Polls: Buhari warns INEC, Police not to repeat past mistakes

President Mohammadu Buhari has cautioned the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC and the Nigerian Police against giving in to undue pressure from some unscrupulous politicians to taint the integrity of elections.
Buhari gave the warning while in a meeting with INEC officials and authorities of the Nigerian police.
It will be recalled that opposition People’s Democratic Party, PDP, last week raised alarm over the meeting between the president and the institutions, alleging suspicions.
But to set the records straight, the Senior Special Assistant to the president on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu in a reaction to the PDP’s submission on Sunday night, stated that the president warned INEC and the police against any form of impunity during general elections.
According to him, president Buhari has suffered electoral manipulations in the past and wouldn’t want a repeat of such against anyone in future elections.
The president in the meeting that lasted for only 5 minutes and had the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo in attendance also cautioned the institutions against intimidating the voters during elections.
Shehu: “The President called the meeting cited by the PDP to warn in particular, the INEC and the Police to prepare and give the nation a credible election. He said he expected nothing short of a free, fair and credible election.
“He said he had suffered election manipulation in 2003,2007 and 2011 and will not like to have any Nigerian go through that again.
“He warned against the intimidation of voters in anyway and vowed that he was prepared to move with all the force available to him against anyone who undermines the rights of any citizen.
“The meeting was short and straight to the point. It ended after five minutes.”
The SSA media however added that Nigerians should be wary of the PDP’s fruitless attempts to destroy national institutions President Buhari is determined to rebuild. They started with the courts, then the EFCC, then onto the Police and now they are on the one-week old INEC. When will PDP allow our national institutions to do their job?”

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Okolugbo faults presidential aide on A-Ibom gov

A statement credited to Senator Ita Enang that Mr. Udom Emmanuel was no longer the constitutional governor of Akwa Ibom State has been described as “highly irresponsible.”
A public affairs commentator, Sir Kenny Okolugbo, said Enang, the Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on National Assembly Matters (Senate), should know that the Electoral Act clearly has the tribunal as a court of first instance, with the Supreme Court as the final arbiter.
He said: “It is on record that Governor Udom has appealed the judgement that nullified elections in 18 local governments of the state. Therefore, unless the Appeal Court rules on the matter, which could still be subjected to the Supreme Court’s judgment, nothing can be said to have been done.”
Citing the Rivers State’s case, where he said Mr Nyesom Wike remains the governor until the Supreme Court rules, he said that  Enang, who rose to become a lawmaker should know better not to run commentary on a court case and “make mockery of the law.”

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PDP is not dying and certainly will not die

