SIGN ELECTORAL BILL NOW, OBIAGELI EZEKWESILI URGES PRESIDENT BUHARI

Obi Ezekwesili and Buhari.

The presidential candidate of the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria, Mrs. Obiageli Ezekwesili, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to sign the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2018.

Ezekwesili, who made call at a news conference in Abuja on Monday, said signing of the bill was for the development of democracy in Nigeria.

She said the constitutional will of Nigerians had been expressed through elections since 1999, and therefore the chain should not be broken in the 2019 General Elections.

According to her, without a democratic and electoral system that enables quality candidates to participate, it will be impossible to get competent leaders into elective offices across the country.

“The 1999 transition to civil rule and the election that ushered in our latest experience of democracy was the beginning of the longest ever and unbroken cycle.

“This democratic turn of event may not mean much seeing that it has not translated to good governance and improvement in quality of life to citizens.

“The 2019 elections are looked upon as the moment Nigeria must entrench electoral integrity and level playing field for all contestants.

“I have called this press conference to demand that President Buhari signs the Electoral Act Amendment Bill transmitted by the National Assembly into law,” she said.

The Bring Back Our Girls convener added that failure to sign the electoral bill would undermine transparent and democratic growth of the country.

“The President should immediately request the National Assembly to re-transmit the amendment bill for his swift assent.

“The President must be reminded to avoid all actions that will mar the genuineness of the 2019 elections,”she said.

(NAN)

OUTCOME OF MONDAY'S ASUU MEETING WITH FED GOVT

Another meeting between the federal government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) ended on Monday night without an immediate resolution of the dispute.

The meeting which held at the Federal Ministry of Labour was to find a lasting solution to the ongoing strike by the university lecturers.

At least four other meetings have been held between both parties before Monday’s since the strike commenced on November 4.

While addressing journalists, the minister of labour and employment, Chris Ngige, said the meeting has been adjourned to December 17.

Mr Ngige said the federal government is taking all necessary steps to address ASUU’s demands.

Mr Ngige had earlier appealed to the striking lecturers to ensure that Monday’s dialogue yields results that will lead to ending the strike.

”The strike is five weeks old today and it is not in anybody’s interest. We will ensure the needful is done,” he said.

Meanwhile, the ASUU chairman, Biodun Ogunyemi, said the union will await the next adjournment date to see how far the federal government will deliver on its promises before it will take a decision on whether to suspend the industrial action.

The union embarked on the strike on November 4 over the poor funding of Nigerian universities and non-implementation of previous agreements by the government.

THE TRUE STORY OF METELE ATTACKS, BY SURVIVING SOLDIER

•Theatre Command exposed us to attack

•Soldiers on war front being owed allowances

•B/H attacked us with 15 N/A vehicles

•DHQ reaffirms that only 23 soldiers died in Metele attack

•Why Army Chief, Buratai, changed 85% of Lafiya Dole field commanders

•I’ll continue to work for elimination of terrorism in Lake Chad—Buhari

•As Jordan King commiserates with Nigeria over soldiers massacre

Contrary to claims by the Nigerian Army that 23 soldiers died in the recent attack by Boko Haram insurgents on Nigerian Army 157 Task Force Battalion in Metele, Borno State, one of the soldiers who survived said no fewer than 200 people lost their lives in the incident.

He also said that Boko Haram members, who were earlier arrested by soldiers in the battalion but later released by superior authorities, were among the attackers.

Army

But Defence Headquarters in a reaction, dismissed all the allegations raised by the surviving soldier, insisting that only 23 soldiers were killed in Metele attack.

The soldier, who disclosed these, yesterday, on condition of anonymity, said the video being circulated as depicting the Metele attack was the video of an earlier attack on soldiers in Jeli.

He further noted that the wrong location of the base, faulty Armoured Personnel Carriers, APCs, and absence of aerial support from the Nigerian Air Force made it possible for the insurgents to inflict heavy casualties on the soldiers.

