INEC Boss Frowns At Ignorance Of Nigerians On ‘Inconclusive Elections’

June 28, 2016

Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Yakubu Mahmood, has frowned at the ignorance being displayed by Nigerians on the issue of ‘inconclusive elections’ in the nation’s electoral process.

This is even as he directed Heads of Publicity Units and Voter Education of the Commission to ensure that they are proactive and reverse the growing tendency for stakeholders to misconstrue the Commission’s processes and laws.

“To our discomfort and in spite of the fact that our laws provide for inconclusive elections – and indeed they are not peculiar to this Commission – Nigerians assume that inconclusive elections are bad.”

The INEC Chairman spoke at the opening of a three-day workshop on Strategic Communication and Review of Voter Education Strategies for Heads of Department (VEP) and Public Affairs Officers (PAOs) at the Newton Park Hotel, Abuja.

Professor Mahmood decried the negative perception in the public domain on inconclusiveness of elections, saying that scant regard is paid to the fact that inconclusive elections are brought about by violence, over voting, and the fact that as elections become fiercely contested, the margins become narrower.

“Our Voter Education and Publicity Officers must be proactive in appreciating developments such as these and explaining them to the satisfaction of our stakeholders. Issues such as inconclusive elections should not be allowed to develop into public image spectres that hound the Commission.”

The INEC Boss underscored the important role of the Publicity Officers to the success of the Commission, adding: “as the Commission earnestly prepares for the conduct of the 2019 General Elections, you are crucial in selling our mission, vision and core values to all our stakeholders. To accomplish the above ennobling goals, you certainly need to fashion out a number of enviable strategies or methods.”

The Chairman, Information and Publicity Committee (IVEC), Prince Solomon A. Soyebi, said that the Commission had started early to plan for the successful conduct of the 2019 General Elections and the Strategic Plan 2017-2020.

“If the Commission were to deploy the best electoral strategies and best technologies in the conduct of elections, its efforts will come to nothing if its stakeholders are not robustly enlightened and educated.”

Prince Soyebi stressed that the Commission is not resting on its oars in training and retraining its workforce with a view to bringing it in tune with the dynamics of time and urged participants to use the opportunity presented by the workshop to equip themselves with the latest communication skills that would enable them discharge their onerous responsibilities.

The Director Voter Education and Publicity Department, Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi, said: “the workshop is coming at a time when public attention is fully on the Commission and its activities and when there is the urgent need to communicate effectively to various stakeholders.”

“You are expected to defend the position of the Commission on all issues concerning the electoral process. You are expected to be abreast of the developments in the Commission and new techniques of communication so as to speak and write from an informed position,” he told the participants.

The workshop is the first in the series of three (3) zonal workshops to be held in Abuja, Kaduna and Lagos with the support of International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES). [myad]

