Aide Dumps Akeredolu Less Than A Month To Ondo Guber
A key aide to Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State, Andrew Ogunsakin, has resigned his appointment less than a month to the Oct.10 governorship election in the state.
The unexpected resignation of Ogunsakin, a Senior Special Assistant on Political Matters (South) to the Governor reports stated was not unconnected with the forthcoming gubernatorial election in the state.
Ogunsakin ìn the resignation letter dated Sept.18, 2020, made available to newsmen in Okitipupa on Friday said that the call by his constituents to join a common train of aspiration. which seeks to challenge the Akeredolu government and his party was responsible for his resignation.
“Permit me, your Excellency, to use this medium to convey my irrevocable decision to resign my office as SSA, Political (South) to the governor of Ondo State with effect from today, Sept.18.
“The call of my constituents on me to join the train to actualise our common aspiration different from what is offered by your government and your party stands at the root of my decision to quit at this point.
“Being an appointee, this will necessarily conflict with the performance of my duty to you, hence my resignation.
“I thank your Excellency for the appointment offered me to serve the good people of Ondo State as SSA, for the period I was in office.
“Once, again sir, please accept my appreciation and very high regards,’’ Ogunsakin, an indigene Igbotako in Okitipupa Local Government Area of Ondo State stated.
The Federal Government of Nigeria has apologised for its directive that all account holders in the nation’s financial institutions to register their details despite the Bank Verification Number (BVN) and the National Identification Number being held by many Nigerians.
The Nigerian Federal Government had asked all account holders in banks, including insurance companies, to fill and submit a Self-Confirmation form.
The FG threatened that failure to comply with the directive would attract an imposition of restriction to bank accounts or monetary penalty.
However, the Nigerian government in a tweet on Friday apologized for the order,
to fill another self-confirmation form despite BVN and NIN, which Nigerians have vehemently condemned.
It tweeted, “We apologise for the misleading tweets (now deleted) that went up yesterday, regarding the completion of self-certification forms by Reportable Persons. The message contained in the @firsNigeria Notice does not apply to everybody. FIRS will issue appropriate clarification shortly.”
According to a statement it released in Abuja on Friday, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) explained that only “reportable persons” are expected to submit the form.
“This is to clarify the publication for financial institutions account holders in Nigeria to complete the self-certification form, pursuant to the Income Tax (Common Reporting Standard) Regulations 2019 which is for the fulfilment of Automatic Exchange of Information Requirements.
“The Self Certification form is basically to be administered on Reportable persons holding accounts in Financial institutions that are regarded as “Reportable Financial Institutions” under the CRS.
“Reportable persons are often non-residents. And other persons who have a residence for tax purposes in more than one jurisdiction or Country.
“Financial Institutions are expected to administer the Self Certification form on such account holders when the information at its disposal indicates that the Account holder is a person resident for tax purpose in more than one jurisdiction.
“The information that indicates an account holder is a resident for tax purposes in more than one jurisdiction, is expected to be available to Financial Institutions during the account opening processes for the KYC and AML purpose.”
Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma, has signed into law Imo State Administration of Criminal Justice Law, No. 2 of 2020.
One of the provisions of the law expressly states that a suspect could be detained at “The Pleasure of the Governor” and must obtain licence before release.
According to Section 484 of the law, “Where any person is ordered to be detained during the Governor’s pleasure he shall notwithstanding anything in this Law or in any other written law contained be liable to be detained in such place and under such conditions as the Governor may direct and whilst so detained shall be deemed to be in legal custody.”
Section 485 further provides: “(1) A person detained during the Governor’s pleasure may at any time be discharged by the Governor on licence.
“(2) A licence under subsection (1) of this section may be in such form and may contain such conditions as the Governor may direct.
“(3) A licence under this section may at anytime be revoked or varied by the Governor and where licence has been revoked the person to whom the licence relates shall proceed to such place as the Governor may direct and if he fails to do so, may be arrested without warrant and taken to such place.”