However, the surviving soldier appealed to President Buhari to disregard the information being given to him, saying that apart from the poor equipment deployed to the battlefield, soldiers were being owed six months allowances.

Consequently, he urged the President to review the welfare packages of those fighting the war, alleging they are being underpaid by the authorities.

Also, he regretted that the ground troops were not getting enough support from the Air Force, saying while Boko Haram insurgents monitored their activities with drones, the Air Force hardly carry out such tasks in enemy camps.

Continuing, the soldier, who said the Army does not have an accurate data of those on the war front, added that the Air Force always attribute alleged inability to support them to poor visibility.

  THE METELE  ATTACK 

His words: “The information about the Metele attack by the head of the Army, especially the Chief of Staff is wrong. I do not think they are doing what they are being paid to do. Soldiers are being killed daily, and their families are not being catered for properly. Last year, a celebration was hosted in Maiduguri to make sure that Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs returned to their respective areas. One hundred and fifty (150) vehicles left Abuja for Maiduguri for the exercise, 15 suddenly got missing and the 15 vehicles that got missing were painted green, with Operation Last Hold written on them. They are the vehicles being used in attacking military locations, including Gagiram that was first attacked.

“The attack led to the death of a Captain and 11 others, but they told the press and others that we lost only seven soldiers. Even if seven soldiers died, was it right to describe the figure as  only? I think Nigeria is in a state of war. For us to lose about 11 soldiers and they called it just seven it is not true.

STATE OF WAR

“Gagiram was attacked the second and third time. Minari was attacked and we lost 13 soldiers and officers. Others, who ran into the bush are still missing.  The fight against the insurgents became intense with attacks on many locations. Between Gudunbalo and Gamasa, we lost many soldiers but it was unreported in the press and to the Presidency. No fewer than 200 soldiers were killed and the truth was never told.

“Jeli was also attacked. Many soldiers died and some are still missing. The question I am asking today is: Does the Army headquarters actually know the total strength of soldiers fighting in the North East? I don’t think so.

“Since the Metele attack, many soldiers are still missing. Some corpses have been recovered while many have not been recovered. How do they know the total number of soldiers? I was surprised when the Chief of Army Staff came out on the TV and said only 23 people died. Let’s assume that 23 soldiers died, was that enough to call the number only? It is inhuman. What I know is that when a General loses in a battle, he is supposed to be court-martialed, retired, or jailed.

But, some of our commanders failed and were then promoted. It shows that we are very wicked and we have lost it all as a nation. What about the people that died as a result of his actions?

WE ARE POORLY FED

“On our welfare, the Federal Government has released Ratio Cash Allowance, RCA, and operational allowance. It has not been given to us. We are only paid N20,000 monthly, and we are not paid at when due.

They pay N10,000 in cash and N45,000 is being given to the commandant for feeding. What are we being fed? They feed us beans every day in the morning. At noon we are given rice, while we eat garri for supper. People have developed diabetes because of regular intake of carbohydrate. Some soldiers now have challenges with their eyes because of what we eat. We are not properly fed, but they will come out to tell Nigerians that soldiers are well paid.

“The issue is not about deploying more people to the North East. People have stayed in the North East for four years without being rotated. Some have never seen their families, some who had no chance of seeing their families have died. They should forget about sending people to the North East and equip the soldiers properly. I want the President to heed this advice. What we need is not to send people to Sambisa. The President should ask what the army leadership did with money for the procurement of weapons. Did they actually buy new weapons or refurbished weapons?

ARMY ON THE DEFENSIVE

“The APC’s we have cannot run for 10 to 15 minutes without overheating or stopping in the bush. The Anti-Aircraft Artillery, AA, also has the same challenges. We cannot shoot for three minutes without stoppages. But Boko Haram shoots for more than two straight hours without stoppages. Now, the question I am asking is: Is the Army supposed to be on the offensive or defensive? I know that an army is supposed to be on the offensive. There is no need for us to be defensive all the time.

