Mohammed Shosanya

Outgoing Minister of State for Labour and Employment,Festus Keyamo, on Wednesday,has lamented the fate of some other Ministers of State, saying have been grumbling and unable to be bold to speak out.

He conveyed his feeling in his speech at the valedictory session of the Federal Executive Council meeting presided over by President Buhari to mark the end of the administration.

He said, it was difficult to assess the individual performances of the Ministers of State since their discretion was shackled under the senior Ministers.

According to him,any original ideas developed by a Minister of State are usually subject to clearance by another colleague in Cabinet before they can sail through for consideration by Council.

According to Keyemo, it is an aberration and unconstitutional to appoint a Minister of State who takes directives from the senior minister, a colleague at the Federal Executive Council.

He thanked President Buhari for enriching his Curriculum Vitae, through the appointment.

His letter reads: “Mr. President, you first appointed me as Minister of State in the Ministry Niger Delta Affairs in August, 2019 and you later redeployed me as Minister of State in the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

“Today, I cannot find the words to express the depth of my gratitude to you for finding me worthy, out of over two hundred million Nigerians, to be nominated and subsequently appointed to serve as a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. My curriculum vitae has been greatly enhanced – forever.

“From my very humble beginnings in a small dusty town in Delta State where I was born and raised by my struggling parents, all the way to the Council Chambers at the Presidential Villa where I had the honour and privilege to participate weekly in decision-making for my country in the last four years, it has been like a fairy tale. I give God all the glory.

“What I am about to say, therefore, is not and should not be construed as an indication of ingratitude. Far from it. What I am about to say is just my own little contribution to our constitutional development as a relatively young democracy and to aid future governments to optimize the performance of those they appoint as Ministers.

“Mr. President, the concept or designation of “Minister of State” is a constitutional aberration and is practically not working for many so appointed. Successive governments have come and gone and many who were appointed as Ministers of State have not spoken out at a forum such as this because of the risk of sounding ungrateful to the Presidents who appointed them. However, like I said earlier, this is not ingratitude.

“As a private citizen, I am on record to have gone to court a number of times to challenge unconstitutional acts of governments for the sake of advancing our constitutional democracy, so it will be out of character for me to have gone through government and be carried away by the pomp of public office and forget my role as a member of the Inner Bar and my self-imposed role over the years as a crusader for democracy and constitutionalism.”

Mohammed Shosanya

Yaba magistrate’s court,Wednesday dismissed the request filed by the police for the arraignment of Seun Kuti, the son of Afrobeats singer,Late Fela Kuti

During Wednesday proceeding, the police prayed to the court to grant them permission to further arraign Seun.

The prosecuting counsel, Cyril Ejiofor,told the court that the police had prepared charges against the musician

Femi Falana, Seun’s counsel,prayed the court to turn down the application on the ground
that the request of the police amounts to contempt of court.

He further held that the police violated the court order of May 16, the court had asked the police to duplicate the case file and transmit the same to the directorate of public prosecutions (DPP) within 72 hours.

He prayed to the court to allow the DPP to prosecute the case instead of the police.

Adeola Olatubosun, the chief magistrate, in her ruling,held that she needed the DPP’s advice before proceeding with the case.

She fixed further mention on the matter for July 3.

Seun,who was apprehended on May 15 after he was filmed assaulting a police officer on the Third Mainland Bridge,regained his freedom on Tuesday evening after spending eight days in police custody.

Mohammed Shosanya

The Ogun State Governor,Dapo Abiodun, and his predecessor,Senator Ibikunle Amosun,have trade blames over the failure of the richest man in Africa,Alhaji Aliko Dangote to build his $19billion Dangote Petroleum Refinery in the state.

Dangote had earlier planned to build the refinery in the state,but he later relocated the project on account of alleged disagreement between him and Ogun state government.

Abiodun blamed his predecessor, Ibikunle Amosun for frustrating Aliko Dangote out of the state.

According to the governor, he was Chairman, Olokola Free Trade Zone, in Ogun Waterside Local Government Area of the state during the administration of former governor Amosun, and he was not part of the moves that frustrated Dangote out of the state.

Abiodun maintained that Amosun should be blamed for the reason Ogun lost the opportunity to host the mega refinery.

He said :“Any true born Ogun indigene will sincerely be pained by the huge investment loss, especially when Ogun had been marked as the most suitable natural location for the mega project in Olokola Free Trade Zone, in Ogun Waterside Local Government Area of the state.”

Expatiating on his role, he said, “Governor Abiodun, as the chairman of the committee and a big player in the oil and gas industry himself, did everything possible to make sure the project saw the light of the day.

“The then governor, perhaps, having a personal axe to grind with the promoter of the refinery project, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, frustrated all the efforts of Governor Abiodun and his committee.

“The immediate Chairman, Board of Directors of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation, Mrs Ronke Sokefun, who was then a commissioner, served as the secretary of the committee, which engaged Dangote on the mega project.

“Instead of showing enthusiasm towards hosting the project in the state, the former governor brazenly opposed and obstructed efforts of the Abiodun-led committee in ensuring that the OKFTZ came into fruition.”

But the former governor of state, Senator Ibikunle Amosun,Wednesday,disclosed that his administration did everything possible including going beyond its duties to retain the $19b Dangote Refinery at the Olokola Free Trade Zone in Ogun Waterside Local Government Area of Ogun State.