The provisions of this law have, however, been attracting criticisms from far and wide.
Mr. Governor, the people of Imo State need and hope for good governance in an egalitarian society and not the other way round.
Imo State has had enough – from the political theatrics of ‘Iberiberism’ by former governor, Rochas Okorocha, and now philosophy of ‘Hopism’ being championed by the incumbent governor – the people deserve the best.
Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari receives President of Burkina Faso, Roch Marc Christian Kabore, at theState House Abuja on Thursday, September 17, 2020.
Nigeria has pledged to within the limits of resources support the consolidation of democracy in West African countries.
President of the most populous black nation in the world, Muhammadu Buhari made the pledge on Thursday when he received the President of Burkina Faso, Roch Marc Christian Kabore, who was on a one-day official visit to Nigeria.
President Buhari at the meeting reiterated Nigeria’s support for Burkina Faso scheduled to hold elections in November this year.
“We are keeping tabs on situations in countries that have elections ahead. We know the countries that are calm and the ones where there have been unfortunate casualties. We will always support those who have elections ahead, so that things can go smoothly,” President Buhari said.
Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari receives President of Burkina Faso, Roch Marc Christian Kabore, at theState House Abuja on Thursday, September 17, 2020.
President Kabore, who chairs the Economic, Trade and Liberalization Scheme of ECOWAS, said he was in Nigeria to discuss with President Buhari crucial sub-regional issues that include the convening of a joint commission meeting between Nigeria and Burkina Faso, reported trade difficulties among Nigeria, Ghana, Republic of Benin, and Niger Republic, and the way forward.
President Kabore commended President Buhari for what he called “strong leadership and support” displayed by the Nigerian leader in his capacity as Chairman of COVID-19 response in West Africa.
“I must also applaud your strong leadership against terrorism in the sub-region,” the Burkinabe Leader said.
On the situation in Mali, he expressed hope that the summit held in Accra, Ghana, on Tuesday, would yield positive results, stressing: “We need cohesion all over West Africa.”
Photos:
Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari receives President of Burkina Faso, Roch Marc Christian Kabore, at theState House Abuja on Thursday, September 17, 2020.
An image illustrating political thuggery. [Credit: Published by Daily Trust on October 13, 2018 in an article titled Rise and Rise of Political Thugs]
By Dapo Akande
Somebody I hold dear and admire greatly for his keen insight on life issues says something which never fails to strike me each time, because it’s an obvious truth that very few people actually see. He says, an individual who doesn’t have plans for his life runs a very high risk of being conscripted into the plans of others. And more often than not, this “other” will see him only as a means to fulfilling his own selfish agenda rather than seeing the individual as an end in himself.
Let me give you an example. The thugs our dear politicians use to cause mayhem and intimidate supporters of political rivals as elections approach, perfectly exemplify the rudderless individual who patently failed to make any plans of his own, making him an easy target to be used and abused by a smarter man.
Education serves many purposes for both the individual and the society he or she lives in. If we start listing them all now, I won’t be able to pass any other message across in this article because the list is literally endless. Some are to prepare one for his career, to bring development in all ramifications to society, to equip an individual to be able to provide for himself and live a useful life as a process which conduces holistic development of the individual, to raise solution providers and to mould the ideal citizen are just a few.
Nwagwu and Fafunwa both define it in ways I particularly like. Fafunwa avers, “education as the aggregate of the process by which a child or young adult develops the abilities, attitude and other forms of behaviour which are of positive value to the society in which he lives.” Nwagwu on the other hand defines education as, “the process used by society to preserve and upgrade the accumulated knowledge, skills and attitude of its people and foster the well being of mankind.” There are others who insist education loses its definition if it doesn’t provide the mental capacity and an interrogative mind that challenges accepted norms to prove their efficacy.
However, if we’re to come down to the basics, we may need to start by saying the primary aim of education is to furnish the individual with the ability to reason and think for himself. This forms the foundation of almost every other definition.
