Uzodimma: Supreme Court slams N40m cost on Ozekhome

Uzodimma: Supreme Court slams N40m cost on Ozekhome.

The Supreme Court yesterday came hard again on another senior lawyer.

It slammed a N40million cost on Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN) for aiding the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate in the 2019 governorship election in Imo State, Emeka Ihedioha, to file what the court termed a frivolous motion.

This comes three years after it fined Chief Afe Babalola (SAN) and Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) N30 million each for filing a frivolous application.

In a ruling yesterday, Justice Tijani Abubakar dismissed the motion by Ihedioha and the PDP.

The applicants had prayed the court to set aside its January 14, 2020 judgment replacing Ihedioha with Hope Uzodimma of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the governor.

Justice Abubakar gave the lead ruling by a seven-man panel headed by Justice John Okoro.

In their motion, Ihedioha and the PDP argued that Uzodimma was not validly nominated by the APC to contest the 2019 election.

They urged the court to invalidate the years Uzodimma spent in office as governor.

The applicants were joined as interested parties in an appeal originally filed by Uche Nwosu, who was the governorship candidate of the Action Alliance (AA) in the 2019 election.

Ihedioha and the PDP also urged the Supreme Court to give effect to its 2019 judgment that disqualified Nwosu on the ground that he had dual nomination, having been nominated by both the AA and the APC for the same governorship election.

They argued that since the apex court recognised Nwosu as a candidate of the APC, there was no legal basis for the judgment sacking Ihedioha and declaring Uzodimma (who it also found to have been sponsored by the same APC and for the same election) as the actual winner.

The applicants urged the Supreme Court to restore Ihedioha to office since the APC could not legally sponsor two candidates for the same election.

They argued that since Uzodimma did not contest the election as an independent candidate, there was no basis for him to be recognised as the validly elected governor.

Ihedioha and the PDP argued that there was no rationale for the November 11 governorship election because Ihedioha had yet to conclude his tenure.

When the case came up yesterday, the court noted that it lacked jurisdiction to entertain a motion filed over a governorship election held four years ago.

Members of the court’s panel drew Ozekhome’s attention to the futility of his clients’ efforts and why he should withdraw the motion.

Ozekhome ignored the Justices’ body language and proceeded to move the motion.

But the court dismissed it for being without merit and “highly vexatious and frivolous.”

The Justices awarded a cost of N40 million against Ozekhome. They insisted must he must pay it.

It was not the first time the Supreme Court would censure senior lawyers so heavily.

The Supreme Court, in February 2020, fined Chief Babalola and Chief Olanipekun N30 million each for agreeing to apply for the review of its judgment on the Bayelsa election.

Justice Amina Augie, now retired, announced the fine while reading the lead judgment in the applications for a review of its February 13, 2020 judgment which overturned the APC’s victory in the governorship poll.

With tears in her eyes, the justice regretted that “very senior” lawyers were responsible for filing the applications.

The Supreme Court awarded the costs of N10m to be personally paid by Chief Babalola, who represented David Lyon, and Chief Olanipekun, for APC.

It ruled that each of the SANs must pay N10 million to each of the three respondents – the PDP, Governor Duoye Diri, and the Deputy Governor, Lawrence Ewhruojakpo, bringing the total amount to be paid to N60 million.

Justice Augie said the applications amounted to an inviting the apex court to sit in appeal on its judgment in violation of the Constitution.

A seven-man panel of the apex court led by the late Justice Sylvester Ngwuta described the applications filed by the APC and Lyon as vexatious, frivolous, and constituted a gross abuse of the court process.

Justice Augie held that granting the applications would open a floodgate for the review of decisions of the Supreme Court.

“There must be an end to litigation,” she said, adding, “the decision of the Supreme Court is final for ages in a matter”, adding that only legislation could change it.

Chief Babalola and Chief Wole Olanipekun protested the N60 million fine.

In protest letters addressed to the National Executive Council (NEC) of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), they insisted that they did no wrong by asking the court to take a second look at its judgment.

