President Muhammadu Buhari, Friday described the abduction of pupils from the Government Girls Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State, as a “national disaster.”

The President stated this in a release made available to journalists by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu.

Buhari said he shared the pains of the parents whose children and wards were abducted and would spare no efforts in ensuring that the pupils were rescued.

He promised that more troops and surveillance aircraft for a 24-hour surveillance of the area would be deployed in the entire territory on a 24-hour basis, in the hope that all the missing girls will be found.

“When I received the devastating news of the attack on the school and the fact that the local authorities could not account for all the students, I immediately dispatched a high-level delegation on a fact-finding visit to the town, he said.

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He continued, “I also instructed the security agencies to deploy in full and not spare any effort to ensure that all the girls are returned safely, and the attackers arrested and made to face justice. The entire country stands as one with the girls’ families, the government and the people of Yobe State.

“This is a national disaster. We are sorry that this could have happened and share your pain. We pray that our gallant armed forces will locate and safely return your missing family members.

“Our government is sending more troops and surveillance aircraft to keep an eye on all movements in the entire territory on a 24-hour basis, in the hope that all the missing girls will be found.”

Kindly drop your comments. 

Information Minister, Lai Mohammed, in Dapchi earlier in the week following the abduction the of over 90 school girls.

In Nigeria today, one man that has continued to manage to make himself seen, heard and relevant in the political space is the Executive Governor of Ekiti State, Southwest Nigeria, and a known critic of the Buhari administration, Peter Ayodele Feyose. He has remained the voice of the opposition, constantly attacking policies and actions of government's. 

As the ongoing controversies that have greeted the abduction of some girls of Government Girls Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State, Northwest Nigeria rages on, Fayose has claimed that the All Progressives Congress-led government in Nigeria has continued to lie to Nigerians about the purported rescue of some of the girls as well as its fight against insurgency in the North East.

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According to him, the FG’s constant lies in the fight against the Boko Haram insurgents have now become the tradition that whenever the government boasts of defeating the insurgents, greater havoc was wrecked on the country.

“The FG should stop lying concerning the fight against Boko Haram because it has now become the tradition that whenever the government boasts of defeating the insurgents, greater havoc is wrecked on the country,” he said.

On the abduction of the Dapchi school girls by Boko Haram, he said he felt deeply concerned over the more that 90 Dapchi school girls. He thus appealed to the FG to ensure that the girls were found, while also urging Nigerians to pray for their safety.

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Stories of snakes biting people are commonplace, no doubt. But a man biting a snake in revenge for biting him first sounds like a story from the Hollywood movies!

But this is real as NAN reports of a farmer in northern India chewing off a snake’s head in revenge after the reptile bit him. Just as surprising as this could be, his attending doctors, who couldn’t believe their eyes said they had never come across such a bizarre case.

The incident, a local media reported on Wednesday, took place in Uttar Pradesh state’s Hardoi District at the weekend, when the man identified only by his first name, Sonelal – was rushed to a government health centre after locals found him unconscious.

The man told villagers that he was grazing his cattle in the fields when the snake bit him, which however made him so angry that he had to chew off the daring reptile’s hood before spitting it out.

Hear him: “The snake bit me, so I held its head and chewed it off, it died, then I brought it back to the village. I tore off its head again,’’ Sonelal told the ANI news agency.

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Sanjay Kumar, a doctor who treated him said he was amazed that the man survived after biting the hood, which could have contained venom, assuming it was a poisonous snake. However, the local media said that the doctors failed to find any marks of snakebite on his body.

“I’ve never seen such a case in my life. The man was all right even after biting a snake,’’ Kumar said.

Witnesses who claimed they saw him ingest part of the snake said they suspected the man was addicted to drugs. Medical officials believe that the man’s abnormal reaction could only be explained if he was under the influence of drugs.

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Senator Shehu Sanni.

The Senator representing Kaduna Central District and civil rights activist, Senator Shehu Sanni has said that the fall out of the tragedy in Benue, Taraba and other states in the North cannot be solved by President Muhammadu Buhari, or the Federal Government alone.

He maintained that beyond the bloodshed and security problems being currently witnessed across the country, particularly the gruesome killings believed to be perpetrated by the Fulani herdsmen, there was an evident divide and rising tempers along religious and ethnic lines.

“Beyond the bloodshed and security problems being currently witnessed across the country, there is an evident divide and rising tempers along religious and ethnic lines.

“If nothing is done now, it will be difficult to do it later when it becomes a mindset transferred to future generations,” the vocal Senator said.