“We lack equipment.  Soldiers have overstayed in the battlefield. There is a standing order that soldiers who have spent three months will be allowed to have two weeks to visit their families. What suddenly happened to the standing order?”

RECOGNITION FOR  COL SAKABA 

He continued: “Soldiers, who fought and died were never to be promoted. But those who recovered the body of the late Major General Akali in Jos have all been promoted. What about the people who are fighting Boko Haram and those who died fighting Boko Haram? The late Lt. Colonel Sakaba who died in Metele should be promoted. The families of other soldiers who died fighting should be compensated. We are all human beings. We only read about our allowances on the pages of newspapers.

“It was reported that we are entitled to N2,000 daily for feeding, while N5,000 is the operational allowance for 30 days.  The Federal Government said the soldiers in the North East are being paid N95,000, it is not true. We are only being given N20,000 as monthly allowance and it is not regularly paid. We want our money paid as at when due and they should pay us all the arrears effective from the day it was released.

“They have moved soldiers from Arege to Malapatori but Malapatori is not supposed to have two locations. The removal of soldiers from Arege has made Monguno vulnerable to attack. The moment they take Monguno, definitely, they will capture Maiduguri.”

DEFENCE HEADQUARTERS REACTION

Meanwhile, the Defence Headquarters yesterday, dismissed insinuations that troops in the North-East battling Boko Haram terrorists were not properly fed, adding that there was no iota of truth in the allegations that soldiers wounded in Metele attacks were paying for their drugs.

It also denied that over 170 soldiers died in the recent attack carried by the terrorists at Metele Village in Borno State, reaffirming that only 23 soldiers died, with 31 others wounded.

The Director of Defence Information, Brigadier General John Agim, reacting to the allegations while speaking on the telephone, insisted that the military authorities were fully responsible for all the needs of the troops in the North East and asked the general public to disregard the allegations he described as not only baseless but also unfounded.

He said:  “It is not true that our troops are feeding themselves. The allegation that their allowances are not being paid and also that they are paying for their kits is baseless and unfounded.

“Where are they getting their kits from?  Where are they buying the food from and where are they getting the money from to feed themselves?

“It is not true, people just want to bring corruption to everything we are doing. I think the allegation came after the attack in Metele.

“Well, we are fighting a battle and these people (insurgents and terrorists) are getting more daring because they are now getting support from Islamic State of West African Province. So,we are fighting ISIS, we are fighting ISWAP altogether. We are bound to have setbacks if there are lapses.

“But people are trying to raise allegation of corruption against the commander, but they should know that the Metele attack affected the commander too; he died. So if he was corrupt as some are alleging, where has it taken him?”

Brigadier General Agim appealed to the general public to support the military in its ongoing battle against the terrorists so that the security situation in the North East could be brought to an end, saying anything on the contrary could only escalate and prolong the situation.

“I want to appeal that if we have an attack, everybody should stand behind the military and encourage them, we are always very quick to castigate the military; you don’t know that these things have consequences.

‘’For instance, there are insinuations that soldiers are running away from the terrorists in the North East and they can’t stand to fight. This kind of thing only emboldens the terrorists.

“There are certain things about these terrorists that we shouldn’t write about because doing so will rather encourage the terrorists and insurgents to be bold. We should be downplaying some of these things because it is not possible that these things you mentioned are happening because their allowances are paid as at when due,” he further said.

Speaking on the actual number of soldiers that died in the Metele attack, Agim said contrary to speculation that more than 170 soldiers died, only 23 died in the attack.

The dead, he said, included the Commanding Officer and the Intelligence Officer.

“We have 23 soldiers that died, including the officers. The officers were Intelligence Officer, the Commanding Officer and the 2IC.  Also, we have 31 troops that were wounded in the unfortunate attack,” he said.

