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World Trade Organization: The race for DG, a case for consensus, By Evelyn Dan Epelle

7th Director-General of the WTO takes historic precedence as ‘first woman to lead the Organization’ – ever

In narrowing the field of candidates campaigning for the office of Director General (DG), the World Trade Organization (WTO) has selected Nigerian-American, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and South-Korean, Yoo Myung-hee as the two candidates securing the ‘broadest and deepest support’ from the second round of consultations with the WTO General Council. Both women will advance to the third and final round for consideration by its members, with consultations holding from October 19-27.

“We are in the third phase of the process to select the next WTO Director-General. The three rounds of consultations for WTO members’ preference, is designed to select the candidate most likely to attract consensus,” the WTO has said in its external communications. With the two finalists for the number one office as women, the 7th Director-General of the WTO takes historic precedence as the ‘first woman to lead the Organization’ – ever.

The world is tuned to COVID-19 recovery as a focal point for the re-opening of global economies. Since a public health crisis induced the global economic pitfall, recovery strategies are built around healthcare and other human-centered approaches to policy design. In picking the next Director-General, the WTO has however emphasized that the ultimate objective of its ‘measured and clearly defined selection process’ is to secure a consensus decision by members on the next Director-General.

Tough Call – Portfolio Insights, Strengths, and Weaknesses

Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has pitched on her campaign trail that she is ‘the only candidate at the intersection of trade and public health’. While timely – due to the dire need to prioritize public healthcare policymaking parallel to other economic recovery efforts – the WTO is primarily concerned with Trade.

The main objectives of the WTO are explicitly stated; (1) to set and enforce rules for international trade, (2) to provide a forum for negotiating and monitoring further trade liberalization, (3) to resolve trade disputes, (4) to increase the transparency of decision-making processes, (5) to cooperate with other major international economic institutions involved in global economic management, and (6) to help developing countries benefit fully from the global trading system.

Guaranteeing equitable access to medical resources, directing and coordinating international health work and regulatory policies are functions that fly primarily at the World Health Organization (WHO). The bigger picture for the top job is contextualized around the internal fragility of the WTO Supreme Court, fueled by trade wars and a global pandemic. A resilient leader with a proven track record of reconciling differences and stage-managing large-scale commerce negotiations will stay afloat.

Already, America has left the group chat at the World Health Organization (WHO). US Vice President, Michael Pence, resounded on October 7 during the vice-presidential debate, that; “China is to blame for the coronavirus, and President Trump is not happy about it.” The US President, Donald Trump, has also been vocal about his feelings, openly referring to China’s entry into the WTO as “one of the greatest economic disasters of all time,” at the Republican Party convention a few weeks ago. Will the United States also hit ‘eject’ on the WTO?

Sino-American Trade Wars – WTO Top Office Calls for Arbitration 

Going by interests, America will desire a leader that can boldly second its mandate to hold China accountable for breaching trading rules or even confront China on the subject of the novel coronavirus – since COVID-19 originated in China and rapidly spread around the world, plunging many nations into catastrophic medical, social and economic circumstances. It is ideal for China to show support for a leader that can fine-tune its interests in being the chief orchestra of trade. Already, China in Africa is a blossoming concept. This is opposite to America’s dwindling interest in funding the developing continent due to its self-focused approach to governance under President Trump. Within the WTO, where America is now contemplating its presence, China is only one step away from headlining as the majority donor.

The disposition of the WTO concerning the resolution of trade disputes is outlined thus; ‘Members are committed not to take unilateral action against other members. Instead, they are expected to seek recourse through the WTO’s dispute-settlement system and to abide by its rules and findings. The procedures for dispute resolution under the GATT have been automated and greatly streamlined, and the timetable has been tightened.’ (WTO, via Britannica).

WTO reforms and the remarrying of America and China for trade relations will require a leader with extensive experience in Sino-American conventions, and conflict resolution through mediation. South Korea’s Yoo Myung-hee checks this box. In addition to frontlining in Sino-American discourse, Yoo Myung-hee is also a renowned arbitrator. Her biography to the WTO recommends her negotiation skill, citing that; ‘she has flourished in her role as a catalyst who brings together diverse views of the parties involved to derive win-win solutions.’