The title of today’s article is taken verbatim from a speech by Chief Raymond Dokpesi, Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the 2015 National Conference of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Dokpesi spoke in Abuja last Thursday during the conference.
The forum whose goal is to rebrand the party was no doubt well attended making it obvious that PDP is well positioned to offer viable opposition to the ruling All Peoples Congress (APC). The nation watched on national television an assembly of many politicians in the party who are yet to decamp to the ruling party as politicians normally do after every election in the country. The PDP thus ensured that so far Nigeria has not become a one-party state. But whether members of the party will be able to hold on for long in the opposition is too early to tell. This is because as large as Thursday’s forum was, it was easy to see that it was different from the usual flamboyance of the party. The normal bright colours of the PDP were not there; Abuja was not brought to a standstill as the party was used to doing whenever it organized any activity in the past. The paucity of media coverage was also observed as only Dokpesi’s Africa Independent Television gave the event partial LIVE transmission which was interrupted at a point and replaced by the coverage of another event-the 7th Anniversary of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole as governor of edo state. Could it be that the PDP did not have the financial muscle to sustain a LIVE coverage?
Again, it was easy to see that perhaps all was not well. May be because visitors interrupted our viewership, I didn’t see former President Goodluck Jonathan, the immediate past national leader of the party, former Vice President, Namadi Sambo and founding fathers of the party such as former President Ibrahim Babangida, former Vice President Alex Ekweume, former Senate Presidents, Ken Nnamani, David Mark, former chairman of the PDP, Ahmadu Ali, former minister of Finance, Mallam Adamu Ciroma, Dr Samuel Ogbemudia among others, some of whom had been advertised as confirmed participants at the conference. Even Chief Anthony Anenih, the immediate past chairman of the party’s board of trustees generally described as “leader” by a cross section of party members was not there. Apart from Babangida who had publicized his unwillingness to participate, no one knows why they other leaders stayed away. It was however obvious that many party members had different ideas other than the conference for rebranding the party. Perhaps the decision of the national executive of the party to distance itself from Dokpesi’s earlier apology for what he called the party’s past mistakes may have turned some of them against the conference. It will be recalled that the party’s national publicity secretary, Olisa Metuh, said that Dokpesi’s apology was his personal opinion and not that of the party’s National Executive Committee.
However, Dr Dokpesi’s posture is in our opinion a more realistic approach as Nigerians showed at the last election that they deprecated PDP’s attitude of self denial. The party being a human organization is not infallible as Metuh insinuated. Indeed, it made so many mistakes in its 16-year rule; a notable example being its constant effort at sweeping issues of public interest under the carpet. For example, there was a serious allegation that an audio recording provided by a Captain in the 32nd Artillery Brigade stationed in Ekiti State, revealed that some top officials of the then ruling PDP  planned and successfully rigged the gubernatorial elections in Ekiti State.  The said Captain who the Press says has since fled the country recorded the conversation on 20th June 2014 when he accompanied his Commanding Officer, a Brigadier to the meeting held at Spotless Hotel in Ado-Ekiti. The government of the day did nothing about such a pointed allegation. Instead, it used its might to appoint one of the accused as a Minister of the Federal Republic. While it is true that an allegation does not mean guilt, government should have investigated such a serious allegation to allay the fears it imposed on the psyche of the nation.  Allegations concerning the inappropriate purchase of armoured vehicles and the daily hiring of private aircraft against two influential female ministers were similarly discountenanced by the then PDP government
At last Thursday’s conference, PDP members drew attention to alleged failures or wrong doings by the APC; thereby putting the government on its toes. While that is good for democracy, it cannot rebrand PDP because it was essentially a rally to sell itself for the 2019 general elections instead of a forum for introspection to identify what it did wrong in the past with a viewing to correcting them. It would have been wiser for the party to thoroughly examine why for instance it always rubbishes any person that emerges as its national chairman as if it enjoys being a body without a head. Is the party waiting for anyone to warn her that a party executive from the south-east acting as national chairman when the position is zoned to the north-east till 2016 is a potential source of conflict? Second, the party needs to orientate itself to fully appreciate the expedience of internal democracy and resolve to put an end to its well known habit of fielding unpopular candidates that emerge from party caucuses instead of party primaries. Third, it should design strategies for winning elections in view of the changes the nation has recorded so far in electoral technologies. If not, the old rigging styles known to the party cannot work in this age of biometric registration of voters and the use of the card reader.
Finally, the party should come to terms with the fact that the Judiciary is constitutionally empowered to settle election disputes. As a result, it is uncivilized to engage in abusing judges wherever its candidates are not successful in an election petition instead of appealing such decisions. A party that “will certainly not die” must observe the due process of law.

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With two university degrees, I sold suya on the street of Jos —Mike Omeri, NOA boss

Mike Omeri, the Director-General of National Orientation Agency, NOA, in this interview, speaks on how he ventured into roasted meat business, popularly called suya, to earn a living and why he does not have investments outside Nigeria.
Excerpts:
How do you see tourism in Nigeria?
I am attending, for the first time, a gathering of the Federation of Tourism Association of Nigeria. The future  of tourism is  very, very green. It is green in the sense that there is  renewed government interest and the practitioners have kept faith over the years. The fact that you see this number coming to sit to discuss the way forward shows that there is private sector commitment and so, with the posture of government and what it is currently doing to ensure that the atmosphere, the environment, is conducive, is attractive, Nigeria will be a natural tourism destination in West Africa.
What efforts is the National Orientation Agency making to promote tourism in Nigeria?
We have various agencies  to handle specific aspects of government policies and programmes. However, we have situated our roles because tourism is a platform for orientation as well as culture. So, we use their platform to promote the positive side of our country, the values of our country and that is why the tourism industry must also have positive attitudes driving it. Without good attitudes, without values, no matter the infrastructure provided, it will not attract  patronage.
So, the NOA will work with them; we have developed  a  patriotism and ethics programme  to enhance the capacity of the tourism staff and owners in their disposition to handling clients and guests in the management of their offices.
So, once we  collaborate with them, we will implement this strategy first  within our local level or they can go to the institution we have partnership with, University of Abuja. We are also discussing with the University of Ibadan to implement this patriotism education  to orientate workers in the sector to  understand that, apart from earning a living, they are responsible for promoting the image of our country as workers or patrons or even as owners of the places of tourism.
Why do you always try to create awareness on patriotism?
I am lucky, but I am doing my passion, even in  public service. Loving Nigeria is an indisputable fact. As you see me, I do not have any investments, outside Nigeria. I don’t even want to have a second building outside where I live not to talk  of abroad. I believe this is the destination, this is Nigeria and that when we tap our resources, our energies and intelligence and all of those things  our country, we can develop, we can be the best.
How did you develop the passion?