Returning to our “lost boys” who appear to have failed to plan, I often wonder if they’re always entirely at fault. Why would a grown man risk his life fighting for a politician who he may never meet? And for how much? Sometimes, for as little as N500 or N1000 by the time the money is shared. There are few things in life more dangerous than a man devoid of hope. He will always be the first to bring the whole house crashing down. Why care about an entity you don’t think you have a stake in? No man in his right senses will use his hands to destroy his own house.
This is the predicament our nation currently faces. With bourgeoning youth demography, accounting for about 65% of a total population of over 200m Nigerians, most of whom are unemployed and many, unemployable, we’re sitting on a ticking time bomb. But that’s not new, it’s been said before. How different things might have been though, if we people could put aside how we look and focus on what’s really important. An army where everyone wants to be a General and no one wants to be a foot soldier cannot win a single battle because it’s common knowledge Generals don’t fight, they only command and coordinate.
I wonder how different things could have been if successive governments had cast their sights in the direction of countries such as Finland who separate into two groups at the beginning of senior secondary school, those who will take matriculation exams to gain admission to university in three years time and those whose strengths obviously lie in their technical abilities. They too are prepared for several years before gaining admission to technical school. So there’s a deliberate policy to cater for both academic and vocational further education equally, without a hint of bias.
Being an egalitarian society, both University educated and technical school trained citizens can look forward to equally respectable and rewarding careers. The positive effect this must have on their students, who having acquired the ability to reason through basic education, being able to decide for themselves which path to tow so they can become their best selves is immeasurable. Equally impossible to quantify is what these options, which enable them to make viable plans during their formative years, does to boost confidence and build up self-esteem. Self esteem often comes from having hope for the future.
Education is not solely an academic enterprise but is also a moral venture. The fact that it enables self-actualization is of moral value in itself as every human being has the right to try to become the best he can possibly be. The moral benefit shouldn’t end with the individual though. It should also serve the moral purpose of raising individuals who will place the interest of their society alongside their own. Anything short of this may pass as schooling but lacks the moral foundation to be termed education.
I’ve often asked why a country like ours “blessed” with leaders in possession of multiple academic certificates is in such a state. And by leaders, I don’t mean only those in the political sphere. Our educational system needs to be critically examined so it churns out more people with ingrained leadership traits and less clever crooks who use their “cleverness” to devise increasingly ingenious ways to loot and defraud. Whenever I come across our “lost boys” I can’t help but think, “if only”.
Changing the nation…one mind at a time.
Oladapo Akande is a Surrey University (UK) English graduate with a Masters in Professional Ethics. He’s an alumnus of the National Institute for Transformation and a two time author; The Last Flight and Shifting Anchors. He writes from Lagos.
File Photo: The Executive Governor of Ogun State, Prince Dapo Abiodun, Friday, June 5, 2020.
The Governor Dapo Abiodun-led Ogun State Government Thursday charged the representatives of the organised labour unions in the state to return to the negotiation table to resolve the grey areas over the demands for better welfare for the workers in the interest of the generality of the people of the state.
The Abiodun administration described the abrupt withdrawal of the labour team from negotiation and unilateral declaration of one-week strike as unfair, indecorous and violation of the principles of collective bargaining.
The government added that it was a surprise that labour would take the step even when the negotiation process was still ongoing.
Abiodun, in a statement by the Secretary to the State Government, Tokunbo Talabi, said government was taken aback as “labour manifested brinkmanship, where instead of labour input into the Pension Reform Bill as agreed, they issued a notice of Trade Dispute with demands that transcended the Pension Reform Bill.”
The statement traced the genesis of the crisis to the Pension Reform Bill passed by Ogun State House of Assembly which labour noted did not seek their opinion and inputs.
Talabi said the government after due apology for the lapses set up a team to liaise with the Assembly and representatives of labour union to trash out areas of concerns.