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He therefore urged eminent, non partisan, Northern elder statesmen who have not taken side and have not made any inflammatory statements on the crisis to rise to the occasion and serve as agents of peace, reconciliation and mediation.

“Eeminent, non partisan, Northern elder statesmen who have not taken side and have not made any inflammatory statements on the crisis to rise to the occasion and serve as agents of peace, reconciliation and mediation.

“They should form themselves into a committee and visit the affected states and initiate moves towards mending fences and restoring the peace and unity of the North and by extension Nigeria,” he counseled.

Kindly drop your comments.

Amokachi twins.

Daniel Amokachi, former Super Eagles striker has declared that his twins have preference to play for Nigeria instead of Tunisia, the country of their mother.

According to VanguardSports, Amokachi said his boys had turned down the opportunity to be capped by Tunisia, adding that the twins playing for the Super Eagles would be his dream and that of the boys’ mother.

“Definitely, that would be my dream, their mother’s dream, even their dream because their heart is with Nigeria,” he said.

He maintained that he remains hopeful that call would come up for his twins soon to play for Nigeria, after all, he himself has remained Super Eagles’ number one fan, he said.

“I still have that patriotic zeal running in my veins like in the days I played for Nigeria,” Amokachi, fondly called “D Bull” in his active days said.

Furthermore, the USA ’94, France ’98 and Korea-Japan 2002 World Cup star said he hoped to see his twin sons follow the path he has threaded, by playing for Nigeria, as they hope to.

As for their current career, he disclosed that they were doing well in their present club in Turkey.

“They are doing pretty well in Besiktas, they are with the U23 team, and we are trying to see if they can play the professional angle of it because, in Turkey, they leave the foreign slot for professionals. Right now, however, they are working very hard and we hope that soon, they will get the opportunity to play in a place where they can give a good account of themselves,” Amokachi said.

He used the occasion to pray for the Super Eagles players who have already qualified for Russia 2018, wishing that the entire squad would remain injury free in order to find themselves in good form before the tournament.

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The National Conscience Party (NCP) on Saturday announced its opposition to the creation of State Police in the country.

It warned that governors will use the security arm to deal with opponents, critics and other Nigerians at will.

Lagos State Chairman of the party, Fatai Ibu-Owo, said the NCP decried the idea because it would not solve the security problem in the nation but worsen it.

He argued that the country had not attained the political maturity to adopt State Police, as the the creation would be subjected to political manipulation.

Ibu-Owo said in a country where people still identified with tribes rather than the country, the idea was not good for national unity.

“We at NCP are opposed to the idea because the country is not ripe for such, especially in a country where politicians can be desperate”, he told NAN.

“We believe that if states are allowed to have their own police, politicians would manipulate them to fight or crush the opposition, rather than fight security challenges.

“Just like governors are using the state electoral commissions to achieve their political whims and caprices in their respective states.

“Also, State Police is not good for a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural country like Nigeria.

“They could be used to dangerously settle ethnic scores, and this is not good for the unity of the country”.

Ibu-Owo told Daily Post that the way forward was for the government to strengthen the Federal Police by providing it with the wherewithal to deal with the country’s challenges.

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Representational photo.

A herd of cattle strayed onto the runway of Akure Airport earlier Saturday, preventing an Air Peace flight from Lagos from landing.

Vanguard reports that the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has apologised to Air Peace Airlines and its passengers for the incident.

FAAN issued the apology in a statement signed by its General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Mrs. Henrietta Yakubu in Lagos on Saturday.

Yakubu said the Air Peace flight, which left Lagos for Akure could not land immediately as some cows strayed onto the runway of the airport.

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She said: ”However, normalcy was restored quickly, as officers of the aviation security department quickly dispersed the cows from the runway and the aircraft was cleared for landing.

“The authority will like to assure travellers and the general public that efforts are already ongoing to close the gap that aided this incident.

The Corporate Communications Manager of Air Peace, Mr. Chris Iwarah, also confirmed the incident in a statement issued on Saturday.

Iwarah said: “Flight P4 7002 from Lagos had to delay landing into Akure Airport on Saturday when the pilot-in-command sighted cows on the runway at about 12.15pm.

“On being alerted by control tower, aviation security personnel of the FAAN (FAAN AVSEC) quickly intervened and cleared the runway.

“The flight was eventually cleared to land after about seven minutes. Our guests on board were all calm while the delay lasted.”

He said the aircraft departed for Lagos at about 1.06pm with full escort from FAAN security personnel.

