Minister of State in the Federal Capital Territory FCT, Dr Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu has dismissed speculations that the ruling All Progressives Congress APC will not survive in a post-Muhammadu Buhari Nigeria, saying with the achievements so far recorded by the President Buhari administration, the party has a long time to stay in power.
Aliyu stated this at a reception in her honour following her coronation as the Onyize (Mother of Wealth), of Ebira land by the Ohinoyi of Ebira land, His Royal Majesty, Dr Ado Ibrahim CON.
She said the infrastructural development going on in the country is a clear testimony that the APC led government is more passionate about the wellbeing of Nigerians.
Aliyu expressed optimism that Nigerians will score the ruling party high before the end of Buhari’s administration in 2023.
The minister whose coronation as Onyize of Ebira land at Okene attracted dignitaries from within and outside the country thanked President Buhari for allowing her to serve as a member of his cabinet.
The Minister appreciated the traditional ruler for finding her worthy of the title.
She said: “With a heart full of gratitude, I wish to thank you for taking your time out to honor my invitation to my Coronation as the Onyize of Ebira Land.
“Sincere appreciation goes out to you for showing solidarity in making this event memorable through your presence at the events, as well as your support in the organization. I most sincerely appreciate it”, she stated.
“It takes leadership to improve safety.” – Jackie Stewart
The senseless killings, incessant kidnappings, destruction of lives and property is gradually becoming our new normal. Or, it is not? How did we get here? Nearly on a daily basis we hear of one dastardly act or another. Every part of the Country is bleeding. Pain, tears, sadness and injustice is now the reality of Nigerians. No part of the
Country seem safe, no one is, truly. Shall we continue like this? Painfully, the Country is plagued by multiple conflicts, from a jihadist insurgency in the North East to killings by terrorists carrying out mass kidnappings in the North West and “unknown gun men” targeting security forces and INEC offices in the southeast. All regions of the Country is dealing with multidimensional insecurity.
Terrorism, violence, deadly political scheming, citizen alienation, kidnapping, terrorism, sectional brutality, violence and destruction aptly define the Nigerian crime scene. Under the Buhari’s leadership, according to the Global Peace Index, Nigeria has been included among the countries with the least peace in the World. Nigeria is the 17th less peaceful Country in the World. Nigeria is the second country in Africa with the highest risk of genocide and the sixth worldwide. Additionally, in the World, our Country, Nigeria, is the third Country most affected by terrorism. This is based on the Global Terrorism Index.
President Muhammadu Buhari appears to have lost control, completely detached from reality and totally divorced with the current predicaments the people. An important ingredient of leadership is empathy. I’m sorry, our President is obviously lacking in this. In a saner clime where this type of killings and insecurity is this prevalent, the President would be seen addressing her citizens, rejig security architectures, visiting victims and will keep assuring the people that justice will be served and lives will be protected. For us, our president junkets the world and behave as if he is keeping malice with us. Is it that we don’t matter to this president? Are our lives worthless to this leadership? Do they care about our ordeal?
Buhari is a very poor leader! The same man who promised to lead the fight against insecurity is now shamelessly hiding in the confines of Aso Rock. Obviously, he bamboozled. Insecurity has deteriorated all over the Country and president Buhari has been barely visible. This deliberate detachment from our reality has further driven the impression of a leader lacking in compassion, tact and common sense.
Consequently, if the dangerous trend currently ravaging Nigeria and her people is not arrested and nipped in the bud, sadly, we may be heading towards anarchy, chaos and a traduced society. Wait, are we there already? Unfortunately, the escalating insecurity, unabated killings, communal violence, forceful land grabbing, consistent kidnapping in Nigeria has birthed and is strengthening separatist movements across the country.
Annoyingly, this regime keeps having “security meetings”. We are genuinely tired of these series of meetings that yields no positive result. Those close door meetings with service chiefs are not reflecting on the glaring security lapses of our security architecture. Constitutionally, the primary duty of Government is to protect lives and property of her citizens. Dear President Muhammadu Buhari, rise up to your constitutionally enshrined mandate or resign!
