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Fuel Price Hike, Violation Of Our Agreement With FG — NLC

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has rejected the current increase in the prices of fuel on Monday evening, demanding its reversal with immediate effect.

The congress condemned the increase, saying the price increase will definitely increase the current level of pain and anguish in the country.

In a statement signed by the NLC President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, the congress hinted that it would receive an update from its affiliates who were members of various committees set up after the last round of negotiations with the Federal Government.

Wabba said the outcome of its engagement with the unions will determine the next line of actions to be taken by Labour.

“The outcome of this engagement will determine our response in the coming days. But while we are at that, we condemn the recent price increase and we call for its reversal with immediate effect,” Wabba said.

The statement read: “There is no doubt that there is great disquiet in the land over the extraordinary level of inflation in the country. The recent increase in the pump price of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) has only exacerbated the current level of pain and anguish in the country. The recent increase in the pump price of PMS is clearly against the spirit and content of what organized labour agreed with government at the last negotiations over the last fuel price increase.

“It has also cast in very bad light our utmost good faith with regards to government explanations that it lacks funds to continue bankrolling the so-called subsidy payments as such would sooner than later cripple the entire economy, throw the country into severe economic crisis and cause loss of jobs in millions.

“While we await the full recovery of our refineries as contained in our agreement with the government, Nigerians cannot be made to bleed endlessly for the failures of successive government to properly manage our refineries, ensure value for money for the numerous Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) which were poorly and barely executed and the horrifying lack of interest in prosecuting public officials and private business people who have profited from the rot in our petroleum sector and the collective misery they have imposed on the general population.

“The truth is that we would not have been in this precarious situation if the government had been alive to its responsibilities. There is a limit to what the citizens can tolerate if this abysmal increases in the price of refined petroleum products and other essential goods and services continue. While we fix our refineries, there are a number of options open to the government to stem the tide of high prices of refined petroleum products.

“One is for the government to declare a state of emergency in our downstream petroleum sector. As a follow up to this, the government should enter into contract refining with refineries closer home to Nigeria. This will ensure that the cost of supplying crude oil is negotiated away from the prevailing international market rate so that the landing cost of refined petroleum products is significantly reduced.

“Government should also demonstrate the will to stamp out the smuggling of petroleum products out of Nigeria. We need to see big-time petroleum smugglers arraigned in the court of law and made to pay for their crimes against the Nigerian people. Government has the resources available to it to ensure this economic justice to Nigerians.

“The question in the minds of many Nigerians is if the government is willing to go headlong against major financiers of the major political parties known to the public as the architects of the current national woe.

“We also demand that Nigerians should be carried along on the distribution of refined petroleum products. Information on the distribution of petroleum products to petrol stations should be advertised and made public knowledge.

“It should not be difficult to establish the average time it takes a petrol station to exhaust its supplies. There is already an established market trend which will help the government fix the rot in Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector.

“Second, we call on the government to review the entire process of licensing for modular and bigger refineries. It is queer to depend on the enterprise of one man to fix Nigeria’s downstream petroleum subsector. The more public and private refineries in play the higher the competition. This would serve end consumers who would benefit from lower prices. Organized Labour will not accept a fait accompli of the monopoly of Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector or the emergence of a cartel of Oligarchs whose end game is mass pauperization.

“Third, in line with our recent agreement with the government, we will be receiving updates in the next few days from our unions in the petroleum sector which have been given the mandate to keep surveillance on a government promise to overhaul our public refineries. We will also receive updates from our representatives in the electricity review committee. The updates we receive will determine whether the government has kept to its side of the bargain which is to take serious steps to recover and reposition our public refineries.”

Freezing Of Accounts Of #EndSars Protesters: Group Petitions NJC, Calls For Investigation Against Justice Mohammed

A civil rights group under the aegis of Coalition in Defence of Nigerian Democracy and Constitution has petitioned the National Judicial Council (NJC) over the granting of ex-parte order to freeze accounts of EndSars protesters for 90 days.

