There were news that made headlines during the preceding week, but there are some major ones that kept the media buzzing in the week under review. We start with Edo State, as: EDO ASSEMBLY DUMPS GRAZING BILL.
The much talked about grazing bill in the Edo State House of Assembly, that was opposed to the people, has been dumped by the House after due consideration of the bill to establish the control of Nomadic Rearing and Grazing Law.
The discarding of the bill followed consideration of the report of the joint Committee on the Public Hearing on the bill at the Committee of the Whole.
Henry Okhuarobo, Chairman of the Joint Committee during his presentation of the report said 54 Oral and written petition were submitted to the House.
He said that the committees carefully studied the petitions before arriving at the recommendation contained in the report.
According to him some of the findings indicated that Majority of people in the state were opposed to the bill and open grazing which exposes land owners and villagers to the unwholesome activities of the herdsmen.
The Speaker, Rt. Hon. (Dr.) Justin Okonoboh in his remarks said that the discontinuation of the consideration of the bill was not the solution to the menace of herdsmen in the state.
He advised those who might have solution to the menace of herdsmen in the state to come up with bills to cure the ugly trend.
•SENATE MAKES U-TURN, SCREEN NOMINATEES
In the week, just two weeks after the Senate resolved to suspend consideration of the Presidency requests for confirmation of nominees, the red chamber received the report of its Committee on Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on the screening of 12 Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs).
The Senate, on July 4 resolved to suspend all confirmation requests from the Presidency until Acting President Yemi Osinbajo withdraws a statement credited to him that the Senate does not need to confirm nominees from the executive arm of government.
The Senate also asked the Presidency to sack the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ibrahim Magu, in line with its resolution.
The Senate took the resolution to suspend confirmation of presidential nominees when Senate President, Bukola Saraki, read Osinbajo‘s letter, urging the upper chamber to confirm the nomination of Lanre Gbajabiamila as Director-General of the National Lottery Commission (NLC).
Senator Ahmed Sani Yerima (Zamfara West) noted that since the acting President had already concluded that the Senate lacks the powers to confirm nominees, there was no need to acknowledge any letter from the executive on confirmation of nominees.
However, the Senate after over one hour closed session reversed itself by receiving the report of the RECs screening.
No date was however fixed for their confirmation.
•SENATE PASSES WHISTLEBLOWERS BILL INTO LAW.
In the week under review, Nigerian Senate added more firepower to the whistleblower policy of federal government with the passing of the Whistleblower Protection Bill into law.
The Bill, which seeks to encourage and facilitate the disclosures of improper conduct by public officers and public bodies was presented by the Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, chaired by Senator David Umaru, the member representing Niger East in the 8th National Assembly.
Otherwise known as “An Act to Protect Persons Making Disclosures for the public Interest and Others from Reprisals, to Provide for the Matters Disclosed to be Properly Investigated and Dealt with and for other Purposes Related Therewith, the Bill also seeks to ensure that persons who make disclosures and persons who may suffer reprisals in relation to such disclosures are protected under the law.
The Bill also specifies who is qualified to make disclosure of improper conduct; the procedure for making disclosures; and the protection due to ‘whistleblowers.’
Under the newly passed Bill, a person who makes a disclosure shall not be subject to victimisation by his or her employers or by fellow employees.
Additionally, a person who makes a disclosure has the right to take legal action if he or she is victimised, dismissed, suspended, declared redundant, transferred against his or her will, harassed or intimidated in any manner.
The Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, said the passage of the bill was “a promise kept”.
•SARAKI SAYS CUSTOMS BOSS CAN WEAT JEANS And T-SHIRT TO NATIONAL ASSEMBLY IF HE END SMUGGLING.
In the week, what many thought was not possible happened, as Senate President Bukola Saraki told the Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Customs Service, retired Colonel Hameed Ali to wear jeans and T-shirt to his office if he can work towards ending smuggling activities in all the borders in the country.
Saraki said this when he declared open the Senate’s public hearing on ‘Smuggling – A threat to Nigeria’s quest to self sufficiency in rice production’ which held at the National Assembly, Abuja .
Speaking directily to Hameed who was in attendance, Saraki said: “Once you end smuggling, even if you want to wear jeans and T-shirt, I will personally move the motion to support you”.
