FED HIGH COURT CLEARS FORMER TARABA GOVERNOR OF FRAUD CHARGES; ORDERS EFCC TO REFUND TO HIM N228M IN THREE DAYS

A Federal High Court sitting in Jalingo Taraba State, on Wednesday, discharged and acquitted Sani Abubakar Danladi, former governor and governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Taraba State, of alleged fraud.

Also acquitted are Joel Ikenya, a former Minister of Labour and Productivity, and Mark Bako Useni, former Speaker of Taraba State House of Assembly.

The court also gave the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) a 72-hour ultimatum to refund the sum of N228million to the defendants.

The EFCC had filed the case against the trio on alleged fraud involving N450million.

Justice Stephen Pam ruled that the case by the EFCC lacked merit and ordered the anti-graft agency to refund N228million, which was earlier remitted to the commission by the defendants.

The judge maintained that the EFCC could not substantiate its evidence against the defendants, and urged the commission to desist from infringing on the rights of innocent citizens.

In his reaction to the ruling, Ikenya applauded the court for allowing the rule of law to prevail. He called on the people to continue to give the much-needed respect to the judiciary, which he described as the last hope of the common man.

Counsel to the defendants, Barrister Ibrahim Effiong, said the ruling is an indication that the “rule of law has come to bear”.

“I am happy that the rule of law has come to bear,” he said.

“The entire charge was an abuse of court process and good only for dismissal and that is what just happened. I pray that the EFCC will respect the rule of law and allow the judgement to prevail. There was no point taking my client to court in the first place.”

GOVERNORS FORUM WARNS AGAINST PASSING MINIMUM WAGE THAT STATES CANNOT PAY

Zamfara State Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Yari, has warned National Assembly against passing a new National Minimum Wage that would be difficult for states to pay.

Yari, who is the Chairman, Nigerian Governors Forum, issued the warning in an interview with journalists on the sidelines of the public hearing on new National Minimum Wage bill on Monday in Abuja.

Governors forum warn against passing minimum wage states cannot pay

News Agency of Nigeria, (NAN) recalls that the organised labour leaders had rejected the approved N27,000 by the national council of states, demanding N30,000 as a new minimum wage.

Reacting to the demand of organised labour, Yari said that the demand for N30,000 as the new minimum was not realistic.

(NAN) 

ABUJA-BASED NGO AFRICMIL REQUESTS THE CCB TO RELEASE NEW CJN'S ASSETS DECLARATION FORMS

Justice Ibrahim Muhammad, Acting CJN

The African Centre for Media and Information Literacy (AFRICMIL), a non-governmental organisation focused on good governance and the promotion of accountability, has applied to the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) for the asset declaration of Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria.

In a letter to the CCB Chairman signed by Chido Onumah, AFRICMIL coordinator, the group stated that in making the request, it relied on Paragraph 11, Part 1 of the Fifth Schedule to the 1999 Constitution as amended, which states that “Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, every public officer shall within three months of the coming into force of this Code of Conduct and immediately after taking office and thereafter – (a) at the end of the every four years; and (b) at the end of his term of office, submit to the Code of Conduct Bureau a written declaration of all his properties, assets, and liabilities and those of his unmarried children under the age of eighteen years.

“Pursuant to the aforementioned provision of the 1999 constitution, as amended, and Section 1(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2011 which states that, 'Notwithstanding anything contained in any other Act, law or regulation, the right of any person to access and request information, whether or not contained in any written form, which is in the custody or possession of any public official, agency or institution howsoever described, is hereby established', we humbly request to be allowed to inspect and obtain copies of the following documents: The asset declaration of Honourable Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad JSC on his elevation as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria; the asset declaration of the Honourable Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad JSC on his appointment as Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria by President Muhammadu Buhari."

On July 28, 2011, the group had sent a Freedom of Information (FoI) request to the CCB asking “to be allowed to inspect and obtain copies of the 2007 asset declaration of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan; the asset declaration of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan after the end of his tenure on May 28, 2011; and his asset declaration when he assumed office on May 29, 2011".

On January 17, 2017, AFRICMIL, in partnership with the Public and Private Development Centre (PPDC), also made Freedom of Information requests to the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) for the declaration of assets of certain elected and appointed political office holders, including the current President and Vice President, their immediate predecessors, past and current principal officers of the National Assembly, past and current governors of the 36 states of the country, as well as past and current ministers since May 2011.

Although both organisations made these requests under the Freedom of Information Act, 2011, Onumah said the CCB failed to respond to any of the requests within the time stipulated in the Act, and this led to cases instituted before the Federal High Court requesting judicial action aimed at getting the Code of Conduct to do the needful, in relation to the aforementioned FoI requests of both institutions.

The statement continued: "It is the sole responsibility of the Code of Conduct Bureau to ensure that all public officers declare their assets at the beginning and the end of their tenure in office. It is also their responsibility to ensure that the assets declared are verified to ensure compliance with the provisions of the law and also to establish possible cases of misconduct or corrupt enrichment, with a view to ensuring such culprits face the full wrath of the law.

