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The Federal High Court in Port Harcourt has fixed December 5 to commence hearing in the lawsuit filed by the factional Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Edison Ehie, seeking to take control of the state legislature.

Ehie had announced his emergence as Speaker following the crisis that rocked the Assembly in the wake of the move by the original Speaker,   Martin Amaewhule, and 23 other lawmakers to impeach Governor Siminialayi Fubara.

He later filed the suit, praying the court to restrain Amaewhule from parading himself as Speaker or presiding over the affairs of the House.

Earlier, the court had ordered parties to maintain the status quo pending the hearing and determination of Ehie’s suit.

But Ehie later commenced contempt proceedings against Amaewhule, alleging that his faction conducted legislative proceedings despite the court order.

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At the Monday’s proceedings, two lawyers clashed over the right to represent Ehie in the matter.

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, K.C.0. Njemanze, told the court that he had been hired to take over from N O. Akporuvweku,  who was originally in charge of the case.

But  Akporuvweku argued that he had yet to be served any notice of change in counsel and insisted that he and the team remained the plaintiff’s counsel.

Meanwhile, counsel for the first and second defendants, Ferdinand Oshoke, prayed the court to consolidate and accelerate hearing on all applications filed in the matter since the matter borders on the legislative arm of government.

Justice Phoebe Ayua adjourned the case till December 5 to enable  Ehie’s lawyers to regularsze their appearances and also for parties in the matter to serve processes on each other.

President Bola Tinubu has appointed Chief Pius Akinyelure, as the Chairman of the board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Leading Reporters can authoritatively report.

This is just as the President has retained Mallam Mele Kyari as the Group Chief Executive Officer of the NNPC Limited following his impressive performance which has been described as unrivalled in the entire history of the national oil company.

Before his appointment as Chairman, Akinyelure was a member of the board of the NNPC Limited.

Akinyelure, a seasoned and distinguished administrator, and an oil industry practitioner is being appointed to Chair the NNPC Limited Board about five months after the President dissolved the board of federal government’s agencies and parastatsals including that of the NNPC Limited.

Before the President’s dissolution of board of federal government parastatals on June 19 this year, the board of the NNPC Limited was chaired by Mrs Margary Okadigbo who was appointed on January 5, 2022 by former President Muhammadu Buhari.

She occupied the position for 17 months before the dissolution of the board by President Tinubu.

Findings by Leading Reporters revealed that she is being replaced by Chief Akinyelure who is a certified Accountant with a Master of Science Degree in Management, specializing in organizational behaviour.

Chief Akinyelure also had over 30 years working experience in the Oil industry at top management/executive levels, both Upstream and Downstream.

Prior to his retirement from Mobil Oil Nigeria Plc on June 1, 1997, he was the Executive Director, Finance and External Relations for the company.

He has been Chairman/Director of several companies/financial institutions in the past, which include Wema Bank Plc, Credite Bank Ltd, Odu’a Investment Limited, Oluwa Glass Plc, Okitipupa Oil Palm Plc, Odu’a Telecomunications Limited, Cocoa Industries Nigeria Ltd, Hallmark Bank and West African Portland Cement Plc.

He is also Chairman/Director in several other companies like King Guards Nigeria Ltd, Seg Mahsen & Co.(NIG) LTD, POA Investment Ltd, Eres N.V Nig. Ltd, Transnational Computer Technology, SPA dredging Company Limited, Pak Oil Marketing Limited, ACOP Properties Limited, Betta Consortium (Ikoyi Hotels) and CAT Construction Company Limited.

Leading Reporters understands that Kyari’s retention as NNPC Limited GCEO is a confirmation of the confidence which the President has in the reforms and programmes being implemented under his leadership.

Kyari has kept his promise to the NNPC Limited and Nigeria by increasing the nation’s oil reserves to 40 billion barrels, from 37 billion barrels.

The NNPC Boss has also assisted in resolving disputes around deep offshore bloc to further boost the nation’s oil production and ensuring the successful flag-off of the construction of the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline project.

The project was described by former President Muhammadu Buhari as a game changer for the oil and gas industry.

The NNPC Group, which became a CAMA Company in 2021 following the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act, grew its profit from N287bn in 2020 to N674bn in 2021 under Kyari’s leadership.

The N674bn profit posted by the NNPC Group in the 2021 financial period represents an increase of N387bn or 134.8 per cent when compared to the N287bn recorded in 2020.

The 2021 financial year made it the fourth consecutive years that the NNPC will be making its Audited Financial Statement public.

This was one of the innovations made by Kyari when he took over the helms of affairs of the National Oil Company.

