Greetings to all whom this shall reach and great respects to all the outstanding Igbo sons and daughters gathered here.
I will be brief.
But first, let me thank Chief Nnia Nwodo for the outstanding leadership as Ohaneze PG. NdiIgbo are the most difficult group of people to lead and given all the resources at his disposal, Chief Nwodo has done an outstanding job. So my reflections should not in any way be construed as job approval rating for the Ohaneze PG.
While commending Chief Nwodo, I wish to also commend Prof Nwala for outstanding job of Igbo advocacy in his leadership of ADF.
The Ekwueme Square Declaration came across as academic and sterile and addressed to a rarefied elitist space. I appreciate every word that was so neatly crafted and flavored to achieve its aims, but it was over crafted and was consequently stripped of spunk and character. It appealed to reason and fundamental fairness of all Nigerians. Ordinarily, there is nothing wrong with that. But we are in Nigeria and not in Europe. We are addressing our issues to people of low political refinements, and I mean all Nigerians, and not to the European Parliament. This was an appeal to the status quo to change itself and not a demand that the status quo must change. In short, the declaration came across as bland, needlessly florid and compromised by a need to accommodate disparate interest groups and personal interests. It is an arm tied to the back, do no harm, upset no one declaration.
We cannot keep denying that we are in a struggle and we cannot keep wishing that others die our deaths. Contrast the Ekwueme Declaration with the Yoruba Declaration. The Yoruba Declaration carried punch, gravitas and had foretaste and aftertaste that left no ambiguity whatsoever that they had been pushed to the point where further accommodation of the status quo in Nigeria had become an existential endangerment.
Contrast the Ekwueme Declaration with the ADF Declaration and you can tell which one was crafted by Igbo men they way we used to make them. The ADF Declaration had the right mix of words and temperament, signaling to our compatriots that the Igbos are ready, willing and able to do what they must, including struggling for it, to win their emancipation in a rearranged Nigeria or a balkanized Nigeria.
NdiIgbo cannot and will not be taken seriously unless they demonstrate in words and deeds that joined with their Southern Compatriots, Nigeria must change or that united with Southern Nigeria, Nigeria must break up.
Let’s just be frank to ourselves. The problem with Nigeria is that we are locked in a clash of civilizations with fundamentalists of irreconcilable world views as it were. The struggle about which this generation of UmuIgbo is concerned is not freedom to hate the far North but freedom from hate from the far North. Neighboring nations or one nation, we cannot afford to hate the North but we cannot continue to live in constant apprehension of death and dismemberment in the hands of our compatriots who readily resort to violence as their preferred way to settle political conflicts. Nor can we be locked into the rigid religious doctrinaire about which their lives revolve. We demand individual, social, and political autonomies in accordance with our own world views and we should stop apologizing for it.
In the end, in trying to please everyone, Ohaneze displeased the key Igbo constituents who speak the language that Nigeria understands. The proBiafran group, not just IPOB, understand that this is a struggle and not an academic exercise. Ohaneze needs to join the struggle or take a back seat to IPOB and ADF and other self -determination groups that understand the issues better. These self determination groups understand where the Igbos need to go and how to get there. Ohaneze on the other hand is end point inclined, dreaming ruefully about the end point without a sound strategy as to how to get there other than mere appeal to reason.
Many Igbo elite do not want to take chances with their political viabilities in Nigeria. They are engaged in the struggle but are ineffectual because their biggest care and concern is that the Fulani’s do not brand them as unpatriotic and so they skirt around the issues and pick their words carefully so that come time for political opportunities, the same Fulanis who have done everything under the sun to alienate their countrymen would not deny them opportunities as deemed unpatriotic Nigerians.
If demanding for self-determination makes us less Nigerians than the Fulanis, then less Nigerians we must be. Period. We cannot keep apologizing for our right to self-determination. We demand it for all Nigerians, including the Fulanis.
To be very clear, WE have gone beyond appealing for our right to self determination to demanding for our right to self determination. The two postures are different. ADF’s position is a demand declaration. Ohaneze’s Declaration is an Appeal Declaration. The flavors are different. Demand signifies political muscularity which repudiates the status quo and demands that it moves or it will be made to move by any means necessary.
Standing in solidarity with the rest of Southern Nigeria, Ohaneze has to change its tone to a demand tone going forward. More than just a demand tone, Ohaneze needs to understand that it is time to organize to stare down our compatriots who would not accede to self-determination and show that we are braced for the push back. Emphasis is on the word organize. In solidarity with the rest of Southern Nigeria, we have to be committed to an organized struggle, emphasis on struggle, under a pan regional platform to demand the changes which we believe are fair and just for all Nigerians. And if they are not interested, then we must move with a coalition of our Southern neighbors to a separate and independent political formation that will guarantee our rights to freedom and pursuit of happiness.
Emphasis is in solidarity with Southern Nigeria. While I appreciate the proBiafran camps, I believe that a panregional, Southern Nigerian Self Determination and Independence movement is the proper vehicle in muscle and scope to wage the kind of struggles that the circumstances demand.