“We did no wrong, committed no error and do not deserve the harsh comments in the leading ruling of Justice Amina Augie…

“There is no nexus or proximity or even bearing between the processes filed by us and the most unfair and least expected stern expressions of her lordship, Amina Augie,” Olanipekun wrote.

Babalola faulted what he described as “disparaging remarks” made against him in the ruling.

He insisted that he had a duty under the rules of professional conduct to devote his “attention, energy and expertise and subject to any rule of law, and to act in a manner consistent with the best interest of his client”.

Nasarawa enrols 130 Almajiris in health insurance scheme.

Nasarawa enrols 130 Almajiris in health insurance scheme.

The Nasarawa State Government has disclosed that no fewer than 130 Almajiri teenagers have been enrolled into the state’s Health Insurance Agency as part of its efforts at improving their health status.

Arewa PUNCH recalls that in May 2020, the state government repatriated 788 Almajiris in the state to their various home states in a bid to ensure they got proper education and care from their parents.

Speaking with our correspondent in Lafia on Monday, the State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Aishatu Ibrahim, explained that the gesture was to ensure that young residents of the state who are part of the Almajiri system, get adequate healthcare coverage at all times.

She added that the state government had also enrolled 80 of the Almajiri children in public schools in order to ensure that they achieve sound education.

Ibrahim said, “What we are doing is mainly to ensure that children in the state, including the Almajiris, get good healthcare and sound education.

“The Nasarawa State Government embarked on pragmatic programmes and policies geared towards impacting positively on the lives of the Almajiris.

“This is why apart from enrolling the Almajiris in the health insurance scheme, over 80 of them were recently enrolled into public schools in the state in order for them to acquire basic western education,” he remarked.

The Commissioner stressed that measures have been put in place towards ensuring that the Almajiris are engaged in meaningful ventures for their future instead of roaming the streets and begging for alms.

Therefore, she called on good-spirited individuals and organisations to key into the efforts of the state government in rendering assistance to the Almajiris in every way possible in order to ensure a guaranteed future for them.

Meanwhile, the Executive Secretary of the Nasarawa State Health Insurance Agency, Dr. Yahaya Bawa-Ubam has disclosed that the agency is targeting to enrol 500,000 residents of the state into the scheme by the year 2027.

Bawa-Ubam, who was recently appointed by Governor Abdullahi Sule, informed Arewa PUNCH that over 218,000 persons had enrolled into the scheme and are currently benefiting from the quality out-of-pocket healthcare services.

He added that the beneficiaries were registered under different packages such as public sector, informal sector, vulnerable, students, among others.

He called on healthcare providers in the state to be professional in thier conduct, and give their enrollees the desired services in order to increase the confidence of the people in the scheme.

“The benefits of health insurance schemes to ensuring a healthy society can not be over emphasised, hence the need for all residents of the state to enrol in the programme,” Bawa-Ubam insisted.

Speaking on the development, the Director of Education, Almajiri Liberation Movement in the state, Abdullahi Mohammed, commended the Nasarawa State Government for taking steps towards protecting the health of the Almajiris and for enrolling them in public schools across the state.

He revealed that the Non-governmental organisation had also been making arrangements towards enrolling a minimum of 260 Almajiris in schools in order to boost their knowledge and learning capacities.

However, Mohammed, lamented that a major challenge that the NGO is facing in its quest at helping the Almajiris is that most of their care-givers (Mallams) have not been cooperating with the organisation in getting the details of the new entrants in their respective locations.

“The Almajiris are not only those seen on the streets begging for food. There are also Almajiris who do not go out on the street to beg. The major reason for this is that most parents do not want to take care of their responsibilities,” Muhammad stated.

Continuing, he maintained, “We have been making efforts for the Almajiris in Nasarawa State, but the mallams have not been meeting up with our expectations because most of them they go ahead to take them (Almajiris) without any proper documentation.

“Some of the Almajiri children do not even know their states of origin. We told them (mallams) to collect the details of parents who bring their children to learn from them, but they have not been cooperating with us.