(NAN)

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DECONSTRUCTING A NATION'S ANATHEMA (DNA), RELIGION, REGION AND ETHNICITY IN FOCUS I

"We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them." - Albert Einstein.

"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Unknown.

I am compelled to attempt this humble series, believing that men and women of good conscience and that Nigerians with a living soul, shall congregate and aggregate a NEW THINKING that must deconstruct our nation's DNA, understanding that a highly progressive world is fast living us and our proudly held biases of religion, region and ethnicity behind.

On Fridays and Sundays, our Muslim and Christian Compatriots gather in places of worship to commune with the Almighty, they preach about and pray to a universal God/Allah, yet against the injunctions of the Holy Koran and the Holy Bible, they discriminate against each other.

The Christian undermines the teachings of Jesus The Christ, throwing away the wisdom in the homily of THE GOOD SAMARITAN, and they jettison the pungent admonition of I CORINTHIANS 13 (Please Read It). I dare say that a Christian who cannot genuinely and without prejudice love, protect and defend a Muslim, is not a true

CHRISTIAN.

To the Muslim I bring the great teachings of the Holy Koran in Surah Al-Baqarah 2:62-71 (Please Read It), when you do, you will find out that no true Muslim can genuinely hold a faith based bias against a Christian.

So, what is wrong with us? Please stay tuned!

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FIXING NIGERIA SERIES II: DECONSTRUCTING A NATION'S ANATHEMA (DNA), RELIGION, REGION AND ETHNICITY IN FOCUS II

"For the scripture says, 'YOU SHALL NO MUZZLE THE OX WHILE IT IS TREADING OUT THE GRAIN [to keep it from eating],' and, 'The worker is worthy of his wages [he deserves fair compensation].'" The Bible {I Timothy 5:18}.

"Do not withhold from the people the things that are their due" Quran: Surah 7:85.

Prophet Mohammed PBUH said, "Give the wages of employee before his sweat dry" (Ibn Majah, Hadith no. 2468).

We live in a Country that mouths religion to the heavens, a nation predominated by godists without godliness. We have Clergies and Clerics consistently in cahoots with political operators to deny the people their citizenship rights, to deny the workers their wages, and they keep Nigeria down for selfish ends.

Yet blinded by religion, my generation defends self-serving religionists and political leaders who employ religion for private profit. We are so oblivious of the true essence of FAITH, that selfishness comes before LOVE. And so sad, we give vent to religion as tool for division and exclusion.

We are too lazy at research that names like Martin Luther King Jr, Elijah Mohammed, Ahmed Deedat, Desmond Tutu, and closer home, Olubunmi Okojie, Gabriel Osu, Sheik Ahmad Gumi et al means little, but like their masters Jesus The Christ, and Prophet Mohammed PBUH, they fought against injustice and oppression knowing the essence of FAITH.

Compatriots, we must rework the fabrics of FAITH, and challenge the Clergy/Cleric in this clime to stand for what is right and SPEAK TRUTH to power.

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DECONSTRUCTING A NATION'S ANATHEMA (DNA), RELIGION, REGION AND ETHNICITY IN FOCUS III

I am encouraged by the huge response to this series, and I must assure my readers and followers that we shall yet come to the issues of region and ethnicity. In the interim, religion has the floor.

Our nation bleeds because the Clergy/Cleric and the laity observe religion without the true essence of FAITH. In Part II of this series, I gave Biblical and Koranic verses where the wellbeing of the masses and the welfare of workers is accorded primacy. But in Nigeria, Prayer Homes, Special Miracle Services and Consultation Centres sprout on matters that responsible and responsive leadership can handle.

Which is easier, to fast and pray for unpaid salaries to be paid, or for the Clergy/Cleric to unite and speak truth to power? Why not stop 'Leaders' who do not pay workers their wages from occupying front pews and front mats in places of worship? Do they care?

It is evident in the teachings of Jesus The Christ, and Prophet Mohammed PBUH, that true religion must influence politics, but must not be political. True religion must work as a politico-social barometer. True religion is the question-mark on the conscience of leadership, and must not serve clannish political interests.

Sadly, we see everywhere people who profess faiths rooted in the Koran and the Bible, excavating reasons why humans are killed for cows and for farmlands, as the Christian pleads self-defense, and the Muslim pleads provocation, and vice versa.

So, what happened to true religion? And, what happened to true LOVE?

