Amaechi has constitutional liability to be made a minister – Akpakpan

Published

10 years ago

November 16, 2015

Spread The News

Princewill Akpakpan, Senior Principal Partner at Knights Law firm, Staff Attorney of the Civil Liberties Organization (CLO), Lagos, in this interview with STEPHANIE OSUNKWO, says that only a few ministers deserve appointment while some others do not.

WERE you satisfied with the screening process through which the Senate confirmed the new ministers?
Well, the way the Senate handled the ministerial screening was not satisfactory in anyway. Nigerians were not really satisfied with the process. Some of them were just putting some questions that were irrelevant. Some senators did not get to the nitty-gritty to extract what potentials the prospective minister was going to have on what portfolio to affect the economy. They were just throwing political questions, some irrelevant questions. Some of them were just making some peripheral cross-examining; questions that were not relevant for the purpose of extracting whatever a particular minister is supposed to get to build up into the economy. Only few of these ministers are good; people with good pedigree. The chaff should be separated from the grains so that by the time we remove those ministers who have high pedigree, who have achieved in different areas, we will leave those politicians who are not going to give any value to the country.
Would you consider the controversy the screening and confirmation of Rotimi Amaechi necessary?
It was actually not necessary because the Amaechi has some constitutional encumbrance to be made a minister by the provision of Section 66 of the Constitution which talks about qualification, disqualification of member to the House of Representatives. Why would the President forward such a person with such constitutional liability or such constitutional encumbrance? Why should they bring all those petitions and how does a President handle such issue. The senate did not even help matters. In the face of these constitutional encumbrances, they just want to bring Amaechi in because he was one of the sponsors of President Muhammadu Buhari and, therefore, Amaechi cannot do any wrong. This is not good for a fledgling democracy and also not good for the so-called anti-corruption stance that the President talks about. Anybody that even smells corruption should be kept aside. If all those allegations are discharged or at the end, cleared, the President can still forward Amaechi’s name for ministerial screening. They are just panel beating our constitution just to satisfy certain political interests.
There were also allegations against Fashola (wrong or right); those allegations were not investigated, does that tell there is genuine commitment to fight corruption?
There is no real commitment, the fight against corruption must be on equal pedestrian, must be without coloration; whether ethnic coloration, political coloration or ideological coloration. The government should fight corruption on good objective scale without sentiments. When corruption is being fought on political coloration, when APC former governors are not being invited or investigated by EFCC, PDP members are being investigated, even the objective standard cannot look at the government as being fair.
Do you agree with critics that President Buhari has not given direction to APC change mantra?
Well, I was hoping that APC would bring change because of the anti-corruption pedigree of President Buhari but anti-corruption, alone, cannot make Nigeria move forward. I was looking at a President who contested in 2003, 2007, 2011 before he won in 2015, that he had a blue print and as soon as he got into office, there will be no delay to hit the ground running. Unfortunately, I discovered a President who appears not to have an idea of what governance is all about. I see a President who does not have any understanding of the basic economy in Nigeria and how the country should be run. The same person is telling you that the ministers are noise makers. So, if you juxtapose it with the fact that most of the ministers who have ideas are noise makers, and the President does not have ideas on his own. Now, you look at a President who would have already made up his mind without listening to the advice and the quality of the advice of the ministers. If he says they noise makers, at the end, he will neglect most of the useful advice. A President must equally have knowledge of the economy because he will be able to make some good decisions. If a president does not have a good grasp or understand the basic economic policies of a country, he may not even know the advice to take and the one to neglect.
I have seen Professor Osibanjo, the Vice President but I don’t even know if the President is tapping from the knowledge of this man.
There are so many imbalances in the government of the country today. In the judiciary, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, the head of the judiciary, is a northerner; the head of the federal legislature, the Senate President, is a northerner; the Speaker, a northerner; the head of the executive, the President is a northerner.
The Governorship Elections Petitions Tribunal in Abuja nullified the election of Governor Nyesom Wike, do you perceive fairness in that judgment?
Well, I wouldn’t go into the issue of the Rivers Election Tribunal judgment so much because the matter is on appeal. On the judgment of the Supreme Court that the tribunal can sit outside Rivers State, the Supreme Court is right because when you look at the glaring case of insecurity. So, sitting in Abuja is not a big problem.
On the issue of the election situation, I haven’t really looked at. From what I got, I have not really studied the judgement in order to make a good decision. But if the judgement is based on card reader, it will appear contradictory. The card reader was an issue in Lagos State which was affirmed by the Supreme Court that card reader was not meant to be a full issue for determination of election. If the Rivers tribunal now yield to the card reader to annul election, then, it will be a contradictory judgement. The matter is equally on appeal, so, we will see how the Appeal Court will make distinction so that they will apply the law. In Akwa Ibom, most of the card readers were rejected. I don’t think that the card reader, itself, is sufficient for the nullification of the election. My understanding of card reader is that it is a measure portioned to electoral guideline which is made by INEC. The constitution provide rules for the Electoral Act, the Electoral Act now gives INEC the power to make guidelines, which is where the card reader comes in. that is complementary to the Electoral Act. It is a device for the purpose of making a free and fair election and therefore, should complement the Electoral Act.

