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Category: Governance

  • Edo Guber: Court nulifies PDP Primary poll

    Edo Guber: Court nulifies PDP Primary poll

    Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja has declared as invalid the People’s Democratic Party’s Primary election that produced Asue Ighodalo as a governorship candidate.

    The primary election conducted on February 22, 2024 was voided on the ground that 378 delegates who were supposed to vote at the primary election were unlawfully excluded by PDP.

    The court invalidated the primary election on Thursday while delivering judgment in a suit instituted by the aggrieved delegates.

    The suit marked THC/ABJ/CS/165/2024 was instituted by one Hon Kelvin Mohammed in a representative capacity.

    Justice Ekwo held that both the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022 and PDP Guidelines were grossly violated in the conduct of the primary election at the Samuel Ogbemudia stadium in Benin.

    Details later.

  • 98 Lawyers Shortlisted For SAN Rank -LPPC

    98 Lawyers Shortlisted For SAN Rank -LPPC

    The Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee (LPPC) has shortlisted 98 Lawyers and Professors of Law for elevation to the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).

    The shortlisted applicants were in two categories of Advocacy and Academia.

    Among the names shortlisted are former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) National Officers – Monday Onyekachi Ubani Esq, Kunle Edun Esq, Dr. Rapulu Nduka Esq and Stanley Imo Esq.

    Also, shortlisted is the chairman of NBA, Bwari Branch, Paul Daudu Esq and notable Abuja-based lawyer, Okey Ajunwa Esq.

    This was contained in a press statement issued in Abuja by the Secretary of LPPC, Harjo Sarki Bello, on Tuesday night.

    The statement read: “The Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee (LPPC) by this Notice announces the shortlisting of applicants for the conferment of the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria for the year 2024.

    “The shortlisted applicants in the two categories of Advocacy and Academia.

    “Among shorlisted are Lateef Olaseinde Karim, Esq, Godwin Tagbo Ike, Esq.Johnson Odionu, Esq., Nnodim Marcellinus Duru, Esq., Innocent Adams Ovbagbedia, Esq., Soronnadi Anthony Njoku, Esq., Adamu Abubakar, Esq and Charles Oyaole Musa, Esq.

    “Others are Udochi Nunny Iheanacho, Esq., David Dare Onietan, Esq., Elele Chinatu Casmir, Esq., Josiah Rapuluchuks Nduka, Esq., Godwin Ikechukwu Obeta, Esq., Habeeb Orisavia Ilavbare, Esq, Moses Kolade Obafemi, Esq, and Mathew Echezonam Esonanjor, Esq. Baba Fika Dalah, Esq.

    “Among those in the academia are Prof. Osy Ezechukwunyere Nwebo, Prof. Nlerum Sunday Okogbule, Prof. Nnamdi Onyeka Obiaraeri, Prof. Nathaniel Ahagbue Inegbedion, Prof. Collins Chijioke Obioma and Prof. Violet Aigbokhaevbo.

    “Also, in the list are Prof. Augustine Robert Agom, Prof. Ibrahim Abdulqadir Abikan, Prof. Chima Josephat Ubanyionwu and Prof. Ganiyu Adeyemi Oke.”

    The LPPC, however, called on the general public to comment on the integrity, reputation, and competence of the shortlisted applicants.

    “Every complaint(s) must be accompanied by a verifying affidavit deposed to by the author before a Superior Court of Record in Nigeria or before a Notary Public and be in twenty (20) copies.

    “For the avoidance of doubt, the publication of the names of the shortlisted applicants is not an indication of their success in the process,” LPPC added.

  • Organised Labour Told To Begin Nationwide Strike Immediately Over Minimum Wage Delay

    Organised Labour Told To Begin Nationwide Strike Immediately Over Minimum Wage Delay

    The Campaign for Democratic and Workers’ Rights, CDWR, has called on Ogranised Labour to immediately mobilize and declare a nationwide strike over the minimum wage and the recent hike in electricity tariff. 