It would be recall that the Senate and the Customs boss have been in a running battle following the latter’s refusal to appear before the house wearing the uniform meant for all Customs officers.
The senate had argued that if Hameed wants to lead the agency, he must abide by all the laws of the agency, one of which is wearing the uniform meant for all the workers.
Hameed however says he is a retired military officer and cannot be wearing a Customs uniform.
•FG PLANS TO DISCOURAGE SHOOTING OF MOVIES And MUSIC VIDEOS ABROAD.
In the week also, Federal Government disclosed plans to amend the Nigeria Broadcasting Code in order to discourage production of Nigerian movies and music outside the country.
The plans regarding such productions which was widely criticised, was disclosed by the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, while visiting the headquarters of the Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON).
The Minister lamented the production of Nigerian films, reality TV shows and music outside the country.
Mohammed said this has denied the entertainment industry a greater development.
‘This government has agreed that henceforth, whatever we consume in Nigeria in terms of music and films, must be made in Nigeria.
‘We cannot continue to go to South Africa or any other country to produce our films and then send them back to be consumed in Nigeria.
‘The Broadcasting Code and the advertising Code are very clear on this.
‘For you to classify a product as a Nigerian product, it must have a certain percentage of Nigerian content,’he said.
Mohammed noted Nigerian musicians of today fly out of thecountry to record music then return it for Nigerians to consume.
‘When they get there, they will patronise the economy of that country and then bring the products back to Nigeria for us to consume.
‘It is like somebody going to China or Japan to make a product that looks like palm wine and bring it back home to label it Nigerian palm wine.
‘As long as we are not able to implement our own code to ensure local production of Nigerian music and movies, our young talents will not get jobs,’ he said.
‘It is Nigerians that pay for the consumption of these products and therefore they must be allowed and encouraged to participate in their production.
‘I am going to meet with the relevant stakeholders over this, to see that whatever amendment that is needed to be made to our Broadcasting Code in this regard, is done urgently,’he said.
•KOGI BAN ASUU
In the week under review, Governor Alhaji Yahaya Bello has announced the proscription of the Kogi State Chapter of Nigeria’s foremost academic union, the Academic staff union of Universities with immediate effect.
The governor announced the proscription after an emergency State Executive Council meeting.
Alhaji Yahaya Bello said the decision became necessary as all efforts to make members of the institution see reasons for the calling off their over six months old strike action has failed.
According to him, “as a government, we have fulfilled over 90 percent of their demand and have even gone a step further to pay all outstanding salaries of both cleared and uncleared staff including those that have committed one crime or the other”.
This he said was in spite of the fact their decision to shut down the institution had resulted in increase in violent crimes on Ayingba and its environs, adding that “as a responsible government who has high regard for education as the pillar of the future of the state, we cannot afford to fold our hands and watch the future of our youths mortgaged”.
•STATES RECEIVED ANOTHER PARIS CLUB REFUND
In the week, it was learnt that States received another tranche of the Paris Club refund.
But the total amount paid out by the Ministry of Finance could not be confirmed.
Top officials of the ministry said they were waiting for clearance from Minister of Finance Mrs Kemi Adeosun before giving out that information.
President Muhammadu Buhari initiated the refund to enable states meet their financial obligations, especially to workers and pensioners.
In the first tranche, a total of N516 billion was released to the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The Ministry of Finance spokesman, Salisu Dambatta, in a statement after the release of the cash, said: ”The debt service deductions are in respect of the Paris Club, London Club and Multilateral debts of the Federal Government and states.
•BORNO ELDERS FORUM TELL FG TO NEGOTIATE WITH BOKO HARAM.
In the week, a group of community elders in northeast Nigeria where Boko Haram has waged a bloody eighth year insurgency urged the Islamists to enter peace talks, a move some see as motivated by ethnic self-interest.
The Borno Elders Forum of retired military and civilian officials, all ethnic Kanuri, said it was “time they (Boko Haram) put down their arms” and they should “repent and rejoin the larger society”.
“If our leaders had the Lee way to negotiate with the Boko Haram for the release of some of their captives, they should employ the same tactics to negotiate for the end ofthe insurgency,” they said in a newspaper advertisement last Friday.“The Government of Nigeria had earlier negotiated with the Niger Delta militants and succeeded. Let the Government do the same with Boko Haram.”
