Tag: General News

On June 13, It was Mohammed Ali Ndume, the All Progressive Congress senator representing Borno South, who nominated Godswill Akpabio during the vote for senate president. Akpabio won and was sworn in as senate president after securing 63 votes to defeat his closest rival, Abdulaziz Yari, who polled 46 votes.

After the swearing-in, Akpabio was flanked by Ndume and Senator Adeola Olamilekan who had seconded his nomination—all smiling.

But events since Akpabio became the senate president indicate that Senator Ndume may not have known the man he nominated to lead the senate.

Akpabio has made several gaffes since he became the presiding officer of the senate. It’s unclear yet if they were just procedural gaffes or a character flaw, but Ndume has been one of the key senators who have highlighted Akpabio’s weaknesses as president of the red chamber.

After the ministerial screening in August, shortly before the Senate adjourned for annual recess, Akpabio announced to his colleagues that money had been sent to them to “enjoy” their holiday, apparently forgetting that the proceeding was being captured on live camera.

The comment generated a backlash from Nigerians who interpreted it to be a bribe for the legislators at a time when the government was asking the public for sacrifice.

Senators were understandably angry at the way the public reacted to Akpabio’s statement, and it was Ndume who gave the most scathing rebuke of Akpabio.

Speaking to the BBC Hausa service a day after, he blamed Akpabio for the controversy and berated the senate president’s flippancy as “unbecoming of an elder.”

He said, “In fact, we are even planning to take a drastic action against him if he continues making unguarded statements and acting as if we are kids.”

The senator from Borno also sparred with Akpabio last Tuesday and walked out on the senate president during plenary.

He had attempted to draw the Senate’s attention to what he termed as violations of the provisions of the Standing Orders of the Red Chamber.

He had moved a point of order to inform the Senate of alleged procedural infringements in the chamber, which he said violates established parliamentary protocol.

The Senate President refused to allow Ndume to complete his speech saying the Order 54 cited by Ndume had no bearing with the subject matter he tried to introduce, forcing Ndume to leave the chamber in apparent anger.

Opposition senators have also bided their time to voice concerns about Akpabio so as not to appear confrontational. The PDP senator representing Nasarawa South, Mohammed Onawo, apparently spoke for many of his colleagues when he criticised the Senate President for allegedly approving legislative bills without following due process.

He made the criticism when he raised a point of order against the amendment of the bill establishing the National Social Investment Programmes (NSIP) at the plenary on Wednesday. The amendment seeks to transfer the control and supervision of programmes under the NSIP from the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs to the Presidency.

He had said, “We have been ambushed all the time that very sensitive bills are brought and are expected to be passed with the speed of light, which is not good for this country.

“Every senator here is supposed to be adequately informed; he does his research, comes to the floor and makes a positive contribution. But in a situation where even money bills are brought and we are expected to pass it within two hours, it doesn’t make sense, it doesn’t go well for this country.”

What Kind Of Leader?

The Senate president is regarded as the “first among equals,” a phrase which emphasizes the equality of lawmakers. But any keen observer of the senate whenever Akpabio is presiding will not fail to notice his imperial demeanor and comical responses to important comments or issues.

“His leadership style is high-handed,” said Tochukwu Ohazurike, a lawyer and development advocate. “He doesn’t understand his role as Senate president. He’s Primos inter pares, meaning he’s first among equals. All the senators are equal; he’s just the first among them. He doesn’t have executive powers over his colleagues.”

Ohazurike said there’s no harmony in the senate because Akpabio may not be listening to his colleagues, and “trying to pledge loyalty to external forces than the senators who elected him.”

He said Ndume, who is the chief whip of the senate, supported him to be senate president and if he’s having problem with him, “it can be interpreted that Akpabio is not following the party line.”

Hassan Oyeleke, a former majority leader in the Kwara State House of Assembly, views Akpabio’s challenges as inability or lack of willingness to lobby for consensus on issues.

“The senate president needs to reach out to his colleagues behind the scenes; there should be meeting before meeting and he needs to improve his lobby skills because open confrontation is not tidy,” said Oyeleke in a chat with THE WHISTLER.

