2019: As PMB, Amaechi Prospect For Encore, By Sufuyan Ojeifo

May 22, 2018

The Yoruba proverb-omo ina li a nran si ina-transliterated as – it is the child of fire that we send to fire – quite explicates the philosophy behind the 2014 appointment of Rotimi Amaechi, who was then Rivers state governor, as director general of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Organization. His task was to coordinate the electioneering onslaught by the party’s candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, against the sitting president and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2015 presidential election, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan.

Although, the assignment was writ-large delicate, Amaechi’s choice was, in the context of strategic politics, in apple-pie order. What it intended to achieve was to unsettle Jonathan’s re-election gambit from within the enclave of his south-south zone. It was a creative and precise strategy that required the commitment of a gutsy politician to accomplish. Amaechi’s acceptance of the job was audacious and emphatic of his resolve to act against the run of play in the huge battle by Jonathan and his south-south allies to retain the presidency in the zone.

To be sure, Jonathan’s presidency approximated the political patrimony of the south-south zone. It was a novel reality-largely a product of an act of God and an affirmation of the same in the 2011 presidential election via a nationwide consensus- that shattered the myth that it was impossible for the minority group to appropriate presidential power in Nigeria. That reality was, however, short-lived and the oppositional momentum that resulted in that terminal earthquake bore the coordinating and operational imprimatur of Amaechi.

The decision by Amaechi to serve as the arrowhead of the huge oppositional movement to deny Jonathan (read south-south zone) a second term in office did not receive the approbation of the geopolitical region. And that was understandable. Regardless, the Ikwerre-born politician was single-minded on the electioneering that eventually resulted in Jonathan’s 2015 historic electoral defeat. Amaechi remains one of the protagonists in the story of the making of the Buhari presidency.

As director general of the presidential campaign of the APC, a rainbow coalition against the Jonathan presidency, he was the power house of the crusade while Buhari was the face. Despite the seemingly perfect oppositional configuration that the APC typified, Amaechi’s role in the campaign was, without a doubt, precarious. He, however, did not care a hoot. He had crossed the Rubicon in his grudge fight with Jonathan.

The fight had worsened when, as chairman of the Governors’ Forum, he decided to spearhead the forum’s campaign for the sharing of $1 billion ECA fund saved up in the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) and the savings in the ECA to enable governors use their shares for infrastructure development and/or other issues of public importance in their respective states. The Governors’ Forum had gone to the Supreme Court in 2011 for judicial intercession on the matter, forcing the Federal Government to propose an out-of-court settlement.

For Amaechi, all gloves were off. On its part, the Jonathan government was ready to engage him bare-knuckles. One of the onslaughts resulted in the factionalisation of the Governors’ Forum. Attempt to stop the re-election of Amaechi fell through. The governors loyal to the presidency decided to nurture a factional leadership with Jonah Jang, then governor of Plateau state, as chairman. Amaechi continued to chair the forum of 19 governors that voted for him while Jang chaired the forum of 16 governors whose votes he got.

The incidents supra formed the bases of the bitterest political battle ever fought between a sitting president and a sitting governor from the south-south zone. The battle resulted in the defection of Amaechi on the wings of the new PDP to the APC. There were reports that the intrepid political navigator went for broke by heavily funding the opposition movement that swept off Jonathan from the presidency.

He made the risky moves despite that the PDP was well rooted in the south-south zone, especially in Rivers. He operated from a position of disadvantage. Indeed, while the battle was raging, the awesome federal government machine was backing Nyesom Wike, who was at the time Minister of State for Education, to take over the structure of the party in Rivers. That was the reason Amaechi could not lock in the governorship seat for his APC candidate, Dr. Dakuku Peterside.

The combined forces of Abuja and the Wike-led PDP in the state rumbled into victory in the governorship election which saw Wike emerge as governor. With Buhari appointing Amaechi as minister of transport, the machinery to wrest Rivers state from Wike and the PDP has since been revved. Instructively, through Amaechi’s resilience, the APC now has two senatorial seats, leaving the PDP with one.

