Members of the dreaded secret cult group popularly called Black Axe were on Wednesday September 24, 2020, in a ceremonial procession in honour of their dead colleague, when everything came to an abrupt end.

Police operatives from Ogijo in Ogun State swooped in on them, arresting eight members of the cult.

The procession was being held as a ritual to mourn one of their members who died recently.

The arrest of the cultists followed a report lodged at Ogijo Police Station, where a 16-year old boy, Onome Iduru, was rushed to after being shot in the stomach by the cultists during the procession 

Ogun CP, Edward Ajogun

It was learnt that the cultists reportedly dispossessed the deceased of his phone, after shooting the victim and also went ahead to unleash terror in the community.

Upon the report, the Divisional Police Officer, Ogijo, CSP Muhammed Suleiman Baba, led his men to the scene, where eight members of the violent group were apprehended.

The suspects arrested were; Olatunji Opeyemi,, Ayuba Oduola, Sobowale Abiodun, Sobowale Sunday and ,Adelowo Olalekan.

Others included; Kareem Lanre,, Emmanuel Adebisi, and Tobiloba Wasiu.

They were all successfully rounded up after serious encounter with the combat-ready policemen.

A banner designed with the group insignia to announce the death of their member was recovered from the cultists while the injured victim was taken to nearby Oladayo Hospital for medical attention.

Police Public Relations Officer in the state, DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi, confirmed the story.

The Commissioner of Police, CP Edward Awolowo Ajogun, has ordered the transfer of the suspects to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department for further investigation. 

The CP, therefore, warned that any group or individual who engaged in any activity capable of undermining the peace of the state would be dealt with in a very decisive manner,.

Ogun PPRO, DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi

Ajogun then appealed to parents to warm their wards not to be part of any unlawful society or group as the results may be catastrophic.

Tobi Soniyi

Three legal practitioners, Dr. Chidi Odinkalu, Gloria Ballason and Abiodun Baiyewu have written to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho to stop judges from humiliating female lawyers when they appear before them.

In their letter, which they copied the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), the lawyers said judges of the federal high courts often insist that a female legal practitioner indicate her gender after announcing their appearance in court.

They wrote: “It has come to our attention and we have independently verified that several judges of the federal high court in different places insist on asking female counsel appearing before them to indicate whether they are married or single.

“They require them to make a mandatory choice between the honorific titles ‘Mrs.’ or ‘Miss’ when they announce themselves in their courts.
“In some cases, female advocates, who balk at being treated in this way run into trouble with conducting their cases, suffer unacceptable bullying from the court or jeering and sniggering from the bar and the court gallery and generally get subjected to indignities entirely unrelated to their abilities or the merits of their advocacy and cases.

“We note that men, who appear in the court, are not at risk of suffering a similar fate,” the letter said.
The lawyers argued that this treatment had no basis in the rules or the laws applicable to proceedings before the federal high court.
According to the letter, treating female lawyers in this manner is inconsistent with the right to personal dignity guaranteed by section 34(1) of the 1999 constitution as amended.

They also cited section 42(1) of the constitution, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex. They consequently called on the CJ to put an end to this ugly practice of maltreating female lawyers.

The letter said: “Sadly, the treatment of female counsel by these judges of the federal high court violates high constitutional principles, in addition to basic courtesies.
“We are pained that this is coming from a superior court of record that should be at the forefront of the defence of these principles”, the letter said.

A group of lawyers, under the aegis of House of Justice, have written to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, seeking protection for female lawyers appearing before judges of the court.

In their letter dated September 21, 2020, the groups said they were not comfortable with the usual practice of Federal High Court judges demanding the marital status of female lawyers appearing before them.

The letter, titled, ‘Re: Guaranteeing the Dignity of Female Counsel Appearing before the Federal High Court,’ was signed by Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, Gloria Ballason and Abiodun Baiyewu.

The letter reads partly, “It has come to our attention and we have independently verified that several honourable judges of the Federal High Court in different places insist on asking female counsel appearing before them to indicate whether they are married or single, by requiring them to make a mandatory choice between the honorific titles ‘Mrs’ or ‘Miss,’ when they announce themselves in court.

