The Lumine News

Author: News

  • Poverty Alleviation: FG To Partner Unical on Skills Acquisition, Wealth Creation – Betta Edu

    The Federal Government has expressed its readiness to partner with the University of Calabar to train the trainers with skill acquisition-based knowledge to redistribute wealth and reduce poverty in the country.

    Minister for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr Betta Edu stated this when she received the Vice Chancellor of the University of Calabar, Professor Florence Obi, and her team in her office.

    Edu said her office has the mandate to create Wealth and reduce poverty in Nigeria and expressed delight that the Unical Skill Acquisition and Vocational Center would come in handy in training thousands of youths, thereby reducing unemployment and social tension.

    According to the Minister,
    President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was committed to reducing poverty in Nigeria and has directed that her Ministry hit the ground running.

    “Thankfully, the University of Calabar Skills Acquisition and Vocational Centre is available for you; we are going to partner with your university and others across the country in realizing this set objectives by Mr. President”, she said.

    Recalling the role the University played in her career and political trajectory, the Minister said Unical prepared her early for a leadership role as the vice president of the Student Union Government (SUG), adding she is a proud ambassador of the institution and also proud to fly its flag anywhere in the world.

    Earlier, Professor Obi, said Dr. Edu is a valued alumni of the institution hence she and her team were in the Minister’s office to congratulate her on her well-deserved appointment and inauguration as Minister.

    The Vice-Chancellor described the Minister as a role model to the students of the University and commended President Tinubu for finding their alumni worthy of appointment as a minister and member of the Federal Executive Council.

    Professor Obi was accompanied to the Minister’s office by the University’s registrar, Gabriel Egbe, the Bursar, Joseph Udum, and the President of the Unical Alumni Association, Dr. Dorn Cklaimz Ename.

  • Tribunal: Why C’River PDP, Onor Are Positive As Judgement Day Draws Closer

     

    As judgement day inches closer in the election petition case filed by the Cross River State PDP gubernatorial candidate, Prof Sandy Onor, tension has continued to rise in the state. This is coming even as Onor and the PDP have remained positive that the tribunal will annul the election.

    Onor believes that he and his party presented a valid case before the tribunal and is upbeat, that since the APC candidate and current governor of the state, Senator Bassey Otu and his deputy, Peter Odey were not qualified abi initio to contest the election, the tribunal will soon end their reign in the Government House.

    Penultimate week, all the parties adopted their written addresses to signal the end of the tribunal hearing, while the tribunal also reserved judgement.

    Dr J.Y. Musa, SAN, lead counsel to the PDP candidate said having led evidence to show that both Otu and Odey were not qualified, the votes awarded them by INEC were wasted. Through his counsel, Onor asked the tribunal to declare him winner of the election.

    In the written address, Onor dissected the brought to the fore, the lies told on oath by Odey concerning his dual citizenship as well as the issue of his membership of the PDP. He said as at the time of the election, the deputy governor was still a member of the PDP and could not have run the election under the APC.

    He also disclosed that Otu did not possess, neither did he present before INEC, the required minimum educational qualification to become governor. This is what he told the tribunal: “The 2nd Respondent(Otu) was nominated by the 4th Respondent(APC) as its Governorship candidate and the 2nd Respondent in turn nominated the 3rd Respondent(Odey) as his running mate and both contested in the Cross River State Governorship Election of 18th March, 2023 and were purportedly declared and returned by the 1st Respondent as winners of the election.

     

    “All the candidates for the election and their running mates, including the 2nd and 3rd Respondents filled form EC9/affidavit of personal particulars under oath as a mandatory requirement of the law. The 3rd Respondent by the information in his Form EC9 (Exhibit D54B), affidavit of personal particulars, acquired the citizenship of the United Kingdom but declared in the said form that he did not swear to an oath of allegiance to the United Kingdom.

     

    “Another issue of disqualification is the fact that the 3rd Respondent at all material time remains a member of the 2nd Petitioner(PDP) up till date as evident in Exhibit D55B which is the certified true copy of the 2nd Petitioner’s membership register of Mbube West Ward 1, Ogoja Local Government Area of Cross River State.

     

    “The 3rd Respondent did not resign his membership of the 2nd Petitioner before contesting election under the platform of the 4th Respondent(APC) The 3rd Respondent as a member of the 2nd Petitioner was elected to represent the Ogoja State Constituency in the Cross River State House of Assembly in 2015 and 2019 under the platform of the 2nd Petitioner.

     

    “He continued to perform his parliamentary duties and collected salaries on the ticket of the 2nd Petitioner up till when he was sworn in as the Deputy Governor of Cross River State.”

     

    Onor also stated in his written address that Otu did not show the tribunal that he possessed the educational qualification as he did not provide any information to that effect in his INEC form. “By his own deposition on oath in Form EC9 (Exhibit D52B) the 2nd Respondent failed to show that he has been educated to at least School Certificate Level and therefore not qualified to contest for the Office of the Governor of Cross River State at the time of the Governorship Election of Cross River State, held on the 18th of March,
    March, 2023.