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FIXING NIGERIA SERIES IV: DECONSTRUCTING A NATION'S ANATHEMA (DNA), RELIGION, REGION AND ETHNICITY IN FOCUS IV

We are too obsessed about religion that we forget that at the core of FAITH is LOVE for humankind, indiscriminate of creed, clan or character. LOVE FOR ALL, IS IT.

Have you wondered what will happen if all our Priests were to repudiate with vehemence the killings and corruption in the land? Have you wondered what will happen, if all our Imams were to condemn the bloodshed everywhere, and repudiate the looting of our collective till?

Have you pondered, if truly religion is meant to liberate the soul, why do you hate or despise the Christian, why do you discriminate and despise the Muslim, why do you allow ethnicity or nepotism, why do you excuse murder, for cows and farmlands, and why do you stoke the flames of discord? We must accept our collective guilt, and begin a holistic rework of our values.

Nigeria is in dire need of Clergies and Clerics, who will speak like sincere protagonists of FAITH. Men and women who against religious biases will stand for TRUTH. And a People who believe in our common humanity, who truly will say, though tongue and tribe may differ, in brotherhood we stand.

Like Jesus The Christ, and Prophet Mohammed PBUH, would say 'woe unto those who loot and impoverish the people', our Clergies/Clerics must do likewise.

The way out is the BALLOT not the BULLET, so please GO REGISTER AND GET YOUR PVC.

Kindly drop your comments.

Sunday Oliseh, ex Nigerain national.

Sunday Oliseh has said he would rather lose a job than go to jail for taking part in “illegal activities” as coach of Dutch club Fortuna Sittard.

Fortuna Sitard announced Oliseh was suspended allegedly over his poor relationship with both players and officials. But Oliseh said he would rather walk away along with his assistants than be jailed for going against the law.

“It is better to part ways like this. I won’t want to be in jail,” he said in an interview on Brila FM radio. “My lawyers are handling the case now.”

The former Nigeria coach, who only recently led the club to a record seven straight wins, would not wish to disclose the crux of the matter, but rather hinted on owed salaries and wrangling within the club.

“We have to be compensated for what we are owed, it’s not only in Nigeria that they owe money,” he said. “The Turkish owners also got the players to say they are unhappy with me.”

Vanguard reports that the former Juventus and Ajax Amsterdam midfield star also maintained that even in the event that his suspension is overturned, he would rather move on. “It has been 14 great months coaching this club, we set records like winning seven straight games, we are looking at the top league, but should my suspension be rescinded, I won’t go back to the club,” he said. “We have made a name for ourselves, I believe there will be job opportunities and I pray it is something better than the last one.”

Kindly drop your comments.

"Buharideens".

Buharideens pander, they dive from one illogical end to another illogical extreme in defense of a 75 years old who has himself admitted that he is slow. They seek to make us believe that slow is Honourable, laughs.

They say that the nation must move at his pace because according to them the best Nigeria has is a 'Mr Integrity' that harbours and defends the corrupt political operators who are his men.

They want us to believe that cronyism and nepotism is not corruption.

They want us to believe that recovered funds without owners and without convicts is fighting corruption, how cynical and Laughable.

They want us to believe that the mediocre war against corruption is effective, whereas we are yet to see any serious conviction. And they think we are idiots to buy into the hubris that corruption has never been fought like Buhari is fighting it, another comic relief. And I found and posted a comparative narrative on anti-corruption under OBASANJO, JONATHAN and BUHARI 'Mr Integrity', but blinded by partisanship Buharideens will rather attack the individual or the post than address the truth. But it is alright.

I ask was Maina not reinstated by Saint Buhari? Was Usman Yusuf of NHIS not reinstated by Mr Integrity? Was Zakari Biu not reinstated by Saint Buhari? Was the Corrupt Saleh not reinstated and promoted in the Judiciary by Mr Integrity? How long did it take Saint Buhari to remove the corrupt Babachir Lawal, and replace him with his first cousin? Abba Kyari, the NIA stench and the many allegations of corruption under Saint Buhari means nothing to Buharideens.

I have consistently condemned corruption in the past, I am consistently opposed to corruption in the present government and I will not stop because of those who believe in mediocrity.

Nigeria can do much better on all fronts than remaining in the hands of a self-confessed slow leader. For those who believe that a slow Buhari is their future, I do not grudge their right to such deep in the nadir, posterity will judge their position. But do not deny me my inalienable right to demand the best for my Country.

Under Buhari, shamelessly the soulless attempt the defense of the indefensible. And they do so with skewed and moronic historicity, as though non Buharideens were living in Mars when they happened… CONTINUE.

This period shall also pass. Our COUNTRY Nigeria will come out of this darkness better and stronger.

