers were busy deceiving the country that Yar Adua was climbing the mountain. He became the acting president and finally he was elected the president; what did he do even when people cried to him on true federalism? It was after 18 months when his popularity had dropped from 100%  to almost 25%, that he hurriedly like Obasanjo, with less than 18 months to leave, that he wasted billions of naira organizing a Jamboree national conference but could not sponsor it through the national assembly.

    In fact, are they serious when they ask Buhari to restructure the country? The Avengers from Niger Delta came from nowhere because they are being used by corrupt politicians to disturb the Federal government’s peace.

    Do you know those that are being affected most, the Ijaws, Itsekeri and Ilajei in the creeks, not we in the upland. The people at the Gbaramatu, Oproza in the creeks are suffering yet your son was in power as president for 6 years but could not do anything, then you see a Northerner who became the president for 1 year, a southerner because they are in charge of the media, they started crying again when they are responsible for their own misfortune. It is a shame when I see some of our people talk on television and radio, I shake off my head that it is a pity that I came out from this country. Don’t they read what is happening in this country, the type of looting like former petroleum minister buying jewelries of millions of dollars, some having private jets and the rest. Where do they get the money from? And they are now saying that they are probing only PDP people, one sided fight. Who are you going to probe, are you going to probe me (Kokori), Great Ogboru or Otega in Delta State?

    It wasn’t a surprise to me because that is what they have been enjoying. The Southsouth governors are corrupt; I cannot exempt anyone especially our own Delta.

    Other governors are commissioning big projects but in Delta State what do they commission, nothing. Thank God I leave in the heart of Niger Delta since I retired from work many years back. It is only bridges which trailer cannot park on top because they don’t give contracts to big firms like Julius Berger and the rest but to only their family contractors. I think we have been so unfortunate in the Niger Delta. Niger Delta should look inward, look at their leaders eye ball to eye ball, who is sponsoring the Avengers? Are the thieves from the Niger Delta. When Jonathan became the president for six years, he forgot every other tribes in Niger Delta, he empowered only militants, ex-militants; that is the leaders of the group not even all the militants..

     

  • Bogey of restructuring

    Bogey of restructuring

    With the nation’s back practically to the wall, we are once again, forced to debate the future of the ‘mechanical contraption’ called Nigeria. Like everything Nigeria, it has retained the essential all-comers flavour. In other words, just about everybody claims to know enough of the subject to qualify as an expert. As it is in the social media, so it is, unfortunately, in the mainstream media. Welcome to the talk-fest!

    The subject – you guessed right – is restructuring. A Nigerian Political Science undergraduate would be forgiven for imagining that Nigeria actually holds some proprietary rights to the fangled wordtouted – again and again – as the magical cure to the nation’s ills. Of course, with frustrations ranging from Boko Haram, cattle rustling, kidnapping, militancy and insurgency – all abounding; and with no end in sight to the multifarious challenges that have hobbled the nation’s march to greatness, the concept – like a treasured coin – and with it the myth that it has spawned, has simply endured. The credit for stoking the current fire however belongs to the Turaki Adamawa Atiku Abubakar. Sure, the man knows how to strike the right chords.

    The word restructuring of course means different things to different folks. I sort of like one online dictionary definition: ‘Bringing about a drastic or fundamental internal change that alters the relationships between different components or elements of an organization or system’. Based on the above, few will argue that Nigeria is not overdue for some overhaul of sorts. While for organisations, corporate restructuring is what they do from time to time depending on the exigencies to bring efficiency to their operations, in the hands of our emergency activists and politicians, it can mean just about anything from an alibi to nothing!  Could it also be a substitute for demands  accountable governance?

    Talk of moments when words are lost in frequent usage. I have heard it said that true federalism will do. Sure that’s also restructuring. Or, a break up the country into more manageable administrative units. That too is a variant of restructuring. Today, some folks in the Niger Delta region see restructuring as the key to the Eldorado, that place of eternal bliss where wealth without sweat is guaranteed –even if it turns out an eternal fiefdom of militias and warlords. The same way some in the South-east demand it to redress perceived age-long injustices and with it the unbearable yoke of devalued citizenship that they have been subjected in the Nigerian federation; how about compatriots in the South-west for whom the clamour comes close to a perpetual craving for relevance?

