Last week, President Bola Tinubu approved the creation of the Ministry of Livestock Development.
TVN reported that Tinubu announced this on Tuesday when he inaugurated the Presidential Committee on Livestock Reforms at the Council Chamber of the State House in Abuja.
Although the decision of the President to establish the Minister of Livestock Development has continued to generate divergent views from stakeholders, some observers believe the development points to the administration’s lack of commitment to the implementation of the Oronsaye Report.
Those who oppose it opined that an additional Ministry is absolutely unnecessary and will whittle down efforts to cut the cost of governance.
For instance, an activist lawyer, Madubuachi Idam, in an interview with TVN, had described the Ministry of Livestock Development as a duplication of ministries, noting that it would lead to wastage of funds at a time when Nigerians are experiencing hardship.
He stressed that the ministry was needless, suggesting it should have been fused into the Ministry of Agriculture.
“Without gimmicks, I will tell you that it’s grossly a duplication of actions, needless duplication of ministries. It’s a pure waste of public resources.
“The Ministry of Agriculture which has an agency called Nigerian Agricultural Quarantine Service can sufficiently handle every issue regarding livestock management, and herders-farmers issues,” he said.
TVN reported that the new ministry followed the report of the presidential committee set up by the President to reform the livestock industry and proffer solutions to the recurring clashes between farmers and herders.
The committee presented to Tinubu with 21 recommendations, including the creation of a Ministry of Livestock Resources, along with other measures, to help resolve the decades-long conflict between nomadic cattle herders and farmers in the country.
The excited President, while making the announcement, believed that the livestock development ministry would resolve the intractable conflicts between farmers and herders.
“Who says the solution is far? I say, ‘No, the solution is here.’ Majority of you have great experience and you want Nigeria to prosper.
“To enable Nigeria to finally take advantage of livestock farming, we have seen the solution and opportunity for this adversity that has plagued us over the years and I believe the prosperity is here in our hands,” he said.
Following the approval, Tinubu further stated that the Nigerian government was fully prepared to cover the cost of acquiring lands to ensure the peaceful co-existence of pastoralists and farmers.
Before now, Tinubu had in February 2024 ordered the full implementation of the report of the Presidential Committee on the Rationalisation and Restructuring of Federal Government Parastatals, Commissions, and Agencies, headed by retired accountant, Stephen Oronsaye.
He said the administration was resolved to implement the ‘Oronsaye report’ to pave the way for a leaner government by merging some agencies and scrapping some others.
President Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, who then disclosed the development in a post on his X handle, said many agencies would be scrapped and others merged to pave the way for a leaner government.
Onanuga explained that the development was part of the far reaching decisions taken at the Federal Executive Council, FEC, meeting chaired by Tinubu.
“Twelve years after the Steve Oronsaye panel submitted its report on restructuring and rationalizing Federal government parastatals and agencies and a white paper issued two years after, President Tinubu and the Federal Executive Council today decided to implement the report.
“Many agencies will be scrapped and many others will be merged, to pave the way to a leaner government,” he posted on his X account.
Also, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, who briefed State House correspondents after the FEC meeting stressed that some Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs, would be scrapped, merged or subsumed into relevant organisations of government.
According to him, the aim was to cut costs and not to throw Nigerians into the labour market.
Idris added that the details of the affected MDAs would be made known soon, adding that a committee had been set up for the implementation of the report.
TVN recalls that Tinubu’s administration had been roundly criticized for running a bogus cabinet, raising doubts about its commitment and determination to cut the cost of governance.
As if that wasn’t enough, many have continued to press on the administration to follow up on Tinubu’s announcement that ‘petrol subsidy is gone’ with measures to cut the outrageous cost of running the government.
There are now more doubts about its commitment and determination to cut the cost of governance amid rising inflation and economic hardship.
Also, TVN findings recently showed that the National Assembly is still passing establishment bills to create new agencies and commissions despite moves to implement the Oronsaye report.