Also, over the weekend, indications emerged that the decision of the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Yusuf Buratai, to carry out massive redeployment of several Brigade Commanders and Commanding Officers in the ongoing battle to eliminate Boko Haram terrorists from the North East was due to the need to restore confidence and high morale among fighting troops.

It was also gathered that concerns about the strict adherence to implementation of allocated allowances and other welfare packages for troops which had been filtering into the ears of the Army Chief, which became louder, following the November 18 Boko Haram attack on Metele base in Guzamala Local Government of Borno State, spelled the last straw.

Vanguard gathered from a General in the Army who spoke in confidence that because of the determination of the COAS to ensure maximum morale among troops in routing Boko Haram terrorists, he had bypassed bottlenecks in the disbursement of allowances due troops prosecuting the operation.

“So it was a surprise to the authorities that some revelations that came out after the Matele attack pointed to issues of allowances to troops as one of the things that affected morale,” the officer said.

Asked why some soldiers who got injured in several gun battles with terrorists were left to cater for themselves by buying drugs, the officer said though he was not in a position to confirm the development, it also bordered on welfare which was one of the reasons for the COAS’ action.

Regarding the issue of payment of N1,000 RCA to troops in the battle front, the officer said the Army authorities, particularly the Chief of Army Staff, should be commended for paying N1,000 which was hitherto N500 daily.

“Mind you, this is aside from their normal feeding which is provided by the Army as at when due. As I speak with you, every other soldier outside operational areas receives N500 daily as RCA. So there is no foul play there,” he said.

Speaking on allegations that many more soldiers (over 100) were killed by Boko Haram during the Metele attack, than the 23 dead and 31 injured quoted by Army headquarters, the senior officer said he could not dispute the casualty figure of the Chief of Army Staff, noting that there were procedures and investigations backing the figure released by the authorities.

He added:  “Those choosing to doubt the Army should know that the dead are dead. They have families. So what will be the gain of saying somebody is alive when he is dead or denying when he has a family”.

King of Jordan condoles with Nigeria

Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has assured His Majesty King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein of Jordan that he would continue to work towards total elimination of terrorism in the Lake Chad basin area.

President Buhari gave the assurance, yesterday, when he received a condolence message and assurance of support in the fight against terrorism from the Jordanian King who prayed for peace and calm in Nigeria, and throughout Africa.

A statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, disclosed that the condolence was sent through telephone conversation.

According to the statement, King Abdullah, who is from the Hashemite family of Jordan, commended the Nigerian Army for its courage and resilience in the face of challenges in fighting terrorism.

President Buhari thanked King Abdullah for his concern on the recent setbacks that led to the loss of lives of soldiers in the North East.

The President assured that several measures had been discussed and were being implemented to steer the country from the unfortunate occurrence.

Source: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/12/true-story-of-metele-attacks-by-surviving-soldier/.

He was also said to have ordered that funds for troops’ welfare be sent directly to the Field Brigade Commanders and Commanding Officers of Units and Battalions for direct disbursements to t

OIL MARKETERS, DAPPMA, RESCIND EARLIER DECISION TO GO ON STRIKE

The Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association (DAPPMA) has suspended its earlier directive to commence shutdown of depots across the country and stop loading petroleum products effective from midnight of Sunday.

The directive to suspend the action was conveyed in a statement issued around 1.20am on Monday by DAPPMA’s Executive Secretary, Mr Olufemi Adewole, in Lagos.

The association had issued a shut-down directive to its members following the continuing indebtedness of the Federal Government to petroleum marketers.

“However, following the intervention of well-meaning Nigerians, including the National Assembly as represented by the Senate Committee of Petroleum Downstream and constructive engagement of the Federal Government team by the labour unions most affected by the disengagement of our personnel, namely, PENGASSAN, NUPENG NARTO,PTD,and DAPPMA.

“The union has resolved to recall its disengaged personnel for 5-days to give the FG’s team the opportunity to conclude its process of paying marketers the full outstanding of N800 billion with the first trench being the amount already approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC)

“The association has acted in good faith to avoid unnecessary hardship which could befall Nigerians during the yuletide season and we hope that government would make good its promise to see that those issues are resolved by Friday, Dec., 14, 2018 as promised.

