A member of the 8th Senate and social activist, Senator Shehu Sanu has urged the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi to stop apologizing on behalf of his supporters.
Sani’s advice comes as a reaction to Obi’s recent clarification on the alleged abuse by some of his supporters to the senior pastor of Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adebayo.
Peter Obi had hitherto reiterated that some imposters are masquerading as obidients and causing chaos online.
But in a tweet earlier today, the Kaduna State-born politician said: “Asiwaju, Atiku & Buhari never denounce or apologise for whatever their supporters say or do.
“Peter keeps apologising & disassociating. If U keep moving on this apologetic path, you will kill the libido of your movement.
You sparked a fire, embrace the inferno with courage.
Golden Eaglets’ hopes of qualifying for the 2023 U-17 World Cup and winning the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations for the first time in 16 years were dashed following a 2-1 quarter-final defeat to fellow West Africans Burkina Faso on Thursday, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
Forward Aboubacar Camara scored a brace to help the Burkinabe to a 2-0 lead at the Nelson Mandela Stadium in Algiers.
But Eaglets forward Abubakar Abdullahi reduced the deficit midway through the second half but it was not enough as the Baby Stallions sealed a hard-fought win to reach the last four of the U-17 AFCON in Algeria, as well as seal a World Cup ticket.
Eaglets coach Nduka Ugbade did not make any changes to the team that defeated South Africa 3-2 in their last group game and they made a fine start to the game but struggled to break Burkina Faso’s defence.
Charles Agada had the first chance of the game just two minutes after the buzzer, but the teenager saw his close-range shot saved by goalkeeper Abdoulaye Traore.
Six minutes later, Abdullahi thought he had given the Eaglets the lead, only for his spectacular effort from outside the box ricocheted off the crossbar, before it was eventually cleared by the Baby Stallions’ defence.
Nigeria continued their dominance and were almost rewarded, but again the woodwork came to the rescue of the Burkinabe, this time Agada striking the upright 15 minutes into the game.
Brahima Traore’s side then had their first chance of the game in the 39th minute, but the Eaglets cleared their lines to keep the score level.
However, despite the Eaglets dominance in the first half, Burkina Faso took the lead with just a minute left before the break.
Defender Tochukwu Ogboji tried to clear the ball but failed to connect well, giving Aboubacar Camara a chance to pounce on the loose ball and give their opponents the lead heading into half-time.
The second half was similar to the first 45 minutes as the Eaglets continued to dominate but couldn’t convert their chances.
Despite Ugbade’s side having 60 per cent of the possession, the Stallions looked more dangerous and they doubled their lead 12 minutes after the restart from the spot after the referee awarded a penalty for a clumsy challenge inside the Nigerian box.
Camara stepped up to cool convert from the spot to make score 2-0, before Abdullahi pulled one back for the record world champions 10 minutes later, but it was too little too late.
The Eaglets’ press for an equaliser didn’t yield any results, and substitute Favour Daniel’s looping header should have earned Ugbade’s side a late equaliser but the impressive Traore tipped over the goal-bound effort.
Burkina Faso however held on to claim a famous victory over the Eaglets as they booked their place at the 2023 World Cup.
They will now face tournament favourites Senegal in the semi-finals of the tournament.
As many Nigerians continue to wallow in hardship, the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, state governors, and their deputies may have enjoyed about N651.2m hardship allowance in the last eight years the Buhari regime, according to findings by The PUNCH.
The type of allowance, which is 50 per cent of the annual basic salary, is also enjoyed by judges in the country.
However, The PUNCH report focuses on the amount allocated for the president, vice president, state governors, and their deputies, according to a document obtained from the website of the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Allocation Commission.
The RMAFC document disclosed that the president is entitled to N1.76m annually as a hardship allowance. This means that within a period of eight years, Buhari would have earned N14.08m as hardship allowance.
The Vice President is entitled to N1.52m annually, which means that in eight years, Osinbajo would have earned N12.16m as hardship allowance.
While a state governor is entitled to N1.11m annually, a deputy state governor is entitled to N1.06m.