A few weeks after the Federal Government announced its determination to fully implement the Stephen Oronsaye, the National Assembly introduced no fewer than 20 bills for the creation of new agencies of government.
The Senate for instance recently passed bills for the establishment of the North Central Development Commission, NCDC, and the South-East Development Commission (SEDC), among others.
Many have frowned against the development, describing it as an arbitrary creation of new agencies.
Speaking during a press conference on the concern of Nigerians, Rep. Ibrahim Isiaka, Chairman of the special ad hoc committee, said the National Assembly cannot stop its legislative functions because of plans to implement the report.
“As we are talking about scrapping and merging agencies, the national assembly is still making many establishment bills and passing them into an Act of the parliament. The work of the legislature is an ongoing process,” he said.
“Some agencies were created for certain exigencies of time in the past. Perhaps some of them have outlived their functions. And it is the duty of the national assembly to review all agencies.
“If it is to strengthen them or look for more functions for them, so be it.
“We cannot stop the engine of the country from moving because we are reviewing activities of the past. The world is not even waiting for anyone. As the world evolves, we are moving along that same line.
“So, because of that, you are not going to say we should stop the function of the National Assembly from establishing any new commission or agencies so far it is in tandem with the position of the government of the day,” he added.
Speaking to TVN, a Public Affairs Analyst and Communication Scholar at Peaceland University, Enugu, Nduka Odo, expressed disappointment over the creation of the new ministry.
Odo suggested that the development was an indication that the Tinubu administration was more focused on empowering a select few rather than working towards the betterment of the nation.
According to him, the system required a reduction in the cost of governance, not an expansion of it.
He said: “I’m disappointed but not surprised by the recent announcement of a new Livestock Development Ministry by Tinubu’s administration.
“It’s a move that reeks of unnecessary expansion of government and a blatant disregard for the Oronsaye Report’s recommendations to streamline and reduce the cost of governance. Don’t we already have a ministry of agriculture?
“As Nigerians, aren’t we tired of seeing the government prioritise pet projects and special interests over the welfare of the people?
“The creation of a new ministry is a clear indication that the administration is more focused on empowering a select few rather than working towards the betterment of the nation.
“The Oronsaye Report was a comprehensive review of our country’s institutional framework, and its implementation was meant to bring about much-needed reforms.
“Instead, we’re seeing a blatant disregard for its recommendations, and it’s a slap in the face for all those who believed in the promise of change.
“Nigerians deserve more from their government. We deserve a focus on the people, not personal interests. The system requires a reduction in the cost of governance, not an expansion of it. And I demand accountability, not the continued disregard for the rule of law.
“You can’t even say enough is enough because acts like this are already a tradition. In my view, this is the time for the leaders to hold themselves accountable for every action they take.”
On his part, the President of the Civil Rights Realisation and Advancement Network (CRRAN), Olu Omotayo, told TVN in an interview that what the people needed presently was realistic development.
The legal expert said Nigerians want to see things happening on the ground and not the creation of corporations and departments.
Omotayo stressed that the government can’t be talking about cutting costs and at the same time duplicating functions.
His words: “If there’s a special Ministry for agriculture, there should not be any need to start creating the Ministry of Livestock Development because it’s a waste of resources. Agriculture encompasses everything. So, why create the Ministry of Livestock?
“You can’t say you’re cutting costs and at the same time have duplicity of functions.
“These organisations and ministries they are creating, most of them perform almost the same functions. I don’t think it’s a wise situation with the economic situation of the country.
“When you look at the position of the government that wants to implement the Oronsaye report and at the same time it’s creating a new ministry, that means there’s contractions in government policies.
“It’s a government that actually doesn’t know the way forward, where it’s going. But if you’re saying you want to cut the cost of governance, you want to implement a report, which is against the duplicity of ministries and at the same time you’re creating the Ministry of Livestock Development from the ministry of Agriculture, it doesn’t sound good.
“The government should be decisive or have a policy and say: this is where we are going. If you want to cut the cost of governance, there’s no need for duplicating ministries.