Country Support and Global Citizenship

Although there is no citizenship requirement for the job, last year, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala pledged allegiance to the United States constitution, gaining US citizenship in duality to being a Nigerian patriot. In addition to her job function as a two-time Minister of Finance in Nigeria, she also spent 25 years at the World Bank as a development economist, rising to the number two position of Managing Director, Operations. Well-wishers from both countries have since expressed profound support for her WTO campaign, with the Organization of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States (OACPS) including its 79 member countries, endorsing her candidature.

South-Korea’s Yoo Myung-hee on the other hand is synonymous with non-political ideologies on multilateralism, and her global perspective on trade. She often heralds her experience witnessing Korea grow from an impoverished nation to one of the largest trade nations in the world. When asked how she views the subject of her nationality as supportive or opposing on the campaign trail, Yoo Myung-hee tells Bloomberg; “Rather than focusing on my nationality as Korean, I would like to highlight the advantages, insights, and beliefs that come from my experience in Korea.”

Gender Equality, Inclusion, and Public Sentiment

The WTO is now weeks away from having a female Director-General. Women all over the world are already tuned to the gains of the development, expressing collective positive sentiment about inclusion, alongside groans that the men are stepping down at a time that paves way for the women to inherit broken and havoc-wreaked systems to ultimately ‘fix and refurbish’.

The leading women, however, have shown inherent tenacity by advancing through two tight rounds of consultations, into the third and final round of the selection process.

While Yoo Myung-hee pledges to make the WTO more ‘relevant, resilient and responsive’ on the campaign trail, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala promises to bring ‘a fresh pair of eyes and ears’ to the WTO.

With the two aptly qualified women weeks away from making history, the buck is now on the WTO to fill the seat in line with its inherent vision/mission come November 7.

Published by Kaftan Post on Monday, October 12, 2020.

Economy loses N900bn credit, private sector stagnates at N30trn

Credit to the economy fell by N900 billion or 2.27 percent in August driven by slump in credit to the government during the month. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) disclosed this in its Depository Corporation Survey report for August.

According to the CBN, credit to the domestic economy (Net Domestic Credit, NDC) fell by 2.27 percent to N38.67 trillion in August from N39.57 trillion in July.

This was due to N730 billion or 10.21 percent decline in credit to the government, which fell to N8.55 trillion in August from N9.52 trillion in July.

The decline in credit to the government was driven by a sharp fall in government borrowing through treasury bills (TBs), as total TBs held by investors dropped by N510 billion or 14.7 percent to N2.97 trillion in August from N3.48 trillion in July.

The report also shows that credit to the private sector was relatively stagnant at N30.13 trillion at the end of August, slightly higher by 0.24 percent when compared with the N30.06 trillion in July.

According to the CBN survey, Broad Money Supply (M3 money) rose by 1.62 percent month-on-month (m-o-m) to N37.19 trillion in August 2020.

This resulted from a 13.38 percent increase in Net Foreign Assets (NFA) to N8.66 trillion; however Net Domestic Asset (NDA) decreased m-o-m by 2.46 percent to N42.17 trillion.

The survey showed that the decline  in NDA was chiefly driven by a 2.27 percent  m-o-m moderation in Net Domestic Credit (NDC) to N38.67 trillion, accompanied by a 4.51 percent  m-o-m decline in other assets net to N3.48 trillion in August 2020.

Further breakdown of the NDC showed a 10.21 percent  m-o-m decline in Credit to the Government to N8.55 trillion; however, Credit to the Private sector rose marginally by 0.24 percent  to N30.13 trillion.

On the liabilities side, the 1.62 percent  m-o-m increase in M3 Money was driven by the 3.33 percent  m-o-m increase in M2 Money to N34.22 trillion, but was partly offset by a 14.70 percent  fall in treasury bills held by money holding sector to N2.97 trillion.

The increase in M2 was propelled by a 4.62 percent  rise in Narrow Money (M1) to N13.14 trillion (of which Demand Deposits increased by 6.02 percent  to N11.64 trillion, however currency outside banks fell by 2.66 percent  to N1.97 trillion), and a 2.54 percent  increase in Quasi Money (near maturing short term financial instruments) to N21.08 trillion.

Reserve Money (Base Money) further rose m-o-m by 2.02 percent  to N13.69 trillion as Bank reserves increased m-o-m by 2.68 percent  to N11.32 trillion, however currency in circulation moderated by 1.04 percent  to N2.37 trillion.

(Source: Vanguard)

Iyan Zazzau Drags El-Rufai To Court Over Appointment Of Ahmed Bamalli As Emir

A prince of Zazzau Emirate in Kaduna State, Bashari Aminu, has gone to court to challenge the appointment of Ahmed Bamalli as the new emir of Zazzau.