We owe it to our children to not pass this struggle to them. WE cannot continue to appeal to a people who are tone deaf with all the benefits of unitarism. We owe it to the lands that our forefathers bequeathed to us to not abandon them and flee. We owe it to ourselves to boldly demand freedom from hate. While we must continue to sue for peace as always necessary, we owe it to ourselves and the fine traditions of liberty that flows in our veins to demand our freedom, and if necessary, die struggling for it.
Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, has vowed not to leave the All Progressives Congress (APC), which he claimed to be one of its founders in the state.
He said when he took the mainstream of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) to join the merger that gave birth to APC, he was not under any pressure to do so, adding that he even made the move at the risk of his second tenure as governor.
Governor Okorocha, who said this in a press statement he issued through his Chief Press Secretary, Sam Onwuemeodo, added that he became the propeller of APC in the state and the whole of South East by mobilising people for the party in Imo, Ebony, Abia, Enugu, and Anambra states.
He added that he became the rallying point of the party in the overall interest of the South East and APC.
The statement said: “If Governor Okorocha did not take a good percentage of APGA members to APC, the party would not have had the kind of national spread it has today. For that reason, they called him all sorts of derogatory names which Nigerians know, including Alhaji in Government House, Okoro-Hausa and Rochas Buhari.
“When APC came for campaign in 2015, in Imo and all the states in the South East, he was the point man. Today, APC has become the party to envy. Nobody is talking about Okorocha and Buhari going to use APC to Islamise the Igbo.
“Today, the same people who called him names have begun to market falsehood against him, including the fake story of his leaving APC for APGA. All these show the level of frustration on the side of the 10-man coalition. They are being hunted by their inglorious actions.
“One may also wish to know that while the unfounded story of the governor leaving APC is yet to dry, they have also come up with another one, that the governor is in coma. These people do not know God and, of course, they are afraid of both the present and the future.”
Okorocha said he won’t allow his detractors to reap where they never sowed and added that their deceit would expire in no distant time.
“No landlord leaves his house for unfaithful tenants. The name Okorocha is the fibre of APC in Imo and the whole of South East. And anybody who says it is not true should tell Nigerians why it is only in Imo you have APC governor, 24 out of the 27 House of Assembly members, three House of Representatives members and one senator, in the whole of South East. Time will tell what happens in APC in Imo and the whole of South East,” the statement said.
About 12 people have been confirmed dead as a result of a Cholera outbreak, while over 100 others might have been infected by the disease in Mubi town of Adamawa State, a medical official confirmed, on Wednesday.
“So far 12 people have died from the disease and there are many more.
“We have little medical personnel to deal with an outbreak of this magnitude because nurses are on strike,” Dr. Ezra Sakawa, the medical director of the General Hospital for Mubi explains.
Mubi has been the subject of incessant Boko Haram attacks and many of the residents of the community are still struggling with economic realities of life after insurgency after losing nearly everything to insurgency.
With two major tertiary institutions of Adamawa State University and Federal Polytechnic Mubi located in the centre of the city, the infection rate might be expected to go up if the disease is not checked on time but as it stands right now, the medical staff are facing an uphill task in curtailing the outbreak.
Those conditions are ripe for any outbreak of disease, such as cholera, to be deadly on a wide scale, humanitarian workers say.
Mubi, although less affected by the humanitarian crisis, has been attacked repeatedly by suspected Boko Haram militants, killing scores of people.
A wedding at Gutu Magistrates’ Court didn’t turn out as expected as the groom’s legal wife showed up just as the couple was about to exchange their wedding vows.
According to iHarare’s reports on Tuesday, the man’s legal wife just showed up out of the blues during the court wedding.
The groom, Dzingai Chagwiza, 49, of Old Location in Mpandawana in Gutu and his mistress were standing before Magistrate Victor Mohamadi when the Magistrate asked if there was anyone with a good reason why the couple should not be wedded to stand up and say it when his wife Queen Vhondo stormed the courtroom to object to it.
“I was tipped by some of my friends that my husband was dating Dube, who is a vendor at Mpandawana. I came to court and was surprised to see a big cake in front of my husband,” said Vhondo.
THE threat by the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB to scuttle Monday’s Igbo summit on the restructuring of Nigeria in Awka turned out to be an anti climax, as the pro-Biafra group was overwhelmed by the large number and fierce-looking security personnel in the Anambra State capital.
The police was noticed on Sunday night around the Alex Ekwueme Square, venue of the summit, with bomb detonation experts lined up several kilometers around the area. Many people who tried to enter the venue were thoroughly screened and those who could not identify themselves were turned back. Many of them later staged peaceful protest outside the venue. Those who managed to enter the massive arena however betrayed their bias to the summit when they started shouting down the President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo-Chief Nnia Nwodo as he wanted to address the gathering. On his part ,Soludo had listed a national conversation, new constitution, convocation of a constituent assembly, six-year tenure for the president and five vice presidents from the geopolitical zones with the VPs holding key ministries, rotation of the president among the geopolitical zones, scrapping of local government system, creation of additional state for the South East before considering creation of more states in the country, among other demands as the position of the Igbo. With shouts of Noo, many youths and women trouped out of the arena, with some of them shouting that they did not want restructuring, but Biafra Republic. Their departure, however, did not stop the summit from coming to a logical conclusion. President of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Chief Nnia Nwodo said all the arms of Ohanze accepted the recommendations by the various committees that drafted the stand of Ndigbo on the restructuring, adding that Nigeria needed a constitution because ‘the present constitution was dead.’