Although the PDP’s candidate, Thompson Sekibo, won the Rivers East election (which incidentally is the senatorial zone of Patience Jonathan, Amaechi and Wike), in the general and the re-run elections, the APC had gone ahead to retrieve the mandate for its candidate, Andrew Uchendu, at the Appeal Court. The Appeal Court verdict was a strategic victory for the APC as it enlarged its frontiers of political control. It represents, in the main, the constriction of Wike’s political command over Rivers.

The 2019 general election would see Amaechi in action, trying to consolidate and make further incursion into Wike’s comfort zone while Wike would be fighting back to consolidate on Rivers west and reclaim Rivers East from the APC. Meanwhile, Amaechi is said to be ready with a counter action in case Senator Magnus Abe, who is presently the custodian of the Rivers Southeast senate mandate on the APC platform, decides to defect to the PDP.

The political horizon in Rivers is peripherally looking fluid, but Amaechi and the foes he is up in battle against understand the underlying dynamics and are ready to fight to the finish to regain or maintain their strangleholds on the political soul of the oil-producing state. Amaechi and Wike know each other too well. It would appear that they have equal capacity to cause collateral damage to each other’s political machines, depending on the available advantages at their disposal.

In 2015, Wike had the advantage of federal might which he deployed to stop Amaechi from enthroning Peterside as his successor. Interestingly, for the 2019 epical political battle, Amaechi has the advantage of federal might at his disposal to deploy against Wike. The only difference, this time round, is that Wike is taking a shot at re-election and not enthroning a successor. Therefore, for Wike, it is going to be a battle of his life. That is what will make it interesting even for Amaechi who has been strategically reappointed as director general of Buhari’s re-election campaign to coordinate the grand electoral plan that will ensure victory for the president as he did in 2015.

And, given that the expected victory for the president (with the presidential poll holding first by the tactical calculation of the APC), may precipitate a bandwagon effect, Amaechi is in a very good position to establish the direction and deployment of necessary goodwill and strategic forces that will coalesce in a grand tsunami that is expected to sweep off some opposition leaders occupying strategic positions in the states as well as federal political architectures, arrangements and constructions.

Although, in the unfolding scenario, Amaechi’s major concern is to prospect for Buhari’s re-election, yes, an encore, yet the possibilities of a repeat performance of the 2015 victory are great and likely to be pervasive, other things being equal; otherwise, the situation may be dicey. Nevertheless, Amaechi is certainly a rampart for effective prosecution of Buhari’s re-election battle.

Ojeifo, an Abuja-based journalist, writes via ojwonderngr@yahoo.com

President Buhari Asks Obasanjo To Explain How He Spent $16 Billion On Power Project

Greenbarge Reporters

May 22, 2018

President Muhammadu Buhari has asked a former head of state who he said had been bragging on how he spent $16 billion on power project in the country to give account of how the money was spent.

President Buhari who also accused the said former head of state, apparently referring to Olusegun Obasanjo, killed the rail project in the country.

Speaking when he received Buhari Support Organisation (BSO), led by the Comptroller of Customs, retired Colonel Hameed Ali, the President noted that between 1999 to 2014, when the oil price soared to about $135 and oil production of 2.1 million barrels per day, there was nothing to show for it.

He had restrained himself and his aides several times in the past from responding to various accusations of non-performance and clannishness leveled against him by Obasanjo.

According to the president, the debt incurred from the $16 billion spent by Obasanjo on power without any output was now being paid by his administration adding that in Nigeria’s history, his government had made the highest capital allocations in the 2017 and2018 budgets.

Buhari also alleged that even though the nation recorded huge profits from the sale of crude oil when the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was administering the country, nothing was left in the treasury when he ascended the seat of power 16 years after. He also took up members of the National Assembly, accusing them of doing nothing even though some of them have spent over a decade in the federal legislature.