    According to CDWR, Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, as the next step in the minimum wage struggle, should declare and mobilise widely for a 48-hour general strike and mass protest to demand a minimum wage not less than N200, 000 and the reversal of all anti-poor policies (privatization, deregulation, subsidy removal, electricity tariff hike etc).

    In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Chinedu Bosah, CDWR said “The NLC and TUC have been at loggerheads with the government and private sector over a new minimum wage and negotiation has been deadlocked for over 3 weeks and still counting. Government and Private Sector insistence on paying N60, 000 provoked the declaration of an indefinite strike which started on June 3rd 2024 but was suspended on the 4th of June, 2024. 

    “The suspension was to last for five days but it does not appear that the labour leadership put in place any plan of action should the government as usual failed to meet their demands as many principal leaders proceeded on the trip to the meetings of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in Switzerland. This is the second time the labour leadership has suspended action this year and gone to sleep. The first one was a 2-week ultimatum that was declared following the suspension of a nationwide mass protest on February 28, 2024, and lapsed on March 13, 2024.

    “The strike organised on June 3, 2024, was the most effective and widely supported compared to previous strikes since 2016 even though it was not adequately mobilized. The capitalist ruling elite came under pressure as major sectors of the economy were shut down including sea, airport and electricity. Rather than build on the momentum, labour leaders have again gone to sleep. Unfortunately, this inaction gave the capitalist ruling elite more time to maneuver and recover. “The labour leaders could make the case that they were engaged in important meetings at the International Labour Organisation, in that case, they could have sent one or two people to Europe instead of a delegation of around 116 so-called ‘workers representatives’. Then the other ‘workers’ representatives’ could have travelled around Nigeria campaigning rather than sitting in Switzerland. Instead, when millions upon millions of Nigerians suffer a massive drop in living standards, the “Generals” left the battlefield for too long and did nothing serious to mobilise support for what was likely to be a major struggle.

    “Wage is a very crucial integral aspect of the unfair/exploitative/profiteering capitalist system, the self-serving capitalist ruling elite, government and private sector employers will continually do everything to condemn Nigerian workers to poverty wage to secure huge profit and profligate lifestyle for themselves. Weak Nigerian capitalism can only function based on low wages; hence, the government and the organised private sector resist a genuine living wage for workers. Even the N30, 000 minimum wage, which ought to have been outdated, has not been implemented by some states. For instance, Zamfara State government just announced implementation of N30,000 minimum wage structure this month (June 2024) more than five years after it had become law. In line with class struggle, the challenge for the trade union movement is to force the capitalist ruling elite to grant living wage to Nigerians workers and also resist all anti-people policies.

    High inflation

    “This is urgent. Inflation rate is 33.95 percent, the rising cost of living is notoriously high as prices change rapidly, and food generally has become unaffordable forcing many people to go hungry. A basket of tomatoes is over N60, 000, a bag of beans is over N180, 000, a big tuber of yam is over N1

  • Minimum Wage Dilemma: States May Go Bankrupt, FEC Delays Decision

    Minimum Wage Dilemma: States May Go Bankrupt, FEC Delays Decision

    The Federal Executive Council (FEC) recently postponed a decision on the new minimum wage report from the tripartite committee, opting for further consultations amid concerns that many states could go bankrupt if the proposed wage increases are implemented.

    The FEC’s hesitance comes as President Bola Tinubu prepares to present the minimum wage bill to the National Assembly, an announcement that has stoked tensions across various states.

    Last week’s discussions at both the National Economic Council, chaired by Vice President, Kashim Shettima, and the Southern Governors’ Forum failed to yield a consensus on the wage structure, with the governors suggesting that wage negotiations should be state-specific.

    The labour unions have criticized the Nigeria Governors’ Forum for their significant sway in the wage negotiations, arguing that the proposed wages could push states towards financial insolvency.

    A report from the Nigeria Governors’ Forum Secretariat highlighted that increased recurrent expenditures have already strained budgets, leaving states like Abia, Ekiti, and Kogi in deficits as of 2022.

