All Posts in "Day: April 28, 2024"

The Narrative of The Chairman Of NGF Undermining Rule Of Law

The foundation of good governance rests on the principle of the rule of law, a constitutional concept that forms the bedrock of policy implementation. It dictates that all actions must conform to legal standards, underpinning the notion that governance without legal adherence is inherently unlawful.

Following a successful initial term of four years of Governor Abdulrahaman Abdulrazaq and approaching the one-year mark of the second tenure, the expectations were high for a recalibration of governance norms, particularly in upholding the rule of law.

The administration emerged from the Oto’oge struggle, aimed at rectifying the governance irregularities of the previous administrations, with a specific focus on local government administration.

The call for reform in local government administration was a central demand of the Oto’oge movement, seeking to revamp governance at the grassroots level and bring it closer to the people. However, the Abdulrahaman-led government has persistently operated outside legal bounds, diminishing the hopes of democratic stakeholders.

Local government governance is undeniably institutional, as enshrined in Section 7 of the Nigerian Constitution, which mandates states to ensure the existence of local government councils through appropriate legislation.

While debates exist regarding the powers vested in State House Assemblies over local government administration, the Supreme Court’s 2016 ruling invalidated laws empowering governors to replace democratically elected council officials with appointed administrators.

Across some states, legislative bodies have become extensions of the Executive Governor’s authority, with elected members of the House of Assembly often serving as mere puppets of state governors.

Kwara State mirrors this trend, with the Abdulrahaman administration’s disregard for legal norms evident from issues around the suspension of 16 local government chairmen on allegations of financial mismanagement and the subsequent appointment of the caretakers in their replacement.

Despite legal challenges, including a ruling by Justice H.A. Gegele which described the Governor’s action as an Executive Rascality and an Abuse of Law and a subsequent judgment of the Appeal Court by Justice K. I. Amadi denounced the governor’s actions as an abuse of law in the case initiated by a Civil Society, Enetsud, the administration remains undeterred.

Due to pressure from the nooks and crannies of the state, the Governor constituted the state electoral body, KWASIEC but despite the allocation of state funds for KWASIEC operations, the commission hasn’t demonstrated any commitment to the rule of law.

KWASIEC’s failure to initiate local government elections, despite prior announcements, underscores doubts about its independence.

The most scary situation is that Democratic stakeholders have voiced their concerns against the governor’s undemocratic practices, yet he continues to defy public sentiment.

In my view, and in the interest of democracy, state stakeholders must unite to petition President Tinubu and the National Assembly on this critical matter. Civil society organizations and pro-democracy groups must amplify their discontent in a manner that resonates with Governor Abdulrahaman Abdulrazaq.

_Comrade Bolakale Barkindo Saliu writes from Ilorin_

admin by — April 28, 2024 in Opinion 0
Olukoyede Restructures EFCC, Appoints Chief Of Staff

Mohammed Shosanya

The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ola Olukoyede,has announced the appointment of Mr. Michael Nzekwe as his Chief of Staff.

He has also appointed Zonal Directors for each of the 14 Zonal Commands of the Commission as part of the restructuring of the EFCC.

The ongoing restructuring is meant to reposition and strengthen the EFCC so that it can deliver optimally on its assigned mandate, Olukayode said.

The anti-graft agency’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, announced the new appointments and changes in a statement on Saturday.

Nzekwe,who he described as a top-notch investigator, lawyer and former Commander of the Ilorin Zonal Command of the EFCC, is a course one officer of the Commission.

He has served in various departments in the Commission, including Legal and Prosecution Department, the Department of Operations (now the Department of Investigations), the Department of Internal Affairs ( the Department of Ethics and Integrity), Servicom, and the Asset Forfeiture Department.

“A seasoned administrator, he has attended several trainings and courses home and abroad, including the Advance Defence Intelligence Officers Course organised by Defence Intel Agency, DIA. The appointment takes immediate effect and he has assumed duties,” the statement added.

In restructuring and repositioning the EFCC, Olukayode upgraded all the Zonal Commands of the commission to the status of departments, with each of them headed by a director.

“To this effect, 14 new Directors have been appointed to head each of the Zonal Commands,” Oyewale wrote in the statement.

“Additionally, to bolster and fortify the security architecture of the commission, the Security Unit of the EFCC has been upgraded to a Department with a seasoned officer appointed as Director, Security and Chief Security Officer.”

Also, a new department has also been created in the Executive Chairman’s office, and it is headed by former Makurdi Zonal Commander of the EFCC, Mr. Friday Ebelo, who also doubles as Director and Coordinator, Special Duties, at the corporate headquarters of the commission.