"The CCB has the constitutional responsibility to retain custody of such asset declaration forms and make them available and accessible for inspection by any citizen of Nigeria on such terms and conditions as the National Assembly may prescribe. By enacting The Freedom of Information Act, 2011, the 7th National Assembly gave effect to the constitutionally guaranteed right of the public to access public documents held by public institutions and relevant private entities in Nigeria and this includes asset declaration forms of public officials, which are public documents within the meaning of the FoI Act, 2011.  

"On April 3, 2017, Justice Abdu Kafarati, sitting in Court 2, Federal High Court, Abuja granted the two civil society organizations leave to bring substantive suits against the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB). The grant of leave followed the hearing of the Motion Ex-parte filed by AFRICMIL and PPDC on the failure of the CCB to provide information on the asset declaration of elected and appointed office holders in the Jonathan and Buhari administrations under the Freedom of Information Act 2011.

"Justice Kafarati eventually gave judgement declining the reliefs sought by the applicants in the respective cases. AFRICMIL and PPDC appealed the judgement and the cases have been slated for hearing at the Court of Appeal on February 20 and 21, 2019."

PROTEST IN CALABAR OVER ONNOGHEN'S SUSPENSION

A group known as the “Concerned Cross Riverians on The Unconstitutional Suspension of the CJN” took to the streets to protest the suspension of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen by President Muhammadu Buhari, describing as unconstitutional.

They demanded the immediate reinstatement of the Chief Justice of Nigeria with all his rights and privilege as the CJN.

They also vowed to vote out the All Progressives  Congress (APC), at all levels especially President Mohammadu Buhari, as according to them, there were are so many burning issues that needed attention more than the “illegal suspension” of the CJN but have not been attended to.

Reading a communiqué on behalf of the group a constitutional lawyer, Leo Anyogo, said the people of Cross River were dismayed by the development.

“It is with total shock and disbelief that President Buhari in clear violation of S.292 of the constitution and that of the court of Appeal purportedly suspended the CJN without due process. This is clearly an assault on the Sacred Temple of Justice,” the group said.

PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES BACK SUSPENSION OF JUSTICE WALTER ONNOGHEN

The forum of Presidential Candidates and Political Parties for Good Governance (PCPPGG) yesterday backed the suspension of Justice Onnoghen as CJN.

The candidates said it will not have any negative effect on the forthcoming general elections.

The chairman of the body, Alhaji Shittu Muhammed Kabir, said: “The Forum of Presidential Candidates and Political Parties for Good Governance believes strongly that President Muhammadu Buhari’s suspension of Hon.Justice Onnoghen as CJN is proper and timely.

“Majority of Nigerians have now realised that but for the pre-emptive move by the President, Onnoghen would have proceeded to constitute the Election Petition Panels.

“No wonder some interested elements are shocked that their game plan has been punctured. Desperate disease needs a desperate treatment. President Buhari acted in the overall interest of the masses of Nigeria.

“So much is required from the judiciary since they hold the power of life and death. Judges are therefore expected to live above board and be incorruptible. It would have been unfair to Nigerians to have someone who is carrying a clear baggage of corruption on his head to continue to preside over a sensitive arm of government like the judiciary, just because some elements would wish to use legal technicalities to cover up or moderate an obvious misdeed.” He, however, said as responsible actors in Nigeria’s political system, they have concluded: “That the offence allegedly committed by Justice Onnoghen is not judicial that could have warranted the intervention of NJC.

“That the constitution recognises the holder of the office of CJN as the 1st public officer in Nigeria.

“That the suspension of the CJN cannot be equated with removal as envisaged in the constitution. The suspension by the President does not, therefore, require the input of the NJC and the National Assembly.”

N30,000 MINIMUM WAGE TRANSLATES TO ONLY N50/MEAL FOR EACH FAMILY MEMBER - AYUBA WABBA

Comrade Ayuba Wabba, National President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), says the proposed N30,000 national minimum wage translates to N50 per meal for every member of a family of six.

He stated this in his presentation at the ongoing public hearing on the minimum wage bill in Abuja.

Speaking on the activities of the tripartite committee on the new national minimum wage, he highlighted the peculiarities of paying N30,000, which he noted was insufficient to even meet the needs of the average Nigerian worker.

He said: “There is a bill proposed by the committee and that committee has government, labour, the Nigeria Employers' Consultative Association (NECA). In fact, we were lucky that the person that represented the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) was a lawyer and they drafted the bill, which is also in conformity with the practice and tradition.

“In 2011, the same thing happened. We also amended the bill and forwarded the copy. So clearly, this is how we have arrived at this level and therefore, I think that all of us must sympathise with the condition of Nigeria.

“N30,000 translates to N1,000 per day. N30,000 translates to N50 per meal for every member of the family. That is what it translates to. If you have a family of six, husband and wife and four children, it translates to N50 per meal. This is where we are. So, I want to plead with our governors.”