Buhari however, spoke good about the former Head of State, late General Sani Abacha, who was accused of stashing billions of Nigerian money in foreign banks, saying he agreed to work with him irrespective of people’s perception about the late dictator because during his military regime, a lot of roads and medical facilities were revamped.

He described the current period in the nation’s history as terrible as he canvassed the need to revamp the country altogether, recalling how he was ruthless as a military head of state, arresting and throwing people in prison, a punishment he said was also meted to him. President Buhari urged Nigerians to remain vigilant and ensure that only “people of conscience are in-charge of governance at all levels,” as the nation prepares for general elections in 2019. According to him, “I have to repeat what I want the public to know here. Some of you may not have heard it. Either there is no power in you place or even in the television. I said and I challenge anybody to chick from Europe, Asia and America.

“You know the rail was killed and one of the former heads of state between that time was bragging that he spent more than $15 billion dollars not naira on power. Where is the power? “Where is the power? And now, we have to pay the debt. This year and last year’s budgets that I took to the National Assembly were the highest in capital projects – more than N1.3 trillion.

“Let anybody come and confront me publicly in the National Assembly. What have they been doing? Some of them have been there for 10 years.

What have they been doing? So, really, this country, luckily for me, I said it about eight years ago that we have no other country than Nigeria.

“We should remain here and salvage it together no matter what you have outside. Now, we get some of the people with houses here and maybe in Abuja or somewhere in America and Europe. They swear, some of them to God that it doesn’t belong to them. But from their accounts, through the banks, through their companies, it is their own. But they say it’s not their own. “This is a terrible time and the people are saying what are we doing? Why can’t you lock them up? And again, I went on by telling them what I said when I was in uniform, younger and rather ruthless. I got from the president downward; I locked them up in Kirikiri.

“I said ‘you’re guilty except you prove yourselves innocent. I myself was locked up and those who misappropriated public funds were given back what they have taken away. Who did anything about it? Then I decided to come and put agbada.

“ I tried one, two, three four times. God agreed. And the third time I came and met a statesman outside the Supreme Court.”

Facebook CEO Apologizes To European Parliament Over Data Scandal

Greenbarge Reporters

May 22, 2018

Facebook founder/Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mark Zuckerberg has said sorry to the European Parliament today, Tuesday, pledging that the social media giant has learned hard lessons from a massive breach of users’ personal data.

Mark Zukerberg Zuckerberg’s comments, released in advance of the hearing in Brussels, are the latest part of a tour of contrition over the Cambridge Analytical scandal that began in the US Congress in April.

“Whether it’s fake news, foreign interference in elections or developers misusing people’s information, we didn’t take a broad enough view of our responsibilities,” Zuckerberg will say, according to prepared remarks e-mailed to AFP. “That was a mistake, and I’m sorry.”

The Facebook chief’s grilling by the European Parliament will be live-streamed to the public after he staged a U-turn on Monday and agreed to a webcast, in a further bid to limit the fallout from the data scandal.

Angry EU lawmakers had objected to initial plans for it to be held behind closed doors. Facebook admitted that up to 87 million users may have had their data hijacked by British consultancy Cambridge Analytica, which worked for US President Donald Trump during his 2016 campaign.

The Silicon Valley giant has told the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, that the personal data of up to 2.7 million Europeans may have been sent inappropriately to Cambridge Analytica, which has since filed for bankruptcy in the US. – ‘Big mistake’ – Zuckerberg will also say that Facebook will make fresh investments to protect its users in the wake of the scandal.

He will tell parliament Facebook is committed to Europe, with plans to increase from 7,000 people working in a dozen European cities to 10,000 by year-end.

“I expect this will significantly impact our profitability. But I want to be clear: keeping people safe will always be more important than maximising our profits.”

