Kogi Floods: FG Mobilizes Contractors to Site, Alternative Route Ready Today

Motorists resort to using Canoes to Navigate the Route

The Federal Government has mobilized three construction firms to the site of the Lokoja-Abuja road which has been rendered impassable by floods for about a week.
Minister of Environment, Mrs. Hadiza Mailafia, addressing journalists at the Federal Executive Council meeting yesterday said the government was on top of the situation as the environmental disaster could negatively impact on the nation’s food supply.
She said the trio of construction firms namely Julius Berger, Dantata & Sawoe and RCC had been mobilized to the site in order to restore normalcy to the area.
Mailafia said, “The consequences (of the flood) is that there are huge losses of farmlands, there are likely threat to food security, we are likely going to have challenges that have to do with the health of the people in some areas.
“The flooding we are experiencing in the country do not in any way fall into what you can term man made.
“This is a natural phenomenon that cuts across the globe. With the technology in places like the United States, they still had the flooding there, in China and even our neighbour Niger with an arid land.
“For anyone to think that government has not done well or that there was something that we needed to do that we have not done is a little bit awesome because there is a limit to which you can fight nature.
“Where you have in a country where well over 5,000 farmlands washed away, then there is cause for attention. It is of national interest. So all what we are saying is that it is a national emergency. It calls for sober reflection,” she said.
The mnister added that an alternative route would be ready today.
BusinessNews

You have 24 hours: Nigeria gives an ultimatum to Saudi Arabia to release detained female hajj pilgrims

by Hauwa Gambo

inShare

The Nigerian government has issued a 24-hour ultimatum to Saudi authorities to resolve the issues surrounding detained Nigerian female pilgrims in that country.
The government said Wednesday it expected Saudi Arabia authorities to act fast and set the Nigerian women free to perform the hajj, according to a report by the News Agency of Nigeria.
Four hundred female pilgrims from Nigeria, who arrived in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia for this year’s hajj,  were on Sunday separated from their male counterparts and detained by Saudi authorities for failing to provide her Muharram  that is, the approved male companion accompanying her on her trip, usually a husband, father or brother.
There are reports that the number of detained women had risen to 1000 but that could not be independently verified by this newspaper.
The matter has sparked a fierce diplomatic row between the two countries, with the foreign ministers of the two countries unable to resolve the logjam.
Shortly before the ultimatum was issued, the Nigerian Senate asked President Goodluck Jonathan to intervene in the matter.
The Senate has urged President Goodluck Jonathan to intervene in the plight of 400 Nigerian female pilgrims in detention in Saudi Arabia.
The Senate stressed the need  for President Jonathan to talk directly to King Abdallah of Saudi Arabia to ensure that the  detained women were allowed to perform the Hajj.

YNaija

Ajegunle Champ: Social Media Gone Wrong: How Omojuwa Is Harnessing The Power Of Twitter To Extort Arik Air

Omojuwa

Those of us on Twitter have all read with amusement the rantings of a certain Japhet Omojuwa about Arik ‘stealing’ his iPad.
Truth is his postings would be funny if they weren’t a serious case of one individual using lies, half-truths and misinformation to not only sully the corporate reputation of another, but to engage in blatant extortion in broad daylight.
To put the narrative in its proper perspective, by his own admission, Japhet Omojuwa was negligent in leaving his iPad on an Arik Aircraft:

“…the pilot announced that we were almost landing and all the routine of sitting upright, putting out electronic equipment meant that I had to stop using the ipad. I put the ipad in the seat pocket right in front of me.
… When we got to Allen Avenue, I realised I had left my Ipad in the aircraft.”
-Japhet Omojuwa

Who is responsible for his loss?
Even in a perfect world, with the statement above, there is no way Arik Air could be considered liable for his iPad, or how else does a person admit personal negligence in one breath and then hold another responsible for the consequences in the next?
Common sense dictates that if he did leave his iPad in the aircraft:
1) Any of the passengers who disembarked after him could have taken it from where he allegedly put it before proceeding to play ‘finders keepers, losers weepers’ with it.
2) Assuming there were no passengers disembarking after him or no other passenger picked it up, then it stands to reason that an Arik staffer could have found it, Arik has however publicly stated that no one who works for the airline came across the device.
Even if Arik is lying (and why would they), the onus is on Omojuwa to prove that they are and not on them to prove they aren’t.