“To this, end, our disengaged personnel would be recalled on Monday, Dec. 10 and considering the reactivation time or hitherto shut down system, all depots with fuel stock should be fully active same day,’’ the statement said.

The statement said further that the conclusion of the debts payment would curtail the continuing wastage of public funds as interest accruing on the over N800 billion debt.

“DAPPMA depots are therefore advised to commence loading operations immediately and await further notification in respect of our long overdue payment.

DAPPAMA had on early on Sunday directed its members to shut down all loading operations by midnight, adding that oil marketers had disengaged employees due to their inability to pay salaries.

It said that the Association took a bold step to stop the financial haemorrhaging of its members by the painful disengagement of its loyal workers after over three years of engaging with the government in the efforts to secure the payment of all subsidy induced debt owed marketers.

According to DAPPMA, to avoid owing staff without any hope of pay, it is hereby agreed that since all our staff have been disengaged, all DAPPMAN member depot are not in a position to operate hence will shut down all loading at midnight

DAPPMA said that the decision of government to settle N236 billion out of the outstanding N800 subsidy arrears was not acceptable to DAPPMA members, leading to last week’s Thursday meeting which ended in a deadlock.

They explained that the decision of government to pay the N236 billion through promissory notes was equally rejected by the oil marketers.

‘‘As the name suggest, promissory note is a payment instrument that is post dated. Based on this when you approach the banks with the instrument, you don’t get the actual value on it.

“About 30 per cent is knocked off because Government will be making the payment at a later date which ties down the bank’s capital’’’ he said.

2019: DESPITE PRESIDENTIAL VETO, INEC FORECLOSES USE OF INCIDENT FORM

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said despite the refusal of President Muhammadu Buhari to assent to the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill 2018, which makes the use of card reader mandatory, the 2019 elections will not be conducted with incident form.
INEC’s assurance is coming as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Campaign Organisation has said the use of incident form in the impending general elections would be unacceptable to it.

The electoral body, however, said the rejected bill would have addressed the controversies that trailed the 2015 exercise especially the place of technology and others that the amendments seek to address.

Responding to THISDAY enquiry yesterday, INEC’s Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Mr. Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi, said the presidential veto has created no lacuna in the electoral legal regime, explaining that the Electoral Act 2010 as amended in 2015 would be the operative law.

According to him, “While it may be better to have the necessary amendments to avoid some of the controversies that trailed the 2015 exercise, especially the place of technology and others the amendments seek to cure, we can still have good elections with the extant act as we did in 2015, which were adjudged free, fair and credible.”

Reacting to a report by an online newspaper that 13.5 million voters voted for Buhari without full biometric accreditation in 2015, Osaze-Uzzi said, “How was this determined? Biometric accreditation does not determine who a person votes for. Put another way, the card reader is used for biometric accreditation. It doesn’t determine how such persons vote.

“Incident forms will not be used in 2019.”

President Muhammadu Buhari had last week, for the fourth time withheld his assent to the amendment bill, citing legal drafting errors.

In separate letters dated December 6 titled, ‘Presidential Decision to Decline Assent to the Electoral (Amendment) Bill, 2018’, addressed to the President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, and Speaker Yakubu Dogara of the House of Representatives, Buhari explained that he was declining assent “principally because passing a new electoral bill this far into the electoral process for the 2019 general election, which commenced under the 2015 Electoral Act, could create some uncertainties about the applicable legislation to govern the process.”

The president also listed four provisions of the bill that required drafting amendments by the National Assembly. They include Section five of the bill amending section 18 of the principal act, which should indicate the subsection to which the substitution of the figure “30” for the figure “60” is to be effected and Section 11 of the bill amending Section 36 should indicate the subsection in which the proviso is to be introduced.