     

    “Even in Exhibit D53B, the final list of candidates, the 2nd Respondent had no qualification shown against his name. It is not correct as submitted by the 2nd and 3rd respondents’ counsel in paragraphs 7.05 and 7.06 that the issue of the 2nd Respondent’s non qualification up to secondary school certificate level was abandoned as there was sufficient evidence in proof thereof was led and elicited by way of cross examination in support of the petitioner’s pleadings.

    “Under oath, in Exhibit D52B, Part C thereof titled “Schools Attended/Educational Qualifications with Dates”, the 2nd Respondent did not state his qualifications because there was none to state. The 2nd Respondent’s Form EC9 (Exhibit D52B) obtained from the 1st Respondent has some purported certificates of the 2nd Respondent attached.

     

    “Whereas by the 2nd Respondent’s own deposition in his form EC9 (Exhibit D52B), he did not state that he has any certificates; and by the 1st Respondent’s(INEC) own publication of the Final List of Candidates (Exhibit D53B) it is not also stated that the 2nd Respondent has any certificate(s).”

     

    Onor insisted that having sworn on oath in his INEC form, that he had no educational qualification, he could not turn back to show WAEC certificates. Even at that, Onor said the WAEC certificates presented by Otu were forged.

    “We therefore urge this Honourable Tribunal to find and hold that the purported certificates later provided by the 1st Respondent when the Petitioners applied for the Form EC9 (Exhibit D52B) of the 2nd Respondent is nothing but documentary afterthought and an exhibition of 1 st Respondent’s glaring partisanship in this matter.

     

    “Curiously, the WAEC Certificate attached to the Form EC9 (Exhibit D52B) of the 2nd Respondent bears the name of a school different from the secondary school the 2nd Respondent stated in the said Form EC9 (Exhibit D52B) that he attended. The name of the school in the 2nd Respondent’s form EC9 is Salvation Army Secondary School and the name on the 2nd Respondent’s purported WAEC Certificate of June 1977 is Secondary School Akai-Ubium.

     

    “What is apparent here is that the certificate attached to the 2nd Respondent’s Form EC9 (Exhibit D52B) is in conflict with the contents or information supplied in the Form EC9 (Exhibit D52B) and cannot be regarded as evidence of the 2nd Respondent’s education to School Certificate Level, thereby making both documents unworthy of belief, not being credible evidence.”

     

    He added: “In a frantic bid to cure the conflict in the said certificate and the Form EC9 (Exhibit D52B), the senior counsel to the 2nd and 3rd Respondents tendered another certificate from the Bar which is Exhibit 2 & 3 R4 which the Learned Senior Counsel stated that is the original certificate in his cross examination of RW1, Agwu Kenneth.

    “Clearly, there are material contradictions in the certificate attached to the 2nd Respondent’s Form EC9 (Exhibit D52B) and the certificate tendered as Exhibit 2 & 3 R4, all dated June 1977. Exhibit 2 & 3 R4 is said to be an attestation of the certificate attached to Form EC9 (Exhibit D52B).

    “May we use this opportunity to itemize the differences in the two (2) certificates. (i) The secondary school certificate attached to Form EC9 (Exhibit D52B) is: (i)General Certificate of Education (GCE) while Exhibit 2 and 3 R4 is West African Senior School Certificate (WASSC); (ii) The certificate attached to form EC9 certifies that Otu Bassey Edet, the 2nd Respondent, attended Secondary School Akai-Ubium, while Exhibit 2 and 3 R4 certifies that same Otu Bassey Edet attended Salvation Army Secondary School, Akai-Ubium; (iii) The certificate attached to Form EC9 has no photograph of Otu Bassey Edet while Exhibit
    2 and 3 R4 has the current photograph of Otu Bassey Edet embossed thereon, even though it purports to be a June 1977 certificate.

     

    “It is very instructive to point out that embossment of WAEC certificates started in 2002, while the purported certificate of the 2nd Respondent was purportedly gotten in 1977. RW1 testified to this during cross examination.

     

    “We submit that with these material contradictions none of the certificates can be relied on as evidence of the 2nd Respondent’s education to school certificate level. In furtherance of this falsity, the 2nd and 3rd Respondents in their reply to the petition stated at paragraph 15 thereof that the 2nd Respondent attended Secondary School Akai-Ubium and graduated in 1977 and was issued with a testimonial (Exhibit 2 & 3 R16) upon his graduation but this Testimonial is dated 24th of May, 2022 from Salvation Army Secondary School and stating that Bassey Edet Otu participated in senior Secondary School Certificate/Junior Secondary School Certificate Examination in May/June, 1977, whereas the 6-3-3-4 system of education which introduced Junior and Senior secondary schools in Nigeria began in 1983. This is a fact of common knowledge in Nigeria which does not require proof. (See Section 124 of the Evidence Act, 2011).”

     

     

    In defending his case against the deputy governor over his qualification to contest the election, Onor said “it is our respectful submission that from the content of Exhibit D54B (Form EC9 of the 3rd Respondent), the relevant foreign laws tendered and marked as Exhibits D63A, D63A1, D63A2, D63A3, D63A4, D63A5, D63A6 and D63B, Section 182(1)(a) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), the 3rd Respondent is not eligible or is disqualified from contesting as the Deputy Governor of Cross River State.