Was there ever an iPad?
The story gets more interesting, Japhet Omojuwa was asked by Arik to provide a description of the lost iPad, his response, merely that it was an “iPad.”
He could not and did not provide any descriptive information, not even something as simple as whether it was 3G or Wi-Fi, whether it was a 16 Gb or 64 Gb model or whether it was Carrier branded e.g AT&T or plain. All he could say is it was an iPad 2. To which I say, really?
Most importantly, he could not provide ANY of the vital pieces of information that every iPad in the world can uniquely be identified with, the unique Serial Number belonging to that device, and if he claims it was a cellular model, the device’s unique IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) Number or the Mobile Equipment Identifier (MEID) number.
I am no iPad genius, but I know that even if he has lost the original packaging,  simply  (and you do need iTunes to get any sort of initial functionality from an iPad) and clicking ‘Open Preferences’ , then clicking on the ‘Devices’ tab and moving the mouse over ‘backups’ will display the Serial Number, and again, if his is a cellular model, the IMEI/MEID, or maybe Arik also ‘stole’ his laptop, desktop and iTunes login information.
The fact that Omojuwa could not furnish any of the above pieces of information makes his whole claim of ever owning and iPad and then losing it very suspect.
Arik’s Reaction
But let’s get back to Arik. Within 45 days of his first public announcement about his ‘stolen’ iPad, Arik Air agreed to settle with Omojuwa.
As is standard with such settlements anywhere in the world, part of the agreement presented was that Omojuwa would agree not to comment any further on the issue, not seek any further damages and not disclose terms of the settlement.
The amount offered by Arik was obviously not enough and Omojuwa refused to accept it, instead choosing to harass Arik everyday via Twitter with numerous accusations that they had ‘stolen’ his iPad. He also filed a complaint with the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) demanding N50 Million from the airline to cover the cost of:
a) Getting him a new Ipad
b) The monetary value he’s lost for each day he’s been without it since the 16th of June, 2012
c) The cost of my time and sum of money spent pursuing his case against Arik
Now, I don’t know about you,  but to me when it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck and walks like a duck, it is usually a duck, only in this case the duck is a straight up case of a corporate shakedown AKA extortion engineered by Japhet Omojuwa.
For those who don’t know, here’s how shakedowns usually work:
Create / identify a problem (in this case claiming Arik stole his iPad (which it didn’t by his own admission)
Make a lot of noise about how serious the problem is (daily tweets about his ‘stolen’ iPad and Arik’s responsibility for its loss)
Announce that the only way to make the problem go away is to compensate those who brought the problem to light in some way- (N50 Million to Omojuwa in this case)
Receive payment
Once the above steps are followed, the problem magically goes away.
In conclusion
Unfortunately for Omojuwa and fortunately for Arik, while free speech remains just that, the laws in most western democracies, and even in Nigeria have put limitations on how that right to speak freely can be exercised. When the message is both damaging AND untrue, it’s liable – and becomes a legal liability for whomever is propagating it.
From Omojuwa’s personal admissions, it is obvious that his claim is BOTH untrue and his intentions are to damage the corporate reputation of Arik. Hence Arik has every right to sue him for libel, assuming the Nigerian Police does not step in first to charge him to court for blackmail and extortion, both of which are illegal in Nigeria last time I checked.
 DailyPost

EFCC: Former PHB Boss Atuche Used Stolen Funds To Pay N45m Church Tithes

Francis Atuche

Elizabeth Atuche

By SaharaReporters, New York

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)  has accused a former managing director of Bank PHB, Mr Francis Atuche, of using depositors’ funds to pay N45 million in church tithes.

Lead prosecution counsel, Kemi Pinheiro, today made the accusation at the Lagos High Court, sitting in Ikeja, while leading in evidence a key witness, Mr Solomon Abolaji Ogunsola, a former staff of PHB Mortgages Limited.  Atuche paid the money from an account of PHB Mortgage Limited.

Pinheiro presented documents in court, some of them e-mails sent as an order to release the sum of N35million to St. Monica Catholic church, Ibusa, Delta State, and another sum of N10million to another St. Augustine Catholic Church.  Ogunsola told the court that Atuche sent the money to the two churches in Delta State because he hails from the state.