______________________________
Oyewole Michael, a public analyst and political commentator can be reached through [email protected]. He tweets via @Rolex7Michael
Disclaimer
It is the policy of NewsWireNGR not to endorse or oppose any opinion expressed by a User or Content provided by a User, Contributor, or other independent party. Opinion pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of NewsWireNGR.
Nigerian Police authorities in Benue State say 14 bandits were killed following an attempted attack on a police station on Sunday morning.
A spokesperson for Benue police, Catherine Anene, said in a statement that the gunmen numbering about 50 launched an attack in early hours of Sunday on a police station at Katsina-Ala town of the state, in a bid to free some suspected bandits who were arrested by police on Saturday and detained in the station.
Anene said, “Operatives at the police division, who were already on alert, engaged the attackers in a fierce gun battle,” adding that 14 of the gunmen were killed at the end of the gun duel while others escaped with bullet wounds.
According to her, operatives of the force are on the trail of the fleeing bandits and urged local residents to assist the police with useful information that would lead to arrests.
In recent times, bandits have been terrorizing parts of Nigeria, especially the Northeast and Northcentral region, with Benue being one of the worst-hit states.
The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has delisted 25 Computer-Based Exam Centres (CBT) across the country for poor performance at the 2021 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) held nationwide on Saturday, June 19.
This was disclosed in a statement issued by the spokesperson for JAMB, Dr Fabian Benjamin in Abuja on Sunday.
He said the delisted centres were short of JAMB standards during the conduct of the 2021 UTME held for one million applicants.
“Candidates posted to any of these centres are required to await further directives by checking their profile, email addresses and SMS on their registered phone for a new date,” Benjamin said.
The delisted centres were in 11 states and the FCT, with Lagos having the highest at 6, followed by Kaduna 4, Edo 3, Ondo 2, Plateau 2, FCT 2, and Oyo, Osun, Delta, Benue, Imo, Nasarawa, having one each.
He gave the names of the delisted centres and their states as Harry Pass Polytechnic Cbt Centre, Gboko, Benue State; IZISCO OBOS Institute Of Maritime Studies And Technology, Warri, Delta State; Oseni Elamah ICT Institute, Auchi, Edo State; Givitec Cbt Centre, Benin- City, Edo State and Kings Polytechnic, Ubiaja, Edo State.
Others are GEF Systems Ltd; Public Service Institute Of Nigeria, (PSIN) Dutse Junction, Abuja; Oru East CBT, Centre (Foe ICT) Omuma, Imo State; Bethel Baptist High School, Kujama, Kaduna State; Zabib College Unguwar Dosa and Kaduna and St. Albert Institute, Fadan-Kagoma, Kafanchan, Kaduna State.
Massino Computer CBT centre, Itoga Badagry, Lagos State; IP Soft Technologies Ltd Apapa, Lagos State; Institute Of Criminal Justice And Criminology Administration, Festac Town, Lagos State; Sweet Valley Educational Services, Mike Anison Close, Ikotun, Lagos State; Certified Institution Of Shipping, Badagry, Lagos and Al-Miyzan Schools CBT Centre, Al-Miyzan Close, Ikotun, Lagos State are also on the list.
Also, Aunty Alice Schools, Mararaba, Nasarawa State; Federal Polytechnic, Ile-Oluji, Ondo State; King Emmanuel College ICT Centre, Ore, Ondo State; Oduduwa University, Ipetumodu, Osun State; Federal College Of Education (Special), E-Library, Centre 1, Oyo State; Plateau State University Bokkos, Plateau State; St Augustine’s Academy, Langtang, Plateau State; Skolak Resources Ltd, Kaduna State and Government Secondary School Tundun Wada, Area 10, Garki, Abuja complete the list.
The chairman chief executive officer of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Gen Buba Marwa (rtd) has said at least about 10.6 millions Nigerians are addicted to cannabis consumption saying the trend of drug abuse in the country was highly worrisome. Marwa disclosed this at the weekend during the celebration of ogidi day in ijumu local government area of Kogi State where he was honoured with the chieftaincy title of Aare Jagunmolu of Ogidi kingdom.
The NDLEA boss who pleaded with parents and guardians to take proper care of their children said the use of illicit drugs has destroyed many families and ruined lives of youths and said all hands must be on deck to arrest the ugly trend.
