Nelson Ugwuagbo

Akwa Ibom State government and the Traditional Rulers Council (TRC) in the state have agreed to settle their differences over the amended Traditional Rulers Law, Cap 155 out of court.

Some royal fathers had dragged the Akwa Ibom State government, the State Assembly, as well as the Paramount Ruler of Nsit Ubium Local Government Area, Ntenyin Solomon Etuk to court over the amendment of TRC Law Cap 155 which confers life and permanent Presidency on Oku Ibom Ibibio, Ntenyin Etuk.

The plaintiffs, including all the Paramount Rulers of Annang extraction, Paramount Rulers of Urueffong Oruko, Okobo, Mbo, Eastern Obolo, Ibeno and those of Oron and Udung Uko Local Government Areas, who were joined in the suit, sought the rotation of the revered traditional stool.

But at the hearing of the case on Thursday, counsel to the plaintiffs, Barrister Ekpenyong Ntekim, a former Attorney General of Akwa Ibom State, leading Barrister Jumbo Udom and five others, made an oral application to the Court for leave to explore settlement out of Court and for a short adjournment for parties to report settlement.

Ntekim said his application was premised on the desire of parties to restore and maintain peace in the State.

But the Attorney General of the State and Commissioner for Justice, Uko Udom, SAN represented by the Director of Civil Litigation, Barrister Bassey Ekanem was not satisfied with the oral application.

Although he confirmed that the State Attorney General and the former Attorney General, Barrister Ntekim met with the Governor, Pastor Umo Eno to broker a way forward for a peaceful resolution of the dispute, he argued that the plaintiffs ought to have made a written application in line with the terms of settlement.

The objection of the Attorney General’s representative was overruled by the Court, citing the case of Habib Bank Plc and Lodigiani Nigeria Limited reported in 2010, where the Court of Appeal said trial Courts have a duty to encourage parties to settle disputes out of court.

The trial Judge, Justice Archibong said one thing that stands out from the counsels’ arguments was their desire for peace and settlement of the dispute and that the form or manner of application should not be a stumbling block.

Counsels to the plaintiffs, Barrister Ekpenyong Ntekim and Barrister Uyobong Jumbo Udom while speaking with journalists, expressed optimism that given the positive disposition of the State Government, the dispute will be resolved soonest.

They expressed their gratitude to the court for granting the parties leave to explore settlement out of court.

Two factions of the Labour Party (LP), on Thursday, exchanged words at the premises of the federal high court in Abuja.

The altercation between the two factions occurred shortly after the court adjourned for hearing, an application to discontinue a suit against Athan Achonu, the LP’s governorship candidate in Imo in the November 11 election.

Inyang Ekwo, the presiding judge, adjourned the hearing to January 11 after Kehinde Edun, who announced an appearance for LP (1st plaintiff), said he was in court to file a discontinuance notice in the matter.

Edun, who also introduced himself as the national legal adviser of LP, said “on behalf of the 1st plaintiff, we want to inform the court that the 1st plaintiff was joined without authorisation”.

“I am here to file a notice of discontinuance. We have no case against the defendant (Independent National Electoral Commission),” he told the court.

Taken aback by Edun’s submission, Anderson Asemota, who had been appearing for all the plaintiffs, including the LP, said the matter was slated for hearing.

Asemota said he was served with a notice of joinder by Achonu, through his lawyer, Okwudili Anozie, who had earlier announced his appearance as a party seeking to be joined.

“The national legal adviser said the suit was filed without authorisation,” the judge told Asemota.

But Asemota said Edun was not the party’s national legal adviser.

Asemota stated that the LP, whom he represented in court, had not briefed him about the discontinuance of the suit.

The lawyer added that he had not been served with the notice Edun planned to file.

He argued that as a procedure, Edun had to be in the matter first by applying to be joined before he would notify him of his plan to file a notice of discontinuance.

The judge then asked Edun if he had served Asemota with the application.

“I will serve them now,” Edun responded.