    The proposed ₦62,000 minimum wage, more than double the current ₦30,000, could destabilize state finances further, potentially leading only ten states, including Lagos and Rivers, to remain financially stable.

    According to the documents, sighted by Punch, Abia, with an employment size of about 58,631 workers, pays ₦5,837,899,980.40 as wage monthly. Anambra has a 20,541 employment size and pays ₦1,824,851,308.96 monthly as wages, apart from ₦894,480,399.62 as pension obligation and ₦579,694,680.33 for debt servicing.

    Bayelsa boasts of 48,213 workforce, paying ₦5,802,435,178.58 monthly, with ₦1,194,528,784.40 as pension obligation and ₦3,535,787,992.48 as debt servicing, totalling ₦10,532,751,955.46 as total recurrent expenditure monthly.

    Benue has about 13,366 workers in its workforce and pays ₦2,040,184,471.85 as monthly wage, ₦76,838,634.62 for pension, and ₦64,685,126,826.08 for debt servicing, totalling ₦66,802,149,932.56 monthly.

    Delta has about 50,871 workers, offering ₦8,973,081,853.50 as wages ₦1,499,886,303.39 as pension, and ₦72,417,433,139.00 as debt servicing, accumulating to ₦82,890,401,295.89 in a month.

    Jigawa has about 44,831 workers in its employ and pays ₦2,795,662,113.02 as wages, and ₦345,987,843.12 as a pension, totalling ₦3,141,649,956.14 monthly on recurrent expenditure.

    Katsina, Kwara and Niger have 19,062, 36,048 and 22,225 workers, with accumulated ₦139,294,944,565.27, ₦4,457,268,675.54 and ₦2,653,614,213.35 monthly recurrent expenditure respectively.

    According to the document, Abia has a total recurrent expenditure of ₦111,983,979,958.62, against a total revenue of ₦147,637,730,867.73.

    For Adamawa, the recurrent expenditure stands at ₦70,369,399,885.57, against a total revenue of ₦109,722,949,684.65, while Akwa Ibom boasts of a high revenue of ₦444,288,683,000, with recurrent expenditure of ₦235,144,539,000.

    Of the states, Lagos has the highest total revenue, amassing ₦1,243,778,878,170 in 2022, with a recurrent expenditure of ₦621,043,036,000, followed by Delta, with ₦702,020,717,460.08 and a recurrent expenditure of ₦377,905,100,451.83.

    Rivers amassed ₦525,588,159,714.88 in 2022, with recurrent expenditure of ₦186,974,715,774.87; Kaduna had a total revenue of ₦222,349,875,000 and expenditure of ₦95,987,999,472.10; Ogun, ₦297,249,009,626.83, recurrent expenditure of ₦178,519,010,628.42 and Oyo, with total revenue of ₦247,156,776,739.70 and recurrent expenditure of ₦152,077,804,384.65.

    Kebbi State had the lowest total revenue in 2022, raking in ₦92,132,444,588.16 and spent ₦57,601,464,374.96 on recurrent expenditure, followed by Taraba, with a total revenue of ₦101,177,283,069.87 and recurrent expenditure of ₦75,055,201,412.62.

    Aside from FAAC allocation, some states recorded poor IGR in the 2022 data compiled by the NGF S

  • JUST IN: Two Officers Killed As Gunmen Attack Police Checkpoint In Abia

    Two officers of the Nigeria Police Force were reportedly murdered on Friday night when a group of dangerous criminals attacked a police checkpoint at the well-known Opobo Junction, near the Aba-Ikot Ekpene Expressway in Abia State.

    Another officer reportedly sustained some injuries from the attack, which unsettled residents of the area.

    It was reported that the police were stationed at the junction for their regular evening patrol before the assailants attacked them.

    A witness described how the attackers, who were armed and dangerous, arrived in a Sienna SUV.

    He explained that just a few minutes into the police officers’ regular night shift, multiple police squads arrived in the area as people began to evacuate the scene.

    SaharaReporters quoted the witness as saying that the event led to widespread panic, forcing local businesses and market vendors to shut down, with some even leaving their goods behind to find safety.