He said, “today, no fewer than 14.3 million Nigerians, young people and adults from the age of 16 to 64 years abuse drugs, with cannabis being the commonly abused substance. At least 10.6 million people are addicted to cannabis in the past year.
He continued, “What is most heartbreaking is that majority of them are young people who are initiated into cannabis use around the age of 19. – There is also increasing use of other psychotropic drugs, especially heroin, again, by a growing number of young people who are mostly initiated at the age of 22 years.
“The more you unravel the statistics of drug uses in Nigeria, the more damning it becomes. And when you combine these damning data with the recent results of the activities of the NDLEA, then you begin to get worried.
In the past four months, he said, more than 2,180 drug traffickers have been intercepted and the agency seized over two million kilograms of assorted illicit substances such as cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, tramadol and cannabis.
“Broadly speaking, the agency has been able to seize drugs and cash worth over N90 billion within the first four months of this year.
“We have filed over 2,000 drug cases in court. Over 500 have been sentenced and are now serving different jail terms. And we still have over 1,500 of the cases pending in court. With this reality, it will be ironic to expect peace , security and meaningful development in Nigeria’ he added.
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, has filed a lawsuit asking the Federal High Court in Abuja “to stop the Federal Government and the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed from using their patently unlawful directive to all television and radio stations not to use Twitter and delete their accounts.
SERAP, described the directive as a pretext to harass, intimidate, suspend or impose criminal punishment on journalists and broadcast stations simply for using social media platforms.
The suit followed the order by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) asking TV and radio stations to “suspend the patronage of Twitter immediately”, and telling them to delete ‘unpatriotic’ Twitter after the social media giant was banned in the country for deleting President Muhammadu Buhari’s tweet.
In the suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/496/2021 filed last Friday, by SERAP’s lawyers, Kolawole Oluwadare, Kehinde Oyewumi, and Opeyemi Owolabi, the organization maintained that; “an order of perpetual injunction restraining the government of President Buhari, the NBC, and Mr Lai Muhammed and any other persons from censoring, regulating, licensing and controlling the social media operations and contents by broadcast stations, and activities of social media service providers in Nigeria.”
In the suit, SERAP also sought; “an order setting aside the directive by NBC and Mr Lai Muhammed asking broadcast stations to stop using Twitter, as it is unconstitutional, unlawful, inconsistent and incompatible with the Nigerian Constitution of 1999 [as amended], and the country’s obligations under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.”
SERAP stated that: “The government of President Buhari, the NBC, and Mr Lai Muhammed have consistently made policies and given directives to crack down on media freedom, and the rights of Nigerians to freedom of expression and access to information, and to impose crippling fines and other sanctions on broadcast stations without any legal basis whatsoever.”
According to SERAP, the suit read in part: “The court has an important role to play in the protection and preservation of the rule of law to ensure that persons and institutions operate within the defined ambit of constitutional and statutory limitations.”
“The directive by the NBC and Mr Lai Muhammed to broadcasters to delete their Twitter accounts is unlawful, as it amounts to a fundamental breach of the principle of legality, the rights to freedom of expression, access to information, and media freedom, and incompatible with the country’s international human rights obligations.
“SERAP and concerned Nigerians are entitled to the rights to freedom of expression, access to information, and media freedom subject only to lawful restrictions. SERAP and concerned Nigerians frequently rely on the Twitter handles of many broadcast stations as sources of information for our activities in the promotion of transparency and accountability in the country.
“Nigeria is a state party to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which impose legal obligations on the government of President Buhari to ensure that the rights of Nigerians to freedom of expression, access to information and media freedom are respected, promoted, protected, fulfilled, and not unlawfully restricted.”
“The NBC and Mr Lai Muhammed have not shown any law breached by journalists, broadcast stations and media houses in Nigeria, and the government of President Buhari cannot use any disagreement with Twitter as a ploy to violate Nigerians’ rights, and undermine their individual businesses and professional duties,” among others.
Meantime, no date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit.
The Oyo State Police Command, has revealed that a freelance journalist, Titus Badejo, popularly called Ejanla, was shot dead on Saturday evening.
According to a statement by the Police Public Relations Officer of the state command, Adewale Osifeso, Titus was shot dead in front of a club in Oluyole Ibadan on Saturday.
