Worried by increasing rate of job loss in the oil and gas industry and its ugly effects on the economy, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Gas Workers(NUPENG) have mapped out strategies to check the ugly trend.
Part of the strategies include monitoring the activities of oil firms and their subsidiaries, with a view to preventing them from throwing their members into the labour market unnecessarily, collaborating with them on issues relating to employment and improving condition of services of employees, embarking on strike, if the need arises, among others.
PENGASSAN’s President, Francis Olabode Johnson, in a statement said the body would not condone or tolerate any activities that is capable of making its workers redundant in the industry.
He said: ‘’We have resolved that no process of redundancy shall be undertaken by any management without the involvement of the National Executive Council (NEC) of PENGASSAN.
“Also, the council has resolved that any decision taken by any companies’ management on redundancy without engaging the national secretariat of our association shall be of no effect and shall be resisted.’’
Olabode said the body is making efforts to speed up the process of dispensing justice on issues relating to disengagement of oil workers.
He said the National Industrial Court (NIC) frustrate oil and gas workers, by not hearing their cases as at when due.
He said, as a result of this development, many workers were in the labour market, without any means of seeking redress.
Olabode said PENFASSAN and NUPENG have frowned at the idea of making their workers, adding that the bodies are not ruling out the option of industrial actions in order to force management of companies to acquiesce to their demands, if the trend continues.
The Federal Government should be blamed for the poor performance of the downstream sub-sector of the oil and gas industry, former Executive Secretary, Petroleum Product Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), Mr Reginald Stanley, has said.
He said the actions of successive governments showed that they were not ready to formulate policies to accelerate the growth of the sector.
He said the Federal Government did more damage to the sector by not totally deregulating it.
Stanley said the decision of the government to hold on to the regulation of the sub-sector was killing initiatives, adding that it has stalled the development and implementation of ideas that would drive activities in the sector.
Stanley, who spoke during a stakeholder’s forum in Lagos, said it is either the government improve the growth of the sub-sector by deregulating it, or allow it to suffer more problems.
He said: “Angola, Ghana, India and other countries have deregulated the downstream segment of the petroleum industry, and they are better for it.
“Nigeria cannot be an exception if it really wants to move the capacity utilisation in the downstream above its current capacity of 25 per cent. “
This is a column that seeks to mould, shape societal values and to protect the interests of consumers, citizens and touch other broader relevant topics under the column: ‘TRUE VALUE 360’. It is an interactive column as suggestions, complaints; day to day experiences are welcome.
This week’s edition is STARVATION AND THE COMMON MAN
Some analysts have propounded various theories about Nigeria being an accident waiting to happen or an accident happened already or that we will break up by a particular date etcetera, etcetera but we thank God we are still standing today and will keep standing by His Grace. One of the reasons given is that Nigeria comprises of unlikely bedfellows occasioned by forced marriage of various tribes. Many issues are begging for attention but today we are looking at the topic: STARVATION AND THE COMMON MAN.
There is a saying that a hungry man is an angry man. A hungry, angry man will never be reasonable in action and thoughts that is if he can think at all. Nigeria’s business economy to date is driven by government policies and because of the 2015 transition/ change of government process, a lot of business decisions were put on hold which had the ripple effect of making the year very hard on the citizenry. There is cash squeeze in the economy and investors are threading carefully to venture into new grounds; there has been massive disengagement in public and banking sector for various reasons, the private sector and small business enterprises are also not left out of the hopefully temporary financial and economic pains.
Citizens without steady income have become desperate and have devised various deadly means to survive. Lagos in particular has been witnessing serious impunity in recent times. The masses get handouts or income from the middle class but the middle class are also broke at the moment, reason why the hungry masses are resorting to terrorizing citizens.
Traffic jam in Lagos has reached an unprecedented scale and you cannot guess or predict the duration of trips to any destination in Lagos anymore.
It is a common daily occurrence for citizens to be robbed in these traffic jams with individuals losing personal belongings such as handsets, windscreens, handbags etc in recent times. These acts are being perpetuated by petty thieves and idle touts who have no means of feeding; some of them will ordinarily not go this route but out of desperation they become criminals as unemployment rate is one of the major issues we have not been able to deal with.
It is also common to find young men in their middle to late twenties ogling at women who are old enough to be their mothers and even grandmothers, not out of love interest but so as to get some extra feeding or survival income. These set abound everywhere from concerts, to salons, clubs and even on the streets. Our remaining values are being eroded at the twinkling of an eyelid; let us save our youths as they are our future.