Chairman of the occasion, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, in his speech, observed that in the life of any nation, there should be a time to pause and reflect into the past, reflect on the present and peep into the future, adding that though Igbo had a great past and great people that championed Nigeria’s Independence, they have not had a fair deal in Nigeria. He said: “Today, things are no longer the way we want them. In as much as I believe that the future of the Igbo is great, there are some concerns. In 1966, Igbo didn’t know about the coup, but they were slaughtered in the civil war that lasted 30 months. “Today, the killings are taking place in Benue State and it may be others in future. People talk about Fulani herdsmen, but we have Fulani people in government, as senators, as ministers and traditional rulers, yet the killings have continued. “The federal government of Nigeria should be grateful to Ohaneze Ndigbo for coming up with the programme for the restructuring of the country for the benefit of all. When Abuja was being created, we were told that there would be no issue of indigene is rearing its head and nobody is doing anything about it.”
Adopted at the Igbo Summit organized by Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, 21st May, 2018, at Ekwueme Square, Awka
THE EKWUEME SQUARE DECLARATION 2018
Preamble
The Nigerian project is at a crossroads. It does not command universal acceptance at home and it is much diminished abroad. For some sections of the population, the promise of Nigeria: peace and unity, faith and progress are becoming broken dreams. The capacity and objectivity of the Nigerian state, its leadership, critical institutions and agencies are questioned by many. On the global stage, Nigeria is rapidly fading from any serious reckoning. It cannot secure and fend for its citizens at home; neither can it project power to protect its citizens abroad. Despite its abundant potential and promise, most Nigerians agree that Nigeria as currently structured and governed is not sustainable.
In the run up to Nigeria’s independence and after independence (in the 1960 and 1963 Constitutions), our founding fathers like The Rt. Hon. Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Sir Ahmadu Bello and their compatriots from all the then Southern and Northern minority ethnic groups, negotiated and gave us truly federal constitutions which embodied the basic principles of federalism, namely, autonomy of the federating regions, fiscal federalism, devolution of powers, citizenship/indigeneship rights, etc. Under these constitutions, freely negotiated by the Nigerian people, there was a consensus that a truly federal structure was the best for a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi-religious society such as Nigeria; to guarantee justice, fairness, equity, freedom, liberty as well as a balanced and competitive political and economic structure to give every citizen and section of the country a framework to maximize their God-given potential.
The present 1999 Constitution foisted by the military regime (falsely dubbed a federal constitution) unhinged all the structures of true federalism and bequeathed a de facto unitary system with concentration of powers and resources at the centre. With the choking unitary system and all its dysfunctionality for a diverse country, Nigeria has remained relatively unstable, oscillating unpredictably between the flickers of hope and despair.
Most Nigerians agree that this system cannot survive and endure for much longer. The genius, Albert Einstein, said that the definition of insanity is to repeat the same thing over and over and expect a different outcome. For several years, many organized groups, intellectuals, statesmen and women have persistently called for a re-examination of the structure of the federation, to make it work for all Nigerians. It started first as calls for a sovereign national conference. In recent times, the calls have become even more strident and desperate: the Yoruba nation has held a rally at Ibadan in September 2017 and published its agenda for restructuring Nigeria; the South-South geopolitical zone held its own summit in Yenagoa in March 2018 and endorsed its template for restructuring; the All Progressives Congress (APC) set up a Committee on restructuring and its recommendations are public knowledge; the 19 states of the former Northern Region have also set up their own committee on restructuring and its report is expected; the Middle Belt zone is scheduled to hold its own summit on restructuring, while several political parties have made ‘true federalism’ the centre piece of their manifestos for a better Nigeria. At no time in Nigeria’s recent history has there been broader support for restructuring the federation than now.
For the estimated 57 million Igbos scattered in all villages, towns and cities of Nigeria as well as around the world, the demand for a restructured Nigeria that guarantees security of life and property, freedom and liberty, equity, justice and development, has a unique significance. No other ethnic group has a greater stake in the Nigerian project than Ndi Igbo by virtue of tens of millions of Ndi Igbo who live and invest everywhere in Nigeria outside Igboland. But they are also victims at every turn: every now and again, threats to their lives and properties as well as brazen discrimination and marginalization in critical areas underscore their general treatment as unequal citizens of Nigeria. Consequently, there is a segment of Igbo society that has lost hope in the Nigerian dream; believes that Nigeria will never work for the Igbos and hence agitate for an exit from the union. But a preponderance of views among Igbos is that a restructured Nigeria that works for all remains the best option.