Federal High Court Lacks Power To Sack Me As Abia Governor – Ikpeazu

Greenbarge Reporters

June 28, 2016

The Abia State Governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, has asked the Appeal court to declare that the Federal High Court lacked the power to order him to vacate his seat as Abia State Governor.
This is one of the reliefs the governor sought as he filed an appeal against Monday’s judgment of a Federal High Court in Abuja which removed him from ‎office as governor.
The Governor, in a notice of appeal filed by Chief Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), raised five grounds of appeal upon which he asked the Court of Appeal to set aside the judgment and orders of the high court.
The notice of appeal reads: “The trial judge erred in law when he ordered as a consequential order that the appellant vacates his office‎ as the Governor of Abia state immediately when there was no jurisdiction in the Federal High Court to remove, vacate the occupier of the office of the governor of a state or order the removal of such officer after the unsuccessful challenge of the result of the election at the Tribunal and swearing in of the appellant as the governor.”
The governor said that the only power, authority and order exercisable by the Federal High Court was to disqualify the candidate from contesting the election based on section 31(6) of the Electoral Act 2010.
Ikepazu faulted the judge when he held that he did not pay his tax for 2011, 2012 and 2013 at when due when he was a public officer whose tax deduction was under Pay As You Earn scheme where tax deductions were from the source of his monthly salary by the tax authorities, which issued all the tax receipts and certificates.
He said the Abia State Board of Internal Revenue Services that issued him with the tax certificates had not declared the certificates forged and that the trial court did not invite the issuing authorities to give evidence in the course of the trial.
Ikpeazu said the plaintiff, Dr. Samson Uchechukwu Ogah, was not a staff of the Abia State Board of Internal Revenue and did not call any staff of the board to testify ‎that the tax certificates were forged.
He accused the trial judge, Justice Okon Abang, of violating his right to fair hearing by embarking on judicial investigation without giving him (Ikepazu) the opportunity to address the court on the issue.
The notice of appeal also stated: “The learned trial judge erred in law when he held that the appellant presented false information to the Independent National Electoral Commission by his ingenous meticulous study and investigation of documents filed in courts ‎in the recess of his chambers and thereby violated the right of the appellant to fair hearing.”
The governor said the judge had no duty to investigate the contents of documents dumped on the court in the recess of his chambers with a view to finding for the plaintiff.
“The decision of the judge which arose from the judicial investigation without opportunity to the appellant violated the appellant’s right to fair hearing,” the governor said.
Ikepazu also rejected the decision of the Federal High Court declaring him unqualified to be nominated at the primaries conducted by his party, the Peoples Democratic Party, because false information was supplied to the Independent National Electoral Commission.
According to him, INEC Form CF001, which the judge relied on, was not one of the grounds of qualification to contest the primaries of the PDP.
He said the judge misconceived the evidence presented by the parties and thereby arrived at a wrong conclusion, which occasioned a grave miscarriage of justice.
Meanwhile, the governor’s party, the PDP, has also rejected the judgment and filed a separate appeal.
The party‎ said the trial court erred in law when it held that it had jurisdiction to hear the suit, which was on whether section 24 (f) of the 1999 constitution was complied with.
It said:‎ “The honourable trial court misdirected itself when it construed the provisions of the PDP constitution to the detriment of the appellant without giving the appellant a chance to be heard and thereby occasioned miscarriage of justice.”
In the particulars of the error, the appellant said Ukeagbara and Mba being “the 1st and 2nd respondents in the appeal did not pray the trial court to construe the provisions of the PDP constitution.
“No evidence was led that the said Uche Sampson Ogah participated in the 2015 Abia State gubernatorial elections yet the trial court declared him as winner of the said elections contrary to the express provisions of section 141 of the Electoral Act.”
The PDP urged the Court of Appeal for “an order setting aside the judgment of the Federal High Court of Nigeria in suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/10862014 delivered on the 27th day of June, 2016”.
Justice Abang had ‎on Monday ordered Ikpeazu’s removal from office for giving false information in the form submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission by the PDP nominating him as its candidate for the April 11, 2015 governorship election.
In two separate judgments, Justice Abang ordered Ikpeazu to vacate the office of the governor of Abia State.
The judge also directed INEC to issue a fresh Certificate of Return to the plaintiff in one of the two suits, Uche Ogah, who was the first runner-up in the governorship primaries conducted by the PDP on December 8, 2014.
He ordered that Ogah’s full entitlements be restored to him as Governor of Abia State.
The judge made the orders after disqualifying Ikpeazu as the candidate of the PDP in the April 11, 2015 governorship election on the basis that he committed perjury by giving false information in the Form 8C001 and documents accompanying it, which he and the PDP submitted nominating him to INEC as the party’s governorship candidate. [myad]