The gunmen who were four according to reports arrived at the place on bikes and shot him at a close range.
Badejo’s killing came exactly a week after he celebrated his birthday in the same hotel.
The statement by the police spokesperson read, “At about 0730hrs, Sunday 20th June 2021, One Damilola Afolabi ‘m’, Manager at Club 407, Oluyole Ibadan reported at Oluyole Divisional Police Headquarters that on Saturday 19th June, 2021 one Titus Badejo, Journalist and Freelance Disc Jockey with the club was shot outside the club premises by unknown assailants.
“However, comprehensive investigations are in top gear to unravel circumstances surrounding the incident and to apprehend the assailants.
“Verifiable updates would be provided soonest.”
This is not the first time a Journalist is being attacked or killed in Nigeria – in April 2021, the Committee advocating for the protection of Journalists had called on Nigerian authorities to thoroughly investigate the attack on journalist Frederick Olatunde Odimayo and hold those responsible to account.
On April 16, in Lokoja, the capital of the northwestern state of Kogi, five men attacked Odimayo, a freelance reporter and editor with the privately owned broadcaster Grace FM, beating him until he lost consciousness, according to news reports and the journalist, who spoke to CPJ in a phone interview.
Odimayo said he was at a car repair shop at about noon when the group of men approached him and accused him of destroying their drug trafficking business with his reporting. They proceeded to beat him for about 15 minutes, until one of the journalist’s colleagues intervened and stopped the attack, according to that colleague, who spoke to CPJ on the condition of anonymity, citing fear of reprisal.
Odimayo said he regained consciousness later that day at a hospital in Lokoja, where he remained in recovery for 24 hours; he told CPJ yesterday that he still experiences headaches from the attack and has sought further treatment in his hometown in Ondo state.
Usman Baba, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, has won the bye-election for Sabon Gari constituency in the Kaduna state house of assembly.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, Mohammed-Nuruddin Musa, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) returning officer, declared Baba as the winner of the poll in Zaria on Saturday.
Musa said the PDP candidate won the poll after securing 9,113 votes.
The returning officer said Musa Musa of the All Progressives Congress (APC) came in second after he polled 7,404 votes.
Anas Abdullahi of the ADC had 62 votes, Chindo Ibrahim of ADP, 61 votes, while Musa Halilu of PRP secured 305 votes, he said.
The news agency said the seat was declared vacant by the speaker in April after Aminu Shagali, lawmaker representing the constituency, failed to participate in legislative activities for over 360 days.
Pamilerin Adegoke – Fame, money, influence and cult-following. These are the dreams of an average millennial, and 27-year-old Pamilerin Adegoke has it all.
Thanks to the adoption of social media and digital technology by young Nigerians, Pamilerin has made a fortune by daringly stripping himself of privacy and sharing his life with millions of faceless internet users.
He is today, one of Nigeria’s leading social media influencers with close to a million followers across social media platforms – But to only describe PamPam (as his fans fondly called him) as a social media influencer is to deny him his evolution credit.
He has grown into a digital communication strategist that now owns a digital marketing agency – Kamili Capital. His company currently has about 15 brands under its clientele.
Pamilerin has always been an open book when it comes to his life. But he still managed to share some new tidbits on his fascinating journey during this interview with NewsWireNGR’s Oladele Owodina.
This is an audio interview that has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
What was growing up like for you?
It was normal, basic. I was just a normal kid. Go to school, come back home, go to my parent’s office. I barely had friends growing up, except for a few close ones, about 3.
So after secondary school, we went to the university. But unlike everyone that wanted to be doctors, lawyers, engineers, left me I just wanted to get a degree. I knew I had the power to function anywhere, so my parents chose my career for me, so yeah I graduated with a degree (in Maritime).
After the whole school thing, I discovered that wasn’t actually what I wanted; I wanted something else because I’ve grown and knew more about life.
So I worked with a media agency for 3 years. I started as an intern that was where I learnt everything Digital Marketing, PR, and everything I do. So yeah, I learnt it from where I worked.
So after 3 years, my boss saw the bigger picture and asked me to go try something else. And here we are.
What was your biggest moment when you were in Kid?
While I was a kid? Every moment I shared with my parents or my family. I can’t point to one particular thing. I was a boring kid growing up, to be honest.