Ogunsola also admitted knowing two companies: Claremount Nigeria Limited and Claremount Asset Management.   He said that Claremount Nigeria Limited had a call account with his bank and the account was owned by Atuche.  

He explained that the only document on the call account’s file was a reference letter which bears Atuche's name.  The document was admitted as exhibit.

In addition, various transactions carried out by Atuche in his statements of account with Claremount Nigeria Limited and Claremount Asset Management Limited were read. Atuche had denied having anything to do with the two companies.

Justice Lateefa Okunnu admitted the accounts as exhibits.

The EFCC counsel also led in evidence, one Mr Andy Uzomor, another staff of PHB Mortgage Limited, who presented a 39-page document before the court as exhibit. The presentation of the document was opposed by lead defence counsel, Anthony Idigbe, who claimed that some of the documents had to do with a N20million transaction between his law chambers and Atuche. Idigbe urged the court not to admit the particular section as it will deny Atuche a right to a counsel of his choice. According to him, if the document was admitted either himself or his client will have to go into the witness box, which might force his chamber out of the case.

But Pinheiro insisted that Idigbe’s objections lacked substance in law. According to him, some of the documents pertained to an account that Atuche had disowned. Besides, he referred to Section 38, sub-section 1 of the EFCC Establishment Act which grants the EFCC power to seek and receive information from anybody. After listening to all their submissions, Justice Okunnu admitted the documents as exhibits and adjourned the case till October 4th, 2012.

Tight security at Edo Election Tribunal

JETHRO IBILEKE/Benin
Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal began sitting this morning amidst tight security in Benin.
The tribunal heard the petition filed by Maj.Gen. Charles Airhiavbere, the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the July 14 governorship election in the state, challenging the victory of Governor Adams Oshiomhole of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).
The Tribunal also heard the challenge of the jurisdiction of the tribunal by the ACN governor.
Screening of journalists covering the hearing by stern-looking security men who took over the vicinity of the high court-venue of the Tribunal began as early as 7 am.
Many journalists were as a result prevented from gaining access into the court room.
This might not be unconnected with the alarm raised by the Chairman of Airhiavbere’s campaign Organisation, Okharedia Ihimhkpen, who in a press statement last Sunday alleged that some “political elements” were planning to ferment trouble at the tribunal by recruiting hoodlums to cause mayhem.
The court room was filled to capacity by politicians from both ACN and PDP with hundreds of their supporters, and scores of lawyers and other observers, who troupes into the court as early as 7 am.
Amongst notable politicians at the court was the State Deputy Governor, Dr. Pius Odubu.
Lead Counsel to Governor Oshiomhole, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), prayed the Tribunal to strike out and dismiss the petition for lack of competence and jurisdiction, arguing that only the Federal High Court has the jurisdiction to hear the case, citing several authorities to back his submission.
He submitted that the point of law is incontestable because the petition is fatally defective, said that as the petitioner relied solely on the electoral law instead of the Nigerian constitution.
Olanipekun further said that the court cannot adjudicate on an issue that is not an election matter, saying that the issue of forgery of result which is being pursued by the petitioner is not a civil case, but a criminal case which can only be pursued at the Federal High Court.
“The relief being asked for is as bad as asking the presiding judge to adjudicate on land matter in Benin,” he said.
Besides, he argued that since the competence and jurisdiction of the petitioner’s application is being challenged, the Tribunal cannot make any binding order.
In his argument, Counsel to the 2nd Respondent (ACN), A. O Aleghe (SAN) argued that the electoral act as stated in the petition did not prescribe any form of qualification. He therefore prayed the court to strike out the 4th and 5th respondents saying that they cannot be sued.
But counsel to the petitioner, Akpofure (SAN) said section 138 of the electoral act has dealt with the issue of non-qualification, just as he urged the Tribunal to dismiss 2nd respondent application with excruciating cost.
“None of the application has been able to convince the tribunal that the Supreme Court has overruled itself on the matter. The petitioner also has the right to sue all the parties,” Akpofure said.
Akpofure who said determining the petition at this stage will be premature, further pointed out that a Supreme Court judgment had ruled that such petition must wait because of time frame in election matters, even as he prayed the tribunal to compel the 3rd to 5th respondents to make available certified true compy of voters register in Esan North East, Esan South East and West respectively.
Having listened to the Counsel’s arguments, head of the Tribunal, Justice Suleman Ambrusa granted the petitioner’s application, but added that ruling on the issue of jurisdiction will be given priority.
“If the issue of jurisdiction stands, then the case is closed,” Ambrusa said, explaining that though the law says the judge cannot make an order if its jurisdiction is being challenged, but the law did not stop it from hearing an application.
PM News