Blind Man Bags PhD In Education, Says He Does Not Regret His Condition

Greenbarge Reporters

June 28, 2016

A visually-impaired man, Charles Onwubiko, who recently bagged a Doctorate in Education Psychology at the Abia State University, Uturu, said on Tuesday that he had no regrets being blind.
Onwubiko, who hails from Isuochi in Umunneochi Local Government Area of Abia State, told the News Agency of Nigeria in Owerri, the Imo State capital, that in spite living with sight challenge, God had never disappointed him and his family.
He spoke on the sidelines of a Thanksgiving Service at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Parish, Amakohia Uratta, in Owerri North Local Government Area of the state held in his honour.
Onwubiko said the processes he went through before acquiring degree were not easy, especially in regards to gathering of educational materials, finance and transportation.
He said: “I am glad that God has been on my side.
“When I purchased my form in 2012, the school fees was about N50,000, but before I completed the course in 2016, the fees had gone above N200,000.
“The issue of sourcing for materials became another challenge because in Nigeria and South East in particular, we do not have enough materials in braille.
“Reading, writing and speaking for PhD work is a huge challenge.
“To buy tape recorders, braille books, braille papers and beg friends who volunteered to read these works before I converted them into braille was not easy.
“In spite of my visual impediment, I passed all my university programmes with Grade Point Average of above four points.”
Onwubiko called for more conducive environment to support blind people and other physically-challenged persons to actualise their educational pursuits.
Onwubiko is a Lecturer in the Department of Education Psychology/Guardian and Counseling, Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education, Owerri. [myad]

Central Bank Of Nigeria Threatens To Sack Bank Chiefs That Fail Financial Regulations

Greenbarge Reporters

June 28, 2016

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has threatened to sack chief executive officer and chairman of any bank that fails to publish its financial statement within the regulatory period.

The apex bank said that all banks must publish their financial statements latest four months after their financial year or risk severe sanction, including removal of the chief executive officer and the chairmen.

In its Monetary, Credit, Foreign Trade and Exchange Policy Guidelines for the 2016/2017 released Monday the bank said “In accordance with BOFIA 2010 LFN, banks are required, subject to the written approval of the CBN, to publish not later than four months after the end of each financial year, their audited financial statements (statement of financial position and statement of comprehensive income) in a national newspaper printed and circulated in Nigeria.

“The CBN shall continue to hold the Board Chairman and Managing Director (MD) of a defaulting bank directly responsible for any breach and impose appropriate sanctions which may include the following: Barring the MD or his/her nominee from participation in the Bankers’ Committee and disclosing the reason for such suspension; suspension of the foreign exchange dealership licence of the bank and its name sent to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (in the case of a public quoted company); and removal of the chairman and managing director from office if the accounts remain unpublished for 12 months after the end of the bank’s financial year.” [myad]

Federal Govt Plans To Revisit Jonathan’s Youth Enterprises Scheme

Greenbarge Reporters

June 28, 2016

The Federal Government is set to start consultations with beneficiaries and other stakeholders on the restructuring and refocusing of the multi-billion Naira Youth Enterprise which was initiated by the immediate past President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan’s government.

The idea is to create an innovation that will of inject new ideas for its sustainability.
The Federal Ministry of Finance, which has been running the programme from inception, has scheduled the consultation for July 22, 2016 in Abuja, where representatives of the beneficiaries drawn from the six geopolitical zones and other stakeholders would chart a way forward for the programme.
Under the programme, which took off in 2011, a total of 18,000 young entrepreneurs have been trained in various aspects of Small and Medium Enterprises management and business skills, with 3,900 of them, including 1,200 women, each given non-repayable take-off grants for businesses of their choice ranging from a minimum of N1 million to a maximum of N10 million.
The third edition of the programme, which is still running with 1,500 beneficiaries, has received the sum of N11.2 billion in funding.
So far, grants totaling N7.4 billion have been disbursed to the awardees.
In June 2016 alone, the sum of N1.687 billion was paid to 638 awardees.
The Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, said as part of the change agenda of the current administration, the YouWin programme has to be restructured to ensure efficiency, transparency and accountability in investing the capital grants given to the beneficiaries by the Federal Government.
Adeosun confirmed that all FG commitments under the YouWIN programme will be fully met, but due diligence would be carried out on every beneficiary, using tools like the Bank Verification Number before disbursements. [myad]

FCT Trains Resident Doctors In Other Areas Of Specialisation

Greenbarge Reporters

June 28, 2016

The Nigeria Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Administration is seeking accreditation of additional postgraduate medical fellowship examinations from the West African Postgraduate Medical College as well as National Postgraduate Medical College for its resident doctors.

The General Manager, FCT Hospital Services Management Board, Dr. Aminu Mai, who briefed newsmen on the activities of the Board, said that the fellowship examination programme began in Maitama and Asokoro Hospitals since the commencement of the Residency Training in the Territory in 2010 and 2012 in Family Medicine and Obstetrics & Gynecology respectively.