“In some cases, female advocates who balk at being treated this way run into trouble with conducting their cases, suffer unacceptable bullying from the court or jeering and sniggering from the bar and the court gallery and generally get subjected to indignities entirely unrelated to their abilities or the merits of their advocacy or their cases.

“We note that men who appear in court are not at risk of suffering a similar faith.”

The group contended that the practice of asking female lawyers their marital status had no basis in the rules of the court, and amounted to a violation of their constitutional right to dignity.

They added, “Sadly, the treatment of female counsel by these honourable judges of the Federal High Court violates high constitutional principles, in addition to basic courtesies.”

PUNCH

The just concluded Edo State gubernatorial election has produced some winners and losers. A message has been sent, lessons have been learnt and the event has been recorded in history for posterity.

The much-anticipated mayhem, violence and destruction did not occur. The usual electoral irregularities and manipulations were mainly accentuated in their relative absence. There were no widespread post-electoral protests. The consensus was that the people of Edo State took their destinies in their hands, protected their votes and ensured that their will prevailed.

So how did we get it right in Edo State? There is an argument making the rounds that most of the dramatis personae were intimidated by the threat of visa ban by the United States of America on Nigerian electoral offenders that they generally avoided any action that would likely incur the wrath of Donald Trump’s global policemen. In as much as the timing of the visa ban threat is auspicious, yet I believe that it played a negligible part in the success of the election. Some of the eligible transgressors may have already soiled their hands elsewhere and are already on the banned list meaning that any further electoral misdemeanour committed in Edo State would only make them repeat offenders.

Admitted the United States reserves the right to allow or disallow whoever she wants into her country, the propriety of the threat of visa ban leaves some probing questions. How do you determine who has committed an electoral offence worthy of the sanction? Are you going to use media reports when most of the Nigerian media are known to be biased because they are controlled by political interests or aligned with political parties? Are they going to rely on the opposition who would readily celebrate the ‘maturity of the electorate’ and ‘advancement of Nigeria’s democracy’ when they win but will start screaming ‘democracy is in danger’ each time they lose? Are you going to use the pronouncement of Nigerian courts?

The most plausible way would be the use of the famed US intelligence agencies. However, notable failures in places like Iraq and Libya that cost the US the loss of precious lives and waste of hundreds of billions of dollars mean that the US intelligence services and personnel are not infallible. Additionally, Donald Trump’s ‘America First’ policy has led to the defunding of the State Department, which has consequently impeded the capacity and efficiency of American intelligence gathering in foreign countries.

The eve of Edo Decides 2020 witnessed some altercations between the security agencies and some PDP governors who were in the state and the aftermath of the elections saw some people ‘lionising’ and ‘canonising’ the governors, insinuating that their presence and strategies in Edo State ensured that the party’s candidate prevailed. Aside from the fact that this is insulting to the majority of Edo electorates who seemed determined to make a statement with the elections, this is a clear case of misplaced adulation. Without any capacity to control the security agencies, incapable of suborning the electoral umpire or financially inducing the electorate for a favourable outcome, these external forces were only bystanders to history, mere onlookers in a momentous event of a favourable outcome. As someone noted while analysing the election outcome, it would be preposterous for Edo people to consciously cast aside a homemade godfather while embracing a foreign-made one.

It may be difficult for some to admit but the obvious non-interference of President Muhammadu Buhari, or rather his interference to ensure that there is non-interference and the relative degree of impartiality by INEC and the security agencies may have strengthened our electoral system and helped deepen democracy. The President may have his faults and the worsening state of the economy, and attendant hardship do not do him any favours, the way incumbent presidents are usually unpopular in periods of economic hardship. The perception in some quarters that most of the appointments by his government are lopsided in favour of the northern part of the country does not win him many friends in the south.

However, in many of the elections conducted under his administration, the President has demonstrated an admiring penchant for non-partisanship. He does not personally interfere in the polls beyond campaigning for the APC candidate as a loyal party man. This attitude may be frustrating to the APC apparatchik because he is a president elected on the platform of a particular party and is expected to further the interest of the party.