Reforming our Dysfunctional Public Service

Nasir El-Rufai

[elombah.com] Public Service in Context - It is both a truism that no nation develops beyond the capacity of its public service, and there is broad consensus amongst Nigerians that our public service is broken and dysfunctional. The quality of public servants and the services they provide to our nation are both below expectations. From the glorious days at independence when the best and brightest graduates competed to join the

 administrative service up until 1970s, our public service is now seen as employer of the dull, the lazy and the venal.  We need to retrieve our old public service - effective, well paid and largely meritocratic, attracting bright people imbibed with a spirit of promoting public good.

The Nigerian civil service evolved from the colonial service with its historical British roots of an independent, non-political and meritocratic administrative machinery for governing the country. Each region then had its civil service  in addition to the federal service.

What is the public service? How did our public evolve from inception to excellence and now its current abysmal state of ineffectiveness? How can the public service be reformed, re-skilled and right-sized to provide the basic social services that will earn the trust of Nigerians and foreigners alike?

The Public Service - An Overview

The public service consists of the civil service - career staff whose appointment, promotion and discipline are under the exclusive control of the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC), national assembly service, the Judiciary, public officers in the military, police and paramilitary services, employees of parastatals, educational and health institutions. By September 2005, when the Public Service Reform Team (PSRT) was constituted, the number of federal public servants was slightly above one million. The estimated number working for the 36 states and the FCT was another 2 million, broken down as follows:

·         Federal Core Civil Servants, including some 2,000 directors                                        180,000

·         Uniformed Services - Military, Police and Paramilitary Services                                    457,000

·         Parastatals, Agencies, Educational and Health Institutions                                          470,000

·                         Total Federal Public Service                    1,107,000

·         Public Officers at the State Level - 36 States (Estimate)                                               856,000

·         Public Officers in the Federal Capital Territory Administration                                          19,000

·         Public Officers at the 774 Local Governments and 6 FCT Area Councils                          620,000

·                         Total Sub-National Public Service               1,495,000

·         TOTAL: Public Sector Employees in Nigeria           2,602,000

Adjusting for the increasing numbers of aides of the president, ministers, governors and legislators, it is not unreasonable to put the total number of those working directly for governments at about three million. So while our national population has increased by about 160% between 1960 and 1999, the size of our public service increased by 350% in the same period. Our public service is clearly over-bloated.

Other initial diagnostics and findings of the PSRT were sobering to say the least.  The civil service was rapidly ageing, mostly untrained and largely under-educated. Their average age then was 42 years, and over 60% were over 40 years. Less than 12% of the public servants held university degrees or equivalent. Over 70% of the service were of the junior grades 01-06, of sub-clerical and equivalent skills. About 20% of the public service employees were 'ghost workers' - non-existent people on the payroll which goes to staff of personnel and accounts departments. In the FCT, out of an initial headcount of 26,000, we found 3,000 ghosts in the first round of audit. By the time we introduced biometric ID and centralized, computerized payroll, we found nearly 2,500 who failed to show up for documentation!

While the public service pay is low relative to the cost of living, the overall burden of payroll as a percentage of the budget is huge. In most states other than Lagos, Kano, Kaduna and Rivers States, an average of 50% of the budget goes towards the payment of salaries - to about 1% of their population - an unfair and unsustainable state of affairs! Out of the N2,425 billion included in the 2011 Budget for recurrent expenditure, between 73% and 84% for each MDA constitutes personnel cost. We found in 2005 that the breakdown of federal public service emoluments by class of service as follows:

·         Core Civil Service                                           - 18%

·         Military, Police and Paramilitary                      - 35%

·         Parastatals, Education and Health                   - 47%

The PSRT inherited a federal public service whose central management organs - the FCSC and the office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation had become inept and ineffective, and morally flexible at best. We learnt that appointments, promotion examinations, promotions, postings and discipline were bought and sold by civil servants the same way shares are traded on the stock market. Surprisingly and with some relief, we did not see these malfunctions in the armed services. The HR system of the Army, Navy and the Air Force were intact, and to some extent even the Police and other paramilitary services had better human resource management systems.