Mr Bamalli, erstwhile Nigerian ambassador to Thailand, was announced as the new emir by the Kaduna State Government on Wednesday.

The suit was filed at the Kaduna State High Court.

Mr Bamalli’s appointment followed the death of Shehu Idris who died on September 20, after reigning as emir for 45 years.

Mr Aminu, who holds the title of Iyan Zazzau, was ranked first in an initial shortlist submitted to Governor Nasir El-Rufai by the five kingmakers of the emirate.

The state government, however, discarded the kingmakers’ report, citing allegations of inducement by one of the contenders.

The government later announced the appointment of Mr Bamalli, following a fresh selection process among 13 princes, ordered by the state government.

Court documents seen show that Mr Aminu sued Mr El-Rufai and nine others in the suit seeking to quash Mr Bamalli’s appointment.

The court filings signed by Yunus Usman, a senior advocate of Nigeria, seeks 10 reliefs from the court.

Aside Messrs El-Rufai and Bamalli, Mr Aminu also joined the Kaduna State Attorney General, Kaduna Council of Chiefs, Zazzau Emirate Council and the five kingmakers as parties to the suit.

The prayers

Mr Aminu prayed the court to validate the selection process of the Zazzau kingmakers which placed him ahead of two other princes and excluded Mr Bamalli from the shortlist.

He argues that the appointment of Mr Bamalli contravened Chiefs (Appointment and Depositions) Law Cap 21 of 1991.

Mr Aminu wants the court to declare the appointment as “irregular, illegal, unconstitutional, unjust inequitable and contrary to good conscience, null and void and of no effect whatsoever”.

He also asked the court to declare that he was “duly and properly selected/elected and appointed as the Emir of Zazzau (Zaria) by the traditional kingmakers of Zazzau in accordance with Zazzau Native Law, Custom and Tradition.”

He also wants the court to bar Mr Bamalli from declaring himself as the emir of Zazzau and to stop the state government from proceeding with Mr Bamalli’s coronation as the Zazzau emir.

Mr El-Rufai’s spokesperson, Muyiwa Adekeye, could not be reached for comment on this story and whether or not the governor had been served the court papers.

Pay-As-You-Go Not Feasible — MultiChoice CEO

The Pay-As-You-Go(PAYG) billing model advocated by Nigerians is not technically and commercially feasible, the Chief Executive Officer of MultiChoice Nigeria, owners of DSTV John Ugbe has stated.

Ugbe, who spoke when he appeared before the House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee investigating the non-implementation of PAYG subscription model by satellite television operators, said the company does not have the technology to offer pay as you go at the moment.

He explained that Pay-Per-View (PPV) is often confused with PAYG, adding that the PAYG model used in the telecommunications sector is not the right fit for pay television.

According to him, PAYG in telecommunications, is a metered service that ensures consumers are billed only for the service they consume and not for a fixed period.

He argued that Pay- As-You-Go is possible in telecommunication sector because it relies on a two-way communication system, which enables operators to determine when a consumer is connected, the service consumed and duration of connection.

He maintained satellite broadcasters, unlike telecommunications firms, cannot offer pay television services because satellite broadcasting is a one-way system and does not enable broadcasters to determine when a subscriber is connected and/or watching or what channel is being viewed.

He said: “It is only in instances where there is a two-way communication between the device at the subscriber’s home and the headend of the pay-tv service provider, which will enable the provider to determine when a subscriber is connected or not, that a billing system could be designed to take into cognizance the subscriber’s behaviour”.

He said the Pay- As-You- Go can only be feasible if there is a total and global remodelling of the satellite broadcasting technical and billing architecture, adding the result will be that consumers will have to much higher tariffs to access the service.

“The economies of scale model employed by broadcasters mean that subscribers pay less.

“We are yet to see a pay TV business anywhere in the world that does PAYG in the sense intended here. We do not believe the model is technically or commercially feasible,” Ugbe declared.

He maintained that Pay-Per-View, is however different from PAYG and more expensive, as it entails a broadcaster transmitting a single event at the same time to its subscribers who have paid to watch the event.

“A subscriber who wants to watch an event on PPV is required to pay an additional fee besides his subscription.

“A typical example would be the Mayweather and Pacquiao, and Wilder and Fury II boxing bouts which were retailed on PPV in the United States for $100 and $79.99 respectively.