Auwal Rafsanjani, Executive Director at Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre(CISLAC), sees Akpabio’s style as stifling senators who may want to make constructive contributions to debates during plenary.

He said some of the senators had already voiced their worries about Akpabio’s style which undermines the legislature.

“I think his approach to legislative work is just simply whatever Mr President wants must happen,” he said, adding that such an approach undermines the legislature.

“If you want to help Mr President, it’s to scrutinize whatever comes from the executive. That’s the only way you can point out some errors or shortcomings and draw the attention of Mr President.

“If you don’t do this I think you’re undermining your own work as a legislator, and you’re also not helping the government and you’re not helping the Nigerian people.”

For Gloria Agema, Executive Director of GEE Foundation for Social Justice and Development, Akpabio lacks the wisdom to lead the senate, adding the senate president “lacks tact to think clearly so he can act wisely.”

Ms Agema also frown on Akpabio’s seeming lack of deep understanding of senate rules which often puts him on collision course with his colleagues.

“He must be knowledgeable enough in the rules of the Senate to command the respect of his colleagues to avoid this regular attack from his own people. In my view he must take off that toga of a boss and humble himself to learn the business of the Senate otherwise they will teach him the hard way,” she advised.

Chairman of the Civil Society Network Against Corruption, Olanrewaju Suraju, said the manner the Akpabio presided over the screening of ministerial nominees showed he was compromised.

“I think there is nothing wrong with an effective and efficient parliament that maintains an independent and critical but collaborative relationship with the executive. I am less impressed with the screening of ministers by the Senate under Akpabio.

“Our organization had warned that Akpabio might be leading a compromised parliament, considering his corruption baggage and circumstances surrounding his emergence, and we wait to be proven wrong,” he warned.

Source

A Magistrate’s Court sitting in Oshodi, Lagos State, has handed down community service sentences to 19 persons arrested for indiscriminate dumping of waste.

A total of 24 persons were brought before the court. After careful consideration, Magistrate Ademola Adesanya ordered 19 of them to carry out community service, involving thorough cleaning, grass cutting, and sweeping of the Oshodi Isolo Local Government community, while five minors were warned to desist from improper waste disposal or risk being sent to juvenile court.

The Managing Director/CEO of the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), Dr. Muyiwa Gbadegesin, in a statement, commended the court’s firm stance in combating environmental offences, reiterating the zero-tolerance policy of the state government, for indiscriminate waste dumping.

He said: “This decisive action by the Magistrate’s Court is a significant step towards maintaining a clean and healthy environment for all residents. It sends a clear message that waste management regulations will be rigorously enforced, and offenders will face the full force of the law.”

Gbadegesin disclosed that the exercise would be a continuous one and emphasised the need for people to take responsibility for upholding proper waste management practices.

“The exercise is ongoing. We must all take ownership of our environment. Responsible waste management is not just a legal obligation, but a moral one. It is imperative for every individual to play their part in preserving the beauty and sustainability of our communities”, he stated.

LAWMA, in collaboration with the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps (LAGESC), has stepped up enforcement against indiscriminate waste dumping in the metropolis.

It would be recalled that earlier in the week, 10 persons were fined by the Magistrate’s Court for the environmental offences.

Source

The delay in payment of estacodes and allowances of staff of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) left a group of inspectors who travelled to Amsterdam for a foreign training to beg friends and operators for financial support.

The training was initially scheduled for 2022 but shifted to 2023.

THE WHISTLER gathered that the inspectors were sent for the training without being paid any estacode which is contained in the budget.

The inspectors were said to have travelled in the hope their estacodes would be immediately sent to them, but after waiting fruitlessly, some of the trainees resorted to begging money from friends and operators to survive.

NCAA Aviation Safety Inspectors attend qualification and proficiency training (foreign training) at least once a year. The training for each inspector depends on areas they are lacking specialty or aircraft-specific type training.

THE WHISTLER was informed by sources at the NCAA that withholding estacodes of trainees has become regular occurrence, forcing the aviation unions to protest several times in the past.by aviation unions.