Dr. Mai reiterated that the accreditation and subsequent examinations would ensure sustained manpower development of specialists in different fields of medicine for the FCT hospitals.

According to him, the additional fields that the FCT Administration is working to get accreditation include Internal Medicine, General Surgery, Pediatrics and Radiology.

Dr. Mai said that the programme is also intended to obviate the need for the release of unnecessarily large number of doctors for training in other training centers, which comes with its adverse consequences on service delivery as a result of gaps created by their exit.

The General Manager emphasized that the Administration believed that such action would go a long way in reducing medical tourism, which is negatively impacting on the nation’s foreign reserve.

He said that all the four Resident Doctors of FCT Hospitals that enrolled in the Family Medicine training programme and one Resident Doctor from the Obstetrics and Gynecology programme that participated in the April 2016 Part I Fellowship examinations of the West African Postgraduate Medical College were successful.

The General Manager explained that the “home grown” Resident Doctors by their success in the Part I examination are now Senior Registrars in their respective specialties and are on their way to sitting for the final (Part II) examination in another 24 months to qualify as Specialists (Consultants).

According to him, the FCT Administration is already making efforts to secure accreditation in more areas of specialization in the FCT Health Institutions to enable the FCT Resident Doctors participate effectively.

These trainings, Dr. Mai stated, have helped increase to 36, the number of Resident Doctors in FCTA accredited hospitals, whose services are desperately needed to further enhance the quality of healthcare delivery in Abuja.

The General Manager said that the Successful candidates at the recent examinations were Dr. Nweke Choma, Dr. Sotinwa Olasunkanmi, Dr. Oshodi Omokayode Azeez and Dr. Tolorunji, all of Obstetrics and Gynecology, while Dr. Osideko Olufemi qualified in Family Medicine.

“This achievement brings the number of doctors to six who have scaled the Part I fellowship examination in Maitama and Asokoro Hospitals since the commencement of the Residency Training Programme.” [myad]

Secondus Asks President Buhari To Reduce Battle Fronts And Tackle Nigeria’s Problems

Greenbarge Reporters

June 28, 2016

The immediate past Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus has asked President Muhammedu Buhari to stop causing more problems for the country and find ways to tackle the myriads of problems already facing the nation.
Prince Secondus said that rather than strive to address the major socio economic issues weighing down Nigerians due to the confusion and lack of direction of the government in the last one year, the APC government is busy creating more battle fronts and compounding the challenges of the county.
“Today under APC leadership, the country has become a whole theatre of acrimony with agitations here and there with no clear sign of solution in sight forcing political watchers to question if the country is disintegrating.
“Even the Boko haram issue that was supposed to be progressing well has run into troubled waters because of the confusion in the ruling party.
“Ditto the federal Government’s anti corruption fight is even skewed due to insincerity as Ministers already confirmed to be corrupt internationally continue to move untouched while PDP Governors with immunity are harassed daily.
“Rather than confront the various challenges overwhelming the country, APC is currently bleeding soaked in its own greed and the obvious consequence is that a house divided against itself is bound to fall and the party is already falling.”
The former PDP boss said that the federal Government under Buhari’s watch is gradually eroding all indices of democratic principles especially those anchored on the rule of law and separation of power as it has continued to violate all rules of free speech as enshrined in our status.
“Unlike what the world is watching in Britain where democracy is being put into action and in America where President Barak Obama is being routinely criticized, Nigerians are leaving in fear, the press, judiciary, and politicians are in heavy apprehension because of the draconian system of our operatives who come after them for airing their views.”
He advised the Government to respect various organs of governance and stop seeing himself as the Lord Mayor of state Governors and the National Assembly as this will amount to dictatorship.
The ongoing attempt to humiliate and intimidate the National Assembly Secondus said is dangerous as the parliament remains the opium of democracy.
According to Secondus, while federal Government creates more and more problems it leaves unattended to very critical projects, for example, after the hype created by his government on cleaning up Ogoniland, nothing is happening in the project while Governor Neysom Wike massive opening up of Ogoni roads neglected over the years is evident.
The PDP Chieftain said that APC should note that after one year in office deceit by propaganda and lies can no longer be sustained as Nigerians now know better that inside the noisy drum is nothing but confusion and lack of direction. [myad]

UNICEF Predicts Poverty, Early Deaths In Most Disadvantaged Children

Greenbarge Reporters

June 28, 2016

A report by United Nations Education Fund (UNICEF) has predicted that 69 million children under five will die from mostly preventable causes, 167 million children will live in poverty, and 750 million women will have been married as children by 2030, the target date for the Sustainable Development Goals.