Whatever is the real reason behind the president’s commendable approach towards the election, it made him come across as a statesman rather than a combatant. And in the process he must have garnered some badly-needed goodwill.

The vast deployment of security agencies (the legendary federal might) to

Edo State before the elections led to widespread fears that they would be used to subvert the electoral process in favour of the President’s political party. Some have argued that Edo 2020was an “over garrisoned election”. If you divide the total voter turnout (550,000) by the number of security personnel (30,000), it means that every 18 votes were protected by one policeman on the average. It is worthy of note that in a general election this is a difficult scenario to achieve.

It should be noted that in fragile and developing democracies like we have in Nigeria, ‘militarisation’ of elections is most times unavoidable. As we saw in Edo State, the law enforcement agencies were able to ensure a credible election by protecting the electorate and INEC officials from political thugs and other undesirable elements intent on disrupting or manipulating the exercise. The President was said to have given strict instructions to the Inspector-General of Police that under no circumstance would the police be used to perpetrate electoral fraud. This approach is in sharp contrast to what happened during the Olusegun Obasanjo era or specifically in Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, where ‘federal might’ was liberally used in 2015 general elections in many places.

The President was one of the first persons to congratulate the PDP candidate, Governor Godwin Obaseki, immediately he was declared the winner of the election by INEC. This act must have helped in reducing post-election tension and anarchy as it would have undermined the losers’ ability for incitement to violence and calmed APC supporters who may be disappointed and incensed by the unfavourable outcome.

The President’s non-partisanship extends beyond our elections. Our nascent democracy has witnessed in recent past statutory federal allocation to opposition states being withheld even after a Supreme Court ruling that they should be released. It has seen state assemblies impeach some governors under the pressure and supervision of agents of the President. Some Legislators were induced by the President to impeach senate presidents and speakers of the House of Representatives. State of emergency was declared and governors consequently removed and replaced by an appointee of the President mostly because the state chief executive had fallen out of favour with the President.

However, under Buhari, governors have superintended the affairs of their states without any interference from the Federal Government. Some governors have even taken advantage of this by brazenly challenging and undermining federally-controlled law enforcement agencies in the process of performing their duties. In the case of Rivers State, the President in June 2020, approved the refund of a whopping sum of N78bn owed the state by the Federal Government. It is instructive to note that some of these funds were monies owed the state when the past administration in the state was in a party that was in opposition to the federal government. The current governor of the state has wisely or unwisely, and vociferously positioned himself as a bulwark of the opposition party’s resistance to the ruling party.

INEC, although not enjoying the confidence of Nigerians to conduct credible elections, came out with a lot of credits from the Edo elections. From the conduct of most of its agents to the orderly way the results were collated and announced, the Mahmood Yakubu-led body has demonstrated that it can organise elections that meet standards of impartiality and fairness to some degree.

Much of the criticism the current INEC leadership has received may not be a true reflection of the state of things, in my opinion. Their good intentions may oftentimes have been undermined by some desperate politicians who are always inventing new ways to manipulate the electoral process and an opposition party that consistently refuses to take responsibility for or accept unfavourable electoral outcomes.

Improvements in the functionality of card readers and PVC’s have led to better electoral results. Still, some politicians strive to undermine these by ballot box snatching and stuffing by hired thugs and inducement of election officials. Even when some of these elections are successfully concluded, INEC faces court judgements, which are contentious sometimes.

Despite that the last general elections are considered free and fair by many foreign observers, the opposition has consistently cast the election as duplicitous, with some going as far as comparing it with the travesty conducted by a certain Prof. Maurice Iwu in 2007. The 2007 election was so poorly executed that even the most significant beneficiary in the person of Late President Umaru Musa Yar-Adua publicly decried the process that brought him to power. The bad losers of the 2019 elections would neither mention the fact that the ruling party lost the presidential election in five states where the incumbent President’s political party occupied the state governor’s office nor lost the governorship election in three states controlled by the APC.

So much has been said about the President signing or not signing the latest version of the Electoral Act but as the Edo election has proven, the laws in place can be adequate to give us credible polls. What is needed is the will on the part of all stakeholders to make the process less flawed and more effective.