SPORTS

CAF announces free e-visas for fans attending AFCON Morocco 2025

Published

3 hours ago

November 14, 2025

Publisher

CAF announces free e-visas for fans attending AFCON Morocco 2025

Spread The News

The Confederation of African Football and the AFCON Morocco 2025 Local Organising Committee on Friday announced that fans travelling to the tournament will be eligible for free electronic visas.

The policy benefits citizens of countries that normally require a visa to enter Morocco.

“Electronic visas to enter Morocco — obtained through the YALLA app — are now free of charge for supporters attending the competition, which runs from 21 December 2025 to 18 January 2026,” CAF said in a statement on its website.

The governing body said the announcement comes amid growing global demand for Africa’s biggest football event, with more fans booking tickets.

It explained that fans need two documents, a fan identification and an e-visa, to stay in Morocco and enter football stadiums throughout the tournament.

“A Fan ID is mandatory for entry to all stadiums and official Fan Areas. Supporters can apply for both the Fan ID and e-visa in one place inside the YALLA app, streamlining travel and stadium access.

“The Fan ID application and e-visa request are completed seamlessly within the YALLA app, ensuring a faster, easier and secure experience for international visitors and local fans alike,” the statement added.

To apply, fans are urged to download the YALLA app on Google Play or the App Store, or visit the official YALLA website, complete the Fan ID form, and, if required, submit the e-visa request.

Once approved, supporters can purchase match tickets on the CAF ticketing platform.

“The new measures are designed to deliver a seamless, secure fan experience for Africa’s showpiece event that will be played across nine stadiums in six cities,” CAF said.

With Morocco hosting for the first time since 1988, the continent’s biggest football festival returns to North Africa amid high expectations, fierce rivalries, and a new generation of African stars ready to make their mark.

A total of 24 teams are expected to participate.

CBN unveils phased overhaul of fixed income market to boost transparency

Published

1 month ago

October 3, 2025

Olusegun Odunewu

Spread The News

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced a phased restructuring of the Nigerian Fixed Income Market as part of sweeping reforms to strengthen transparency, improve efficiency, and reinforce regulatory oversight across the country’s financial ecosystem.

In a circular signed by Okey Umeano, Acting Director of the Financial Markets Department, the apex bank disclosed that it will assume full control of both the settlement process and the trading platform for fixed income transactions beginning November 2025.

According to the CBN, this transition will allow the Bank to manage the trading environment directly while handling end-to-end settlement of fixed income instruments within its established financial market settlement system.

“This transition will enable the CBN to assume direct responsibility for the management of the trading platform and handle end-to-end settlement activities under the Bank’s established settlement system for financial market transactions,” the statement read.