     

    “By the provisions of section 29(2) of the Electoral Act, 2022 the information submitted by each candidate to 1st Respondent shall be accompanied by an affidavit sworn to by the candidate which is Form EC9 and by section 29(4) of the Electoral Act, 2022 INEC is mandated to issue a CTC of the affidavit (Form EC9) to any person who applies to it on payment of the prescribed fee. Pursuant to the provisions of this section the petitioners applied to INEC for the 3rd Respondent’s Form EC9 for the 2023 elections.

     

    “It is from this Form EC9 admitted as Exhibit D54B that the petitioners got the information that the 3rd Respondent lied under oath that he did not swear to the oath of allegiance to the United Kingdom. It is further submitted that the argument of the 2 nd and 3rd Respondents in paragraph 7.55 of their final written address is suspicious as it is unreasonable to state that the 3rd Respondent did not submit Form EC9 to the 1st Respondent. In any case, the 3rd Respondent never produced any other Form EC9 of his before the honourable Tribunal other than Exhibit D54B.

     

    He took time to adumbrate on the alleged forged information concerning the deputy governor’s dual citizenship. He said “it is submitted that the courts have taken the position that submitting false information in Form EC9 which is the Affidavit in Support of Personal Particulars to INEC amounts to presenting forged or false certificate which is a disqualifying factor.

    “The British Nationality Act, 1981 and the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act, 2002, are foreign laws which regulate the acquisition of citizenship in the United Kingdom and the administration of the oath of allegiance and we have invited this Honourable Tribunal to interpret these laws The point must be made that personal documents of both the 2nd and 3rd Respondents were either tendered from the Bar or through persons other than the 2nd and 3rd Respondents themselves. Personal allegations were made against the 2nd and 3rd Respondents but they failed to turn up to testify in their defence. 6.1.16Even the 3rd Respondent who filed a statement on oath, did not turn up to testify; he chose to send his personal documents through proxies. We understand that they have been sworn in as Governor and Deputy Governor, respectively, and might consider themselves now too big to come to this Honourable Tribunal to testify, but the law remains the law; personal documents cannot be tendered from the Bar or through third party proxies who have no connection to the said documents.

     

    “With these conditions met, this Tribunal will find that there is a conclusive presumption of law that the 3rd Respondent swore to the oath of allegiance to the United Kingdom and the British Monarch. This is direct evidence against the 3rd Respondent and affecting him which he ought to have challenged by evidence coming directly from him, but the 3rd Respondent abandoned his witness statement on oath and chose not to rebut the evidence against him, thereby surrendering to the weighty evidence of the Petitioners and the presumption of law that he took the oath of allegiance.”

     

    He cited various legal authorities to back his position, including the assumption that having not been present at the tribunal to personally defend his case, he did not rebut the allegations against him.

    Onor argued that the deputy governor was not truthful when he said on oath, that he did not subscribe to the citizenship of the UK on oath. He told the tribunal that Odey did not show proof in this direction.

     

    According to him, the “3rd Respondent has also tacitly asserted in his Form EC9 (Exhibit D54B) that he did not subscribe to the oath of allegiance and going by the cross examination questions posed by all the Respondents’ lawyers including his lawyer to PW3, tending to show that he was granted some sort of waiver or his own case comes under an exception under the same law, the 3rd Respondent then has a bounden duty to prove that he was granted a waiver of any sort or that the Secretary of State disapplied or modified the effect of the law in his favor to enjoy any exemption from the compulsory oath.

     

    “ It is submitted that by the provisions of Section 140 of the Evidence Act, 2011 ‘When any fact is especially within the knowledge of any person, the burden of proving that fact is upon him.’ We submit that the 3rd Respondent has submitted false information to INEC that he did not subscribe to the oath of allegiance to the United Kingdom and the 3rd Respondent who has the burden of proving that contrary to the evidence led by the Petitioners, he has reasons or justification for claiming that he did not subscribe to the oath of allegiance woefully failed to discharge that burden.”

    On the issue of Odey’s membership of the PDP as at the time of the election, Onor said he had “established in evidence that at the time of the nomination, sponsorship and election of the 3rd Respondent by the 4th Respondent, he remained a member of the 2nd Petitioner.

    “To buttress this, the Petitioners tendered a certified true copy of the Membership Register of Mbube West Ward 1 of Ogoja Local Government Area of Cross River State admitted and marked as Exhibit D55B.

    “The said membership register was duly certified by INEC and produced from proper custody. By virtue of Section 77(2) and (3) of the Electoral Act 2022, INEC as the 1st Respondent is the custodian of the Register of Members of all the political parties in Nigeria, including the 4th Respondent. By the same provision, all political parties must maintain their register of members with the 1st Respondent.