“What the people need now is realistic development. They want to see things happening on the ground and not the creation of corporations and departments.”
Tinubu’s Livestock Development Ministry casts doubt on ‘Oronsaye Report’ implementation
Tinubu’s Livestock Development Ministry casts doubt on ‘Oronsaye Report’ implementation
It’s fake news, Ooni’s palace denies marriage trending story
The Palace of the Ooni of Ife, Osun State has denied allegations of a marriage scam involving the monarch, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, describing the story as fake news.
In a statement sent to According Online on Thursday the Director of Media and Public Affairs at the Ooni’s Palace, Moses Olafare, addressed the claims involving Ms. Fagbule, who was allegedly swindled of $180,000 by individuals impersonating Ooni.
Olafare stated, “The Palace of the Ooni of Ife is not unaware of a trending fake news about one Ms. Fagbule purportedly swindled of $180,000 allegedly by our father, Arole Oduduwa Olofin Adimula, Ooni Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi.
“It is worrisome the level at which ladies have been making themselves victims of marriage frauds on the internet despite our several warnings to the general public, particularly ladies whose ultimate ambition is to become queens of the Ooni, to beware of internet marriage proposal scammers who capitalize on their gullibility and desperation.”
Olafare continued, “Even though it is not in our tradition to respond to fake news like this, posted and promoted by a criminal faceless source through a Twitter (now X) account, it has become imperative to make this response for necessary clarifications in order to calm the inundation of genuine concerns expressed by subjects, friends, and lovers of the Ooni globally.
“The news as posted by a Twitter (now X) handle called ‘99% OPPRESSED’ is fake, untrue, and an unfounded allegation adopted as a character assassination tactic aimed at achieving cheap popularity.”
The statement further clarified that the alleged Ms. Fagbule was never known to the Ooni for any interpersonal communication or relationship, let alone a marriage proposal.
It also highlighted that the Ooni does not operate any personal Facebook account and that the purported letter of marriage proposal shared online was a fabrication.
“Rather than taking her matter to appropriate agencies like the EFCC and the Police for professional investigation, she chose to make it a social media brouhaha,” Olafare noted.
“If she truly has a genuine case of marriage proposal fraud, she is hereby invited to the palace in Ile-Ife to physically meet the Ooni for his fatherly assistance and the help of law enforcement agencies to uncover the perpetrators,” he added.
Reaffirming the palace’s stance, the statement concluded, “For the umpteenth time, the Ile Oodua Palace of the Ooni of Ife wishes to advise all persons globally to be cautious in their engagements, particularly on social media, as the Ooni does not interface with anyone via the internet/social media or appoint proxies to do so.
“Contrary to the fake letter being dangled as evidence in the media, the Palace’s letterhead is unique and familiar to corporate bodies, personalities, and other recipients, with the Ooni’s signature as the ‘Arole Oduduwa Olofin Adimula’ and not ‘His Imperial Majesty’.”
An anonymous journalist via a post on X, had alleged that the Ooni scammed the US doctor of $180,000 after the latter expressed interest in building hospitals in some Southwest states in Nigeria.
It was also alleged that Ooni severed ties with the US doctor after he failed to make the investment as earlier agreed by the duo.
In May, 2024, a middle-aged man claimed in a viral video that he is a son of the Ooni of Ife apologised to the foremost traditional ruler.
In the first video, the man claimed the monarch hid him with his mother with an instruction that he should stay discreetly.
Dangote Refinery insists IOCs frustrating crude purchase
The management of Dangote Industries Limited (DIL) has refused to back down over claims that International Oil Companies (IOCs) are frustrating its quest to purchase crude feedstock for the Dangote refinery.
The operators of the 650, 000 barrels per day refinery are insisting that IOCs are frustrating its quest to purchase crude oil due to overpricing.
The company was reacting to a claim by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) that IOCs were not frustrating the refinery.