President Muhammadu Buhari, a former army general, has given no sign of wanting to negotiate a settlement since he came to power in 2015.
His government has, however, held back-channel talks that secured the release of more than 100 of the 219 Chibok schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram in 2014.
But the call for negotiations by the elders of Borno state, where the Kanuri is the main ethnic group, has led to speculation that it is driven less by a desire for peace than by ethnic issues.
– ‘Flying a kite’ –
Boko Haram’s ranks have been dominated by ethnic Kanuris. In its early days, the Islamist militant groupwas known to have members from the families of the region’s political and religious elite.Abdullahi Bawa Wase, a security analyst who tracks the conflict, said the elders were “flying a kite” to gauge reaction.
The peace talks proposal “could be a Boko Haram idea being sold by the Borno elders on their behalf”, he said.
A senior member of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), the militia assisting the military with security, said the proposal was “in bad faith”.
“The elders know how to get in touch with their sons, nephews and brothers who are high-profile Boko Haram leaders,” he said on condition of anonymity.
“If they really mean what they say, they should convince their Boko Haram relations to renounce membership of the group and surrender.”
– Ethnic rivalry –
Kanuri dominance in BokoHaram sparked claims in the earlier stages of the violence that the uprising was a push for a homeland.
Few maintain that view since its leader Abubakar Shekau declared a caliphate in August 2014 and pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group the following March.
Ethnic rivalry has, however, been seen as having contributed to the religiously inspired violence, adding another layer of complexity to the conflict.
“People despise Boko Haram for the death and destruction they cause,” said Abubakar Gamandi, the head of the Borno state fishermen’s union.
“But in terms of ethnic sentiments, some give tacit support to them when the victims are non-Kanuri.
“Many Kanuris feel Boko Haram are weakening their ethnic adversaries against whom they have been struggling for social, economic and political supremacy in Borno.”
The Kanuri mainly hold political power, while the ethnic Hausa control agriculture, fishing and trade, and the Fulani and Shuwa tribes dominate cattle herding.
Tensions pre-date Boko Haram. The Nigerian military has previously accused the Borno elders of hampering the counter-insurgency.
Gamandi suggested the scale of attacks has had a tribal dimension.
“They (Boko Haram) wrought more destruction and deaths on non-Kanuri towns and settlements populated by Hausa and Shuwa Arab than on Kanuris,” he said.– ‘Sworn enemies’ –The call for talks, at a time when the Nigerian military is out to destroy Boko Haram, is considered by some in the northeast as an attempt at Kanuri self-preservation.
The fear of losing a whole generation of Kanuri men, giving the upper hand to the Hausa, Fulani and Shuwa, could explain the recent surrender of Boko Haram fighters to the military.“
The elite have been encouraging them to surrender to the military through local community chiefs with promise they would ensure they are given soft landing and reintegrated into society,” said Gamandi.
•AMBODE DIPOSE BAALE
In the week, the Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, in a swoop, deposed the suspended Baale of Shangisha in Magodo, Chief Yusuf Ogundare, for allegedly faking his abduction on July 5, 2017.
Ambode had suspended Ogundare after he was paraded alongside his brother, Mohammed Adams, by the Lagos State Police Command for conspiring to fake the alleged kidnap.
In a statement by the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Muslim Folami, the governor ordered Ogundare to thence forth desist from parading himself as the Baale of Shangisha.“
This is to inform the general public that Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has authorised the deposition and prosecution by police of Chief Yusuf Ogundare,Baale of Shangisha, with immediate effect.“
This is in accordance withSection 38, subsection 1, of the Obas and Chiefs Law of Lagos State.“
Furthermore, he (Ogundare) is to stop parading himself or discharge any of the duties attached to chieftaincy matters with immediate effect,” the statement read in part.
•COURT ORDERS INTERIM FORFEITURE OF DIEZANI’s PROPERTY, CASH
In the week, a Federal High Court in Lagos ordered the interim forfeiture of a property at Banana Island, Lagos bought for $37.5m in 2013 by a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke.