“The Mayweather/Pacquiao bout, which was shown on DStv premium bouquet, would cost N38,000, which would far exceed the cost of any of the DStv bouquets.

“The bouquet or bundling model is an effective and efficient means of providing a large but still manageable variety of choice to satisfy consumer demand for entertainment, at the lowest possible cost to consumers,” he said.

Ugbe also addressed the widespread belief that MultiChoice adjusted tariffs on 1 June, noting that what it did was to implement the new rate of the Value Added Tax (VAT), as required by law, adding the company takes into account many factors like inflation, increasing costs of input costs and technical upgrades, impact on subscribers as well as exchange rate fluctuations to arrive at tariffs.

Nigeria’s peculiar love affair with Donald Trump

By Femi Aribisala, Chairman, Financial Nigeria International Limited

A poll conducted by Pew Research Center revealed that Donald Trump is disliked by a majority of people virtually everywhere in the world except in a small number of countries. Among these are: Nigeria and Israel. Even in the United States where Trump is president, 52% of the people not only agreed with his impeachment by the United States House of Representatives, they also wanted him summarily removed from office.

The paradox of the love for Trump in Israel lies in the fact that he is hated by American Jews. They hate his politics and are not fooled by his overtures to Israel, which they believe militates against any peace process with the Palestinians. They are also concerned that he has turned the traditional bi-partisan American support for Israel into a partisan Republican support.

American Jews are traditionally liberal Democrats. They know the rise of Donald Trump is directly responsible for the rise of anti-Semitism in the U.S. They know that, in spite of his pretenses, Trump himself is as anti-Semitic as his core supporters. That is why he defended the rioters at Charleston, South Carolina who were chanting: “Jews will not replace us.”

Racist slurs

Yet even more paradoxical is the Nigerian love for Donald Trump. If African-Americans refuse to support Trump, who is virulently racist, why should Nigerians love him?

Trump hates Nigeria. He called Nigeria “a shithole country.” He castigated the Nigerian president as “lifeless.” His “America First” policy does Nigerians no favours. Under Trump, Nigerian immigrants are no longer accorded permanent residence visas to the United States. Trump has publicly stated his preference for lily-white Scandinavian immigrants instead of blacks from Africa.

In the 1970s, the U.S. Department of Justice sued Trump for racial discrimination in his real estate business, and won the case. The problem was that Trump violated U.S. government policy by refusing to rent housing to black tenants.

In 1989, Trump falsely accused four black teenagers and one Latino (the Central Park Five) of attacking and raping a jogger in New York. He ran ads in newspapers asking the teenagers to be given the death penalty. The teens were convicted and sent to prison, but after 7 to 16 years, their convictions were reversed when it was discovered they were innocent.

Mary Trump, the U.S. President’s niece, confirms that disparaging blacks and using racist and anti-Semitic slurs were commonplace among the older Trump generation.

In 2016, during his earlier campaign for president, Trump refused to disavow the Ku Klux Kan, an infamous racist hate group. As president, he pandered to white supremacists at the racial uprising in Charleston. More recently, at his debate with Joe Biden ahead of the 2020 American presidential election, Trump again refused to denounce white supremacists. Instead, he told the cantankerous and narcissistic “Proud Boys” to: “Stand back and stand by.”

Reactionary Trumpism

Trump’s political rise was in reaction against a black man, Barack Obama, becoming president of the United States. Obama’s election was a watershed moment in American politics. With it, conservative American whites sensed imminent danger to white supremacy.

Obama won by stringing together a rainbow coalition of blacks, whites, Hispanics and Indian voters. Population trends indicate it is a matter of time before the U.S. becomes a majority non-white society. But not without a fight from racist whites.

So, a champion emerged in the person of Donald Trump, whose mission was to slow down the process, if not possibly derail it altogether. Trump embarked on this process by championing the “birther” movement against Obama; a racist coalition that insisted falsely that Obama was not born in the U.S. and, therefore, was an illegal president.

Even after it was shown conclusively through his birth certificate that Obama is a native-born American, Trump and his racist supporters continued to popularize the fake news that Obama is a foreigner.

After two terms of Obama, Trump ran for president on a platform designed to reverse everything the former president did. Trump says his agenda is to “Make America Great Again.” But this is a dog-whistle for “Making America White Again.” Trump is determined that non-white immigration to the U.S. must be restricted to the barest minimum.