Yes, we are overwhelmed with various urgent issues, but this menace will only escalate if a temporary solution is not found immediately.
If we cannot resort to the Bread and Circuses option, and it may be unrealistic to attain 80- 100% employment at the moment; we should endeavor to provide our own version of succor to the unemployed. Provision of at least a meal per day (without the circus) should be considered for the unemployed in every local government either through the local government authorities or through a special agency that will ensure that the meals get to the right persons, the country can afford it. This will reduce crime rate and petty robbery. This will also create employment for new sets of personnel.
Of course, I am not making a case for lawlessness or male prostitution here; to me it is an aberration, it is better to provide an immediate survival alternative than to leave the menace to come back to haunt us all. We already have enough on our hands in combating sophisticated crime, let’s not increase the number.
The World Bank has pledged to support Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM Bank) to develop Nigeria mining sector.
Speaking when a team from the World Bank led by its Senior Mining Specialist, Energy & Extractives Unit, Dr. Francisco Igualada, visited the Managing Director, NEXIM Bank, Mr. Roberts Ungwaga Orya in Abuja, the World Bank chief wondered why Nigeria, with all her huge resources and potentials has continued to earn less than Ghana, Mali and Burkina Faso from mining activities. He blamed the country’s focus on oil and gas for this, arguing that the mining sector is an enabler for manufacturing, services and other sectors. This, he said is in addition to the huge opportunities of job creation, revenue earnings and the development of other support services in the value chain that would have boosted the economy especially with the decline in global oil prices.
Dr. Igualada said there is need for a structured consolidation of efforts towards developing the sector. This should focus on building the right capacity both at human and institutional levels; as well as establishing and enforcing the requisite legal and policy frameworks. To him, this is the difference between Nigeria and South Africa.
He said the World Bank has a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement which it could recommend for the development of the solid minerals sector in Nigeria. He stressed the need to revamp efforts and link interventions to develop the sector through arrangements such as the Solid Minerals Fund in addition to renewed involvement by the government. He stated that he will seek the commitment of his office on the development of the mining sector and collaboration with NEXIM Bank, especially in regard to workshop participation and capacity training.
Welcoming his guests that included Mr. Linus Adie of Mining Investments Consults, Mr. Orya, said NEXIM Bank was set up to assist the government in diversifying the Nigerian economy away from the oil through the provision of export credit facility, risk bearing facilities, trade and market information and export advisory services to export-oriented investors in the manufacturing, agro-processing, solid minerals and services (MASS) sectors. “The clear intention of the World Bank to collaborate with the NEXIM Bank towards a structured intervention in the Nigeria’s solid minerals sector is quite expedient. Moreso, with the commitment and firm resolve of President Muhammad Buhari to diversify the economy, revitalise the mining sector towards boosting job creation and enhancing foreign exchange earnings,” Mr. Orya said.
He said Nigeria is endowed with huge solid mineral deposits, with about 34 products identified in commercial quantities in different parts of the country, adding however, that the failure to put in place a structure that will make the benefits of the exploitation available to all has been the bane of the country. The low activity in the solid mineral sector is not yielding the desired financial revenues as there are scanty records of payment of taxes and royalty to the government, he said, lamenting that Nigeria is losing lots of resources from untapped mineral deposit as well as from the little that is being mined mostly by illegal miners who smuggle the products out of the country.
Information and communications technology is central to all forms of social and economic development in contemporary times. They have significant influence on social, educational and commercial activities round the clock and across the world. The ICT age is about using knowledge to make a difference. The knowledge economy relies on the sustainable exploitation of ICT in all its facets.
Developing countries are beginning to exploit ICT in order to enable them participate meaningfully in the global economy which is rapidly migrating to the digital platform. The use of information in the workplace, in the provision of public services, and in the conduct of
commercial activities and basic communications are fast becoming virtual, non-personal, remote and ubiquitous. This is the age of information.
By addressing needs that include poverty eradication, improved healthcare, wealth creation, job creation and education, ICT has become an essential requirement for competition, survival, and progress. In today’s world, weak or inadequate ICT availability means
less efficiency in capacity utilisation, which translates to underachievement and underdevelopment.
In other words, societies without ICT resources and infrastructure are disadvantaged in the 21st century world. Nigeria has developed national ICT policies aimed at building a knowledge based economy in order to ensure that citizens derive maximum value from the sector.