“Helping the Almajiris without knowing about their parents and other details has not been easy because while collaborating with the government to offer assistance to them, we would have to explain why we want the assistance for the Almajiris.

“So, I am calling on the mallams to henceforth give the needed cooperation to us so that we can collectively help the Almajiris to have better futures,” he pleaded

FG promises support for ‘entrepreneurship village’ project.

FG promises support for ‘entrepreneurship village’ project.

Food entrepreneur Essie Bartels buys spices from trader Aisha Ibrahim at Makola market in Accra AFP.

The Federal Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology has announced its willingness to support the Entrepreneurship Village (E-Village) project, which is being planned for Akure, Ondo State.

The Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Chief Uche Nnaji, disclosed this during a meeting with the stakeholders of the E-Village in Abuja on Tuesday.

The minister, who acknowledged the pivotal role such an initiative like E-Village will play in driving innovation, job creation, and economic growth, noted that the initiative aligns with the ministry’s vision for a tech-driven future.

“The Entrepreneurship Village aligns with our vision for a tech-driven future, and I am excited to endorse and support this endeavour wholeheartedly,” the minister said.

Also, Nnaji stressed that the initiative represents a crucial step towards positioning Nigeria as a hub for technological innovation and added that the ministry will not hesitate to make collaborative efforts and policy initiatives aimed at propelling the Entrepreneurship Village to greater heights.

Speaking earlier on behalf of other stakeholders, the President of Africa’s Young Entrepreneurs, Dr. Summy Francis, explained that e-village is a social impact and legacy project that addresses the need that the African economy currently faces in the education, entrepreneurship, and infrastructural sector.

In addition, Francis disclosed that the entrepreneurial ecosystem provided by e-village ensures that budding entrepreneurs are identified, trained, supported, and produced to help the economy create jobs and solve the many challenges currently experienced and yet to be experienced on the continent.

The E-Village will house institutions such as the New York Institute of Finance, the London Academy Business School , the Metropolitan School of Business and Management, UK, and the School of Robotics and Artificial Intelligence.

Also, it will house the Octagon Business Hub, Megamindz Creative Academy, and Research Cube, amongst other institutions that would enhance human capacity development.

Opebi-Ojota link bridge ready Q2 2024 – Sanwo-Olu.

Opebi-Ojota link bridge ready Q2 2024 – Sanwo-Olu.

The Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Tuesday, assured residents of the state that the Opebi-Mende-Ojota link bridge will be ready for use by the second quarter of 2024.

Sanwo-Olu, who spoke during an inspection tour of the construction site on Tuesday, expressed satisfaction with the level of work.

While stating that the project was about 65 per cent ready, the governor noted that there was still much work to be done.

He added that the bridge was conceived to solve traffic problems and provide alternative routes for commuters plying the area.

He said, “This bridge was conceived about one year ago to solve major traffic problems and provide alternatives from Toyin-Opebi roads to Ojota, and from Maryland to Ikeja. It will also solve traffic to the Kudirat Abiola Way, Alausa, and even Mobolaji Bank-Anthony Road.

“This project will change the face of traffic management, commuting and modern infrastructure. It also has expanded sidewalks to allow for cycling lanes, walkways and even parking for broken-down vehicles.

“It is particularly instructive to note that even the link roads are bridges in their own right because they are deck on piles. This has to be so because of the soil’s nature. It is a very tough terrain. In fact, some house fences were demolished in the process of construction.

“In all, we are satisfied with the level of work and the project is still on track for completion in the second quarter of 2024 so it can be opened for public use.”

The governor was accompanied on the inspection by the Deputy Governor, Obafemi Hamzat, the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, and some members of the House of Assembly, among others.

Fed Govt eyes concessionary loans, climate financing to fund 2024 budget.

Fed Govt eyes concessionary loans, climate financing to fund 2024 budget.

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, on Tuesday, said the country needs to take advantage of cheap concessionary loans and climate financing to raise revenue to fund the 2024 Budget.

Edun made this revelation in his speech during a one-day retreat on the 2024 Appropriation Bill organised by the Senate Committee on Appropriation.

The theme of the retreat was “Budget and Budgetary Process: Improved Outcomes in 2024”.

Edun insisted that Nigeria’s fiscal space was exhausted in line with the position of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and proposed a strategic shift towards concessionary funding including climate financing as a viable option.

Edun said: “Nigeria’s fiscal space is exhausted, we have to focus on the concessional  funding, the cheaper funding, even free funding and climate financing is the way.

“Solution is that we have to focus on concessional funding, the cheaper funding, even free funding, and climate financing is the way”.

“Our 2024 proposed budget states clearly that there is room for privatisation, maximizing our own assets without borrowing.

“We have to be brave, courageous and innovative to make sure that we use the financial market to take our fiscal stress down so as to reduce our debt servicing and reduce our emphasis on borrowing.

“One of the ways available is that there are now countries and organisations willing to invest in our economy more than ever before.

“We need to optmise the resources we have particularly oil resources. The world is turning to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG).

“Hence a few days ago, the President launched an initiative of electric vehicles. Major manufacturers of electric vehicles expressed interest and started discussions with us on their determination to establish electric vehicles plant in Nigeria.

“Such is the opportunity for our market here and such is the attraction the new innovation has attracted to us as a nation.”

He highlighted the urgency of addressing the fiscal constraints and reducing dependence on borrowing particularly foreign borrowing.

Edun noted that an estimated $1trillion annually to be spent on climate change, underscore the importance of climate financing in funding the N27.5 trillion budget.

“Just yesterday UAE announced a $30 billion for climate action. What that means is that as we look to fund the N27.5 trillion budget this year, our first port of call must be the most cheapest and the most concessionary finacing including climate financing.

The Minister highlighted recent strides, including the signing of an €100 million foreign direct investment for reforestation of the mangrove forests in Cross River.

He underscored the importance of maximising existing assets without resorting to excessive borrowing.

The minister also noted the option of leveraging countries and organisations willing to allow funding based on their credit ratings which could alleviate debt service burdens for Nigeria.

He added: “At the meeting we just conclude in Dubai, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) managing director said the world is still suffering the shocks of major global  incidences like the COVID-19 and that the fiscal space is exhausted. Nigeria fiscal space is exhausted and the solution is that we have to focus on concessioning funding and climate financing.

“There is an estimated $1trillion per annum to be spent for climate change. Just yesterday (Monday), the UAE announced $30billion for climate action. Another $1.5billion was announced by another global group.

“What that means is that as we move to fund the N27.5 trillion budget next year, our first port of call must be to target the cheapest concessionary financing including the climate change financing.”

Edun further insisted on the need for Nigeria to quickly optimise its resources to align with the changing global dynamics that emphasised equity over excessive debt.

The Minister expressed hope for a swift passage of the budget, signaling a proactive approach to addressing the nation’s financial challenges.

In his remarks, President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akapbio said that Nigeria would not achieve much, unless the country increased revenue.

He urged all revenue generating agencies in the country to do more and block all leakages.

“No matter how beautiful the budget is, if there is no money to spend, the budget will not work.

‘Let’s get up and block the loopholes of leakages and wastages and then bring more revenue so that the 2024 budget becomes realistic,” he said.

He stressed the need for aggressive revenue drive saying “all revenue generating agencies must rise to the occasion. No matter how beautiful the budget is, it will not work if there is no money to spend.

“My message is that all the GOEs must gear up to raise more revenues, block all the loopholes, leakages and wastages so that the 2024 budget would be successfully implemented.

“The Senate and the House of Representatives are very determined to pass the budget before the end of this year to continue with the tradition of the January to December budget cycle.

“It however depended on the attitudes of the ministers and the MDAs to the  budget defence sessions which will start immediately.

“I will urge the ministers to take the exercise very seriously by bringing all the heads of agencies under their supervision while coming to the National Assembly.”

The Chairman Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Sani Musa, stressed the need to have the statistics of all the National Assets which are almost non-existing because some Government Owned Enterprises (GOEs) are keeping the assets as if they owned them. There is the need for us to harmonise and get a national registry for assets.

On his part, the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu said: “There is National Integrated Infrastructure Master plan which is in the custody of the Federal Ministry of Budget and National Planning. It has over 19,000 projects.

“We have commenced meetings with stakeholders in the infrastructure space, the MDAs, the Bureau of Public Enterprises, the infrastructure Bank, the DMOs, and the NIPC, to analyse them and take them to Investment Grid.

“This is to provide adequate information to investors. The 2024 budget also has provision for the Infrastructure Project Development Funds for that purpose.

“President Bola Tinubu has asked the Coordinating Minister for the Economy to ensure that all GOEs operate accounts that could only be debited on the authority of the Coordinating Minister of the Economy and the Accountant General of the Federation.”

The keynote speaker on the occasion, Prof. Ayo Teriba, a Professor of Economics, expressed confidence that the country has the potential of meeting its revenue projections for 2024 based on the performances of the 2023 budget in the last quarter of this year.

He called for a paradigm shift from the over reliance on petroleum revenue and tax to leverage of marketing the nation’s assets.

He said: “There is the need to take 35 per cent of the Government Owned Enterprises assets to the market to generate some liquidity.

“Apart from GOEs, national assets also included real estates. There is no MDA that does not have one choice real estate or the other and most of them are lying there fallow.

“We need to know the current value of the real estate of the MDAs and the value of their current usage.”

He also stressed the need to develop infrastructure that could generate revenues through a public-private sector participation.

He said the country should focus attention on what it own rather than what it owes as debt.

He said: “We talk about what we own as against what we owe. We have assets that can attract foreign direct investment which can liquidate our N89trillion foreign debt.”

EFCC proposes N76.59bn 2024 budget.

EFCC proposes N76.59bn 2024 budget.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has proposed a budget estimate of N76.59bn for the 2024 financial year.

This is as the anti-graft agency said the capital projects executed in 2023 were rolled over from 2022.

The chairman of the commission, Ola Olukoyede, disclosed these on Tuesday at an interface with the House of Representatives Committee on Financial Crime while defending the EFCC budget estimates for 2024.

Olukoyede said, “The commission’s total budget proposal for 2024 is N76.59bn. The 2024 proposed estimate of N76.59bn, represents a 53.48 per cent increase over and above the 2023 Appropriation of N49.91 bn. This increase is solely attributed to the increase in personnel cost from N36.83bn in 2023 to N37.07bn in 2024.

“Under budgetary heads, we have the personnel, overhead and the capital. In our proposal for 2024, we have proposed N37.07bn against an envelope of the same amount of N37.07bn. We still maintained the amount we had in the envelope, in personnel costs.

“Under overhead, the envelope was N4.79bn, but we are proposing to this committee to help us to carry out our mandate, with the sum of N14.51bn.

“Under our capital cost, we have an envelope of N1.24bn, which will not do anything for us. As a result, we are proposing N25bn as our capital cost,” he said.

He premised the demand for increased capital spending on the growth of the commission, saying, “Our operations keep expanding and we also envisaged that we are going to bring in more staff in the year (2024) under review.”

The EFCC boss further revealed the commission’s overhead cost in 2024 as N14.5bn up from N10.53bn in 2023 and N25bn capital expenditure up from N2.5bn in 2023.

“Quite a number of our zonal offices are rented apartments, and of course, when you are doing this kind of work, it’s not expedient for you to operate in rented apartments. We intend to have our buildings across the 14 zonal offices we operate, outside Abuja.

“The request for additional overhead is because of the high cost of air travel tickets, motor vehicles costs, diesel cost, building maintenance, operational vehicles, office equipment, acquisition of our properties and maintenance of our operations in other 14 zonal commands apart from Abuja,” he said.

In his earlier remarks, the Chairman of the Committee, Ginger Onwucebe, (LP, Abia State) noted that the Committee would do its part to assist the government in the fight against financial crimes.

“Our task is formidable, as financial crimes continue to evolve in sophistication and scale, posing a significant threat to the stability and growth of our economy.

“The challenges we face require not only vigilance, but a strategic allocation of resources to empower the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit to effectively, counteract illicit activities that undermine our economic well-being and our nation.

“The budget we are reviewing today is not merely a set of figures but a reflection of our dedication to creating an environment, where our citizens can trust the financial institutions that drive our economic engine for growth and development,” he said.

He also emphasized the need to invest in the training of personnel to enhance the capacity of EFCC personnel.

“By providing comprehensive training programmes, we can equip our teams with the expertise needed to navigate complex financial investigations and ensure a swift and effective response to illicit activities.

“Let us unite in our commitment to safeguarding the economic prosperity of our nation, recognizing that our collaboration with NFIU is instrumental in achieving our common goal,” he said, stressing that “Together, we can build a resilient financial system.”

Senate probes Customs over N62bn under remittance.

Senate probes Customs over N62bn under remittance.

The Senate Public Account Committee has launched investigation into how the Nigerian Customs Service under-remitted N62bn in the revenue generated by the agency.

The revealation of the under remittance is contained in 2017 Auditor General Report which is currently being considered by the committee chaired by Senator Ahmed Wadada.

The query reads, “In the report of NCS summary of the monthly collection 2017 total collection for the federation account were N691bn.

“However, the receipt of NCS collection and remittance into Federation Account 2017 showed actual remittance into the account with the CBN for the year under review to be N629bn.

” A comparison of these two documents revealed an under remittance N62bn.

“There was no footnote or any form of additional information attached to the two reports.showing the reasons for the discrepancies neither there was any form of communication of the management on the intention for the future reconciliation or remittance

“The above anomalies could be attributed to weaknesses in the internal control system at Nigeria Customs Service Headquarters Abuja.”

The chairman of the committee therefore asked the Customs to come up with their defence on the allegation of under remittance within two weeks. .

Meanwhile, the Senate has mandated the Nigerian Port Authority to appear before it over $852m debt by operators.

He noted that the committee based on its commitment to the development and growth of Nigeria is not out to witch-hunt anybody, or want to take anybody to the cleaners.

Wadada added, “The committee under my stewardship with support of my distinguished members have had cause to say this not once, not twice, that we should understand that audited or Auditor-General’s report is not an indictment on any ministry, department or agencies of government, but rather a wake up call for us to know what was wrongly committed by who.

“Going forward, we should find way to correct the wrong to make the system better and we move on to the greater heights.

“Today, the committee is compelled to say what I am going to say concerning the Nigeria Ports Authority, Nigeria Ports Authority is found wanting on both ends, one, on the Auditor General for the Federation’s annual report and also, on ends of the status enquiry.

“There are issues around Lagos channel management, Bonny channel management and of course, Calabar channel management. On these issues, the committee respectfully wrote the management of NPA management . some of the communications were responded to, and some are yet to be responded to.”

Senator Wadada added, “Today the Nigeria Ports Authority supposed to have appeared before this Committee so that we look at queries raised by the Auditor General for the Federation.

“The management team is not here, the MD, Directors and other top management are not here. They rather chose to send a General Manager to us and at a time the NPA was called to the table, the General Manager was unavoidably absent. Though, she later came and complained that she went for her medication.

“Some of these queries have got something to do with indebtedness of terminal operators which is almost a billion dollars, eight hundred and fifty two million dollars ninety-three thousand, Seven Hundred and seventy-seven cents.”

He stated, “There is also an outstanding estate rent, shipping dues, and service boats of over 68 million dollars. The status of long outstanding debtors are all issues to be answered by the Nigeria Ports Authority.

“This is not to talk about issues surrounding Lagos channel management and Calabar channel management. We give them 48hours to appear before the Senate Committee”