The Pacesetter Frontier Magazine

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  • ASUU : Institutions are not ready for safe reopening

    Branches of the Academic Staff Union of Universities on Sunday assessed COVID-19 protocols in the universities and said the institutions were not ready for safe reopening.

    The chapters of the union, in separate interviews with The PUNCH, commented on the directive of the National Universities Commission that universities could resume on January 18, but must adhere to COVID-19 protocols in hostels and lecture halls.

     

    ASUU said although its members were ready to start work, government had not put measures in place for safe reopening of the schools.

    ASUU’s concern came amid coronavirus cases and deaths, which rose to 99,063 and 1,350 respectively on Saturday.

     

    The union Chairman at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Osun State, Dr Adeola Egbedokun, in an interview with one of our correspondents, said classroom and hostel situations in universities did not in any way conform with COVID-19 protocols.

    Egbedokun further said no preparations had been made so far for the safe re-opening of the universities and urged parents to insist on safety before re-opening.

    No preparation for COVID-19 protocols, insist on safe reopening, OAU ASUU tells parents

    He said, “COVID-19 is very real and this second wave is as real as described. We cannot afford to toy with our health and the health of our dear students in the name of resumption, which is politically motivated.

    “There are no preparations for safe re-opening of the universities and I think parents must insist on safe re-opening. The current classroom and hostel configurations in our universities do not in any way conform with the PTF (Presidential Task Force) on COVID-19 protocols. There is no way universities can achieve that. I have said this elsewhere, that rather than for government to have addressed the obvious deficits in the public universities during the lockdown and strike, they were playing to the gallery.”

    But the OAU spokesperson, Abiodun Olanrewaju, said the university management was ready for resumption and had put in place “a lot in relation to the COVID-19 protocols” in a bid to ensure safety.

    Holding physical lectures now will be disastrous, says FUNAAB ASUU

    ASUU at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta said the university was not ready to cope with COVID-19 challenges.

    The Chairman of ASUU-FUNAAB, Dr Adebayo Oni, in an interview with one of our correspondents on Sunday, stated, “The lectures halls are overcrowded. As of today, in my own campus, I have not seen any facility for hand washing Who is to provide sanitisers? Do you expect lecturers to provide sanitisers for themselves?

    “Fumigation of the environment from time to time should be done, How do you cope with students surge and the challenge of power supply ?”

    Oni said the union had observed that conducting physical lectures with students would be more disastrous.

    He described as alarming, figure of COVID-19. He said, “It is definitely a threat to the resumption of academic activities .

    “The fact is that under this circumstance and looking at the threat of the figure, going physical with students would be more disastrous. Conducting physical session, physical lectures with students would be more disastrous.

    “The truth of the matter is that we now propose a mixed model of online teaching and probably some level of physical teachings.

    “Even the online teaching also comes with its own facilities which are not readily available.

    “We don’t want to be pessimistic to say that it is not going to be workable. However , it is going to be at the risk of our lives and the lives of our students if the required facilities are not provided by the government.

     

    “The truth is that the facilities to cope with the pandemic are not available in our institutions. It appears the government is not ready and our institutions are not helpful.”

     

    COVID-19: Nothing on ground to show ATBU ready for resumption, say lecturers

    Also, the Chairman of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University branch of ASUU, Dr Musa Babayo, in a text message sent to our one of our correspondents, said that the government and institutions did not show any sign of seriousness in handling COVID-19 issues when the union was on strike.

    He said that ASUU in the ATBU had yet to see any tangible improvement in students’ hostel accommodation, classrooms and other things needed for COVID-19 protocols.

    Babayo who said that if the Federal Government had released funds to universities, proper arrangements for the protocols would have been made by the institutions.

    He said, “The coast is now very clear since has ASUU suspended its strike and it has gone further to show how government and institutions are not serious in the handling universities, particularly the issues of COVID-19.

    “When you talk about ATBU and resumption whether ASUU is satisfied, I can tell you that we have yet to see any tangible improvement, whether in hostel accommodation, classrooms and other things needed for COVID-19 protocols.”

    But the Public Relations Officer of the university, Bauchi, Abdulkadir Shehu, told one of our correspondents that the resumption of students of the institution had yet to be announced.

     

    He said, “Yesterday (Saturday) fumigation of the school at both the Yelwa and Gubu campuses commenced and it will soon be concluded.”

     

    We are concern about second surge – UNIJOS ASUU

    The Chairman of ASUU at the University of Jos, Dr Lazarus Maigoro, said the association was concerned about the second wave of COVID-19.

    He, therefore, urged the management of the university to ensure compliance with COVID-19 protocols on resumption.

    Maigoro who expressed concern over the second wave of COVID-19 said his members expected the university authority to comply with the COVID-19 protocols to contain the spread of the disease in the institution

    The Senate of UNIJOS will on Monday (today) hold a meeting to decide whether the institution will reopen for academic activities on January 18, 2021.

    The institution’s Deputy Registrar, Information and Publications, Abdullahi Abdullahi, disclosed this to one of our correspondents in Jos on Sunday.

    Abdullahi said, “We don’t know yet when UNIJOS will resume. The Senate will be meeting tomorrow (Monday) and that is where they will decide when the institution will reopen.”

     

    ‌Second wave more ferocious, we won’t expose our members to health hazards – UNICAL ASUU chair

    At the University of Calabar, the union Chairman, Dr John Edor, told The PUNCH that the association would not allow its members to be exposed to health hazards.

    Edor stated, “As a union, we are not too quick to talk. We are not too fast to become meddlesome. They have said schools are permitted to resume on the 18th of January, 2021. If by then we see that the necessary things are not put in place for the resumption, the union will come up with a position because we are not ready to expose our members to health hazards.