Courtesy of this effort, Nigerians have joined the global ICT mainstream with more than 100 percent mobile phone penetration and about 93 million connections to the internet.
It seems not to matter that Nigeria still imports almost 100 percent of all its IT requirements. The best effort at local production of some ICT facilities comes from the assemblage of imported components.
However, cheaper imports from Asian countries such as India, South Korea and China are giving local producers assemblers a stiff challenge. This is discounting the large army of middle class and high-end users who go for first rate, even if expensive products from
Canada, Europe and America.
Notwithstanding the “rebasing” of the economy conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics and declared by the Ministry of Finance in 2014, Nigeria is the second largest economy in sub-Saharan Africa after South Africa. It is one of largest producers of crude oil and has enormous natural gas reserves, arable agricultural lands, solid minerals and a developing private sector. It is also quickly catching up with other countries in ICT development. It terms of sheer volume, Nigeria’s ICT market surpasses competition in the continent and only takes second or third place when it comes to technical efficiency.
Developments in the sector since 2001 have led to tremendous growth in social, economic and commercial activities, including employment generation. Since the GSM launch, mobile telephony has rapidly become the most popular means of communication in Nigeria. The telecom sector has also become the largest generator of Foreign Direct Investment
(FDI) with significant contributions to GDP. Estimated investments in the sector since 2001 are at over $32 billion and still counting.
The drastic changes in the telecom situation in Nigeria have had a serious impact on private and public sectors and even in governance, administration and policy implementation. In social and commercial activities, there has been a slow, subtle, but almost imperceptible migration from the reliance on cyber cafes to self-sufficiency, as many people acquired the capacity and resources to independently surf the cyberspace.
E-commerce and e-payment initiatives have given rise to various payment solutions including automated teller machines, POS terminals, mobile and internet banking services, online bill payment solutions, etc. The ability to facilitate large volume transactions without the use of hard currency cuts down on the chances for crime, and helps the government’s effort at tackling financial crimes and corruption.
In recent times, Nigeria has been consolidating on its achievements in the sector through the enactment of legislation to provide legal protection and security for the sector. The passage of the Cybercrime Prevention Act is a case in point. With increased awareness and application of ICT in public and social life, different forms of phone and computer-related crime have surfaced. It is therefore important to enhance the information security environment to instil confidence in digital or online transactions and activities. The cybercrime law is the first step to providing such security and deterrence.
It is a positive step that the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) does not take its responsibilities lightly. Under the headship of Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, there is concerted effort to collaborate with the security agencies by having a reliable database of ICT users through ensuring they are all biometrically registered. In the past few weeks, network operators have come under pressure and a regime of fines for keeping unregistered subscribers on their platforms.
With such a bark and bite, it is to be expected that soon, phone scammers and other criminal elements littering the cyber environment will scamper into hiding, or better still, give up completely on their nefarious activities.
Ikwuagwu is a cyber security analyst based in Lagos
Private business organisations have been urged to invest in the health sector as the responsibility of a virile medicare cannot be left to the government alone.
The Nigerian Breweries (NB) Plc Human Resources Director, Victor Famuyibo, who made the plea during the inauguration of Accident and Emergency (A and E) Centre of Ikorodu General Hospital and a renovated Paediatric Ward of Agbala Health Centre, Ikorodu, said there was need for collaboration between the government and the private sector.
The centres were donated by the Heneiken Africa Foundation (HAF) in collaboration with NB.
His words: “The population is growing and there is need for the private sector to join hands with the government. This is to reduce mortality rate to the barest minimum by investing in the health sector.”
According to him, Ikorodu has assumed a larger setting as a result of the newly built road infrastructure.
“So many citizens, who ordinarily had lived their lives in the greater cities of Lagos, have moved to Ikorodu because of the development the community is witnessing,” he said.
Accidents, he said, were predicted to increase due to the new road, adding: “That is the reason for this 12- bedded accident and emergency centre to curb the menace of accident.”
He continued: “For us it is money well spent and we are sure that value will be derived from this equipment.”
Permanent Secretary, Lagos Ministry of Health, Dr Modele Osunkiyesi, thanked the HAF and NB for their laudable effort, urging other private companies to support the sector.
About the importance of the centre, she said, the prevalence of vehicular accidents has increased due to the opening of the Ikorodu road and the entry of people into the town.
According to her, 13 per cent of the 13, 458 and 7, 914 cases managed at the Casualty Department in 2014 and January to August 2015 respectively, were due to road traffic accidents.