In a State of Denial?

The bulk of the public servants continue to be in denial and have refused to take responsibility for the sorry state of affairs, blaming their political masters for the dysfunction in the public service. They blame the collapse of merit and excellence in the public service on the Murtala-Obasanjo retirements "with immediate effect" that occurred in the mid-1970s. Others attribute the current situation to the Civil Service Reform Decree No. 43 of 1988 of the Babangida administration. The deterioration of pay and fringe benefits relative to the cost of living as a result of the Structural Adjustment Program in the late 1980s has also been identified as contributory to the de-motivation, deskilling and dispiriting of the public service.

The truth may be a combination of all three and more, compounded by the inability of the public service to update its attitudes, working methods, skills and technology. The public service has been short-term in its vision, self-centered in policy formulation and corrupt in programme implementation.  Instead, it has focused on taking care of itself and interests to the detriment of the nation and system which sustains it. The public service failed to reform itself between 2001 and 2005 when two successive Heads of Civil Service were tasked to do so. It was therefore inevitable that driving the public service reforms of 2005-2007 had to be transferred to the economic team, with President Obasanjo leading the charge himself. An outsider was needed to administer the required medicine, but still needed the cooperation of the patient, which was not forthcoming.

Public Service Reforms in Perspective

It is therefore uncontestable that the public service became dysfunctional following years of neglect and failure to reform. The public service was both large and unwieldy, accountability was weak and professional standards low. The federal bureaucracy has also sprawled with considerable overlap of functions between agencies, and between tiers and arms of government. There was an urgent need for both civil service and parastatals reforms, and in spite of all efforts, little progress has been made in that regard.

The need to improve the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the public service have been recognized from pre-independence days by instituting several administrative reforms. The first of these was the Tudor Davis Commission of 1945-46. The Morgan Commission of 1963 not only revised salaries and wages of junior staff of the federal government but introduced for the first time a minimum wage for each region of the country. The more recent ones include the commissions headed by Simeon Adebo (1971), Jerome Udoji (1972), Dotun Philips (1986) and the Allison Ayida Panel (1995). The Dotun Philips reforms properly and correctly aligned the civil service structure with the constitution and presidential system of government , designating permanent secretaries as directors-general and deputy ministers. Unfortunately, the reforms devolved human resource functions with respect to junior cadres to ministries with disastrous consequences which needed dealing with.

The Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR) was established in September 2003 as an independent agency in the Presidency  to ensure the reform of all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of all arms and branches of the federal government, and submit quarterly reports to the President. The Public Service Reform Team (PSRT) had the BPSR as its secretariat and met weekly every Tuesday to deliver on its mandate.  Some of the achievements of that round of reforms include:

1.       Restructuring of Pilot Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs):  The PSRT produced two generic guidelines approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) in March 2006 for the reform and restructuring of MDAs and Parastatals. Initially 5 pilot MDAs volunteered for restructuring and this was expanded to 14. This entailed cleaning up the staff headcount and payroll, and redesigning the MDA structure to have between 4 and 8 departments and 2-4 divisions per department.  These were approved by the FEC on May 16th, 2007 and applicable to all MDAs immediately.

2.       Cleaning up of Civil Service and Parastatals Nominal Rolls: The Oronsaye committee of the PSRT developed eight criteria for the retirement of public servants to enable the clean-up of the headcount and reducing the negative impact of the devolution of HR functions to MDAs in 1988, and the failures of the FCSC and OHCSF to discharge their functions.  An appeals process was put in place to minimize victimization and errors.

For the civil service, about 45,000 names were prepared by MDAs and forwarded to BPSR for consideration and approval by PSRT, and then forwarded to the FCSC for removal.  An initial batch of 36,843 officers were put through pre-retirement training, disengaged and paid about N24 billion as their severance entitlements. Unfortunately, about 20,000 of these severed civil servants have found their ways back into the civil service, thereby defeating the clean-up exercise.