The Chief Executive of the NUPRC, Engr. Gbenga Komolafe, had in a statement said the IOCs are willing to sell to Dangote Refinery.
He said: “No producer is refusing to make crude available to the Dangote refinery.”
READ ALSO:Dangote Refinery updates stake ownership, NNPC’s share reduced to 7.2%
However, in a counter statement on Wednesday, the Vice-President of Oil and Gas at DIL, Devakumar Edwin, said the implementation of the Domestic Crude Supply Obligation (DCSO) guidelines would allow the refinery to deal directly with companies producing crude oil in Nigeria.
He said: “Aside from Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), to date, we have only purchased crude directly from one other local producer (Sapetro). All other producers refer us to their international trading arms.
“These international trading arms are non-value adding middlemen who sit abroad and earn margin from crude being produced and consumed in Nigeria. They are not bound by Nigerian laws and do not pay tax in Nigeria on the unjustifiable margin they earn.
“The trading arm of one of the IOCs refused to sell to us directly and asked us to find a middleman who would buy from them and then sell to us at a margin. We dialogued with them for 9 months and in the end, we had to escalate to NUPRC who helped resolve the situation.
“When we entered the market to purchase our crude requirement for August, the international trading arms told us that they had entered their Nigerian cargoes into a Pertamina (the Indonesia National Oil Company) tender, and we had to wait for the tender to conclude to see what is still available.”
By: Babajide Okeowo
The post Dangote Refinery insists IOCs frustrating crude purchase appeared first on Latest Nigeria News | Top Stories from TVN.
Trump’s running mate pledges ‘new path’ at Republican convention
Donald Trump’s vice presidential pick J.D. Vance lit up the Republican National Convention Wednesday with a speech leaning heavily on his personal story as he sought to connect his turbulent upbringing with the hardships faced by millions of Americans.
In his first speech since being tapped as Trump’s vice presidential nominee on Monday, Vance offered a powerful account of growing up poor in Ohio, with no father at home and a mother hooked on drugs.
He urged voters to “choose a new path” as he accepted his nomination, telling the crowd: “The people who govern this country have failed and failed again.”
The story will be familiar to readers of his best-selling memoir “Hillbilly Elegy,” an account of his Appalachian family and modest beginnings that gave a voice to rural, working-class resentment in left-behind America.
But it was his first real introduction to many tuning in at home and the Trump campaign is banking on the address chiming with blue-collar voters in the swing states key to winning November’s election rematch against President Joe Biden.
Vance touched on trade, foreign policy and the drug epidemic — and on Trump’s policies for addressing them — but he devoted much of the speech to his own experiences.
He emphasised his background as a former Marine, making him the first veteran on a major party ticket since John McCain ran for president in 2008.
– Big moment –
The one-term senator, who will be just 40 on inauguration day, would be the third-youngest vice president in history — and one of the least experienced — if 78-year-old Trump defeats Biden.
His effusive praise of Trump is in marked contrast to the hostility he voiced as he toured television studios in 2016 with a book to sell.
Vance was an uncompromising “Never Trumper” at the time of his new boss’s election win in 2016, labeling the populist, hard-right tycoon “a moral disaster” and comparing him to Adolf Hitler.
He reinvented himself when he entered politics and ultimately won Trump’s endorsement in the 2022 Ohio Senate race.
Vance has since grown into cheerleader-in-chief for Trump’s anti-immigrant agenda and isolationist foreign policy — notably including opposition to US support for Ukraine in its war with Russia.
Even before his big moment, Vance was a hit with the party faithful in Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum arena.
They rewarded him with boisterous applause as he arrived with his wife, Usha, on the opening day Monday to take his place with the Trump family in the front row.
While Vance reinforces Trump’s appeal to the hardline base, he offers little chance of broadening the tent to more moderate voters and women.
He is further to the right than Trump on some issues including abortion, where he embraces calls for federal legislation.
– Ultra-loyal –
Some 50,000 Republicans have descended on the shores of Lake Michigan for the four-day convention, which came with the country reeling from the botched attempt by a gunman to assassinate Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday.