She continued: “The face of optimal pre- hospital cares provided by Lagos State Ambulance Service fleet and the inadequacy of the general hospital casualty department, which hitherto managed cases became apparent.”
Osunkiyesi thanked the HAF and NB on behalf of the management and residents of Ikorodu, for the 12- bed accident and emergency centre and the rehabilitation of the Agbala paediatrics centre.
Her words: “The only purpose built Accident and Emergency Centre before this was the 20- bed facility at the Toll gate constructed and equipped by the state in Lagos West Senatorial District.”
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN’s) foreign exchange (forex) policy, which barred importers of 41 items that can be produced locally from sourcing forex through its interbank window is taking its toll on real sector operators. But hopes that the policy may be reviewed to lessen the burden of real sector operators may have dimmed following the apex bank’s refusal to shift ground, writes Assistant Editor OKWY IROEGBU-CHIKEZIE.
Succour may be far from real sector operators particularly manufacturers who have been hoping for a review of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) foreign exchange (forex) policy, which restricted certain items from accessing foreign exchange. The manufacturers may have had their hopes dashed by the apex bank as the CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele foreclosed a possible review of the policy, which manufacturers see as a disincentive to the manufacturing sector and the economy.
At the International Monetary Fund (IMF)/World Bank Group meeting in Lima Peru, Emefiele dashed manufacturers’ hopes, saying the policy was not up for review and that the apex bank would continue to deny importers access to forex to bring in goods which can be produced locally. He explained that contrary to insinuations, the finance sector regulator has not banned any goods from being imported. “We have not banned any items. What we just did was to exclude them from accessing foreign exchange; items that can be produced in the country.
“We think that because of the problems we’ve had, the drop in commodity prices and revenue accruing to the nation, and because we know that these items have been produced in large quantities in this country in the past, that provision still stands. The CBN is not reconsidering the ban, the exclusion still stands,” he stressed. The CBN chief added that since the policy came into force, he has been prompted from various quarters to even elongate the ‘excluding items’ list, but that the CBN would confine itself to the items presently in the restriction basket.
The CBN inadvertently hit the raw nerves of manufacturers when in June this year it removed 41 items from access to its foreign exchange window on grounds that they could easily be produced in Nigeria rather than spend the country’s reserves on importing them. The list included rice, cement, clothes, textiles, toothpick, poultry products, meat and processed meat, margarine, palm kernel/palm oil and vegetable oils, private airplanes/jets, tinned fish, incense and wooden doors.
Others are soaps and cosmetics, tomato/tomato paste, woven fabrics, table ware, kitchen utensils, furniture, plywood boards and panels, wood particle boards and panels, and glassware. Cold rolled steel sheets, galvanised steel sheets, wire mesh and steel nails were also on the list. The apex bank explained that the policy was aimed at encouraging local production of the items.
However, CBN’s explanation apparently did not hit the right chord in the ears of real sector operators especially manufacturers most of who felt that the policy imposed additional burden on them and the economy generally. Specifically, the manufacturers argued, for instance, that some of them who need some of the raw materials and products restricted from the forex market as their primary products in the manufacturing process are adversely affected.
In other words, manufacturers who require any of the 41 restricted items as inputs and raw materials for their production may have to simply shut their operations once their existing stock is exhausted.
As far as Director General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Mr. Muda Yusuf, is concerned, CBN’s understanding of the manufacturing process of many of the sectors affected by the policy was “limited.”
For LCCI and other real sector operators therefore, nothing short of a review of the policy or outright cancellation would gladden their hearts. And hopes that a review of the policy was in the offing came when Vice-President ’Yemi Osinbajo recently indicated the Federal Government’s readiness to adjust the controversial forex policy that pitched it against operators in the real sector. That was at the 43rd Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) in Lagos.
The Vice President however, said the cancellation of the policy was not an option. While noting that the CBN forex policy was introduced to boost local production and protect the nation’s manufacturing sector, he however, said there could be the need to rejig the policy towards ensuring that all the associated grey areas are properly looked at and any aspect of the policy that requires amendment resolved.
Hear him: “We are going to have negotiations with the operators of the manufacturing sector to seek ways on how foreign exchange control can be eased to enable the items that are not eligible for foreign exchange to be covered.” While noting that the policy was as a result of the downturn in the economy caused by the falling oil prices, he said the nation deserved a robust foreign exchange reserve and would do everything to achieve that as a responsible government.