There are lots of areas INEC can improve. Still, the bottom line is that the sanctity of the electoral process will always rely more on social reorientation and institutional reforms than leadership or personnel of the electoral umpire. At the end, there is a general consensus that on the scale of Nigerian elections, Edo 2020 was significantly an improvement.

By Yemi Oyeyemi, Abuja

The Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) is to cough out a whopping sum of N3.8B and another $4.9M for engaging in unlawful seizures of containers of rice legally imported into the country by a trading company.

This followed the Court of Appeal in Abuja upholding a N3.82 billion and $4.95 million monetary judgment against the Customs Service Board (NCSB) and its Chairman.

A Federal High Court also in Abuja had last year ordered the Customs to pay the trading company, Maggpy Trading TFZE the huge sum lost by the company as a result of unlawful seizures of its rice consignment in its warehouses.

Justice Inyang Eden Ekwo had on July 10, 2019 in a judgment issued the order upon finding Customs liable for loses incurred by the company as a result of unlawful actions against its business in Nigeria.

Dissatisfied by the high court judgment against it, the Customs had approached the Court of Appeal with prayers that the judgment be set aside to escape the payment of the huge sum awarded against it.

But a three-man panel of the Appellate Court, in a unanimous judgment by Justice Emmanuel Agim, dismissed the appeal filed by the Customs and its chairman.

In dismissing the appeal, the Appellate Court held that the Federal High Court was right in ordering that the plaintiff – Maggpiy Trading TFZE – be paid the huge sum as damages for the loses caused it by Customs in its legs businesses.

In the Appeal Court judgment, Justices Emmanuel Agim, Peter Ige and Yargata Nimpar were unanimous in holding that the appellants (Customs and its chairman) failed to fault the judgment by Justice Ekwo.

They therefore upheld the high court verdict and affirmed the order on the Customs to pay the huge sum to the company.

Maggpiy Trading had sued the Customs its Chairman and the National Security Adviser (NSA), claiming that on March 18, 2017, officials of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) unjustly sealed off its warehouses located within the Tinapa Free Trade Zone and Resort (TFTZR) in Calabar, the Cross River State capital.

It averred that the warehouses, at the time they were sealed off by men of the NCS, contained 90 containers of rice with each of the containers holding 540 bags of rice.

The company added that without any breach of law and after accepting N53M from it as stamp duties, men of the Customs also detained by the road side at Onne, Port Harcourt in Rivers State, 40 trucks with which it was transporting 317 transit containers of rice to its Tinapa Free Trade Zone and Resort facility.

Maggpiy Trading also said its warehouses were eventually unsealed after over four months and that it was compelled by the Customs to re-export the imported rice to Cotonou in Benin Republic on July 28, 2017.

The firm stated that it found that some of the containers had been stolen making it to incur heavy costs and that most of what was left of the consignment had been destroyed.

The Customs denied any wrongdoing, claiming that the plaintiff (Maggpiy Trading) breached Federal Government’s fiscal policy on the importation of any physical goods into Nigeria.

They argued that the plaintiff’s action of importing rice into the country “was calculated to undermine the government’s fiscal policy on food security, which is meant to encourage local production of rice, and the ban on importation of rice through the land boarder.

Nigerians are waking up with measured relief Monday to find out that the ‘mother of all strikes’ by Organised Labour, has been suspended. The Federal Government managed to keep its fuel price increase, while Labour ran way with stopping the hike in electricity tariff, at least for two weeks.

In the no-victor-no-vanquished arrangement, a whole lot of palliatives have been put together to ease the fuel price increase which details will be released as time goes on.

For six hours until nearly 3.00 a.m, the negotiating teams consisting of the FG one side, and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) on the other, rushed to roll out an agreement that would satisfy Nigerians, and of course, government.

A technical committee of NLC/TUC, and government agencies is in place for the two weeks the cost -reflective electricity tariff is suspended to examine the justifications for the new policy “in view of the need for the validation of the basis for the new cost-reflective tariff as a result of the conflicting information from the fields which appeared different from the data presented to justify the new policy by NERC; metering deployment, challenges, timeline for massive rollout.”