The letter titled “Re: Suit No FHC/ABJ/CS/1384/2020” signed by its convener, Ariyo Dare-Atoye, said Justice A. R. Mohammed was wrong to have granted the order for 90 days contrary to Order 26 Rule 10 which permits lesser period

They described the action of Justice Mohammed as “grievous judicial misbehaviour” and urged the NJC to investigate same

“We write to bring to your notice (and to request for your investigation) what seems to us a glaring case of grievous judicial misbehaviour by Justice A. R Mohammed of the Federal High Court Abuja.” the letter reads

It added “We believe that, in issuing these deeply concerning orders, the Honourable Justice A.R. Mohammed violated his judicial oath and, in our view, ridiculed, devalued, and imperilled the Nigerian system of justice before a watching world. Our reasons are set out below.”

The Group said the Affidavit in support of the exparte application did not disclose compelling evidence neither did it kink the EndSars protesters to any crime

They said, “First, we are shocked that His Lordship, Justice A. R Mohammed granted the above ex parte order in the absence of compelling evidence that it ought to be granted. The fact-free affidavit in support of the ex parte application woefully failed to connect the defendants to any investigations or crimes necessitating the application or its grant.”

Furthermore, they described the order as “dubious” because it goes contrary to the position of the Supreme Court that ex-parte orders should not be abused by judges

“In issuing this dubious order, His Lordship poked fingers at the Supreme Court of Nigeria and violated long-standing apex court’s guidelines consistently admonishing against the abuse of ex parte orders by judges and litigants.” the group said

Court of Appeal Act Amendment: PCA Invites Comments And Observations

The President of the Nigerian court of Appeal, Hon. Justice M. B. Dongban-Mensem has expressed intention to amend the Court of Appeal Act, Court of Appeal Rules of 2016 and all existing Practice Directions of the Court

This is contained in a letter addressed to the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Olumide Akpata, and sighted by TheNigeriaLawyer

“The amendments are necessary in order to provide an effective, efficient, speedy and good case management system in the court as well as to adapt the Court of Appeal Act, Rules and Practice Directions to the emerging electronic channels of communication.” She said

She, therefore, called on users and stakeholders to “forward their comments and observations to enable a wholesome and all-inclusive exercise, that will further enrich the amendment process.”

The deadline for submission of comments and observations is November 30, 2020

Recent Violence Has Set Lagos Economy Back By Tens Of Billions Of Naira – Sanwo-Olu

A file photo of Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, is concerned about the impact of the destruction of government and private properties on the people and the state’s economy.

In his remarks at the Consultative Forum on Rebuilding Lagos held on Monday, Governor Sanwo-Olu stated that the October violence has led to the loss of billions of naira.

“The violence has no doubt set our economy back by tens of billions of Naira and impacted our confidence,” he told the meeting.

The governor added, “Beyond the physical and economic impact, there has also been the psychological damage; the fear, the terror, the helplessness that all of the victims have felt, the questions about how or where do we start from?”

According to him, the violence is the most widespread carnage Lagos has seen in decades and the level of destruction was worrisome.

“Every aspect of life and livelihood in Lagos was affected – government buildings offices, public monuments, and historical archives, public infrastructure like our BRT buses, and, very sadly too, private property and investments – malls, shops, small businesses, residences and many more,” Governor Sanwo-Olu told the forum.

He, however, noted that the state has found hope and great strength in the offers of assistance from various individuals and groups, which culminated in the constitution of the Lagos Rebuild Committee to coordinate the government’s efforts to rebuild and upgrade the state.

The governor stressed that following the violence, the state would bounce back and emerge stronger.

He said, “Here is a city that emerged from the most unpromising beginnings, out of the gloom of a sprawling lagoon and malarial swamps.

“By dint of hard work, entrepreneurial energy, and creative excellence, everything we see and hold dear today was built, over the centuries. In that time there have been setbacks and challenges of various kinds.”

“The most prominent ones include the Royal Navy bombardment of 1851, the Influenza epidemic of 1918, the Bubonic Plague of the 1920s, even the loss of Federal Capital status that many assumed would severely downgrade the state.

“Most recently, we also faced and defeated Ebola in 2014, and the coronavirus pandemic of 2020 – in both cases, Lagos was the Nigerian epicentre,” Governor Sanwo-Olu stated.