Facebook also serves a valuable social role with tens of thousands of people having used its Safety Check feature “after the recent terrorist attacks in Berlin, Paris, London and here in Brussels”, Zuckerberg will say.

The hearing comes three days before the EU introduces sweeping new personal data protection rules, which the Facebook chief says he now welcomes. European Parliament President Antonio Tajani on Monday called the decision to live-stream the questioning “great news for EU citizens”.

In April, Tajani rejected Zuckerberg’s initial offer to send a more junior executive in his place, saying it would be a “big mistake” for him not to answer questions from an elected body that regulates a market of 500 million people, many of them Facebook users.

Tajani will meet him around 1600 GMT, followed by the hearing with parliamentary leaders half an hour later.

Tajani said MEPs want to know if “people used data for changing the position of the citizens,” including during the shock 2016 referendum for Britain to leave the EU. – ‘Hear the truth’ – Objecting to the latest plans for a closed-door hearing, MEPs insisted Zuckerberg face a grilling similar to his 10-hour interrogation in US Congress last month. Guy Verhofstadt, who heads the ALDE liberals group in parliament, dropped his plan to boycott the event now that it will be “transparent and public”. Inviting Europeans to send him questions for Zuckerberg, Verhofstadt, a former Belgian prime minister, tweeted that EU citizens “deserve to hear the truth.”

Udo Bullmann, of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament, said it would have been a “farce” not to have a public event. EU Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova paid Zuckerberg a backhanded compliment in recent weeks for having admitted that the Facebook scandal showed the need for strict new rules despite the reluctance of the US internet giants.

The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which comes into effect on Friday, aims to give users more control over how their personal information is stored and used online, with big fines for firms that break the rules. Zuckerberg, who has repeatedly apologized for the massive data breach, told the US Congress in April that the more stringent EU rules could serve as a model globally.

Source: AFP

Nigeria Chief Judge Complains of Political Interference In Judiciary

Greenbarge Reporters

May 22, 2018

The Chief Justice of the Federation, Justice Walter Onnoghen, has complained about the undue interference of politicians in judicial appointments across the country.

He explained that the appointment of Judges has always been heavily politicized.

Justice Walter Onnoghen, who was represented by Justice Olabode Rhodes-Vivour at the just concluded Lagos State Judiciary’s first Bi-annual Lecture, themed “Judicial Standards, Integrity, Respect and Public Perception: A Comparative Analysis from Independence in 1960 into the Present Millennium,” stressed that the current system of Judges’ appointment in the country is such that the Governor of a State might not allow the names of persons nominated for judicial appointment to be sent to the National Judicial Council for scrutiny if the names of the Governor’s candidates are not included on the list.

The Chief Judge said that the revelations are not novel and are known to stakeholders in the judicial sector, saying that these are perennial problems that have plagued the administration of Justice in the Country.

“Access to Justice (A2Justice) has consistently, and for over a long period, denounced the use of flawed procedures of judicial appointment to recruit Judges of superior courts and highlighted the negative impact this has had on the administration of justice.

“Political interference in the judicial appointment process, which often leads to the appointment of relatives, associates or cronies of political office holders happens because the Judiciary has not risen to the challenge of defending its space and asserting its own independence. The National Judicial Council (“NJC”) must, and we say this respectfully, share the blame for this.

“In 2014, in a bid to strengthen the integrity of the judicial appointment process, the NJCadopted new Guidelines for the appointment of judicial officers(The Extant Revised NJC Guidelines & Procedural Rules for The Appointment of Judicial Officers of All Superior Courts of Record in Nigeria.)However, the NJC has not consistently enforced those guidelines or resisted efforts to circumvent them. In some cases, the Council has practically given some Judiciaries which flouted those guidelines what amounted to a free pass even after complaints about their failure to observe the guidelines were made. This happened with the recruitments of Judges into the Federal High Court in 2015, and the appointment of Judges in Lagos State in 2017.