The attack — which killed one bystander and left the ex-president with a bloodied ear — has dominated proceedings, with the opening day’s highlight an appearance from a defiant Trump sporting a bandage on his right ear.
The Republican convention has emphasized party unity behind Trump, banishing the torrent of scandals that range from his role in attempts to overturn the 2020 election to his criminal conviction in a New York court this May.
However, Trump’s once ultra-loyal vice president from 2016-2020, Mike Pence, has refused to give his endorsement and was not at the convention.
And while Trump has been calling for unity, Vance is one of the most partisan and divisive members of Congress.
He immediately claimed after the shooting that Democrats’ rhetoric had “led directly to President Trump’s attempted assassination.”
Trump is set to formally accept his party’s nomination with the hotly anticipated keynote address on Thursday.
Earlier in the day Vance saluted Trump’s bravery in remarks at a finance event — his first campaign stop as Trump’s running mate — and assailed Biden as a failed leader.
“Let’s get rid of him,” he said, “and let’s bring Donald Trump back to the White House.”
AFP
Three arrested over motorcyclist’s death in Delta
The Delta State Police Command has arrested three suspects allegedly connected to the murder of a motorcyclist in Agbarho, Ughelli North Area of the State.
This was confirmed by the State Police Command Public Relations Officer, Bright Edafe, during a telephone interview with our correspondent on Wednesday.
According Metro gathered from a source who pleaded anonymity on Wednesday that the motorcyclist was allegedly murdered by the local vigilantes and thrown into a soakaway after his encounter with them.
The PPRO said the three suspects were arrested on July 11, and the motorcycle of the deceased was recovered from the suspects. He said that an investigation had commenced into the case and they would be charged in court after its conclusion.
“The suspects are, Emmanuel Godwin, 16; Engineer Michael Obebeju, 39; and Sunday, another resident in that area, 30.
“The suspects were arrested July 11. We recovered the motorcycle from the suspects. His body was recovered from a well in Agbarho, Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State. The evidence against them is apparent.”
They have not confessed yet but an investigation is ongoing”, Edafe said.
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Lagos extends amnesty for buildings lacking permits
The Lagos State Government has extended the provision of amnesty for owners and developers of existing buildings without planning approvals in the state by three months.
The Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr Oluyinka Olumide, disclosed this in Ikeja on Wednesday.
He said, “Considering the high rate of applications since the beginning of the amnesty programme, the Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has approved the extension of the programme by another three months, starting from August 1, 2024, to the end of October 2024 to allow more people to benefit from it.”
In April, the Lagos State Government announced the provision of an amnesty period of 90 days, beginning from May 2 to July 30, 2024, to allow owners and developers of existing structures to obtain planning permits without payment of statutory penal fees, which erecting buildings without approvals would have attracted.
In addition to the waiver of penal fees, the programme also comes with a discount for payments completed within 10 working days during the amnesty period.
To access the amnesty programme, an applicant is expected to submit some documents for assessment through the district offices of the Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority in the 57 Local Government Areas and Local Council Development Areas of Lagos State.
The applicant is to also submit the documents to the Electronic Planning Permit Office at the LASPPPA headquarters in Ikeja. The documents include the title document or proof of ownership, survey plan, as-built architectural drawings, and structural, electrical, and mechanical drawings (where applicable).
Other documents to be submitted for assessment are the non-destructive integrity test report (where applicable), letter of structural stability and indemnity (where applicable), land use planning analysis report, evidence of tax compliance, and other supporting documents (where applicable).
The current administration instituted the amnesty programme to cushion the effect of the current economic hardship on the built environment and equally enhance compliance with physical planning regulations to guarantee a livable, organised, orderly and sustainable built environment.
401 Osun LG caretaker excos resign over S’Court judgment
Following last week’s Supreme Court judgment granting local government autonomy, the 401 chairmen and members of the caretaker committees running the 62 local governments and council development areas in Osun State tendered their resignations on Wednesday.