I think that might have affected why you are willing to have fun as an adult?
I don’t think so. I feel I’m just living life, just living life the way it comes. Enjoy life while you have the capacity to do it. And don’t procrastinate, if you want to do something right now and you have the capacity to do it, so I learnt that from my parents and that is what I’m just doing.
So how did you get into this influencing space?
My boss actually pushed me to do this. He said to me you have the audience now, why not try it? That was it and it worked out.
How did you build that audience that your boss said you had?
So my work with a media agency taught me how to manage clients’ accounts. I basically managed clients’ accounts throughout the day. So it was just normal, the content even before I became an influencer. So it was easy, I knew how much we paid Influencers and the rest of it. So it was actually very easy diving into it at that point. I think I even have more followers than some influencers that we paid money. So it was just a normal thing.
The only difference was that I took it more seriously when I left and I started.
I’m glad you had the agency experience, so what is the influencing space in Nigeria compared to other developed countries?
It’s a new space that has a lot of potential. I tell people that we’ve not even started working yet because it’s a growing stage and there are still lots and lots of influencing.
The average influencer makes like how much monthly?
It depends on how big you are and how, the kind of audience you have, the kind of price you work with. But let’s say half a million
There are a lot of Influencers out there today but somehow you’ve managed to make the cut through and make a real name for yourself. What sets you apart?
So for me I would say I have a one-on-one relationship with my audience. Another thing is, the kind of content I push out there is all “personalized content”.
So if I’m working on any brand, I shape whatever content I’m pushing out and personalise it. So that’s another thing that makes me different.
You have had a couple of setbacks and you turn these situations to your gain… Jack suspensions, Ologi, Peruzzi slap incident
I don’t know about the Jack suspension; I think it’s because I have them ready and people trust my brand.
So it’s way more than the followers, it’s about the person. So yes, that’s it for the Jack one.
For the ologi moment, I remember someone trying. So I remember a time when I was given apart to girls in Abuja. So someone wanted to throw a shade at me and said your favourite influencer had it so bad whereby his mum sells ogi.
A normal person would have responded shabbily and people would have attacked the person. But I said this person isn’t lying, come to think of it, 75% of Nigerians drank ogi growing up. So while it happened, I owned up to it and that was it.
Perruzzi period, everyone knows the story already so we just let that slide
You made your first million at 19 years old. What was the project and how did you get that deal?
It was a company that makes gadgets. I got the deal from a colleague’s husband. They worked with me and I did it so well they gave me another one, I did so well, another one and that was how.
It was not like you guys started with a million direct?
No, at all
Here’s an interesting one. Some people say you influencers that you guys are not influencers, you’re mere amplifiers of messages. So do you guys really influence people’s decisions?
See I don’t even bother with these questions. Let everyone call it the way they want it. You want to call them amplifiers? Fine. You want to call them influencers? Perfect. As long as they are making their money and they are passing their message. It is now left to you to say they are just amplifiers or they are just influencers. I don’t argue. If you like, call us amplifiers or influencers. As long as we are working and we are making money, perfect.
How do you measure results for your clients?
We have KPIs (key performance index) that we set for engagements and all. There are tools you can use in measuring those things.
Is there any campaign that you really influenced people to make a decision?
Piggyvest. There was a point in time when I saved ten thousand naira daily and people were forced to download the app because they were in doubt. Piggyvest at that point, I think their app crashed twice during that period. If you search for Pamilerin Piggyvest, you’ll see a lot of messages on that.
My saving challenge made people save more. I’ve heard people say because of my challenge, they took their savings seriously.
I’ve had someone saying because of what I said, how much I saved, the thought was on his mind but when he tried it, it’s actually believable. And how he was able to get a car in less than a month with the money he’s been saving in his piggy vest. Thanks to what I said.
So it’s a lot but yea.
How many promotional campaigns do you currently have?
A lot. I’ll have to ask my team cos I have a team that manages my campaign.
A guess
Probably over 15 running at the same time
As a lifestyle influencer, do you sometimes feel vulnerable that strangers know a lot about you?
I don’t feel anyhow. I just feel like it gives me more connection. Who they see online is the same person they see offline.