He hinted that the owner of the refinery, Alhaji Aliko Dangote only took a business decision that was beyond the State.

In a statement signed by Bola Adeyemi from his media office, Amosun maintained that it was most uncharitable for anyone to blame him for the relocation of the project to Lagos.

He vigorously engaged Dangote and did everything possible to make the enterprise take off in Ogun State by making a total of 10,000 hectares of land available for the project,he said.

He added:”Let me put it straight: The Olokola Free Trade Zone project was not solely owned by Ogun State. From its conception in 2007, it was a Joint Venture. The Federal Government of Nigeria owned the majority 51%, Ondo State Goverment (14.5%), Ogun State Goverment (14.5%), and strategic core investors (20%). Alhaji Aliko Dangote, according to the information availed us when we took office, subsequently bought, and took over the 20% equity of the core investors.

“Ogun State was a minority equity stakeholder only, without proprietary strength and capacity to take sole decisions on the Joint Venture enterprise.

“Ogun State, under my leadership, went beyond and above duty and did all we could to ensure that the project saw the light of the day. As Governor at the time, I appointed two (2) carefully chosen stakeholders of Ogun East/Ogun Waterside Local Government extraction to represent Ogun State’s interests on the joint venture enterprise and advise the State. These were Dapo Abiodun (now Governor) and Mrs Kemi Adeosun, then Commissioner for Finance, who incidentally hailed from the host Community of the Olokola project.

“After Mrs. Adeosun was elevated and became a minister, another son of Ogun East, Lekan Onamusi, took charge and represented Ogun State on the Joint Venture.

“Based on the advice of our representatives on the project, we engaged the majority equity holder, FGN and our joint venture partner, Ondo State Government, who were very responsive and eager to have the project in Olokola Free Trade Zone.

“We also vigorously engaged Alhaji Aliko Dangote and did everything possible to make the enterprise take off. A total of 10,000 hectares of land was made available.

“As mere holder of 14.5% equity interest, it is most uncharitable for anyone to churn out lies that Ogun State was in a position to unilaterally frustrate the project or was responsible for the logjam. With respect to all sides, it accords more with logic to appreciate the fact that Alhaji Aliko Dangote took business decisions of his own in accordance with the goals of his business strategy and risk assessment.

“Our position was that, at the minimum, 500 hectares from the Ogun State portion be reserved for the host Community, Ogun Waterside, as against ceding the entire land of the Olokola Free Trade Zone.

“Indeed, at some point and at my instance, our revered Elders, Baba Olusegun Obasanjo and Kabiyesi Awujale, Oba Sikiru Adetona were involved, where we all met to ensure that the project was sited in Olokola Free Trade Zone.”

Amosun dared Abiodun to release facts about his negligence which frustrates the project, saying he wouldn’t have knowingly allow such project slipped off the state.

He said:”It is, therefore, interesting to read that the present Ogun State governor holds me responsible for allegedly scuttling the Olokola project.

“For the benefit of the good people of Ogun State, Nigerians and posterity, we challenge him, particularly as he was then the chairman appointed to oversee and ensure that the project was sited in Olokola Free Trade Zone, to disclose with facts, where he or the Administration was remiss, and which might have led to the project being moved away from Ogun State.

“As Governor, I would never have knowingly let any opportunity slip past Ogun State and its people. I did my best to the satisfaction and conviction of my conscience.Governor Abiodun, as the chairman of the committee and a big player in the oil and gas industry himself, did everything possible to make sure the project saw the light of the day.

“The then governor, perhaps, having a personal axe to grind with the promoter of the refinery project, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, frustrated all the efforts of Governor Abiodun and his committee.

“He (Dangote) is alive to speak on how he was frustrated, despite Prince Abiodun’s pleas and multiple interventions that fell on the deaf ears of the then governor.

“Instead of showing enthusiasm towards hosting the project in the state, the former governor brazenly opposed and obstructed the efforts of the Abiodun-led committee in ensuring that the OKFTZ came into fruition.”

Mohammed Shosanya

President Muhammadu Buhari,Wednesday wrote to the Senate seeking approval of huge sum to pay for judgment debt owed by the Federal Government.

Specifically,he appealed to the upper chamber of the National Assembly to approve a request to pay the sum of $566,754,584.31, £98,526,012.00 and N226,281,801,881.64 being judgement debt owed by the Federal Government through the issuance of promissory notes.

The President’s request was conveyed in a letter read by the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan during plenary.

It reads: “The Distinguished Senate President may wish to be informed that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) at its meeting of March 29, 2023 approved the liquidations of top priority judgement debts and general judgement debts owed by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) through the issuance of promissory notes.

“The judgement debts are to be settled through the issuance of promissory notes which will then be redeemed over time through provisions in the budgets of the Federal Government of Nigeria. Thus debt securities have been issued for the settlement of the judgement debts and approval of the National Assembly is required for this purpose.

“In view of the foregoing, I wish to request the Senate to kindly consider and approve through its resolution the settlement of the top priority judgement debts and general judgement debts incurred by Federal MDAs in the sum of USD566,754,584.31, £98,526,012.00 and N226,281,801,881.64 through the issuance of promissory notes.

“The Honourable Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice and the Honourable Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning shall provide any information that may be required by the Senate for the consideration of this request.”