Omeri

At  childhood, from the attitude of my parents, they are late now. My father was a policeman and served outside his locality and was travelling from one place to the other. First, he kept telling us that we must love our country, we must be generous and respectful to elders and even  our peers and that our country is first. I remember each time he had to travel, Nigeria Police  were majorly  the people sent out at that time  to enforce peace in West Africa, they were in Congo and, on his return, he would display medals he had brought. He was not talking about himself but about how he and fellow police officers projected Nigeria, how they were inspired about the colours of Nigeria and this continued to influence our lives as we were growing up, the need to look for alternatives within every situation. There are challenges and in every difficulty, there are opportunities; so, I try to look for the opportunities  instead of sitting down, complaining, criticising, abusing. Without being immodest, orientation is my passion and I am lucky to be in public service and living my passion.
Some people think preaching patriotism to Nigerians with our diverse ethnic backgrounds is a hard sell. How do you do it?
I have heard this  comment even from the elite and I say they are the problem; anybody who tells me that is the problem. It shouldn’t be difficult if all of us believe that we have a country that needs all of us; it shouldn’t be difficult if we cultivate the habit of doing the right things; it shouldn’t be difficult if  we believe we don’t any other country than Nigeria and that it needs us and we must stand for it all times, in whatever we do, I have two degrees and  didn’t feel that  I should depend on anybody, I believe  there is a place for me to make it in Nigeria and so I  look for opportunities within  the structures and it has paid off for me.
How did you come about selling suya with two degrees?
That was  in 1992 or 1993, I was working with an international NGO and there were issues that didn’t agree  with my conscience. So I gave it up and I  said I could  do any other work and what was available was to sell suya.
With two degrees, how did you go about it?
I established a place called Geshu in Jos and  recruited some persons to work with me. We would go  to the market with N5,000 to purchase all the items we needed and roast the meat. Then, in the evening, we start selling to customers. The business  sustained me for the period that I had no job. It was from there that a former administrator of Plateau State, Col. Maina, who became Senator Mohammed Maina, appointed me press secretary and newspapers were awash with the story that ‘mai-suya’ had been appointed press secretary. In all honesty, many people  didn’t know  I even went to school because I was selling suya. From my background, I didn’t have reason to do that. My father was a police officer, nine of us-children-had gone to school, working and we were doing very well but I needed to be my own person.
Was it because you were in need or you wanted to do something?
I wanted to work. I shouldn’t be idle because  my family, friends were providing for me. I believed I should look inward to  survive.
How much were you making a day, and was it enough to take care of your problems?
At the start of  the suya business, we invested N5,000 and we were making between N2,500 and N5,000 a day which was more than my salary of N1,000 a month at that time and, because of the way we operated, the media helped me. Coming from that constituency, the media made the opening ceremony so glamorous as if we were bringing a different kind  of suya from heaven.
So people were anxious to come and see what it was, so what we did was to package it in a manner that you come, you choose what you want; If it was  a la carte, you stand there, it’s done for you. We also introduced  other services; so that while you wait for your suya, you patronise other services.

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Biafra, Afenifere are no threat to unity of Nigeria — Igwe Alex Nwokedi

Igwe Alex Nwokedi, Press Secretary to the Head of State during the military regime of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, is the sitting Uthokoneze and paramount ruler of Achalla Kingdom, Anambra State.  The 79-year-old former Chairman, Anambra State Council of Traditional Rulers and erstwhile Chairman, Eastern Nigerian Traditional Rulers Forum, spoke to Sunday Vanguard on the calls for Biafra and threat of secession by Afenifere among other things.  Excerpts:
What is your perspective on the brewing agitation for Biafra in your part of the country?