    “That was why we went on strike, asking for revitalisation of public universities. Revitalisation simply means conducive theatres, conducive hostels, offices, laboratories and libraries.

    “That is why we are saying let us wait till 18th of January and see how prepared Nigerian public universities are in the face of the second wave of COVID-19 which has come up with a more ferocious variant.”

    At the University of Port Harcourt, ASUU Chairman, Dr Austen Sado, said there would be a spike in coronavirus cases.

    He stated, “We have not been invited to inspect any facility in order to determine its suitability. So, we will wait until we get clarification on the resumption, then we will know whether there are things to contend with.”

    Asked if he feared a spike ahead of the school resumption, he said he had seen some measures put in place by the university, but that the possibility of an increase in cases existed.

     

    UNIPORT purchases 400 thermometers

    The university had directed students to resume on January 27, saying appropriate measures had been put in place to check the spread of COVID-19 in the classrooms and hostels.

    The Public Relations Officer of the university, Sammy Kpenu who disclosed this to one of our correspondents on Sunday afternoon, said one of such measures was the purchase of 400 thermometers to check temperatures.

     

    UNILAG Senate decides resumption date Wednesday

    But Registrar of University of Lagos, Mr Oladejo Azeez, said the decision on resumption of academic activities would be taken by the school’s Senate on Wednesday.

    Azeez in an interview with The PUNCH, said the Senate would meet virtually on Wednesday to discuss and decide on the modalities of students’ resumption and academic activities.

    He said, “Irrespective of what the Federal Government has said, the resumption of students or of academic activities is the prerogative of Senate. Senate of the university will decide and the meeting of the Senate is coming up on Wednesday; a virtual meeting. The law places this in the hands of the Senate and until Senate meets, there is no way anybody can say anything on resumption.”

    The management of the University of Ibadan said everything would be done to ensure that there was not spike in cases of COVID-19 among students and staff.

    The Director of Public Communication of the university, Mr Olatunji Oladejo, said this in an interview with one of our correspondents in Ibadan on Sunday.

    But ASUU Chairman at the Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Dr Abubakar Sabo, said he doubted if universities in Nigeria could meet the guidelines for preventing COVID-19.

    Abubakar, who spoke to one of our correspondents in Sokoto, stated that he was not aware of measures being put in place by the management of the UDUD towards the resumption date.

    “The Federal Government and university authorities must ensure that, there is no spike on our campuses. I have doubt, if our universities can meet up with the standard and best practices to check the pandemic.”

     

    Crowded classrooms: Our struggle for expanded infrastructure justified, says UNILAG ASUU

    While reacting to this issue of social distancing on campus, chairman,, UNILAG branch, Dr Dele Ashiru, explained that the union had been justified over their agitations for expansion of infrastructure in Universities across the country.

    He said, “ASUU has been clamouring for the expansion of infrastructure in the universities. This is a testimony to the justification of our struggles over the years because the situation as it is now leaves more to be desired.”

    We haven’t seen any measure in ABU – Lecturers

    The Ahmadu Bello University branch of ASUU said although its members were ready to work, it had not seen any measure put in place by the university.

    ABU’s ASUU Chairman, Prof. Rabiu Nasiru, told one of our correspondents in Kaduna on Sunday that the lecturers were prepare to go back to work.

    He, however, expressed concern that no adequate measures had so far been taken by the ABU management against the spread of the virus in the institution.

    He said, “I haven’t seen any measure taken so far by the management of ABU, but since the senate of the university is meeting on Tuesday, once Senate meets, I know those issues will be rais ed and it will be discussed. But for now, I have not seen any measure taken.”

     

    Source : www.punchng.com

  • Crude Oil : Price of Oil hits $56

     

    The sustained increase in global crude oil prices has pushed up the landing cost of imported petrol closer to the current pump prices of the product in Nigeria, and appears to have triggered a return to petrol subsidy era, ’FEMI ASU reports

    Since November 13, 2020 when the pump prices of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) were last increased in the country, the price of the international oil benchmark, Brent crude, has been on an upward trajectory, rising from $41.51 per barrel to close at $51.22 per barrel on December 31.

    Fuel marketers had in December expected another upward adjustment of PMS prices to reflect the further rise in crude oil prices.

    However, a N5 reduction in petrol price, effective December 14, was announced by the Federal Government – a development that left them reeling in shock and questioning the deregulation of petrol price.

    Crude oil price accounts for a large chunk of the final cost of petrol, and the country has continued to spend so much on petrol imports for many years amid low domestic refining capacity.

    The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, had said in September last year that the Federal Government had stepped back in fixing the price of petrol, adding that market forces and crude oil price would determine the cost of the product.

    The Federal Government removed petrol subsidy in March 2020 after reducing the pump price of the product to N125 per litre from N145 on the back of the sharp drop in crude oil prices. The price reduction lasted till June.

    Nigerians saw increases in the pump prices of petrol in four months, rising from N121.50–N123.50 per litre in June to N140.80-N143.80 in July, N148-N150 in August, N158-N162 in September and N163-N170 in November.

    Brent, the international oil benchmark, has risen by about 35 per cent since November 13 when the pump price of petrol was last increased. It closed at $55.99 per barrel on Friday, its highest level in 11 months.

    Going by the petrol pricing template of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, the landing cost of petrol rose from an average of N143.60 in December to N158.53 per litre on January 7, with the expected open market price (retail price) being N181.53 per litre.

    The product is currently being sold at between N160 and N165 per litre at many filling stations in Lagos.

    The cost of petrol quoted on Platts rose to $480.25 per metric tonne (N139.67 per litre, using N390/$1) last Thursday from an average of $430.107 per MT (N125.09 per litre) in December. The cost of petrol averaged $391.75 per MT (N113.24 per litre) in July, according to PPPRA’s template.