Aside from the annual training, some Aviation Safety Inspectors are nominated for aircraft surveillance for operators who acquired aircraft and wish to bring it to Nigeria. After the inspection, they are issued Certificate of Airworthiness.

Inspectors are also sent to organisations where airlines send their aircraft for maintenance abroad. After the inspection, the organisation is issued Approved Maintenance Organization (AMO).

For the inspections and other surveillance activities carried out abroad, the operator would pay NCAA a statutory fee as well as cater for their feeding, flight ticket and hotel.

The payments are made into NCAA dollar-funded domiciliary accounts with Standard Chartered Bank UK, First Bank Ltd (UK) and another account held with JPMorgan Chase Bank.

It is only when an operator had made these payments that inspectors would be nominated to travel for the assignment.

But a source alleged that the NCAA management no longer pays Inspectors their estacodes before they travel even when the airline operator had paid NCAA for the services.

THE WHISTLER obtained a memo addressed to the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers dated 10th June, 2022, where the NCAA tried to explain why it failed to pay estacodes to aviation safety inspectors assigned official duties outside Nigeria.

The memo with number : NCAA/DG/GC/816/461, which emanated from the office of the DG, NCAA, Captain Musa S. Nuhu blamed the delay on a “new policy from the body (Central Bank of Nigeria) saddled with the processing, payment and management of the nation’s foreign reserves and we are bound to adhere.”

The memo said the CBN Trade Exchange Department had introduced new requirements for processing and payment of foreign exchange through the e-Form ‘A’ on the Trade Monitoring System platform with respect to estacodes, PTA/BTA, education and other remittances.

In a memo (NAAPE/23/NCAA-03) dated 19th April 2023, NAAPE wrote the NCAA to remind the DG that as at April 2023, the estacodes and duty tour allowance of the inspectors had not been paid despite submitting their flight tickets to DFA prior to their travel on official assignments and training outside Nigeria.

“To make matters worse, some of these Aviation Safety Inspectors who took the burden of funding these assignments or training from their personal purse or from borrowed funds were either paid two to three months after returning from their trips or have not been paid at all.

“At the moment, some of our members that returned from their 2022 foreign trainings months ago have not been paid till date,” the memo added.

NAAPE said that it carried out an investigation and found that the claim by the NCAA that the delays were as a result of a new CBN policy was false.

“CBN’s Policy of submitting confirmed flight tickets before accessing Foreign Exchange through Form A of the Trade Monitoring System (TMS) is only applicable to travellers that wish to obtain PTA/BTA from the banks. It is NOT required for payment of estacodes for the public sectors. During the process of filling out Form A for estacodes, Travel Information section is not even displayed for completion, unlike other categories—source: CBN Trade Monitoring User Guide.

“Thus, NAAPE is very concerned about why the NCAA Staff in DFA have repeatedly requested for confirmed ticket information as pre-requisite for payment of estacodes.”

However, the NCAA in an internal memo issued by its Finance Department on July 24, 2023 and signed by Abubakar Gochi, Director of Finance and Accounts unveiled the new requirements for payment of estacodes. They include Bank Verification Number, return e-ticket with the number, valid visa, valid international passport, e-mail address, house address, phone number and immigration stamp pages for trips already embarked.

“Please find attached, the list of outstanding payment vouchers pending due to the absence of flight tickets and visa pages. You are required to provide the required documents as highlighted in the

attached documents. These are required subsequently in all estacode payments,” the memo reads in part.

Another document obtained by THE WHISTLER claimed that the domiciliary accounts held by NCAA with Standard Chartered Bank UK, First Bank Ltd (UK) and JPMorgan Chase Bank are fully funded, adding that, “since the accounts are domiciled with foreign banks, payments are usually made

to inspectors (and other recipients) using the MT 103 (standard SWIFT-payment message used for cross border/international wire transfer).

“All available CBN publications on international money transfers do not contain any requirement for BVN and confirmed flight ticket to be provided as pr-requisite for estacode payment international money transfers.”