Have a great day, friends, keep believing what you want, and keep defending what you choose. Our collective mirror is posterity.

I cannot continue to argue with members of my generation who defend with vehemence the generation that brought us to this sorry trajectory. Please enjoy your day, and note if my words are harsh, I am deeply sorry. But from this day onwards I will never engage you in debates that seek to extol mediocrity.

And I say without an ounce of equivocation that A NEW AND A BETTER NIGERIA IS POSSIBLE, we MUST work together and pull through a peaceful ballot based ORDINARY PEOPLES revolution come 2019.

God bless you all. I love you deeply, but it will always be #COUNTRYFIRST.

Kindly drop your comments.

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Ibrahim Magu, the EFCC Acting Chairman.

IS IT RIGHT FOR IBRAHIM MAGU TO BE KEPT IN ACTING CAPACITY 

AS CHAIRMAN OF EFCC BY THE PRESIDENT?

This article seeks to examine the propriety of Ibrahim Magu as the Acting Chairman of EFCC after the pronouncement of the Federal High Court presided over by Justice Tsoho in Abuja.

Twice, President Buhari had submitted the name of Magu as the substantive chairman of EFCC to be confirmed by the Senate as required by the EFCC Act, section 2(3) to be precise, and twice was his confirmation denied by them. Their reason/s for refusal to confirm his appointment was a damaging security report from the DSS that portrayed Magu as unfit and improper person to hold the exalted office of the chairman of EFCC. It will be recalled that before the presentation of his name by the President for confirmation, Magu was already placed on an Acting capacity for some time. After the initial refusal, he was retained by the president but still on acting capacity. Some of us at that time deprecated the act of DSS in sending an indicting report straight to the Senate without first submitting the said report to the presidency. We suspected foul play and advised that the president should represent the name of Magu with proper explanation to some of the allegations of DSS against him. After some time, Magu’s name was re-submitted to the senate for reconsideration and for the second time another damaging report was also sent to the senate by the same DSS citing the unsuitability of Magu for the chairmanship position of EFCC.

We were all outraged and expected that heads would roll for these acts of intransigence and national sabotage but alas not even a whisper was heard from the presidency. We remained alarmed up to this point, hoping to get explanation someday for this confused manner of running a government.

Soon thereafter legal opinions started to fly about that EFCC as an agency is not one of the agencies created by law that requires its chairman to be confirmed by the senate. Section 171 of the 1999 constitution as amended was pushed forward ferociously by the likes of Mr Femi Falana SAN, (my leader) and even the Vice President of the country, Professor Yemi Osinbajo SAN. They were countered by another school of thought that held the strong view that the chairmanship position of EFCC ought to be confirmed by the Senate before he takes his seat. They cited other substantive chairmen like Ribadu, Madam Farida Waziri and Lamorde that received that confirmation from the Senate as required by law. They further queried that if it is true that the executive does not believe that the chairmanship position should be confirmed first by the senate, why did they submit the name of Magu for confirmation for the number of times they did? Finally, they stressed the fact that as at 1999 when the constitution was enacted, an agency known as EFCC was not in contemplation or created and so couldn’t have been mentioned by the constitution. The truth of the matter is that EFCC as an agency was created in 2004 by the Obasanjo administration, which means that the constitution could not have listed EFCC at that time as one of the agencies whose chairmanship position must be confirmed by the Senate. The EFCC Act of 2004, Section 2(3) however provided that mandatorily the chairmanship position must be confirmed by the Senate. The word used in the said section is “shall” which connotes compulsion.

In the midst of this total confusion some lawyers and commentators proffered some measure of interpretation in order to abate haze and cloud that covered everywhere at that time. They held the strong view, though wrongly, that since there is no timeline provided by law in Nigeria on how long a person can “act” in acting capacity, President Buhari can allow Magu in acting capacity pending the time the matter may be resolved politically or a pronouncement of the court sought and received. I did, even at that time during one of the days in a paper review at Radio Continental 102.3 advise that either the Executive or the Legislature should seek judicial intervention in the light of the misunderstanding existing between the two arms of government as to the correct interpretation of the position of the law about confirmation by the Senate. Alas, none of the arms of government was ready to embark on the ‘suicide mission’ for fear of being ruled against. However, a lawyer by name Oluwatosin Ojaomo apparently convinced that the senate does not possess the power under the law to deny confirmation to Magu especially on the grounds of adverse security report from DSS, took the bull by the horn and sought the intervention of the court to resolve the impasse once and for all. Mr Ojaomo has asked the court in his application to reverse the rejection of Mr Magu on the grounds that the Senate “lacked powers to reject a nominated candidate for the said position” following his interpretation of the EFCC Act, 2004. According to the motion, Mr Ojaomo sought the determination of two issues by the court: 1 Whether the senate had powers to reject a validly nominated candidate by the presidency for the said position and 2. Whether the Senate was not bound by the provisions of the EFCC Act Section 2(3) to confirm any candidate nominated by the presidency for the said position. ACCORDING TO MR OJAOMO, THE PROVISIONS OF THE SECTION THAT THE PRESIDENT “SHALL” NOMINATE A CANDIDATE WHILE THE SENATE “SHALL” CONFIRM THE NOMINATED CANDIDATE MEANS THAT THE ROLE OF THE SENATE IS ONLY TO AFFIRM THE DECISION OF THE PRESIDENCY AND NOT TO QUESTION IT.