Those at the event include the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, and Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, among others.

BREAKING: Ex-FIRS Chairman, Fowler, Returns To EFCC Office Over Fresh N9.2bn Traced To Personal Account

SaharaReporters gathered that a fresh N9.2bn was traced to Fowler’s personal account from Lagos Inland Revenue Service and Alpha Beta scam in which a former governor of Lagos, Bola Tinubu, had also been mentioned.

A former Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Babatunde Fowler, on Monday returned to the Lagos office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for question over his involvement in alleged financial misappropriation under his watch.

SaharaReporters gathered that a fresh N9.2bn was traced to Fowler’s personal account from Lagos Inland Revenue Service and Alpha Beta scam in which a former governor of Lagos, Bola Tinubu, had also been mentioned.

Babatunde Fowler

Recall that the former FIRS boss was on November 2 invited for questioning by the EFCC over a N5bn fraud perpetrated in the agency under his watch.

Earlier, nine senior officials of the agency were detained by the EFCC over alleged multi-billion naira fraud in 2019.

Fowler was sacked by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019 after a query for worsening tax revenues since 2015.

He was also accused of a lavish lifestyle, bankrolling extravagant parties and concerts in Lagos, poor corporate governance structures at the FIRS, poor audits at the FIRS, high handedness in office, diversion of funds, brazen corruption and awarding contracts to stooges and cronies.

He was still being questioned at the Lagos office of the anti-graft agency as at the time of this report.

SaharaReporters

(Video) The lamentations of a businesswoman frustrated by alleged antics of AMAC govt officials

A viral video (above) shows a businesswoman lamenting the frustration she suffers in the hands of alleged officials of the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

Reactions are still being awaited from the Council Chairman, Abdulahi Candido.

LOUD WHISPERS: Glory And Lollipop

Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi

By Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi 

Part 1

Wednesday October 28th

Glory: Pls I want 2 speak with d governor

BAF: This is not his number

Glory: But u are close to him

BAF: Please what do you want to tell him?

Glory: Please help me 2 tell him 2 pay civil servant salary especially d health service so that my mum can pay my school fees please.

BAF: Did your mum tell you that the Government has not paid her salary? That is not true. What school are you attending?

Glory: Pls Ijero Health Tech

(At this point Governor Fayemi arrives home. He sees me on my phone smiling and he asks me what I am doing. I tell him I am chatting with a student who seems to be lying about her mum not being paid).

BAF: How much is your school fees?

Glory: It remains N35,000 pls sir do u want 2 help?

BAF: Send your account number

Glory: Sir are u kidding me or u are serious. I saw did number on someone phone that person save dis number with jkf I thought it was governor Fayemi. Am not 419 please

BAF: Hold on for Governor Fayemi

(I hand the phone over to Governor Fayemi. He asks Glory where her mum works, she says ‘In a health center’. She does not say where. Governor says her mum is not being owed any money, if she needs money she should just say so. He hands the phone back to me. I promise to send her something in the morning. She sends me her account number)

Part 2

I wake up the following morning and glance at my phone. Glory has called me 17 times. I call her back and ask why she has called me so many times. She tells me it is because she has not seen any money. I tell her that one of my aides will send it to her that she should be patient. Two days later, I get the following message from Glory

Glory: Her Excellency ma I don’t ask you that you should do me a favour. If its ordinary person that promise Me since five days that person will have do it thanks very much ma God bless you I don’t want your favour again (Sic)

My aide still sends her the N50,000 I authorised. Then we start tracking the number.