Osinbajo’s hint of a possible adjustment of the policy once the economy improves was no doubt, a soothing balm on manufacturers and other operators in key sectors of the economy including maritime who have been lamenting that the policy has been taking a huge toll on their businesses. For instance, the revenue generation profile of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is said to have suffered because of the exclusion of some items from forex transactions.
The Apapa Area 1 Command of the NCS this week, announced a dip in its monthly revenue collection for September, collecting N23.3 billion.
The figure was far below the N30.1 billion collected in August, according to a report signed by its Area Controller, Comptroller Eporwei Edike. The N7 billion decline was blamed on the exclusion of some items from foreign exchange transactions by the CBN.
Despite this and other unintended negative consequences of the policy, the CBN said it would not shift ground. Emefiele, in defending the apex bank’s stance, argued that if there’s global economic slowdown, which has affected the growth and resilience of emerging and frontier markets, including Nigeria, and there is a drop in revenue receipts, which has impacted negatively on everyone, “There’s need for the regulator to intervene to restore stability in the exchange rate regime.”
He also said there is need to look for ingenuous ways of increasing the sources of foreign exchange, such as encouraging exporters to repatriate their proceeds and make more foreign exchange available to the real sector so as to grow the economy. He added that the reforms that commenced about two years ago, with respect to economic diversification and taxation, will be vigorously pursued with a view to increasing government’s revenue base.
The audit report on oil and gas sector earnings for 2013 would be made public before the end of this year, the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), has said.
The audit is expected to establish how much money the country earned from the oil sector within the period and bring to the lime light how much crude oil that was produced and how much of it was exported within the given time.
Again, the report would explain the processes used to manage the revenues that accrued to the government from from the oil and gas sales and how the revenues were managed. On the other hand, it would give specific answers to how much the country earned from petroleum profit tax, royalty, grants and concessions.
NEITI Director of Communications, Ogbonnaya Orji, in a telephone interview, said the report would also be able to make the difference between what the government received from oil and gas revenue and from all other sources and what the companies actually paid.
He said: “We will establish from the audit if there was a difference between what companies said they paid in terms of tax, royalty, and other revenues and then find out if what they said they paid was what the government said they received or if there was a variance.
“We will also find out if companies paid what they were supposed to pay and if the government received what it is supposed to receive because in the past, companies had made claims that they paid so much while the government would say it received so little; we want to find out if that gap exists,” he said, adding that the report would establish if there were cases of over payment or under assessment of taxes.
He said as soon as the report is ready, it would be made public to the media, civil societies, members of the National Assembly, adding that it would be used to ask informed questions and initiate debate that would help ongoing reforms in the sector.
While commending the recent publication of financial statement by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), he urged the oil firm to be more transparent and accountable adding that its activities needed to be more in the public domain.
He said there was the need for the NNPC to share more information on the internal reforms that are going on currently.
“It needs to be faster and again there is the need for more information on what has been done and what needs to be done”, he uttered
“We need them to support their information and communication department to come out almost weekly or monthly to brief Nigerians on what exactly is going on within the organization. For the reason that over 70 percent of the country’s revenue is coming from that organization, if anything goes on well with the NNPC it largely affects the wellbeing of Nigerians, and if anything goes wrong it will also affect them adversely”
The NEITI boss has also stressed the urgent need for the government to exploit the huge potential in the mining sector
He said as the oil price has collapsed globally it is high time Nigeria paid more attention to the mining sector adding the country can no longer depend on oil
He said there were abundance of gold, diamond, copper, limestone and all sorts of solid minerals available in every nooks and cranny of the country waiting to be harnessed
He urged the government to come out with a comprehensive policy and work closely with the NEITI recommendations on information and data that we have collated that are available in the mining sector expressing the hope that the federal government would appoint an experienced minister to take over the solid mineral sector
Orji informed that a lot of illegal mining were going on especially in the northern part of the country where according to him are very rich in these solid minerals
“Our concern is that most of these minerals are exploited illegally by foreigners and nobody seems to be paying attention”
Meanwhile, he expressed the commitment to be bold in its efforts to continue to inform Nigerians on whatever that is going on not only in the NNPC but also in the mining sector
The Chairman, Ikeja Branch, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, (MAN), Prince Felix Oba Okoje, has said the manufacturing sector will flourish if there are good policies, to support manufacturing.