But the PDP presidential campaign said the use of incident form would not be acceptable to it in 2019.

One of the spokespersons, Mr. Segun Sowunmi, said that outpouring of goodwill by Nigerians since the PDP started its zonal presidential campaigns was an indication that the All Progressives Congress (APC) could not win the election in a free and fair contest.

He stated, “I want to tell INEC that it is a major unacceptable embarrassment that the business of incident forms will now take precedence over the card reader.

“Card reader is what must be encouraged to be the only thing that will be used for the 2019 elections. But how can we trust the integrity of the process if it is compromised by incident forms and underage people voting.”

Sowunmi insisted that the 2019 elections should be a celebration of the development of the country’s democratic journey, which he said could only be achieved if INEC conducts free, fair, credible and transparent elections in 2019.

An online newspaper at the weekend reported that at least 13.5 million Nigerians voted manually, without biometric accreditation, in the 2015 presidential election, according to data from INEC, part of the problems the amendment bill seeks to address.

The data, obtained by DeepDive Intelligence, shows that Buhari, candidate of the APC, won in nine of the 10 most-affected states, notwithstanding that the non-use of PVCs during the poll cut across all the political parties’ strongholds.

The 2015 presidential election had two major contenders, Buhari and Goodluck Jonathan, Nigeria’s first incumbent president to lose a re-election bid.

Of the 31,746,490 accredited voters in the election, 13,536,311, representing 42.6 per cent of voters, voted without biometric accreditation.

Out of this number, 10,184,720 votes are from states won by Buhari and 3,351,591 votes came from states won by Jonathan, the PDP candidate, representing 75 per cent and 25 per cent of accredited voters respectively.

https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2018/12/10/2019-despite-presidential-veto-inec-forecloses-use-of-incident-form/

2019 ELECTION: HOW GOV. EMMANUEL SHOCKED ME – SENATOR GODSWILL AKPABIO

Former governor of Akwa Ibom State, Godswill Akpabio, has taken a swipe at his estranged political godson, Governor Emmanuel Udom.

Akpabio said he was “shocked that Emmanuel whom I brought from Lagos and installed as a Governor even though he was not a member of the party on whose platform he stood election and become Governor, could call a world press conference to insult me.”

According to him, the Governor never had a membership card of any political party neither had he contested for any election on his own before he (Akpabio) picked him up from Lagos and made him Governor.

Akpabio, a former Senate Minority Leader, said the All Progressives Congress, APC, would record landslide victory in the general elections in the State.

The Senator representing Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial District stated this at an assembly to flag-off his senatorial election campaign and inauguration of Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial District APC Campaign Council at Ukana, his country home in Essien Udim Local Government Area of the State on Sunday.

He said, ‘’the electorate in the state would reciprocate the kind gesture of Mr. President Buhari by voting massively for him and all candidates of the APC in the state.’’

Taking a swipe at Governor Emmanuel over what he described as hypocritical campaign slogan tagged “only God”, Akpabio said God cannot be mocked, noting that, “Only God could have made it possible to make someone who was never a party member to become a governor.

“Only God could have made somebody who has never had a party card or know what is called ward to become a governor.

“Only God could have made someone who could not have stood election on his own even as a Councilor and win to be brought from somewhere and made Governor.

”Only God could have made a man who has never helped anyone to become anything to become governor.”

OIL MARKETERS TO SHUT DOWN ALL LOADING OPERATIONS BY MIDNIGHT

The Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) has directed its members to shut down all loading operations by midnight.

The association gave the directive in a statement released on Sunday and signed by Olufemi Adewole, its executive secretary.

According to the statement, oil marketers have disengaged their staff due to inability to pay salaries.

“The Association took a bold step to stop the financial hemorrhaging of its members by the painful disengagement of its loyal workers after over 3 years of engaging with the Federal Government in the efforts to secure the payment of all subsidy induced debt owed marketers,” the statement read.