The Caretaker Chairman of Odo-Otin Local Government Area, Okuku, Adewale Adeyinka, said he quit office out of “respect for our democratic principles.”
His resignation letter dated July 17, 2024 was addressed to Governor Ademola Adeleke.
Adeyinka said, “It is with a sense of duty and respect for our democratic principles that I write to tender my resignation from my position as Chairman of the Caretaker Committee for Odo-Otin Local Government, effective immediately.
“As I move on to pursue further opportunities to serve my people, I want to assure you that the good work we have started will not end. I remain committed to supporting the growth and development of Odo-Otin Local Government in any capacity I can.”
The Supreme Court had in its judgment barred governors from appointing caretaker committess to run local governments.
The apex court said only duly elected officials can run LGs, adding that any LG being run by caretakers should have their allocation from the Federation Account withheld.
Speaking with The According on Wednesday, the immediate-past Chairman of the Osun State chapter of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria, Mr. Sarafadeen Awotunde, said all the 69 caretaker chairmen and 332 members in Osun State had resigned.
Asked to confirm the resignation of the 332 caretaker members and that of chairmen, Awotunde said, “Since we already called them caretaker, I don’t think there is any appropriate word to use than that they resigned. Nobody sacked them.
“Caretakers have temporary time to spend. It means their time is over. If you look at it critically, you will see that the Supreme Court has given a verdict. So whatever is called caretaker now is illegal. So, there is nothing like a caretaker in Nigeria again.”
In Osun State, there are 30 Local Government Areas, 32 Local Council Development Authorities, six Area Councils and one Administrative Office.
The last set of caretaker committee chairmen and members were appointed by Adeleke in August 2023 and their tenure of office was extended by six months in February 2024.
Their tenure was supposed to end in August but they tendered their resignation prematurely.
When contacted, the Osun State Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Mr. Kolapo Alimi, confirmed the resignation of the LG caretakers.
He said, “We have been receiving resignation letters. Those who resigned did so to be eligible for the party primary, preparatory for the local government elections coming up next year.
“The Electoral Act has made it mandatory for whoever will participate in party’s primary to resign from political office first.”
Doctor-patient ratio worsening over japa, NMA laments
The Nigerian Medical Association, on Wednesday, lamented the worsening doctor-patient ratio in the country fuelled by the continued exodus of doctors abroad – a trend now commonly known as japa.
Speaking at an interactive session with the media in Abuja on Wednesday, the NMA President, Prof Bala Audu, pointed out that Nigeria’s doctor-patient ratio had dwindled to about 1,000 per cent less than what the World Health Organisation recommended.
“The doctor-patient ratio is about 1,000 per cent less than what the World Health Organisation recommended. Recently, there was a medical school that graduated its medical students, and I think they did a survey and asked the new graduates if they would stay or prefer to leave. Your guess is as good as mine. It’s something that is worsening, but it is something that we can mitigate.
“And I think that is the essence of such interactive forums, not to keep crying about our problems, but to profile solutions to these problems,” Audu stated.
Many Nigerian healthcare workers leave the country for greener pastures, leaving their colleagues to contend with additional workload and extended call hours.
The push factors, according to them, are inadequate equipment, worsening insecurity, poor working conditions, and poor salary structure.
Data from the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria showed that about 1,056 consultants left the country to seek greener pastures between 2019 and 2023.
The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors also revealed that over 900 of its members left for Europe between January and September 2023.
“The issues that will prevent doctors, and nurses from leaving this country include improving their well-being. It’s more than just their take-home package, their take-home package is important because they also need to have health care, they also need to educate their children, and so on. And if another person is providing a better opportunity, there is a tendency for them to take that option,” the NMA President said on Wednesday.
He stressed the need for an improved and friendly working environment for doctors to discourage emigration.
“There have been situations of attack on health care providers, especially by the people who take patients to hospitals, probably because one or other things are not available, and everybody is charged up and angry, and you get attacked. The facilities also need to be improved.