In eight years, the hardship allowance of the 36 state governors would have gulped N319.68m while that of their deputies would have gulped N305.28m.
As Buhari spends his last days in office, labour unions recently scored the regime and state governors low, saying they pauperised workers and inflicted hardship on Nigerians.
They lamented the galloping inflation in the country, which they said had eroded the 40 per cent pay rise recently approved by the Federal Government with effect from January.
The National Treasurer of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Hakeem Ambali, submitted that the outgoing regime had inflicted heavy hardship and suffering on the Nigerian workers.
According to him, the workers have suffered job losses, insecurity, economic hardship and other calamities under Buhari.
Ambali, who is also the President of the National Union of Local Government Employees, stated, “Under Buhari’s administration, just like every other successive administration, we have witnessed so many losses of jobs. Some governors laid off so many workers in the North, East and West. There has been a loss of lives as a result of banditry and kidnapping, especially in the South-East, South-West and in the whole North.
As for today from my union, the National Union of Local Government Employees, we reside and work within the remote part of the country; any attack on government installations and infrastructure affect our people. Most of them were kidnapped in Kaduna.
“Also, one will realise that the road network is so poor. The erratic power supply has also reduced chances of Nigerians getting their daily living.’’
The labour leader further observed the lack of social safety net in the country even as he scored the Buhari regime low in terms of fidelity to labour laws, citing the abuse of labour laws and practices by the government.
The Ogun State chapter of the Trade Union Congress and Nigeria Union of Pensioners scored the Buhari regime low in the areas of citizens’ welfare and wellbeing.
The state chairman of TUC, Akeem Lasisi, pointed out that the high cost of living had made nonsense of the minimum wage.
He said, “With the present high cost of living and hike in transportation and the rest, it seriously inflicted pains on the workers because the so-called minimum wage cannot take you anywhere. Workers are in serious pain because the salary can no longer take you anywhere.”
A report by the National Bureau of Statistics that about 133 million Nigerians live in poverty would be a recipe for a new dimension of hunger never witnessed in Nigeria, a civil society organisation under the aegis of the International Human Rights Commission recently warned.
While describing the report as a warning of a looming economic crisis in the country, the not-for-profit body stressed the need for government to empower people in the rural communities to reduce the rising poverty in Nigeria.
The Ambassador at Large and Head of Diplomatic Missions of IHRC in Nigeria, Dr Duru Hezekiah, warned that the poverty rate, if not urgently addressed, would be a recipe for disaster.
He said, “We are really in an economic crisis. And if it’s not checked, I tell you, the time is coming when will go into a fiasco, a time is coming when in fact, Nigeria will be declared a ‘hunger country’, and that is why we are still appealing to the government.”
Recently, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, said Nigerians will not die but will adjust to the economic hardships in the country.
In a statement, the minister noted that economic hardships were not peculiar to Nigeria alone but to the world at large also noted that the agitation by workers for more wages was not peculiar to Nigeria.
Ben Akabueze, director-general of the budget office of the federation, says Nigeria’s borrowing space keeps reducing due to the inability to service debt.
Akabueze spoke on Wednesday during the induction of newly-elected lawmakers of the 10th national assembly in Abuja.
He said the ratio of the country’s budget to its gross domestic product (GDP), unlike other countries, is less than its needs.
“While the size of the federal government budget for 2023
created some excitement, the aggregate budgets of all governments in the country amount to about N30 trillion. That is less than 15 percent in terms of ratio to GDP, ” Akabueze said.
“Even on the African continent, the ratio of spending is about 20 percent. South Africa is about 30 percent, Morocco is about 40 percent and at 15 percent, that is too small for our needs.
“That is why there is fierce competition for the limited resources. That can determine how much we can relatively borrow. We now have very limited borrowing space, not because our debt to GDP is high, but because our revenue is too small to sustain the size of our debt. That explains our high debt service ratio.