    Apart from the increase in global crude oil prices, the devaluation of the naira last year also led to a significant rise in the cost of imported petrol.

    The PPPRA used an exchange rate of N306.90/$1 on January 14, 2020 to calculate the cost of petrol, while N387.63/$1 was used on July 31.

    The naira closed at 393.50 against the dollar on Friday at the Investors’ and Exporters’ Foreign Exchange Window, and 472/$1 at the parallel market.

    As of January 7, the cost of petrol plus freight stood at $500.72 per MT, translating to N145.62 per litre.

    Other cost elements that make up the landing cost include lightering expenses (N4.57), insurance cost (N0.21), Nigerian Ports Authority charge (N2.38), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency charge (N0.23), jetty throughput charge (N1.61), storage charge (N2.58), and financing (N1.33).

    The pump price is the sum of the landing cost, wholesale margin and the distribution margins. The wholesale margin is N4.03 while the distribution margins comprise transporters allowance (N3.89), retailer (N6.19), bridging fund (N7.51), marine transport average (N0.15), and admin charge (N1.23).

    The NNPC, which has been the sole importer of petrol into the country in recent years, is still being relied upon by marketers for the supply of the product despite the deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector.

    Private oil marketing companies have continued to lament that their inability to access foreign exchange at the official rates has hampered efforts to resume petrol importation.

    If the pump price of petrol is left unchanged amid the rise in oil prices, it means the NNPC would again bear the latest subsidy cost on behalf of the government as it did for several years before its removal last year.

    There is currently subsidy, but it is being absorbed by the government through the NNPC,” the National Operation Controller, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Mr Mike Osatuyi, told our correspondent.

     

    He recalled that he said in December that petrol pump price was moving closer to N180 per litre, adding that with the current price of crude oil, petrol subsidy would gulp about N800m daily with an average consumption level of 40 million litres.

    He said, “Because of the volatility of petrol in the Nigerian political landscape, government does not have the boldness to allow full deregulation of petrol because of the spiral effects on Nigerians, and bearing in mind that Nigerians are in very hard times.”

    Osatuyi said, “But the government is supposed to come out and present the subsidy to the National Assembly. They should tell Nigerians that we are going back to subsidy. But because of the loans from the IMF and World Bank that they got with the condition that petrol should be deregulated, I believe the government is trying to manage the problem.

    “If we are going to do genuine deregulation, there must be a level playing field for the players. We are not where we are supposed to be; there is still some dark, hidden elements in our ‘deregulation’.

    “We are practising monopolistic deregulation – where one player is on the field and it is the goalkeeper, the defender and the referee.”

    The President, Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria, Dr Billy Gillis-Harry, stressed the need for deregulation to be properly done.

    He said, “The concern I have is that we are not getting it right. We must think inwards and grow our local production capacity. I don’t know why our refineries should not work.

    “Deregulation is the way to go; we want the sector to be deregulated. But we need to do it rightly. There should be a level playing field for all operators; everybody should be able to access forex at the same rate.”

    While opposing the return to subsidy, he said, “We call on the government to fast-track the regulatory process to ensure that deregulation is in place.”

     

    The Source had reported on September 8, 2020 that the Federal Government’s removal of petrol subsidy and the increase in electricity tariff were in line with reforms being sought by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

    “The recent introduction and implementation of an automatic fuel price formula will ensure fuel subsidies, which we have eliminated, do not reemerge,” the Federal Government told the IMF in the letter of intent dated April 21, 2020 with respect to its request for emergency financial assistance of $3.4bn.

    In July, Sylva said in a statement that the Federal Government had reached  a conclusion that it could no longer bear the burden of petrol subsidy.

     

    Source : www.punchng.com

  • Insecurity : “The Nigerian government has failed on security” – Falana

    Lagos lawyer Femi Falana’s wife, Mrs Funmi Falana, on Sunday said the president, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), and the 36 state governors should resign from office if they were helpless on the insecurity in the country.

    Falana, who is also a human rights activists, said governments had failed on security and something needed to be done, lamenting that “Nigerians are afraid to go out, Nigerians fear for their lives, they are afraid for their security. It is very sad. Nobody ever envisaged that Nigeria will get to a situation like this.”

    The human rights lawyer, who spoke in Iyin Ekiti, Ekiti State, during her yearly New Year celebration with motherless children, called on states yet to domesticate the Child’s Right Law to do so.

    She said, “There is the need to do something about the security of the citizens. A government that is unable to guarantee the security of the citizens is a failed government, so if they cannot protect the Nigerian people, the governments have failed.

    “We are using this opportunity to remind them that it is the constitutional responsibility of the government under Chapter Two of the constitution to provide security for the people. It is as if they are helpless, if they are helpless, let them resign and let us know that we don’t have government,” Falana said.

    Falana said that her yearly celebration with the children “is our way of giving back to the needy in the society because these people really need the expression of our love and also to let them know that they are important in t he society.”

    The matron of the children’s home, Mrs Olayinka Ajayi, said Falana’s contributions in the last few years had made significant impact in the lives of the children.

     

    Source : www.punchng.com

  • Forbes : Dangote’s networth drops by $900m within 24 hours

     

    The President/Chief Executive, Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, saw his total net worth drop by $900m on Friday as his flagship company emerged the biggest loser at the end of trading on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

    Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which is a ranking of the world’s 500 richest people, showed that his wealth fell from $18.4bn on Thursday to $17.5bn on Friday, making him the 114th wealthiest man in the world, down from 106th the previous day.