    Lest I forget, some in the Middle Belt – minus the North of course, wants it to stave off perceived northern domination. It seems given that the “North” which sees nothing wrong with the current structure.

    I agree that Nigeria’s problems have deep roots in its current structure. That is a fundamental fact. I could not agree more with the former Vice President on the need “for a restructuring and renewal of our federation to make it less centralised, less suffocating and less dictatorial in the affairs of our country’s constituent units and localities”. To be sure, he says nothing new when he says that the current structure “has not served Nigeria well, and at the risk of reproach, it has not served my part of the country, the North, well”.

    Again, that is beyond dispute. With perhaps the exception of Lagos, the rest of the nation’s administrative units – more appropriately centres of indolence – depend on Abuja for survival. So bad have things become that even the traditionally agrarian ones now wait on Lagos for Thailand Rice!

    More than half a century of independence, we neither have the capacity to generate and distribute sufficient electricity for domestic uses let alone our few surviving industries. As for high-tech industries, whereas countries like Brazil and India that were with us on the same level some 50 years have gone into aircraft manufacturing, the so-called African giant currently aspires to the level of cobbling foreign auto-parts in the name of auto-manufacture!

    The same is true of the infrastructure left by departing colonial authorities; whether it is the railways, the postal services or even the bureaucracy; we have simply run them aground!Today, more Nigerians are out of work than the number with gainful employment. With 10 million out of school kids, a population equal to half that of our next door neighbour, Ghana. With perhaps the exception of few domestic items, the country with the largest concentration of the Black race practically survives on imports from food to basic industrial parts. Our universities, supposedly centres of knowledge production are none of that; instead, they have increasingly become purveyors of ignorance and superstition. I have not yet talked about the paradox of a country which holds the dubious recordsof highest number of millionaires and the poor on the continent.These are no doubt derivatives of the current choking, retrogressive centralisation of political power. This, unfortunately, has spawned the craving for wealth without work, industry or enterprise and its countless variants of rent.

    There is however a more fundamental factor. It is a familiar story of the chick and egg – the question of which one came first. Did the collapse of the moral order – the fine but delicate fabric that holds the society together as an organic and productive entity – create the current monstrosity; or is it a case of the structure producing the monstrosity? Guess this is open to debate.

    One thing seems clear though: No matter how fanciful the proposedadministrative design is, I do not see it curing the current maladies.If it seems hard to imagine capitalism without its undergirding protestant ethos of hard work and frugal living, it is even harder to imagine a functional restructured Nigeria without value and attitudinal reorientation of the individual. Bring all the artefacts of modernity that money can buy;put on top a system of government that is out of this world, without a substructure of good citizenship,  the efforts at nation-building will come to naught.

    Of course, I worry about the collapse of the family and the erosion of the mores – the building blocks of society. Thanks to the new gospel that focuses on prosperity, we now have a generation for whom the sweat of the days’ honest labour is but a curse! And if you think this is limited to the level of the individual, imagine what goes on at the macro level – at the level of institutions charged with delivering services!

    Still want to know why your local electricity wants you to pay for services not rendered? Or the local hire that would loaf around all day and yet expects to be paid to be paid the full day’s wage? The artisan cutting corners? What about the ogas at the topthat spends official hours chatting away? And now, the avengers who care little about destroying their home and hearth for the pleasure of their dreamed Eldorado?

    Talk about thelonging for the‘restructured’entitlement.

  • Anxiety grips aviation workers as restructuring begins

    Anxiety grips aviation workers as restructuring begins

    There is anxiety in the aviation sector following the Federal Government’s restructuring plans to reduce directorates in agencies.

    The agencies agencies are the  Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigerian Civil Aviation (NCAA),Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) and others.

    Many aviation workers, a source hinted, are running around the Presidency as well as the Ministry of Aviation to stop possible implementation of a panel report that recommended a massive shake-up for the sector.

    Apart from reduction in the directorates, which have been  bloated in the last few years, the government has audited of personnel in some of the agencies to balance technical personnel with those without professional expertise in critical units of the sector.