In his ruling however, Justice John Tsoho said the section referred to by the applicant was misconceived. According to the judge the said section provided that the presidency makes the nomination “subject” to the ratification by the Senate. The judge further interpreted the word “subject to” as used in the Act to mean “depending on”. Therefore the APPOINTMENT OF THE CHAIRMAN IS DEPENDENT ON CONFIRMATION BY THE SENATE. He further said “The Senate is thus conferred with authority to ensure the choice of only suitable and credible persons for the appointment to that office. The submission of the plaintiff however gives the impression that the senate only exists to rubber stamp the President’s appointment of a chairman. Such view runs counter to the proper intendment of Section 2(3) of the EFCC Act 2004 and is misconceived.”

However the matter was struck out for lack of locus on the part of the Plaintiff. Some legal commentators have latched on this issue of locus to hold the view that the court made no decision on the matter since the matter was struck out. In fact one legal expert dubbed the ruling as a ‘legal opinion’. I do not share the sentiment of these commentators. There is a judicial practice, which is highly commendable, adopted by judges recently whenever the issue of jurisdiction comes up in the course of proceedings. They are no longer hasty to derail the course of justice on the altar of legal technicality, but are in pursuit of whole Justice which has become a top priority for them. The practice adopted by our judges nowadays is to decide the entire case on its merits as well as rule on the issue of jurisdiction leaving it for the appellate courts to correct them if they are wrong both on their decisions on the substantive matter and on jurisdiction. By that practice the courts in Nigeria are actually being sensitive to the desire of Nigerians to hasten the course of justice in our country rather than the perennial delay of trials and proceedings that have been our lot and which has given our judiciary bad reputation. Surprisingly it is our activists who ordinarily have been lamenting on the delays in our judicial system are the ones deploring this procedure, and I cannot understand why it is so. It is indeed a good procedure that should attract commendation from those who desire quicker dispensation of justice in our nation. It is sad that Justice Tsoho was of the view that a “lawyer” who ordinarily should stand for due process and upholding of the rule of law does not have “locus” to initiate a public interest matter that touches on the interpretation of our constitution and an enactment of our legislature. The matter is on appeal and we hope that this decision will be looked into critically and a position reached which makes room for liberal legal policy in the matter of “locus” on public interest litigation. After Adesanya’s case which is a Locus Classicus on “Locus standi”, a lot of progress have been made both on our substantive and procedural laws to liberalize the legal space for initiation of public interest litigations by the members of the public who need not prove “suffering hardship far and above other citizens”. That is the way for us to go as a nation. However it is important to point out here that despite the fact that the matter was struck out by the judge on the issue of locus, the COURT REACHED A DECISION ON THE ISSUES REFERRED TO IT FOR DETERMINATION AND THE RATIO OF THAT DECISION IS THAT THE APPOINTMENT OF MAGU AS CHAIRMAN OF EFCC IS SUBJECT TO CONFIRMATION BY THE SENATE AND CONFIRMATION IMPLIES EITHER ACCEPTANCE OR REJECTION. This decision can be upheld and affirmed or reversed on appeal but until it is reversed, it remains the decision of the court today in NIGERIA.

CAN MAGU REMAIN ACTING CHAIRMAN OF EFCC IN THE LIGHT OF THIS DECISION?