“Once a country’s debt service ratio exceeds 30 percent,that country is in trouble and we are pushing towards 100 percent and that tells you how much trouble we are in. We have limited space to borrow.“When you take how much you can generate in terms of revenue and what you can reasonably borrow,that establishes the size of the budget. The next thing would be to pay attention to government priority regarding what project gets what.
“The budget is not a shopping list. In the end, the budget only contained expenditure.”
Earlier this year, Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance, budget and national planning, said the overall deficit for the 2023 budget is N11.34 trillion, representing 5.03 percent of the country’s gross domestic product(GDP).
Nigeria has about 400,000 Cooperative Societies with more than 30 million registered members contributing about N1.4 trillion in the Country’s GDP. Cooperative Societies have remained a major source of financial intermediaries among the lower class in Nigeria , especially,in a system where traditional banking system has failed to intermediate between surplus and deficit sectors of the economy.
Being conscious of income inequalities and the existing mistrust amongst the populace ,GGM Cooperative in partnership with the revolutionary online media- BVI Channel 1 has come to guarantee financial freedom using cooperative model.
The President of GGM Cooperative being an economist has done extensive research on building group wealth and has come to a simple conclusion that Co-operative Societies Act 98 2004 could be used to organise the ordinary people to secure financial freedom,hence the vision behind GGM Cooperative.
It is a known fact that the ordinary people are trapped in an endless rat race for survival while the rich and elites smile to the banks.
Obviously ,there is total war of economic strangulation against the hardworking masses. It is a classical case of elites conspiracy against the poor.
Therefore ,GGM Cooperative comes to solve the financial needs of her members through financial education, application and discipline as well as learning saving habits. The act of making money is not taught in schools,however ,GGM Cooperative is here to teach the poor how to become rich . GGM Cooperative practices what she teaches . You can contact us via ggmcooperative2021@gmail.com or call 08104207522
Ndubuisi Anaenugwu is the President of GGM Cooperative
A Federal High Court sitting in Awka, Anambra State, has dismissed a suit filed by the Anambra State Government challenging the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC’s power to investigate its finances, describing it as factually and forensically lacking in merit.
The State government had approached the court presided over by Justice Nnamdi Dimgba to determine whether under the Federal System of Government, with the constitutional doctrine of Separation of Powers, “the appropriation, disbursement and or administration of funds belonging to a State Government is subject to investigation by the EFCC being an agency of the Federal Government”
In a suit number FHC/ AWK/ CS/ 22/ 2022 filed by Government of Anambra State ( 1st Plaintiff) and Attorney- General of Anambra State( 2nd Plaintiff) against the EFCC( 1st Defendant) and Attorney – General of the Federation( 2nd Defendant), the Plaintiffs sought resolutions of the following eight questions:
Whether under the Federal System of Government established by Section 2 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), and the doctrine of Separation of Powers established and provided by Sections 4, 5 and 6 thereof, the appropriation, disbursement and or administration of funds belonging to the Government of a State is subject to investigation by the 1st Defendant as an agency of the Federal Government.
Secondly, Whether the power of the 1st Defendant, as an agency of the Federal Government, is not restricted to the matters set out in the Exclusive Legislative List contained in Part I of the Second Schedule to the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).
Also, Whether the appropriation, disbursement and or administration of funds belonging to the Government of a State are not matters within the Concurrent Legislative List contained in Part II of the Second Schedule to the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).
Fourthly, , Whether from a community reading of Sections 80, 120, 121, 125, 126, 128 and 129 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) the power and function to conduct investigation into the appropriation, disbursement and or administration of the public funds/accounts of the Government of a State is not reserved for the House of Assembly of the State.
Whether from a community reading of Sections 80, 120, 121, 125, 126, 128 and 129 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), the 1st Defendant can usurp the constitutional powers and functions of the House of Assembly of a State to conduct investigation into the appropriation, disbursement and or administration/management of the funds of a State Government, including the public funds/accounts of the Government of the State which have been appropriated by the State House of Assembly in exercise of its constitutional mandate.