    Towards this end, massive re- deployment of personnel in some agencies, including FAAN , NCAA and NAMA will begin this week

    The resolve to restructure the aviation sector is a fallout of the recommendations of the Presidential Committee chaired by the Head of Service, Winifred Ekanem  Oyo-Ita.

    The committee has concluded work on the re-deployment of personnel in FAAN, alleged to have bloated work force because of politically-motivated appointments.

    Aviation unions petitioned the panel to overhaul the sector for lopsided appointments, which shortchanged career civil servants.

    Apart from FAAN, NAMA  and the NCAA have redundant departments and directorates as well as unproductive personnel.

    FAAN has no fewer than 40 General Managers, with more directorates created from existing directorates, thereby raising overhead cost  to over N800 million monthly.

    Four years ago,  the directorates in FAAN grew from six to 10. The six were Directorates of Administration, Commercial, Finance, Engineering Operations and Security.

    After the expansion, Directorate of Legal Service, which was a department under the Managing Director’s office, emerged, alongside Directorates of Cargo, Projects and Human Resources. The new exercise would see Directorates of Human Resources and Administration come together as it was before; Directorate of Project go back to Engineering Directorate and Cargo Directorate revert to Directorate of Commercial.

    The NCAA had Directorate of Airworthiness Standards (DAWS), Directorate of Airports and Aerodrome Standards (DAAS), Directorate of Operations and Training (DOT), Directorate of Finance and Administration (DFA), and Directorate of Air Transport Regulation (DATR). A few years ago,  DFA was split to three directorates and two departments.

    They are Directorate of Administration (DOA), Directorate of Human Resources (DHR) and Directorate of General Aviation (DGA), with the creation of office of Company Secretary and Legal Adviser. The directorates in NAMA are Operations, Engineering, Human Resources, Administration and Finance.

    At the weekend,  the Ministry of Aviation, acting on the recommendations of the committee, directed the parastatal to effect the changes.

    Many of the directorates that are not part of FAAN’s original organogram will be absorbed into the original directorate.

    Some personnel who were brought into FAAN without qualification or requisite  experience have been reviewed.

    A female director in the agency has been redeployed to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. An acting General Manager in the Finance Department was demoted  from level 17 to level 10 and moved to the Information Communication and Technological department (ICT).

  • Ondo to workers: join clamour for restructuring

    Ondo to workers: join clamour for restructuring

    THE Ondo State government yesterday has the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to mobilise workers to join in the clamour for the country’s restructuring.

    This, it said, will put an end to the trend of inability of states’ governments to pay workers’ salaries.

    Commissioner for  Information Kayode Akinmade, who said this yesterday,  hailed the workers for acknowledging the impact of the country’s economic downturn, which, according to him, has made it difficult for over 30 states to pay workers’ salaries.

    Akinmade said the state government has resolved to ensure quick resolution of the impasse occasioned by the non-payment of salaries of workers.

    He appealed to labour unions to join the growing clamour for restructuring of the country based on the reality on ground.

    He said: “A situation where the Federal government, which has no land and population, is collecting 53 per cent of the total revenue accruable to the country is evil, unfair, unjust, unacceptable and crime against humanity.

    “The other federating units, 36 states and Abuja, including the existing 774 local government areas are left with just 45 per cent of the revenue which shows no equity and fairness.”

    The government said NLC should acknowledge the precarious situation most states have found themselves in the last one year.

    The statement added that revenue allocation to Ondo State has reduced considerably so much that in the last five months, its  gross allocation was between N1 and N2 billion.

    It noted that “to make the matter worse, we have a wage bill of N3.9 billion for the state workers and N2.6 billion for local government and this did not include funds for the day-to-day running of ministries, parastatals and capital projects.”

     

     

     

  • Lagos completes restructuring of N167.5b Bond series

    Lagos completes restructuring of N167.5b Bond series

    • Government to reap N40b in five years

    Lagos State has successfully completed the restructuring of its N167.5billion Programme II, Series 1 and 2 Bonds, the Commissioner for Finance, Akinkunmi Mustapha, has said.

    Mustapha said the restructuring which was approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last week, was achieved through the finalization of a process through which the State worked to reach an agreement with its bond creditors, on accelerating repayment terms.