The Agenda presented here distils from accumulated years of work on the subject by successive regimes of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, various Igbo think-tanks especially the submissions of the Igbo Leaders of Thought for the 2014 National Conference; various Igbo positions for the 1994 Constitutional conference and 2005 and 2014 national conferences; the report of the Committee set up by South East Governors on the review of the 1999 Constitution; the report of the World Igbo Summit by the Igbo Renaissance Centre, Uturu; various submissions/reports by Aka Ikenga; Izu Umunna; Nzuko Umunna; the Igbo intelligentsia; the World Igbo Congress; reports of various meetings and conferences of Igbo stakeholders and leaders; etc. The Ohanaeze Planning and Strategy Committee and the Organizing Committee for the Summit on restructuring also embarked on town hall -style consultative meetings in Abuja, Lagos, and Enugu to collate inputs from major segments of Igbo society. Memoranda and inputs were also received from over 40 pan-Igbo groups, NGOs, and individuals. A draft was presented and debated at the National Executive Committee and the Imeobi of Ohanaeze Ndigbo.
What is presented is a summary, and the issues remain work in progress. The position of Ndi Igbo is to seek a transformed Nigeria that works for every Nigerian citizen, a level playing field for all Nigerians to enjoy freedom, liberty, fairness, equity and justice to maximize their fullest potential. Ndi Igbo are uniquely positioned, by virtue of their huge stake in Nigeria, to join hands with every willing party to champion a pan-Nigeria agenda. We do not seek any preferential or differential treatment from Nigeria. Ndi Igbo want a Nigeria that works—to maximize their security, prosperity, and happiness. Igbos also want a Nigeria that allows every part of Nigeria the latitude and opportunity to develop at their own pace. We want a national conversation to create a new and better Nigeria for all Nigerians. The outline below seeks to achieve this objective..
Section 1: A New Constitution of Nigeria.
We demand a constitutional conference, backed by a law enacted by the National Assembly, where the people of Nigeria will agree on a new, truly federal Constitution. A Constituent Assembly should be constituted to agree on a new Constitution for a new Nigeria. Such a Constitution—the People’s Constitution– should be approved by the people of Nigeria through a referendum to give it legitimacy and validity. Thereafter, the National Assembly should repeal Act 24 of 1999 (of which the 1999 Constitution is only a Schedule), thereby effectively voiding the 1999 Constitution.
Section 2: Form of Government
a) The presidential system of government should continue to operate at the federal level, with a bicameral legislature. The Regions or States have to determine the type of government to operate at that level as enshrined in their respective constitutions (whether parliamentary or separate Executive and legislative organs). It would be desirable however for the same form of government be adopted at the regional levels for comparability and ease in transaction of government business in the federation.
b) The tenure of office of the President will be a single term of six years. There will be five Vice-Presidents, one from each of the geopolitical zones or regions except the region/zone of the president), and each also to serve for a fixed term of six years. Each of the Vice-Presidents will be assigned supervisory responsibility over two or more ministries such as Defence, Internal Affairs, Foreign Affairs, Finance, Infrastructure/Works, etc. This is to give every zone/region a sense of belonging and a strong voice in major decision making. The office of President will rotate among the six regions/zones of Nigeria.
c) The Governor and Deputy Governor of the Region/State should have a single term of six years only. The office of Governor will rotate among the senatorial districts, or among such other configurations as may be enshrined in the Constitution of a Region/State.
Section 3: Federating Units and Structure of the Nigerian State
a. Nigeria will remain a federation with the existing six geopolitical zones forming the federating units or six regions of the country. There will therefore be six regional governments, each comprising the current states within each zone and any other state(s) that may be created within the zone from time to time.
b. Each Region will have its own Constitution, for the good governance, peace and development of the region. Such Regional Constitutions have to clearly delineate levels of authority between the regional government and the component states (that is, defining powers that are exclusive to the Region and powers that are residual to the states). The Regional Constitutions will not be inconsistent with the Constitution of the federation, and will be invalidated to the extent of its inconsistency with the federal constitution.
c. If the national consensus is that the states as currently constituted remain the federating units, the existing six geopolitical zones will be enshrined in the constitution as the basis for sharing national political, economic and social amenities, offices and opportunities in an equitable manner among the zones.
d. In such a situation as in (c) above, Ndi Igbo demand that Nigeria give effect to the recommendation of the 2014 National Conference which states that “in the spirit of reconciliation, equity, fair play, and justice, there shall be created an additional state for the South East Zone; and all other requests for state creation shall be considered on merit”. One additional state in the South East should be the irreducible minimum.
e. But if States remain the basis for sharing resources and opportunities in Nigeria, Ndi Igbo demand an equal number of states per geopolitical zone or region.
f. Local Governments should be scrapped from the Constitution of the Federation. Local Government should be in the Exclusive list of the Regional/State Constitutions.
g. If States remain the federating units and some states wish to merge to be viable in the absence of distributable resources from the centre, they may do so provided that :
(i) A two-thirds majority of members of the Houses of Assembly of each of the affected states support the merger by a resolution, and;
(ii) A referendum is conducted in each of the states proposing to merge, and 60% of registered voters in the States who vote are required to approve the merger.
h. Any group of people or communities that wish to belong to a contiguous zone other than the zone in which they currently belong, may do so provided that 60% of registered voters who voted in the affected area approve the merger in a referendum.