Justice Chuka Obiozor, a vacation judge, made the order following an ex parte application by a counsel for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Anselm Ozioko.
The EFCC, in documents filed in court, described the property as Building 3, Block B, Bella Vista Plot 1, Zone N, Federal Government Layout, Banana Island Foreshore Estate, has 24 apartments, 18 flats and six penthouses.
The court also ordered the temporary forfeiture of the sums of $2,740,197.96 andN84, 537,840.70, said to be part of the rent collected on the property.
The funds were said to have been found in a Zenith Bank account numbered 1013612486.
Ozioko had told the judge that the EFCC reasonably suspected that the property was acquired with proceeds of Diezani’s alleged unlawful activities.
He said the EFCC’s investigation revealed that Diezani made the $37.5m payment for the purchase of the property in cash, adding that the money was moved straight from her house in Abuja and paid into the seller’s First Bank account in Abuja.
•NEW CHANGES INTRODUCED TO AFRICA NATIONS CUP.
Away from Nigeria, earlier in the week under review, dramatic changes to Africa’s top competition were made, which now await rubber-stamping by the executive committee of the Confederation of African Football (Caf) after recommendations made at a conference in Morocco.
The showpiece Africa Cup of Nations finals is set to be expanded and its contentious timing changed, but its frequency will remain every two years.
The tournament is likely to be moved to June and July, instead of January and February, and will increase from 16 to 24 teams.
The two annual club competitions – the African Champions League and African Confederation Cup – are likely to run from August to May rather than inside a calendar year, as has been the case for decades.
It will increase revenue for Caf and we can triple our income, NFF President Amaju Pinnick on Nations Cup expansion
changes to refereeing structures,coaching standards and medical preparedness were also recommended.
Caf’s executive committee meets in Rabat on Thursday and is expected to formalise all the major recommendations.
“From a sporting perspective, it will allow more opportunity for footballers across the continent,”said Nigerian Football Federation president Amaju Pinnick.
The insistence the Nations Cup should stay in January, which has often infuriated European clubs as they lose their African players during the season, could soon be a thing of the past.
But Africa’s flagship sporting event will still be played every two years as the tournament is a leading source of revenue for Caf, which would lose half of that money should the finals be played every four years, as some proposed.
There was no opposition to the change of the timing of the finals, which will please African players based at European clubs, who are regularly involved in a club-versus-country row every two years.
The increase in the number of finalists is an attempt to increase marketing and TV revenue, talking a leaf out of the book of Uefa whose European Championship increased in size in 2016.
“It will increase revenue for Caf and we can triple our income,” added Pinnick.
“It will also force more infrastructure development.”
The symposium also recommended that requirements for hosting the Nations Cup must be increased,particularly around the issue of pitches and hotels, whose poor quality has drawn heavy criticism at recent finals.
•TEENS FROM BURUNDI ROBOTIC TEAM DISAPPEARED IN US
In the week, Six teenagers from Burundi taking part in a robotics competition in the US were reported to be missing, according to police.
Four boys and two girls – aged from 16 to 18 – disappeared during the First Global Challenge tournament in Washington DC.
The DC Police Department says they were last seen on Tuesday – on the closing day of the competition.
Reports say two of the teenagers have since crossed into Canada but this has not been confirmed by the police.
In the week, the DC Police Department posted fliers of the missing group on its Twitter page,asking members of the public to get in touch if they had any information.
The teenagers were identified as Don Ingabire, 16, Kevin Sabumukiza, 17, Nice Munezero, 17, Audrey Mwamikazi, 17, Richard Irakoze, 18, and Aristide Irambona, 18.Competition organisers say they alerted police after Burundi’s team supervisor was unable to find the teenagers.
•STAMPEDE AT A FOOTBALL STADIUM IN SENEGAL KILLED EIGHT PEOPLE AND INJURED MANY
On a sad note, in the week under review, a wall collapsed at a football stadium in Senegal on killing eight people and injuring almost 90.
It fell in after fighting began between rival fans and police responded with tear gas, with a stampede ensuing.
Stade de Mbour were playing Union Sportive Ouakam at the Demba Diop stadium in the capital Dakar.
The country has suspended all sporting and cultural events for the rest of the month.
During the clashes, come fans threw projectiles including stones at others.