    He said the transaction will generate savings in excess of N40billion for the State over the next five years was approved by 99.6 per cent of the State’s bondholders at an Extraordinary General Meeting a few weeks ago.

    Mustapha said, “We thank all our bond creditors for their continued support of the State Government, in a difficult market environment. This restructuring completed entirely through domestic capital markets, once again underpins the strength of the Lagos State credit story.

    “Aside the significant cash savings generated, it also creates additional borrowing capacity to enable the state continue its investments in physical, economic and social infrastructure.

    “Much of the significant progress in Lagos State over the last 16 years can be attributed to funding through the debt capital market. Our bondholders’ support of this restructuring confirms the level of confidence the market has in the current administration and Lagos State did not partake in the recent bail-outs provided either by the Federal Government DMO or the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN),” the Commissioner said.

    He said the Chapel Hill Denham acted as Financial Adviser to the Lagos State on the restructuring transaction.

  • Union opposes planned restructuring of staff schools

    Union opposes planned restructuring of staff schools

    The Senior Staff Union of Nigerian Universities, Lagos State University (SSANU-LASU) has urged the state government to halt the planned de-harmonisation of its staff in primary schools.

    The plan include severing the  primary schools from the university’s administration and giving it workers a different salary scale. This, the union warned, may plunge the university into a fresh crisis.

    SSANU said the planned exercise amounted to a breach of the 2009 agreement with the Federal Government.

    In an exclusive interview with The Nation, SSANU-LASU Chairman, Comrade Saheed Oseni,  described the plan as uncalled for, saying no state university has embarked on such action since the signing of the agreement about six years ago.

    ”We are using this opportunity to call on the state government not to truncate the peace that has gradually returned to LASU.  SSANU rejects this policy in its entirety because it will inflict more hardship on our members. This means our members will now be moved away to earn a new salary structure, which will no doubt be less.

    “Government should know that this is a university and not a civil service. Our members are paid on Consolidated University Non-Academic Salary Scale (CONUNASS) and we want that to remain,” Oseni said.

    He said the Union was suprised when the university management reached out to them a fortnight ago, drawing their attention to the memo from the state with the title: ‘De-harmonisation of Staff Salary School Teachers from University Salary Scale’

    He recalled that in December, three federal universities embarked on such action, adding that the national SSANU promptly rose against it, embarking on a strike, which was later ‘suspended’ last month on the directive of the National Administrative Committee of SSANU, which met with the Federal Ministry of Labour & Employment, which referred the matter to the National Industrial Court.

    ”So, what we are saying is: ‘Why can’t Lagos State Government wait for the outcome of the matter at the industrial court before rushing to pass the directive on our members? We are all awaiting the interpretation of that agreement, which will be binding on all parties,” Oseni said.

    He said there was no gainsaying the fact that staff school serves as demonstration school to the universities’ Faculty of Education, and most of those teachers there have no less than masters degrees, while some are doing their Ph.D.

    His words: “Government says they want to de-harmonise staff schools because they are on CONUNASS, but they forget that many of them have trained and graduated children some of whom have today earned their Ph.Ds or even become professors.

    “Now let’s assume a child graduated from staff school primary school and later came back to join the service of the university, rose through the ranks and became a professor, while those teachers, who made him what he is several years ago are still in the system and are now earning peanut,  won’t that bring inferiority complex on those teachers?”

  • NNPC restructuring: Senate backs Kachikwu, Reps disagree

    NNPC restructuring: Senate backs Kachikwu, Reps disagree

    The National Assembly was split yesterday over the restructuring of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) announced by Minister of State Ibe Kachikwu.

    The Senate backed the action, saying restructuring of the corporation was in order, especially when no law was breached, but the House of Representatives took a contrary position.

    It declared the step taken by Kachikwu as wrong. “The House is not averse to any form of reform that would reposition the NNPC, but due process must be followed by the executive by reverting to the National Assembly for such reforms,” House spokesman Abdulrazak Namdas said at a news conference.

    The senators, who okayed the step, nevertheless, scolded Kachikwu for his failure to consult the National Assembly before carrying out the reorganisation.