Section 4: Equality of Regions or Geo-Political Zones
Whether the Regions or States become the federating units, and whether or not equal numbers of states are created in each zone, Ndi Igbo demand that equality of the six geopolitical zones should be enshrined in the Constitution. Politically, representation at the federal cabinet as well as the twin chambers of the federal legislature should be based on equality of zones/regions. Furthermore, sharing of revenues, distribution of infrastructure by the federal government, and federal character principle will be applied on the basis of equality of zones.
Section 5: Citizenship/Indigeneship Rights:
a) Nigerian citizenship is acquired through the criteria for citizenship as provided in the Nigerian Constitution.
b) The concept of State of Origin should be scrapped from the Constitution of the Federation, and replaced with State of Residence.
c) As an alternative to (b ) above, minimum residency and civic rights and responsibilities should include the following two conditions:
1) Any child born of Nigerian parents anywhere in Nigeria will acquire the indigeneship (residency) rights of the area at birth.
2) Similarly, any Nigerian citizen who has resided in any part of Nigeria and paid taxes there for a period of ten years can acquire the indigeneship (residency) rights of the area, except for the right to their traditional stool.
Section 6: Internal Security:
a) There should be a two or three-tier police structure with defined responsibilities as follows: a Police Force for the Federation and controlled by the Federal Government, and the Regional/State Constitutions to establish separate Police Forces for each region and each state.
b) The Police Force at every level will be headed by a non-partisan professional. The power to appointment and remove such a head of police will be vested in an independent body.
Section 7: Sharing of Financial Resources:Fiscal Federalism
a) Section 162 of the 1999 Constitution is a negation of the principle of federalism. It should be abrogated. In its place, a truly federal system that gives control of resources to the component units and replaces the current system of unconditional transfers with conditional transfers from the centre as follows:
b) The states will have control over all the natural resources within their territory. Fiscal federalism presupposes the revocation of the Land Use Act of 1978, the Solid Minerals Act, as well as the various Petroleum/Gas Acts and amendments since 1969. The right of ownership, control and exploitation of these and other assets should be returned to the states and/ or federating units.
c) The taxation powers of the various tiers of government should be reviewed to give the federating units greater flexibility and scope to generate revenue internally.
d) States within the federating units should collect and keep 50% of rents, royalties and profit taxes on minerals derived from their states; pay 20% to the regional government, and 30% to the federal government; provided that each tier of government will save at least 5% of the receipts from natural/mineral resources as Future Generation Fund.
e) The Federal Government should set aside 40% of revenue collected from the states/regions as a Distributable Pool Account (DPA). The balance of 60% plus 60% of its own independent revenues such as customs duties, federal VAT, federal income tax, etc. will be deployed to its diminished responsibilities. The sharing of DPA should be equitable and should replace the present unconditional revenue allocation to the states and local governments. Among other things, the DPA should be deployed to the following:
i) Emergency transfers from the DPA made only to distressed states/zones consequent upon natural and environmental emergencies, such as, floods, erosion, earthquakes, desert encroachment, man–made disasters – conflicts insurgency and war.
ii) Distributable Capital Account (DCA) – The balance in the DPA would serve as distributable capital (DCA) from which conditional grants are made to the federating units for capital projects only, on the basis of accountability subject to project- performance monitoring. The DCA would replace the current unconditional monthly allocation, and operate almost as matching grants.
f) The states within a region should collectively decide what percentage of their consolidated revenue they will allocate to the regional government for its operations provided that such contributions will not be less than 10 per cent of the respective states’ gross revenue.
Section 8: Merit and Federal Character Principle
a) Nigeria must maintain an appropriate balance between merit and affirmative action in the conduct of national and regional/state affairs, and the distribution of appointments, amenities, opportunities and privileges among constituent parts. For example, while 60% should be reserved for merit, 40% could be reserved to ensure federal character principle or affirmative action.
b) We recommend that the Federal Character Commission be replaced with Merit and Equal Opportunities Commission.
Section 9: Elections
a) Elections into the office of the President and federal legislature will be conducted by the electoral body of the Federal Government. Elections into regional/state offices will be conducted by electoral bodies set up by the regional/state Constitutions or laws.
b) It is believed that the current system of simple Plurality System (with a simple relative majority as winner) encourages minority governments and is considered out of date. We hereby propose a majoritarian system whereby a winner must score at least 50% of the votes cast to win an election.
c) Independent candidates serve as a form of protest to political parties and should be allowed in the electoral system provided that such candidates meet the minimum criteria to be on the ballot.
Section 10: Judiciary
a) Each federating unit will have its judicial system with courts of first instance, appellate court and Supreme courts to adjudicate on matters that are in the concurrent and residual lists as well as matters exclusively preserved for the federating units.
b) Where the states are the federating units, there will be state high courts, and zonal/regional court of appeal and zonal/regional Supreme Court on matters pertaining to the states and zones/regions.
c) It is the states or regional courts and their appellate courts that will have jurisdiction over electoral matters in their respective states or regions except matters pertaining to the presidential election or federal elections.
d) There shall also be the federal high court, federal appeal court and federal supreme court— to deal with matters on the exclusive list of the Constitution, as well as constitutional matters or conflicts between the federating units and the federal government.
ANNEX A: DEVOLUTION OF POWER:
a) The long list of items on the Exclusive List of the 1999 Constitution should be considerably reduced to the basics required of the central government in a federation including but not limited to: defence, immigration, currency and monetary policy, customs and excise, foreign affairs.
b) Under the 1999 Constitution, the Federal Government controls both the Exclusive and Concurrent lists in the Constitution because federal legislations on matters in the concurrent list supersede the state legislations. It is proposed that on matters on the concurrent legislative list, the Federal Government should be concerned with regulation to ensure minimum national standards, and leave the regions/states to be innovative and competitive in the design of their policies, programmes and regulations relating to such concurrent items.
c) Where conflicts arise between the federal and regional/state legislation with regard to matters on the concurrent list, such conflicts will be resolved through ‘mutual consent’.
Federal Exclusive Legislative List
Items
Accounts of the Government of the Federation and officers, courts and authorities thereof, including audit of those accounts.
Archives, other than the public records of the Governments of the Regions or States
Aviation standards
Bills of exchange and promissory notes.
Borrowing of monies outside Nigeria for the purposes of the Federal Government or of any Region, other than borrowing by the Government of a Region/state on the security of any funds or assets of that government held outside Nigeria or borrowing that is not the liability of the Federation
Borrowing of monies within Nigeria for the purposes of the Federal Government.
Currency, coinage and legal tender.
Customs and excise duties, including export duties.
Defence.
Deportation of persons who are not citizens of Nigeria.
Exchange control.
External affairs.
Extradition.
Prescription of minimum standards of education at all levels.
Immigration into and emigration from Nigeria.
Legal proceedings between the Government of the Federation and any other person or authority or between the Governments of Zones or States.
Prescription of standards with respect to maritime shipping and navigation, including:
Shipping and navigation of tidal water
Shipping and navigation on the River Niger and its effluents and on any such other inland waterway as may be declared by the National Assembly to be an international waterway or to be an inter-Regional waterway;
Lighthouse, lightships, beacons and other provisions for the safety of shipping and navigation;
Such ports as may be declared by the National Assembly to be Federal ports (including the constitution and powers of port authorities for federal ports), provided that where such ports belong to the regions/states, the declaration as a federal port willl be with the consent of the region/state.
Meteorology
Museums established by the Federal Government
Naval, military and air forces.
Nuclear energy.
Passports and visas.
Patent, trade mark, designs and merchandise marks.
Pensions, gratuities and other like benefits payable out of the Consolidated
Revenue Funds or any other public funds of the Federation or federal government?.
Posts, telegraphs and telephones, including post office savings banks.
Powers, privileges and immunities of each House of the National Assembly and its members.
The public debt of the Federal Government.
Public relations of the Federation.
The public service of the Federation, including the settlement of disputes between the Federation and officers in the public service of the Federation.
Tribunals of enquiry with respect to all or any of the matters mentioned in this list
Trunk roads, that is to say, the construction, alteration and maintenance of such roads as may be declared as federal trunk roads.
Water from such sources as may be declared by the National Assembly to be source affecting more than one territory.
Weights and measures.
Wireless, broadcasting and television other than broadcasting and television provided by the Government of Regions or States; allocation of wavelengths for wireless, broadcasting and television transmission.
The matters with respect to which the National Assembly is empowered to make laws by provisions of this Constitution.
Any matter that is incidental or supplementary:
To any matter mentioned elsewhere in this list; or
To the discharge by the Government of the Federation or any officer, court or authority of the Federation of any function conferred by this Constitution.
8.
The Concurrent Legislative List
Items:
Antiquities.
Arms and ammunition.
Bankruptcy and insolvency.
Census.
Chemical Services, including analytical services.
Commercial and industrial monopolies, combines and trusts.
Control of capital issues.
Control of the voluntary movement of persons between territories.
Copyright.
Such drugs and poisons as may with the consent of the governments of the Zones or States be designated by the President by order.
Fingerprints, identification and criminal records.
Higher education, that is to say, institutions and other bodies offering courses or conducting examinations of a university, technological or of a professional character.
Incorporation, regulation and winding up of bodies corporate, other than cooperative societies, native authorities, local government authorities and bodies corporate established directly by any law enacted by the legislature of a Region or State.
Insurance other than insurance undertaken by the Government of a Zone or State but including any insurance undertaken by the Government of a Zone that extends beyond the units of that Zone.
Industrial Development
Labour, that is to say, conditions of labour, industrial relations, trade unions and welfare of labour.
9.
The legal and medical professions and such other professional occupations as may with the consent of the governments of the Zones be designated by the President by order.
All marriages, customary, statutory.
National monuments, that is to say, such monuments in a Zone as may with the consent of the Government of that Zone be designated by the President by order as national monuments.
National parks, that is to say, the control of such areas in a Zone as may with the consent of the Government of that Zone be designated by the President by order as national parks.
Prisons and other institutions for the treatment of offenders.
Promotion of tourist traffic.