    Dangote’s net worth had risen from $15.5bn on December 13 to close the year 2020 at $17.8bn. It further gained $600m in the first seven days of 2021, but lost all of it and more last Friday.

    The share price of Dangote Cement Plc, the country’s biggest listed company and Africa’s largest cement producer, tumbled by 8.13 per cent to close at N225 on Friday from N244.90 on Thursday.

    Dangote was the only Nigerian on the list of 500 billionaires and retained his position as Africa’s richest person as of Friday.

    “The majority of Dangote’s fortune is derived from his 86 per cent stake in publicly traded Dangote Cement. He holds the shares in the company directly and through his conglomerate, Dangote Industries,” Bloomberg said.

    His most valuable closely held asset is a fertiliser plant with capacity to produce up to 2.8 million tonnes of urea annually, according to the international news agency.

    “A $12bn oil refinery that is currently being developed in Nigeria isn’t included in the valuation because it’s not yet operational and construction costs are calculated to outweigh its current value,” it said.

     

     

    Source : www.punchng.com

  • Crude Oil : Nigeria’s oil export revenue increases as the price of a barrel rises above $55

     

    The international oil benchmark, Brent crude, extended its gains on Friday, rising above $55 per barrel, in what is a potential boost to Nigeria’s crude oil export revenue.

     

    Brent crude, against which Nigeria’s oil is priced, hit an 11-month high of $55.41 per barrel as of 2:50pm Nigerian time on Friday, trading more than $15 higher than the Federal Government’s benchmark for the 2021 budget.

     

    The 2021 budget, which was signed by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), on December 31, was based on an oil price benchmark of $40 per barrel and a production level of 1.86 million barrels per day.

     

    The upturn in oil prices was supported by Saudi Arabia’s pledge to cut output and a global stocks rally as investors looked beyond rising coronavirus cases, according to Reuters.

     

    “The surprise Saudi cut is keeping bulls at the helm. It will take a brave man to bet against the current bullish run of play,” said Stephen Brennock of oil broker PVM.

     

    Saudi Arabia this week pledged extra, voluntary oil output cuts of one million barrels per day in February and March as part of a deal under which most OPEC+ producers will hold production steady in the face of new coronavirus lockdowns.

     

    However, analysts said oil prices could see a correction in coming months, if their rallies were not backed by stronger fuel demand.

     

    Severe mobility restrictions around the world to contain a surge in COVID-19 cases still weighed on fuel sales, weakening the prospect of energy demand recovery in the first half of 2021.

     

    “Oil markets are expected to stay in a bullish tone towards February,” said Kazuhiko Saito, chief analyst at commodities broker Fujitomi Co.

     

    “But concerns over slower demand in gasoline and other fuels in the United States and other parts of the world due to wider restrictions to contain the spreading COVID-19 pandemic may limit gains.”

     

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    The pandemic claimed its highest US death toll yet, killing more than 4,000 people in a single day, while China reported the biggest rise in daily cases in more than five months and Japan may extend a state of emergency beyond the greater Tokyo region.

     

    A rally in global shares also lent some support to oil prices, with Japan’s Nikkei hitting a three-decade peak, as investors looked beyond rising coronavirus cases and focused on hopes for an economic recovery later in the year.

     

    As a sign of tighter supply following Saudi Arabia’s cut, seven North Sea crude cargoes were bought and sold in the trading window operated by Platts on Thursday. Normally, just one or two cargoes change hands each day.

     

    Source : www.punchng.com

  • Paternity Scandal : “What you don’t know about my troubled marriage” – Moyo Thomas

     

     

    The lady at the centre of the trending story involving the Managing Director of First City Monument Bank, FCMB, Mr. Adam Nuru over the paternity of her two children, Mrs Moyo Thomas has finally come out of her shell to reveal the circumstances that led to her separation from her late husband, Mr. Tunde Thomas.

     

    For over a week, social media have been awash with allegations of infidelity against Moyo leading to doubts about the paternity of her two young kids. She was accused of having an affair with Adam while she was still living with Thomas and that her kids are products of the illicit affair while she worked with Adam in FCMB before her relocation to the United States in 2017. Thomas was said to have died as a result of the trauma suffered from the scandal while Adam during the week stepped down from his seat as the bank MD to go on vacation to allow for a proper investigation of the swirling allegations. Though Moyo’s friends and family members had spoken in her defence, but in a statement personally signed by her and made available to Saturday Sun yesterday, Moyo told her story herself.

     

     

     

    “I write in reference to all the allegations and accusations that have recently been making the rounds on the internet and various social media platforms. I have refrained from responding to this matter for various reasons, one of which is to preserve the memories of Tunde who departed to be with his maker on December 16, 2020. Memories, not only to me, but to his children, who are still young, and to everybody who had a relationship with him.

     

    “Just like any marriage, Tunde and I had a lot of differences in our marriage, some of which even led to police intervention . But I remain committed to keeping only positive memories of him. No one can ever understand what transpired between us or what each of us experienced in the marriage; like they say, it is he who wears the shoes that knows where it pinches. In all of it, I never for once wished him bad. His untimely and sudden death is still a shock to me as it is to many others.

     

    “On no occasion did I ever tell him he was not the father of our two children. It is therefore deliberate falsehood and certainly malicious to allege and insinuate that I informed him that the children are not his. The children still bear his name. Only God knows why he died in an untimely period. It is not in my place, or anyone’s place to play God and talk with certainty as to the cause of his death, without proven medical facts.

     

     

     

    “Despite our separation, we never allowed our differences affect the relationships we respectively have with the children. He still had conversations with the children like any father will, up until his sudden and unfortunate death. It is quite sad and disheartening to see the pictures of these innocent children splashed all over the internet with very disparaging and weird comments.