Recall that hours before negotiating teams met, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila, met with NLC/TUC and said it is incumbent upon the House as elected representatives, to see how they can intervene and perhaps a third voice, would be able to broker some kind of amicable solution to the ongoing impasse while citing instances where the House had successfully intervened in such matters before now.

He said: “In good conscience, we are on the same page, or most of the time, we’re on the same page, and you know, that we, the leadership of the House of Representatives are on the same page with you.

“But what is the consequence, and that’s the bigger picture of going on strike. When we have a complete government shutdown, the people we seek to protect, invariably end up holding the short end of the stick.

“So it ends up defeating the purpose. You know, sometimes, no matter how long negotiations or talks last, sometimes at the end of the day, it may be the better route to take.

The Speaker emphasised the need for patience by the labour unions while adding that the timing of the implementation of the issues at stake by the government should be well looked into by both parties since both parties considered some of the issues at stake as inevitable.

“The budget is coming to the National Assembly. Some policies that are being considered and that will make sure to cushion the effect of this includes the provision of food items, distribution of grains, reduction on taxes on minimum wage, payment of some special allowances from October to January 2021, involvement in the ownership of housing programs through household and mortgage outlets by the NLC and TUC members, and special policy of government vehicles autogas, which is an alternative to PMS for public establishments.

“I think these policies and more will go a long way and this can be provided in the budget but it is a couple of weeks away or less. So this is an appeal”.

“I think we can achieve a lot more by being patient because they say when two giants fight, it’s the grass that suffers. We don’t want that to happen here. We all have children, we have wards, we have people who work with us, we have family, and we have friends who suffer the consequences of this”.

After the meeting, Wabba said the outcome of the interface with the executive as promised by the Speaker would determine the next line of action of the Labour unions.

He said: “We told the Speaker how the discussion with the Federal government went and how the meeting was adjourned, so, he has also promised to try and intervene at his own level to see to it that we don’t inflict more pains on Nigerians.

“In the course of the discussion, we had also realized that the House of Representatives has actually done a lot on these issues, including recommendations to the government which we have shared mutually

“But the bottom line is that we want this burden that has now been shifted to Nigerians as consumers is also lifted so that we can have a decent life”.

JOINT COMMUNIQUE ON THE RESOLUTION OF TRADE DISPUTE BETWEEN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OF NIGERIA (FGN) AND THE ORGANIZED LABOUR REPRESENTED BY THE NIGERIA LABOUR CONGRESS (NLC) AND THE TRADE UNION CONGRESS (TUC) HELD AT THE STATE HOUSE BANQUET HALL ON SUNDAY, 27TH SEPTEMBER 2020

Sep 28, 2020.

A Bipartite Meeting between the FGN and the two Labour Centres – Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC),

Having been convened at the Banquet Hall, State House, Abuja to discuss emerging labour issues arising from recent cost – reflective Electricity Tariff adjustments and deregulation of the downstream sector of the Petroleum Industry,

Recognizing the public outcry and protest over the recent Federal Government twin policies on Electricity Tariff Reform and full implementation of deregulation of the downstream sector of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry resulting in the planned nation-wide industrial action by Organised Labour,

Bearing in mind the spiral and negative impact of COVID-19 pandemic on world economy,

Further bearing in mind that due to impact of COVID-19 pandemic the world is undergoing socio-economic transition which has affected price stability, sustainability of enterprises, employment, and other socio-economic indices,

Acknowledging that the spiral and negative impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy has given rise to the need for a new socio-economic order,
Recognising the need to sustain enterprises for retention and creation of jobs as well as sustainable growth and development,

Acknowledging the need for social concertation between the Federal Government and workers’ representatives, namely the two Labour Centres – The NLC and TUC,

To aid in the dialogue and communication, the Federal Government side made presentations to show the state of economy and the drive behind the recent cost – reflective Electricity Tariff adjustments and deregulation of the downstream sector of the Petroleum Industry,

Bipartite meeting to address and resolve the issues in dispute between the FG and Labour Centres were held on September 15, 24, and 27, 2020,

After exhaustive deliberations on the issues raised by Labour Centres, the FGN stated that it has fashioned out palliatives that would ameliorate the sufferings that Nigerian workers may experience as a result of the cost – reflective Electricity Tariff adjustments and deregulation of the downstream sector of the Petroleum Industry. The palliatives will be in the areas of transport, power, housing, agriculture and humanitarian support.