    Three standing committees of the Senate grilled Kachikwu on the motive of his action.

    Senator Tayo Alasoadura, Chairman, Senate Committee on Petroleum (Upstream), Vice Chairman, Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), Senator Jibrin Barau and Chairman, Senate Committee on Gas, Senator Bassey Albert Akpan, conducted the session, which later moved into a closed session.

    Alasoadura told reporters after the closed session that they were satisfied with the measures taken by the minister whose objective is to make the NNPC more functional.

    The Ondo Central lawmaker added that Kachikwu did not breach any law.

    Senate Chief Whip Olusola Adeyeye (Osun Central), who led the question-and-answer session, noted that the Act that established the NNPC, especially cap1, 23© 1d, gave the management a free hand to operate as an entity.

    Adeyeye said the Act, however, did not give them the power to create autonomous firms that would be independent of the NNPC.

    He also said the Act clearly stated that the affairs of the NNPC must be conducted by a board.

    A member of the committee, Senator Chukwuka Utazi (Enugu North), urged the minister to go ahead with far reaching restructuring of the NNPC.

    Utazi, who stressed that change in the NNPC was long overdue, said the Minister should not mind vested interests in the oil and gas sectors who are working to compromise changes in the corporation.

    Utazi said: “Mr. Minister, you must understand the sort of resistance that would come when you want to change things. But you must continue doing what you are doing. Don’t be deterred; don’t be tired of the reforms you are carrying out.  We understand what you are doing. Just go on with what you are doing; we are behind you.”

    Another member of the Committee, Senator Biodun Olujimi, said the government must have a human face in its actions.

    Mrs Olujimi said that there was no doubt that the minister, by his action, effectively pre-empted the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).

    Senator Emmanuel Paulker said the minister should have carried unions in the industry along.

    Kachikwu insisted that what his ministry did was not unbundling, but restructuring.

    He also said that it was not true that the exercise was carried out without the approval of a board and the Federal Executive Council­­ – as stated in the Act.

    He said that the approval process began long ago.

    The minister said the chairman of the NNPC Board is the Minister of Petroleum.

    He said with the measures taken by the ministry, there will slightly be less control from the head office.

    He noted that other than aging equipment, the refineries, for instance, have not been given the independence they require to operate.

    Kachikwu said: “You cannot bring in loanable funds into the refineries because for you to bring loanable funds, you have to have the cash flow to fund the loan.”

    The minister said that there was already a committee of staff and management in the NNPC looking at the measures being taken by the ministry.

    But the Chairman, House Committee on Media, Namdas, said President Muhammadu Buhari must present an executive bill to give the restructuring a legal backing.

    He said: “The Act of parliament that established the NNPC had provided that there ‘Shall be the inspectorate department which shall be an integral part of the Corporation,’ but that same was conspicuously absent in the new arrangement.

    “The key word here is ‘Shall’. Of course, the law gave room for agencies to make their own laws for administrative convenience but with the ‘shall’ the agency has no power over that, which was the case here.

    “The House is not averse to any form of reform that would reposition the NNPC, but due process must be followed by the executive by reverting to the National Assembly for such reforms.”

    To emphasise the determination of the House’s support for NNPC reform, the Spokesman disclosed that Speaker Yakubu Dogara had earlier contacted President Buhari over reforms in the petroleum sector.

  • Senate backs minister on NNPC restructuring

    Senate backs minister on NNPC restructuring

    The Senate Thursday threw its weight behind the Minister of Petroleum Resources,(State)  Dr. Ibe Kachikwu’s decision to restructure the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation(NNPC).

    Senators said that they are satisfied with the measures taken by the minister to restructure the corporation especially when no law was breached in the process of carrying out the restructuring.

    The lawmakers however scolded Kachikwu for his failure to consult the National Assembly before carrying out the controversial exercise.

    Three standing committees of the Senate grilled Kachikwu on the motive behind the restructuring of the NNPC.

    Senator Tayo Alasoadura, Chairman Senate Committee on Petroleum (Upstream) and Vice Chairman, Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), Senator Jibrin Barau and Chairman, Senate Committee on Gas, Senator Bassey Albert Akpan, conducted the session which later moved into a closed session.

