Presidency Wades Into Face-Off Between Labour Minister And NLC: Defends Ngige

May 12, 2019

The Presidency has waded into the face-off between the minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige and the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), which led to the labour leaders threatening to attack the minister anywhere he is sighted in the country.

The face-off is caused by the appointment of the Chairman of the board of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), Comrade Frank Kokori.

In a statement today, Sunday, the special adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on media and publicity, Femi Adesina said that All actions taken by the minister of Labour and Employment towards the resuscitation and repositioning of this ailing agency, including the Administrative Panel of Inquiry into the affairs of NSITF and the suspension of the inauguration of the board in 2018 were part of the special work plan approved by the President.

The statement added that the appointment of the Chairman of the board, which is in consonance with Sec. 4(a) of the NSITF Act CAP N88 of 2004 was also approved by the President since 23rd July, 2018 on the recommendation of the minister, saying that Austin Enejamo-Isire, a Chartered Accountant, Fellow, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and renowned Insurance expert, Senior Member, Chartered Institute of Insurance of Nigeria (CIIN), Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) and Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) was approved by the President for this position.

“Also approved by Mr. President were the Managing Director and three Executive Directors who had assumed duties since 18 April 2017.

Part of the statement reads: That the NSITF is a hundred percent, Federal Government of Nigeria owned insurance parastatal, under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, designed for the role of insuring workers (employees) in the public and private sectors. The organization is empowered by law to implement the Employee Compensation Act (ECA) 2010 with mandate to insure workers and pay them compensation for accidents, deaths and injuries in the course of work.

The NSITF was bedevilled and riddled with corruption between 2012 – 2015, which resulted in a colossal loss and mismanagement of about N48 billion out of the total N62 billion contributions during the said period. These were contributions by the Employers – viz government and the private sector for payment of compensation to workers and even to Employers for loss of man-hours by their workers. This fraud has been investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the last Chairman and some members of the former board and some officials of the NSITF are presently being prosecuted by the EFCC.

All actions taken by the Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment towards the resuscitation and repositioning of this ailing agency, including the Administrative Panel of Inquiry into the affairs of NSITF and the suspension of the inauguration of the board in 2018 were part of the special work plan approved for the Honourable Minister by Mr. President.

The appointment of the Chairman of this board, which is in consonance with Sec. 4(a) of the NSITF Act CAP N88 of 2004 was also approved by Mr. President since 23rd July, 2018 on the recommendation of the Hon. Minister. Mr. Austin Enejamo-Isire, a Chartered Accountant, Fellow, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and renowned Insurance expert, Senior Member, Chartered Institute of Insurance of Nigeria (CIIN), Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) and Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) was approved by Mr. President for this position. Also approved by Mr. President were the Managing Director and three Executive Directors who had assumed duties since 18 April 2017.

Others also approved as Non-Executive Directors are two (2) members to represent the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), two members to represent the Nigerian Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) and one (1) member each to represent the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment. Members of this board are to be formally inaugurated at 9 a.m. on Monday, May 13, 2019 by the Hon. Minister of Labour and Employment at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Aso Rock, Abuja.

Comrade Frank Kokori, our respected veteran labour leader has Mr. President’s immense respect and has also been appointed on the recommendation of the Hon. Minister of Labour and Employment to chair the board of Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies (MINILS), a diploma awarding labour institution.

Finally, the Presidency has noted with deep concern and regrets, the events that culminated in a skirmish at the private residence of the Hon. Minister of Labour and Employment, and condemns it, in its entirety. However, in the spirit of reconciliation, the Presidency appeals for calm from the NLC and the Ministry of Labour and Employment officials, as there are ongoing efforts to reconcile the NLC leadership with the Ministry of Labour and Employment, led by their Minister who has doggedly been fighting the cause of Nigerian workers whenever their issue is discussed by government, the latest being the enactment of the new National Minimum Wage Act 2019.

CBN Says Money Not Missing Or Stolen, Threatens Legal Action On Rumour Mongers

Editorial staff

May 12, 2019

The Management of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said that a purported audio recording of selective conversations amongst the apex bank’s Governor, his Deputy and some Senior Officials did not reflect the true position of what happened.

“Contrary to the headline-grabbing narrative that the discussion was about a fraudulent transaction, this conversation, the beginnings of which was omitted to create a different impression, was simply to proffer solutions to a misunderstanding that affected the Bank’s balance sheet.”

A statement by the chief spokesman of the apex bank, Isaac Okorafor, explained by drawing attention to when the bank was approached in 2015 by the National Economic Management Team and the National Economic Council (NEC), chaired by the Vice President, to assist State Governments with Conditional Budget Support, in the aftermath of the significant nose-dive in global oil prices and associated FAAC allocations.

The statement said that in order to ensure that ordinary Nigerian workers got their salaries, pensions and gratuities, and that the economy continued to recover from recession, the bank provided about N650 billion in loans at 9 percent with a two-year grace period to 35 States of the Federation.

“These monies were distributed to the States monthly with documented approval of the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Presidency.

“In closing the Bank’s 2018 accounts, external auditors in their Draft Account, erroneously classified about N150 billion of these loans as bad, which negatively affected the Bank’s Balance Sheet and shareholders fund. “The selective conversation being circulated was simply a discussion to ascertain why the auditors took that position and next steps to resolving it.” The statement stressed that a State Government loan cannot be classified as “bad” or “irrecoverable” when the State still exists and getting FAAC allocations.

It said that the apex bank then reached out to the Federal Ministry of Finance and they jointly gave comfort to the auditors who accepted in writing that these monies would be repaid.

“On this basis, the auditors reversed the negative entry and the certified that the CBN’s 2018 accounts were a true reflection of the State of Affairs. “Reconciliation of Balance Sheet items are regular conversations amongst Senior Management of many agencies and should not be misconstrued as anything but that. Had the online media which released the selective recordings sought the comments of CBN as required of journalism practice, we would have provided it.”

The statement said that those who listened to the audio can easily ascertain that the conversation had nothing to do with anything fraudulent as purported, adding that the bank called on all well-meaning Nigerians to disregard this audio and continue to trust that the bank is doing everything it can to represent their interests in the best possible way.

“Under the leadership of Governor Emefiele, the CBN has always stood for, and vigorously pursued transparency in its stewardship of public resources and policies. NO MONIES ARE MISSING OR STOLEN. The integrity of the CBN Governor remains unassailable. He has no account in Dubai or anywhere in the world and would never convert the funds of CBN for personal use. Not in the past, not now and not ever.

“The use of selective wiretapped conversations of the Bank’s Management, to malign his character and integrity will never stand. The Bank will pursue every legal means to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Manchester Emerge Premier League Champions

Editorial staff

May 12, 2019

Manchester City came from a goal down today, Sunday to win the 2018/2019 Premier League title.

They beat Brighton 4-1 to end the season with 98 points.

Pep Guardiola’s side are the first side to retain the title 10 years after their city rivals, Manchester United, in 2009.

Liverpool, who were hoping to win a first league title since 1990, beat Wolves 2-0 to finish second with 97 points.

Details later…

CBN Governor Vows To Give Smugglers Bloody Nose As They Vow To Stop His Reappointment

Greenbarge Reporters

May 12, 2019

Importers, especially those involved in the importantation of items tagged ‘not eligible for foreign exchange via the official window’ are not happy with the recent reappointment of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele by President Muhammadu Buhari and are determined to frustrate his confirmation by the Senate.

This is even as the apex bank boss has vowed to continue to deal ruthlessly with such frustrated importers and smugglers with the instruments of the law.

Information at our disposal revealed that most of those in the rice and textile businesses in particular, who have been having sleepless nights over the nationalistic nature of Emefiele are now mobilizing through various means to discredit him.

They are believed to, in their fight against the return of Emefiele, have resorted to use the courts to scuttle the confirmation process or other means, including sponsoring protests, concoction of spurious messages And hacking into official conversations.

But Emefiele is believed to have called the bluff of the smugglers whom he vowed to fight using the powers enshrined in CBN Act 2007 and BOFIA to regulate the financial system and the economy at large toward higher productivity, employment generation, wealth creation and self reliance in the nearest future.

Speaking recently in katsina during the launch of input distribution to cotton farmers for 2019 farming season, Emefiele reiterated that saboteurs would be blacklisted from assessing financial services from banks operating in the country.

Son Of Late Emir Ado Bayero Becomes Emir Of Bichi, As Youth Protest

Editorial staff

May 11, 2019

The son of late emir of Kano, Alhaji Dr. Ado Bayero in the person of Aminu ado Bayero is one of the beneficiaries of the recent splitting of the Kano Emirate into four. Aminu received his letter today, Saturday as Emir of Bichi.

Others who received their letters, even as youth staged protest at the Kano Emir’s palace over the state government decision to split the Emirate are Ibrahim Abulkadir as the Emir of Gaya; Tafida Abubakar as the Emir Of Rano and Abubakar Ibrahim II as the Emir of Karaye.

While the governor, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje was inaugurating the new Emirs, youths were at the Kano Emir’s palace protesting over the creation of the new Emirates which they said is politically motivated and that the process should be immediately halted by the Governor.

Senate President of Gwale Youth Parliament, Khalid Sunusi Kani, speaking to reporters said: “the reason we are doing the protest is that we are not satisfied with the decision of the Executive Governor of Kano State with the creation of four additional emirates in Kano state.

“We consulted with different youths from different Local Government Areas in Kano State and we have observed that majority of the youths in the state with the approval of the creation of new Emirates.”

Khalid Kani condemned the creation of the new Emirates, adding that the decision is “politically motivated and borne out of self-interest,” while also calling on the Governor to reconsider and immediately stop the process.

“We are not happy because we believe the bill that was signed by the Governor, which was instituted by Ibrahim Salisu of Kano State House of Assembly, is politically motivated and born out of self-interest.

“That is why we called on the Kano state to reconsider the request because it is contrary to popular opinion. As far as we are practising democracy, we told them popular opinion must be respected.”

Source: SaharaReporters.

Gov Ganduje Dares Court, Says The Law Creating New Emirates Is Irreversible

Editorial staff

May 11, 2019

Kano State governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has made it clear that irrespective of how judiciary views the recent creation of four new Emirates in Kano, the law passed by the State Assembly and to which he has assented remains irreversible.

Ganduje, who spoke at a ceremony organized by the newly appointed Emirs for the four Emirates in Kano said that the new law had already been gazetted by the state government printer on the same day.

The governor said that the creation of the emirates, in all its ramification, was well rooted in a strong foundation, adding that the law now is irreversible.

The governor also gave reasons for the creation of the new emirates in the state, saying that Kano is too big in size and population to have a single, centralised emirate council.

“The challenges of development are too many, they are too weighty to be left in the hands of a highly-centralised traditional institution,” said the governor.

He said that historically, Kano’s traditional rulers had been independent of one another, noting that the government took this factor into consideration.

He appealed to the new traditional rulers to assist the government in addressing the issues of education, health care delivery, security and agriculture in their various domains.

He tasked them to take records of strangers and new comers in their midst, to ensure that every child in their domain attends a school, to push their people to devote themselves to commercial agriculture as well as to ensure that their people take due advantages of the health facilities in their domains.

The governor asked the people to support the new dispensation even as he directed all the district heads and Ulamas in their respective domains to go and pay homage to the new monarchs by Monday.

In his appreciation, the new Emir of Bichi, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero, pledged his determination to serve the people of his emirate, while promising to continue with the legacy of his father.

He called on the people in his domain to support the government of Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje to achieve its objectives of serving the people.

Similarly the new Emir of Rano, (Sarkin Rano) Alhaji Tafide Abubakar Il, said that they are ready to work and cooperate with Alhaji Muhammad Sanusi in the Council of Traditional Rulers in the state while assuring that the new emirs would continue to give their support to the Ganduje’s administration towards the realisation of its goals.

The Emir of Gaya, (Sarkin Gaya), Alhaji Abdulkadir Gaya, said that he would prioritise the fight against drug abuse among youths in his domain.

Presidency To PDP: You Are Bad Loser

Editorial staff

May 11, 2019

The Presidency has described the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as bad loser, whose leadership would hail judiciary when it wins a case in court and condemns judiciary for being under the influence of some forces when it loses a case.

“The PDP praised the verdict of the Osun gubernatorial election tribunal because it favoured them, but they are now singing a different tune because they lost their appeal. We cannot keep changing the definition of an independent judiciary to suit our political convenience and bias without ultimately creating chaos in the system.”

The Presidency, in a statement today, Saturday, by the senior special assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on media and publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, condemned the PDP for embarking on media smear campaign against the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa.

“Reports claiming that an agency of the government, the Department of State Services, DSS has indicted Bulkachuwa of corruption are the latest of this sponsored campaign aimed at causing disaffection between the Executive and the Judiciary, the two arms of government that had operated smoothly under the present dispensation.”

Garba Shehu admitted that the PDP and its candidates are free to exercise their right to challenge the results of the 2019 presidential election, but that it is unacceptable to drag the name of the President or other organs of the executive branch into the campaign of character assassination against the President of the Court of Appeal.

“The DSS doesn’t conduct its duties in the manner so described and you can’t use a fake security report to drag the presidency into a smear campaign against the President of the Court of Appeal.

“Attacking judges because the outcomes of cases don’t favour you and keeping quiet when the verdict is in your favour smacks of insincerity, double standard and mischief.

“Intimidating and impugning the character of judges in order to force them to bow to blackmail is against the spirit of an independent judiciary.

“If the PDP continues to blackmail and smear judges with fake news stories, we will ultimately find ourselves dealing with a situation where judges may be afraid to handle cases, thereby creating delays in the dispensation of justice.

“If the presidency had any influence on election petition tribunals, APC candidates wouldn’t have lost a single case before the courts.”

JAMB Releases Results, Withholds Over 34,000, Blacklists 116 Exam Centres

Greenbarge Reporters

May 11, 2019

The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has released the results of 1,792,719 candidates out of the 1,886,508 who sat for the 2019 Unified Tertiary Matriculations Examinations in April.

Announcing the results in Abuja on Saturday, the JAMB Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede said 34,120 that the results are being withheld, including the results of 15,145 candidates which are being further clarified as ‘identical twins and siblings.’

He explained further that 59,667 candidates were absent during the exams.

“A total of 1,826,839 sat for the UTME. Today, we are releasing the results of 1,792,719 candidates.

“Some 34,120 results are being withheld, including the results of 15,145 candidates being further clarified as identical twins and siblings.”

The board said that the UTME, which was conducted between April 11 and 17, 2019 across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, was painstaking, describing it as a success story.

The JAMB registrar disclosed that 116 exam centres have been blacklisted, including a Computer-based Test centre in Akokwa in Delta State which bribed exam officers with N1.7m.

“We have recovered the payment voucher and the concerned staff are being investigated, but they claimed that they received the bribe because their lives were in danger,” Oloyede stated.

He noted that the exams recorded multiple registrations, pointing out that a candidate, for instance, registered 23 times for the examination.

“A total of 116 centres have been de-listed or suspended. Out of this number, 18 have been sanctioned by the Governing Board of JAMB with suspension for between one and three years for registration-related misconduct.”

He directed candidates to send ‘RESULT’ to the short code, 55019, on their handsets, adding that they did not need to patronise a cyber cafe to check their results. Punch

Labour Minister Narrates How NLC President Led Hooligans To Traumatize Him And Neighbors

Greenbarge Reporters

May 11, 2019

The minister of Labour and Productivity, Dr. Chris Ngige has narrated the invasion of his Abuja residence by the President of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Ayuba Wabba, leading some hooligans.

Reacting to the account given by the labour leader which was published in some national dailies, Dr. Ngige described it as very unfortunate misleading because the scenario that emerged on Wednesday was that “I was woken up at 5 am by my wife who reported to me that the security men were having problems with some strange fellows at the gate of the house. And that some people were also on the walls of my home, that they arrived there by 4:30am.

“When the security people accosted them, they discovered that it was the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress himself that came physically with two tankers, one laden with petroleum, the second was half empty. One was put at the gate of my house and the second at the gate of my neigbour’s house.

“When I heard the story it was very strange. When I looked from upstairs I saw that the tankers were actually blocking the entrance to my house. I came down and asked for the chief detail who told me the whole story. And it emerged that they even had a scuffle with the president of the NLC when they were struggling for the key to the tanker.

“So I went back and made some calls to the Commissioner of Police FCT, Director SSS and also the Federal Road Safety to see if they could move the vehicles.

“Picketing does not mean that you go to peoples private residence because you don’t know who occupies there. For example in my home, my wife, my children and the children of my domestic staff and security personnel were trapped. My neigbour, his wife and children couldn’t go out. It is obstruction, it is against the law of the country. Then putting a tanker with petrol is arson, the place can be caught on fire, the entire street could have engulf on fire. I don’t know what to say.