Pictures circulating online appear to show people scrambling over a low wall amid clouds of gas.
A spokesman for President Macky Sall said campaigning for upcoming elections would be suspended on Sunday as a mark of respect, and that there should be “punishments serving as a warning”.
•TURKEY CELEBRATED FAILED COUP ANNIVERSARY
In the week, tens of thousands of Turks took to the streets to mark the first anniversary of a failed coup.
Many headed to the Istanbul bridge that became a landmark of resistance after an army faction tried to seize power.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan unveiled a memorial there for the 260 people who died fighting the coup. Some 2,196 were also wounded.
The government has since dismissed more than 150,000 state employees, saying it is rooting out coup supporters.
Critics say the dismissals, and a wave of 50,000 arrests, are part of an attempt to purge dissent.
July 15 has been declared an annual holiday.
•RUSSIAN COURT CONFIRMS JEHOVAH’S WITNESS BAN
Russia’s Supreme Court earlier in the week, confirmed a ban on Jehovah’s Witnesses, labelled by authorities as an “extremist organisation”.
“The Russian Supreme Court has decided to reject the appeal of the organisation against its ban,” the court, quoted by RIA-Novosti news agency, said in its decision.
In April, the court issued a ruling banning the Christian group and seizing its property.
That decision came after the justice ministry said it had found signs of “extremist activity” within the religious movement and requested that it be banned.
Jehovah’s Witnesses international spokesman David A. Semonian, in a written comment sent to AFP, said the latest decision, while expected, was disappointing.
“We can only hope that a fair assessment of the facts will prevail and that our right to practise in Russia will be legally restored,” he added.
“It’s not the end yet,” said Viktor Jenkov, lawyer for the Jehovah’s Witnesses, quoted by the Interfax agency.“We will appeal this decision to the European Court of Human Rights.”
The religious movement has 395 centres across Russia and claims 175,000 members.
The European Court of Human Rights ruled in 2010 that the move had violated the right to freedom of religion and association.
•COURT IN DENMARK SENTENCED BEGGAR TO PRISON
In the week, a Danish court sentenced a Romanian national to 14 days in prison under new, tougher legislation aimed at dissuading aggressive begging.
“The man, who was not named, was sentenced in absentia by the Copenhagen District Court,’’ Danish news agency Ritzau reported.
It was believed to be the first conviction since tougher legislation approved by lawmakers in June took effect. The measures include doubling the punishment for first-time offenders to 14 days in prison.
Offenders could also be sentenced to prison without a prior police caution, which has previously been the practice.
The bill aims to prevent begging on pedestrian thoroughfares, outside supermarkets, at transport stations, and on trains and other forms of public transport.
“Police notified the man on July 11 when he was found begging outside the Norrebro Station in the Danish capital, Copenhagen, prosecutor Marlene Beynon said.
Although the man who was born 1969 did not appear at the hearing, witnesses verified he had been at the scene.
Police have been instructed to notify him of the conviction and find out whether he intends to appeal or not.
In recent months, there have been increased complaints about aggressive begging and illegal camps that lack water and sanitation in Copenhagen.
•INDIA GET NEW PRESIDENT
In the week, India elected a new president from the bottom of the Hindu caste system, the second time since independence ahead of state has been chosen from the marginalised group.
Ram Nath Kovind won the largely ceremonial position with more than 65percent of the vote by members of India’s parliament and state assemblies, the election commission said.
The 71-year-old former lawyer and state governor from the downtrodden Dalit community was nominated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi ruling party for the post.
Analysts said the election of Kovind would help Modi tighten his grip on power and accrue political capitalby sending an important message to the Dalits, a long-disdained electoral group once known as “untouchables”.
•SPOKESMAN FOR DONALD TRUMP’S LEGAL TEAM RESIGNED
In the week under review, spokesman for US President Donald Trump’s personal legal team resigned, media reports say.
Mark Corallo was a spokesman for Marc Kasowitz, who is defending Mr Trump in an inquiry into alleged Russian meddling in last year’s election.
Reports said that Mr Corallo disagreed with the strategy of Mr Trump’s lawyers to discredit or limit the team directing the investigation.
There has been no comment from him or the Trump team.