S. 2(3) of the EFCC Act 2004 envisages a situation where the appointment of the chairman and other officials of the board will be confirmed by the Senate before they are allowed to occupy and act in their offices. However, the practicality of this scenario often does not play out the way the framers of the law intend it to apply. There are a times, and it does occur often, that a public officer whose appointment is subject to confirmation by the legislature may not be automatically accepted or rejected, immediately the names are presented by the President. In that case, the public officer will be placed on an “acting capacity” pending the time the substantive office or position will be confirmed by the legislative assembly. That was clearly the issue with the position of Magu when his appointment was on “acting capacity” pending the time his appointment will be confirmed. Moreover, the Executive did not help matters by not sending his name for confirmation on time, it was done several months thereafter. Indeed S11 of the Interpretation Act gives power to whosoever has the power to appoint to also appoint same person in acting capacity to the office. This usually occurs where there is a temporary vacancy and before there is time to fill such vacancy with the substantive office holder. In respect of the topic under discussion, this “Acting Appointment” ceases the moment the body authorized by the EFCC Act to confirm refuses either altruistically or maliciously to accept the nominee as the substantive chairman of the Agency. There is nowhere either in the EFCC Act, the Interpretation Act or in the Constitution where a public officer can continue to act in “Acting Capacity” the moment the confirmatory body has held whether altruistically or maliciously that that person is unqualified and unfit to occupy that office.

There are three possible actions open to a country (President) where her legislators have possibly acted not in the best interest of the country in rejecting a suitably qualified candidate for public office:

(a)   A written protest from the president to the legislators with a possible replacement. Examples abound in American history where Presidents like Presidents Washington, Andrew Johnson, Bush and even Obama had their nominees rejected by the Senate. They replaced those nominees with protest letters to the legislators.

(b)   Seek for a judicial interpretation if the Executive feels strongly that the legislators have acted way above their powers (ultra vires) in rejecting the nominees, at least we saw it in the recent case of Mr Oluwatosin Ojaomo, a lawyer whose case before the Federal High Court had prompted this discussion, and finally.

(c)   A patriotic and alert electorates who will use their voting power to chase out of the legislative chambers those they consider as “irresponsible legislators” whose stomach is their God and who do not consider national interest in carrying out their sacred national duties.

The above is what the country and its citizens can do if they are unlucky to be “blessed” with less patriotic legislators. That the country and its citizens will call for disobedience to the institutions created by law and insist on disobedience to the rule of law is an invitation to anarchy and destruction of a settled system which is not healthy for the country. This should not be the route to contemplate especially in a democracy!

COMPLEXITIES OF MAGU IN ACTING CAPACITY AND ITS IMPLICATION FOR THE COUNTRY IN THE LIGHT OF THE RECENT CASE OF THE SUPREME COURT IN AMERICA

Recently the Supreme Court of America laid to rest the legal and political implications of placing a public officer in an “acting capacity” when the law creating the said office demands the confirmation by the legislature. The Supreme Court Justices by six votes to two votes affirmed an August 2015 decision by the D.C. Circuit, which found that one Solomon improperly served as ” Acting General Counsel” during the almost three year period between January 2011 and late 2013 while his nomination for confirmation as the Board’s General Counsel languished in the Republican controlled Senate. Ultimately the then President Obama withdrew Solomon’s nomination and put forward Richard Griffin, Jnr., who was eventually confirmed on October 29, 2013.

FACTS OF THE CASE

National Labour Relations Board is one of the Agencies in the United States which has a position of “General Counsel” that must be confirmed by the Senate. A federal law known as Federal Vacancies Reform Act enacted in 1998 gives the President authority to appoint ‘Acting Officers’ to serve in these offices that require legislative confirmation until the President’s nominee/s completes the sometimes lengthy Senate confirmation process.

Pursuant to the above Act, when a former occupier of the position of General Counsel vacated that office in 2010, President Obama appointed one Mr Solomon Lafe to become the Agency’s Acting General Counsel. Six months later, former President Obama sent Solomon’s name to the Senate for confirmation. The Senate did not take any action on Solomon’s confirmation, in other words he was not confirmed (accepted). They later returned his name to the President at the expiration of the congressional term. Although Obama resubmitted his nomination in 2013, he later withdrew it and nominated Richard Griffin Jnr, whom the Senate confirmed as General Counsel in late 2013.