After thorough debates and negotiations on various issues raised by all parties, the following resolutions were reached and mutually adopted:

ELECTRICITY TARIFF REFORMS

The parties agreed to set up a Technical Committee comprising Ministries, Departments, Agencies, NLC and TUC, which will work for a duration of two (2) weeks effective Monday 28th September 2020, to examine:

▪︎the justifications for the new policy in view of the need for the validation of the basis for the new cost reflective tariff as a result of the conflicting information from the fields which appeared different from the data presented to justify the new policy by NERC; metering deployment, challenges, timeline for massive roll – out.

The Technical Committee membership is as follows:

Mr Festus Keyamo, SAN – Hon. Minister of State Labour & Employment – Chairman
Mr Godwin Jedy-Agba – Hon. Minister of State Power – Member
Prof. James Momoh – Chairman National Electricity Regulatory Commission – Member
Engr. Ahmad Rufai Zakari – SA to Mr. President on Infrastructure – Member/Secretary
Dr. Onoho’Omhen Ebhohimhen – Member (NLC)
Comrade Joe Ajaero – Member (NLC)
Comrade Chris Okonkwo – Member (TUC)
1no. Representative of DISCOS – Member

The Terms of Reference (ToR) are as follows:

▪︎To examine the justification for the new policy on cost – reflective Electricity Tariff adjustments.

▪︎To look at the different Electricity Distribution Company (DISCOs) and their different electricity tariff vis-à-vis NERC order and mandate.

▪︎Examine and advise Government on the issues that have hindered the deployment of the six million meters.

▪︎To look into the NERC Act under review with a view to expanding its representation to include organized labour.

The Technical sub – committee is to submit its report within two (2) weeks.

During the two weeks, the DISCOs shall suspend the application of the cost – reflective Electricity Tariff adjustments.

The meeting also resolved that the following issues of concern to Labour should be treated as “stand – alone” items:

▪︎The 40% stake of Government in the DISCO and the stake of workers to be reflected in the composition of the DISCO’s Boards.

▪︎An all-inclusive and independent review of the power sector operations as provided in the privatization MOU to be undertaken before the end of the year 2020, with Labour represented.

▪︎That going forward, the moribund National Labour Advisory Council (NLAC) be inaugurated before the end of the year 2020 to institutionalize the process of tripartism and socio dialogue on socio – economic and major labour matters to forestall crisis

DOWNSTREAM SECTOR DEREGULATION

Consequent upon the critical review of the various challenges of the downstream sector of the Nigeria oil and gas industry vis a vis the incalculable losses associated with a subsidy regime the Country has been incurring in terms of, stifled growth in the downstream sector, diminished human capital development and massive financial leakages and flight. This is in addition to the dire financial circumstances of the Federation that precludes any ability to sustain any subsidy on PMS and making deregulation of PMS inevitable.

Consequently, the Parties agreed to the following:

▪︎All parties agreed on the urgency for increasing the local refining capacity of the nation to reduce the overdependency on importation of petroleum products to ensure energy security, reduce cost of finished products, increase employment and business opportunities for Nigerians.

▪︎To address (1) above, NNPC to expedite the rehabilitation of the nation’s four refineries located in Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna and to achieve 50% completion for Port Harcourt by December 2021, while timelines and delivery for Warri and Kaduna will be established by the inclusive Steering Committee.

▪︎To ensure Commitment and transparency to the processes and timelines of the rehabilitation exercise, the management of NNPC has offered to integrate the national leadership of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association (PENGASSAN) into the Steering Committee already established by the Corporation.

▪︎A Validation team comprising the representatives of the NNPC, Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), NUPENG and PENGASSAN will be established to monitor progress of the rehabilitation of the refineries and the pipelines/strategic depots network and advice the Steering Committee periodically.