My car is customized. People stop me on the road to greet me. I’m fine with that. Even though my car when they see it, they stop me on the road to greet me
Nothing changed. I don’t feel unsafe. I don’t feel like people know too much, which is why I post content that I want you to know. If I don’t want you to know, you don’t know. I have more cars than I post. There are cars that I have that I’ve never posted before and I can decide to drive them anywhere I want. Nobody will know I’m the one inside. So I barely show people what I don’t want them to see.
Influencing looks fun and exciting from the outside. But what are the pains you go through to maintain your leading status?
Getting approval from clients, late night meetings are not exciting. Delay in getting approval from clients, going back and forth with clients, nah they are not exciting.
I’m creating content, getting approvals from brands before I post. I do P.R for brands, Crisis management, job content strategy, so it’s way more than influencing for me here. So…getting content approvals from clients, going for meetings, late night meetings, It’s really crazy
I am also a very shy person, I’m trying to come out of my shell. People still don’t understand that I’m someone that loves my space very much but people still invade and I don’t see it as an offence.
People these days chide influencers for promoting politicians in 2015. Will you be accepting promotional contents from politicians as we head into 2023?
Ask them who they voted for? Let’s stop these. Because someone’s voice was louder than yours doesn’t make you righteous. I believe if I feel like, If I like you, my spirit goes with you, everyone is entitled to whoever they want to vote for, I will collect it and I will work on it.
It’s now left to whoever wants to have malaria and headache to have malaria and headache.
What if the money is right?
I’ve rejected campaigns many times. Even some weeks ago, I still rejected campaigns because I didn’t want to work with this person. So it’s not about the money for me. It’s about whether I like this person. Do I want to do this? If my spirit doesn’t go with you, I wouldn’t do it.
When you look back over the years, are there things you wish you had done better?
None
You’ve been perfect, You’ve never made any mistake before?
I love my lifestyle. I live my life the way it comes and I love it. To my best understanding, I don’t think I have. Or I don’t call them mistakes
You call them lessons?
Maybe that.
So what lessons have you learnt over the years?
Hmmm. Never rely on people, which I don’t. Life is a circle. This world is small. It’s a small world and that thing about what goes around, comes around, it’s true. And Karma is still a bitch.
Karma is real …
Yes. It might just take a donkey of years but yeah karma is still real.
Digital communication in 2021 is a lot different from 2016, 2017, so what has changed so far?
And it’ll be different next year and 20 years to come. We learn everyday
New things are changing and never be , don’t be too bigger than the platform, you can’t be bigger than the platform. The world is revolving. Everything is changing really everyday. You don’t , you maybe the least person expected to teach you tomorrow. So never look down on anybody.
People are beginning to know that there is more to being a doctor , being a lawyer, being an accountant, being an engineer, there’s money in this space. This is a space where you can flourish, no boss would tell you why you didn’t arrive by 6 o’clock and the rest of it, so people are beginning to embrace whatever we have now. And people are moving the world , the way the world is moving, people are moving with it.
We hear you own a business now, we would love to hear that journey
Basically a friend of mine walked up to me, one of my friends. And said he has an idea, he doesn’t have any other person to work with than me. I said okay. And that was how it started
I love new challenges, I’m sorry that I’ve never failed and that has kept me going. I love new challenges and when I see them, I embrace them. And that is how it’s been
How about the brand and digital agency own
I own my company. So I own the digital company – Kamili Capital
You just woke up one day and you feel, look at these millions in my account, let me go and open a company?
Yes, open company to make more money. I work with companies too so I feel it’s just the right thing for my company to work with them
For a company to work with them and not a personal person. So that’s the only thing that makes it different.
How has the recent suspension of Twitter operations in Nigeria affected the digital communication space in the country?
This is just a phase that will pass, it won’t last. It’s just going to be here for a few days, a few months, and we are over it. People are losing money daily. They will survive as usual. We Nigerians tend to move on fast. Like I said, it won’t last.
Human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN) yesterday disclosed that the All Progressives Congress (APC) had perfected plans to rule the country indefinitely. NewsWireNGR recalls that the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had also boasted to rule Nigeria for 60 years until their defeat during the 2015 elections.