    “To establish whether a person is a member of a political party, it must be shown that his name is on the register of members with INEC. In trying to disprove the Petitioners’ assertion that the 3rd Respondent is a member of the 2nd Petitioner, the 3rd espondent tendered Exhibit 2&3R17 (a purported Membership Register of the 4th Respondent). This exhibit lacks probative value and proves nothing, for the following reasons: (a) It was not produced from proper custody as provided for in Section 77(2) and (3) of the Electoral Act, 2022 (b). It did not show the date and time the 3rd Respondent became a registered member of the 4th Respondent.

     

    “We submit that what is in issue is not merely a question of membership of a political party but a question of the constitutionality or the legality of a member of the 2nd Petitioner being presented by the 4th Respondent as a candidate at the election. 6.2.4 My Lords, there are two fundamental issues touching the membership of the 3rd Respondent. One, our submission is that the 3rd Respondent is not even a member of the 4th Respondent by the 4th Respondent’s own admission in Exhibit D56B, the Counter Affidavit in Suit No: FHC/ABJ/CS/976/2021; the second point is that the 3rd Respondent did not resign from the 2nd Petitioner before or after decamping from the 2nd Petitioner.

    “We reiterate that the 3rd Respondent has been a member of the 2nd Petitioner and was elected on the platform of the 2nd Petitioner in 2015 and 2019 to represent the Ogoja State Constituency in the Cross River State House of Assembly. At the time of filing this Petition, the 3rd Respondent was still in the Cross River State House of the Assembly on the mandate given to him by the electorates on the platform of the 2nd Petitioner.

    “The 1st Respondent only lamely argued in Paragraph 4.27 of its Written Address that the 3rd Respondent resigned, decamped, defected from the 2nd Petitioner; no evidence whatsoever was adduced as required by law to show that the 3rd Respondent resigned. The 1st Respondent’s Counsel during cross examination only led the 4th Respondent’s witness, RW3, to state that he believed that resignation and decamping mean the same thing. Unfortunately, the effect of resignation and/or decamping is not a matter of fact but an issue of law. 6.2.7 The 1st Respondent’s counsel objected to the admissibility of Exhibit D55B which is the Certified True Copy of the PDP Register of members for Mbube West Ward 1 which was certified by the 1st Respondent on 27th April, 2023. Surprisingly, when RW1 (INEC witness) testified, none of the Respondents asked questions on the said register of members.

     

    “The Respondents did not just fail in exhibiting a letter of resignation as required by law, the 3rd Respondent did not resign from the 2nd Petitioner before or after decamping to the 4th Respondent because he wanted to be seen on the floor of the house that he has left the 2nd Petitioner while he refused to resign so as to hold on to the ticket of the 2nd Petitioner to derive benefit thereof. But this is not the law. In law, resignation from a political party and decamping from a political party are two different things with different legal implications.

    “It is not legislative coincidence that there is section 77 of the Electoral Act 2022 which requires every political party to maintain a register of its members with the Commission; it is for a time like this, a time when who is truly a member of a political party depends on the authenticity of the register and its custodian. By Exhibit D55B, the 2nd Petitioner’s Membership Register for Mbube West Ward 1, the name of the 3rd Respondent appears clearly as No 36; therefore, proving beyond every scintilla of doubt that the 3rd Respondent is a member of the 2nd Petitioner.

     

    “We further submit with emphasis that is the current membership register of the 2nd Petitioner for Mbube West Ward 1 and that is evident from the date of certification on the 27th day of April, 2023 which was after the election contrary to the submission of the 2nd and 3rd respondents which is in paragraghs 7.47 and 7.48 of their final written address.

    “ To prove the assertion by the 3rd Respondent that he is a member of the 4th Respondent, Exhibit 2 & 3 R17 was tendered through RW2. The said Exhibit is purported to be a membership register of Mbube West One Ward of Ogoja Local Government Area in Cross River State. The document has no date on it and no date of registration of any member written against his or her name and some of the persons written on the register did not sign against their names, including the 3rd Respondent who appears as number 001 without a date of registration against his name.

     

    “ In Exhibit 2 & 3 R17, the 3rd Respondent who said he decamped from the 2nd Petitioner to the 4th Respondent appears as No 001 indicating that he was the first to register in the Ward; for a party that has been existing in the Ward before the 3rd Respondent’s defection. This document clearly lacks credibility and cannot be relied upon in the face of the superiority of Exhibit D56B, the PDP Membership Register of Mbube West Ward 1.

    “This document was obviously made after the election of 18th of March, 2023 but in a futile bid to cloth it with credibility it was needlessly certified by a body not legally required to do so, and the purported certification backdated to 15th September. It is submitted that it is not the register of members and membership slip or card alone that proves that a person has left one political party and joined another political party.

     

    “A similar situation arose in the case of Rt Hon Prince Terhemen Tarzoor vs Ortom Samuel Ioraer & 2 Ors (2016) 3 NWLR (Pt. 1500) pg. 463 @ 423 para B – D, the apex court, per Okoro, JSC, held inter alia as follows “Evidence on record shows that by Exhibit R3, the 1st Respondent resigns his membership from the Peoples Democratic Party. He subsequently joined the All Progressives Congress.