Ekwo subsequently adjourned the matter to January 11 to hear the notice of discontinuance.

Asemota represented the Lamidi Apapa-led faction, while Edun appeared for the Julius Abure group of the LP.

Shortly after the adjournment of the matter, some members loyal to the Apapa-led faction appeared in court, challenging Edun’s move to discontinue the suit.

The development resulted in a loud exchange of words, prompting the officers of the King’s guard, a security outfit, and some staff members of the court to intervene.

The Apapa-led faction had sought an order of interim injunction restraining INEC from “recognising any other person or persons laying claim to the LP governorship ticket for the November 11 election other than Joseph Ukaegbu that was elected from the primary conducted by its national working committee (NWC) on April 16.

The faction also sought an order of mandatory injunction directing or compelling INEC to recognise, upload and publish Ukaegbu’s name as the party’s governorship candidate in Imo, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice filed with the ex-parte application.

Also, the group requested an order of mandatory injunction directing INEC to upload Apapa’s name as the acting national chairman of the LP.

But the judge declined the motion, directing them to put INEC on notice to respond to the motion.

In its response, INEC asked the court to dismiss Apapa’s motion seeking to replace the party’s governorship candidate in Imo.

INEC in its affidavit to show cause pursuant to the court order, told the judge that the plaintiffs’ suit was statute-barred.

The National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has dissolved the party’s executive at all levels in Rivers State.

The APC national publicity secretary, Felix Morka, disclosed this while briefing journalists after the meeting of the NWC at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja.

He announced the NWC’s decision to appoint a seven-member caretaker committee to steer the party’s affairs in the state for the next six months.

The caretaker committee comprised Chief Tony C. Okocha – chairman; Chief Eric Nwibani – secretary; Hon. Chibuike Ikenga; Prince Stephen Abolo; Hon. Silvester Vidin; Senibo Karibi Dan-Jumbo and Miss Darling Amadi as members.

Reading out the party’s decision signed by the national chairman, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje and deputy national secretary, Barr. Festus Fuanter, the party’s spokesperson said, the caretaker committee is mandated to conduct a comprehensive and fresh electronic party registration of all members in the state.

Morka said the caretaker committee will be inaugurated on Friday, November 24, 2023 at the party’s national secretariat, Abuja.

“The Caretaker Committee subject to the directives of the NWC was entrusted with preparing for the conduct of congresses to facilitate the emergence of new Executive Committees for the Party at various levels, extending from the ward to the state,” he stated.

Despites no legislation to guide its practice in Nigeria, surrogacy, which is a reproductive process that has brought joy and fulfilment to many couples struggling with fertility issues, soars in Nigeria, Leading Reporters has learnt.

For instance, a recent study titled: “In-vitro Fertilization, Gamete Donation and Surrogacy: Perceptions of Women Attending an Infertility Clinic in Ibadan, Nigeria”, carried out on 307 Nigerians, revealed that 58.3 per cent of Nigerians were aware of In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF) and 59.3 per cent of them affirmed that they would accept it as treatment; 35.2 per cent would accept donor eggs and 24.7 per cent would accept donor sperms—a smaller proportion anticipated acceptability by their husbands. 

Also, findings of the study revealed that 35 percent of respondents were aware of surrogacy and 37.8 per cent would accept it as treatment, but with a stranger as a surrogate.

Mrs Ada Eze, 46, is one of the women who not only claimed she would go for surrogacy, but actually did it.

According to her, she got married nine years ago, and her plan was to get pregnant immediately, as the advice from her doctor still rings in her head.

“My doctor told me that at aged 35 to 40, it is difficult to get pregnant, due to the fact that age factor is a key indicator for fertility. For instance, he told me that for healthy couples in their 20s and early 30s, around one in four women will get pregnant in any single menstrual cycle. By age 40, around one in 10 will get pregnant per menstrual cycle.