Railways, including ancillary transport and other services
Taxes on amounts paid or payable or the sale or purchase of commodities except: produce; hides and skins; motor spirit; automotive gas oil sold or purchased for use in road vehicles; AGO sold or purchased for other than industrial purposes.
The maintaining and securing of public safety and public order; the providing, maintaining and securing of such supplies and services as may be designated by the President by order as essential supplies and services.
Quarantine
Registration of business names.
Scientific and industrial research.
10.
Service and execution in a Zone of the civil and criminal processes, judgments, decrees, order and other decisions of any court of law outside Nigeria or any court of law in Nigeria other than the Supreme Court, the High Court of that Zone or State or any court of law established by the legislature of that Zone or State.
Statistics.
Traffic on Federal trunk road
Tribunals of enquiry with respect to all or any of the matters mentioned elsewhere in this list.
Trigonometrical, cadastral and topographical surveys.
Water; Energy; Electricity.
The matters with respect to which National Assembly is empowered to make provision
Any matter that is incidental or supplementary to any matter mentioned elsewhere in this list.
Nigeria’s popular maverick cum social activist, Charles Oputa (Charley Boy) with his over one thousand OurMumudondo members, last week thurday, 17th May ,2018, marched round major streets in Anambra State sensitizing the populace to register, obtain their permanent voters card and vote at 2019 general election.
The movement, BVI Channel 1 online learnt marched through the popular Aroma junction to Nnamdi Azikiwe University temporary site, Eke Awka market, Amawbia bypass, Umuokpu Awka, Enugwu-Ukwu, amongst other places, bearing its insignia and sharing fliers.At the popular eke awka market,CharleyBoy sat on the round about to draw the attention of market women who came out in large numbers to receive AreaFather.The Leader of OurMumuDondo Movement advised the market women to go for PVC and use the card to vote out all the wicked and visionless political leaders.He begged them not to sell their votes.
OurMumuDondo, it was further learnt, were joined by hundreds of volunteer commercial and private motorists, motorcyclists and keke operators causing heavy traffic gridlock along the roads and places passed.Areafather took over the road while thousands of ordinary people came behind him.
Sensitizing the masses as they march round the streets, Charley Boy advised the electorate to ensure that their votes count, while insisting that things can only change for best in the country when the eligible voters shun money politics, thuggery and other electoral offences.
He also enjoined the populace to hold their leaders accountable, while harping on the needs for both the young and the old to uphold morality.
On his part, the Anambra State Co-ordinator of Ourmumudondo, Mr Ndubuisi Anaenugwu explained that the movement comprises of angry and aggrieved citizens with interest to serve the people.
Anaenugwu assured the people that “We shall commence an aggressive campaign for the power of PVC and we shall insist on electing the best to represent us in government. Buying and selling of votes will be addressed with new strategy and approach. To those who believe in Biafra, there is nothing wrong with that, however, it is expected that various windows provided by the law should be explored.”
Speaking at a lecture held after the walk, Dr Dozie Ikedife, the former President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo represented by Anthony Anaebue, charged Anambra State to be at forefront of electoral education and good governance.
According to Ikedife, the root of mumu in every Igbo land is from Anambra state and an end to its “mumuness” amounts to good governance, accountability and equality to both the govern and the governed.
“The revolution is now. But the revolution we are talking about is to obtain our PVC and vote for good governance. On no account must you sale your vote for any reason. You must not boycott or shun any election thinking that the government and governance do not concern you. That is mumuness. You must note that the same government you don’t feel like voting in or voting out of power can still make policy which can make or mar that your business or whatever you paid more attention to,” he added.On her part,the Leader of South East Political Summit-Rita Anigbogu who was the guest speaker told that everyone present in the event that PVC is like a gun freely given to the people to fire bad politicians.
Also the Biafran War Veteran seized the occasion to plead with AreaFather to fight for their interest.According to the Leader of War Veterans-Brig Gen Onwuegbune ‘ Nigeria has not kept to the terms of surrender of 3Rs.We have not been rehabilitated since after the civil and we call upon the state and federal government to look into our plight and that has remained the major source of our anger’Onwuegbune concluded.CharleyBoy on his part promised to fight alongside the ordinary people on the street.
Finally ,the Anambra State Chapter of OurMumuDondo was inaugurated and charged to work .Ndubuisi Anaenugwu -The State Coordinator Of the Movement promised to lead the movement of the people in the state with all honesty and sincerity of purpose.
Vehicular movement in and out of Enugu, the Enugu state capital, from the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway, has been blocked since the early hours of Tuesday.
This follows protests by tanker drivers over a policeman shooting and killing a fellow tanker driver at the Nenwe junction of the highway in Aninri Local Government Area of the state.
Confusion reigned as a multitude of commuters were left stranded as at the time of filling this report.
As of right now, there no Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) officers on ground to manage the situation.