    “This is confirmed by Exhibit R1: his membership card of APC, Exhibit R4 which is APC Membership of the ward where he registered.” We further submit that resignation from the 2nd Petitioner is a sine qua non to the validity of the 3rd Respondent’s purported membership of the 4th Respondent.

    The evidence of such resignation is lacking in the defence of the Respondents. We urge the Tribunal to hold that the 2nd Petitioner has proven that the 3rd Respondent is its member.”

  • Ayade’s Case Against Sen Jarigbe Dead On Arrival – Mba Ukweni, SAN

     

    The lead counsel to Senator Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe in the Senatorial elections petition tribunal ,Mba Ukweni, SAN has stated that the case instituted against the election of Senator Jarigbe by the former governor of the state, Ben Ayade requires no opposition to fail.

    While presenting his final address to the tribunal, headed by Justice M. A Sambo, Mba Ukweni, SAN during his adumberation, told the tribunal that the grounds of the petition and the relief sought is dead on arrival.

    He argued that Ben Ayade cannot be said to have won the elections and at the same time is seeking for its nullification.

    Ukweni maintained that seeking to be returned winner of the election and at the same time saying the election is null and void is an inconsistency that is bizarre and strange.

    The Senior Advocate told the tribunal that the petitioners called 34 witnesses and complained of results in 420 poling units and even if the respondent calls no witness, the case of the petitioners fails on its own.

    According to Ukweni the evidence by the witnesses contradicts their written statement on oath and therefore cannot stand.

    He held that “The written statements on oath of the witnesses contained complaints of corrupt practices, violence, vote buying, inducement of voters and that these are serious criminal allegations but with no backing of a single report from any security agency before the court.”

    In his presentation, counsel to INEC, Habib Lawal told the tribunal to dismiss the petition in its entirety.

    He held that before an election is invalidated, it must be on the basis of substantial non compliance.

    He said in this case there is evidence that there are 874 polling units in Cross River North Senatorial District and the petitioners disputes results in 367 of them and called only 36 polling units agents which is of terrible insignificance.

    He told the tribunal that the commission did not withhold the BVAS machine and never in the pleadings of the petitioners did they list the BVAS machine as one of the evidence to be relied upon.

    On his part, counsel to the PDP Ruben Egwuaba told the court that all the witnesses called by the petitioners pleaded the presidential election results and not the Senatorial elections result and this makes their case Sui Generis.

    While he equally held that a party cannot plead a document and then during trial bring another document, he urged the court to dismiss the petition on all grounds the petition was predicated with substantial costs.

    Counsel to the petitioners, Professor Mike Ozekhome, SAN, on his part, prayed the tribunal to uphold their petition and tongue lashed INEC for committing serial acts of illegalities and seeking to take benefit and advantage from it.

    He pointed out that the same INEC that gave them form EC8A is the same party arguing it should have been EC81 and that they used presidential instead of Senatorial form.

    He said the commission should be tongue lashed and whipped with judicial koboko as they are the ones who provided form EC8A.

    The tribunal after listening to the final arguments adjourned the case for judgment and said the date will be communicated to the parties.

  • Cross River Govt Celebrates Leboku 2023, Calls On Yakurr People To Maintain Peace

    By Fred Abua 

    The State Governor, Sen. Prince Bassey Otu, has called on the indigenous people of Yakurr to maintain peace as Cross River State continues to record giant strides in the tourism sector. The Governor who made this call during the 2023 Leboku Festival in Ugep urged the celebrants to give tourists and visitors who were in the community for the celebrations a memorable stay by shunning violence.

    The Governor, represented at the event by his deputy, Rt. Hon. Peter Odey, pointed out that Leboku had been added to the State’s Cultural Calendar many years ago to boost the state’s tourism potential. He said it was “a known fact that since then and with the support of other partners and sponsors, the festival has continued to grow, year in year out”. He promised that the present administration will make the festival even better by securing the buy-in of the Federal Government.

    Earlier at the Palace of the Paramount Ruler of Yakurr, the Deputy Governor highlighted the state’s commitment to fostering a positive relationship with the people of Yakurr and praised the Paramount Ruler for the peaceful coexistence in the community. He assured of the governor’s presence in the next edition of the Leboku International New Yam Festival.

    Responding, the Paramount Ruler, Obol Lopon of Ugep, HRM (Dr) Obol Ofem Ubana, described the Leboku New Yam festival is a season of plenty and a time to celebrate abundance and survival after the planting season’s hardships. He noted that the Yakurr people had kept this tradition over the years and friendships had been forged between people during this celebration. He said prices of foodstuff will go down following the celebration.

    The Obol Lopon expressed satisfaction with the present State Government, stating that although the administration was new, it had acted like an old and experienced Government by providing everything needed for the celebration to be successful and hitch-free.

    The colorful festival featured various events such as a parade by the Maidens of Yakurr, traditional wrestling, August Women International and the presentation of car prizes to Mr. Leboku 2023 and Miss Leboku 2023 and the Chief harvester. Other consolation prizes were awarded to the first and second runners-up.

