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Tag: ultimatum

  • Falana gives auditor-general ultimatum on federation accounts

    Falana gives auditor-general ultimatum on federation accounts

    Lagos lawyer Femi Falana (SAN), has given the auditor-general of the federation till March 17 to audit the accounts of the federation and those of offices and courts.

    He said he would begin proceedings against the auditor-general if he failed to meet his demand.

    “Take notice that if you fail or refuse to accede to our demand on or before March 17, we shall not hesitate to initiate legal proceedings against your office at the Federal High Court with a view to compelling you to carry out your constitutional duties,” Falana said.

    The ultimatum was contained in a letter dated March 7, titled: “Re: Request For Audit of the Federation” and addressed to the auditor-general of the federation.

    He was responding to an earlier letter of the auditor-general dated February 19, on the same issue in which he (the Auditor-General) cited constitutional impediments as reasons for his inability to audit the federation accounts.

    The Lagos lawyer declined to accept the explanations given by the Office of the Auditor-General and his claim that “there have been some ethical and professional threats working against the capability of the OAuGF to carry out the SAI’s mandates for which an audit Bill is before the National Assembly.”

    He reminded him that his request for the audit of the federation account was necessitated by the controversy generated by the allegation credited to the suspended Governor of the Central Bank, Mr. Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, to the effect that the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) failed to remit the $49.8 billion or $12 billion or $20 billion to the federation account.

    Falana argued that unlike the accountant-general of the federation, the constitution provides for the function of the auditor-general of the federation and it is in Section 85(2) of the constitution.

    It reads: “The public accounts of the federation and of all offices and courts of the federation shall be audited and reported on by the auditor-general, who shall submit his report to the National Assembly.

    “The subsection is so clear as to what finances the auditor-general can audit and they are the public accounts of the federation and of all offices and courts of the federation.”

    The Lagos lawyer said 20 well trained workers from the Office of the Auditor-General are conducting periodic checks of the accounts of the NNPC.

    “In view of the binding duty on the Federal Government to promote transparency and accountability, your office ought to publish the report of such periodic cheques of the NNPC. If you are not inclined to make the report public, we shall apply for a certified true copy under the Freedom of Information Act.

    “In the light of the foregoing, you will agree with us that if you had discharged your aforesaid constitutional duties outlined in Section 85 of the Constitution, the alleged withholding of huge funds from the federation account by the NNPC would have been detected by your office.

    “Notwithstanding the dereliction of duty, which has been blamed on ethical and professional threats, we are compelled to reiterate our request for the audit of the federation accounts without any further delay,” he said.

    The activist advised the auditor-general to study the Supreme Court judgment in the case of Attorney-General of Abia State v Attorney-General of the Federation (2006) 16 NWLR ( Pt 1005) 265 to guide him in the performance of his duties.

    “Although the Senate usurped the functions of your office by embarking on the audit of the accounts of the federation, it discovered in the course of the exercise that it does not have the expertise for the audit. It therefore resolved that the accounts of the NNPC be subjected to a forensic audit.

    “You have since informed the National Assembly that your office is not required by law to audit the NNPC accounts. However, by virtue of Section 85 of the Constitution, the office of the Auditor-General is required to approve external auditors for the NNPC and comment on their reports. In addition, your office is under a constitutional duty to conduct periodic checks of the NNPC accounts,” Falana said.

     

  • AWOL Enyimba players get 72 hours ultimatum

    AWOL Enyimba players get 72 hours ultimatum

    • Baraje threatens to sack players that flout the order
    • The Peoples Elephant shaping up in Ota

    Enyimba of Aba have given all their players that are yet to report for the pre season camping an ultimatum to do so on or before Friday this week, if they still wish to remain with the Peoples Elephant for another season.

    The Aba Millionaires began their pre season camping before the dawn of the new year with most of the invited players noticed last season.

    They have however stepped that up with another closed camping exercise at Otta, at the popular Temperance Guest House where they have spent four days already before today.

    The head coach of the team, Zachary Baraje in a chat with SportingLife sounded a note of warning to his players that are yet to report to camp to do so in their own interest within the next 72 hours if they still want to play with the current Federation Cup champions.

    Baraje, who assumed the reins of the Aba based side at the beginning of the pre season hinted that he would like to know all the players he would be registering for the league season and the CAF Champions League for team’s stability and fluidity.