     

    “I do wish his family and friends the fortitude to bear the unfortunate loss and I ask that we all be allowed to grieve his loss in peace. He has now been laid to rest and we implore all and sundry to please respect our privacy and allow those grieving his loss, including the children and I, to do  so in peace.”

     

    Source : www.sunnewsonline.com

  • Alleged Public disturbance : Police fails to produce Sowore & others, frustrates bail

     

     

     

    The scheduled ruling on the bail application filed by the publisher of SaharaReporters, Omoyele Sowore, and four others at the Magistrates’ Court, Wuse Zone 2, Abuja was on Friday stalled by the failure of the prosecution to produce them before Magistrate Mabel Segun-Bello.

     

    The court had on January 6, 2021, scheduled ruling for Friday after entertaining arguments on the bail application filed by Sowore and others.

    Sowore, Juwon Sanyaolu, Peter Williams, Damilare Adenola and Emmanuel Bulus were arraigned before the court on Monday on a three-count charge filed by the police.

     

    They were arrested on the New Year’s Eve for their alleged involvement in a protest against bad governance in the country.

     

    The police claimed that the defendants were arrested with placards that called for a violent revolution against the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd).

    But on Wednesday, after taking arguments on the defendants’ bail application, Magistrate Segun-Bello scheduled the ruling for Friday, at 11am.

    By 11am on Friday, Sowore’s lawyer, Marshal Abubakar, and associates of the defendants were in court, but the prosecuting lawyer was absent, prompting the court to reschedule proceedings for 1pm.

     

    By 1pm, when the prosecuting lawyer was still yet to arrive in court, an official of the court invited the defence lawyer into the office of the magistrate.

    While emerging from the office of the magistrate, Abubakar told journalists that he learnt the police claimed to have handed the case file to a Deputy Inspector General of Police for further prosecution.

     

    The lawyer said the DIG, who was called to produce the defendants, claimed to have handed the case file to the Director of Public Prosecution on the instruction of the Attorney General of the Federation, Malami Abubakar (SAN).

     

    No date was, however, fixed for further proceedings. Sowore’s lawyer, Abubakar, said, “At the moment, Mr Omoyele Sowore and the other four defendants are still being held at the Force CID, Area 10, Garki, Abuja, as we speak. There are serious allegations that there are attempts to undermine the judicial process. The reason is this: the ruling on the bail application was adjourned to today, definite.

     

    “This morning (Friday) while we were in court, we made an attempt to ask that Mr Omoyele Sowore be brought to court for him to listen or to hear the conditions upon which his bail would be considered, probably, in his favour or in whatever manner the judge decides it. But this morning, we were informed and we were shown documents, signals first from the office of the DIG requesting the case file of Mr Omoyele Sowore from the office of the Commissioner of Police, FCT, Abuja.”

     

    Source : www.punchng.com

  • 2023 Presidency : Upcoming Political Party by Nigerian activists in a bid to replace PDP, APC

     

     

    The 2023 general elections are only two years away but intrigues by actors in the political space have undoubtedly started.

     

    Prior to the 2014 merger of three opposition political parties, the then ruling People’s Democratic Party had made good use of the divide and rule tactics to run over the opposition especially during presidential elections.

     

    Recall that the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria, the All Nigeria Peoples Party and the Congress for Progressive Change, as well as a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance had merged to form the All Progressives Congress to enable them to defeat the then ruling PDP.

     

    The National Secretary, Project Nigeria, Mr Olawale Okunniyi, who was part of the moves to initiate a coming together of opposition political parties back in 2007, said, “It was late Alhaji Balarabe Musa, the leader of the Nigeria Unite for Democracy, and chairman of the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties in 2007, who proposed an alliance of opposition political parties against one-party rule in Nigeria. This later gave birth to the Mega Party Movement under the leadership of late Anthony Enahoro, Alhaji Lateef Jakande and Chief Olu Falae, respectively.”

     

    He recalled that the realignments gave rise to the Congress for Progressive Change, led by the then Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), the Social Democratic Party and the Action Congress of Nigeria, among others.

     

    Okunniyi, however, expressed sadness that the experiment collapsed a few months to the 2011 elections.

     

    He said, “Faced with the reality that you cannot continue to do the same thing the same way and expect to get a different result, opposition leaders received wise counsel and decided to do what many considered the impossible prior to that time-they dissolved their various platforms to birth Nigeria’s first truly national opposition party, the All Progressives Congress.

     

    “The then new party received a boost from five sitting governors of the then ruling party Peoples Democratic Party who moved in with their party structure in states hitherto considered the PDP strongholds.”

     

    Interestingly, the supremacy battle within the PDP over the issue of zoning back then strengthened the APC. This resulted in the PDP’s first taste of defeat in 2015, a failure the party has been unable to recover from till this day.

     

    But five years into the regime of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari, now, some Nigerians have described both the PDP and the APC as two sides of the same coin.

     

    Another group of Nigerians, who tried but failed to come together to form a third force to challenge the dominance of the two political parties in 2019, has renewed their bid to create another broad-based platform which they believe will succeed this time.

     

    Politicians like a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ghali Na’abba; former National Chairman of the National Conscience Party, Yunusa Tanko; academics including Professors Pat Utomi and Kingsley Moghalu; Mrs Remi Sonaya; Dr Hakeem Baba Ahmed, and a host of others, who came together to form the National Consultative Front, have indicated interest in floating an alternative platform ahead of the 2023 presidential election.

     

    Speaking on the new project, Okunniyi, who is one of the prominent promoters of the new group, explained, “We are still consulting and mobilising Nigerians towards this latest move towards rescuing Nigeria from the misgovernance we have been exposed to since 2015.