To minimize disruption and ensure market stability, the reform will be implemented in carefully sequenced stages, with active involvement of key market stakeholders, particularly the Financial Markets Dealers Association (FMDA). The milestones for the first phase include:

User Acceptance Testing (UAT): Scheduled for the second week of October 2025, to test the proposed settlement infrastructure.

Pilot Phase: A transitional phase to run alongside the current system, ensuring operational stability and user adaptation.

Go-Live 1 (Settlement Process): Full migration of fixed income activities to the new CBN settlement system, starting November 3, 2025.

Go-Live 2 (Trading Platform): Launch of the new CBN-sponsored trading environment for Primary Dealers, Market Makers (PDMM), Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs), and other approved market participants on December 1, 2025.

The apex bank emphasized that the reforms are designed to “strengthen market integrity, streamline operations, and establish a unified regulatory framework that ensures end-to-end visibility and supervisory oversight of fixed income transactions.”

Acknowledging the FMDA’s central role in market development, the CBN called for continued collaboration, stressing that stakeholder input would remain critical throughout the transition.

“We look forward to your continued partnership as we work together to deliver a more efficient, transparent, and resilient fixed income market,” the Bank stated.

The CBN assured participants that the transition would be coordinated to avoid disruptions and would ultimately serve the broader interests of market stability and economic growth.

The overhaul of the fixed income market is the latest in a series of regulatory reforms introduced by the CBN to strengthen Nigeria’s financial system. Just last month, the apex bank directed all Domestic Systemically Important Banks (DSIBs) to adopt early succession planning for Managing Directors/Chief Executive Officers (MD/CEOs) and top executives.

Under that directive, signed by Dr. Rita Sike, Director of the Financial Policy and Regulation Department, DSIBs must secure regulatory approval for the appointment of a successor MD/CEO at least six months before the expiration of the incumbent’s tenure. The move, according to the CBN, is aimed at bolstering corporate governance and reducing leadership uncertainties that could undermine financial stability.

By consolidating oversight of the fixed income market, analysts say the CBN is positioning itself to better support monetary policy transmission, strengthen market resilience, and drive long-term economic growth.

NEWS

Jandor joins 2027 Lagos governorship race, pledges loyalty to Tinubu’s leadership

Published

1 month ago

October 2, 2025

Olusegun Odunewu

Spread The News

Olajide Adediran, popularly known as Jandor, has formally announced his intention to contest the 2027 governorship election in Lagos State, this time under the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Jandor, who was the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in the 2023 polls, made the declaration on Wednesday, October 1, 2025, during an Independence Day address in Lagos.

The media entrepreneur-turned-politician emphasized that his ambition remains rooted in the drive to serve the people of Lagos, noting that he is determined to bring new energy into the state’s leadership.

“As for Lagos State, I am offering myself once again to serve. I’m indeed running for the Lagos governorship race in 2027,” he said.

Reflecting on his previous campaign, Jandor recalled the momentum he generated during the 2023 elections, which marked his first major political outing.

He expressed optimism that, with the APC platform and the support of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, he would be better positioned to actualize his vision for Lagos.

“When it was time for me to truly leave, I came all out, and we took Lagos by storm. Very soon, activities will begin to galvanize support from Mr. President and the party to ensure that whoever picks the APC governorship ticket in Lagos will have a strong run. Let me put this to rest: I am running in 2027,” he declared.

Jandor also used the occasion to openly endorse President Tinubu’s leadership, calling on Lagosians and Nigerians at large to rally behind the President for a second term in 2027.

“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has proven his capacity to lead this country with vision and courage. I call on Lagosians and Nigerians at large to ensure he gets a second term in 2027 so we can all continue to benefit from his progressive leadership,” Jandor said.

His defection to the APC and fresh declaration are expected to reshape the political landscape in Lagos, setting the stage for what could become a highly competitive race ahead of the 2027 elections.