“Housing is also one of the requirements, especially for internship training. By regulation, for you to have quality training for House Officers, they must be housed within the hospital because they need to be available at all times. You hear very much about the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors. The residency training implies that they should live within the hospital, which means there has to be provision of accommodation for them.
“We train these people with a lot of money. This country invests so much in training every doctor, nurse, dentist, and other healthcare provider, but how many of them do we take up after they graduate, despite the challenges we have in terms of the demand power for health? So if we don’t employ them early enough, somebody else will come and employ them and take them outside this country,” Audu said.
In May, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Muhammad Pate, said the enrollment quota in medical, nursing, and other health professional schools had been increased from 28,000 to 64,000 yearly.
Pate stated that the increase in the enrollment quota was one of the steps the government was taking to mitigate the Japa conundrum in the health sector.
The NMA President, however, noted that there was a need to improve the training facilities.
“If you are previously admitting 200 medical students each year, now you want to admit 400 medical students each year, then you have to double the accommodation, you have to double the facilities for their training if you are to maintain the quality of their training.
“So these are the areas that we are having discussions with the government to ensure that those areas are improved so that we continue to produce high-quality health professionals, not just for Nigeria but for the rest of the world,” he added.
Reduced cost of governance will boost infrastructure provision
A system that has plunged us into this mess cannot bring us back from the brink. It cannot be business as usual if we want to get out of the woods. So far, no political party has given a policy thrust that will bring us back from the precipice that is staring us in the face, and those who feel they are doing the right thing may be offering derisory plans while thinking they are doing us favour. There must be a paradigm shift in the system which the politicians cannot provide on their own as their motives put their interests above those of the collective. There must be a system that is fair and equitable to all concerned and meets the global standard of cost control in governance. Now a solution proffers itself.
The political elite is the bane of the worsening situation in the country. As good as they may be individually, it would seem that they always conspire against the rest of us when they come together to play politics and are put in charge of the affairs of the country. This is when they treat the rest of us as fools, they lose their sense of humanity while they engage in the primitive acquisition of wealth, inanities, waste, profligacy, frivolous and ill-conceived projects, misapplication of resources, compromised institutions and appointments that are more or less sinecure, and pay total disregard to service to the nation, democratic governance and collective national interests.
The reasons are not farfetched: the general feudalistic background of the political elite has been unduly buoyed by the autocratic tendencies of the erstwhile military whom they replace. So, at the point where proper resource management and sense of proportion should have come into play as in developed democracies, our politicians display a total lack of integrity and sense of social justice but instead display “what is in it for me” or such primordial and parochial tendencies. The political class and their pliant compatriots in the civil service conveniently omitted to restore the checks and balances in governance when the military left the stage. As a result, what we now have is a cosmetic change from military to civil rule- a mere change from khaki to agbada- with a total lack of fiscal discipline that is expected in a working democracy.
It would appear that rather than focus on service to the nation, the political class is focused on the treasury and power for their selfish ends. They venture into politics with the mindsets of men/women out to reap the highest possible dividends from their investments. Therefore, the booties after winning elections, and not service to fatherland, in my opinion, remain the motivating factors in most cases. This is the genesis of our problems. It is evident that if money and power continue to be the motivating factor, things will continue to get worse. Something has to change as we cannot be doing things the same way and expect different results.
The politicians are at the end of their tethers. So instead of coming up with workable solutions, they engage in the blame game, passing the buck without taking the faintest glimpse at the mirror. But the truth is that the political elite, being bereft of integrity, brought about this mess through their acts of omission and or commission. Only statesmen- politicians imbued with integrity and desire for social justice- can devise and implement a system that will take us out of the present mess. But no one can give what he does not have, hence the need to help politicians to help themselves and follow the advice of William Shakespeare: “Assume a virtue if you have it not” –the need to devise a cost-of-governance model that will serve as a thermostat to direct/regulate the cost of governance in line with the available resources, and the level of development of the nation.