He therefore urged President Muhammadu Buhari to put long-term policies in place, adding that manufacturing cannot thrive with short term planning. “Manufacturing should be at the forefront of the economy, with a consistent, tested and lasting policy. Until we learn to do that, the sector and the economy will remain as it is now,” he said.
Okoje said the problems facing the manufacturing sector in the country go beyond power supply. According to him, the situation in the sector has become so critical because of the harsh operating environment. Therefore, he said, operators in the sector now have to come up with good initiative to be creative and also to study the intricacies of market via the intuition of supply and demand.
He identified the industry’s challenges to include double digit interest rate, rising cost of foreign exchange as the naira continue to depreciate against major currencies of the world, among others.
Okoje regrets that the unpalatable experience of the sector in the area of electricity supply is now panning out in that of gas supply to the sector. This, he explained, is because the gas suppliers or the franchise owners, at the moment have the absolute monopoly.
To ameliorate the sufferings, the former President Goodluck Jonathan, in 2010, was said to have set up a committee to deliberate on a national gas plan. This plan, Okoje believed, would have brought about the diversification of gas supplies and other associated issues by putting infrastructure in place. However, the outcome of the committee’s deliberations cumulated into a national gas price which was a little bit higher than any other price that existed around that time. Under the arrangement, he said each year, there would be some percentage increase, such that at the end of last year, manufacturers were paying between N38 and N40; a price regime he said was reluctantly accepted because it was meant to be used for four years. Today, manufacturers are being asked to pay N50 and N60 per cubit of gas, he lamented.
He asked rhetorically: “How can we pay that? Why do they want to price Nigerian manufacturers out of market? Where is that done?”
With the enactment of the Administration of Criminal Justice (ACJ) Act 2015, many believe the delays in dispensation of justice, especially in criminal cases, will be reduced. President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice-President Yemi Osinbanjo (SAN) have spoken on the need for more reforms. Lawyers have identified other areas that need transformation, reports Precious Igbonwelundu.
Since assuming office, President Muhammadu Buhari has repeatedly emphasised the need for judicial reforms that will aid his administration’s anti-corruption war as well as strengthen democratic governance.
The Administration of Criminal Justice Act of 2015 has addressed some problems, such as staying proceedings pending appeal, and cases starting de novo when judges are elevated to the Court ofAppeal.
Still, lawyers believe there are other areas that need reforms.
These include ensuring financial independence for the judiciary, insulating it from political manipulation, reviewing the processes of appointment and removal of judges; addressing institutional limitations and incapacities, as well as ridding the judiciary of corruption.
Speaking on areas that need reforms, a Supreme Court Justice, Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, called for an amendment of the Constitution so that some cases can terminate at the Court of Appeal.
This, in addition to more deployment of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), she said, would reduce the Supreme Court’s workload.
Justice Kekere-Ekun backed suggestions that some cases terminate at the Court of Appeal, adding that a review of the constitutional provisions governing the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court is necessary.
“I am in full support of certain classes of cases terminating at the Court of Appeal. In my humble view, the amendment of the 1999 Constitution has added to the burden of the Supreme Court.
“It made the Supreme Court the final court of appeal in respect of decisions arising from Governorship election tribunals.
“Such appeals, by virtue of Section 285 (7) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) must be concluded within 60 days from the date of the delivery of the judgment of the Court of Appeal,” she said.
She said the provision has led to an influx of appeals and has also affected other cases pending before the court, which are already overdue for hearing, but which had to be set aside while election related appeals are heard and determined expediently.
She also called for the use of more technology in court processes.
She said: “The global village is moving at a faster pace, the apex court of the most populous nation in Africa cannot be left behind. We must embrace information technology and take advantage of all that it offers along with alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, where possible.
“A reduction of the inflow of cases and more efficient management of the court’s docket will allow the justices to devote more of their time and resources to research, study, reading, consultations among themselves for the advancement and administration of justice.”
Justice Kekere-Ekun
Justice Kekere-Ekun said for the Supreme Court to discharge its role effectively, the adoption of Information technology will allow for easy sharing of information.
She said it would also help to create a database for decided cases by all the courts and which will also be accessible by judicial officers anywhere.
In addition, she said ICT will facilitate communication between the justices, the registry and other administrative staff. According to her, the project is capital intensive and requires political will, purposeful leadership, and the commitment of substantial resources.
“It also requires training for the justices and upgrading the knowledge and skills of courts staff to enable them effectively manage the facilities.The leadership of the court is fully committed to this transformation.