                   

For the 400 or so parastatals and paramilitary services, the estimated number of staff to be severed was 75,575 at a cost about N57 billion. Parastatals reform and right-sizing was to be undertaken jointly by BPSR and the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE). Sadly, this was never fully realized.

3.       Monetization of Fringe Benefits: All benefits-in-kind like free housing, furnishing, car and driver for various cadres of public servants and political office holders were abolished for ministers, permanent secretaries and equivalent cadres and below. All government-owned houses except 13 classes of official residences were sold to occupants or via public bids. All official vehicles were discounted by 50% and sold to officials. Other pool and utility vehicles were auctioned in public bids. Personal drivers, cooks and cleaners were laid off and made staff of the affected officials.

4.       Pay Reform and Medium-Term Pay Policy: The Ernest Shonekan Pay Review Report was referred to PSRT for consideration and implementation. Shonekan found that public service pay was on average 25% of private sector for the same or similar jobs. A pay increase of 15% was therefore recommended and effected in January 2007, with a plan to increase pay by 10% per annum but linked to productivity such that in 5 years, near pay parity with the private sector will be achieved.

5.       Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS): This is a computerized, biometric platform intended to provide a reliable and comprehensive database of employees in the public service to facilitate manpower planning, and eliminate headcount and payroll fraud. IPPIS approved by the FEC in February 2006 and implemented in phases. The first phase covering 6 MDAs and the central management organizations of the public service went live in April 2007, saving N416 million from the payroll of the 12 agencies in its first month! Sadly, the vested interests in the public service have frustrated its mainstreaming and application to cover all MDAs and other public service organizations since then.

6.       Review and Update of Public Service Rules and Financial Regulations: The BPSR undertook a holistic review of the Public Service Rules and Financial Regulations and produced a White Paper which was amended and approved by the FEC on 9th May 2007.

Another review committee led by Adamu Fika lamented the low morale and widespread malaise in the service and observed that the integrity deficits in the FCSC and the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation are responsible for inefficiencies and corruption that have become pervasive in the service.  

Next Steps in Reforming the Public Service

This administration has a unique opportunity to correct these by appointing not only a reformist head of civil service, but the nomination of the chair and members of FCSC within the next few weeks with the mandate to clean up the service, and build on the reforms of 2005 to 2009.

The next steps are clear. Learn from recent past, build on foundations laid by PSRT and correct any errors we made. The quality of the public service must be improved by attracting the best and brightest. This requires reducing the current pay disparity  between the public and private sectors of the economy. To rejuvenate the service, new blood must be injected at all levels from the academia, private sector and Nigerian Diaspora based on merit. These will be impossible unless the ageing and un-trainable public servants take early retirement.

Who can perform in today's work environment without the knowledge of IT, of using Google, Twitter and BlackBerry messaging tools? Any public servant that cannot use the computer and its various tools ought to give way to our army of young people that can. The number of MDAs duplicating functions, and their manning levels must be reviewed downwards to enable our nation afford the higher pay that our public servants deserve. We cannot maintain the same numbers we have and pay them any higher.

All these require careful thought, thorough collection and analysis of data, and political will. Our public service is once again at a cross-roads. It is up to the President to make the choices necessary to make it better, or much worse. 

Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai, OFR was Senior Policy Adviser to General Abdulsalami Abubakar (1998-99), Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (1999-2003), Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Member of the Economic Team, (2003-2007) and Chairman of the Public Service Reform Team (2005-2007). 