It equally sought to know Whether from a community reading of Sections 80, 120, 121, 125, 126, 128 and 129 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), the 2nd Defendant can usurp the constitutional power and function of the House of Assembly of a State to conduct investigation into the appropriation, disbursement and or administration/management of the public funds/accounts of the Government of the State.
Whether from a community reading of Sections 80, 120, 121, 125, 126, 128 and 129 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), the 1st Defendant can purport to investigate the appropriation, disbursement and or administration of the public funds/accounts of the Government of a State without any report or input from the House of Assembly of the State.
The State also want know Whether the 1st Defendant acting by itself, its officers, agents, privies or otherwise howsoever can legitimately conduct and or continue with investigation into the public funds of the Anambra State which have been lawfully appropriated by the Anambra State House of Assembly without any report and investigation by the Anambra State House of Assembly.
The suit was a precipitate response to series of letters of invitation by the Commission sent to the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) and the State Attorney- General seeking the release of officials of the state government to offer explanations in an alleged case of fraudulent misappropriation of funds in respect of data collection exercise for the administration of subsidy to smallholder farmers and alleged case of Abuse of Office and Misappropriation of Funds.
In his judgment, Justice Dimgba stated that the EFCC has constitutional powers to investigate any act of economic and financial crime in any part of the country, stressing that neither the authorities of a State’s House of Assembly nor Auditor- General of a State preclude the Commission from performing its mandate as contained in the Constitution.
“In my view, the questions posed is at large… Is the EFCC a federal agency exclusively for all purposes, or is it both a federal agency and a state agency for some other purposes? It all depends on the context to which the question has been posed.
“In the context of the case at hand, which is whether it is legitimate for the EFCC to commence investigative activities against the named officials of Anambra State Government as contained in Exhibit 1 concerning the manner of the management and utilization of the public funds of Anambra State, the question posed must be answered against the Plaintiffs and the corresponding reliefs sought denied”.
” binding judicial precedent existing is to the effect that the EFCC is an agency both for the federal government and for state governments as far as the combating of corruption and other economic crimes in Nigeria is concerned”
While agreeing with an earlier judgment that Nigeria practices co-operative federalism, Justice Dimgba said “In the co-operative federalism practiced in Nigeria, the EFCC is a common agency empowered to investigate and prosecute offenders for both the Federal and state economic and financial crimes, and as such it qualifies as ‘any other authority or person’ empowered by Section 211(1)(b) of the Constitution to institute or initiate criminal proceedings”.
The Judge further added that “EFCC is the coordinating agency for the enforcement of the provisions of any other law or regulation on economic and financial crimes, including the Criminal Code and Penal Code. The Commission has powers under Section 13(2) of the EFCC Act to prosecute offences so long as they are financial crimes.”
Continuing, he said, “I have reflected on the Judgments of this Court issued by the Port Harcourt division of this Court in AG Rivers State v EFCC & 3 Ors in Suit No: FHC/PH/CS/78/07, delivered on 20/03/2007, and that by the Ekiti Division of this Court in Suit No: FHC/AD/CS/32/2016; A.G of Ekiti State v. EFCC & 17 Ors both of which have been brought to my attention. Both judgments hold that following the principles of federalism and separation of powers, only a State House of Assembly can investigate the financial administration of a State and that the 1st Defendant, the EFCC, lacks the powers to investigate a state finances”.
“With the greatest deference to my brothers who hold such views, I take a different view, and for the reasons already explained above, I am of the view that it is not a proposition that is borne out from a proper construction of Sections 125 to 129 of the Constitution juxtaposed with the powers of the 1st Defendant under the EFCC Act”.
“Quite apart from the fact that my learned brothers might have arrived at their conclusions in the light of the factual circumstances that they had to confront with and which are different from the facts and circumstances of the present case, there are dangers in holding the general view that for all circumstances only a State House of Assembly, to the exclusion of any other body, including the 1st Defendant (EFCC), can investigate and detect corrupt practices in the financial affairs of a State.