“The role of the Supreme Court today should primarily be that of development of legal policy and to discharge the role effectively, its current docket has to be greatly reduced,” she said.
Worried by these challenges bedeviling the system, a former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Dahiru Musdapha, during one of his presentations at the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS), enjoined the Judicial Reform Committee as well as other bodies which have been empanelled, to explore how best to fortify the independence of the judiciary, and insulate Judges from political manipulation.
Justice Musdapha considered several issues, such as Should serving Judges should continue to undertake ad hoc assignments, such as election petition cases? What are its implications for delays in handling regular cases? Will such assignments will make them vulnerable to corrupt practices?
He said: “Sadly, the judiciary in several states still goes cap in hand to the executive for funds. By section 162(9) of the Constitution, any amount standing to the credit of the judiciary in the Federation Account is paid directly to the National Judicial Council (NJC) for disbursement to the heads of Superior Courts, including those at the state level.
“However, a significant part of the funding requirements of state judiciaries, especially in the area of the provision of infrastructure and welfare of Magistrates and other lower court Judges, remain the responsibilities of states.
“The plight of the state judiciaries is compounded by the fact that, in spite of the best efforts of the NJC, the processes of appointment and removal of judges/security of tenure is the subject of political theatrics.
“Delay in the dispensation of justice remains a major challenge due, in large measure, to institutional incapacities in the area of infrastructure (especially e-infrastructure), inbuilt delay mechanisms in the law, as well as failings on the part of some Judges, the official and private Bars, law enforcement agencies, litigants and witnesses.
“The sobering reality is that if court backlogs grow at their present rate, our children may not be able to bring a lawsuit to a conclusion within their lifetime. Legal claims might then be willed on, generation to generation like hillbilly funds; and the burden of pressing them would be contracted like a hereditary disease.”
The needed reforms
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria and Queens Counsel (QC), Mr Oba Nsugbe, said the secrecy surrounding judges appointments must be stopped.
“We need to make greater efforts to completely demystify the system of judicial appointments in Nigeria from beginning to end,” he said.
Nsugbe said he once sought to know how to go about applying to be a judge in Nigeria, and to learn about upcoming vacancies, criteria for appointment and the process, but came up with no reliable information.
He interrogated various official websites for answers, read a number of publications, and spoke to people in the judiciary, and still got no useful information on how to be a judge.
His words: “The answers never seemed complete or exhaustive. This needs to change. In so important an area, you can never have enough clear, systematic information about what each and every stage entails – exactly what is needed of the applicant, when, who will assess it; how it will be assessed; who will be spoken to; against what criteria, etc. There needs to be more transparency about the appointments procedure. The lack of it acts as a disincentive to many aspiring judges,” he said.
A judge of the Delta State High Court, Justice Roli Harriman, in paper, said only a few states, such as Lagos, has any form of electronic recording of proceedings.
Majority of courts, she said, still use archaic equipment and judges write longhand, which is later reproduced by typists. “The use of longhand and typewriters obviously tend to delay justice,” she said.
Another factor, the judge said, is that little use is made of software designed for case management and legal research. This lack of tools leads to judges adjourning till further dates rulings they could otherwise have delivered immediately. “Apart from a few states, the acquisition of this software is not on the priority list of governments,” Justice Harriman said.
Delays, the judge added, even start from the filing process. “I am hoping a time would come when e-filing will take centre stage in the judiciary, a time when lawyers can, with a registered access code, file their processes and make payments online,” she said. Besides, it will not be out of place if court registries accept Point of Sale (POS) payments.
Lack of courtroom technology, such as video conferencing, is also a challenge. In criminal cases, a greater number of adjournments are due to investigating police officers being transferred to other locations or being sent on other assignments. Some witnesses are also reluctance to come to court. “If their evidence can be taken through video conferencing, then this would eliminate the delay,” Justice Harriman said.
The physical state of some courts also does not help speedier justice delivery. Some courts do not have air conditioning, and some courtrooms are like cubicles.
While stating his agenda for judicial reforms, Musdapha noted that it was imperative to explore ways to strengthen the provisions of laws and regulations, as well as the mechanisms for their enforcement.
He suggested that the Code of Conduct for Judicial Officers should expressly forbid Judges from giving extra-judicial advice to other branches of government, just as he stated that only paragons of integrity, the best and the brightest be appointed to the bench and elevated.
The former CJN envisioned a judicial system that is simple, fast, efficient and responsive to the needs and yearnings of the citizenry, which can be actualised by full computerisation of operations.
He suggested the amendment of Section 233(2) of the Constitution to compulsorily require leave of the Supreme Court before an appeal may lie from decisions of the Court of Appeal.
“This will engender a filtering mechanism that ensures that frivolous appeals do not continue to clog our cause list and thereby cause undue delays and backlogs.
“Again, on the appointment of Judges, we are also of the respectful view that there is considerable merit in the call to diversify the pool from which judicial appointments to superior courts are made.
“We are concerned by the declining intellectual depth and overall quality of the judgments of some of our Judges as well as the frequency with which some Judges churn out conflicting decisions in respect of the same set of facts.
‘’A wider diversity of experience will undoubtedly add quality to judicial deliberation in our courts.
“We must, therefore, embark upon reforms that address not only the present problems but also rollout the infrastructure that would enable us cope with foreseeable future challenges,” he said.
However, on the Criminal Justice System, some of the suggestions the former CJN made have been included in the recently amended Administration of Criminal Justice Act.
Lawyers’ views
That notwithstanding, lawyers believe more reforms are needed in order for the judiciary to efficiently carry out its functions.
They argue that concerted efforts must be made towards decongesting the prisons and ensuring faster proceedings.
• Adekoya
Renowned legal practitioner, Mrs. Funke Adekoya (SAN), said the government needs to focus on the investigative and prosecutorial areas of the Criminal Justice System.
She said: “On a practical note, the police needs to be properly equipped with resources and trained such that they can concentrate on investigating crimes before arrests are made, rather than after.
“Proper investigation will decrease the number of Awaiting Trial Detainees, some of whom are incarcerated because they have been unable to make bail while the police are still conducting investigations.
“The police should be trained in finger printing collection and analysis. All the biometrics collected from Nigerians through the BVN exercise and the collection of passports and drivers’ licences should be centralised and the police should access it to trace criminals.
“This will further decrease the time before arrest, and between arrest and trial.
“Only lawyers, trained in the art of prosecution should be allowed to handle criminal cases, and States that have not amended their laws in line with the Administration of the Criminal Justice Act, should be encouraged to do so.
“Lawyers in the Ministry of Justice need to be trained to enable them handle the various types of prosecutions which are now a feature of our criminal justice system, rather than farming out briefs to private prosecutors.
“The government also needs to review the jurisdiction of the courts. Too many frivolous matters are reaching the Supreme Court, such that the Judges are overburdened with issues that are not ‘cutting edge’.
“The Constitution needs to be amended such that all matters except death penalty judgments should require leave from the Supreme Court before they can be appealed to that court.
“Regular appellate jurisdiction should end at the Court of Appeal. The grant of leave should be based on public interest considerations [conflicting decisions of lower courts, constitutional issues, impact on legislation etc.”
Constituional lawyer, Fred Agbaje, said emphasis should be placed on prison reforms as well as fast track in hearing and determination of criminal matters.
He suggested that custodial sentencing for convicted persons should be deemphasised, just as he explained that convicts of lesser crimes, instead of outright jail, be given social punishment such as “sweeping Ikorodu Road for two weeks during the day under the supervision of a social worker or pay a fine!”
He noted the need for a review of stringent requirements a surety must meet to stand bail for an accused, such as the demand for land certificates in Ikoyi, Lekki, Ikeja GRA to be produced by civil servants from grade seven and above.
Agbaje said no accused person should be arraigned without the prosecution witnesses in court and failure by the prosecution to conduct and conclude the case after a stated number of adjournments, should warrant it being struck out.
He also suggested the need for reduction of appeals on interlocutory decisions through the constitution.
The Chairman, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, believes there is a need to be make the judici
•Prof. Odinkalu
ary more accountable in appointment of judicial officers, as well as in jurisprudence.
“In the last quarter of a century, the judiciary has become a sinecure, part of the retinue of patronage in public life.
“Almost invariably, the path to judicial office now begins in the civil service and appointment to the Bench is increasingly viewed as part of the promotion structure in the civil service significantly dis-entangled from any rigorous considerations of integrity, professionalism, merit, values and temperament.
“The resulting narrowness of pool of judicial skills and intellect reflects in the quality of both organisation and some of the jurisprudence that comes out of courts and imbues our judicial system with a structural flaw that can only be addressed through structural intervention. The time is ripe for this,” he said.