“Therefore, the Nigerian Judiciary should not, and cannot now blow hot and cold at the same time on the subject of political interference in the judicial recruitment process or pass the buck when it comes to the responsibility of de-politicizing the appointment process. The Constitution has given the Judiciary the autonomy it needs to effectively resist political meddlesomeness in judicial appointments, and what the National Judicial Council needs to do, respectfully, is to insist that State and Federal Judiciaries faithfully and scrupulously comply with the letter and spirit of the new Guidelines it has made. Where it fails to do so, that failure will create the space for those who have traditionally preyed on the weaknesses of our judiciary to continue to do so.

“The Nigerian people are keen to hear about practical efforts being made by our Judiciary to end political interference with the judicial appointment process in the exercise of its endowed powers under the Constitution, because strictures are not enough: no length of moral admonition to political office holders, or denunciation of what they do with judicial appointments will stop them from wanting to exert some influence over the process. What is needed from the Judiciary is a tougher resolve and commitment to defend its independence and processes from untoward influences and greater accountability for its actions.

“We thank His Lordship, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, for reprising these concerns and drawing public attention, once again, to the need to restrain political branches from interfering with the affairs of the Judiciary. We believe however, that the Judiciary needs to step up to the plate and do more than it has done in the past, to defend its independence.”

Janet Jackson Wins Billboard Icon Award As Artistic Genius

Greenbarge Reporters

May 21, 2018

Janet Jackson, Hollywood veteran and sister of late pop star, Michael Jackson, became the first Black woman to receive the Billboard Music Icon Award as an artistic genius.

The Billboard Music Award is an annual honour given by Billboard, a publication and music popularity chart covering the music business since 1990.

Fifty-two-year-old Jackson was awarded because of the influence of her nearly 40-year career which spans television and music, earning her 35 awards and over 100 million record sales.

The youngest child of the legendary Jackson music family began her career with the variety television series ‘The Jacksons’ in 1976 and went on to appear in other television shows throughout the 1970s.

Report has it that she also used the opportunity to pay tribute to powerful women speaking against discrimination.

Before presenting Jackson with the award, R&B singer, Bruno Mars told the crowd that she “represents undeniable artistic genius.”

A retrospective documenting Jackson’s career followed, with clips of her appearance as a kid on ‘The Carol Burnett Show’ to highlights of her breakout hits.

Jackson then took the stage, performing “Nasty” from 1986’s ‘Control’ and “If” and “Throb” from ‘Janet’.

She said, “I believe that for all the challenges, for all our challenges, we live at a glorious moment in history.

“It’s a moment when at long last women have made it clear that we will no longer be controlled, manipulated, or abused.

“I stand with those women and with those men equally outraged by discrimination, who support us in heart or mind,” Jackson said.

Jackson’s honour comes just days after the 25th anniversary of her seminal album ‘Janet’, along with an appearance on the cover of Billboard Magazine.

The past recipients of the Icon Award include: Cher, Celine Dion, Jennifer Lopez and Prince.

Source: NAN

Because I Refused To Join AD In 1999, Yoruba Did Not Vote For Me, Obasanjo Complains To Afenifere

Greenbarge Reporters

May 21, 2018

Former President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, has complained to the leadership of the pan-Yoruba sociology-political organization, Afenifere that because he refused to join a Southwest dominated Afenifere and Alliance (AD) in 1999, his fellow Yoruba people refused to vote for him.

“I remember visiting Pa Abraham Adesanya thrice in Lagos before the 1999 election and I was asked to join Afenifere and Alliance for Democracy then, but I told them that AD was a cul-de-sac. Pa Abraham told me that if I joined, things would change; but I refused to join them. I went back the second time, but they refused to work for my emergence.

“I went there again the third time, but Afenifere maintained their stand. They refused to vote for me; but I secured my votes outside Yorubaland, though they supported me in 2003 for my re-election.”