General Yakubu Gowon, in one of his published interviews, spoke well when he said he was surprised that people could be talking about Biafra over 40 years after the matter had been resolved.  Owelle Rochas Okorocha, a respected governor of the people, of course, has also spoken like a patriotic Nigeria when he counselled that Igbo should stop hating other Nigerians.  That comment credited to him gives a good perspective on the Igbo people of this country.  Igbo people are loving people but we should talk about what unites us than talking about what divides us.
I have read a lot about the so-called agitation for Biafra and I even read something about people who said they wanted to secede from Nigeria and become Oduduwa country. Biafra and Afenifere are no threat to the unity of Nigeria.
So, as far as I am concerned, we should talk more about what unites us than what divides us.  I am more concerned about the need to develop all the regions of Nigeria.  I am concerned about the need for government both at federal and state levels to collaborate and bring physical development  to all parts of the country. It is sad, for instance, that Enugu-Awka-Onitsha Road is not motorable.
As a matter of fact, when I was coming to Lagos, I drove through the old road to link the airport and that road, so narrow with narrow bridge, is very dangerous.  I have read so much about how contractors handling that road complained that they have been owed for over three years, a situation   they said had led to the retrenchment of many of their workers including the expatriates and that they were now considering folding up.  I appeal to the Federal Government to look into the issue and come to the aid of the people of that area by paying the money owed the construction company so that they can fix the road in good time.  The road facilitates the movement of goods into and out of the South-East to other parts of Nigeria and, if properly fixed, falling and breaking down of vehicles plying the road will stop and, also, it will boost the economy of the nation from that axis.
There is this talk about Afenifere saying the Fulani should vacate Yorubaland.  What does it sound like and will you, as a prominent Igbo leader, support such call under whatever guise?
I don’t believe it is possible for Afenifere to make such a call that the Fulani should vacate their land.  I see it  as a media thing because I will never go with anybody who talks about division.  Yoruba  or Igbo leaders, nobody should touch anything that brings no development but destruction to Nigeria. Was it not Chief Obafemi Awolowo who said he would secede if Ojukwu seceded?  And when Ojukwu seceded, did he secede?  So, let nobody talk about what divides but what unites us as Nigerians.  United we stand, divided we fall.  We will access peace and development faster this way than the other way round.
When President Muhammadu Buhari was elected, you said his chances of being a successful Nigerian leader would depend on the intellectual capacity of his media handlers.  Mr. Femi Adesina and Mallam Garba Shehu are his media aides.  So far, what is your assessment of their performance?
So far, they have done well.  However, the ability of a President’s image maker to perform depends on the brief that he has.  Femi Adesina for instance is a very good communication man, so also is Garba Shehu.  And I am sure, eventually, they will get to the promised land.
The President is said to have played his own part by volunteering to lead a change process for the nation to move forward.  What path are Nigerian traditional rulers taking in ensuring he gets the required support?
First of all, I have made it clear in my past interviews that traditional rulers should confine themselves to traditional issues while politicians pay attention to development.  President Buhari is an experienced person.  He can, through the traditional rulers, reach the people if he so desires.  This is the area the traditional rulers can bring to him the feelings of the people, just like his media handlers should do, and his inner thought should also be communicated to the people most of the times through the same channel.
As the first Public Relations Manager of the defunct Electricity Corporation of Nigeria (ECN), how do you assess the power sector so far in the hands of DISCOs because, it is not expected that we should still blame government for the distribution after the PHCN successor companies have been privatised?
There are many things that provide effective power supply out of which three are vital. The first is transmission and I think we have only a single transmission line.  Another one is distribution and our distribution network is very weak.  The third one is generation.  All of these aspects have to be revived and, if they have to be revived, it shouldn’t be one-by-one.  All the three must be revived together in order to have regular and steady power supply.
Yes.  Did those private people who bought the distribution companies cross-check what they were buying before they bought it?  They had problematic power distribution facility transferred to them and they accepted it because they were very eager and some didn’t do it for national interest, of course, they did it to make money but they found out it was different from what they thought.
But is it not the idea that the facilities are better off in private hands?
What were the terms of the procurement, I mean the terms of the buying of the companies?  If the terms say that if you buy it and it is later found to be a problem, you can return it, that is one thing.  But if the terms say you are buying it to put it right and make it better, you should work hard to achieve that, so that Nigerians can feel the impact of improved power supply.  What the DISCOs should know is that, if it the goal of government that sold the distribution companies to them was for their own business interest alone, it would be different issue but government sold it to them so that they could improve it in the over riding interest of Nigeria.  If Nigeria still complains therefore of having no light and it is found out that it is not the problem of generation but distribution, then, the DISCOs should know that they are the problem.
Also, there is the need for the people to cooperate with the power producers to ensure stable supply.  I am confident that with the cooperation of the people, we will get it right as far as the power sector is concerned in this country.
How do you mean?
We have many new estates being developed and those builders don’t provide information about their electricity need.  How are we sure that available power will cover those new estates if the people generating, transmitting and distributing don’t have information?  This kind of thing increases the burden on generation, transmission and distribution of power supply.
People, in this aspect too, will have to cooperate with the power distribution companies; this is the way to go.  It doesn’t help when there is no information about consumption level.  We should  know what our requirement is and then it will help our policy on generation and the type of distribution facility to take care of that requirement.  I am confident about our country.  We have the people, we have the resources.