The secretary said on receipt of Trade Dispute Notice, government mandated its team to engage the labour union leaders with the first meeting held on September 14 progressing to September 15, where issues were narrowed down to specific towards amicable resolutions.
But surprisingly, he said, instead of notifying government of the outcome of the meeting, the labour union leaders took excuse to attend to their members in order to conclude the negotiation, only to proceed to declare the meeting deadlock and announced the commencement of warning strike the next day (September 16).
“This is most unfortunate and a negation of civility and expected ethos that should underpin negotiations between government (particularly one that has demonstrated in many ways its commitment to staff welfare) and organised labour who are presumed partners in the task of developing the state and catering for the welfare and wellbeing of all citizens and residents.
“This behaviour lends credence to insinuations that labour may be acting out a script,” he said.
Talabi gave the breakdown of the inherited outstanding personnel liabilities from the last administration: Gratuity of exited (retired) personnel: state personnel accumulated from 2014-2019 – N18.5 billion; Local Government and SUBEB 2011-2019 – N32.5 billion; Sub-total Gratuity – N51.0 billion; Leave Bonus from 2015-2019 – N9.2 billion; Contributory Pension Liabilities (state government) – N20.1 billion; Local Government and SUBEB – N26.4 billion; Sub-total Contributory Pension Liabilities – N46.5 billion; Promotion Arrears – N217 Million; totalling N106.9 billion.
According to him, the past administration only remitted the deductions from staff salary for check off dues and cooperative deductions in the twilight of its exit, leaving out accumulated Contributory Pensions.
On the financial implications of labour unions’ demands, the Abiodun administration said it was jointly agreed that a committee be set up to fashion out an appropriate pension system for the state, look into the implementation of New Minimum Wage which would increase the monthly wage bill by N1.04 billion and address the payment of Leave Bonus.
But the statement said labour unions wanted an immediate payment of three-year arrears, amounting to approximately N9.2 billion, while on payment of gratuity, labour leaders demanded immediate payment of three years arrears which is approximately N24 billion and they wanted additional payment of about N1.2 billion for the underpayment by the last administration to some categories of retired personnel.
The government added that labour unions demanded for Gross Salary Payment, regular remittance of deductions from staff salaries as appropriate, noting that government has already commenced regular remittance of these deductions and would continue to do so.
Other demands according to the statement were the outstanding three-year promotion (2018-2020), putting the summary of these demands by labour unions to about N32.5 billion for immediate disbursement and subsequent additional N2 billion monthly on top of the current wage bill.
The secretary noted that when government signed the agreement with labour unions for the implementation of the new minimum wage, “no one envisaged COVID-19 and its debilitating socio-economic impact that has constrained the Internally Generated Revenue of the state and the unplanned expenditures in the wake of the pandemic.
“This has forced Ogun State like most states in the country to review our 2020 budget down from approximately N450 billion to N280 billion, about 38 per cent downward review.
“A cursory look at the financial implications of the demands of labour in comparison to the budget size will see a glaring demonstration of the government to be as accommodating of the demands as possible, even in the face of manifest COVID-19 induced constraints and uncertainty,” he explained.
On the labour unions’ demand for the payment of the new minimum wage, which has been seen as a priority, the statement said government has agreed to the implementation of the new minimum wage for all categories of workers, commencing from November, 2020, while government would also continue to ensure regular remittance of deductions from staff salary to avoid addition to the backlog and gradually clear any outstanding arrears.
The statement, however, added: “The remaining demands will be subjects of further joint reviews, the first of which will be in March 2021.”
The government said: “As an administration, we remain committed to the welfare of Ogun State workers as we are to the fulfilment of our electoral promises to the generality of Ogun State citizens and residents.”
Lagos State Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tunji Bello
The Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu-led Lagos State Government Thursday disowned the viral video, where some uniformed impostors were promoting the sale of branded waste baskets purportedly on behalf of the state.