“This Court notes the collaborative and harmonious relationship that exists in most states of the federation between the executive organ who manage the state finances and the legislative organ who are mandated to check them with a view to exposing corruption. This collaborative and harmonious relationship is not always a positive thing but can also be very negative, especially in circumstances where the leadership of the executive organ is very overbearing, or the leadership of both houses are manned or dominated by political allies.
“In that sort of situation, no real independence of the legislature exists and the idea that the state legislature really possesses and can exercise the ability to detect financial crimes in the management of the state resources by the executive government is really more theoretical and academic rather than real.
“For all you know, the legislature may well be deeply involved with the executive in the very ills which they are supposed to be detecting and exposing.
“It is exactly that state of affairs, a matter of our present reality that makes the existence and intervention of an external force outside of the framework of a state’s governance system, not only inevitable, but also very desirable and necessary.
While dismissing the action, the judge further said, “ I have also noted, and thus hold, that all the addressees of the EFCC letters (Exhibit 1) as fully described above, including all those which the EFCC by the letters referenced, demand that they should be released for interview for the purposes of obtaining the clarification needed for the Commission to establish if the offences which the Commission said it was investigating such as fraudulent misappropriation of funds and the like have been committed, all qualify as “persons” or , “authority” from whom by law, the Commission is entitled to receive information from. “They are indeed, all subjects of the EFCC’s exercise of its powers under the law.” he stated.
The hearing of the petition submitted by Peter Obi, the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate at the President Election Petitions Tribunal has been adjourned till next Wednesday, May 17.
Kenneth Okonkwo, the spokesperson for the party’s presidential campaign council, disclosed this on Wednesday via his Twitter page.
The petition is against the ‘president-elect’, Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress.
The court adjourned the hearing of the petition on the request for adjournment by parties to the petition.
Okonkwo said, “After a brief hearing of the matter, the court adjourned to Wednesday 17th of May, 2023, for continuation of hearing.”
“We believe God for a positive outcome with your supplications to God,” he added.
Gists9ja had reported that the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal earlier on Wednesday dismissed the petition of the Action People’s Party challenging the declaration of Tinubu as the winner of the February 25 presidential election and subsequent declaration as the ‘president-elect’.
The dismissal of the petition followed an application by the party to withdraw its petition challenging the outcome of the election.
Counsel for the party, Obed Agu, disclosed this during Wednesday’s proceedings.
In view of the application, the presiding judge of the Presidential Election Petition Court, Justice Tsammani, in a brief ruling dismissed the suit.
Similarly, on Monday, the tribunal struck out the petition by the Action Alliance (AA) challenging Tinubu’s victory.
The AA earlier withdrew its petition at the Presidential Election Petition Court sitting in Abuja, prompting the dismissal.
Political leaders and private sector players in Nigeria have asked the incoming administration of the president-elect Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu to immediately restructure the country and remove the controversial fuel subsidy in the interest of most Nigerians.
They also called on Tinubu to convene a national discourse to agree on the serious issues threatening the peaceful co-existence of Nigerians for national peace and economic security.
Those who spoke on the burning national issues yesterday were Anambra State Governor Chukwuma Soludo and his Kaduna State counterpart, Nasir el-Rufai, Khalifa Sanusi II, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the chairman of Coronation Capital Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, the country director of World Bank to Nigeria, Dr Shubham Chaudhuri and director, Carnegie Africa Programme, Dr Zainab Usman.
They spoke at a policy conversation and book presentation event jointly organised by Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and Agora Policy.
First, it was Soludo who said Nigeria had failed to realise its full potential because its current political structure is not productive. For Nigeria to have economic diversity, Soludo said “the speed and sustainability, then institutional change is key.”
Recalling a quote from the All Progressives Congress (APC) manifesto of 2015 where it promised to halt the dangerous drift of Nigeria to a failed state with a plan for post-oil economy in Nigeria through restructuring of the country, devolve power to the units and eliminate unintended paralyses of the centre, Soludo said the party failed to deliver on the promised competitive and compassionate federalism – restructuring. “From 2015 till now, it hasn’t happened.
