1. Southern leaders initiate N50b suit against President M. Buhari over alleged marginalisation
Elder statesmen and leaders of socio-cultural platforms in the southern region of Nigeria yesterday initiated an N50 billion suit against President Muhammadu Buhari over alleged lopsided appointments. Other defendants are the Attorney-General of the Federation, Clerk of the National Assembly and the Federal Character Commission.
In the case filed on their behalf by Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN) at the Federal High Court, Abuja, the group, led by 16 elders, claimed that since the inception of his administration in 2015, Buhari’s appointments had contravened the provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and the federal character principle.
The senior citizens listed in the suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/595/2020 include Chief Edwin Clark, Chief Reuben Fasoranti, Dr. John Nnia Nwodo, Dr. Pogu Bitrus, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, Alaowei Broderick Bozimo, Mrs. Sarah Doketri, Chief Chukwuemeka Ezeife, and Air Commodore Idongesit Nkanga (rtd).
Others are Senator Kofoworola Bucknor-Akerele, Prof. Julie Umukoro, Elder Stephen Bangoji, Alhaji Tijani Babatunde, Mrs. Rose Obuoforibo, Mr. Adakole Ijogi, and Dr. Charles Nwakeaku.
The plaintiffs further alleged that the southern region had been “deliberately marginalised by the President Buhari government.”
They are, consequently, praying the court to, among other things, determine whether it was not “reckless and adverse to the interest of Nigeria, for President Buhari to obtain a loan facility from the Islamic Development Bank, African Development Bank, the World Bank, China, Japan, and Germany, amounting to $22.7 billion, for infrastructural development, only to allocate the bulk of the fund to the northern region.”
They are also seeking a declaration that the “loan facility purportedly for infrastructural development, wherein less than one per cent of the amount is to be allocated to the South-East zone of Nigeria for specific infrastructural development, violates Section 16 (1) (a) (b) and S16 (2) (a) (b) (c) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).”
Meanwhile, the presiding judge, Justice Okon Abang, has fixed July 10 for hearing of the case.
The judge also directed Ozekhome, who represented the plaintiffs in court yesterday, to serve the court processes on all the defendants.
The claimants, in the suit filed through a consortium of lawyers, comprising 10 Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs), headed by Chief Solomon Asemota and Ozekhome, are specifically praying the court to determine, “whether the power to appoint designated public officers, including permanent secretaries, principal representatives of Nigeria abroad, which is vested in the first defendant, has been lawfully exercised by him since the inception of his administration from 2015 till date, and whether his actions are in breach of Sections 171(5), 814(3) (4) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended),” among others.
They also want the court to determine whether all the “appointments are in compliance with Sections 81(2), 814(3)(4), 821 (7) (3) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).”
The leaders, therefore, urged the court to award N50 billion against the defendants to “represent punitive, aggravated and exemplary damages” to their constituents “for the illegal, wrongful discriminatory and unconstitutional acts committed by the first defendant” against the people of the plaintiffs’ states and geopolitical zones.
2. No state is coronavirus-free, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) insists
Elder statesmen and leaders of socio-cultural platforms in the southern region of Nigeria yesterday initiated an N50 billion suit against President Muhammadu Buhari over alleged lopsided appointments. Other defendants are the Attorney-General of the Federation, Clerk of the National Assembly and the Federal Character Commission.
In the case filed on their behalf by Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN) at the Federal High Court, Abuja, the group, led by 16 elders, claimed that since the inception of his administration in 2015, Buhari’s appointments had contravened the provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and the federal character principle.
The senior citizens listed in the suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/595/2020 include Chief Edwin Clark, Chief Reuben Fasoranti, Dr. John Nnia Nwodo, Dr. Pogu Bitrus, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, Alaowei Broderick Bozimo, Mrs. Sarah Doketri, Chief Chukwuemeka Ezeife, and Air Commodore Idongesit Nkanga (rtd).
Others are Senator Kofoworola Bucknor-Akerele, Prof. Julie Umukoro, Elder Stephen Bangoji, Alhaji Tijani Babatunde, Mrs. Rose Obuoforibo, Mr. Adakole Ijogi, and Dr. Charles Nwakeaku.
The plaintiffs further alleged that the southern region had been “deliberately marginalised by the President Buhari government.”
They are, consequently, praying the court to, among other things, determine whether it was not “reckless and adverse to the interest of Nigeria, for President Buhari to obtain a loan facility from the Islamic Development Bank, African Development Bank, the World Bank, China, Japan, and Germany, amounting to $22.7 billion, for infrastructural development, only to allocate the bulk of the fund to the northern region.”
They are also seeking a declaration that the “loan facility purportedly for infrastructural development, wherein less than one per cent of the amount is to be allocated to the South-East zone of Nigeria for specific infrastructural development, violates Section 16 (1) (a) (b) and S16 (2) (a) (b) (c) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).”
Meanwhile, the presiding judge, Justice Okon Abang, has fixed July 10 for hearing of the case.