Since he assumed office, Kyari has pursued his Transparency, Accountability and Performance Excellence (TAPE) agenda, a five-step strategic roadmap for NNPC’s attainment of efficiency and global excellence.

Kyari, during the inauguration, had said pursuing TAPE was the only way to turn around the corporation and make it competitive.

Under the roadmap, the Transparency component of the agenda was aimed at maintaining positive image, share values of integrity and transparency to all stakeholders, while the Accountability segment of the campaign is to assure compliance with business ethics, policies, regulations and accountability to all stakeholders.

In terms of the two-prong item of Performance Excellence, Kyari had said the idea was to entrench a high level of efficiency anchored on efficient implementation of business processes which would also emplace an appropriate reward system for exceptional performance among the workforce.

Just last month, the NNPC Limited and the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), Malam Mele Kyari, won the 2023 Nigeria GovTech Awards for exceptional service delivery in the public sector.

While the National Oil Company won the Best Federal MDA in Digital Initiatives in Reengineering Government Processes Award, the GCEO carted home the Distinguished GovTech Trailblazer Award.

The awards were in recognition of the GCEO leadership’s proactive steps in activating the Business Continuity Plan (BCP) that is hinged on digital automation of the company’s processes.

The single, sure-footed act of automation, emplaced to, among others, mitigate the effects of COVID-19, has brought about efficiency, high performance, and sustenance of the NNPC Ltd’s operations post-pandemic, for which the GCEO is now referred to as “Mr. Automation” in the industry.

Significantly, the GCEO, through the NNPC IT Division, automated Key Performance Indicator Dashboard across the entire IT Enterprise and Architecture, thereby improving reporting efficiency real-time performance tracking.

Kyari also activated Microsoft Enterprise Additional Licenses for NNPC Digital Transformation initiatives, leading to an estimated cost-saving of over $1m to the Company.

Both the NNPC Ltd. and the GCEO shone like a thousand stars at the venue of the awards at the International Conference Centre.

Over forty coalition of Civil society Organizations (CSOs) has supported the ongoing reforms at the National Assembly orchestrated by the Clerk of the House, Sani Magaji Tambuwal, however described recent unverified media report as unfortunate and fraudulent.

The group expressed concern on the negative story sponsored by some individuals and group in National Assembly management without proper investigation by media houses before going to the press.

Speaking to newsmen in Abuja over the weekend, the Chairperson of the Conference of Civil Societies, and Coordinator of Civil-Military Cooperation (CIMICO), Comrade Adams Otakwu stated that while the management of the National Assembly is not immune from investigations, the media practitioners should not allowed itself to be used as pawn in the political chess game by those who lost out in any contest in National Assembly management leadership.

Comrade Otakwu noted that the activities of these individuals and groups who hide under the umbrella of Civil Societies to blackmail and extort public officials, perpetrate heinous crimes and indulge in reactionary and fraudulent activities, portray a bad image of the civil society, and undermine national security.

He expressed concern over incessant blackmails of the Armed Forces, Security Agencies, National Assembly and other critical institutions in the country, by subversive elements and so-called ‘coalition of civil societies’ or ‘concerned citizens groups’.

Otakwu who further described such needless and mindless machinations as “inimical to the country’s progress” also cautioned against them, and disclosed plans by the Conference of Civil Societies to collaborate with the Armed Forces, Security and Intelligence Community to clamp down on these elements in the interest of National Security and development.

National coordinator of the PYF, Otunba Bamidele Adigun, and National Organising Secretary, Musa Isah, on their part stated that since Tambuwal’s assumption of office as the CNA, there have been a telling improvement in staff welfare and communication in the National Assembly bureaucracy.

“It is a fact that since Mr. Sani Magaji Tambuwal’s emergence as the CNA in November, 2022 and his eventual confirmation in March this year, there have been marked improvement in staff welfare and communication with top management within the National Assembly bureaucracy,” Adigun and Isah stated in the statement.

According to the group, “the payment of N3.7bn CON-PECULIAR and other outstanding entitlements within a few months in office and the upgrade of the NASS clinic with plans for the state-of-the-art equipment, easing the transportation needs of workers with eight new buses and effecting the payment of N35, 000 palliative grant, from September,2023 are few of the pragmatic leadership of Mr. Tambuwal this past one year in office.

“We wish to further state that, we have diligently followed his leadership and management style, it is gratifying to know and see that all outstanding workers welfare packages and entitlements are been cleared as well as increase in trainings and retraining for all cadres of staff in the NASS service.

“It is on this note and many more, we call on Mr. Tambuwal to remain focused, accountable and ignore mischief makers and those given to blackmail and trading in spurious allegations.”People should be guided by their conscience in all that they do so as not to impugn on the integrity and reputation of honest leaders, desirous for the right things to be done.” they added.