The government, in a statement by Lagos State Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tunji Bello, noted that all the characters in the viral video are fraudsters who do not represent the Sanwo-Olu administration or any of its agencies.
Bello declared that there’s no unit or agency under the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources that goes by the name: ‘Lagos State Vehicle Waste Basket (LAVWAB) Enforcement/Compliance’ as portrayed in the branded vehicle which the fraudsters operated from.
He pointed out that the dubious intent of the criminals in the video could be deduced from the fact that they operated from inside a van within an automobile workshop and were very dodgy about the kind of enforcement exercise they were supposedly carrying out.
While noting that the state government has always encouraged all buses, trucks and articulated vehicles to provide waste baskets in their vehicles to discourage littering of the roads and streets, Bello maintained that the Sanwo-Olu administration has never recommended any branded waste basket to Lagosians.
The commissioner said the development has been communicated to security agents to spread their dragnets towards apprehending the criminals and their cohorts, wherever they operated from, and bring them to book.
Bello, therefore, enjoined members of the public to report any incident of anyone claiming to represent the state government and coercing them to purchase any particular brand of waste baskets for placement in their vehicles.
The commissioner also implored owners and operators of buses, trucks and articulated vehicles in the state to continue to use waste baskets of their choice in their vehicles, as part of efforts to discourage littering and promoting a culture of proper waste disposal.
An online campaign calling on the United Kingdom and the European Union to place a travel ban on Kaduna State governor Nasir El-rufai has so far gathered 22,000 signatures out of 25,000 signatures targeted.
The petition, which was initiated on change.org was a move aimed at having the UK and UN take decisive action against Governor El-rufai.
The campaign, which was initiated by a former aide of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Remo Omokri, now an ardent critic of All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government accused Governor El-Rufai of allegedly promoting genocide, religious and political intolerance in Kaduna state.
According to Omokri: “Nasir El-Rufai is a threat to the peace and security of Nigeria for many reasons.
“There has been an intense escalation of the killings of mostly Christians in Kaduna, and on August 25, 2020, suspected herdsmen abducted seven schoolchildren and their teacher from Prince Academy, in Kaduna. They have not been seen or heard of since then,” Omokri said.
“On February 6, 2019, he threatened foreign observers, including observers from the EU and UK with death, warning that they would return in body bags should they intervene in Nigeria.
“On July 15, 2012, Nasir El-Rufai said, and I quote ‘We will write this for all to read. Anyone, soldier or not that kills the Fulani takes a loan repayable one day no matter how long it takes.’ This threat has been carried out in Southern Kaduna where there is an ongoing genocide of Christians under el-Rufai’s watch”, the petition stated.
Recall that earlier in the week, the United Kingdom announced that it will seize assets and impose visa restriction on individuals that are caught rigging during the Edo and Ondo State governorship elections.
In a statement, the British High Commission in Nigeria said: “As a friend and partner of Nigeria we are closely following the lead up to the off-cycle governorship elections in Edo and Ondo states scheduled for September 19 and October 10 respectively.
“The UK takes a strong stand against election-related violence and, just as we did in the general election in 2019, will continue to take action against individuals we identify as being responsible for violence during the elections.
“This could include restrictions on their eligibility to travel to the UK, restrictions on access to UK based assets or prosecution under international law”, UK High Commission in Nigeria stated.
Incidentally, the warning by the UK government was followed a similar stand by the United States.
According to a statement by Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, the US said it has imposed a visa ban on some Nigerians culpable for rigging during the Kogi and Bayelsa State governorship elections in 2019.
Pompeo stated that these individuals who have been involved in election fraud have so far operated with impunity at the expense of the Nigerian people and have undermined democratic principles in Nigeria.
In August, an invitation extended to El-Rufai by the legal conference planning team of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) was withdrawn by the National Executive Committee, the association’s highest decision making body over several petitions.
The President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government has been accused of plagiarism over the ‘Nigeria at 60 Logo’ which was unveiled in Abuja on Wednesday.