“They put their finger on what the problem is. There is an optus, largely inefficient concentration of everything at the centre,” he said, adding that if power was not devolved to the units by way of true federalism, “many of these things about diversification are completely whapped.
“If we don’t tame the politics, if we don’t produce what I call productive politics, rather than consumption-oriented politics that has dominated over time, we are not going to be able to achieve both speed and sustainability,” Soludo stated.
On his part, Governor El-Rufai said for Nigeria to have an ideal system that would enable the citizenry agree on certain things that affect them and work on them no matter the consequence, “we have to go back to that political settlement of 1954/55 and devolve more power responsibility and revenues to the states, and narrow the size and scope of the federal government – things that it can do very well on behalf of the federation and leave most of the responsibilities to the states!”
El-Rufai said the biggest impediment to formulating and implementing sound policies is the nature of Nigeria’s politics. According to him, Nigeria is practicing a political culture that has no regard for public service, driven by pursuit of personal interest and most of the time, self-enrichment or enrichment of my state or my ethnic group.
“It’s a toxic political culture that has developed. And until we find a way to address it as politicians… it has to start from politics and politicians,” he said.
While expressing the hope that the new government would open the space for the kind of conversations that lighten the burden on Nigerians, El-Rufai recommended that the conversations should cut across party lines.
“Let us agree as Nigerians what are our most serious problems and what we need to do to address them no matter how painful and agree. Then, we can move forward,” he stated.
Like Sanusi, Mallam El-Rufai expressed concern over the failure of the current administration to end the fraudulent oil subsidy regime that has taken the country resources in the most untransparent manner.
El-Rufai chaired the APC committee on restructuring that gave wide ranging recommendations on how to move Nigeria back to the original political settlement of 1954, which were not implemented by President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration.
“We all agreed to remove the subsidy and the framework on how to distribute the revenue. All the governors agreed that we must remove it. The president said no,” El-Rufai said and lamented Buhari’s failure to remove the controversial petrol subsidy programme.
He now says lack of political will of the Buhari-administration was responsible for failure to restructure Nigeria and remove subsidy on petrol. In 2021 alone, Nigeria spent over N1.2 trillion on payment of subsidy claims, whereas N200 billion was voted for building of all federal roads in the country.
“If you don’t have the political settlement, it dumps proper consensus. Political leadership matters. If you don’t have political will to take unpopular decision in the short time,you will live to regret it. We need to look at our problem and be pragmatic about the solutions. And then we should agree across political divides, focus on. You need leadership. You need a competent team, and you need to communicate to people, what you are doing,” the Kaduna governor said in a panel discussion at the Abuja event yesterday.
On his part, Khalifa Sanusi II said it makes no economic sense for the federal government to continue to waste state resources on subsidy payment, saying the country was simply going bankrupt.
He therefore called on Tinubu to ensure he appoints competent and highly qualified people to help him run the country.
“We have never had a fuel subsidy; we’ve had a hedge; a naked hedge. In finance, the worst step you take is a naked hedge. For a product whose price you do not control, the Nigerian government has an unlimited pocket. It will fund the difference. This is stupidity! You are heading to bankruptcy. It’s bankruptcy. We were walking in with our eyes open. We can’t ignore that.
“If I have a new government on May 29 that tells me I am going to continue paying this subsidy for the next three years, I am going to say you are not serious. I am going to close my eyes and wait for the next election in 2027 because we are going to be here in 2027 to talk about the same thing,” Sanusi said.
He said what is needed is to prepare the minds of Nigerians. The former governor of Central Bank of Nigeria said the decisions need to be taken from day one, with Nigerians made to understand that without these decisions, freeing up fiscal space, they would never have the investments in human capital to diversify the economy.
By the implementation of the subsidy regime, Sanusi said those who claim to be helping Nigerians are actually destroying their future and the education of their children. “They are taking away from you the opportunities to have power as a factor of production,” Sanusi said/
He however acknowledged that it’s difficult to have those conversations.
