News

True Federalism: Expert Wants NULGE Join CSOs, Others For Constitutional Amendment

Published

1 year ago

December 1, 2022

Editor

Professor Festus Imuetinyan, federal Commissioner, Federal Character Commission, Abuja has called on the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) to join hands with other unions and civil society organizations working for the amendment of the nation’s constitution to make the constitution truly federal.

Imuetinyan made the call on Wednesday in Benin City at the Edo State chapter of NULGE 2022 week celebration with the theme,”Sustaining an autonomous local government as a catalyst for national development: The role of NULGE”.

The university don opined that local governments will only become catalyst for national development when they are put in firm control over local affairs as well as encourage the emergency of local solutions to local problems.

He advocated that the local government matters must be removed from the national constitution and placed within the purview of the states to save them from the challenge of forced uniformity in the face of endemic diversity of local problems.

He added that NULGE, as the major trade union in the local government system in Nigeria, has a duty to ensure that the present unified local government system which is unwieldy is jettisoned.

“Unfortunately, many local government staff are beneficiaries of the present system and do not see any urgent need for changes.

“Your members are the ones that are made sole administrators when elected council heads are illegally sacked by state governments. Many enjoy posting to areas that they are not conversant with the custom and tradition of the people whose problems they are called upon to solve.

“Others are promoted in the face of inadequate utilization of available resources to manage waste and protect public utilities within their jurisdictions.

“It is often alleged that many of your members extort money from members of the public and that they enrich themselves at the expense of the development of the communities”, he said.

He further opined that the present local government system is not patterned to achieve any developmental goal rather than a smooth vehicle for the transfer of centrally collected funds to the pockets of States’ political elites.

Imuetinyan emphasized that the 1999 Constitution makes it possible for state governments to cripple Local Government Councils financially by routing the amount of money standing to the credit of Local governments in the Federation Account (FA) through a joint State Local Government Account rather than directly to local councils.

He asserted that the arrangement adversely affects the fiscal autonomy and viability of most local governments.

According to him, some state governors make inexplicable deductions or unduly delay the release of funds from the joint accounts to local government chief executives.

“Local government chairmen are bullied by state governors to surrender much of their statutory allocations under duress. When they fail; they find other ways to replace them with caretaker committees of selected loyalists.

“Expenditure and project discretion had become a thing of the past. Most states expect their Local governments to seek and obtain permission to embark on projects. Local government projects are inspected periodically by officials of state governments.

“More financial load has been placed on Local governments’ share of the Federation Account. For example, funds for primary school teachers’ salaries and pension charges are now charged centrally to the Local governments.

“The central deductions at source of these charges and several other unfunded mandates in environmental and social spending by the State Governments tend to leave many Local Governments with little funds.

“And unfortunately, many Local governments especially those in the rural areas have limited access to productive tax bases”, he added.

News

50-year-old Man Dies While Watching Football Match In Lagos Bar

Published

19 mins ago

May 18, 2024

Editor

A yet-to-be-identified man has died allegedly watching football in an open bar along Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway in Lagos.

It was discovered that the deceased, a man in his fifties, was a frequent patron of the open bar prior to the incident and had visited on May 15, 2024, to watch a football game.

But problems arose when it was later found that he was sleeping and that attempts to wake him up were unsuccessful.

The Lagos State Police Spokesperson, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the incident by saying that on May 15, 2024, at approximately 7:00 PM, the owner of the open bar came to Elere Division to report that the same day, one of his male customers—whose name and address are unknown—died while watching a football game.

In an additional explanation, Hundeyin stated that when detectives from the division visited the scene, they saw the deceased lying lifeless on the chair without any signs of violence.

“His body has been taken to the mainland general hospital in Rusty Yaa for an autopsy,” he continued, “We are still trying to find his family.”

News

JUST IN: Tinubu Appoints Governing Board Members For 111 Tertiary Institutions

Published

9 hours ago

May 18, 2024

Editor

President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointments of at least 555 persons to serve as Pro-chancellors/Chairmen and members of Governing Boards of 111 federal universities, polytechnics and Colleges of Education.

This followed Tinubu’s assent to a list of nominees selected by the Ministry of Education.

An advertorial by the Education Ministry sighted by The PUNCH showed the appointment of a chairperson and four members for each of the institutions.

It was signed by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack.