This calculation, the international children development body said, is based on the current trend, saying that the only way to prevent the bad situation is for the world for focus more on the plight of its most disadvantaged children.

The report said that there is nowhere is the outlook grimmer than in sub-Saharan Africa, where at least 247 million children – or 2 in 3 – live in multidimensional poverty, deprived of what they need to survive and develop, and where nearly 60 per cent of 20- to 24-year-olds from the poorest fifth of the population have had less than four years of schooling. At current trends, the report projects, by 2030, sub-Saharan Africa will account for:

Nearly half of the 69 million children who will die before their fifth birthday from mostly preventable causes;

More than half of the 60 million children of primary school age who will still be out of school; and
9 out of 10 children living in extreme poverty.

The State of the World’s Children, UNICEF’s annual flagship report, paints a stark picture of what is in store for the world’s poorest children if governments, donors, businesses and international organizations do not accelerate efforts to address their needs.

“Denying hundreds of millions of children a fair chance in life does more than threaten their futures – by fueling intergenerational cycles of disadvantage, it imperils the future of their societies,” said UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake. “We have a choice: Invest in these children now or allow our world to become still more unequal and divided.”

The report notes that significant progress has been made in saving children’s lives, getting children into school and lifting people out of poverty. Global under-five mortality rates have been more than halved since 1990, boys and girls attend primary school in equal numbers in 129 countries, and the number of people living in extreme poverty worldwide is almost half what it was in the 1990s.

But this progress has been neither even nor fair, the report says. The poorest children are twice as likely to die before their fifth birthday and to be chronically malnourished than the richest. Across much of South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, children born to mothers with no education are almost 3 times more likely to die before they are 5 than those born to mothers with a secondary education. And girls from the poorest households are twice as likely to marry as children than girls from the wealthiest households.

Although education plays a unique role in levelling the playing field for children, the number of children who do not attend school has increased since 2011, and a significant proportion of those who do go to school are not learning. About 124 million children today do not go to primary- and lower-secondary school, and almost 2 in 5 who do finish primary school have not learned how to read, write or do simple arithmetic.

The report points to evidence that investing in the most vulnerable children can yield immediate and long-term benefits. Cash transfers, for example, have been shown to help children stay in school longer and advance to higher levels of education. On average, each additional year of education a child receives increases his or her adult earnings by about 10 per cent. And for each additional year of schooling completed, on average, by young adults in a country, that country’s poverty rates fall by 9 per cent.

Inequity is neither inevitable, nor insurmountable, the report argues. Better data on the most vulnerable children, integrated solutions to the challenges children face, innovative ways to address old problems, more equitable investment and increased involvement by communities – all these measures can help level the playing field for children. [myad]

Saraki Surrenders, Says He’s Ready To Go To Jail To Save Democracy

Greenbarge Reporters

June 27, 2016

“If yielding to the nefarious agenda of a few individuals who are bent in undermining our democracy and destabilizing the Federal government to satisfy their selfish interests is the alternative to losing my personal freedom, let the doors of jails be thrown open and I shall be a happy guest.”

These were the words of the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki when he spoke to news men on Monday in Abuja shortly after he was granted bail by the court on account of forgery of the Senate rules that brought him to office as Senate President.

Saraki emphasized “I’m ready to go to jail if necessary in defense of our democracy,” even as he said that he is being persecuted for no reason.

The Senate President said that Senate’s Rule book is an “internal affairs” because the Senate is independent legislative arm of government.