The document said the investigation team set up by the staff found that other government agencies that do not have dollar-funded domiciliary accounts do not ask staff to submit flight tickets and immigration stamps before paying estacode.

The source explained that “Despite the fact that those were not CBN requirements for processing estacodes, these staff go all out to provide these documents. However, the NCAA will still not pay them before going out.

“If you ask someone to provide you with an immigration stamp in/stamp out pages, means you are asking them to travel and return before you would even consider paying them. This is because immigration will only stamp out someone in their passport while traveling outside the country and then stamp them in when they return to the country.

“Also, on the issue of flight tickets, it is supposed to be provided by the NCAA and not by the staff. So, staff are asking why NCAA would ask them to provide them with copies of their flight tickets before they would be paid.”

When the Public Relations Officer of the NCAA, Mrs Carol Adekotujo, was contacted she rejected the call twice. She failed to respond to a message sent to her WhatsApp which was delivered and read by 2:36 PM. She also did not reply several reminders that were sent to her.

Source

The Presidency on Thursday highlighted some of the benefits of Vice President Kashim Shettima’s trip to China, where he attended the 3rd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation held between 17 and 18 October 2023 in Beijing.

The gains include the signing of agreements between Nigeria’s National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) and three Chinese companies for projects valued at $2 billion.

Stanley Nkwocha, the VP’s senior media assistant, listed the deals to include partnerships with Shanghai Launch Automotive Technical Co Ltd for establishment of a facility dedicated to energy automobile production.

NASENI also signed an agreement with China Great Wall Industry Corporation for the delivery of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) assembly line projects.

An agreement for technology transfer in lithium batteries, electric vehicles, and related Technologies was also signed with Newway Power Technology Company Ltd.

Khalil Halilu, the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NASENI, described the agreements as a testament to the agency’s commitment to boost Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the country.

The agreements were followed by letters of intent by other Chinese companies worth an additional $4 billion for other projects and investments.

The companies include TBEA (solar products); DongFeng Vehicles Co. (vehicle design and production) and HiLong Energy (CNG, LNG, methanol)

Others are Space Star Technology (Drone technology transfer); ENRIC (clean energy utilization technology); and Hidier Group (development of new industrial park), China State Construction Company (building technology and materials); CIMC (natural gas infrastructure delivery); Value Platform International Services Ltd (vocational training) and Acadia Technologies (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd. (smart grids and microgrids).

Nkwocha added that, “the Federal Ministry of Works also signed an MoU with China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd for the construction of the Lekki Blue Seaport contract at the Lekki Free Trade Zone in Lagos.

“Vice President Kashim Shettima, who is representing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Belt And Road Initiative Forum in Beijing, China, today witnessed the event, which also had the Ministers for Foreign Affairs, Power, Works and other top government officials present.

“The Vice President who commended all stakeholders and their Chinese counterparts said Nigeria has never been this ripe and ready for businesses to thrive in.

“He said with the painstaking efforts by the Tinubu administration to ensure a level playing ground for all investors following the removal of all bottlenecks, the coast is now clear for deepened economic and trade collaborations.”

Source

The United States government has issued an alert to Americans living in different parts of the world about possible violent attacks.

The US Department of State in a statement on Thursday disclosed that the directive is drawn from intelligence gathering regarding potential demonstration against citizens and Americans around the world.

“Due to increased tensions in various locations around the world, the potential for terrorist attacks, demonstrations or violent actions against U.S. citizens and interests, the Department of State advises U.S. citizens overseas to exercise increased caution. U.S. citizens should:

“Stay alert in locations frequented by tourists,” the US Department stated, asking Americans to “enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive information and alerts and make it easier to locate you in an emergency overseas as well as “follow the Department of State on Facebook and Twitter.”

Earlier, the US Department uploaded a travel alert to citizens living in the Middle East with almost the same explanation.

The alert may not be unconnected with the United States backing of Israel in the ongoing war with Hamas militants from Gaza, a Palestine enclave.

The development has drawn worldwide demonstrations in parts of the world.

Source