  • APC NWL Vs Cross River : When The Voice Of Reason Is Ignored BY INYALI PETER

     

    Yesterday, August 23rd, 2023 the long awaited replacement of vacant National and Zonal Working Committee offices in the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC was filled and Cross River State which is the only South-South state governed by the APC is the biggest loser. Some of us had warned against the process and unevenness that depicted the choice of whom the leadership of the party in the state favoured to replace Dr. Betta Edu, the Honourable Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation as National Woman Leader (NWL) but our good counsel as in many cases, hit the bricks wall. The consequences is starring at us all, today.

    It is traditional and constitutional in the APC that when a position becomes vacant, a replacement always comes from where the former occupant hails from. However, this time around, the National Executive Council of the party which has the power of the convention nullified the existing zoning and directed re-arrangement of positions.

    This meant that all vacant positions were thrown open for the best lobbiest to take. Unfortunately, Cross River State leadership didn’t take this into account because if it did, it wouldn’t have assumed erroneously that they can throw any name devoid of equity and simple logic and still retain the position simply because the last occupant hails from the state. Instead of deploying all its arsenals to lobby and negotiate to retain the position or least, press for higher or equivalent alternatives, some vested interests hijacked the process and decided to go about it surreptitiously.

    The right thing would have been to call an Extraordinary Stakeholders meeting where critical stakeholders of the party across the state would meet, discuss and agree on who to project. But this was thrown to the abyss and a certain powerful woman from Cross River South was allowed to impress her inordinate personal interest on the leadership who secretly forwarded her name to the national secretariat without proper consultation or consent of majority of the Stakeholders.

    But that wasn’t all. God created a second chance for them to correct their wrong when some overzealous page boys released the information and party members of good conscience protested. In limpid display of impunity, the leadership of the party in the state refused to listen to the voice of reason by pressing on with their plots. And now, the state has lost out completely. No Woman Leader. No alternative!

    Imagine for a moment the influence the candidate that had the support of majority of the stakeholders would have had in the national secretariat had they listened to the voice of reason! The truth is that majority of APC stalwarts in the state were unsatisfied with the choice of the candidate that was forwarded and the process that produced her but decided to maintain unholy silence to see how much influence those who brought her have in Abuja.

    When her name got to Abuja, the leadership of the party in South South consulted some leaders that were sidelined and they bluntly said she was not a product of collective decision. This empowered leaders from other states to unite against her interest and in the end, Edo won. Akwa Ibom even came closer at some point than Cross River because those with influence in the national that would have synergized with the state leadership to pursue her course decided to allow “them do their thing”.

    The bitter truth is that Governor Bassey Otu needs to re-consider those he listens to. It’s not normal that the only South-South Governor had failed to directly produce a Minister even when his state had two. He has failed again to retain the National Working Committee position he inherited or secured alternative to the state. These failures are largely due to pushing for candidates who emerge through a skewed process and with little acceptability amongst stakeholders. It’s still early but the signs we’re seeing are very dangerous for the State and the Governor. He needs to expand his team and consult more.

    As my friend Richie Romanus stated in his expository piece two days ago, the state has been so favoured in this administration. There’s need for urgent extraordinary stakeholders that should aim to achieve synergy and collaboration. Without mincing words, if all hands were on deck, Cross River wouldn’t have lost the National Woman Leader to another State. There are more to come, our leaders need collaboration to attract things to the state if not their advantage would amount to nothing.

    It’s hoped that going forward, this would serve as a lesson that would catalyst the needed adjustments in the interest of the party and state.

    Congratulations to Dr. Mary Alile Idele, the new National Woman Leader of APC. May her reign bring prosperity to our great party.

  • Jarigbe Attends International Conference On Women In Governance, Makes Case For Women Inclusion

     

    The Senator representing Cross River North Senatorial District and Chairman, Senate Committee on Gas, Senator Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe, DSSRS, earlier today attended the International Conference On Women In Governance (WIG).

    The conference was organized by the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS), at NAF Conference Centre, Abuja.

    The lawmaker was in company of the President of the Senate, H. E, Senator Godswill Akpabio-CON and Deputy Senate President, Senator Jubril Barau.

    Speaking at the event, Jarigbe said: “Women have played significant roles in the build-up of Nigeria’s modern state and as such deserve proper commendation, recommendation and appreciation in our socio-political and organisational structures as a nation.

    “I appreciate the WIG for holding such a conference, which seeks to draw the attention of the executive and legislative arm of government on the need to acknowledge and encourage women on issues of politics and development.”

    Dignatories at the event include the Honourable Minister for Women Affairs, Barrister Uju Kennedy Ohanenye, the Honourable Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Hon. Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, Deputy Chief Whip of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Adewunmi Onanuga, and DG of the group, Prof. Abubarkar Suleiman.

    TEAM JARI MEDIA

  • Sexual Harassment: Women Voice Calls For Thorough Investigation, Commends UNICAL VC

     

    Women networks under the ‘Women Voice and Leadership Project’ of ActionAid Nigeria, funded by Global Affairs Canada, have condemned in strong terms the alleged scandal with regards to the unwarranted intimidation and sexual harassment at the University of Calabar (UNICAL) where the Dean of the Faculty of Law, Prof. Cyril Ndifon, over alleged sexual harassment.