Obasanjo, who visited Afenifere leaders today, Monday, at the residence of Pa Reuben Fasoranti in Akure, Ondo State, asked Yoruba leaders to rescue the nation from collapse and maladministration, adding: “our priority is now one. If we do not join hands to repair this country now, it will collapse and this could be disastrous.”

Responding, Pa Fasoranti told Obasanjo: “we want to encourage you in your struggle to make Nigeria the best, said Afenifere leader. You are fearless and that is one of the traits of a good leader. We have been watching you; and your dreams of a better Nigeria shall be realized.

“Nigerians are at a crossroads; we are tired of the killings, kidnapping going on across the country and the President is mute about it.

“We are in full support of all the letters written by Obasanjo to President Muhammadu Buhari on the state of the nation. We are dissatisfied with the state of affairs in the country. The country is not being run properly.

“Nothing is being done properly in this country presently. Look at the killings in the North. The President is very silent about it.”

Olisa Metuh’s Case Runs Into A Hitch As He Collapses In Court

Greenbarge Reporters

May 21, 2018

The case of Olisa Metuh, former National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), involving alleged financial malpractices amounting to sum of N400 million, ran into a hitch today, Monday, when he collapsed at the Federal High Court in Abuja.

The former PDP chief spokesman was said to have collapsed inside the court roon as he was being led to the dock even as family members and his physician rushed to assist him.

The trial judge, Justice Okon Abang had to wait for him to be attended to and in the resumption of the trial, Metuh’s counsel, Emeka Etiaba, disagreed with the point that the case should continue.

He threatened to withdraw from the case, arguing that he did not know the condition of his client who was on a stretcher after the fall.

Justice Abang however refused his decision to withdraw from the case

World Cup Preparations: Nigeria Will Play Friendly With DR Congo Side Despite Ebola – Dalung

Greenbarge Reporters

May 21, 2018

Sports minister, Solomon Dalung has made it clear that Nigeria will go ahead to play its friendly match with the Democratic Republic of Congo in spite of the reported outbreak of Ebola in that country.

The minister, who answered reporters’ questions shortly after a private meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari today, Monday, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, insisted: “Nigeria is going to play the friendly with DRC.

“I have discussed with the Federal Ministry of Health, with the World Health Organization in participation and we have reviewed the situation and received adequate information about it. So we have agreed on major approaches.

“One, the DRC team is coming through a chartered flight, including all those coming for the match. They will be using that chartered flight and they would have been screened from the DRC and they will be screened here in Nigeria.

“There is going to be no any other person that is going to be admitted using any other means of transportation for the match. We also discovered that the Ebola outbreak is limited to a particular place and it has not escalated. So we wouldn’t want to run the risk of setting a precedent which we will later be a victim of.

“Based on that, we only introduced strict policies to ensure that the match takes place and the match will take place.”

NBS Reports Says Nigeria’s GDP Rose By 1.95%, Non-Oil Sector Accounted For 90.3%

Greenbarge Reporters

May 21, 2018

National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has released reports indicating that Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has grown by 1.95 per cent year-on-year- in real terms in the first quarter of 2018.

The Bureau, which released the figures today, Monday, in Abuja, said that the oil sector’s contribution to GDP remains below 10 per cent, adding that though the nation recorded some growth in the oil sector during the period, the contribution formed only 9.61 per cent of the total, with the non- oil sector accounting for the rest.

It said that despite an increase in the daily oil production to an average of 2.0 million barrels per day (mbpd), higher than the 1.95 mbpd in the fourth quarter of 2017.

The report said that real growth of the oil sector was 14.77 per cent (year-on-year) in first quarter of 2018. This represented an increase of 30.37 per cent points relative to rate recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2017. Quarter-on-Quarter, the oil sector grew by 13.24 per cent in first quarter, 2018.

The NBS said that this was up from 8.53 per cent in the first quarter and 7.35 per cent in the fourth quarter recorded in 2017, adding: in comparison, non-oil sector grew by 0.76 per cent in real terms during the quarter under review.

This was higher by 0.04 per cent point compared to the rate recorded same quarter of 2017 and 0.70 per cent point lower than the fourth quarter of 2017.

The report stated that the sector’s growth was driven mainly by agriculture (Crop production), financial institutions and insurance, manufacturing, transportation and storage as well as information and Communication.

“In real terms, the Non-Oil sector contributed 90.39 per cent to the nation’s GDP, lower than 91.47 per cent recorded in the first quarter of 2017 and 92.65 per cent recorded in the fourth quarter of 2017.

“Overall, the Nigerian Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 1.95% (year-on-year) in real terms in the first quarter of 2018.

“The bureau stated that the figure shows a stronger growth compared with the first quarter of 2017, which recorded a growth of –0.91 per cent indicating an increase of 2.87 per cent points.

“Compared to the preceding quarter, there was a decline of -0.16% points from 2.11%, NBS said.

“Quarter on quarter, real GDP growth was -13.40% as oil production estimates for the third and fourth quarters of 2017 have been revised and oil GDP for those quarters have been adjusted accordingly.

“According to NBS figures, aggregate GDP for the first quarter stood at N28.4 trillion in nominal terms.

“This performance is higher when compared to the first quarter of 2017 which recorded a nominal GDP aggregate of N26.028 trillion thus, presenting a positive year on year nominal growth rate of 9.36%. This rate of growth is however lower relative to growth recorded in Q1 2017 by -7.70% points at 17.06% but higher than the proceeding quarter by 2.14% points at 7.22%.”

Osinbajo Advocates Re-Engineering Of Nigeria’s Border Policies

Greenbarge Reporters

May 21, 2018

Nigeria’s Vice-President , Yemi Osinbajo

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has advocated the re-engineering of the Nigeria’s border policies in view of the challenges the country face as a result of the wide and borders.

“It is time to rethink and re-engineer our border policies. This is the paramount responsibility of the commission and we trust that you will deliver.”

The Vice President, who spoke today, Monday, in Abuja, at the National Boundary Commission (NBC) retreat on border management, said that the country has over 4,000 kilometers of external borders, including its Atlantic coastline.

This, he said, is in addition to the thousands of kilometers of borders that the 36 States and the FCT share with one another.

“What happens along these borders greatly affect what happens within them. All you need is a cursory look at the daily news headlines to realize just how much of the issues they embody are determined by activities taking place at or across our land and maritime borders and boundaries; whether it is the smuggling or illegal oil bunkering, or the impact of undocumented migration on the security situation in the North Central, or communal clashes arising from boundary disputes.”
Professor Osinbajo said that The National Boundary Commission is responsible, according to the Act that established it, for defining and delimiting Nigeria’s internal and external boundaries, resolving disputes, promoting trans-boundary cooperation and coordinating all activities on our international boundaries.
“This means that the Commission has a very important role to play in mobilizing and coordinating various stakeholders, including law enforcement agencies, sub-national governments, foreign governments, bilateral and multilateral organizations, and others, to collectively deal with any and all boundary issues.”
he gave assurance that the Federal Government fully recognizes the significance of the National Boundary Commission’s role, adding that as part of efforts to strengthen the Commission and reposition it to more effectively fulfill its responsibilities; President Buhari has approved the appointment of six distinguished Nigerians as members of the Board.
The six appointed members, representing the six geo-political zones of the country, Osinbajo added, will work hand in hand with the ex-officio members of the Commission’s Board – Ministers, State Governors, Security Chiefs – as well as the management and staff of the Commission.
The Vice President stressed the importance of members working harmoniously, not only among themselves as a Commission, but also with all external stakeholders.

“As a Commission whose mandate includes ensuring harmonious border relations, charity has to begin at home.”

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