▪︎Post rehabilitation, NNPC shall involve the PENGASSAN and NUPENG in the process of establishing the operational model of the Nation’s refineries.

▪︎The Federal Government will facilitate the delivery of licensed modular and regular refineries, involvement of upstream companies in petroleum refining and establishing framework for financing in the downstream sector.

▪︎NNPC to expedite work on the Build Operate and Transfer framework for the nation’s pipelines and strategic depots network for efficient transportation and distribution of Petroleum products to match the delivery timelines of the refineries as agreed.

▪︎The Federal Government and its agencies to ensure delivery of 1 million CNG/LPG AutoGas conversion kits, storage skids and dispensing units under the Nigeria Gas Expansion Programme by December 2021 to enable delivery of cheaper transportation and power fuel. A Governance Structure that will include representatives of organized Labour shall be established for timely delivery.

GENERAL INTERVENTION

To cushion the impacts of the downstream sector deregulation and tariffs adjustment in the power sector, the Federal Government will implement the following:

▪︎A specific amount to be unveiled by the FGN in two weeks’ time will be isolated from the Economic Sustainability Programme Intervention Fund and be accessed by Nigerian Workers with subsequent provision for 240,000 under the auspices of NLC and TUC for participation in agricultural ventures through the CBN and the Ministry of Agriculture. The timeline will be fixed at the next meeting.

▪︎Federal Government will facilitate the removal of tax on minimum wage as a way of cushioning the impacts of the policy on the lowest vulnerable.

▪︎Federal Government will make available to organized labour 133 CNG/LPG driven mass transit buses immediately and provide to the major cities across the Country on a scale up basis thereafter to all States and Local Governments before December 2021.

▪︎Housing: 10% be allocated to Nigerian workers under the ongoing Ministry of Housing and Finance initiative through the NLC and TUC.

Consequently, the NLC and TUC agreed to suspend the planned industrial action.

ORGANISED LABOUR;
___________________ __________________
Ayuba Wabba, mni Quadri Olalaye
NLC PRESIDENT TUC PRESIDENT

_________________ __________________
Emmanuel Ugboaja Musa Lawal Ozigi, mni Secretary General NLC Secretary General TUC

_________________ __________________
Williams E. Akporeha Festus Osifo
NUPENG President PENGASSAN President

___________________ __________________
Martin Uzoegwu Chris N. Okonkwo
President NUEE President, SSAEAC

FOR GOVERNMENT:

__________________ _______________________
Timipre Sylva Festus Keyamo, SAN
Hon. Min. of State Petroleum Hon. Min. of State Labour & Employment

__________________ _____________________
Alh Lai Mohammed Godwin Jedy-Agba
Hon. Min. of Information & Culture Hon. Min. of State Power

_________________________
Sen. (Dr.) Chris Nwabueze Ngige, OON, MD.
Honourable Minister of Labour & Employment

_______________________________
Boss Mustapha
Secretary to the Government of the Federation

On a day and at an event President Muhammadu Buhari was strongly pushing for a restoration of national ethics and integrity, many top government officials present at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa for the launch of the National Ethics and Integrity Policy were regaled with the scandalous story of how N2.67 billion meant for the government school feeding programme, and other huge sums ended up in private bank accounts.

The President on Monday recalled that, “as military Head of State, I fought corruption headlong and held public officers who abused their office or misused public funds to account. Furthermore, I introduced the War Against Indiscipline (WAI), one of whose cardinal objectives was promotion of our cherished culture of ethical conduct, integrity and hard work.

“I recognized in 1984 as I do even more now that corruption poses a clear danger to Nigeria, so, we cannot relent in efforts to eradicate it from our society. As I have often reminded Nigerians, ‘If we do not kill corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria.’”

He declared that the National Ethics and Integrity Policy “projects government’s aspiration for rediscovery of our cherished traditional ethical values of honesty, integrity, hard-work, truth and justice, unity, faith, and consideration for one another irrespective of status or background. Corruption and corruptive tendencies are abhorrent to these core ethical values.”