SECURING NIGERIA FROM TERROR: THE URGENT NEED TO INVOKE RELEVANT SECTIONS OF OUR LAWS FOR THE PROSCRIPTION AND DESIGNATION OF KILLER HERDSMEN A TERRORIST GROUP
We are extremely concerned that the survival of Nigeria is currently being threatened by the atrocities of killer herdsmen in the country. On a daily basis, innocent Nigerians are being slaughtered in different parts of the country. In 2018 alone, hundreds of innocent Nigerians have been cut down by this group, and hundreds of communities have been affected by its wanton destructions of human lives and properties, so much so that President Muhammadu Buhari had to publicly declare during his recent visits to the United Kingdom and the United States of America, that Nigeria is under the invasion of killer herdsmen from Libya. It is, however, instructive to admit for effective action and intervention that there cannot be infiltrations into the country by external forces without internal collaborators.
We consider the recent decision of the Federal Government that “all animal farmers must ranch their cattle and livestock for better productivity,” as a significant step, but one that is not sufficient alone to stop the killings and destructions because the country is already under the invasion of killer herdsmen who have penetrated every part and are in vast possessions of dangerous weapons with covert line of funding.
According to the Global Terrorism Index, these killer herdsmen are the deadliest in Nigeria; deadlier than Boko Haram, and at a point, was declared the fourth deadliest extremist group in the world. Available statistics show that more than 900 innocent lives have been lost so far in 2018 to the unprovoked, brutish attacks of killer herdsmen in the Middle-belt zone of the country, alone. Scores have also been massacred in other zones, thereby putting the country on the precipice. Please recall that thousands of Nigerians have died in the last five years as a result of killer herdsmen attacks and killings, causing serious economic and social dislocations to communities and tens of thousands of people.
The attacks by these killer herdsmen have affected innocent and peace-loving Nigerians in their thousands across the country, uprooted families, destroyed communities’ socio-economic activities and businesses, depriving them of their means of survival and the desecration of their cultural and ancestral heritage. These barbaric killings and mindless attacks undermine the laws of Nigeria and principles of the UN Charter concerning the protection of human life.
With utmost sense of concern and responsibility, we write on behalf of all the victims of these inhumane killings and all angry, frustrated, and oppressed Nigerians, demanding that the Federal Government takes an immediate step to invoke Section 2(1)(c) of the Terrorism Prevention Act (TPA) 2011, against the killer herdsmen, which provides in pertinent part that:
“(1) Where two or more persons associate for the purpose of or where an organization engages in — (a) Participating or collaborating in an act of terrorism; (b) promoting, encouraging or exhorting others to commit an act of terrorism; or (c) setting up or pursuing acts of terrorism, the judge in Chambers may on an application made by the Attorney General, National Security Adviser or Inspector General of Police on the approval of the President; declare any entity to be a proscribed organization and the notice should be published in official gazette.”
It is clearly stated in Chapter II section 14 (2)b of the 1999 constitution (as amended) that the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government. Unfortunately, the reverse has been the case so far. And the implication of government’s inability to nip this crisis in the bud is the potentiality of it snowballing into an uncontrollable chaotic whirlwind.
The proscription of these killer herdsmen and their designation as a terrorist group will give the Federal Government a greater leverage to seek better regional cooperation and international support to confront and address this menace concertedly. The fact that the Federal Government has banned open grazing of cattle, has provided a significant window for security agencies to identify these killer herdsmen so that they can go after them and also investigate their line of funding to unravel those who are secretly colluding with the group.
We are aware, that the Benue state government has in a judicial process, identified and alleged that a group known as Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, is responsible for the widespread killings and violence across 14 out of the 23 local councils in the state. This development has made it compelling for the government to quickly investigate the activities of the group in the interest of entrenching justice, safety, and peace in the state, and the entire country.
We would also like to bring to your attention that the 2019 general elections are scheduled to commence in about 281 days from now, and since the present administration’s focus is to enable a free, fair and credible election, it is crucial that all vestiges of violence are completely exterminated.
We, therefore, strongly urge your esteemed office, which is the highest custodian of law in the country, to immediately take firm action towards getting President Muhammadu Buhari to proscribe and designate the killer herdsmen a terrorist group in Nigeria. By doing so, we believe that the Federal Government will be one step farther in ending this deadly group, at the soonest time possible.
Whilst awaiting your prompt action on our earnest entreaty, please accept the assurances of our highest regard.
The woman who lost her arm in a terrifying crocodile attack days before her wedding has spoken of her ordeal.
Zanele Ndlovu was canoeing with then-fiance Jamie Fox on the Zambezi River on April 30 when a crocodile punctured their inflatable boat and pulled her into the water.
“I was just pushing and kicking and trying to fight the croc as much as I could,” said Zanele, 25, who was dragged under the water and bitten on her right arm and left hand.
“Eventually one of the tour guides managed to pull me out of the water and get me onto one of their canoes,” she added.
A guide then applied a tourniquet to her injured arm, which stemmed the bleeding while help was called.
Zanele was then airlifted to hospital in Zimbabwe’s second city of Bulawayo.
She responded so well to treatment that doctors gave the thumbs up for her wedding to go ahead as planned on May 5 – as long as it took place in their chapel.
“We didn’t see a reason to change our date so we went on with it,” said Zanele, who has been with husband Jamie, 27, from Orpington, Kent, for 18 months.
They plan to settle in Britain once Zanele has her visa – and a fully functioning prosthetic arm is also on their agenda.