The judge also directed Ozekhome, who represented the plaintiffs in court yesterday, to serve the court processes on all the defendants.
The claimants, in the suit filed through a consortium of lawyers, comprising 10 Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs), headed by Chief Solomon Asemota and Ozekhome, are specifically praying the court to determine, “whether the power to appoint designated public officers, including permanent secretaries, principal representatives of Nigeria abroad, which is vested in the first defendant, has been lawfully exercised by him since the inception of his administration from 2015 till date, and whether his actions are in breach of Sections 171(5), 814(3) (4) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended),” among others.
They also want the court to determine whether all the “appointments are in compliance with Sections 81(2), 814(3)(4), 821 (7) (3) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).”
The leaders, therefore, urged the court to award N50 billion against the defendants to “represent punitive, aggravated and exemplary damages” to their constituents “for the illegal, wrongful discriminatory and unconstitutional acts committed by the first defendant” against the people of the plaintiffs’ states and geopolitical zones.
2. No state is coronavirus-free, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) insists
Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, yesterday said no state was coronavirus-free.
He argued that “we live it in a context where viruses spread, and can only start talking about any state or community being disease-free when we have an effective tool to fight that disease, and that is when we have a vaccine.”
This comes as the Presidential Taskforce (PTF) on COVID-19 stated that the declaration of Nigeria as polio-free by the World Health Organisation (WHO) was indicative that the most populous black nation could overcome the novel coronavirus and other infectious ailments.
Speaking during the daily briefing of the task force in Abuja, Ihekweazu insisted that “we cannot isolate ourselves from the rest of the country”, stressing that “even New Zealand that is an island started having new cases after a period of not having any.”
He asserted: “Right now, no state is COVID-19 free. That is why we have to keep testing people. That is why prevention is better than cure. If you cannot prevent, you detect. That is why we need to scale up our lab testing.”
Ihekweazu noted that the PTF team, made up of NCDC and the WHO representative, visited Plateau, Edo, Lagos and Akwa Ibom to assess their preparedness and control, adding that they had worked very hard to help every state grow its capacity.
He deplored the flagrant disobedience to the COVID-19 protocols by Nigerians.
Coordinator of the PTF, Dr. Sani Aliyu, reiterated the restriction on inter-state travels.
Lamenting that the people were not taking the pandemic serious enough, he added that the community transmission of the sickness was on the rise.
Aliyu then canvassed increased testing in the states, stating: “There is no shame in having positive results in your state. It is much better to know the level of COVID-19 infection in your state, as denial will only make the issue more difficult and will put both the citizens and health workers at risk.”
In his remarks, the task force’s chairman, Boss Mustapha, said, “our failure to take responsibility threatens the gains we have recorded, which is not good for our large population.”
However, the NCDC has unveiled a brand new Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) machine procured from the £661,000 UKAid funding commitment that the British government made to the Nigerian branch of WHO this year.
The facility, which is the most accurate laboratory method for detecting, tracking and studying the coronavirus, is to enhance the nation’s capacity to carry out at least 3,000 tests daily.
The machine was presented to Ihekweazu and the Immunisation Team Lead and current Officer-in-Charge of WHO Nigeria, Dr. Fiona Braka, at the Central Public Health Laboratory (CPHL), a campus of the NCDC National Reference Laboratory, in Lagos on Sunday.
According to the Press & Public Affairs Officer of the British Commission in Lagos, Ndidiamaka Eze, the UK government and the Federal Government had been “collaborating closely in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria since January 2020.”
3. Bandits kill three persons in Maikwama village in Dandume Council of Katsina State.
Bandits have reportedly shot three persons dead at Maikwama village in Dandume Council of Katsina State.
The bandits also stole food items and rustled a number of bulls used by farmers for tilling the farmlands.
The Guardian gathered the incident occurred about 2 a.m. yesterday during heavy rainfall in the area.
Several people were said to have sustained injuries during the attack, as the bandits shot sporadically and harassed many in their houses.
The incident came less than 24 hours after bandits attacked a neighbouring Kurmin Chakara village where they abducted one Alhaji Kabiru, rustled domestic animals and carted away food items also.
Like most states in the North West, Katsina is faced with challenges of insecurity. Last Friday, bandits killed seven people in Kasai and Nahuta villages of Batsari Council. Two traditional rulers were also killed in Danmusa and Matazu councils a few days ago, and police confirmed 20 persons killed in Fakari Council.
Meanwhile, the Kaduna State Government has allayed the fears of residents of Kaura Council, regarding the information that over 600 armed bandits were hiding on Zangang Hills.
Few days ago, some groups in Kaura had alleged the presence of over 600 armed bandits on Zangang Hills, but the Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, stated yesterday that there was nothing of such.
Aruwan said the state government had reached out to Operation Safe Haven (OPSH) and a detachment of the Special Forces of the Nigerian Army, and they carried out an extensive patrol on the said Zangang Hill on Sunday, June 21.