In deriving a formula in this regard, a realistic view must be taken of the country’s resources and not based on the mistaken assumption that Nigeria is the giant of Africa. It must also be noted that governance is a common service which features in every country, even if its cost is relative to its resources/size and level of development. The system whereby over 70 per cent of our resources are being squandered on cost of governance is unwieldy and that is why everything is going downhill. There must be a paradigm shift in the system that turns politics and governance into business ventures.
I give the government or political party an option out of three systems designed as a means of planning for development and achieving the desired goal of cost-effective cum cost-efficient governance. The first system is that the cost of governance should be equal to or less than 30 per cent of the country’s resources for the period. This will leave 70 per cent for other commitments- education, health, infrastructure etc.
Learning from others is the second system. It will be wise counsel for the giant to go to the ants, learn their ways and be wise. When Nigeria became independent, we were at par, or even better off economically, than some countries then classified as third world/developing countries. Examples of such countries are Singapore, Malaysia, and South Korea. These countries have left us behind and are now proudly referred to as Asian Tigers. We can copy the consumption pattern that catapulted them out of the rung of the underdevelopment class.
The third system is to derive another (if different from the aforesuggested) which must take cognisance of the fact that this country is the poverty capital of the world and all the indices of development put Nigeria at the last rung. Consider the absurdity that the poverty capital of the world is paying the highest remuneration to its legislators or the president or ministers of the poorest nation when compared with the richest nations. The point being made here is that the consumption pattern must be based on objective realities.
The success of Nigeria is our collective desire, but we cannot achieve this if we continue to leave politics to the politicians. It is my considered opinion that we can contribute our quota by considering and applying this as a verifiable and veritable chink in the armour of the giant that Nigeria’s problems have become. In other words, when the cost of governance is streamlined as suggested, everything will fall into place. Conversely, the longer this is ignored, we should expect from our leaders more actions that are less altruistic.
INEC warns election observers against rules violation
The Independent National Electoral Commission, on Wednesday, warned election observer groups that their accreditation for the Edo and Ondo governorship polls could be revoked anytime if found violating its code of conduct.
The According reported on Monday that a total of 134 international and local observer groups were accredited by INEC.
The classification of the accredited groups showed that 28 are gender-based, three represent persons with disability, 8 are faith-based, 10 international and over 100 others working in areas relevant to the functions of the commission.
Speaking at a training session for election observers in Abuja, the National Commissioner and Chairman of the Election and Party Monitoring Committee, Sam Olumekun, said for the groups to retain their accreditations they must adhere to the rules.
He said, “As accredited Observer Groups, you will be allowed access to observe all the election processes as outlined in the commission’s Reviewed Regulations and Guidelines for the conduct of elections available at the INEC website.
“I need to, however, bring to your attention that your accreditation may be withdrawn at any stage of the election process if it is established that your organisation is violating the Code of Conduct for observers as contained in the Guidelines for Election Observation available on INEC website.
Again, you are to be reminded that the accreditation of your organisation to observe the elections is without financial obligations on the commission.”
Olumekun urged them to pay attention to monitoring the integrity of the elections.
“While there are quite a number of trustworthy, honest, objective, hardworking and credible observer groups in the country who have contributed greatly to deepening democracy and the electoral process in Nigeria over the years, there are still others who have continued to display laxity about election observation and have cared less about the integrity of the entire process,” he said.
Acting Director of Election and Party Monitoring, Hauwa Habib, urged the groups to update their records with the Corporate Affairs Commission.
Habib said, “The commission’s process of selection and registration of observers is strictly on the provision that the organisation is registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission as trustees whose areas include covering elections and the registered 134 of you here have passed the test.
“From the records available to us at the commission it is noticed that some of you will need to update your records with the CAC. The importance of observers as stakeholders in the development of election processes and procedures and we urge your group leaders to select observers who are interested in the job and properly trained to ensure that their observation and reporting are in line with the guidelines of the commission.”