But the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Bolaji Owasanoye, in his keynote address at the second national summit themed, ‘Together Against Corruption and Launch of the National Ethics and Integrity Policy’, said under open treasury portal review carried out from January to August 15, out of 268 ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) 72 of them had cumulative infractions of N90 million.

He said while 33 MDAs gave explanations that N4.1 billion was transferred to sub-TSA, N4.2 billion paid to individuals had no satisfactory explanations.

“We observed that transfers to sub-TSA was to prevent disbursement from being monitored,” Owasanoye said.

“Nevertheless, we discovered payments to some federal colleges for school feeding in the sum of N2.67 billion during lockdown when the children are not in school, and some of the money ended up in personal accounts. We have commenced investigations into these findings.”

There were other mind-blowing infractions:

▪︎ ICPC discovered over N2.5 billion appropriated by a deceased senior civil servant in the Ministry of Agriculture for himself while in office.

▪︎ N16 billion from the Ministry of agriculture paid into individual accounts for non-official purposes.

▪︎Assets recovered in the Ministry to include 18 buildings, 12 business premises and 25 plots of land.

At the summit to mark the 20th  anniversary of the establishment of the anti-corruption agency, President Buhari reiterated his belief that progress could only be achieved in the delivery of dividends for the citizenry when the arms and tiers of government work together.

“I believe that it is when the three arms and the three levels of government work together that government will be enabled to serve the country. We will also see the positive impact of our efforts reaching all and sundry across the country.”

According to the President, “bearing this critical factor in mind, I am happy that the theme of this year’s Summit by ICPC is, TOGETHER AGAINST CORRUPTION. I am aware that this theme derives from the theme of our 60th anniversary celebration. Together as a nation, as a people, the three arms and three tiers of government working together, we can attack corruption and realize the vast potentials of our country.”

President Buhari reiterated his earlier call on the judiciary to undertake reforms that will fast-rack delivery of justice for the common good.

 “We need to deploy resources to address our common needs rather than the greed of a callous few. We need a corruption-free public sector to achieve this transformation; we need a judicial system that dispenses justice without undue delay and technicality.

“We need laws and legal system to be reformed to deliver justice to every citizen without regard to status and finally we need ethical re-orientation of the people to achieve this goal. When we work together against corruption we can defeat it.”

He emphasized that enlightening Nigerians on preventive measures remains the key component in fighting corruption and commends ICPC in this regard.

“I wish to reiterate the role of preventive measures, public education and enlightenment against corruption. This government through the Open Treasury initiative, TSA, GIFMIS, BVN and many more is implementing different corruption prevention measures to track and retain government revenue for the use of the people.

“I commend the ICPC for its enforcement and prevention measures including system review of capital and personnel budget, regular analysis of the Open Treasury platform, enforcement action against diversion and mismanagement of public funds, working with the Federal Inland Revenue Service to increase the number of companies and persons within the tax net, tracking of constituency project budget utilization for the benefit of ordinary Nigerians and its monitoring of implementation of budget by the Executive in key sectors like Agriculture sector.”

Apart from presenting publications by the Commission, President Buhari also commended and presented awards to Opeyemi Peter Adeboye, Chikezie Favour and Matilda Daniels winners of the ICPC Youth Music and Essay Competitions on promotion of anti-corruption values as well as  the 2020 Public Service Integrity Awardees; CSP Francis Osagie Erhabor of the Nigeria Police and Hamza Adamu Buwai of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade & Investment who demonstrated the will to look away from graft and corruption.

He told them, “I congratulate all the awardees. Even though COVID-19 has not permitted the kind of ceremony that you deserve, Nigeria is proud of you. You are a pride to your families, institutions and to Nigeria.”

There were goodwill messages from the Senate President Ahmed Lawan,  Chief Justice of Nigeria, Ibrahim Tanko Mohammed, Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, Minister of Justice and Attorney General Abubakar Malami (SAN) and United Nations Resident Coordinator Edward Kallon. The UN Coordinator particularly said the level of transparency in fighting corruption under President Muhammadu Buhari was ‘unequivocal.’