Falana, a former President of the West African Bar Association (WABA), also said the Electoral Amendment Bill might not be signed into law citing the failure of the National Assembly to complete the process of its enactment and transmit it to President Muhammadu Buhari for assent.
He expressed these grave concerns during an exclusive interview with THISDAY yesterday, pointing out how the Buhari administration reneged on different promises made to Nigerians during presidential campaigns in 2014.
Falana, who spoke on diverse issues of national concerns during the interview, said: “Unlike the PDP, which boasted that it would rule Nigeria for 60 years, the APC has perfected plans to rule Nigeria indefinitely.
“Hence, the new Electoral Amendment Bill is not likely to be signed into law. Very soon, Nigerians will be told that the bill cannot be signed by the president since the 2023 elections are around the corner,” he observed.
Reflecting on Buhari’s breach of campaign promises, Falana explained how the APC had campaigned to reform the electoral process by implementing the recommendations of the Justice Muhammed Uwais Electoral Reform Panel before the 2015 elections
Upon assumption of power, however, the human rights lawyer noted with grave concern that the ruling party reneged on its pact with the people on electoral reform.
Before the Ekiti State governorship election in 2014, he explained how some APC leaders obtained court orders, which restrained the Jonathan administration from deploying the armed forces in the management of elections.
He, however, said: “The APC government deploys armed military and police personnel in the manipulations of elections including local government elections. As if that is not enough, voters are induced with money, rice, beans and salt in utter contravention to the Electoral Act.”
On these grounds, the senior advocate claimed that the Buhari administration had failed to reform the country’s dysfunctional electoral system after six years in the saddle, hence contravening its campaign promise.
Before the 2015 elections, the APC entrenched restructuring in its manifesto and campaigned for power devolution from the centre to the other federating units, one of the reasons it garnered popular support nationwide.
Apart from its promise to devolve powers to the federating units, the APC also campaigned to reform the country’s electoral system in line with the recommendation of the Justice Muhammed Uwais Electoral Reform Panel.
On December 7, 2018, Buhari rejected the Electoral Amendment Bill that could have transformed the country’s electoral system positively on the ground that it could affect the 2019 elections contrary to these promises.
In the same way, the president had not taken any concrete step to implement the report of the APC Committee on True Federalism; the outcome had fuelled agitations either for return to regional government or outright separation from Nigeria in different parts of the country.
Despite Buhari’s lukewarm approach to comprehensive electoral reforms, Falana challenged the National Assembly to fast-track the process of amending the Electoral Amendment Bill ahead of the 2023 general election.
He recommended the need to legalise the use of card readers and electronic voting and collation of results and direct transmission to INEC central server. He urged the National Assembly to prioritise the review of the Electoral Amendment Bill since the president did not sign the bill into law in 2018 on the ground that it was too close to the last general election.
The human rights lawyers observed that the new bill “has not been passed and forwarded to the president for his assent for reasons best known to both chambers of the National Assembly.
“The delay is affecting the preparations of INEC for the 2023 general election. It is high time sufficient pressure was mounted on the federal legislators to pass the Electoral Amendment Bill as a further delay will adversely affect the conduct and management of future elections in the country.
“But it is doubtful if the country can hold a peaceful general election in 2023. In 2015, the Jonathan administration postponed the general election for six weeks because some local governments in Borno State were under the control of terrorists.
“Today, a number of state governments and hundreds of local governments are under either total or partial control of insurgents, bandits and other gunmen. It is hoped that the federal government will not invoke and apply Section 135 of the 1999 Constitution,” he observed
He noted that the section empowered the president “to postpone elections if he considers that it is not practicable to hold elections on the ground that the country is involved in a war in which its territory is physically involved.
“This is why all hands should be on deck to enact a new electoral law, which should provide for electronic voting. That is the only way to ensure that elections are conducted in many parts of the country at any given time.”
President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday called on West African leaders to exert pressure on the military leadership in Mali to ensure that the transition process in the country is not aborted.
He made the call in his statement delivered at the 59th Ordinary session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS in Accra, Ghana.
The Nigerian leader spoke on the situation in Mali which was recently suspended from the regional bloc due to a military coup.
“At this Summit today, we are expected to review a number of important reports dealing with various issues of concerns to our organisation and people. In doing so, we must take realistic and practical decisions which will positively impact our citizens,” he was quoted as saying in a statement by his spokesman, Garba Shehu.