    The latest attack on security officials is coming a month after gunmen attacked a military checkpoint at the Obikabia Junction in Aba, Abia State.

    The attackers, who also set fire to the military vehicle, were believed to be carrying out the sit-at-home order issued by IPOB across the Southeast region to commemorate Biafra Day, a holiday celebrated in the area every year.

    The heavily armed individuals, dressed in black, were reportedly spotted firing at the junction intermittently.

  • Court Sentences LP Candidate to Seven Years Imprisonment 

    Court Sentences LP Candidate to Seven Years Imprisonment 

    An Enugu South Magistrate Court presided over by Justice E D Onwu, has sentenced the Labour Party candidate for Enugu South Urban state Constituency, Hon Bright Ngene, to 7 years’ imprisonment.

    The Magistrate, who handed the verdict on Friday had on Thursday, said that he was under instruction to deal with a matter involving the LP candidate who won the Enugu South Urban state Constituency, during the March 18, 2023, general elections.

    Ngene and two others were arraigned in court since 2017 by the Nigeria Police Force, Enugu command in a matter involving himself and his community worth about N15million.

    After he won the 2023 general elections against the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, who also challenged the victory of Ngene and sought for the election to be declared inconclusive, which the election petition tribunal agreed and ordered rerun election in eight polling units, the ruling government resurrected the matter involving his community development fund.

    The matter was abandoned since 2017 when he was lawyer for his community, Akwuke, Enugu State.

    SaharaReporters reported on June 25, that Bright Ngene had raised the alarm over an alleged conspiracy between the executive and judiciary arms of the state government to imprison him. 

    Ngene, who spoke to journalists in Enugu, had claimed that the plot was aimed at punishing him for insisting on the mandate he won in the March 18, 2023 House of Assembly Election. 

    He had noted that the Chief Judge of Enugu State, Justice A. R Ozoemena, the Deputy Chief Registrar, Chijioke Agbo, and Magistrate E. D Onwu colluded to disregard the petition pending before the National Judicial Council which seized the case. 

    Ngene is seeking for an urgent intervention to prevent what he sees as a gross miscarriage of justice aimed at terminating his political and legal careers.

    Ngene of the Labour Party was declared the winner of last year’s Enugu South Rural Constituency election and was sworn into the House of Assembly but was aborted by the court in a petition by his rival, Sam Ngene of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
     
    Re-run elections for the disputed eight polling units in the Constituency have been held twice but were inconclusive, while the scheduled third-time re-run of June 8 was cancelled without notice to the LP candidate.

    In his petition to the NJC, Ngene alleged that “there is corruptive agreement between the Honourable Chief Judge of Enugu State, His Lordship A. R Ozoemena, the Deputy Chief Registrar N.L Chijioke Agbo, His Worship E. D Onwu, Esq and the Enugu State government to at all cost or willy nilly put me behind bars before a re-run is conducted over my seat in the Enugu State House of Assembly.

    “Otherwise, why are these parties applying impunity in continuing with the trial when the NJC has accepted custody of the matter? The ideal thing is that parties in this matter should relax for NJC to decide but they are rushing the matter to put me behind bars and go ahead to conduct the re-run election.

    “I seek the NJC to save me from oppression, persecution, and impeding wrongful conviction bathed by corruption and obvious abuse of judicial office and power.

    “Unless the National Judicial Council intervenes, the Honourable Chief Judge of Enugu State, the Deputy Chief Registrar, and His Worship E. D Onwu will wrongfully and corruptly destroy my ambition to continue to be in the House of Assembly of Enugu State and dent my political and legal career with conviction,” Ngene petitioned.

    But when the matter came up for adoption of written addresses, on Thursday, there was an uproar in court room as three lawyers fought fruitlessly to dissuade the magistrate to give a long adjournment date in a matter against Ngene and two others.