Why then would 58% of Nigerians (according to the survey by Pew) love Trump despite his racist credentials? My answer is simple: Nigerian Trumpkins are ignorant. They don’t know Trump. Therefore, they ascribe to him what is anathema to him.

Biafran champion

Latter-day Biafran secessionists in Nigeria see Trump as their champion. The nationalism intoned in Trump’s “America first” mantra is for these Nigerians a rallying cry for “Biafra first.” They also assume that because Trump supported Brexit in the United Kingdom, he would support “Igbo-exit” from Nigeria. That is simply wishful thinking.

Donald Trump is well-known for only thinking about Donald Trump. He does not even think about Americans, much less Igbo Nigerians. His sister has been caught on tape saying Trump does not even care about his supporters but is only fooling and using them.

Like Nero, Trump has fiddled while over 200,000 of his countrymen have died from COVID-19, all the while saying the disease was a hoax that would miraculously disappear. It is karma that Trump himself is now afflicted by the COVID-19 hoax.

If Trump does not care about Americans beyond his political and electoral fortunes, it is preposterous for Ndigbo in Nigeria to presume he cares about them and about their dreams of Biafra.

While a hypothetical Biafra has no strategic relevance to American security, Ukraine does. However, Trump held back strategic military aid to Ukraine in order to blackmail its president to come up with false corruption claims against his political rival, Joe Biden.

Trump’s disregard for Nigeria in particular and for Africa in general is evident in the fact that after almost four years in office, he has not found it necessary to fill the posts that address U.S. policy towards Africa. To date, the United States has no Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, and the post of the Senior Director for Africa on the U.S. National Security Council remains unfilled.

Trump’s islamophobia also seems to resonate with Biafran irredentists, who blame Northern Nigeria’s Muslim leadership for decades of Igbo oppression and exclusion from the Nigerian mainstream. What they fail to recognize, however, is that sleazy Trump is also a key ally of Muslim Saudi Arabia, the chief financier and exporter of Islamist extremism in the world.

Pseudo Christian

Nigerians (especially from the South East) consider Trump to be a Christian champion. They like him because he is a staunch defender of Israel. They like him because he is rhetorically anti-Islam. They like him because they hate Obama and his policy of international promotion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights.

Nigerian supporters of the U.S. president like him because his right-wing Republican base is against abortion and he is populating the U.S. judiciary with anti-abortion judges. As a result of all this, 75% of Christian evangelicals in the U.S. support Trump.

What Nigerian Christians fail to realise, however, is that Trump is a classic wolf in sheep’s clothing. Trump does not talk like a Christian and he does not live as one. He hardly ever goes to church and is a foreigner to the scriptures. He once made a mockery of himself by saying “Two Corinthians” instead of “Second Corinthians.”

There is nothing Christlike about Trump. He is an adulterer and a serial womanizer. He publicly humiliated his first wife, Ivana, by having a lurid public affair with Marla Maples that was serialized in the tabloids.

There is a case before the New York Court of Appeals about Trump paying hush-money to prostitutes. This case is waiting for him to leave the presidency. It has already sent Trump’s lawyer to jail.

Trump is a transactional politician. He only likes those who like him, and he supports those who are beneficial to him. He is on record despising Christians, claiming pastors are stupid; but he aligns himself with the American evangelicals simply because of the votes they can deliver at the polls.

He has no ideological convictions. He was a Democrat before he became a Republican. Trump was in support of LGBT rights, welcomed them in his hotels and clubs before he denounced them just to ingratiate himself with the religious right. He only became against abortion when it was time for him to run for the presidency.

Con man

Trump is a corrupt and fraudulent man. He created a fake Trump University, which he used to defraud the innocent. He was declared guilty in court and had to refund $25 million dollars to the students.

He created a charity, Donald J. Trump Foundation, which he used to collect money from the public. He was accused of misusing the charity’s funds, including spending $30,000 to buy a portrait of himself. The foundation agreed to shut down and a judge ordered Trump to refund $2 million.

The Washington Post found that, since becoming president, Trump has been caught publicly making false or misleading claims over 20,000 times, as of August 2020. Trump’s Twitter feed alone, which is full of insults, slanders, lies, and mischaracterisations, is eloquent testimony of his moral depravity. These are hardly the credentials of a committed Christian.