In addition to that, the former Department of Internal Affairs has been renamed Department of Ethics and Integrity and minor reshuffling effected in some departments at the headquarters.

admin by — April 28, 2024 in News 0
Chevron Staff Emphasizes PR Role In Crisis Management

Mohammed Shoaanya

Mr. Victor Anyaegbudike, Manager Communications, Chevron Nigeria and Mid-Africa Business Unit,has identified effective public relations strategies as essential for maintaining stakeholder trust, managing crises, and ensuring long-term success of corporate organizations.

He disclosed this while delivering a paper titled: “Corporate Organizations, Public Relations, and Crisis Management” as a guest lecturer during the 2024 Jackson Annual Lecture (JAL) and International Conference of the Department of Mass Communication, University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) held recently.

Victor,an alumnus of the University, noted that Public Relations and crisis management are integral components of a comprehensive reputation management strategy for corporate organizations, adding that while Public Relations focuses on proactively managing public perception and building strong foundations, crisis communication steps in during times of crisis to address and mitigate reputational threats.

“In today’s interconnected world, where information travels at the speed of light, Public Relations plays a pivotal role in shaping the image and reputation of corporate organizations,” he stated.

He explained that crisis management is the process by which an organization deals with a disruptive and unexpected event that threatens to harm the organization or its stakeholders and outlined some strategies for effective Public Relations crisis management which include Preparedness, Transparency, Consistent Messaging, Empathy, Monitoring and Adaptation.

According to him,“effective crisis management involves a delicate balance between transparency, empathy, and strategic communication. Organizations that handle crises well can emerge stronger and maintain stakeholder trust.”

Identifying and highlighting some theoretical and practical paradigms that constitute successes and failures of public relations efforts in crisis, Victor emphasized the paramount role of leadership in crisis management and stated that effective leadership during a crisis fosters resilience, trust, and successful resolution.

He mentioned some ways leadership contributes to effective crisis management as “Decision-Making, Communication, Strategic Vision, Empathy and Support, Adaptability, Transparency and Accountability, Team Coordination, Learning and Improvement.”

The lecture was well received by a large audience which included members of the academia, representatives of corporate organizations, government officials, traditional rulers, and students. Victor was also presented with an Excellence Award by the University during the event.

The Jackson Annual Lecture was established in honour of late John Payne Jackson, a courageous newspaper editor who founded the “Lagos weekly Record newspaper” in 1891 and used his paper to attack the exploitative and obnoxious policies of the colonial government.

admin by — April 28, 2024 in Labour/Human Resources 0
Group To Nigerians: Stop Panic Buying, Fuel Is Available

Mohammed Shosanya

The Coalition for Civil Society Organisations,says it has confirmed the availability of petroleum products at Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL),just as it advised Motorists against panic buying.

Many filling stations in Nigeria has recently witnessed long queues due to scarcity of fuel.

But,the Coalition of the CSOs in its reaction on the development, said it has confirmed availability of products from the NNPCL management,which was caused by logistics issues that was later resolved .

The Coalition of Civil Society Organisations which disclosed this in a press statement made available to journalist in Kaduna,said now that NNPC attributed logistics problem as the major cause of the queues, there should be no need for any tension.

The statement signed by Comrade Abdullahi Ibrahim Gimba,the CSOs implored motorists to be patient, because NNPCL as sole importer of petrol has enough products.

Commending the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, Mal. Mele Kyari for the swift efforts to address the logistics problem and measures taken so far to revive the National Oil Company and resume full production, the group described as unfortunate ,the situation,where black marketers capitalised on the glitch to exploit motorists and other residents that jostled to buy at prices ranging between N1000 and N1200 per litre.

“It is unhealthy that this happened when many Nigerians are anticipating a crash in prices of PMS.The idea of increase in cost of the product to an average of N700/litre at stations owned by independent marketers at this critical period of hardship is unacceptable.

“We read the reaction of NNPCL on fuel scarcity problem via the press statement issued by Chief Corporate Communications Officer, NNPC, Olufemi Soneye, who also confirmed that the scarcity was due to issues around logistics that have been resolved.

” Having carefully read the clarifications made on the tightness in the supply of petrol currently being experienced in some areas across the country , we agree that it shouldn’t stir up tension that will take us back to the days of recurring long queues at filling stations.

” We are not unaware that the queues for petrol grew worse in Abuja and neighbouring Nasarawa and Niger states recently but the good news is that NNPCL has resolved the issues.

” We are ready to draft our Monitoring and evaluation unit to help the Federal Government to bring sanity to the Oil Sector.” the group stated.

admin by — April 28, 2024 in Oil&Gas 0