“That is not trade unionism, that is hooliganism. I have been preaching that you cannot exchange hooliganism for trade unionism. Trade unionism means you dialogue, you discuss, you talk. That is why we call it social dialogue because you must continue to talk if you are government you continue to talk, if you are Labour you continue to talk with your employer and if you are employers you continue engaging them.

“So, I was surprised to read about thugs and people hospitalised, people beaten. I have tried to do some investigations and enquiries and from my preliminary enquiry and the reports I got, it looks like the NLC people disagreed with the people they brought to my house. I understand that they were contracted to work till 10am which is council time, the aim being to obstruct me from going to council. I left my house at 8 o’clock, a friend picked me up and I was able to make it to council.

“So, I am very very distraught, my family is traumatised, the people in my house are traumatised, my domestic staff with families are traumatised, even my neigbour and his wife couldn’t do their business for the day. Those tankers were removed around 6pm.”

Asked if he was planning to take any action, the minister said: “my neigbour said he is going to take legal action. I will also take legal action, illegal actions are actionable, nobody is above the law.

“Their grouse is the inauguration of the NSITF board. We had fixed the date for April 18th and they invaded the place with thugs and disrupted the function. We had postponed the function and said we were going to fix another date for inauguration but since then, they have been maligning my character and integrity because I am the Labour minister. And they forget that according to the International Labour Organization (ILO) convention, I am what they refer to as the competent authority. Mr. President, Mr. Vice President, Mr. Secretary to the Government of the Federation will not come and do Labour matters. But, it is an obtuse thing we have here.

“The Labour people led by Wabba feels that they are secondary arm of government and he answers president of NLC, so he equates himself with the president of Nigeria. But there is only one sovereign authority of Federal Republic of Nigeria and for today by the grace of God, is President Muhammadu Buhari.

“The Act setting up the NSITF gave Labour two nominees, private sector under NECA two nominees. Labour appropriated the two for NLC and made a nomination and government has also made a nomination. What we are doing now is that we have proposed and the government has approved a fit and neutral person, not a government officer, not a Labour coloured man and not a private sector man. That is what obtains in tripartitism and we exhibited it for you all to see under the national minimum wage tripartite committee.

“Ms. Amal Pepple is a neutral person that has experience and background as a former permanent secretary, former minister of housing, former head of service of the federation and even a former clark of the Senate. So she was a round peg in a round hole. We are also going to put a square peg in a square hole. We are going to go ahead and inaugurate the board, we will not have any further distractions on this and we are consulting to fix a date for the inauguration immediately.”

Asked if Kokori was not a neutral person, Ngige responded: “I did not recommend him. I am the minister permitted by law to do that recommendation and I am telling you unequivocally that I did not recommend him, simple.”

Asked if he had anything personal against Kokori, he said: “nothing. I am following the law. I cannot recommend a labour coloured person, I did not recommend him and I am not foolish to do so. And if I am not foolish to do so, NLC should not arm twist me, blackmail me into a submission. I am not a man who will submit to blackmail and you will floor him, no!”

Kano Emir, Sanusi, Is Supposed To Report To Council Chairman – Gov Ganduje

Greenbarge Reporters

May 10, 2019

Kano State Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has made it clear that as governor, he has nothing to do with the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammad Sanusi II.

Answering reporters questions at the Presidential Villa, Abuja in respect of the recent split of the Kano Emirate that clipped the Emir’s power, Governor Ganduje swore that there was no bad motive in doing so.

“It is not vendetta. I am not against him. In fact, he is supposed to be reporting to the local government chairman according to the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. “It is the local government chairman that is suppose to discuss issues with him not the governor. So this is celebrated by the people of Kano and we will make sure that the new Emirate Councils are effective in terms of developing Kano State.”

He stressed that the act of splitting the Emirate is to take Kano to the next level “and we need active participation of the traditional system, especially in the areas of education, security, agriculture. We need the effectiveness of the traditional rulers.

“By discentralising it, we are following history. Years back even before the 800 years you are referring to, the situation was not that. So if something developed 800 years ago, things are also developing now and there will be another 800 years. So look at the history.”

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