    The Women group said that the alleged sexual harassment which is the second so far reported against Prof. Ndifon was not only appalling, disgusting but, unacceptable to put it mildly.

    It is in the light of these anomalies that we not only call but strongly demand for stringent measures against Prof. Ndifon.

    “While we commend the Vice Chancellor of the University of Calabar, Prof. Florence Obi, and the management team of the institution for the swift action taken by suspending Prof. Ndifon over the violations of the well laid rules and regulations of the institution, we however insist and demand for a full and comprehensive investigation into the condemnable matter as well as ensure proper prosecution of Prof. Ndifon to serve as deterrent to others with similar behavioural pattern or intentions.

    Towards this end, we urge heads of educational institutions in the country to as a matter of public importance, burrow a leaf from the Vice Chancellor of UNICAL by creating a safe space for girls to voice out against sexual and gender based violence in schools.

    They said they such proactive measures will go a long way to create the environment such as the type that empowered the law students of UNICAL to staged a protest and opened up on the constant sexual harassment and abuse of their bodies by lecturers of the institution.

    The group said that if the ugly trend if not urgently addressed, it is capable of truncating the educational and self development of girls and women.

    It is in this respect that we passionately appeal to Mr President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to as a matter of national concern and interest, kindly assent to the Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal of Sexual Harassment in Tertiary Educational institutions Bill passed by the 9th National Assembly.

    Similarly, we strongly recommend that educational institutions in Nigeria should as a matter of necessity, develop sexual and gender harassment policy to safeguard the dignity of girls with a view to providing safe environment for learning.

    Lastly, we wish to applaud the boldness and forthrightness of the female laws students of UNICAL for standing up and speaking against injustice. We therefore appeal to other students facing similar abuses and intimidation to speak up so that the educational system can be cleansed of bad elements.

    The Women Voice group promised to work with the gender department of UNICAL to provide pyscho social support to survivors of sexual harassment in the school with a view to giving them hope of a better future.

    The team had earlier paid a visit to the VC to identify with her efforts and actions so far and to encourage her to allow justice, equity and fairplay on the matter.

    They however, demanded for the security protection of the girls and students who had come out to speak.

    In her remarks, the VC said students are speaking out today because she has created an enabling and safe environment for students since assumption of office through the numerous students programs and projects like youth friendly hub and Gender Development Centre geared towards building their confidence level that encourage them to be vocal and speak out in addition to being accessible to all students.

  • Betta Edu: The Meteoric Rise Of The Unexpected BY AGBA JALINGO

     

    This life remains a mystery and no one can lay claim to knowing all, except God. But every culture has developed an acceptable method of societal organization that suits their nuances and attempts to settle their incongruities.

    Where I come from, in Obudu, “uñwå ushîé”, meaning (a child from the mother’s village), can never be rejected in the mother’s village. It’s a taboo. The child even has preferential rights than others in the village. The child is usually granted land ownership rights and communal protection. If that child even commits murder in another land, the only place he or she can be banished to, is the mother’s village. If any animal is killed in that village, the child is traditionally entitled to the ‘neck’ of the animal, be it chicken, pig, ram, goat, cow or even bush meat. The neck is reserved for the “bébūâ úshîé.” (Plural).

    However, one evident pent-up in this cool sounding narrative is the subtle discomfort and manifest bitterness that starts to mushroom once the “unwa-ushie” begins to rise and amass authority and power beyond expectations. That is when hush conspiracies coalesce to recall your nativity and sundry dust. Rising from grass threatens lower rungs naturally. It purveys the entrenched audacity of lower floors that never thought a high rise could emerge beside them. It is not their fault. It is a natural reaction to every such action.

    Rising, particularly at a meteoric speed, inherently attracts attention and publicity. You will be talked about in leaps and bounds. Many things will be said about you that are true and false. A lot will be attributed to you and much more will be detracted from you. In that light, I dare say that so much has been said about the new Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr Betta Edu.

    At 37, over a period of just eight years, from being a youth corper in government house, she has been Special Adviser on Health to governor, DG of Health Agency, Commissioner for Health, National Woman Leader, and now Minister of the Federal Republic. This couldn’t have come without a dent of competence and self drive. In my humble opinion, I think Dr Betta Edu is a young Cross Riverian that has presented herself as a handy example for other young women in our State and country wide, to understand that women have space at the top, if they can strive.

    I will rather stand with her and watch her get to work than vilify her. What can Betta do? How can Betta better the lives of poor Nigerians? How can she positively take the bull by the horn and maximize the space she has been given, no matter how little, to impact a good number of Nigerians? How can Betta create a reliable national social register and maximize technology that will ensure intervention programs get to the targeted sections of indigents?

    These are the parameters that will inform my judgment of her and not the cacophony of pelting has not been able to impede her velocity.

     

  • CORAfrica Founder, Rev Fr Peter Obele Abue Congratulates Dr Betta Edu On Her Appointment As Minister for Humanitarian Affairs

    The Founder/Chief Strategist of Children of Rural Africa CORAfrica Nigeria, a non governmental and humanitarian organization, Rev Fr Peter Obele Abue PhD, had congratulated the Minister for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr Betta Edu.