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INEC Board of Six: Buhari and the wrong signal!

President Muhammadu   Buhari should not allow Nigerians to go away with the impression that he does not seem to have respect for the Constitution in the area of the structure of Nigeria’s election management body.   The 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria did not envisage a situation where a President will choose to engage a partial, piecemeal constitution of a board as sensitive as that of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.   Nor are Nigerians finding it funny that the self-same INEC that saw to the emergence of Buhari, by adhering to global best practices in election management issues, would be treated with such levity.   This analysis would show why the President must abort this voyage.
That President Muhammadu Buhari, last month, nominated more members into the board of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, came as salutary. But the nominations came far short of the constitutional requirement of a full board for the election management body.
A month prior to the appointment of six national electoral officers for the Commission, the government of Buhari came under several criticisms for not only attempting to undermine the independence of the electoral management body, but also for its negligence of the enabling legal frameworks which also constitutes another suspected attempt to undermine the functionality of INEC.
But rather than correct these omissions, the government made piecemeal appointments to the Commission to barely meet the legal requirements to conduct elections.   That is not the spirit of the Constitution.
This perpetuation of a less that holistic constitution of the INEC board with less than the required appointees necessary to meet the functions of the Commission questions the extent or depth of understanding of the President on the origins and utility of an election management body.

President Muhammadu Buhari congratulating the National Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Mahmud Yakoob during the swear-in ceremony of the INEC Chairman and five National Commissioners at the Aso Chambers, State House, Abuja. Photo by Abayomi Adeshida 09/11/2015

Clearly, the vision of Buhari regarding election management and its importance as a pillar of democratic societies appears to be falling short of internationally recognised benchmarks.
In 1973, there were less than 46 free democracies out of the 152 countries in the world; and, by 1990, more than 120 countries had become electoral democracies. Many countries that have become more developed have had their democracies sustained principally by adherence and respect for the enabling legal frameworks which guide their electoral processes.
The electoral legal framework, comprising the Constitution, Electoral Act, judicial electoral decisions and the by-laws and guidelines   generated by election management bodies, is the DNA that sustains the practice and goals of democratic development.
Deviation from the framework is often an early sign that a country is drifting away from democratic standards.
It is thus a frightening realisation that the Buhari government had to be reminded, nay even threatened by court litigation, before it conformed to the basic structural requirement regarding the constitution of the INEC board, and it lived up to its obligation of constituting the minimum number of appointees required to conduct an election.
The Constitution, in stating that the board of national bodies be constituted in Section 153, did not   direct that half, one third or any fraction of a board should be constituted.
Recent queries in government quarters regarding this anomaly had been responded to by the explanation that the government is hoping to stagger the appointments to boards such as INEC in order not to erode the legality in the functions of the board when the tenures end in one single group.
This is a weak excuse for government not being proactive in meeting its obligations of constituting boards as and when due.
The tenure of any board should be public knowledge and constituting such boards in time should be the proactive function of a responsible government.
Many observers of the Buhari government, unable to discern policy direction from its taciturn disposition on policies, have resorted to reading its perceived body language – perhaps wrongly.
If the body language of the government regarding election management is anything to go by, it may be concluded, rightly or wrongly, that election quality and election integrity are not priorities of the government, whereas these were the main reasons  the President was able to gain political power after over a decade of political competition.
It is indeed a shocking embarrassment to discover that a President who, benefited from good governance and best global practices in election management, needed the legal advocacy of the civil society and, even more specifically, Sunday Vanguard, to be reminded that a subsisting court order requires that INEC needed a board to conduct elections.
Worse still, now, and despite that reminder, Mr. President has only made halfhearted attempt to constitute the board – he has appointed only half the constitutionally required board.
A government, which is not proactive in ensuring that the structures of election management conforms with the enabling legal framework by properly constituting the structures of electoral governance, is subconsciously sending a wrong signal that it may not be trusted to observe the principle underpinning free and fair elections. Buhari does not need this baggage.
Nigerians should not be made to begin to doubt the sincerity and honesty of the President in the area of free elections.
The board of INEC is 12 commissioners and a National Chairman – the latter is expected to break any deadlock in the event of a stalemate in decision-making.
And because Sunday Vanguard published a High Court judgment which says the quorum of INEC cannot be less that five, does not in any way confer on Mr. President the magna charter to constitute a board with just six members instead of 13 – this sends a wrong signal.

