President Buhari’s call on the new management team at the ECOWAS Commission, led by Dr. Omar Alieu Toure, to complete the review and harmonisation of ongoing reforms, aimed at strengthening the sub-regional body is one of the trending stories in Nigerian newspapers on Monday.
The Guardian reports that President Muhammadu Buhari has called on the new management team at Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission, led by Dr. Omar Alieu Toure, to complete the review and harmonisation of ongoing reforms, aimed at strengthening the sub-regional body.
Buhari gave the charge, yesterday, in Abuja, in his welcome address at the 62nd Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government.
He said: “The commission must, therefore, work assiduously to complete the review and harmonisation of the Protocols on Good Governance and Democracy, as this would enable our sub-region to sustain our collective efforts to deepen not only democracy but her dividends through good governance to the community citizens.
“Related to this is the urgent need to fully bring into operation, the Regional Action Plan on the Fight Against Terrorism and other acts of criminality in the sub-region, as enhanced safety will sustain national governance efforts that would ensure the growth and progress of our sub-region.”
Welcoming fellow regional leaders, Buhari noted that this year’s Summit was the 8th that Nigeria, under his leadership, has hosted:
He said: “All of those occasions, including this one, have brought honour and respect to my country, as Nigeria continues to be at the centre of sustained solidarity and collaborative efforts to maximise our relationships, to address common challenges to our countries and the community’s citizens.”
The Nigerian leader paid tribute to President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana, the immediate past Chairperson of the Authority, for his services and congratulated President Umaro Embalo of Guinea Bissau on assuming the leadership of the sub-regional organisation, expressing his confidence in the latter’s ability to “discharge his responsibilities to the sub-region, as well as meet the expectations of the community citizens.”
The newspaper says that the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has sued President Muhammadu Buhari and two others at the Federal High Court, Lagos, over failure to probe the spending of alleged trillions of naira in ecological funds by federal, state and local governments, from 2001 to date, and ensure the prosecution of suspected perpetrators of corruption and mismanagement of public funds.
No date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit.
Joined in the suit, as respondents, are the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha.
Recall that the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), recently, said no fewer than 600 persons died and 1.3 million rendered homeless as a result of floods that ravaged most states across the country, with destruction of properties worth billions of naira.
In the suit (FHC/L/CS/2283/2022) filed, last Friday, SERAP is asking the court to direct and compel Buhari to investigate alleged spending of the ecological funds.
It is arguing that failure to probe the allegation, prosecute suspected perpetrators, and recover any missing public funds is a fundamental breach of constitutional and international legal obligations.
The organisation is also arguing that impunity and corruption in the management of ecological funds will continue, as long as high-ranking public officials go largely unpunished for alleged crimes.
According to SERAP, it is in the public interest to direct and compel Buhari to probe the allegations, so that evidence can be taken before the court, truth about the spending of ecological funds can be revealed, and justice served.
The body argues that the Federal Government has violated obligations to protect and uphold the human rights of those affected, and provide them with access to justice and effective remedies.
The suit, filed on behalf of SERAP by its lawyer, Kolawole Oluwadare, reads in part: “The Federal Government has the legal obligations to address the calamitous consequences of flooding for the human rights of millions of people, and prevent and address the consequences that climate change may reap on human rights.
The Punch reports that a crisis appears to be brewing over the ownership of the Kolmani Oil and Gas field as both Bauchi and Gombe States in northern Nigeria have started laying claims to the oil wells.
Officials and residents of the two states have also accused each other of attempting to appropriate the site which is said to contain one billion barrels of crude oil reserves and 500 billion standard cubic feet of gas.
The development is coming barely two weeks after the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), inaugurated oil exploration at the Kolmani oil field by the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited and its joint venture partners.
Kolmani in North-East Nigeria reportedly has oil in commercial quantities with Oil Prospecting Licences 809 and 810, cutting across Kolmani One, Two, Three, Four and Five.
Speaking during the event, Buhari disclosed that the project has attracted over $3bn investments so far.
The president said, “We are pleased with the current discovery of over 1b barrels of oil reserves and 500 billion Cubic Feet of Gas within the Kolmani area and the huge potential for more deposits as we intensify exploration efforts.’’
“It is, therefore, to the credit of this administration that at a time when there is near zero appetite for investment in fossil energy, coupled with the location challenges, we are able to attract investment of over $3bn to this project,” he added.
Buhari noted that the governors of Bauchi and Gombe states had given assurances of their unwavering commitment and willingness to ensure support and cooperation in the localities.
However, the governors’ assurances seemed to have been forgotten as the two states declared that they were the rightful owners of the oil-rich field.
The newspaper says that the number of active telecommunication subscribers hit 214.35 million in October, according to new industry statistics from the Nigerian Communications Commission.
This is the highest number of recorded telecoms subscribers in the nation since the total number of subscribers peaked at 207.58 million in October 2020, months before the SIM-NIN linkage.
On what has driven subscriber growth in 2022, telcos disclosed that more subscribers were getting new SIMs in a bid to circumvent restrictions on SIMs that had not been linked with their National Identification Numbers.
In MTN’s third quarter release, its Chief Executive Officer, Karl Toriola, said, “As a result, the average daily gross connection was 48.1 per cent above the pre-directive level, partly driven by the cohort of subscribers who were initially restricted and opted to register new SIMs.
“Combined with increased usage from the existing base, these have supported an acceleration in the service revenue growth recovery and mitigated the impact of churn on the base.”
The consistent growth witnessed in the number of telecoms subscribers in 2022 aligns with GSMA’s growth prediction for the industry.
According to the global industry’s association, Nigeria has a sizeable number of its population under the age of 18, indicating that its subscriber growth would remain strong for the foreseeable future as more young consumers crossed into adulthood and subscribed to mobile services.
The Punch also reports that the Nigerian Railway Corporation has opened the online ticket portal for Abuja-Kaduna rail services, The PUNCH learnt on Sunday.
Our correspondent gathered that passengers booked ahead of the resumption date scheduled on Monday (today).
This is coming a week after the Minister of Transportation, Mu’azu Sambo, announced the extension of the train services.
Findings by our correspondent, who visited the Idu rail station on Sunday, revealed that staff of the corporation were seen at the station with some engineers who were working on the escalator.
“The government has opened the portal and some people have bought tickets already. I see a few seats remaining, but even some coaches have been taken.”
The PUNCH had reported that terrorists attacked the Abuja-Kaduna train on March 28, 2022, kidnapping 168 passengers and killing eight others.
GIK/APA