President Buhari added, “Some of those decisions, necessarily will have to do with evolving political and security situations in our sub-region as well as evaluate the health of our organisation with the hope of repositioning to serve our people and sub-region better.
“While democracy continues to develop in our sub-region, recent events in Mali are sad reminders that vigilance remains a crucial imperative to protect people’s aspirations to freely choose the form of government they want.
“Pressures are needed to ensure that the transition process in Mali, which is halfway to its conclusion, is not aborted.
“A further slide in Mali could prove catastrophic to the Sub-region, considering that about half of that country is unfortunately under the grip of terrorists.”
The Nigerian leader, therefore, appealed to the military leadership in Mali to understand the critical state of their country, which he described as being ‘clearly under siege’.
Noting that the principal responsibility of the military must be to protect and guarantee the sovereignty of the West African country, the President cautioned them not to perpetuate acts that would facilitate the destabilisation and destruction of Mali.
“I urge our organization to remain engaged with all stakeholders in Mali through our astute Mediator, former President Goodluck Jonathan, who, I congratulate warmly, for his untiring efforts thus far.
“I encourage him to sustain these efforts to ensure that the transition is completed as scheduled,” he said.
On Libya, President Buhari faulted the recent United Nations Resolution to expel all foreign fighters in Libya, without first ensuring that they were disarmed.
He lamented that while the decision was aimed at bringing about sustenance of peace in Libya, non-collaboration with regional stakeholders has created newer threats to peace, security and stability in the region.
The President warned that this could lead to lack of coordinated management of huge humanitarian crisis across the Sahel, North, Central and West Africa, including the Lake Chad region.
He said, “It is imperative that ECOWAS leaders, at this Summit, decide how the UN-Sub-regional organisations partnerships should be reviewed to address the dangers that this UN Resolution poses to the region.”
The statement by the Nigerian leader at the Summit also addressed other pertinent issues of concern in the organisation, including the ongoing institutional reforms in ECOWAS.
Declaring Nigeria’s unequivocal support to the reforms process, he said he looked forward to an ECOWAS that would be ‘fit for purpose’, delivering services to the satisfaction of the community citizens.
He commended the President of the Commission and his team, the Ad-hoc Ministerial Committee on Institutional Reforms as well as the Council of Ministers for the excellent report presented to the Authority of Heads of State.
In his capacity as the ECOWAS champion on the fight against COVID-19, President Buhari also drew attention to the need for more citizens in the region to be vaccinated, stressing the need for adherence to other non-pharmaceutical interventions.
He said the West African region was in the grip of a third wave, warning against complacency in national and regional initiatives to address the pandemic.
President Buhari reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to the noble objectives of the organisation, saying, “I encourage us to take bolder steps towards ensuring that the organisation fulfils the aspirations of its founding fathers, which include a truly integrated sub-region, economically, politically, socio-culturally united and secured to permit its sustainable development and growth.”
The Edo State government has commenced the digital registration of all workers across the 18 local government areas of the state.
Governor Godwin Obaseki confirmed this on Saturday when he received members of Edo State Civil Service Commission led by the chairman, Mrs Ekiuwa Inneh, at the Government House in Benin City, the state capital.
“We have sent Information Communications Technology (ICT) experts to scan all your documents into a digital format.
“We have started the process of digitally registering every staff member in public and civil service in Edo,” he told his visitors.
The governor added, “With this, every civil servant will have a unique e-identity stored digitally for ease of identification. Beyond accountability to the people, we want to now account for productivity in their various workplaces.”
According to him, he won the governorship election held in September 2020 because of the hope that the government would deliver services to the people.
Governor Obaseki, therefore, stressed that the priority of his administration was to deliver good services to the people.
“I don’t see any politician going back to campaign to the people of Esan in Edo without evidence to show that you have made provision for water to the people; we have no place anymore, the civil service just has to deliver good services to the public,” he said.
In her remarks, Mrs Inneh promised the governor that the civil service commission would contribute its quota in transforming the state’s public and civil service.
“I want to assure you that we will key into your transformation agenda for the civil service; you have recognised the fact that the civil service has to be empowered,” she said.