Congenital ignoramus

Many of the people who have worked with Trump as president have walked away describing him as capricious, egocentric, and dangerously ignorant. They say he is a president who does not like to read and spends most of his time watching television or spewing hate and insults on Twitter.

According to his niece, Mary, Trump paid a proxy to take the exams that got him admitted to the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton Business School. It is not surprising, therefore, that the president of the most advanced country in the world is incredibly ignorant on so many levels.

His interminable tweets show he has problems spelling English words. He does not believe in science, insists climate change is a hoax and claims windmills cause cancer.

The end

Trump lost the 2016 election by three million votes but won on the technicality of the electoral college, a system that exaggerates the political significance of the less populous states vis-à-vis the more populous ones.

But the presidency of Trump has been so disastrous, it can only have one effect: to tell Americans that under no circumstances should they re-elect Trump as president. The polls suggest that Donald Trump will lose the coming election by a landslide.

After his political demise, every facet of Trumpism will be dismantled ensuring that another Trump does not emerge again in American politics. The electoral college system is likely to be abolished, and Trump’s conservative Supreme Court is likely to be diluted by the addition of four new liberal justices.

It should be noted that Trump’s presidency has not stopped the ascendancy of blacks in the American political space. Issues that affect blacks are now on the front-burner of American politics. In all the bye-elections since the ascendance of Trump to the presidency, the black vote has been decisive in provoking the resurgence of the Democratic Party.

My prediction is that the Trump years are destined to be viewed primarily as an aberrant apologetic era in American history.

Femi Aribisala was the Special Adviser to Professor Bolaji Akinyemi as Foreign Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He holds a PhD in International Relations from Oxford University. He also writes a popular column on the Christian faith in one of Nigeria’s newspapers.

#EndSARS: Disbanding SARS Is Not The Answer To Police Brutality, But The Character Of People Being Recruited Into The Force —J.S Okutepa, SAN

Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr. J.S Okutepa has stated that the disbandment of the Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) by the Inspector General of Police is not the complete solution to the brutality being perpetrated by the Police.

The learned silk stated this in a statement made available to TheNigeriaLawyer, noting that there is more to be done aside disbanding them.

Meanwhile, he noted that there is a need to reevaluate the character of people being recruited to become Police personnel.

“Honestly scraping SARs or FSARs is not an answer to police brutality. Disbanding them is not the answer.

“The problem is with the character of persons recruited into the force and the inability of the state to adequately fund the police.” He said.

In addition, he said the corruption in the system aids brutality to be meted out for their personal gains, adding that there is an inability to do investigation devoid of being brutal.

“The problem is in the corruption in the system that tolerates the police to be brutal for profits.

“The problem is our inability to do modern scientific investigations devoid of brutality.”

He added that, “The problem is in our inability to apply sanctions when wrongs are done.”

In addition, the learned silk noted that there is a need to properly screen persons being recruited to the Police.

“The problem is in us. Those personnel needs to be profiled and screened. How do you recruit thieves to police thieves”, he said.

FG Extends Suspension of New Electricity Tariff by One Week

The federal government and the organised labour last night resolved to extend the suspension of the new electricity tariffs by one week to enable the technical committee on its review to work out modalities for the implementation of the agreement reached on the electricity tariffs structure as well as address some grey areas of the report.

This was part of the decisions reached at the meeting between the federal government and organised labour at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

Chairman of the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Prof. James Momoh who confirmed the extension of the suspension of new tariffs regime at the Tripartite Committee meeting by the organised labour, the government and relevant stakeholders, said NERC was committed to ensure that the power sector works no matter what it would take.

As part of palliatives in the power sector, the federal government said it had approved six million meters to be distributed across the country.

The Minister of State for Power, Prince Goddy Jedy-Agba said one million meters were already available and that distributions would start within the week.

He disclosed that the distribution would be completed before December.

The resolution read by the Chairman of the Technical Committee and Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Mr. Festus Keyamo, said, “the committee adopted a two-phase approach to proffer solutions that would help resolve issues affecting the sector in the medium term, whilst providing relief to customers immediately.

“The immediate relief would be provided to citizens for a 2 to 3-month period (not later than December 31, 2020), being the timeline for the conclusion of an extended scope of work for the Technical Committee”.

Some of the issues to address include timeline for the distribution of the six million electricity meters being pledged by government as part of the palliative deal.

In the report of the committee, federal government accepted to procure six million meters to be distributed by the Discos to electricity consumers without metres.