Babangida’s $12.4bn Oil Windfall Theft Suit: Final Judgment In November

Hope for a definite legal pronouncement and accountability for the missing $12.4 billion oil windfall was yesterday kept alive as the Federal High Court in Abuja finally adjourned the suit to 23 November 2012 for judgment.
This development followed the hearing of arguments and re-adoption of written addresses by lawyers to the parties yesterday before Hon Justice Gabriel Kolawole.
This information was disclosed on today by Sola Egbeyinka of Falana and Falana Chambers, solicitor to the Registered Trustees of Socio-Economic and Accountability Project (SERAP) and five other right groups that instituted the suit.
At the hearing yesterday, the Federal Government insisted that the enactment by the former Chief Justice of Nigeria Idris Legbo Kutigi of the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules 2009 “exceeded his Constitutional powers by liberalising the rules on locus standi, permitting public impact litigation, and allowing the inclusion of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights in the Rules.”
The government also said that it could not find the Okigbo report, and had no duty to render account on the spending of the accrued revenue. The Plaintiffs disagreed, arguing that “such duty exists on the basis of Article 9 of the African Charter, which has become part of our national laws. Also, the Freedom of Information Act has been enacted which also imposes a legal duty on public institutions and agencies to render account, and allow access to public documents.”
It was also argued for the government that “only the AGF as a defender of public interest has the right to seek information on the spending of the $12.4 billion oil windfall,” and that the Plaintiffs have no such right. The Plaintiffs countered by saying that it was “the failure of the AGF to carry out his duty in this respect,” that prompted their legal action against the government in the first place.
It would be recalled that the case initially set down for judgment on Thursday 24 July 2011 has suffered several adjournments. The case was previously adjourned to 16 March 2012 for re-adoption of written addresses but was not heard as the court did not sit.
When the matter first came up for judgment, the trial judge, Justice Gabriel Kolawole, said the judgment was not yet ready to be delivered. According to the judge then, “the judgment is not yet ready. I have to give priority to criminal cases which are very important. I have a backlog of judgments which are older than this case. I regret the delay.” The judge subsequently adjourned the case to October 21 2011 to deliver the judgment.
However, when the case came up on 21 October 2011 it was again adjourned indefinitely because the court did not sit. It was at this point that the suit became affected by the provisions of Section 194 (1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which provides that, “Every court established under this Constitution shall deliver its decision in writing not later than ninety days after the conclusion of evidence and final addresses and furnish all parties to the cause or matter determined with duly authenticated copies of the decision within seven days of the delivery thereof.”
The suit no FHC/ABJ/CS/640/10 was brought under the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules 2009.
The non-governmental organisations had dragged the Attorney- General of the Federation (AGF) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) before the court over the much publicised 12.4 billion dollars oil windfall, which the country recorded between 1988 and 1994, while former military dictator, Ibrahim Babagida rode rough shod on the nation as the maximum ruler.
The plaintiffs asked the court to make an order compelling the apex bank and the AGF to publish detailed accounts relating to the spending of the colossal sum of money between 1988 and 1994. They also sought for an order of the court compelling the respondents to diligently and effectively bring to justice any one suspected of corruption and mismanagement of the 12.4 billion dollars oil windfall.
They also want an order directing the respondents to provide adequate reparation, which may take the form of restitution, compensation, satisfaction or guarantees of non-repetition to millions of Nigerians that have been denied their human rights as a result of the respondents’ failure and/or negligence to ensure transparency and accountability in the spending of $12.4 billion oil windfall between 1988 and 1994.
According to the plaintiffs, “The need for information regarding the spending of $12.4 billion oil windfall is important to promote transparency and accountability in the management of public resources and to fulfill Nigeria’s international obligations to promote the development of the country. Access to information of this nature is especially important in this country, which is struggling to establish the rule of law and democracy in the face of underdevelopment, poverty, illiteracy and diseases. The right of access to information is also crucial to the realisation of all other human rights, including the peoples’ right to their natural wealth and resources.”
The plaintiffs also argued that: “The diversion and/or mismanagement of the $12.4 billion oil windfall is a violation of Nigerians’ right to natural resources and wealth and to economic development, as recognised and guaranteed by 21 and 22 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act). Under the African Charter, the Nigerian government has a legal responsibility to utilise the natural resources of the country so as to benefit the whole people. Just as the people of every sovereign state have a permanent right to choose their form of government, so the people are entitled to insist that the natural resources of the nation be exploited in the interest of the people.”
It would be recalled that a coalition of six civil society groups led by Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) sued the AGF and CBN in September 2010, seeking information on how $12.4 billion oil windfall of between 1988 and 1994 was spent.
The other plaintiffs in the suit are: Women Advocates and Documentation Centre (WARDC); Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA), Access to Justice (AJ); Partnership for Justice, and Committee for Defence of Human Rights (CDHR).
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