“To avoid owing staff without any hope of pay, it is hereby agreed that since all our staff have been disengaged, ALL DAPPMAN Member depot are not in a position to operate hence WILL SHUT DOWN ALL LOADINGS AT MIDNIGHT, Sunday, December 9.”

The ministry of finance had announced that it had reached an agreement with by the painful disengageoil marketers on how to pay the outstanding subsidy claims.

However, DAPPMAN denied reaching an agreement with the government because it failed to agree to demands that the claims should be paid in cash instead of using promissory notes.

A statement released on Saturday by Henry Ikem-Obih, chief operating officer, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) downstream, had assured that the Debt Management Office would pay N236 billion out of the N348 billion approved by the national assembly as outstanding subsidy claims on Friday. 

FED GOVT. SCRAPS HND CERTIFICATE, MAKES FRESH RULES FOR POLYTECHNICS

The Federal Government has scrapped the Award of HND Certificates by Polytechnics.The decision was reached at the Federal Executive Council, FEC, yesterday where the approval of a comprehensive reform of Nigeria’s tertiary education system was made.

In effect, the award of HND will be limited to only the students currently admitted for the programmes.Also, all the programmes currently being run by polytechnics, which are not technology-based, and which are about 70 per cent, will be scrapped.

Under the new rule, the polytechnics will now become campuses of the proximate universities with the Vice Chancellors of those universities appointing provosts for the polytechnics, subject to the ratification of the Universities councils.

The polytechnics will now be limited to award of the National Diploma (ND) while those desirous of further education will be awarded the Bachelor of Technology (B. Tech) by the proximate university.

To kick-start the new policy, the nation’s two most prominent polytechnics – Yaba College of Technology and Kaduna Polytechnic – will henceforth be known as City University of Technology, Yaba and City University of Technology, Kaduna. And to give legal teeth to these approvals, the FEC approved the submission of two Executive bills to the National Assembly for enactment.

With education being on the concurrent list, the states may wish to consolidate their tertiary institutions. But if they do not wish to follow the federal example, their programmes will continue to be regulated by the relevant agencies of the Federal Ministry of Education.

The first bill will concretise the setting up of the two city universities while the second will approve the preparation and consolidation of all federal polytechnics and colleges of education as campuses of proximate universities.

The Ministry of Justice will do the preparation and submission of the two bills to the National Assembly.
Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, told journalists after the weekly meeting of the council that under the reform measures, his ministry would, however, continue to license private polytechnics and colleges of education for the award of qualification at ND and National Certificate in Education (NCE) levels.

He said, “There will be no more award of HND.“After we have exhausted the current students under the programme, there will be no more award of HND. This means that there will be no fresh admission for HND programmes. And in addition, any programme that is not technical will be out of the polytechnics. “About 70 per cent of polytechnic graduates are in the non-technical courses. It is going to be a rigorous implementation programme.”

A ministerial committee to ensure the smooth implementation of all that is required for the take-off of the reform initiatives is to begin work immediately. Adamu said, “The HND certificate will remain a legal tender in Nigeria and holders of such certificate will continue to be recognised as the equivalent of first degree holders without discriminatory remunerations and limit to progression in the work place.

“The NCE certificate will be retained as the minimum teaching qualification at the basic level of education. Any higher qualifications by these private or state-owned polytechnics will be only affiliation with a university. So, HND is no longer in existence, but existing HND will be respected and considered legal tender.”

ELECTORAL ACT: PRESIDENT BUHARI FINALLY BREAKS SILENCE, REVEALS WHY HE REFUSED TO SIGN BILL

President Muhammadu Buhari has disclosed why he refused to give assent to the Electoral Amendment Act. President Buhari had for the third time withheld his assent to the bill.

This was disclosed by his Senior Special Assistant on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Senator Ita Enang.

President Buhari explained that passing the bill could cause “some uncertainty about the applicable legislation to govern the process.”