The Women Advocate Research and Documentation Center (WARDC) has task government at all levels to expedite action on the implementation of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act to reduce cases of Gender Based Violence (GBV) recorded across the country.

The Founder/Executive Director, WARDC, Dr. Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi in a recent statement on the sideline of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, with the theme “UNiTE – Invest to Prevent Violence against Women & Girls.” stated that beyond laws, the implementation of the VAPP Act in would reduce the cases of GBV.

Meanwhile, Akiyode-Afolabi explained that the 16 Days of Activism, spanning from November 25th to December 10th, symbolizes a collective call to action against one of the most pervasive violations of human rights – gender-based violence.

She noted that this year’s theme underscores the imperative to invest in proactive measures that can effectively prevent violence directed at women and girls.

Her words:

“WARDC recognizes the importance of fostering a world where every woman and girl can live free from fear, intimidation, and violence.

“Through our unwavering commitment to advocacy, Legal aid, research and documentation, we strive to shed light on the intricate dynamics of gender-based violence, providing valuable insights that inform policies and interventions.

“Investing in prevention means addressing root causes, dismantling harmful stereotypes, and empowering individuals and communities to actively reject violence. By supporting education, advocacy, and awareness initiatives, we contribute to the creation of a society where equality is not just an ideal but a lived reality.”

She further explained that during these 16 Days of Activism, WARDC will engage in a series of events, webinars, and awareness campaigns to amplify the message of unity against gender-based violence.

“We invite the community, stakeholders, and partners to join hands with us in this collective endeavor to build a world where every woman and girl can thrive without the fear of violence.

“Together, let us UNiTE and invest in a future where the rights and dignity of women and girls are upheld, and gender-based violence becomes an intolerable relic of the past.” She added.

The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has suspended all the wet-leased aircraft under the United Nigeria Airlines (UNA).

This comes a few hours after one of the aircraft of United Nigeria Airlines (UNA) diverted to Asaba International Airport on Sunday rather than the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA).

According to a source close to the NCAA, the regulatory body took the decision on Monday via a letter communicated to the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the airline.

According to the source, all the wet-leased aircraft in the operations of the airline would remain suspended pending the outcome of an investigation on the Sunday incident involving one of the wet-leased aircraft in the fleet of the airline.

It was gathered that immediately after the incident gained traction on social media on Sunday, the Director-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Capt. Musa Nuhu called an emergency meeting of the agency, where it was resolved that the excuse given by the airline was not tenable to the authority.

It was further gathered that the report obtained from the Air Traffic Controllers (ATCs) of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) contradicted the airline’s claim on poor weather situation in Abuja at the time of the diversion.

No fewer than two wet-leased Airbus A320-200 aircraft are in the fleet of United Nigeria Airlines.

Only last Sunday, this column engaged its readers in the search for an elephant in the room of police reforms in Nigeria. The engagement turned out to be quite intriguing with many readers querying the imagination of an elephant in just a room, while urging me to disclose the exact location of the elephant. In truth, i was only alerting Nigerians that we all seem to be perpetually in love with the exogenous; forever looking for objects outside without a peep within. What reforms can help an organization in which leadership directives are permanently flouted without sanctions? Our police will improve whenever those in charge desire it; but not when they continue to present a posture of helplessness in embracing reforms
 
When foremost good election management advocate – Yiaga Africa, started creating fresh awareness for more electoral reforms in Nigeria, one had no option than to argue that Nigeria’s electoral problem is not due to lack of reforms. Our real dilemma lies in the deliberate refusal of actors to embrace the reforms we have been churning out since 1999. Reforms do not function on their own, they are usually implemented by relevant actors. It amounts to doing the same thing while expecting different results if in the game of politics and elections, political parties continue to ignore internal democracy just as supposed election umpires progressively show that they are incapable of being neutral in the process.
 
Some years ago, when the need to end impunity in the management of political activities became inevitable, the parties were barred from substituting winners of their primaries. Indeed, one contentious issue was the decision to select Celestine Omeha as the flag bearer of the PDP instead of Rotimi Amaechi who won the party’s governorship primaries in Rivers state.  The judiciary however pronounced Amaechi the winner of the election though it was Omeha that was on the ballot. In due course, a new reform provided that political parties must have verifiable reasons for changing their candidates. Another reform was later introduced that for a candidate that won a primary election to be changed, such a winner must voluntarily and formally withdraw from the race.  Yet, the situation did not improve.  
 