Part 3

Friday November 6th

My aides eventually find Glory and bring her to me. She was lured in by one of my male aides who called and said he got her number from a friend. He asked to see her and she demanded for transport fare, which he sent. N1,500. For this amount she got in a vehicle all the way from Ijero-Ekiti and arrived Ado-Ekiti at 8pm. She had no idea who this man was. She could not believe it when she was brought straight to me. I was horrified that she had travelled alone at night for a tryst with a stranger. I asked her what would have happened if the guy turned out to be a kidnapper? She had no answer. She wept profusely, begging for forgiveness. I asked her to tell me the truth about her circumstances. She admitted that she lied about her mother not being paid. She confirmed that she was the one who had been sending the messages, and no one forced her, which we did not believe. We knew she had an accomplice. According to her, she wanted to study Nursing but there was no funding available, so her mother asked her to attend a technical college and learn Fashion Designing. I asked her if she still wanted to study Nursing, she said yes. I told her that she should apply to the College of Health Technology, Ijero-Ekiti. If she passes, I will pay her fees. I also promised to pay for her accommodation and give her an allowance. I gave her another N50,000 and asked one of the Protocol Officers to give her accommodation for the night. She left, seemingly remorseful and sober. I told her I would send someone from my office to check on her in school. Perhaps she thought I was joking or just saying it for fun.

Part 4

Tuesday November 10th

Tope, the Coordinator of the Keep Girls in School project in my office visits her ‘school’ at the Technical College in Ijero-Ekiti. Glory is not registered there, they have never heard of her. Tope calls Glory and asks her where she is. Glory says she is in school. Tope says good, I am in your school too, come to the Principal’s office. Glory then says she is not actually in school because she had to pick something up from a nearby town. Tope tells Glory to come to our office in Ado-Ekiti the next day to pick up cash for her school uniform and other things she will need in school. Glory is happy to hear this and promises to be there. The following morning, Glory sends me the a message, ‘Please ma, I need your help ma, I have been sleeping with my friends since have rent my own room just because I don’t have bed the money you gave me the other day have used it for food stud I transfer ten thousand to my mother the money remain five thousand naira and the bed is 18 thousand naira God bless you ma’(Sic)

Part 5

Wednesday November 11th

Glory walks into my office to pick up her ‘cash’. She is in for a surprise. Over a five-hour period, we manage to get hold of her Mother, Step Father, Aunt, and her accomplice, her boyfriend who she calls ‘Lollipop’. The picture that emerges is not a pretty one. Glory left home because she did not want to keep living with her Mother and Step-Father. Her Step-Father claimed that she accused him of wanting to sleep with her. Glory went to stay with her Aunt, helping her sell ‘Paraga’ and other stuff. Her Aunt claimed she was a thief and she had to report her to the police at least three times and the Police could provide records. ‘Lollipop’ was the brains behind their scams, giving her instructions on how to write her messages to people and what to say to get money. Glory even scammed the scammer, she gave Lollipop N30,000 out of the first N50,000 I gave her, but did not declare the second N50,000! By this time, all my staff members were fed up. As far as they were concerned, Glory should go back to the streets where she belongs, since she has no intention of taking up the opportunities we want to offer.

No. I am not sending Glory to the streets, to keep scamming and engaging in transactional sex. She has been failed by too many people in her short life, she is only Twenty. Her mother, whoever her biological father is, her Step-Father, her Aunt, her ‘Lollipop’ and all those who have made it necessary for her to live off her wits and her body. I explained to my staff that Glory represents thousands of young women out there who have fallen through the cracks. They have lost faith in themselves, feel helpless due to the cycle of abuse and neglect they have been through, and believe that the only way they can survive in a cruel world is to toughen up and extract as much as they can through whatever means necessary. There is going to be a Part 6, 7 or 8 to this story. It is okay. I insist, I am not letting go of Glory’s case. You can call me naïve, you might be right, but I will still try. She deserves a life of meaning, as do the thousands like her who are out there. As for ‘Lollipop’ he will be given an opportunity to change his ways too, otherwise he will be escorted to jail. If a Glory comes your way, please don’t give up on her easily. I changed Glory’s name here, but I cannot deprive ‘Lollipop’ the joy of his real nickname!

Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi is a Gender Specialist, Social Entrepreneur and Writer. She is the Founder of Abovewhispers.com, an online community for women. She is the First Lady of Ekiti State, and she can be reached at [email protected]

Court Sentences Teenager To Prison For Peddling 1.1kg Hemp

A Federal High Court in Lagos State on Thursday, sentenced a 28-year-old man, Akeem Sanusi, to 18 months imprisonment for peddling 1.1kg of hemp.