He added that the fighting patrol stretched up to Kagoro Hills and other suspected hide-outs without encountering armed bandits.
“Not a single bandits’ camp was found in the area and there is also no evidence of human activity on and around the hills as the reader will glean in the pictures attached to this press statement,” Aruwan reiterated.
He urged aggrieved communities, individuals and groups in Kaura to always recourse to law and avoid jungle justice.
“The Kaduna State Government commends the Commander of OPSH, Maj-Gen. Chukwuma Okonkwo, and his team in Sector 7 (Southern Kaduna) for a job well done.
In another vein, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai has summoned all Principal Staff Officers (PSOs), General Officers Commanding (GOCs) and Field Commanders (FCs) to Abuja where he charged them to fish out all criminal elements in the country, expose their sponsors/collaborators and destroy them.
The meeting came against the backdrop of the submission by President Muhammadu Buhari last week that the performance of the service chiefs in tackling security threats in the country was not good enough.
Briefing newsmen at the end of a six-hour meeting at army headquarters, Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Col. Sagir Musa, said the COAS directed all commanders and troops to ensure that the charge given by the president was fully implemented, to speedily crush Boko Haram and the myriad security threats facing the nation.
4. Oyo State workers resume, government urges compliance with Coronavirus protocols
Civil and public servants on Grade Level 12 and below in Oyo State resumed work yesterday following the directive of the state government after a three-month stay-at-home order as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The main gate of the secretariat, which had been shut following the closure of the complex, was reopened for activities.
Some of the workers, who spoke with The Guardian, said they were happy to return back to work after almost three months of staying at home.
They promised to be committed to their duties.
Meanwhile, the Oyo State Head of Service, Mrs. Ololade Agboola, has urged all civil servants in the state to comply strictly with coronavirus guidelines as they resume in their various offices.
In a statement yesterday, the Head of Service admonished the workers to adhere strictly to the guidelines to contain the spread of COVID-19.
In another development, some members of staff of the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Oyo State, have staged a peaceful protest at the office of the Chief Medical Director (CMD), Prof. Jesse Otegbayo.
The protesters demanded their 50 per cent share of the COVID-19 hazard allowance.
They said that they also deserve an equal share like the doctors who get paid 50 per cent of their basic salary.
Some of the low-level members of staff like security, attendants and others, who get paid 10 per cent and 20 per cent in some cases, said that they were more exposed than the doctors as they are the first point of contact with most of the patients when they arrive at the hospital.
They urged the Federal Government to implement the COVID-19 hazard allowances agreement for all medical workers without giving preferential treatment to medical doctors and leaving out other workers.
The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of UCH, Mr. Toye Aderinlola, who spoke with The Guardian, said: “Nobody is fighting for not collecting allowances. What they can be saying was that some received 50 per cent and others 10 per cent. But if it is for allowances, as far as we are concerned, the government has paid what it wanted to pay to all categories of health workers. Maybe they are channelling their agitation to Abuja. It is not UCH, it is the Federal Government. We never had a role in it. It is Abuja that pays.”
5. Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC)probes constituency projects in Rivers, Ogun, Kaduna State, 13 others
The Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), will today, launch an investigation into fraudulent procurement practices in the award of contracts for the constituency and executive projects across 16 states of the federation.
Its spokesperson, Rasheedat Okoduwa, who made the disclosure yesterday in Abuja, listed the affected states to include Rivers, Delta, Cross River, Taraba, Ekiti, Ogun, Gombe, Nasarawa, Kebbi, and Kwara.
The others are Jigawa, Abia, Ebonyi, Niger, Oyo, and Kaduna.
The exercise, she pointed out, would focus on projects relating to health, education, water resources, agriculture, and power.
Some of the objectives of the tracking, according to her, “are to investigate fraudulent procurement practices in the award of contracts for the constituency and executive projects, and make recoveries on projects or contracts confirmed to have been inflated, or in which contractors under-performed, or did not perform at all.”
Another is to track contracting companies for compliance.
Okoduwa said the anti-graft agency was undertaking the inquiry owing to the success story of the first phase that held in 12 states last year.
She noted: “The commission, in 2019, launched the pilot phase of the exercise in which it tracked projects’ performance from 2015 to 2019 in 12 states.
“Successes of the exercise included the recoveries of tractors, ambulances, dialysis machines and other hospital equipment from sponsors of the projects across the pilot states.
“The successes also included the recovery of huge sums of money, hundreds of tricycles, grinding machines and other empowerment items from the project sponsors.”
The spokesperson went on: “Furthermore, the exercise forced contractors, who hitherto had abandoned projects, to return to the site to complete them.
“ICPC is, again, set to take the exercise to states not covered in the pilot phase with the aim of ensuring that government gets value in the execution of public projects, and improved delivery of social welfare services to the citizens.
“Just as the first phase, the project tracking will be done in collaboration with the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS), civil society organisations (CSOs), the media, Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) and other stakeholders.”
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