FG CANNOT FIGHT CORRUPTION WITHOUT PAYING A LIVING WAGE – DOGARA

Dogara

The speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon.Yakubu Dogara, has declared that the problem of corruption cannot be solved if the government is unable to pay workers a living wage.

Dogara, who stated this yesterday while declaring open a public hearing on the new minimum wage which was organised by the House Ad-hoc Committee on New Minimum Wage 2019, posited that the N30, 000 minimum wage being proposed was not enough to cater for a small family unit.

He added that it is only when workers are paid wages that can provide them minimum comfort that their productivity level will increase.

“When we do not pay living wage, we cannot tame corruption. When workers’ take-home (salary) is not enough to take them home, the temptation for them to cut corners in order to get home will always be there.

“Workers keep and process our national wealth and the only way to insulate them from the temptation to want to help themselves to it, is to ensure they are well remunerated. It is not in contention that it is a mean job to muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain. Leaving workers to their temptations is dangerous unless we can show that they are greater than Oscar Wilde who, in his vintage wicked wit, proclaimed, ‘I can resist everything except temptation’.

“That we cannot pay living wage in a nation that represents a major promise for economic prosperity in the world speaks to the bane of our leadership. In order to reverse these tragic narratives, we must invest in proactive and innovative leadership, not the reactive leadership model that we have practised all this while.”

The speaker went on to emphasise that it was better to talk about living wage than minimum wage.

“The reality is, I am not a believer in minimum wage, although it is a constitutional issue and the practice in many nations. I believe in living wage and wish the framers of our Constitution had provided for a living wage instead. No wonder, the UN Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights speaks of right to a living wage in Article 7(A)2 as incorporated in International Labour Organisation (ILO) document,” he said.

According to Dogara, poverty as a threat to democracy is evident in vote buying and in the use of money to compromise electoral and security officials during elections, thereby subverting the will of the people on account of the sense of despondency and powerlessness that their lack of economic power breeds,  thereby making them ready tools in the hands of tyrants and demagogues, who in the course of history have always found it easy to mobilise such persons for the purposes of subverting democratic institutions.

He continued: “While we are not oblivious of the current economic downturn and the dwindling revenue of government, we cannot also be blind to the fact that all economic indices indicate that even the N30,000  minimum wage that labour is asking for is not enough to sustain a small family unit.

“The nation may not have enough to satisfy the minimum demands of the Nigerian worker, but as a nation we need to set our economic priorities right and ensure that we dignify our workers by making allowance for their minimum comfort.  I know of no alternative if we hope to up the productivity level of our workforce.

“I have said it before that poverty is the greatest threat to our democracy. Those who doubted me have seen that threat manifest itself in vote buying and in the use of money to compromise electoral and security officials during elections.

“The next evil is corruption. It is not in doubt that corruption fundamentally undermines democratic institutions and values. Corruption affects the poor most because they depend more on government for support. How then do we fight corruption from the roots rather than dealing with its symptoms as is currently the case? The answer is for us to begin to pay workers living wage, not minimum wage.”

Dogara also revealed that the House of Representatives was giving accelerated consideration to the bill to forestall the threat by labour to embark on a industrial action, adding that the review of wages was long overdue since the current national minimum wage, which was fixed in 2011, had become unrealistic due to developments in the nation.

Meanwhile, members of the organised labour at the hearing differed with the ministers of labour and finance, Chris Ngige and Zainab Ahmed respectively, over the new minimum wage of N30,000 approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

Members of the organised labour had booed the labour minister when he stated that the federal government’s figure was N30,000 and that any state government or private sector which wished to pay above that should do so.

The ministers, in their presentations, had confirmed that the initial wage figure approved by the federal government was N27,000, but that it was later reviewed upwards to N30,000 after it met with the National Council of State.

Labour minister, Ngige, stated that the issue of a national minimum wage was a national matter which the government was committed to, noting that the government set up a tri-partite committee comprising members of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), Nigeria Chamber of Commerce, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) and other groups, with the mandate of coming up with the new wage.

The minister asserted that the new wage figure was in tandem with internal conventions on labour matters and that there was a general consensus on the figure.

In her presentation, the minister of finance,  Zainab Ahmed,  told the stakeholders that the federal government was yet to factor in the new minimum wage into the 2019 budget.

On his part, the chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), Alhaji Abdulaziz Yari,  told the lawmakers that the governors’ initial objection to the new minimum wage was because the revenue allocation formula was not favourable to the states.

Yari called for a review of the revenue allocation formula to ensure equity and fairness in revenue sharing among the three tiers of government.

He also stated that the governors’ forum supported the National Council of State’s position on the new wage bill.  The Council had recommended N27,000 as minimum wage for federal civil servants.

The House ad hoc committee headed by deputy speaker, Hon. Lasun Yussuff, resolved to ensure that the new minimum wage Act 2019 is passed into law before the commencement of the 2019 general elections.