     

    “It was not as if the PDP was any better, it is just that the current APC regime is progressively worse, Nigerians have never had it this bad.

     

    “The truth is that both the PDP and the APC are two sides of the same coin, they have both failed Nigerians. We are launching a Mega Political Movement in January and have a full inauguration party in June.”

     

    However, a legal practitioner and a chieftain of the APC in Gombe State, Abdullahi Jalo, expressed the opinion that under the APC, Nigerians had seen what good governance and accountability could deliver to a nation.

     

    He said, “I was a member of the PDP but I am now a full member of the APC because of the type of leadership President Muhammadu Buhari has provided since taking office in 2015.

     

    “Nigerians now understand the true meaning of progressive politics. The policies and programmes of our president are non-discriminatory. All he is interested in when a project is proposed is whether it will be to the benefit of a majority of Nigerians; he doesn’t care whether the benefiting state is a PDP or an APC-controlled state. This attitude explains why unlike previous leaders, he doesn’t care who started a project; as long as Nigerians will benefit, he goes ahead to complete it. Is it his achievement in the railway sector you want to talk about or the repayment of money spent by states to rehabilitate federal roads? Nobody is saying there are no challenges, there are but genuine efforts to surmount these challenges are on.

     

    “Without doubt, the APC will remain the party to beat in the next election.”

     

    The National Publicity Secretary of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, Kola Ologbondiyan, disagreed with this position.

     

    He said, “Most Nigerians are today regretting the decision to vote in the APC in 2015. Walk on the streets in any state in Nigeria and speak to the people. Will people in the President’s home state of Katsina, or the people of Borno, Zamfara, Yobe states, or in fact, anywhere in Nigeria today sincerely tell you that their lives have improved for the better since the APC came on board? The answer is definitely no.

     

    “How much was the Naira exchanged for the dollar in 2015? How much is it today? How much was a bag of rice then? How much is it today? Most Nigerians today cannot travel home because roads are no longer safe due to banditry, kidnapping and robbery. Nigerians can’t wait to vote the APC out in 2023.”

     

    A chieftain of the Enugu State chapter of the APC, Osita Okechukwu, on his part, said, “The Nigerian political system has always favoured a strong two-party system. Other smaller parties can exist on the sidelines but we have had a situation where two strong political tendencies exist just like in the United States where our system of democracy was copied from. I don’t see that changing anytime soon.”

     

    A former Secretary of the Bauchi State chapter of the defunct ACN, Abdullahi Dauda, who has been a long-time opposition figure before the merger which gave rise to the APC, however, expressed doubts about the possibility of Nigerians taking a risk with a new political platform.

     

    He ruled out this possibility as regards to the 2023 presidential race.

     

    He wondered if Nigerians would be willing to once again risk going for a little-known marriage of strange bedfellows in the name of a political party like they did in 2015.

     

    “I think for many of us the maxim ‘the devil you know is better than the angel you don’t know’  holds true.  The APC and the PDP may be two sides of the same coin but Nigerians have now tasted the two and are likely to make better informed choices in 2023. I honestly don’t see any serious threat to their dominance of the political scene yet.”

     

    Dauda further explained that the situation in 2015 was remarkably different from what is on the ground today.

     

    According to him, one factor stood out in 2015; there was a general consensus especially in the North, that the then President, Goodluck Jonathan, breached the zoning arrangement which had been in place since 1999.

     

    He noted that the deteriorating security situation as well as what many considered unprecedented corruption among the ruling elite at the time made matters worse for the then ruling PDP.

     

    There are also those within the new political movement who are optimistic that the brains behind the #Endsars movement could spring a surprise by bringing in their energy to join the experience being paraded by some of the promoters of the Mega Political Movement, to drive the process.

     

    Those in this school of thought pointed out that the youth had tasted the power of unity and focus and could deploy the same with likeminded people to wrest political power from the dominant political parties.

     

    However, another school of thought expressed the view that the problem would always come from the clash of interests among those who felt they could do a better job given the chance.

     

    Recall that prior to the 2019 general elections, several youth groups came together in an attempt to throw up a consensus candidate but their efforts failed largely because personal ambitions failed to yield the floor to reason.

     

    The Executive Director,  Civil Societies Legislative and Advocacy Centre, Awual Musa, is of the view that what is currently in high demand is attitudinal change among Nigerians.

     

    “We must change the way we do things; our value systems must change if we are to get things right be it politically or in any other sector.”

     

    Events of coming months will indicate if the fresh attempt to provide an alternative to the dominance of the APC and PDP will gain traction ahead of 2023.

     

    Source : www.punchng.com

  • INEC : Electronic voting system more credible than manual

     

    NIGERIA’S election management body, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), recently reiterated its plan to fully migrate from manual to electronic voting system beginning with Anambra State Governorship election holding in 2021.

    Addressing reporters last month on the sideline of the 2021 budget defence at the Green Chamber of the National Assembly, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, whose reappointment as INEC Chairman has just been confirmed by the Senate, said: “It is difficult to give you an idea of cost or when the process would be concluded, but we are determined that we are going to deploy electronic voting machines, electronic balloting machines very soon in our elections. Possibly beginning with the Anambra governorship election next year.”

     

    Yakubu had equally disclosed in September that in line with INEC’s commitment to fully replace manual voting with automated voting method, 40 manufacturers of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) from different parts of the globe were invited to practically demonstrate the viability of the voting machines.

     

    According to him, “For some time now, the commission has been working on the deployment of technology in voting during elections to replace the current manual system which is tedious and requires enormous logistics to deliver huge quantities of printed materials and a large number of ad hoc staff to administer the process.