“Over the past year the Senate has worked to foster good relations with the Executive Branch. It is in all of our collective interests to put aside divisions and get on with the nation’s business. We risk alienating and losing the support of the very people who have entrusted their national leaders to seek new and creative ways to promote a secure and prosperous Nigeria. As leaders and patriots, it is time to rise above partisanship and to move forward together.

“However, what has become clear is that there is now a government within the government of President Buhari who have seized the apparatus of Executive powers to pursue their nefarious agenda.

“This latest onslaught on the Legislature represents a clear and present danger to the democracy Nigerians fought hard to win and preserve. The suit filed on behalf of the Federal government suggests that perhaps some forces in the Federal Republic have not fully embraced the fact that the Senate’s rules and procedures govern how the legislative body adjudicates and resolves its own disputes.

“Let it be abundantly clear, both as a citizen and as a foremost Legislator, I will continue to rise above all the persecution and distraction that have been visited on me. In the words of Martin Luther King Junior, “the ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at a time of challenge and controversy”.

“I will remain true and committed to the responsibilities that my citizenship and my office impose on me. Without doubt, the highest of those responsibilities is the steadfast refusal to surrender to the subversion of our democracy and the desecration of the Senate. This is a cross I am prepared to carry. If yielding to the nefarious agenda of a few individuals who are bent in undermining our democracy and destabilizing the Federal government to satisfy their selfish interests is the alternative to losing my personal freedom, let the doors of jails be thrown open and I shall be a happy guest.” [myad]

Education Minister Insists scrapping Of Post-UTME Is With Immediate Effect

Greenbarge Reporters

June 27, 2016

Minister of education, Malam Adamu Adamu has made it clear that his order scrapping the Post-Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination is with immediate effect.

A statement by the Deputy Director of Press and Public Relations in the ministry, Ben Goong, quoted the Minister as having directed all higher institutions to comply with the directive.
The statement said: “The ban is with immediate effect, and under no circumstance should any institution violate the directive.
“The responsibility for admission into public tertiary institutions lies solely with the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and under no circumstance whatsoever, should anybody or institution take over that responsibility by proxy.
“For the avoidance of doubt, any educational institution after secondary education is regarded as a tertiary institution.
“Therefore, all tertiary institutions, Polytechnics, Colleges of Education, Universities or by whatever name it is called after secondary education, must be subjected to admission through the JAMB.”
The statement said that at the end of probationary admission by JAMB, the candidates could be screened for final admission, adding that any institution with a shortfall in admission could revert to JAMB for supplementary admission.
According to the statement, screening in this case entails only the verification of certificates of the candidates, JAMB scores and any other physical examination to ensure that such candidates are not cultists.
“After this, the candidates are qualified for matriculation. Such screening should be at no cost to the parents or students and should be done upon resumption, in order to avoid unnecessary travels in search of admission.”
It said that the clarification had become necessary in order to clear the doubt in some quarters regarding the real stance of the minister.
The minister had earlier raised concern over the post-UTME test being conducted by various universities, saying: “as far as I am concerned, if the nation has confidence in what JAMB is doing, the universities should not be holding another examinations.
“If the universities have any complain against JAMB, let them bring it and then we address it.
“But if JAMB is qualified enough to conduct tests and they have conducted test, then there will be no need to conduct another test for students to gain admission.”
The statement further quoted the minister as saying that there has been no empirical evidence to show that since the inception of post-UTME, universities have been having better quality students.
It said that students were still being expelled on a yearly basis for low performance even as they gained admission through post-UTME.
According to the statement, Adamu is concerned about the plight of parents who spend fortunes on transportation and sundry costs just for their wards to gain admission into universities.
It further said that the minister was mindful of reported cases where some staff of tertiary institutions took advantage of the girl-child in her quest to gain admission into the system.
The statement said the minister had directed the National Universities Commission and appropriate departments in the ministry to communicate the directive to relevant agencies and institutions, to ensure strict compliance.
Adamu was quoted as having said: “Those who have already advertised for the conduct of the Post-UTME under any guise should stop the exercise immediately as any university caught conducting Post-UTMNE will face appropriate sanctions.
“If any tertiary Institution has already conducted Post-UTME, such an exercise stands annulled and money taken from such candidates must be refunded immediately.” [myad]

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