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Bayelsa poll: Southern Ijaw communities defy downpour to receive Dickson

The people of Southern Ijaw communities have thrown their weight behind the re-election bid of the incumbent governor, Hon. Seriake Dickson, describing his visit to all the communities in the area as historic.

Gov Dickson

The Governor during his three-day community to community campaign, visited Koluama I and II, Foropa, Ukubie, Ogboinbiri, Olugbobiri and Korokorosei, Igbomotoru, Peremabiri and Azuzuama.
Meanwhile, Hope Democratic Party (HDP) has approached the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, asking it to abort the governorship election.
In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/904/2015, the party urged the court to nullify the election guidelines and timetable released by INEC on July 10, 2015, on the ground that they offended section 153 and 159 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
Aside HDP, the suit which was equally endorsed by Chief Bulus Wombu and Hon. King George as co-plaintiffs , has INEC as the sole defendant.
In all the communities visited, the people came out in their numbers to give the campaign train a rousing reception with drumming, singing and dancing to solidarity songs.
Commending the Governor for his developmental strides, especially the on-going Yenagoa-Oporoma Road, the affected communities said when completed the road would attract local and foreign investors to the area.
The Tovernor, according to them, has been able to impact on all the communities in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area adding that his achievement in the area of security is unequalled.
“The Restoration government has been able to curtail the activities of sea pirates on our waterways, while the issue of illegal oil bunkering in the area is gradually becoming a thing of the past,” the Governor said.
The communities which make up ward 16 assured the Governor of their determination to give their votes’ en block to the PDP, adding, “we had held tenaciously to the PDP in rain and shine in times past and no amount of flattery, deceit or bait can sway our concrete resolve. History will vindicate you and the Tubo people. We are for the PDP and nothing else.”
They, however, appealed to the Governor to construct the Toru-Ebeni –Ukubie-Lobia Road, reconstruct the abandoned Ukubie General Hospital and canalize the Azuzuama River linking Ikebiri 1 community.
At Koluama, a onetime Commissioner for Housing Development under the Dickson-led administration eulogized the Governor for giving the communities a sense of belonging.
Responding, Governor Seriake Dickson expressed delight over their show of support and promised to look into their request.
HDP in its prayer filed through their lawyer, Mr. Tony Esiegbe, they prayed the court to, among other things, “determine whether by virtue of section 153 and 159 of the 1999 Constitution, INEC, operating with two out of nine National Electoral Commissioners, could be said to have formed a quorum to issue a valid time table and guidelines for the conduct of governorship election in Bayelsa State to warrant excluding the plaintiffs to participate in the said elections scheduled to hold on December 5, 2015, or thereafter.” They applied for an order setting aside INEC’s guideline dated June 19, 2015, issue and direct that a new date be set for the Bayelsa governorship election through a validly initiated and scheduled programme and guideline.
Meantime, no date has been fixed for hearing of the suit.
They urged the court to resolve the issue of whether INEC, having not formed quorum as required by the provisions of section 153 and 159 of the 1999 Constitution, has the power to fix a date for the Bayelsa governorship election.
The plaintiffs beseeched the court to invalidate the guideline and timetable already issued for the election by INEC.
Besides, the plaintiffs are praying the court to determine whether by virtue of section 221 and 229 of the 1999 Constitution and section 31 of the Electoral Act 2010, the plaintiffs are not entitled to field and sponsor candidate in a validly scheduled Bayelsa governorship election without the defendant disqualifying or rejecting submitted candidates for the election.
They want the court to further determine whether INEC, by virtue of section 31 of Electoral Act, 2010, has power to reject submitted list of nominated candidates by the plaintiff for a scheduled election.
More so, the litigants sought a declaration that the defendant, without forming quorum or operating with at least five National Electoral Commissioners, cannot validly fix a date and set guidelines for the Bayelsa governorship election and seek to conduct same.
They are seeking a declaration that the guideline and dates as set and issued on June 19, by the Defendant for the Bayelsa governorship election for December 5, was invalid and unconstitutional.
Likewise, the plaintiffs prayed the high court to declare that they are entitled to field and sponsor candidates for a validly scheduled Bayelsa governorship elections.