To bring an end to fake party primaries, the Electoral Act 2022 provided for INEC to monitor the events – a reform that was immediately bastardized. To stop political parties from undermining rules and regulations, only the relevant national officers of a party were then empowered to enter into correspondences with INEC. Again, this was severally breached. In the circumstance, it became hard to find reforms that can compel political parties to be honest with their own members. In other words, any reform that hinders Nigerian political parties from using illegal arrangements to win elections can hardly work.
 
Nigeria’s electoral bodies have over the years had their own share of reforms. At first, the emphasis was on nomenclature. During the second republic, the body was known as the Federal Electoral Commission (FEDECO). In 1987, president Ibrahim Babangida’s administration called it the National Electoral Commission (NEC) and it remained so till the famous June 12 1993 Presidential Election. During the Abacha years, it became the National Electoral Commission of Nigeria (NECON). In 1999, the new commission had the term ‘independent’ added to its name to become the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).  All these efforts directed at name change notwithstanding, the greatest challenge of our electoral bodies remained undue interference by government and the ruling parties at federal and state levels.  
 
Elections have also remained poorly organized, with each voting day witnessing multiple ballot papers that were pre thumb printed. Most polling centres likewise encountered late arrival of human and material resources. Again, voter’s registers were filled with multiple registrations making it difficult to use them for effective planning purposes. We all heaved a sigh of relief when the commission introduced what was known as the ‘card reader’ that was designed to first, recognize a voter’s card as one validly issued by INEC for a particular polling unit and second, to verify that the holder of the card is the true owner before such holder can vote. To nullify the reform, politicians aided by INEC officials made sure that the card reader was not put into use in certain sections of the country on voting day – a typical fate of electoral reforms in Nigeria.
 
Other new electoral technologies also failed on voting days.  The eulogised card reader was later said to be unknown to law despite the consequential amendment to the Electoral Act signed into law by president Goodluck Jonathan before the elections. In 2019, INEC’s server suddenly vanished and no one accounted for the millions of naira used for its procurement. In other words, reforms were just for fun – another way of understanding the introduction of senior university lecturers as returning officers to declare election results. The goal was to use respected academics, previously known several decades ago as role models of society to sanitize INEC’s electoral process.
 
Analysts who had become familiar with happenings in several universities shouted ourselves hoarse that the reform was redundant, but we were ignored. One would have expected INEC to know that the reform would be ineffectual since all a returning officer was to do was just to read figures presented to him from the field. The indictment of many returning officers for manipulating the system was probably the last evidence that eventually showed that those who could not stop malpractices in their own internal examinations were virtually incapable of stopping election malpractices. In fact, one professor was later jailed in Uyo. The lesson here is that as INEC was evolving reforms, political parties were a step ahead in circumventing them using whatever means.
 
Those who imagined that the often quoted last hope of the common man – the judiciary would change the situation by ensuring true justice did not know that they were merely sending Nigeria from democracy to a newly discovered system of government known as kritocracy. According to Professor Anthony Kila, seasoned political analyst and Director of the Commonwealth Institute of Advanced and Professional Studies CIAPS, kritocracy is a system of government “in which judges ignore voters’ wishes and decide what is good for all us, without elections.” In reality, many Nigerian judges have of recent become the most active actors in our electoral process, sending almost everybody into a season of political anomie in the country.
 
Only last week, the Court of Appeal delivered two versions of the same judgment, one oral, the other written. In the oral version, our ruling party won, while it lost in the written version. Among others, two important people made remarkable comments on the subject. The more titillating one credited to the court’s registrar suggested that the problem was due to typographical error. What type of typists work in our Appeal Court that can commit celebrated typo not in one or two or three words, or in one or two or three sentences but in more than 3 paragraphs? The second comment was that of celebrated elections lawyer Wole Olanikpekun SAN who inferred that our appeal court no longer knows the meaning of ‘functus officio.’ 
 
It is thus not enough to reiterate the popular suggestion that the judiciary should only help us identify faulty elections; its powers should no longer extend to the determination of winners. But, bearing in mind that not every judge has gone mad, it makes sense to call on those who are still sane to join Appeal Court Justice I. K Amadi in admonishing INEC “to stop dancing naked in the market, pretending that no one is seeing its nakedness and its dancing steps.” Put differently, the judiciary minus its bad eggs can still serve as a veritable tool for social change; provided commercial politics can be downplayed.
 
A major reason why our reforms don’t work is because our political system is too lucrative. We neither have the resources to maintain a bicameral legislature nor can we meet the excessive financial demands of our political office holders especially legislators who should only earn sitting allowances. It is indeed time to play down on acclaimed great reforms that the relevant actors are incapable of implementing. Let’s digest, comprehend and strategize for implementing existing reforms before advocating new ones.
  
November 26, 2023