    He said he would only make do with about 35 players for the league and a little over that because of the Champions League competition, hence, his decision to see all the players that are still with Enyimba so as to plan ahead.

    “Some players are yet to report to camp. It is a pity that they have stayed away for so long. They have 72 hours to save their jobs if they want to remain with Enyimba next season. Any player that fails to meet up with the Friday deadline should count himself out of my team.

    “I want to know the players we have in the team. It is only those that present themselves for my scrutiny that will be chosen. A word is enough for the wise,” Baraje sounded off.

    Enyimba ended the league season in second spot behind winners, Kano Pillars but they reclaimed the Federation Cup title for the first time since 2009 when they beat Warri Wolves in a close contest played on September 15th in Lagos last year.

     

  • Patriotic ultimatum to ASUU/FG

    SIR: Sequel to the unpatriotic stance of the Federal Government and ASUU in resolving this five months long impasse, I hereby issue my own ultimatum albeit “patriotic” that if Federal Government and ASUU fail to amicably resolve this raging inferno, within one week or two, I shall take leave of Nigeria to go back to Ghana where people appreciate the value of education.

    I spent my sabbatical leave in the University of Cape Coast in 2008/2009 Academic session. It took patriotism to disengage from the university after the one year sabbatical leave.

    As I resumed in the University I was given a decent accommodation, I was entitled to one month free feeding at the University Guest house, my flight (travelling) expenses from Nigeria was fully refunded; I was given a new office properly furnished, the Secretary to the Department handed to me a realm of paper, a packet of markers, duster, a packet of blue, red biros, some files, some foolscap papers and already typed list of the second year, third year, final year and masters students I was going to teach in the semester.

    I went to the toilet it was so clean that I was not in a hurry to leave the toilet. What do you say about classrooms. I never had any reason to postpone or cancel my lecture because my period clashed with another lecturer. That is to say that they have enough classrooms and more were being built. The environment was quite conducive for research we did not experience power outage in my university for one year. It was there that my “Philosophy of Integrative Humanism” was given birth. What I could not achieve in my 29 years of teaching in the University of Calabar was achieved in one year in a conducive environment provided by the Federal Republic of Ghana.

    May, I therefore use this medium to appeal to Federal Government and ASUU to grant me leave of absence to fulfil this patriotic ultimatum of migrating to a country that appreciates the value of education, that allocates more than 36% of her yearly budget to education. There is no University in Ghana that is not qualitatively better than the universities we have in Nigeria. You can visit University of Ghana, Legon, the  University of Cape Coast and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, etc. I therefore once again plead that the Federal Government takes the bull by the horns and do the needful and ASUU should reciprocate to avoid further brain-drain.

    There is nothing left, let all that should be signed be signed and let our universities open in the next one week.

    • Prof. G. O. Ozumba

    Department of Philosophy

    University of Calabar

     

  • Severance pay: PHCN workers give Fed Govt two weeks ultimatum

    Severance pay: PHCN workers give Fed Govt two weeks ultimatum

    Workers of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), acting under the aegis of the National Electricity Employees (NUEE), yesterday handed over a two-week ultimatum to the Federal Government to complete the payment of the severance benefits of its members.

    General Secretary of the union, Comrade Joe Ajaero who made this known in Abuja blamed the government for sending wrong signals as to what led to the stoppage of payment which had commenced earlier.

    He said on the part of labour, the hope is that in two weeks, government should complete the process as the process is not supposed to be indefinite. He commended government for providing solutions to issues agitating the minds of the workers, adding that there was need for biometric data capture of all workers before payment.

    Ajaero urged all members of the union nationwide to suspend their planned action and protest, as this will give room to the workers to watch if government will still be committed to ensuring prompt payment of entitlements to its members.

    The ultimatum came on the heels of the delay in the completion of the payment which forced the workers to move against the handover of the entities to their new private owners.

    Meanwhile, the Ministry of Power said it has resolved labour related issues which appeared to be stifling government’s resolve to privatise the power sector.

    Permanent Secretary, Power Ministry, Dr. Godknows Igali said the implementation committee has resolved all contending issues and promised that before the end of this week, at least over 38,000 workers would have collected their severance pay.

  • Delta’s most wanted kidnap suspect gives govt 60 days ultimatum

    Delta’s most wanted kidnap suspect gives govt 60 days ultimatum

    Delta State’s most wanted criminal suspect came out of hiding yesterday to issue the government a 60-day ultimatum on infrastructure in his community.

    Kelvin Ibruvwe, a suspected kidnap kingpin, led a group of masked boys who wore military camouflage and carried assault rifles. They addressed residents of Kokori in Ethiope East Local Government.

    The leader of the Liberation Movement for the Urhobo People (LIMUP) said they would shut down all oil wells in Urhobo communities if at the end of the 60 days the federal government does not grant their request.

    Ibruvwe, who confirmed that he has since been declared wanted by security agents for allegedly masterminding high profile kidnappings in Delta State, said his actions were to draw the government’s attention to the poverty level and neglect of the Kokori community, which according to him produces the best oil in the country.

    He said: “We are giving this ultimatum because the cheating is too much, the federal and state governments had neglect us for so long and now we want them to hear us because for over 50 years now, they have been drilling oil from our community which is the second best oil in this country, yet we have nothing to show for it.

    “There is hunger everywhere; graduates have no jobs. So we want the government to listen to us and that is why we are giving them 60 days ultimatum to listen to us or else we will shut down all the well heads in the area. If they like, they should bring soldiers. When we want to strike, no amount of security can stop us because we are not alone, and there are top people in this country and in foreign land backing us.

    “The reason why they have been hearing of the name Kelvin is because of what I just told you now. The government must listen to us. Boko Haram will be destroying the Northern part of the country while we will be destroying the Southsouth. We will destroy all the well heads in Urhobo kingdom.

    “After the expiration of the 60 days ultimatum, the federal government will know that we don’t make empty threats, but that we are capable of doing something but we are guaranteeing them that within the next 60 days there will be peace, but if they think we cannot do anything, then they will hear from us after the expiration of the 60 days ultimatum.”

    The group was surrounded by women and children – in a village square setting.

    Ibruvwe went on: “As you can see our mothers, sister and brothers, we are all suffering in this community. For a very long time now, they have been looking for Kelvin, that he is a kidnapper. I am the Kelvin, I am like two million Kelvins. I am not a kidnapper.

    “We are drawing the attention of the federal and state governments and we believe now that we have drawn the attention of the federal and state governments, but if the government thinks that the existing peace in the state is because of the security, we will let them know we are relaxing for a while to see what they can do.”

    “When the Ijaws and Itsekiris where agitating with arms, we the Urhobo youths chose to be peaceful, but what did we get? We are rather left out completely in the amnesty programme. Is it not the same oil that the Ijaws and Itsekiris produce that is also produced in Kokori, which has the second best oil in Nigeria? So what is our crime?”

    A resident of the community who spoke on behalf of the youths, Ms. Favour Sokodi, said: “We are here today because Kokori is suffering. There are no jobs for the youths, graduates whom their parents borrowed money to see through their tertiary education roam the streets with nothing to do and businesses have been very slow for our market women because there is no flow of income.

    “What we want the government to do is to build schools, hospitals, banks and cottage industries that can employ the men and teeming youths of the community.”

    An indigene of the community, Chief Saroke Edah who spoke on behalf of women, said: “We thank God for using our son, Kelvin, to fight for our course. He is not a criminal, as the government of Delta State wants the world to believe. He and his group are fighting for what is just, equitable and legitimate. Therefore, he should not be given a bad name.

    “If the government had provided jobs for these youths and our husbands, would they take up arms to ask for what rightly belongs to them? Where the oil is found in Kokori, the land belongs to Kelvin’s grandfather and yet the family has nothing to show for over 50 years of oil exploration. Is this not injustice?”

    But Delta Police spokesman Lucky Uyabeme said: “To believe such a thing is difficult that a man declared wanted is in the community. I cannot make any comments on that until it is confirmed. I am trying to get in touch with the DPO of the area, I cannot make any statement until I confirm from my men on ground.

  • NMA gives Fed Govt 21-day ultimatum to fix health care system

    NMA gives Fed Govt 21-day ultimatum to fix health care system

    •LUTH workers abandon duties over non-payment of salaries

    The Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) has given the Federal Government a 21-day ultimatum to find solutions to various challenges confronting the nation’s medical sector.

    The association also gave the government an ultimatum to pay doctors and other health workers in public hospitals their outstanding salaries because of the irregularities in implementing the centralised Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS).

    The ultimatum began yesterday and is expected to run till September 23.

    In a communiqué issued yesterday at the end of NMA’s National Council Meeting (NEC), which held from August 25 to September 1 in Abuja, its President, Dr. Osahon Enabulele, said the association was willing to support and advise concerned parties to adhere by the provisions of the constitution.

    “NMA is very prepared to make available its members who are professionals in various fields of medicine to constitute a medical board to resolve the lingering question of the medical fitness of the Governor and any other public or political office holder.”

    The communiqué, which was also jointly signed by NMA’s Secretary-General, Dr. Akpufuoma Pemu, said there is need to address lapses in the IPPIS to reimburse the three months outstanding salaries.

    “Since the beginning of the implementation of IPPIS in federal public hospitals, it has greatly undermined the welfare of doctors, many of whom have had to endure over three months of non-payment of salaries due to gross irregularities in the implementation.

    “The NEC, therefore, calls on government to urgently correct the numerous IPPIS irregularities within the next 21 days with effect from September 2 to September 23 or stop the use of IPPIS as a means of payment of salaries in public hospitals until the irregularities are sorted out with a perfect innocuous system put in place.”

    House officers at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) have begun a week-long work boycott to protest the non-payment of their salaries.

    Interns at the Physiotherapy, Radiography, Pharmacy, Dietetics, Medical and Laboratory Science, Dental Technology and others have joined the work boycott.

    The protesters said their salaries have been delayed since the beginning of the Integrated Pay Roll and Personnel Information system (IPPIS).

    In a letter the house officers sent to the Chief Medical Director (CMD), Prof Akin Osibogun, they said the delay has caused them great economic hardship.

    “It has become difficult to feed and be at the workplace with the right frame of mind…

    “Upon the expiration of the resolution contained in the letter attached, the house officers can no longer be at the workplace until all accrued salaries and allowances are paid.”

    The letter was copied to the Minister of Health, the Accountant-General of the Federation, the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), the President of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), the LUTH branch of the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) and the Medical and Dental Consultant Association of Nigeria.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Agbim: Wolves give Rangers 2-weeks ultimatum

    Agbim: Wolves give Rangers 2-weeks ultimatum

    Warri Wolves have given Rangers two weeks to pay up Chigozie Agbim’s transfer fee or they would be forced to recall the goalkeeper. Both clubs agreed the international shot stopper could leave for eight million Naira.

    Media officer of Wolves Etu Moses in a statement described as sad that “since the agreed date of May 15 for payment expired we have not heard from Rangers”.

    Moses also spoke on Eagles forward Sunday Mba, who played a CAF Champions League match for Rangers at Recreativo Libolo of Angola, insisting the player remains their property.

    “We would want to use this opportunity to tell the whole world that we only gave Sunday Mba to Rangers for the continental game,” Moses disclosed.

    “This clarification became necessary that because we have heard in some quarters that the player is being referred to as a Rangers player. We have not sold Sunday Mba and the player is available to any club who is interested in his services.”

    Wolves have demanded from Rangers 12 million Naira for Mba, who is best remembered for scoring two tournament-defining goals at the recent Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa, where Nigeria won a third continental trophy.

     

  • JAMB gets ultimatum to release scripts for remarking

    JAMB gets ultimatum to release scripts for remarking

    An education consultant, Mr. Oludotun Shodunke, has given the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) a seven-day ultimatum to release some scripts for re-marking or face court action.

    Shodunke wants to prove that the examination body failed many candidates because the examination questions allegedly leaked.

    In an interview with The Nation, Shodunke, who led some candidates to protest the mass failure in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) in Maryland, Lagos, last Thursday, queried the JAMB leadership led by Prof Dibu Ojerinde in conducting the examination.

    He stressed that most of the students “were failed” by the body because of the rumour that the examination papers leaked.

    “If the examination papers leaked, the right thing is for the body to have cancelled the exercise and fixed another day for it. You cannot punish students with what I called ‘monumental failure’ because the examination papers leaked. Leakage of examinations cannot be blamed on the students,” he said.

    He also alleged that the mass failure might be a way to favour the candidates that will be writing the Computer Based Test (CBT) from Saturday.