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Buhari appoints Oyo-Ita as new Head of Service

President Muhammadu Buhari has on Wednesday, approved the appointment of Mrs. Winifred Ekanem Oyo-Ita as the new Head of Service.
Mrs. Oyo-Ita, 51, hails from Cross River state and was before her new appointment, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Science and Technology.
She attended Queens College Yaba and got her B.Sc in Accounting at the University of Lagos in 1984. She holds a Master’s degree from the Nasarawa State University and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN).
Oyo-Ita was also the Director, Finance and Accounts at the Head of Civil Service of the Federation.
Oyo-Ita’s appointment follows the retirement of the former Head of Service, Mr. Danladi Kifasi. Reports indicated that Kifasi was asked to retire by the presidency in an effort to ensure Federal Character Principle as enshrined in the Nigeria’s Constitution.

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Obahiagbon lampoons senators for accompanying Saraki to CCT

Former member of the House of Representatives, Mr. Patrick Obahiagbon ((aka Igodomigodo) ), has described the show of solidarity by 80 senators who accompanied the Senate President, Bukola Saraki to the Code of Conduct Tribunal, Wednesday, as ‘’Political Hallelujahness of the highest order’’.

Saraki is facing a 13-count criminal charge bordering on false declaration of assets preferred against him by the Code of Conduct Bureau before the Code of Conduct Tribunal.
The Chief of Staff to Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State took to his Twitter handle, @PObahiagbon, to vent his anger, noting that while the executive arm of government led by President Muhammadu Buhari has witnessed a positive change, the legislature under the leadership of Bukola Saraki appears to be a different matter.
The Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu led 79 other senators to the tribunal in a show of solidarity.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Senate President, failed to persuade the Code of Conduct Tribunal sitting in Abuja to grant an indefinite adjournment on the 13-count criminal charge that is pending against him.
The Justice Danladi Umar-led tribunal, while rejecting the application which Saraki made through his lawyer, Mr. Mahmud Magaji, SAN, ordered him to appear before it ‎on November 5.
Justice Umar said the tribunal was minded to adjourn full-blown hearing on the substantive case till next month, to enable it to ascertain the outcome of the appeal that Saraki lodged before the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal.

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N3.1bn debt: Court freezes Zamfara’s accounts in 21 banks

A Federal High Court in Lagos on Tuesday made an order attaching funds standing to the credit of Zamfara State in 21 commercial banks in the country.

Justice Okon Abang ordered all the banks involved to disclose the amount of money which Zamfara State has in their keepings.

He ordered the 21 banks to appear before him on November 6, 2015 to give reasons, if they have any, why such funds should not be withdrawn to satisfy a debt of N3.1bn with interest, which Zamfara State owed Ecobank Nigeria Limited.

Abang had on September 30, 2015 entered judgment in favour of Ecobank in a N3.1bn debt recovery suit it filed against Zamfara State Government and six others.

The judge had granted the bank’s claim of N3.1bn with 30 per cent interest from March 1, 2013 till judgment day and 10 per cent thereafter until the final liquidation of the debt.

In the said judgment, Abang said the papers before him showed that Zamfara State obtained a credit facility of N1.5bn in 2009 from the defunct Oceanic Bank Plc, which was later acquired by Ecobank.

The judge said Zamfara State neither denied being indebted to the bank nor proved that it had liquidated the loan, which it obtained to execute a water project.

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He then ordered the Accountant General of the Federation to ensure that the judgment sum with interest was deducted from funds accruable to Zamfara State in the Federation Account and pay it to Ecobank until the debt was fully liquidated.

But both Zamfara State and the Central Bank of Nigeria went on appeal and subsequently urged Abang to stay the execution of the judgment pending the determination of the appeals.

However, in a ruling on Tuesday, Abang dismissed both applications and asked Ecobank to proceed with the process of recovering the debt from Zamfara State.

Ruling on the CBN application, the judge said, “I have been wondering how the order will affect the CBN so that the CBN will now go and apply for stay of execution of not just the order made against it but the entire judgment.

“It is my humble view that CBN will not lose anything if the order is complied with.

“The Central Bank should assist Ecobank in its time of need because if Ecobank’s liquidity is affected on account of non-payment of loan by Zamfara State, it is the same CBN that will withdraw Ecobank’s licence; and it is the innocent depositors that will be affected if the licence of Ecobank is withdrawn by the CBN.

“The Central Bank should assist Ecobank to recover the loan from Zamfara State government, whether or not it was party to the loan agreement, because the amount that will go to Zamfara State is domiciled with the CBN.”

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Supreme Court upholds Ambode’s election

Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode

The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the election of the Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, of the All Progressives Congress.