    Alasoadura told reporters after the closed session that they are satisfied with the measures taken by the minister aimed at making units of the NNPC more functional.

    The Ondo Central lawmaker added that Kachikwu did not breach any law in carrying out the restructuring,

    Senate Chief Whip, Senator Olusola Adeyeye (Osun central) who led the question-and-answer session noted that the Act that established the NNPC especially cap1, 23© 1d gave the NNPC management free hand to operate as an entity.

    Adeyeye said that the Act however did not give them the power to create autonomous firms that would be independent of the NNPC.

    He also said that the Act clearly stated that the affairs of the NNPC must be conducted by a board.

    A member of the committee, Senator, Chukwuka Utazi (Enugu North), urged the minister to go head with far reaching restructuring of the NNPC.

    Senator Utazi who insisted that change in the NNPC was long over due, said the Minister should not mind vested interests in the oil and gas sectors who were working to compromise necessary changes in the NNPC.

    Utazi said, “Mr. Minister, you must understand the sort of resistance that would come when you want to change things. But you must continue doing what you are doing. Don’t be deterred; don’t be tired of the reforms you are carrying out.  We understand what you are doing. Just go on with what you are doing we are behind you.”

    Another member of the Committee, Senator Biodun Olujimi, said that government must have human face in its actions.

    Olujimi said that there was no doubt that the minister by his action has effectively pre-empted the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).

    She wondered why the restructuring was conducted without recourse to the National Assembly.

    Senator Emmanuel Paulker in his contribution said that the minister should have carried unions in the industry along.

    Paulker noted that if the NNPC was shut down for any reason, the economy of the country would be adversely affected.

    He said that there was no reason for the minister not to have consulted the National Assembly before carrying out the measures.

    Senator Stella Oduah, (Anambra North) wondered why such huge restructuring of the NNPC would be carried out without the knowledge of the National Assembly.

    She also underscored the issue of aging equipment in the oil and gas industry.

    Kachikwu insisted that what his ministry did was not unbundling, but restructuring.

    He also said that it is not true that the exercise was carried out without the approval of a board and the Federal Executive Council, as stated in the Act.

    He said that the approval process began long age.

    The minister said that the real chairman of the NNPC Board is the Minister of Petroleum.

    He said that with the measures taken by the ministry, there will slightly be less control from the head office.

    He noted that other than aging equipment, the refineries, for instance, have not been given the independence they required to operate.

    “He said, “You cannot bring in loanable funds into the refineries because for you to bring loanable funds you have to have the cash flow to fund the loan.”

    The minister said that there is already a committee of staff and management in the NNPC looking at the measures being taken by the ministry.

    The NNPC Act Part 1, states in part that:

    “It shall be the duty of the Corporation, from time to time, when the National Council of Ministers so requires or the Corporation considers it appropriate to undertake a general review of the affairs of the Corporation and of any subsidiaries thereof for the purpose of determining how the management of the activities of the Corporation or any subsidiary thereof can most efficiently be organised and, where appropriate, to make a report to the National Council of Ministers upon the Corporation’s conclusions arising from the review.

    6.(1)The Corporation shall have powers to do anything which in its opinion is calculated to facilitate the carrying out of its duties under this Act including, without limiting the generality of the following, the power –

    (a)to hold, manage and alienate movable and immovable property;

    (b)to purchase or otherwise acquire or take over all or any of the assets, businesses, properties, privileges, contracts, rights, obligations and liabilities of any other company, firm or person in furtherance of any business engaged in by the Corporation;

    (c)to enter into contracts or partnerships with any company, firm or person which in the opinion of the Corporation will facilitate the discharge of the said duties under this Act;

    (d)to establish and maintain subsidiaries for the discharge of such functions as the Corporation may determine; and

    (e) to train managerial, technical and such other staff for the purpose of the running of its operations and for the petroleum industry in general.(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1) of this section, any contract relating to any project of a value of more than N5,000,000 (or such higher limit as may be directed from time to time by the National Council of Ministers) shall be referred by the Corporation to the National Council of Ministers for approval before the award of any such contract is made by the Corporation.