    While the defence counsels, Messrs CJ S Okereke, Benjamin C. Nwobodo and Frabel Awgu asked the trial Magistrate to adjourn the matter till next week to enable them study and reply to application filed by the prosecuting counsel, His Worship E D Ownu insisted that c

  • BREAKING! CJ transfers Amaewhule’s defection case

    BREAKING! CJ transfers Amaewhule’s defection case

    The cases challenging the defection of the 25 State lawmakers in Rivers State from the People’s Democratic Party, PDP to the All Progressives Congress, APC, have been transferred.

    The case was transferred from Federal High Court 4, Port Harcourt, presided over by Justice Steven Dalyop Pam, to court two controlled by Justice E. O. Obele.

    However, there was confusion yesterday among journalists covering the court proceedings and some of the lawyers in the matter as they got to the court, Friday morning, to discover that the cases have been transferred to a different court.

    The lawyers and journalists who were stocked at court four could only realise that the matters have been moved when the notable Senior Advocates of Nigeria in the matter who had arrived the court premises could not be found in court four.

    On approaching the court clerk after over an hour of resumption of court sitting, it was discovered that the matter was transferred Thursday to the new court.

    This transfer came following a petition by a defendant in matter, Hon. Martins Amaewhule, to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Hon. Justice John Tsoho, demanding that the cases against him be transferred to another court.

    The cases are one instituted by BOOT Party and others as plaintiffs in suit number FHC/PHC/269/2024 and another by Civil Society Organsiation in the state against Amaewhule and other, all on the defection of the defendants to the APC.

    When the court had resumed on Monday for hearing, the court was confronted with a petition signed by Martin Amaewhule addressed to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Hon. Justice John Tsoho, seeking the case to be reassigned to another court.

    The Presiding Judge, Justice Steven Dalyop Pam, who read the petition in the open court, had noted that the petitioner, Amaewhule, was praying the CJ of the High Court, to stop the hearing process following the petition.

    When the petition was read, Counsel for the plaintiff, BOOT Party, Mr. Reuben Wanogho, had informed the court that the petition was aimed at arresting the ongoing case and urged the court to discountenance it.

    But, Counsel for the 1st to 25th Defendants in the suit, Ferdinand Orbi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, denied knowledge of the petition by his client, prayed the court to adhere to the petition and stop further proceeding if the letter was addressed to the CJ of the court.

    However, the presiding judge, Pam, noted that in the first instance the petitioner (Amaewhule) has no motion, counter affidavit before him and that he is not yet known in the case.

    Pam in his ruling had noted that the petitioner has not copied his petition on the plaintiffs, noting the court would have no other option than discountenance the petition and move on with hearing of motions for joinder.

  • Shettima presides over NEC meeting 

    Shettima presides over NEC meeting 

    Vice President Kashim Shettima is currently presiding over the 142nd National Economic Council, NEC, meeting at the Council Chamber, Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    The council meeting is being attended by some members of President Bola Tinubu’s economic team in attendance.

    NEC is a statutory body mandated to advise the President on the nation’s economic affairs and it is comprised of the Vice President, Governors of the 36 states of the federation, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Minister of Finance, and other stakeholders.

    The meeting is coming at a time when the populace, especially the workforce, awaits government’s decision on a new national minimum wage discuss.

    The NEC meeting is expected to create an official interface for both the federal government and the sub-nationals, especially as the last Federal Executive Council, FEC meeting which held on Tuesday, decided to step down discussions on the minimum wage down until President Tinubu consults with other parties in the new pay discuss.

    Among those present at the ongoing NEC meeting are governors, Usman Ododo (Kogi), Uba Sani (Kaduna), Lawal Dauda (Zamfara), Charles Soludo (Anambra), Seyi Makinde, (Oyo), Lucky Ayedatiwa, (Ondo).

    Others are Abdullahi Sule, (Nasarawa), AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq (Kwara), Caleb Mutfwang, (Plateau), Hope Uzodimma (Imo), Biodun Oyebanji, (Ekiti), Muhammed Inuwa Yahaya, (Gombe), Peter Mbah, (Enugu), Francis Nwifuru (Ebonyi), Dapo Abiodun, (Ogun), Umar Radda, (Katsina), Abba Yusuf (Kano), Umar Namadi, (Jigawa) and Umar Bago, (Niger).