Also, Mr. Aig-Imoukhuede said Nigeria has three options: fiscal consolidation by removing the subsidy and tightening its national budget, debt restructuring and massive private sector investment – as quick interventions to reposition the economy.
He also called on the incoming government to drive its appointees with a private sector approach for better result delivery. He said if every minister and other appointees of government are given private sector targets, the right results would be achieved.
In that same way, the World Bank director (Chaudhuri) said Nigeria needs transformational leadership and engagement, political solution and consensus among the elites to be able to achieve the desired growth and development.
“The trust needed to drive the Nigerian economy is within the elites. Until there is a collective trust among the elites,” it would be difficult, Dr Chaudhuri said.
Earlier, the founder of Agora Policy, a policy think tank, Waziri Adio said Nigeria’s economic performance has been uneven and below par. He said the Nigerian condition has been well documented and well theorised.
“But Nigeria’s uneven and subpar economic performance is not just about theoretical constructs, or just a mere academic exercise or just a set of raw or stylised data. It is about lives lived and not lived. It has flesh and blood implications for all of us, especially for most of our citizens. And it has political, social and security dimensions that reverberate within and beyond our borders,” he stated.
He also stated that development, the sustainable variant, is not a naturally-occurring phenomenon. It is created.
The Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC), warned the a claimant the national Chairmanship of the All Progressives Grand Alliance APGA, Edozie Njoku,stop cheap blackmail over the matter.
The electoral body stated categorically that Njoku was not a party to court cases in issue.
The National Commissioner and Chairman,Information and Voter Education Committee,Festus Okoye Esq, disclosed this a statement signed by himself on Tuesday.
This statement by INEC has definitely put to an end Edozie Njoku’s importunate claim to the position over the years.
Recall that Chief Victor Ike Oye( Ozonkpu) is the authentic National Chairman of APGA.
The INEC Statement read in part,
“The attention of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has been drawn to posters and statements being circulated by an amorphous group accusing the Commission of refusal to obey the judgement of the Supreme Court purportedly recognizing one Chief Edozie Njoku “as the authentic National Chairman of APGA”.
The Commission views the circulation of the posters and statements as cheap blackmail aimed at hoodwinking those not abreast of the details of the case. We wish to state that the issues in question are about facts, the law and due process not amenable to hysteria and appeal to sentiments.
“It is noteworthy that the suit in question started from the Jigawa State High Court, initiated by one Alhaji Rabiu Garba Aliyu against Chief Jude Okeke and three others. Chief Edozie Njoku was not a party to the suit. One of the reliefs sought is a “Declaration that the national officers of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, including the Plaintiff, who were elected at its national convention held in Owerri, Imo State on 31st May 2019 shall remain in office and discharge their respective duties for a term of four years commencing from 31st May 2021.
On 30th June 2021, the Jigawa State High Court in suit No: JDU/022/2021 entered judgement in favour of the said Alhaji Rabiu Garba Aliyu. On appeal, the Court of Appeal described the suit as an abuse of court process. “Consequently, the entire proceedings of the Jigawa State High Court in suit No. JDU/022/2021, delivered by Musa Ubale J on 30th June 2021 and the judgement delivered thereon are accordingly set aside”. The Supreme Court in its judgement of 14th October 2021 affirmed the decision of the Court of Appeal.
However, on 27th January 2023, Chief Edozie Njoku, who was never a party to any of the suits and the processes filed in the various courts approached the Supreme Court of Nigeria as an interested person/applicant and filed a Motion on Notice seeking for an order of the Court to correct “typographical errors and accidental slip” in the lead judgement of the Supreme Court. This was granted and the correction did not in any way affect the substance of the suit and the orders made by the Supreme Court.
The Commission is a law-abiding institution and will continue to give effect to the decisions, judgements and orders of the various courts in Nigeria.
The Courts are not helpless when they make orders, deliver judgements and make pronouncements. They also have the capacity to punish for disobedience of their orders and judgements in committal proceedings. This is the process open to law abiding citizens, groups and organizations rather than resorting to cheap blackmail and using amorphous groups to malign the Commission and its officials.”