It said: “six million meters will only be through local meter manufacturers and assemblers and will be targeted at creating local jobs and a new meter manufacturing sub-sector in the country”.

The report also provided for salary protection for electricity workers.

It said that government will ensure that the salaries for electricity workers are protected in the revised payment waterfall structure.

The report further states that: “Mandatory monthly publication by Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) of allowed billings in Naira for unmetered customers to make the capping regulation more effective.

“NERC will publish maximum charges in Naira for consumers without meters (in support of the capping regulation); freezing of customer band migration during the interim period: In order to protect customers from changes in tariff during the 2-3 month period of review by the Joint Technical Committee”.

The report said that Discos will be directed to temporarily suspend customer band migration.

“This means that while Discos are expected to fulfill their Performance Improvement Plans (PIP) thereby improving the quality of service to customers, no added charges will be passed on to customers during this period. This measure is aimed at building confidence in the Service-based Tariff structure”.

Other aspects of the technical committee’s report include, the inclusion of labour representation in NERC, extensive review of key sector reforms, ground Audit of implementation across Discos, review of monitoring and evaluation mechanisms set up by NERC and the Discos.

Others are gas pricing: review mechanisms for pricing the domestic supply obligation (DSO) and the foreign exchange component(s), decentralisation of the grid.

The government is to explore ways to accelerate investment and bring more players into the sector, drive investment and reduce costs for end-users. Options should be in addition to the Franchising and Mini-Grid regulations.

On the issue of import duty waivers for the electricity sector, the committee was mandated to investigate and recommend ways for the electricity sector to receive incentives that will reduce costs across the value chain that will impact on tariff.

Organised labour led by the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, (NLC), Mr. Ayuba Wabba and Trade Union Congress (TUC), Mr. Quadri Olaleye demanded an inclusion of timelines for the implementation of the report.

They insisted that there should be a time line for the distribution of the six million metres promised by the federal government..

Olaleye sought to know what federal government will do with the N1.7 billion it said will be saved daily from the removal of subsidy on electricity tariff.

But the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige interjected and said that federal government is currently experiencing economic difficulties and would rather plough the savings to fund the deficit budget.

Wike: Zamfara Gold: I Never Said FG Should Hands Off Rivers Oil

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike has denied making any statement that Rivers state can also manage its oil like the case of the gold in Zamfara.

A statement by Paulinus Nsirim, the Commissioner for Information reads ” The attention of the Rivers State Government has been drawn to a completely false and misleading story circulating in the Social Media, that Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State made some remarks in connection with a report that the Central Bank of Nigeria will purchase N 5billion worth of Gold from the Zamfara State Government”.

“The purveyors of this barefaced fallacy suggested in their warped story, that Governor Wike was unhappy with the decision of the CBN to buy Gold from Zamfara State” .

“They claimed that Governor Wike who lamented that the same privileged attention has not been given to the oil from Rivers State, demanded that Gold should be made a national cake, adding that he too would proceed to own a gold well in Zamfara State”.

Let us state here categorically that Governor Wike never made such a statement. Infact, we note with a sense of relief, that no major, mainstream News media or Press Organization, either print, electronic or online, attached to Government House, Port Harcourt, carried this concocted story.

So it is a wonder where the mushroom, less than credible social media outlets got the comments, which they claimed Governor Wike made “while addressing the Press.”

It has indeed become the ugly penchant in recent times, of some cynical and dubious detractors, to drop or insert Governor Wike’s name in their calculated crusade to ignite unprovoked conflict with the hidden ploy to disrupt the recently emerging warm cordiality which has defined the relationship between him and some leaders across geopolitical divides in the country.

These naysayers have also commenced a devious gambit to insidiously tarnish the overwhelming goodwill which the burgeoning image and reputation of Governor Wike has been enjoying across the country and this latest story is simply the latest installment of their failed efforts.

Those familiar with Governor Wike will know that he does not need to resort to such churlish and petty grandstanding portrayed in the silly story, to speak up on any matter whatsoever.

The write up is thus just another figment of the convoluted imagination of its authors. They goofed big time on this one.

Nigerians are therefore advised to completely disregard the story, especially now that the Federal Government, the CBN and the Zamfara State Government have all come out to speak clearly on the matter and set the records straight.

FG Presses Ahead With Water Resources Bil

Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu, has said opposition to the Water Resources Bill by people from the South-South and Middle Belt would not stop the Federal Government from going ahead with the new law.