    In a congratulatory message made available to TheLumineNews, the founder noted that “Your appointment signals a new dawn for our beloved country as we look forward to seeing you bring to bear your expertise in public service to reposition the nation in the path of sustainable development”

    The message reads in parts “I write on behalf of the board, management, and staff of Children of Rural Africa, (CORAfrica), to congratulate you on your meritorious appointment as the Minister for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.

    “Your appointment signals a new dawn for our beloved country as we look forward to seeing you bring to bear your expertise in public service to reposition the nation in the path of sustainable development.

    “As a nonprofit and nongovernmental organization, with the mandate in humanitarian services, CORAfrica is poised and passionately disposed to partner with your ministry to deliver people oriented services especially for the poor indigent children at the rural levels of Cross River State.

    “It is our belief and prayer that the good Lord will surround you with the right people in the discharge of your duties as Minister of the federal republic of Nigeria, in the light of the enormous responsibility associated with your office.

    “I want to assure you of our goodwill, support, and prayers as you settle down to undertake this most delicate and onerous task of delivering service to our numerous vulnerable and underrepresented minorities.

    Once again, congratulations, and God bless you.

    “Rev Fr Peter Obele Abue PhD
    Founder/Chief Strategist”

  • The Nigerian State Has Wiped Away The Middle Class BY DOMINIC KIDZU

     

    “The Roots of Violence: Wealth without work, Pleasure without conscience, Knowledge without character, Commerce without morality, Science without humanity, Worship without sacrifice, Politics without principles.”
    ~ Mahatma Gandhi

    For many years after I began working, some friends, family and community members regularly came to me for financial assistance and I obliged the ones I could, gladly, while appealing for more time to those whose requests I couldn’t handle immediately. In the end I was always able to touch elbows with most without necessarily undermining my own affairs.There was no money transfer by telephone then, so my personal assistant maintained a notebook of account details of many, many people. He was for a long time a regular visitor at many banks as a result of that.

    Today, whenever someone sends me their account details requesting for assistance, I find myself promptly irritated and even sad, because I am also looking for someone to send my account details to in the hope of getting a lifeline. And I know that I am not alone, because my colleagues, peer group and friends are going through the same pangs of want and social relegation to a lower, shameful class. Mid-level civil servants, assistants/advisers in state and local governments, lecturers, senior teachers, accomplished journalists and entrepreneurs were all members of the middle class who could take care of their immediate families and a few others besides.

    But the middle class has at last been wiped away by brainless politicians, unbridled corruption and the wrong headed advice from Breton woods institutions, the apostles of globalization whose eternal diagnosis, year in year out, is the devaluation of currency, removal of subsidies and slavish acceptance of foreign loans. The living conditions of Nigeria have plummeted in such a way that it has become a grim task for members of the deceased middle class to buy fuel for their second-hand cars and electric generators or feed their families adequately without requesting for help from the few big men and sending them their account details.

    In Nigeria today, there are two socio-economic classes – the very rich, who number about 1℅ and the very poor, about 99℅ and the two classes of people are mutually irreconcilable. They do not live on the same streets. Don’t drive the same type of vehicles. Don’t eat at the same restaurants. Don’t go to the same hospitals. Don’t share the same drinks. Ironically, most of the super rich have neither conscience, character, morality, nor principles or humanity. Mahatma Gandhi might indeed have been postulating about these ones, because they lack industry or high education and are quite simply pests on the nation’s life spring.

    In every state you have the minister, the governor, some members of the National Assembly, one or two federal appointees, a judge or two in courts of appellate jurisdiction and one or two “connected” portfolio businessmen. They are the nouveau riche, the new authors and givers of life itself, feasting on the patrimony of the people, government provides them free houses and cars, the Central Bank gives them differential foreign currency rates. Their children study overseas and they themselves treat their malaria overseas as well. Lazy, unintelligent, bereft of conscience and foresight, beholden only unto the god of money and power. They represent only themselves and their families and look at the miling 99℅ with disdain and scorn, while scoffing at the studious and brilliant who ‘waste’ so much time in school studying how to be poor and beggarly men.

    It’s a new world, a strange country, where intelligent people are silenced so that the stupid ones won’t be offended. Where those who attempted GCE without “winning” are presidents, governors and ministers while professors beg for their meagre earned income. And people who were in the middle class are only too happy to run errands for the stuffed turkeys with large torsos and little heads, and violent gang members who have ‘transformed’ into political leaders, driving the nation safely down to its knees. The bank executives rebuff creative ideas and innovations and the preachers cross the social Rubicon with their families in tow. Here is George Orwell all over again as ” the creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again, and already, it was impossible to say which was which. ”

    The middle class, that great engine of production and growth has been replaced by “our party” and it’s jaded flock is perhaps too smitten even to say a word in protest. That is why I agree with Dante, that the hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in a period of moral crisis, maintain their neutrality. That vital buffer between the people and the wealthy has been demolished and one day, just one day, they will meet and the grapes of wrath may be unleashed.

    .