One of the directors of the Boards (National Labour Relations Board) who was acting as an agent of Mr. Solomon issued a complaint alleging that a particular Company by name South-West General had committed unfair Labour practices, but the company put up a defense that Mr. Solomon lacked authority to issue and litigate that complaint because his service as “Acting General Counsel” during the pendency of his nomination to the General Counsel position violated the Federal Vacancies Reform Act. The D.C. Circuit agreed with the company and interpreted the federal Act as prohibiting any individual whose position is subject to confirmation by the Senate from serving as an “Acting Officer” while he or she has become a nominee to fill that office for a full term. Agreeing with this position, one of the Justices of the Supreme Court, Chief Justice Roberts who wrote for the majority was of the view that applying the Federal Act to the case at hand was straightforward and concluded by holding that once President Obama submitted Solomon’s nomination to fill the General Counsel position for a full term for confirmation, the Federal Act PROHIBITED SOLOMON FROM CONTINUING IN THE ACTING GENERAL COUNSEL ROLE. CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS FURTHER NOTED THAT PRESIDENT OBAMA COULD HAVE APPOINTED ANY OTHER PERSON TO ACT IN THE ACTING CAPACITY DURING THE PENDENCY OF SOLOMON’S NOMINATION THAT REQUIRES CONFIRMATION. BECAUSE THE THEN PRESIDENT DID NOT DO SO, MR SOLOMON CONTINUED TO ACT WRONGLY AS HIS ACT VIOLATED THE FEDERAL LAW.

IMPLICATION OF THAT JUDGEMENT TO OUR SITUATION

EVEN THOUGH we do not practice accurately the American system of government and their constitution, the truth of the matter is that we actually borrowed the American presidential system, its constitution (written) and its practices as a model for our country. Therefore court’s decisions like the above can be of persuasive influence to us as a people especially where there is dearth of legal authorities in Nigeria on the issue under discussion. The reason is because there is striking similarities in system and practices by both countries. It can be canvassed and authoritatively too that since the EFCC Act never envisaged the position of its chairman to be under any acting capacity at any time, he or she ought to be confirmed first by the Senate before he or she starts to act as the substantive chairman of the agency. IN OTHER WORDS, THE MOMENT THE PRESIDENT APPOINTS A PERSON AND SENDS THE NOMINEE TO THE SENATE FOR CONFIRMATION THAT PERSONS CEASES TO ACT IN THAT “ACTING CAPACITY” PENDING ACCEPTANCE OR REJECTION BY THE SENATE. ANOTHER PERSON CAN BE APPOINTED TO THAT ACTING CAPACITY AND CERTAINLY NOT THE PERSON WHOSE NAME HAS BEEN SUBMITTED FOR CONFIRMATION BY THE SENATE. HE CAN REMAIN IN AN ACTING CAPACITY UNTIL HIS OR HER NAME IS SUBMITTED FOR CONFIRMATION. Even the Interpretation Act is resorted to wrongly at times cannot be of help here since the substantive act (The EFCC Act) did cover the ground leaving no room for lacuna. However, even if it is agreed that the relevant section in the Interpretation Act that gives room for “acting capacity”, that can only be for a temporary period pending the time the position will be accepted or rejected by the confirmatory authority, i.e., (the Senate). THE MOMENT THE CONFIRMATORY AUTHORITY EXERCISES ITS POWER BY ACCEPTING OR REJECTING THE CONFIRMATION OF THAT POSITION, THE AFFECTED PERSON AUTOMATICALLY CEASES TO ACT IN ACTING CAPACITY. IT IS EITHER HE OR SHE ASSUMES THE POSITION OF SUBSTANTIVE CHAIRMAN UPON ACCEPTANCE OR CEASES TO ACT IN THAT CAPACITY WHEN REJECTED UNLESS HE IS REPRESENTED IMMEDIATELY BY THE PRESIDENT FOR RECONSIDERATION. Which is not what is the case with Ibrahim Magu presently.

Though we may press for us to overlook some of the defects in the operations of our laws due to lack of precedence and argue that Magu was in acting capacity when his name was submitted to the senate for confirmation, the moment the Senate returns a verdict of “no” to his confirmation, he ceases automatically to act as the Acting Chairman of EFCC. Any act done pursuant to that capacity will be declared null, void and illegal going by the decision of the SUPREME COURT ON THE ABOVE QUOTED CASE OF NLRB V. SW GENERAL, INC., POSTED NLRB DEVELOPMENTS IN MARCH 22, 2017. (Visit www.managementmemo.com).

FINALLY MAY I SUBMIT WITH DUE RESPECT THAT IBRAHIM MAGU AS AT TODAY IS ACTING ILLEGALLY AS THE ACTING CHAIRMAN OF EFCC SINCE HIS APPOINTMENT FAILED THE LITMUS TEST OF ACCEPTANCE BY THE SENATE OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA. My position on this issue is purely on legal consideration and does not question the ability and competence of Magu as an individual as his competence remains not in doubt.

Kindly drop your comments.