     

    “To this end, the commission developed the specifications of the functions required of the machine. After extensive discussion and review, the commission took the decision to invite original manufacturers of Electronic Voting Machines around the world for a virtual or practical demonstration of the machines.”

     

    Basically, there are two ways electronic voting can be used for the conduct of elections. The first is the use of electronic voting machines which are usually located at the polling stations and supervised by officials of the electoral body. In this case, the voters are still expected to be physically present at the polling units to cast their votes with the voting machines provided. The second is the remote electronic voting where voters can submit their votes electronically via the internet to the electoral body from the comfort of their homes or any location. INEC appears to have settled for the use of electronic machines. Some countries use the remote voting pattern while some apply both in their adoption of the electronic voting model.

     

    Electronic voting is often seen as a tool for making the electoral process more efficient and increasing trust in the conduct and management of elections. It is in the view of many that the full adoption of electronic voting system would go a long way in enhancing the transparency and credibility of our elections thereby deepening the country’s democracy. There is also the thinking that electronic balloting would greatly help to prevent and mitigate violence that more often than not stems from electoral malfeasance and manipulations perpetrated during manual voting.

     

    As has been rightly noted by political observers, building a thriving democracy is dependent on getting the electoral process right. It has been argued that Nigeria’s politics suffers deeply because the electoral process has, in most cases, been marred by massive irregularities, such that wrong persons find their ways into elective offices.

     

    Peter Wolf, an author who works for the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), opined that properly implemented electronic solutions can increase the security of the ballot, speed up the processing of results and make voting easier. In one of his papers published by the International IDEA, Wolf whose work focuses on the application of digital technologies in elections, emerging challenges and the sustainable and trusted implementation of ICTs in electoral processes, identified some of the benefits associated with electronic voting as follows: Faster vote count and tabulation; More accurate results as human error is excluded; Efficient handling of complicated electoral systems formulae that require laborious counting procedures; Increased convenience for voters; Prevention of fraud in polling stations and during the transmission and tabulation of results by reducing human intervention; Potential long-term cost savings through savings in poll worker time, and reduced costs for the production and distribution of ballot papers.

     

    Notwithstanding the fact that electronic voting has some downsides and challenges as well, many consider it achievable and therefore think INEC should not relent in its determination to push through. The merits, it is believed, obviously outweigh the demerits.

     

    Countries with huge populations and intricate political systems, like Brazil and India, migrated to electronic voting technology many years ago. Brazil partly used electronic voting for the first time in 1996 and adopted it 100 percent nationwide since 2000. India began the introduction of electronic voting machines in 1998 and since 2004 they have been used in the nationwide parliamentary polls. The upshot of the adoption of electronic voting in Brazil and India is said to have been very positive thus far.

     

    According to Giuseppe Janino, the Secretary of Technology and Information in the Brazilian Superior Electoral Court, “Brazil has about 150 million voters. In the 2018 presidential election, we announced the winner only two hours and 16 minutes after the polls were closed. By that time, we had already counted 96.7 percent of all votes, cast all over the country.”

     

    Former President Goodluck Jonathan has been vociferous in the call for the full adoption of electronic voting system in Nigeria and Africa in general. At different occasions he has hammered on the need for countries on the African Continent to migrate from manual voting to electronic method of balloting. The ex-President believes strongly that the only way to get credible elections in Nigeria and the rest of Africa is by fully  embracing electronic voting.

     

    Source : www.thenationonlineng.net

  • FG directs State Government to domesticate disabilities Act

    PRESIDENT Muhmmadu Buhari has directed state governments to domesticate the Disability Act to make the establishment of the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities perform its responsibility.

     

    The President spoke on Thursday when he hosted members of the newly established commission, led by the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouq, at the State House in Abuja.

     

    A statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, said President Buhari praised some governors for enacting laws on disability and enjoined those who have not, to do the needful.

     

    The President expressed joy that the commission was in place, as it was among vital issues he spoke about during his electioneering campaigns.

     

    “In December 2014, during my campaign for the President of this country under our great party, I met with the Community of Persons with Special Needs who showed unalloyed loyalty and support for our party and my candidature in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital.

     

    “I recall that the most pressing and priority request from the community was the passage of the Disability Bill and the subsequent presidential assent, which I promised them I would do. I am happy to have fulfilled that  promise.

    “I thank the governors of Plateau, Lagos and Nasarawa states for enacting disability laws and establishing Disability Rights Commissions in their states. I am calling on governors of Yobe, Kano and Kogi states, to implement their laws while those states that are yet to do so should take necessary action to enable the Federal Government efforts have the desired impact at the subnational levels,” President Buhari said.

     

    Source : www.thenationonlineng.net

  • Igbo : Ohanaeze threatens to arrest Obiozor

    The Ohanaeze Ndigbo general assembly has threatened to arrest Prof. George Obiozor , a frontline presidential contender in the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation.

    Others being threatened with arrest are those contesting elections into chapters of the organisation at various levels.

    The President-General of the Ohaneze General Assembly, Basil Onyeacholam, disclosed this to our correspondents in Awka, Anambra State, on Thursday.

    Saying any attempt to conduct election for the leadership of Ohanaeze was illegal, Onyeacholam pointed out that his organisation was the authentic representative of the Igbo.

     

    He added that law enforcement agencies had been informed to act accordingly.

    He said,” The law of our land does not prohibit anybody from wasting his money. But any attempt by anybody to hold election in the name of Ohanaeze is going to be an effort in futility.

    “We have made our position clear; Ohanaeze is one. We have also reached out to some people that are involved, especially the elderly ones to come and man the elders’ council of our organisation, while the national executive leadership should be left to younger persons, that is the restructuring that is going on in Ohanaeze.

     

    “Anybody that is calling for any election anywhere is trying to organise what that is not proper in the eyes of the law. We have written to the security agencies.