“The inauguration and retreat for the Governing Councils will take place on Thursday, May 30 and Friday, May 31, 2024, at the National Universities Commission, 26 Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja. Both events will commence at 9:00am daily,” said Walson-Jack.

When contacted for confirmation, the Presidency said the list emanated from the Ministry of Education.

“This is from the Federal Ministry of Education…they make the nominations and forward them to the President to sign. But they are at liberty to release it from their end,” the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, told The PUNCH on Sunday.

The appointments come days after the Academic Staff Union of Universities had threatened to embark on another strike, potentially disrupting the academic calendar and causing further setbacks in the country’s higher education sector.

The union, on Tuesday, decried the failure of the Federal Government to appoint Governing Councils for federal universities.

The union also faulted what it described as the nonchalant attitude of the President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government to matters about academics in federal universities.

The body of academics, during a briefing at the University of Abuja, also faulted the 35 per cent salary increment for professors and the 25 per cent salary increment for other academics in the university system.

News

HOMEF Applauds NASS On Decision To Investigate GMOs In Nigeria

Published

10 hours ago

May 18, 2024

Editor

…says Nigeria needs to prioritise public health

Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) and the GMO-Free Nigeria
Alliance have commended the House of Representatives on the resolution to comprehensively investigate the introduction of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) into Nigeria and for a halt on approval of new products
pending the completion of that investigation.

This is as the House of Representatives also urged the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to ensure labelling of GM crops already in the country.

The House resolution to investigate the introduction of GMOs into Nigeria followed the adoption of a motion by Rep. Muktar Shagaya at a plenary session held on Thursday 16th May 2024.

In a statement made available to INFO DAILY Kome Odhomor, Media/Communication Lead, HOMEF, the Executive Director of the organisation, Dr Nnimmo Bassey, said ass the lawmaker rightly explained, the introduction of GMOs in Nigeria raises serious concerns about safety, regulatory oversight, and their potential impacts on the country’s biosafety.

He noted that the investigation which has been long “overdue is vital to save the country from the dangerous path to food colonialism, contamination of our genetic resources, loss of
biodiversity/nutritional diversity, soil degradation, and overall
disruption of our agriculture and food systems.”

Bassey continued: “This investigation must be unbiased and thorough. To ensure this, the National Assembly should engage independent researchers to avoid contamination of the process by GMO promoters.

“This investigation should consider Nigeria’s agricultural landscape and investigate the underlying
causes of hunger/food insecurity and as well establish definite measures to address those issues. This is the time to rescue Nigerians from being used for risky experimentations.”

The Executive Director also stressed the need for critical examination of the National Biosafety Management Agency Act for its fitness for purpose.

He further added: “That law needs to be completely reworked to close existing loopholes including the composition of its governing/decision making board by excluding GMO promoters such as the National Biotechnology Development Agency; the lack of provision on strict liability, inadequate public consultation measures, absolute decision-making powers of the agency, minimal reference to the precautionary principal and many others.

“This was the submission of Mariann Bassey-Orovwuje, Food Sovereignty Activist and Deputy Executive Director at Friends of the Earth Nigeria.”

Also reacting to the Green Chamber’s call on NAFDAC to label GMO crops in the country, HOMEF’s Director of Programmes and lead on Hunger Politics, Joyce Brown, noted that the agency will need to devise strategies to have foods sold in local markets in basins, by the road sides, and in processed forms like Ogi and Akara labelled to ensure informed decision-making by the majority of people who purchase food from these sources.

“This exercise will prove that GMOs do not fit our socio-economic context. Over the years, market shelf surveys conducted by HOMEF has revealed over 50 different processed/packaged foods labelled as produced using genetically modified ingredients,” she added.

Brown advised that permits for commercialisation of GMO products such as Bt Cowpea, Tela Maize, Bt Corn and all others be suspended pending the result of the investigation by the House Committee on Agriculture and others.

The statement reaffirmed the submission by Rep. Shagaya that there’s need to prioritise public health, biodiversity, increased support of small holder farmers in terms of extension service, provision of infrastructure (to curtail waste), access to credits, access to land and the growth of our local economy.

“Nigeria should adopt agroecological farming which aligns well with our socio economic and socio cultural
context. Agroecology delivers increased productivity and economic resilience, revises/nourishes ecosystems, strengthens local economies, mitigates climate change and promotes food sovereignty,” the statement concluded.