Sanusi was charged with drug trafficking by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

Earlier, Jeremiah Aernan, who reviewed the facts of the case, tendered a written statement of the defendant, a drug analysis form, a request for scientific aid form, as well as a remnant of the narcotics as evidence.

Aernan told the court to convict and sentence the defendant based on his plea as well as pieces of evidence adduced by the prosecution.

In the charge, the NDLEA counsel narrated to the court that the convict was arrested on Sept. 17, at Ibesi in the Ikorodu area of Lagos, while trading on cannabis.

According to the prosecutor, the offense contravened the provisions of Sections 11(c) of the NDLEA Act, Cap N30, Laws of the Federation 2004.

Delivering judgment, Justice Chuka Obiozor sentenced Sanusi, after he pleaded guilty, NAN reports.

Justice Obiozor, however, gave the convict an option to pay a fine of N50, 000.

(NAN)

Peru’s President Merino Resigns After Two Students Die In Protests

Peru’s interim president has resigned, a day after two people died during protests against his government.

According to BBC, Manuel Merino, former speaker of Congress, had been in the post less than a week.

He replaced President Martín Vizcarra, who last Monday was removed in an impeachment procedure over bribery allegations, which he denies.

Politicians had called for Mr Merino’s resignation after a violent crackdown on demonstrations against him.

Twelve ministers from his recently appointed cabinet resigned earlier on Sunday in protest against police brutality and his handling of the crisis.

Congress failed to agree a replacement for Mr Merino when it met on Sunday, rejecting a team led by Rocío Silva Santisteban, a writer and former human rights activist.

A new list, made up of an interim president and senior politicians from across the spectrum, was being drafted.

Why were there protests?

Tens of thousands of demonstrators – many of them young – have been taking part in protests against Mr Vizcarra’s removal in recent days.

They accuse Congress of staging a parliamentary coup. Mr Vizcarra, 57, has enjoyed continued support among many voters for his attempts at reform.

Saturday’s protests in Lima were largely peaceful but clashes broke out towards the evening between police and protesters.

Police reportedly fired tear gas and shotgun pellets to repel demonstrators, some of whom had thrown fireworks and stones.

Two students, Jack Pintado, 22, and Inti Sotelo, 24, were killed in the protests.

“I want to let the whole country know that I’m resigning,” Mr Merino said in a televised address.

There are concerns of a growing political crisis as Peru faces a severe economic downturn brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

Peru imposed one of the earliest and strictest lockdowns in Latin America to stop the spread of coronavirus – but has still seen cases rise rapidly.

It has so far reported nearly 935,000 infections and more than 35,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University – making it the country with the third highest rate of deaths per 100,000 people in the world.

COVID-19 Vaccine Discovery, Remote Cause Of Petrol Price Increase — Sylva

The recent upwards increase in petrol pump price, from N158 to N168, has been attributed to the announcement of a possibility of having a vaccine for the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic soon.

Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, disclosed this while addressing State House Correspondents on Monday, after briefing President Muhammadu Buhari in his office at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa in Abuja.

The Minister also assured that Nigerians would get used to the deregulation of the pump price petrol just as they have become the case of kerosene and diesel.

According to him, diesel and kerosene are even more important to the ordinary citizens than petrol, which he said is mostly used by the elite.

He explained that trucks that move food produce from one part of the country to another use diesel while kerosene also used by most of the Nigerian masses has since been deregulated.

He said: “Look at it, a situation where diesel has been deregulated long ago, a situation where kerosene has been deregulated long ago, and these are what the poorest people in Nigeria interact with more. Why do I say that?

“If you want to transport food from the north to the south, it will be by trucks that are run by diesel, not with petrol. Those trucks that transport food from the north to the south are usually run by diesel.

“Kerosene is the preferred fuel at the lowest level of our society. These have been deregulated long ago. So, what is the problem with deregulating petrol, which is mostly used by the elite?

“Let us be fair to this country, let us be fair to the poor people in this country.

“If we have deregulated what they were using, then there is actually no reason why we should continue to subsidize petrol. I feel so. That’s my personal feeling.”

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