    The founder of Pathfinder Academy, which offers tutorials for candidates preparing for external examinations, noted that as a concerned parent, he has directed his lawyer to request for some of the scripts, “because I am certain that these students did not fail. Since I started this campaign many students have volunteered to have their scripts remarked by an external person and that is what we are asking for. We have asked Prof Ojerinde to release five of such scripts. We don’t want to ask for 50,000 scripts but just five so that Nigerians will understand what we are saying that the students did not fail but were failed.”

    He said his lawyer will not hesitate to approach the court if the body refuses to release the demanded scripts within seven days.

    He warned that the mass failure recorded can escalate the insecurity the country is experiencing, “because these are youths and are easy prey when they are idle”. He pleaded with the leadership of the country to persuade Ojerinde to have a rethink and remark the scripts.

    It will be recalled that the Board withheld the results of 80,419 candidates for culpability in examination malpractices. Ten candidates scored 300 and above; 628 scored between 270 and 299; 33,115 scored between 250 and 269; while 704,622 scored between 200 and 249.

    About 571,298 scored between 170 and 199; 103,489 scored between 160 and 169; while 127,017 scored less than 159.

    A total of 1,629,102 candidates applied to sit for the Paper Pencil Test (PPT), while 15,008 candidates applied for the Dual Based Test, bringing the number of candidates to 1,644,110.

    But JAMB Public Relations Officer, Mr Fabian Benjamin, debunked the claims of leakages or mass failure.

    He said: “Before we write our exams, our keys (answers) are already on ground. Don’t forget we started marking that very day. Examination towns that are close to Abuja, Kaduna are marked that very day. Our marking is computer based marking. And our questions did not leak. Anybody telling you that the question leaked is just speaking from his imaginations.

    “Our exam is not a fail/pass examination. It is an entrance examination. Our minimum pass mark for last year was 180 for universities and 160 and above for polytechnics and colleges of education. The pass mark is determined at a policy meeting chaired by the Minister of Education. The meeting is yet to hold for this year.”

     

  • Unions issue ultimatum

    THE Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) and the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) have given a 10-day ultimatum to the management of Akwa Ibom International Airport, Uyo Akwa Ibom to improve the conditions of service of their members at the airport or face a showdown.

    They gave the ultimatum in a letter dated April 15, addressed to the Managing Director and Chief Eexecutive Officer, Ibom Airport Development Company Limited, Akwa Ibom International Airport, Uyo.

    It was signed by Mr Abioye Olayinka, the Acting Secretary General of ATSSSAN and Mr Abdulkareem Motajo, the Acting Secretary General of NUATE .

    The unions accused the leadership of the airport management of failure to embrace dialogue in resolving the problems of the welfare of their staff who are members of the unions.

    “Your management chose to deliberately ignore our calls and thereby prompting us to do the needful in accordance with extant rules,” the letter stated.

     

    The unions said that they could no longer allow their members to suffer continued frustration, deprivation and anguish.

    This is coming when we understand that the Governor of the state has continued to initiate friendly policies which the airport’s management had been denying the workers,’’ the memorandum said.

    “Do please be duly put on notice that if by 12.00 hours on 25th April, 2013 , our demands are not met, our Unions shall have no other choice than to give further directives to our members in your organisations in line with trade unions rules,” the memorandum stated.

    The unions also sent copies of the memorandum to various airlines, security agencies and the Minister of Labour and Productivity

     

  • NUJ’s ultimatum expires Wednesday

    NUJ’s ultimatum expires Wednesday

    The two-week ultimatum given by the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) and Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to media houses to clear backlog of salary arrears expires on Wednesday. The picketing is scheduled to start today.

    NUJ and NLC gave the ultimatum two weeks ago, warning that at its expiration, they would picket media houses that didn’t comply. The picketing is scheduled to start today.

    The decision came on the heels of journalists being owed many months without plan for payment.

    NUJ President, Mohammed Garba said: “We are worried that major newspaper owners making several millions of naira as profit, owe their employees several months of unpaid salaries.

    “How do we talk of sanitising the industry and the profession when some media organisations are aiding corruption by that act.”

    The NUJ is working with sister unions, Radio Television And Theatre Workers Union (RATTAWU) and the National Union of Printing and Publishing Workers (NUPPROW).

    Garba pledged the support of the NUJ for the bill seeking appropriate sanction for employers that refuse to pay workers.