    States being represented by their deputy governors include Lagos, Rivers, Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe

  • Each State Should Be Allowed To Negotiate Their Minimum Wage – Southern Governors (Full Text)

    Each State Should Be Allowed To Negotiate Their Minimum Wage – Southern Governors (Full Text)

    Governors of the states in the southern region of the country have demanded that each state should be allowed to negotiate its minimum wage with organized labour and other stakeholders.

    This position was made known in a 16-point communique issued by Governors at the end of their meeting held on Monday in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, under the auspices of the Southern Governors’ Forum (SGF).

    According to them, the new minimum wage should be reflective of the cost of living and the ability to pay for each state, adding that such a move would be a true reflection of federalism.

    The communique also called for the establishment of state police and stressed the resolve of the governors to adopt Compressed Natural Gas (CNG).

    The Governors commended President Bola Tinubu for the coastal road project and called for the repair of Trunk A roads and the transfer of roads to state governors who have indicated interest in repairing them.

    The members of the forum further commended the President on the food palliative support to States, and the Governors were also commended for complementing the President in their various States through numerous initiatives ranging from food palliatives to transport allowances.

    The Forum concluded that quarterly meetings will be held and rotated among member states

    Below is the full text of the communique issued after the meeting of the Governors.

    “At the conclusion of the Southern Governors Forum meeting held on Monday, June 24, 2024, and having paid respects to our immediate past Chairman, HE, the late Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu; with condolences extended to his family, and appreciating the past Chairman for the solid foundation he laid by putting the forum in good stead; we the Governors resolved as follows:

    1. Thanked and appreciated all member Governors for their support and commitment to the “Asaba declaration” of 2021, which was a resolve to ensure that Southern Nigeria produced the 2023 Presidential Candidate; we also thanked the Northern Governors’ Forum for their unwavering support for the resolution.

    2. The Forum commended the laudable economic recovery reforms and policies of HE President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR and the implementation of the Renewed Hope Agenda; and unanimously committed to supporting him in his unwavering resolve to reposition the country and build a greater future for us all.

    3. The Southern Governors applauded the President for conceptualizing and commencing the construction of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road, which cuts across eight (8) states. We noted that this will create employment in the construction industry, boost productivity by drastically reducing travel time, promote tourism, and open up and integrate all the Southern States to increased trade and investment opportunities whilst enhancing the ease of doing business.

    4. The Southern Governors advocated that the Federal Government should rehabilitate, repair and reconstruct Trunk A roads and transfer roads to States that have expressed interest in taking them over.

    5. The Forum will commission a regional multimodal transport master plan that will prioritise connectivity of rail, road, air and water transportation, to facilitate interstate, intra-regional movement of persons, goods and services and thereby enhancing the ease of doing business .

    6. Being the economic and industrial region of the country, the Forum highlighted the need to address the inadequate power supply in the region. Member states were encouraged to take advantage of the recent constitutional amendment that now allows States to regulate, generate, transmit and distribute electricity whilst also considering optional sources like renewables.

    7. The Forum resolved further to aggressively embark on energy transition plan from fossil fuels (petrol and diesel) to cleaner energy and specifically CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) and ultimately EV’s (Electric Vehicles) to help reduce the cost of transportation, which will lowe

  • FEC Steps Down Minimum Wage Memo For Consultation

    FEC Steps Down Minimum Wage Memo For Consultation

    The federal Executive Council (FEC) has stepped down the memo on the new minimum wage.

    Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, told State House Correspondents that 39 items were on the agenda and all were taken.

    On the Minimum wage, he said there was a report by the Tripartite committee which comprises of local government, States , NLC/ TUC and the federal government.

    He said the Tripartite Committee submitted its report and there was a memo to that effect.

    He, however, said Council could not take a decision on it because it involves Local Government, states, FG, Organized Private Sector and Labour unions.

    He therefore said the memo on the new minimum wage was stepped down so that President Bola Tinubu could consult widely before a final submission is made to the National Assembly.