    “Prof. Obiozor is 80 years. If Prof. Obiozor is to be anybody’s father or grandfather, would they allow him to be struggling at that age?”

     

    The Source had reported that the counsel for the Ohanaeze Ndigbo general assembly, recently registered by the Corporate Affairs Commission, Amobi Nzelu, had in November last year asked the police and the Department of State Services to stop the Ohanaeze Ndigbo election slated for January.

     

    Nzelu also urged security agencies, including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, to arrest the outgoing President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Nnia Nwodo, and other principal officers of the Igbo apex socio-cultural organisation, past and present, for allegedly running the organisation illegally.

    Reacting, the President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo in Anambra, Chief Okeke Ogene, described the threat as an empty one.

    He said, “If they feel they have the capacity they should come and arrest us. We are not afraid any threat.

    They should remember that a factional Ohanaeze like them had gone to court and court said they had no right to stop our elections.

    “The election going on is not the decision of one; it’s the decision of Imeobi (parliament) in the South-East that involves all traditional rulers, town unions and governors of the seven Igbo-speaking states.

    “Elections are continuing. Nobody has the powers to discuss the existence of Igbo nation than the Ohanaeze led by Nnia Nwodo is Ohanaeze of the Igbo nation that has history from the late Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe. We have a lineage; we have a founder; ask them who their founder is? Why are we wasting our energy to merchants and agents of destruction?

    ‘PG requires someone who has served’

    Meanwhile, one of the leading contestants for the office of President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Dr Joe Nworgu, has said that the position required someone who has had apprenticeship in the organisation.

    Nworgu, who spoke to our correspondent on Thursday, said he was in the race to champion Igbo interest since he had served in the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation in various capacities.

    Nworgu, who is a former deputy secretary-general and secretary-general of the body, said “I am in the race because Igbo are in a crossroad’s and the race required someone who has had an apprenticeship in Ohanaeze. Someone who knows the older men who have rendered service and the younger people who are coming in; therefore you have to stand on this two varies.

    “I have helped formulate policies for Ohanaeze under some president generals. I took part in formulating the present constitution of Ohanaeze that was approved in 2003. I have watched the older men take decisions because I have been a statutory member of Imeobi from 2002. That has exposed me to all the dealings, and who is who among the I gbo top echelon.”

     

    Source : www.punchng.com

  • US : Twitter and Facebook ban trumps account

     


    Social media giants Twitter and Facebook temporarily locked the accounts of US President Donald Trump, as they scrambled to crack down on his baseless claims about the US presidential elections after his supporters stormed the US Capitol in Washington, DC and temporarily forced a halt to proceedings.

    Twitter hid and required the removal of three of Trump’s tweets “as a result of the unprecedented and ongoing violent situation in Washington, DC,” after the president’s supporters attempted to force Congress to block the appointment of President-elect Joe Biden.

    While urging his supporters to “go home”, Trump also praised the mob as “special” and telling them that they were “loved”.

    “Future violations of the Twitter Rules, including our Civic Integrity or Violent Threats policies, will result in permanent suspension of the @realDonaldTrump account,” Twitter officials said in a statement. The social media handle used by the president is followed by some 88 million people.

    Twitter said Trump’s account would be locked for 12 hours and that if the offending tweets were not removed, “the account will remain locked”.

    In a rapidly evolving sequence of events, Facebook and YouTube also took down videos posted by the president.

    “This is an emergency situation and we are taking appropriate emergency measures, including removing President Trump’s video,” Facebook Vice President of Integrity Guy Rosen said in a tweet.

    “We removed it because on balance we believe it contributes to rather than diminishes the risk of ongoing violence.”

    Meanwhile, Trump’s account on Instagram, with 24.5 million followers, remains active. Instagram is owned by Facebook.

    YouTube also removed a Trump video that repeated his baseless attacks on the integrity of the election he lost in November, following its policy barring claims challenging election results.

    “As the situation at the United States Capitol Building unfolds, our teams are working to quickly remove live streams and other content that violates our policies, including those against incitement to violence or regarding footage of graphic violence,” said YouTube spokesman Alex Joseph.

    Facebook subsequently said it would search for and remove content which praised the storming of the Capitol or encouraged the violence.

    The enormous social network said it would also seek to take down additional calls for protests, including peaceful ones, if they breached a curfew imposed in the US capital or any attempts to “restage” the storming of Congress, which a Facebook spokesman described as a “disgrace”.

    “We prohibit incitement and calls for violence on our platform,” the spokesperson said. “We are actively reviewing and removing any content that breaks these rules.”

    Facebook maintained that it was in contact with law enforcement officials and continued to enforce bans on the QAnon conspiracy group, militarised social movements and hate groups.

    A #StormTheCapitol hashtag was blocked on both Facebook and Instagram, it said.

    A police officer detains a pro-Trump protester during clashes at a rally to contest the certification of the 2020 US presidential election results by the US Congress [Shannon Stapleton/Reuters]

    Twitter’s initial actions were aimed at limiting the reach of offending tweets from Trump and others.

    “We have been significantly restricting engagement with tweets labelled under our Civic Integrity Policy due to the risk of violence,” the Twitter support team said.

    “This means these labelled tweets will not be able to be replied to, retweeted, or liked.”

    A Trump video clip posted at the top of his official Twitter account was tagged with a note saying the claim of voter fraud was disputed and that the tweet could not be replied to, retweeted, or liked “due to a risk of violence”.

    Rival social network Parler, which has been praised by Trump supporters, showed posts lauding the mob assault on the Capitol.

    “Hope to see some of the DemonRat residences getting torched,” one user wrote.

    Source : www.arise.tv.com