In a unanimous judgment of a seven-man panel of the apex court, led by Justice Tanko Muhammad, the Supreme Court struck out the appeal by the Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate in the April 11, 2015 poll, Mr. Olujimi Agbaje, for incompetence.

In its judgment, read by Justice Clara Ogunbiyi on Tuesday, the Supreme Court struck out Agbaje’s appeal by upholding Ambode’s preliminary objection contending that the appeal was incompetent and academic.

The apex court upheld the argument by Ambode’s lawyer, Olabode Olanipenikun, that the appeal had been rendered incompetent and academic by the virtue of the fact that the PDP refused to join Agbaje to appeal against the decision of the Court of Appeal, which had earlier upheld the judgment of the Lagos State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal to uphold Ambode’s election.

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Justice Ogunbiyi ruled, “For all intents and purposes, the communal deduction of the foregoing is a situation where a sponsoring political party has accepted the dismissal of its challenge to an election as binding on it.

“Also inclusive in the said decision is the party’s candidate (appellant in this appeal). It is significant to restate further that the judgment given in CA/L/EP/GOV/762A/2015 has not been appealed.”

Dissatisfied with the declaration of Ambode as the winner of the election, Agbaje and the PDP had filed their petition challenging the outcome of the poll at the Lagos State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal.

In its judgment on June 26, 2015, the tribunal dismissed the petition by reason of the incompetence of the suit.

The petitioners further appealed to the Lagos division of the Court of Appeal, which also in its judgment on August 26 dismissed the case on the same grounds on which the tribunal anchored its decision.

But only Agbaje further appealed the decision of the Court of Appeal to the Supreme Court.

Justice Ogunbiyi, in dismissing Agbaje’s appeal, held that a political party was important “over and above a candidate in an election in our constitutional democracy.”

He said Agbaje, through his counsel, Chief Richard Ahonaruogho, had thus failed to “dislodge the preliminary objection raised by the second respondent (Ambode) and which same I uphold and sustain”.

“Consequently, the appeal herein is struck out for incompetence. The judgment of the lower court which uhpheld that of the trial tribunal and striking out the petitions is also affirmed by me,” Justice Ogunbiyi ruled.

Apart from Ambode, other respondents to the petition were the Independent National Electoral Commission, the APC, and the Lagos State Resident Electoral Commission of INEC.

Meanwhile, Ambode, and the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, have hailed the verdict, saying the people’s mandate had been reaffirmed by the highest court in the land.

In separate statements on Tuesday, Ambode and Obasa added that “the decision of the Supreme Court has put all issues on election matters to rest”.

Ambode, who commended the judiciary for its consistency, said, “Our government is thus poised without further delay to provide the needed leadership to justify the confidence reposed in us.

“The ruling has further proven the judiciary to be the critical institution that could further deepen our democratic values,” the governor said.

The speaker also said the court verdict had put the final legal seal on the victory of the governor and the APC in general in the election.

“The Supreme Court victory is a final legal seal in the victory of our governor and the party at large,” he said.

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Access Bank, Visa promote e-procurement services

Access Bank Plc and Visa Incorporated have announced a business partnership with shoptomydoor.com, an online shipping company.

According to a statement by the lender, the partnership will enable Access Bank’ s Visa cardholders to shop online retailers in the United States, United Kingdom and China with exclusive shipping discounts.

The bank said with the development, Access Bank’s Visa cardholders could now shop from major international retailers with more flexibility and convenience.

The statement quoted the Head, Personal Banking, Mr. Victor Etuokwu, as saying, “In line with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s cashless initiative, this move is seen as part of Access Bank’s efforts at boosting electronic payments, e-commerce and fostering ease of transactions.”

“Visa cardholders can make purchases online in the listed countries as if they are local residents and have it shipped to their local address in a few business days.”

According to him, Shoptomydoor.com is a global player in the e-commerce and e-procurement industry and it offers an effective means of conducting transactions over the Internet.

Etuokwu said the introduction of Shoptomydoor.com platform was a deliberate attempt by the bank to make financial services easy for its customers.

He also said the development was in line with the bank’s commitment to consistently deploy innovative strategies to make life easier for its customers.

“We believe that our customers will benefit immensely from this innovation, and the process is straightforward,” he stated.

While the surge in e-commerce has given rise to concerns about online security, the bank allayed customers’ fears, saying its cards were protected with security tools.

In addition to the in-built security mechanism, Access Bank said its Visa cards were protected and verified by Visa features respectively.

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