The minister, who said opposition to the new water Bill was unwarranted explained that those from the two zones would be the greatest beneficiaries if passed by the National Assembly.

Adamu, who addressed newsmen, in Abuja, yesterday, brushed aside insinuations that the Bill was being championed by President Muhammadu Buhari to enable him snatch people’s lands, institutionalise Ruga and northernise the country.

He argued that over 95 per cent content of the Bill was already in existence before the advent of the Buhari’s administration as it was first drafted in 2006 and completed in 2008.

He pointed out that before it was sent to the National Assembly, copies were distributed to the 36 governors for inputs and some gave recommendations while the rest were satisfied with it.

On the revenue that would be generated, he said the funds would be shared between the federal and state governments.

“Being a constitutional ministry, the bill is something that has been in the works for several years especially eight years. We thought it was a routine matter to adjust it.

“This bill past through the House of Representatives without any issue. So, when it came out with all the cacophony, it really took us by surprise.

“People have forgotten that in 2018 when this controversy started, I went to the TV and stations, I put out statements on this matter. And in 2020 this same issue came up again.

“The process of drafting this Bill started in 2006. And it was completed in 2008. And because Nigeria has subscribed to the Integrated Water Resources Management Commission Act which was created in 2017, it delegated the power of the minister drawn from the Water Resources Act of 2004 otherwise known as Decreed 101 of 1990.

“There is nothing new in the Bill. It is just an agglomeration of the 4 existing laws. Nothing more. The bill is to assist us move the water sector forward.

“If people are saying that we should throw the Bill, there is nothing to throw away because the bill is existing whether you pass it now or you don’t pass it, the rules are there.

“We will continue to implement them. But we are losing two important things. We will not have the opportunity to improve food security,” the minister said.

He claimed that those thwarting the passage of the Bill “have not read it. They are politicising it based on what they have heard.”

AGF, Malami Charges Legal Aid Council On Equal Access To Justice For All

Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN has charged the Legal Aid Council to ensure equal access to justice for all irrespective of means and that Constitutional rights of citizens are respected, protected and defended.

A statement from Dr. Umar Jibrilu Gwandu, Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations, Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice said Malami made the call in Kano on Monday while declaring open a two-day Legal Aid Governing Board Retreat with the theme “The Role of the Governing Board in the Corporate Governance: Providing Strategic Direction towards Achieving the Mandate of the Legal Aid Council”.

Malami who charged Board Members of the Council to keep themselves abreast with the extant laws said the policies of the Council must retain the force of facilitating its core objectives which includes the provision of pro-bono legal services to indigent, economically deficient and less privileged Nigerians.

He said the services of Legal Aid Council are geared towards reducing, to the barest minimum, incidents of Human Rights abuses perpetrated against nation’s citizens.

“The Board’s policies must assist the Council to remain the leading and pro-active provider of free, qualitative and timely legal aid services in Nigeria, ensuring social justice and the emancipation of the oppressed, reprieve to the weak and vulnerable, thereby giving voice to the voiceless,” he said.

According to Malami such steps would enable the Board to bear allegiance to the motto of the Council: “Giving Voice to the Voiceless” while maintaining the Council’s Mission mantra: “To ensure free, effective and efficient legal aid services to indigents in Nigeria.”

The Minister assured the Council of the commitment of the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Federal Ministry of Justice in supporting activities of the Council aimed at providing strategic direction in achieving its mandates, adding that his Office in conjunction with the Management of the Legal Aid Council have duly concluded all the requisite legal arrangements for the launch of the “ACCESS TO JUSTICE FUND”, a Fund duly provided for under the Legal Aid Act, 2011, which is a unique national fund aimed to raise funds for the assistance of legal aid works in Nigeria.

The Minister who expressed appreciation over the cordial working relationship between the Council and the Federal Ministry of Justice being the Supervisory Ministry of the Council, cited Paragraphs 1 (iii) and (iv) of the Federal Government Circular Ref No. SGF/OP/1/S.3/T.1/142 dated 2nd August, 1999 which provides that “the Ministry is not to take over the running of the Parastatals/Government-owned Companies under them by getting involved in their day to day management, and that Ministers are not expected to serve as Chairmen of Boards of Parastatals and Government-owned Companies under their Ministries”.

He also commended the Council for releasing thirty-one (31) of its Law Officers for the terrorism trail of Boko-Haram members which, he said provided the requisite legal defence in the trial. (thenigerialawyer)

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