It has since been discovered that the logo was first designed and unveiled by a Russian diamond mining company, Alrosa, in 2017.
In fact, Forbes edition of August 3, 2017 with the headline: “Russian Mining Giant Unveils 51-Carat ‘Dynasty’ Diamond” reported that Alrosa unveiled the exact logo, describing it as a collection of five diamonds produced at its cutting and polishing facilities.
“Russian diamond mining company, Alrosa, unveiled a collection of five diamonds produced at its cutting and polishing facilities. The centerpiece of the collection is the “Dynasty” diamond—a 51.38-carat traditional round brilliant-cut diamond, which the state-owned company says is ‘the purest of all large diamonds manufactured throughout the Russian jewelry history.’
“Alrosa said during the unveiling Wednesday in Moscow that it plans to sell the collection at an online auction scheduled for November 2017.
“In addition to its size, the 57-facet gem has been rated Triple Excellent (excellent in polish, symmetry and cut), D color (colorless) and VVS1(very, very slightly included), a clarity grading just below “flawless” and “internally flawless” meaning a tiny speck is visible at 10x magnification through the pavilion of the diamond.
“Sergey Ivanov, Alrosa president, said a diamond of this size and with these characteristics has never been produced in Russia and it has the potential to be most expensive diamond ever sold in the country’s history. Less than 1% of diamonds have these characteristics.” (See the link: https://www.forbes.com/sites/anthonydemarco/2017/08/03/russian-mining-giant-unveils-51-carat-dynasty-diamond/#417d99857c30).
Unveiling the logo, Buhari described the logo as an obvious depiction of Nigeria’s togetherness, a country of over 200 million people whose natural talent, grit and passion glitter like the precious diamond.
He said: “The selected option depicts our togetherness, a country of over 200 million people whose natural talent, grit and passion glitter like the precious DIAMOND we are.
“This, to me, is a special appreciation to our most precious asset – our people. Everywhere you go, Nigerians are sparkling like diamonds in the pack, whether in academia, business, innovation, music, movie, entertainment, fashion and culture.
“Furthermore, the neatly encrusted Diamond on the Nigerian Map symbolises our age of treasure, the worth of the Nigerian people with our sparkle to the admiration of the world.
“In the same vein, the pear green and dark green colours should respectively remind us of our warmth, welcoming spirit and love as well as the abundant wealth inherent in our human capital and the richness of our land.
“All these properties make us unarguably the most prosperous black nation in the world and Africa’s largest economy.”
All eyes on the Buhari administration for further explanation and clarification.
The United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Beth Leonard, Wednesday disclosed that for the sake of the confidentiality attached to visa-related issues, the identities of individual Nigerians placed on visa ban over rigging and electoral malpratices would not be revealed.
Speaking at the maiden Consular Meeting with the Federal Government officials to resolve the listing of Nigeria among countries placed on immigration restrictions, Leonard said names of the offenders would not be made public, because it’s a confidential matter.
According to her, “US visa processes are in fact confidential and so we do not publish a list. We do not make public who it is that would be subjected to this sanction.
“An individual who intends to travel or apply for visa would be refused and impeded but it is not something that we advertise. We don’t reveal who these individuals are.
“Anyone who had been involved with election processes in Nigeria should reflect upon that notorious behaviour and in this regards may face the consequences as they may not be able to travel to the United States.
“There are people who we believe merit that treatment and should those people seek to travel or apply for visa, the ban will apply to them.”
The US had Monday placed visa ban on some unidentified Nigerians over electoral malpratices perpetuated during the governorship polls in Bayelsa and Kogi states, warning any one with the intention to undermine the electoral processes in the forthcoming Edo and Ondo governorship polls to be ready to face the consequences.
Commenting on the listing of Nigeria among countries placed on immigration restrictions, the US Envoy appreciated Nigeria for efforts so far put in place to address the issue of information sharing, handling of returnees from the United States despite the COVID-19 pandemic, among others.
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