“I knew what I needed to do when I got married at the age of 37. However, for the past eight years, my husband and I kept trying every month, including IVF, all to no avail. At aged 45, we decided to go for surrogacy. Today, I am carrying my bundle of joy” Mrs Eze told news corespondants

Despite the fact that there is no law on surrogacy practice in Nigeria, it has assisted a lot of infertile women to carry their bundle of joy, fertility expert and managing director, Nordica Fertility Centre, Dr. Abayomi Ajayi, 

When faced with infertility, couples are introduced to many treatment modalities, terminologies and abbreviations, especially when Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) is required; One of these modalities/terminologies is Surrogacy, which is a form of third party reproduction, Ajayi disclosed.

The managing director defined surrogacy as an arrangement, often supported by a legal agreement, whereby a woman (the surrogate mother) agrees to become pregnant and give birth to a child for another person(s) (commissioning couple) who is or will become the parent(s) of the child.

There are two types of surrogacy, which are the traditional and gestational/IVF surrogacy, Ajayi averred, adding that, “The traditional surrogacy is a process where the surrogate mother is artificially inseminated by the intended father or an anonymous donor and carries the baby to term. The child is therefore genetically linked to both the surrogate and the owner of the sperm sample.

“On the other hand, gestational/IVF Surrogacy: An egg is removed from the intended mother or an anonymous donor and fertilized with the sperm of the intended father or anonymous donor via IVF. The embryo is transferred to the surrogate who carries the baby to term. The child is therefore genetically related to the owner of the eggs who could be either the intended mother or a donor and the owner of the sperm but not the surrogate.”

The managing director said a woman with no womb; a woman with any kind of uterine disease or anomaly; a woman who may not have a diagnosed uterine issue but who has failed to become pregnant after several embryo transfers; a woman who has history of miscarriages or pre-term birth thought to be due to factors other than egg/sperm quality or genetics (i.e. uterine or cervix issues); basically, anyone who does not have a womb or who has one that does not appear to work correctly is a good candidate for surrogacy.

“If you are doing gestational surrogacy, you will need to do IVF, as the sperm and egg would need to be extracted. Next is to choose surrogate. This is where the major problem lies, as some couple would choose their close relative as surrogate. My advice for couple who want to go for surrogacy is for them to choose someone who is not close to them, and get a good and versatile lawyer who can draft agreement, to prevent future crises. 

“After choosing your surrogate, the fertility clinic jumps in by screening the surrogate to ascertain her mental and health status. After that process, the embryo is then transferred into her womb and we wait for two weeks, to know if she is pregnant or not.

Though surrogacy is common in Nigeria, the constitution of Nigeria prohibits its practice, as Section 30 of the Child Rights Act (2003) prohibits the buying, selling, hiring or dealing in children. 

Also, the Trafficking In Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act also condemns all forms of human trafficking, hence the reason why police raids of baby factories are common in recent time.

Some of police raids on baby factories  include a mission in February that rescued 24 babies and four expectant mothers described as “frail and malnourished” in the southern oil city of Port Harcourt and a mission in September that rescued 19 women and girls that had been kidnapped. 

While Ajayi strongly condemned baby factory, he however posited that surrogacy should be  encourage in Nigeria, as it is an option of ART, that can help a lot of couples who are battling with fertility issues.

“We need to make people understand what surrogacy really is. That will help them to desist from patronizing baby factory. Surrogacy and baby factory can be likened to a situation where someone goes to the bank and collect his money, through the normal process and another person goes to the bank at night and break the bank to collect his money.

“Though, it is his money, but he didn’t follow the normal procedure. That is the same with baby factory, as it is not legally recognized, while surrogacy is recognized in Nigeria, but we need legislation to guide its practice,” Ajayi stated.

He disclosed that Lagos state is trying to come up with legislation on surrogacy. “We eagerly look forward to it. The state did an open session, to get input from practitioners. So we look forward to it, because a lot of people are abusing the process. The legislation should cover areas not only from the practitioners, but also from surrogates and intended couples,” he advised.