The President’s reasons for refusing to assent the Bill was contained in a letter transmitted to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara dated December 6, 2018 and was published by his Personal Assistant on Social Media, Lauretta Onochie, on Saturday via Twitter.

The letter reads partly: “Pursuant to Section 58(4) of the constitution of the Federal republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), I hereby convey to the House of Representatives my decision on 6th December 2018 to decline Presidential Assent to the Electoral (Amendment) Bill, 2018 recently passed by the National Assembly.

“I am declining assent to the Bill principally because I am concern that passing the new electoral bill this far into the electoral process for the 2019 general elections which commenced under the 2015 Electoral Act could create some uncertainty about the applicable legislation to govern the process.

“Any real or apparent change to the rule this close to the election may provide an opportunity for disruption and confusion in respect of which law governs the electoral process.”

BUHARI WOULD HAVE BREACHED ECOWAS PROTOCOL IF GIVEN ACCENT TO THE ELECTORAL BILL – SEN. OMO-AGEGE

 Senator Ovie Omo-Agege (Delta Central) said the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance forbids President Muhammadu Buhari from signing the Electoral Bill.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmaker gave this insight in a phone interview with newsmen in Abuja on Friday night. Article 2 of the protocol forbids member countries from making “substantial modification” to their electoral laws less than six months to elections “except with the consent of a majority of political actors”.

Omo-Agege, who is a staunch supporter of the President, noted that with the elections less than three months away, signing the bill would violate the ECOWAS instrument. The presidential and National Assembly elections are slated for Feb. 16, 2019, while those of governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections will hold on March 2, as slated by INEC time table.

Omo-Agege said, “I am yet to see the president’s letter to the Senate, but this bill means so much to Mr President. On a good day he would want to sign it. “However, without even seeing the reasons he has advanced so far, I am aware of the challenges posed by the ECOWAS protocol.

“I don’t know if that is part of the reasons he has advanced, but with the bill coming two months or thereabout before the election, assenting to it will breach the protocol.”

Newsmen report that Buhari did not mention the ECOWAS instrument as part of his reasons for declining assent to the bill for the fourth time. The president’s latest decision came in a letter dated Dec. 6, 2018 and addressed to both chambers of the National Assembly.

He said signing the amendment bill with elections close by could “create some uncertainty about the legislation to govern the process”. “Any real or apparent change to the rules this close to the elections may provide an opportunity for disruption and confusion in respect of which law governs the electoral process,” he stated.

Buhari, therefore, asked the National Assembly to specifically state in the bill that the amended Electoral Act would come into effect after the 2019 general elections.

Reacting to the development, Sen. Peter Nwaoboshi, who represents Delta North on the platform of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said the reasons given by the president were “untenable”. “It is not a good reason for him not to sign the bill because the Senate worked with INEC (Independent National Electoral Commission) in preparing that bill. “If INEC felt otherwise, they would have advised us when we were working on it.

“You are aware of the controversy that this issue of amendment of the act has generated, with people accusing the Senate of not wanting to amend the act. “We amended it, but he declined assent the first, second and third time; he made certain observations, which we agreed with. “We sent it again, and the reason he is giving now is that it will disrupt the election. It is really unfortunate,” he said.

An Abuja-based lawyer and civil rights campaigner, Mr Frank Tietie, said the credibility of the 2019 elections was at stake without the compulsory use of card readers as proposed in the bill. Although, INEC has been using the card reader for elections since 2015, there is no provision for the technology in the extant electoral law, making its use optional.

Tietie said, “Without the card reader and electronic transmission of results, our elections have been subjected to might, brute force and the power of money. “Card readers and electronic transmission of results have totally eliminated that, and there is need for a legal force to that. “This is what the amendment seeks.

President Buhari’s refusal to allow the card reader and electronic transmission of results will only lead to electoral compromise,” he said. In September, Sen. Ita Enang, Buhari’s Senior Special Assistant (SSA), said the president had no problem with the use of the card reader contrary to allegations by the opposition.