In the same vein, the former president, Fertility Awareness Advocacy Initiative (FAAI), Mr Omos Evborokhai,  strongly frowns at baby factories, just as the law also frowns at it, while urging fertility challenged couples to go through the medical route, which is safer. 

“If you want to adopt, please adopt legally, but if you want to go all out, then seek medical intervention which is safer, instead of going through the back door to buy babies. You are only deceiving yourself and the law will catch up with you. If you have headache, you go to the pharmacist; if your car has problem, you take it to the mechanic; if you are battling with infertility, then seek the attention of a medical expert, rather than keeping innocent girls, holding them hostage, until they conceived and give birth, which is a criminal act,” Evborokhai advised.

The Federal Government says it is dedicated to extending irrigation projects and reactivating dormant initiatives to improve food security in the country.

Prof. Joseph Utsev, Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, stated this during a familiarisation tour to the Anambra-Imo River Basin Development Authority facilities in Agbala, near Owerri, on Wednesday.

Utsev stated that his ministry was looking into new ways and techniques of revitalizing the Lower Anambra Irrigation Project (LAIP), the largest rice irrigation project in the South-East.

He stated that LAIP has enormous potential in the zone for food security, wealth growth, poverty reduction, and employment creation.

“In order to revitalize the River Basin Development Authorities, the Federal Government has approved the partial commercialization of the 12 River Basin Development Authorities towards making them sustainable and commercially viable,” he said.

The minister urged respectable investors to increase their investments in the water industry, stating that President Bola Tinubu’s administration was resolved to cultivate 500,000 hectares of irrigable land.

He also stated that the ministry was carrying out water management and irrigation projects in order to ensure steady and enhanced food production to feed the nation.

Anambra State government will borrow N120 billion from financial institutions to fund the 2024 budget, according to the estimate the governor, Prof Charles Soludo, presented…

Anambra State government will borrow N120 billion from financial institutions to fund the 2024 budget, according to the estimate the governor, Prof Charles Soludo, presented to the state’s assembly. 

Soludo had on Tuesday presented a budget of N410 billion to the Anambra State House of Assembly for consideration and approval. 

According to the governor, the budget deficit would be funded by borrowing from financial institutions.

“Our internally generated revenue (IGR) remains a fundamental challenge. In the 2023 budget, we expected a monthly revenue of N4 billion. 

“So far, we are averaging N2 billion, and we are still projecting N4.2 billion per month in 2024. This is a wake-up call to all residents of Anambra, and all Ndi Anambra wherever they may live. We can’t build the envisioned livable and prosperous homeland with our saliva” he said. 

The governor said in the proposed 2024 budget, recurrent expenditure is 23% while capital expenditure is 77%. 

Dana Air has denied the claims of an explosion of the engine of its Abuja-bound aircraft shortly after take-off.

Dana Air in a statement on Wednesday denied any form of engine explosion but admitted that the aircraft developed fault before take-off.

An X user had raised the alarm that the engine of an aircraft belonging to Dana which was scheduled to take-off from Lagos to Abuja exploded shortly before take-off time.

But in its reply, Dana said “Our attention has been drawn to an online post suggesting that one of our engines exploded shortly before take-off.

“Ordinarily, we wouldn’t have given such a baseless and unfounded post from the X handle the attention it is seeking, but for the benefit of enlightenment and our valued guests who have shown better understanding.”

The airline explained that the aircraft “had some operational challenges and non- scheduled maintenance of our aircraft which led to the disruption of our schedule.”

According to Dana passengers on the affected flights were provided options and issues resolved.

“We are still wondering where this Twitter user got his fake news from. At Dana Air, the safety of our staff and customers remains a top priority and we urge the public and discerning minds to disregard this fake news which is obviously attention-seeking and malicious.”

Between September to date, three airlines have skidded off the runway.

On November 14, 2023, the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau confirmed an incident involving a Bombardier CRJ-900LR aircraft with Nationality and Registration Marks, 5N-BXR belonging to Valuejet Airlines.

Few days before the Valuejet incident, Aero Contractors aircraft was involved in similar incident at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja.