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Jonathan Julius Berger: President Buhari others express confidence in construction leader’s capabilities at Ground-breaking ceremony of Oloibiri Museum and Research Centre Sylva

Julius Berger: President Buhari, Jonathan, Sylva, others express confidence in construction leader’s capabilities at Ground-breaking ceremony of Oloibiri Museum and Research Centre

 

. We will deliver the project, and in due time, assures JBN MD, Engr. Dr. Lars Richter

 

President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed implicit confidence in the ability of Julius Berger Nigeria Plc to deliver on critical construction works even as he enjoined the country’s leading construction company to once again prove its historically established, trusted and reliable engineering construction competence.

 

Represented by the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, the President spoke at the ground-breaking ceremony of the Oloibiri Museum and Research Centre and the Local Content Conference Hotel both in Bayelsa state Tuesday just as former President, Goodluck Jonathan among other guests at the event lauded the award of the construction contract to Julius Berger Nigeria Plc saying that the project is in safe professional hands.

 

According to the President, “I trust Julius Berger will deliver the project in due time and according to specifications and timeline meant for its completion.”

 

He encouraged Julius Berger to, in its usual operational practice, carry their host communities along in executing the projects. Noting that the Federal Government has put needed machinery in place, including funding arrangements to ensure hitch-free delivery of the project, President Buhari urged the communities to own and protect the projects, he emphasized the need for the contractors to comply with the Community Content Guidelines of the Nigeria Content Development and Monitoring Board, NCDMB Act.

 

Said Buhari, “I hereby direct the contractors to integrate the host communities and their traditional institutions and skilled youths in the various scopes of the projects.

He further added that, “I also expect that you will build capacities where necessary to ensure a hitch-free project delivery. Specifically, I recommend that the contractors should study the Community Content Guidelines issued by the NCDMB.”

 

For the Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, Mr. Simbi Waribote, “Julius Berger is a reputable construction company in Nigeria and it is not a stranger to this terrain. I have no doubt it will put up a befitting edifice here for this project.”

Bayelsa state governor, Senator Douye Diri represented by his deputy, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mallam Mele Kyari, the Managing Director, Niger Delta Development Commission, Chief Samuel Ogboku and the Obanobhan of Ogbia Kingdom, His Majesty, King Charles Owaba and a representative of Otuabagi, Prof. Teddy Adias expressed similar confidence in Julius Berger to do the needful on the project even as they respectively pledged their cooperation for the success of the project.

 

Tracing the history of Nigeria’s oil industry and its developmental impact on the country to the discovery of petroleum in commercial quantities in Oloibiri in 1956, Julius Berger’s Managing Director, Engr. Dr. Lars Richter, in his speech at the event stated that, “the Oloibiri Museum will showcase the history of the oil industry in Nigeria and the region, providing a platform to reflect on the past, present and the future of the industry. ” Richter added that the Oloibiri museum will also be “an essential center for education and research, providing a valuable resource of scholars, students and researchers. ”

 

In his now widely acknowledged proactive interest in the well-being of Julius Berger’s host communities, the company’s MD, Engr.Dr. Lars Richter also said that, “…the (Oloibiri) museum will also celebrate the unique cultural heritage of the people of Oloibiri, showcasing their life, traditions and contributions to Nigeria’s development.” He further added that “…this museum will become a source of inspiration, a place to learn and reflect, a platform for dialogue and engagement. ”

 

Dr. Richter thanked the Project Shareholders, the Petroleum Technology Development  Fund (PTDF), the Nigerian Content Development & Monitoring Board (NCDMB), the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) and the Bayelsa State Government for promoting the iconic project, and for choosing Julius Berger as the prefered contractor to deliver the Olibiri Museum. Pledging the company’s professionalism and proven track records in project accomplishment, Engr. Dr. Lars Richter said, “I am confident, and without doubt, that with the strong commitment of our client and the project shareholders, Julius Berger will unfailingly deliver on the project requirements, and on time.”

 

Other important dignitaries at the ceremony included His Excellency, the Governor of Bayelsa State,  Douye Diri, the Honorable Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, His Excellency Timipre Sylva, the Executive Secretary of Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Simbi Wabote, the Executive Secretary, Petroleum Technology Development  Fund (PTDF), Dr. Bello Aliyu Gusau, the Chairman of Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, Mutiu Sunmonu, CON; and the Managing Director of Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), Osagie Okunbor.

 

The Oloibiri Museum and Research Center is being erected at the location where commercial quantities of oil was first discovered in 1957 by Royal Dutch Shell.
The historical  museum is coming sixty-six years after the epochal discovery of hydrocarbon resources, which became a strategic and positive turning point for the Nigerian economy.

Furthermore, the Centre is being developed as a collaboration between the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) and the Bayelsa State Government (BYSG).

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) had on February 8, 2023 awarded the contract for the Phase-1 Engineering, Procurement & Construction of the OMRC to Julius Berger. When completed, the Centre will aid the retention of historical artefacts of Nigeria’s oil and gas journey, dissemination of knowledge across generations, creation of an attractive destination for tourists, and the restoration of the image of the Oloibiri community among other numerous benefits.

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4TH  FEBRUARY2023 ALONG JOS ROAD LAFIA NASARAWA SAN AT THE OFFICIAL COMMISSIONING OF THE FEDERAL SECRETARIAT COMPLEX IN BUKAR SIDI SPEECH DELIVERED BY H.E BABATUNDE RAJI FASHOLA STATE ON SATURDAY

SPEECH DELIVERED BY H.E BABATUNDE RAJI FASHOLA, SAN AT THE OFFICIAL COMMISSIONING OF THE FEDERAL SECRETARIAT COMPLEX IN BUKAR SIDI, ALONG JOS ROAD , LAFIA, NASARAWA, STATE ON SATURDAY, 4TH  FEBRUARY2023  

Mr President, on behalf of the honourable Minister of State, Works and Housing, the Permanent Secretary and all the directors and members of staff of the Ministry of Works and Housing, I welcome you to the site of the Federal Secretariat Complex in Lafia, Nasarawa State and say with pride that we delivered on your mandate.

 

I also wish to state that we did not do it alone. It has taken the effort of an entire village to complete this project.

 

Members of this village include my colleagues in the Federal Executive Council, who voted for this project to be resurrected and completed, the Chairmen of the Senate and House committees on Housing and their members who oversighted the project and the National Assembly as a whole who approved the budget.

 

Other prominent members of that village include various permanent secretaries and directors of public building in a ministry who kept faith and pushed against the odds.

 

The village was large enough to accommodate the state Government actors to work with Federal Government actors; and the Governors of Nasarawa State from H.E Tanko Almakura and later, Engr. Abdullahi Sule, the incumbent Governor, deserve acknowledgement and commendation for their contributions and support.

 

The peaceful environment provided by the people of Nasarawa enabled the private sector, through our contractor, Messrs Faplins Nigeria Limited to operate within our village of development.

 

Interestingly, the Company is owned by one Chief Linus Ukachukwu, M.O.N, a leading light of the main opposition party in Anambra State.

 

Although your emergence as President threw Chief Ukachukwu’s party out of Government, you did not throw Chief Ukachukwu out of business.

 

Mr. President, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, the fulfilment of your mandate has delivered, a built-up area of 6,756 m2 of 402 offices, 300parking spaces on 10.9 hectares of land.

 

In the process, 172 persons were indirectly employed and engaged during the construction process. The furniture was produced in Nigeria by an indigenous contractor in conformity with your Executive Order No. 5 aimed at promoting local content.

 

Since the completion, we have engaged a firm of facility managers to undertake scheduled and preventive maintenance in the spirit of Executive Order No.11 for the promotion and development of the maintenance economy, as part of our job creation and prosperity initiative to lift people out of poverty.

 

I am able to report that the maintenance economy is also spreading across Nigeria because we have, in addition to rehabilitating 28 existing federal secretariats, employed facility managers for them and each facility manager now employs at least 40 members in sustainable long-term jobs which were not available before the maintenance programme commenced.

 

Mr. President, my team and I are grateful for the privilege and opportunity to serve in this capacity and for your support throughout the period.

 

Thank you.

 

 

Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN

Honourable Minister of Works and Housing

 

 

PRESS RELEASE

 

LAGOS, FIRS SIGN JOINT TAX AUDIT AGREEMENT 

 

  • Sanwo-Olu: ‘Collaboration to check double taxation, widen tax base’

 

Lagos State Government has sealed a bilateral agreement with the Federal Government to harmonise tax administration, raise system efficiency and proffer solution to challenges of multiple taxation.

 

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Monday, presided over a ceremony where Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and Lagos State Inland Revenue Service (LIRS) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a joint tax audit system that will address duplication of efforts and facilitate exchange of data that are relevant to enforcement of extant tax laws.

 

Minister of State for Finance, Mr. Clem Agba, witnessed the agreement signing event held the State House in Marina, which also had Commissioner for Finance, Dr. Rabiu Olowo, Lagos Attorney General, Mr. Moyosore Onigbanjo, SAN, Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Hon. Sam Egube, and Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Gbenga Omotoso, in attendance.

 

Aside from offering joint jurisdiction in tax audit and bringing about an integrated system of tax compliance, the scope of the MoU also empowered both tax authorities to exchange information sourced under International Tax Treaties in line with global protocols, while creating a common tax collection platform to eliminate double taxation.

 

Sanwo-Olu described the collaboration as “epoch-making”, noting that the conversation for the harmonization of the two agencies’ mandates started about a year ago, based on the need to forge a common front in widening the tax net to raise the country’s tax to GDP ratio.

 

The Governor observed that Nigeria had maintained an unimpressive tax to GDP ratio of between 6 to 8 per cent, despite the yearly record-breaking turnovers by both FIRS and LIRS. This, he said, has mounted pressure on the nation’s resources and created an imbalance in Government’s expenditure. Sanwo-Olu said Nigeria must operate at the same level with other nations within sub-Saharan Africa doing between 14 and 15 per cent in tax to GDP ratio in order to support the Government’s development programmes and improve accountability.

 

He said: “We have just witnessed an epoch-making ceremony between the Federal Inland Revenue Service and Lagos Inland Revenue Service. This collaboration did not just happen by chance; it is a conversation we started about a year ago with the chairman of FIRS when both parties reviewed their successes and limitations. It was clear there was a need for a relationship to be consummated. Both FIRS and LIRS have been breaking records of their tax collection and administration yearly, but this is not enough. We have an unimpressive tax to GDP ratio, which ranges between six and eight per cent; this is totally unacceptable.

 

“Studies have shown that there would be better service delivery to the citizens and improvement in efficiency of tax collection when the two agencies work together. The cost of tax collection would be reduced, we would see better customer satisfaction and more resources would be generated for the Government to deliver more dividends of democracy. For us as a State, we are humble by this collaborative effort and we believe our citizens will be the ultimate beneficiaries of this initiative. The MoU is in the best interest of the public, as it affirms the reason why we need to come together and strengthen the cordial working relationship between the two agencies.”

 

Sanwo-Olu said the bilateral agreement was initiated not to overburden tax-paying citizens, stressing that the objective was to widen the tax base and bring more people to equitability. With a sustainable tax administration system, the Governor said more resources would accrue to the Government to reduce social burden and take care of the vulnerable.

 

The Governor observed that the sizes of Lagos’s budget were significantly lesser than what the State should be appropriating. He said the market study indicated a N5 trillion budget benchmark for the State, given the size of the State economy’s GDP. With the collaborative effort, Sanwo-Olu said Lagos may have been on the right track to raise its budget level to what it should be.

 

He said: “Our Government will continue to raise the bar, so that we can do a lot more with more resources. This collaboration is not to overburden our citizens; it is to widen the tax base and bring people to equitability. This will reduce social burden, because we would have enough resources to take care of the vulnerable.

 

“This collaboration is a win-win for both agencies and our citizens. It means the Government can do a lot more for the residents and provide resources to take care of their needs in health, in education, safety and security, and in everything that makes life meaningful to our people. We are set to remove red tape in the entire tax administration. This is another beginning for a mutually beneficial relationship between FIRS and LIRS.”

 

Agba said the dwindling oil revenue necessitated the need to expand the nation’s tax base to fund development projects. The minister said duplication of efforts by both agencies would lower the efficiency of both Lagos and Federal governments in resource generation, while limiting both parties to collect tax.

 

The collaboration, the minister said, would not short-change each party, but rather bolster the parties to raise finance to bridge infrastructure gap in their respective domains.

 

FIRS chairman, Mr. Mohammed Nami, said the MoU would help both agencies to build capacity in respective areas of specialisation while helping Lagos and Federal governments to raise revenues for projects and development programmes.

 

“We will work together as a team during the investigation and have an automatic exchange of information. With this, we will be able to carry out our mandate seamlessly. As part of the joint operation, we will be able to implement presumptive tax as far as issues of tax administration are concerned,” Nami said.

 

LIRS chairman, Mr. Ayo Subair, said the collaboration would bring about quick solutions to tax disputes and incidents, thereby creating seamless reconciliation of issues. He listed other expectations to include reduced administration costs for both tax authorities and the elimination of hiding places for recalcitrant taxable persons and entities.

 

SIGNED

GBOYEGA AKOSILE

CHIEF PRESS SECRETARY

06 FEBRUARY 2023

 

PRESS RELEASE

 

SANWO-OLU COMMISERATES WITH FUNKE AKINDELE OVER MOTHER’S DEATH

 

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu has sympathized with the deputy governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in Lagos, Ms Funke Akindele over the death of her beloved mother, Dr. RB Adebanjo-Akindele.

 

Governor Sanwo-Olu, in a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Gboyega Akosile on Tuesday said it is often hard to find the right words at a time like this for someone who has lost a beloved person, noting that losing mothers is one of the deepest sorrows for man.

 

The Governor prayed for peace, comfort, courage and love for Funke, his immediate siblings, the Adebanjo and Akindele families as they go through a most difficult period of mourning of the dead.

 

He said: “My heart goes out to Funke, friends of the Adebanjo and Akindele families on the demise of their daughter, mother and grandmother, Dr. RB Adebanjo-Akindele who answered the ultimate call today, Tuesday 7th of February, 2023.

 

“Death of loved ones, whenever it happens, is usually a very painful episode but we must be consoled by the good life lived by the deceased person. We should relish in the beautiful memories the dead left behind for us.

 

The Governor urged the PDP Deputy Governorship candidate, to be comforted by the good life that her late mother lived and continue to pray for the repose of Dr. RB Adebanjo-Akindele.

 

“On behalf of my family and the good people of Lagos State, I hereby express my heartfelt condolences to the entire families and friends of Adebanjo and Akindele.

 

May God grant the soul of the departed eternal rest and the families the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.

 

 

SIGNED

GBOYEGA AKOSILE

CHIEF PRESS SECRETARY

TO THE GOVERNOR OF LAGOS STATE

7TH FEBRUARY, 2023

 

 

Rivers PDP 2023 Election Campaign Council Faults Allegation By Atiku’s Supporters

 

The Director-General of Rivers State Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) Campaign Council, Bro Felix Obuah has dismissed as hollow and baseless the allegation by Atiku’s supporters in the state against Governor Nyesom Wike as the mastermind of the arrest of some members of the group by the police.

Bro. Obuah who picked holes in the allegation said the statement contradicted itself with the differing positions of the spokesman for the group, Victor Moses and the spokesman of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council in the State, Leloonu Nwibubasa who denied knowledge of the incident to a news outlet in Port Harcourt.

This shows, according to the PDP 2023 Election Campaign Council that the reason for the police arrest if there was any arrest at all, could be personal and had nothing to do with politics let alone involving the Executive Governor of the State who could not descend so low to get involved in infantile campaign groups.

Bro. Obuah, the immediate State PDP Chairman and frontline politician in Rivers State described as unfortunate the evolving culture of drawing attention to unfounded issues and inconsequential persons by mentioning the name, and pointing accusing fingers at the person of the Governor simply to make news.

He however, expressed joy that the security operatives and law enforcement agencies are not lost to this misnomer and will always bring their professional expertise to bear in handling such matters.

Bro. Obuah also warned those in this habit of fomenting trouble in the state for whatever motives to note that misinformation and disinformation remain a serious offence and breach of the Nigerian law.

The PDP Campaign Council DG, appealed to the supporters of the Rivers PDP governorship candidate, Sir Siminalayi Fubara and all the other PDP candidates in the state to disregard such insinuations meant to distract their attention and remain vigilant and steadfast in their support for Governor Nyesom Wike and the State PDP-led government.

Signed

 

Jerry Needam

Secretary,

Directorate of Publicity & Communication

Rivers State PDP Campaign Council

 

Tuesday, February 7, 2023

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Lawyers call CUPP leaders halfwits mount pressure on Buhari

Lawyers call CUPP leaders halfwits, mount pressure on Buhari

  • Say Commander Uchendu Akalezi actions denting Armed Forces image

A firm of legal practitioners, Demaki & Demaki, on Wednesday clarified its petition to President Muhammadu Bubari

‘’Our petition to the President was evidently laced with proofs on the modus operandi of the said Navy Commander Uchendu Nicholas Akalezi in taking out political opponents of the Governor of Kogi State.

The legal firm also said an offence was committed by the Commander of Navy Special Forces; Commander Uchendu Nicholas Akalezi and the families of the victims of Commander Akalezi’s brutality, killings, kidnappings and maiming in exercising their constitutional rights engaged the services of law firm which in turn petitioned the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to investigate the atrocities committed by Commander Uchendu Nicholas Akalezi and bring him to justice.

‘’There was never a place in our petition to the President or the Chief of Naval Staff where the Nigeria Military was berated; rather we informed Mr. President that the actions of Navy Commander Uchendu Akalezi were denting the image of the disciplined members of the Nigeria Armed Forces. We refer members of the public to paragraph 12 of our open petition to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on the 29th day of January, 2023’’.

In another petition to President Buhari, the law firm said its earlier petitions stated the names of the victims of Commander Uchendu Nicholas Akalezi, the dates and time these persons were either kidnapped, killed and molested by Commander Uchendu Nicholas Akalezi’.

Entitled ‘’ The urgent need to arrest and prosecute politicians trying to scuttle the 2023 elections by blackmailing our military, the legal firm said those who signed the said petition by the Coalition of the United Political Parties to President Muhammadu Buhari do not know the meaning of a Petition and the difference between a petition and blackmail.

‘’That if the said undersigned to the said petition of the Coalition of United Political Parties painstakingly read through our law firm’s petition to President Muhammadu Buhari, they would have seen that we were briefed by the families of the victims of the abductions, killings and intimidation of Navy Commander Charles Akalezi who is the personal hitman of the Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello to take out perceived political opponents of the Governor’’.

The legal practitioners emphasized the purpose for responding to the CUPP petition.

‘’As a firm of Legal Practitioners; we would not have replied the vexatious, monetary induced and biased petition by the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) written to President Muhammadu Buhari on the 31st of January, 2023 but for the sake of posterity and to further set the records straight ‘’

Calling the Coalition of United Political Parties a tool being used by the Government of Kogi State to further frustrate and truncate our petitions to the President and Chief of Naval of Staff to investigate Navy Commander Uchendu Nicholas Akalezi and bring him to justice, the law firm said every right thinking person or organization who goes through its petitions to the President and that of the Chief of Naval Staff will support it and call for the investigation of Commander Uchendu Nicholas Akalezi and if found culpable be brought to justice.

“ A Petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or a public entity. It is evident that the undersigned of the CUPP petition are meddlesome interlopers who have no business in the petition our law firm wrote to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and they have no right in berating our law firm in carrying out its constitutional duties as lawyers and solicitors of the Federal Republic of Nigeria’’.

They described CUPP leaders as halfwits.

‘’That if we are sure of our claims, the proper channel to bring Commander Akalezi to justice is through Fundamental Rights Application. It clearly shows that CUPP despite boasting of having Professionals and Intellectuals in their Midst are halfwits and clearly don’t understand our claims. Our claim and accusations against Commander Uchendu Nicholas Akalezi is criminal in nature to wit Kidnappings, killings and maiming of our Clients and it is in that regards we have petitioned the President, The Chief of Naval Staff and the Inspector General of Police whom are empowered by law to investigate Crimes committed against the Citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria’’.

The letter signed by the firm’s Principal partner, Shedrack M. Demaki ESQ urged Nigerians to ask the members of the Coalition of United Political Parties the interest they are serving.

‘’Why is CUPP crying more than the accused? The ball is now in your court; Coalition of United Political Parties. We wish to state if the Governor of kogi State and Commander Uchendu Nicholas Akalezi hands are clean and our accusations are frivolous let them come out and defend same instead of hiding under CUPP who have clearly shown their bias and are only interested in their selfish gains’’

The legal practitioners called on the President to use his good Office to call the Chief of Naval Staff to order the investigation, arrest of Commander Uchendu Nicholas Akalezi for him to be brought to justice for all his crimes and atrocities.

‘’One begins to wonder when the Coalition of United Political Parties became the mouthpiece of Mr. President and the Chief of Naval Staff or that of the Governor of Kogi State.

 

……………………………………………………………………………….

 

 

1 st February, 2023

HIS EXCELLENCY, PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI, PRESIDENT AND COMMANDER IN CHIEF, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA,

STATE HOUSE,

FCT ABUJA

SIR, RE:THE URGENT NEED TO ARREST AND PROSECUTE POLITICIANS TRYING TO SCUTTLE THE 2023 ELECTIONS BY BLACKMAILING OUR MILITARY. The above subject matter refers.

As a firm of Legal Practitioners; we would not have replied the vexatious, monetary induced and biased petition by the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) written to President Muhammadu Buhari on the 31st of January, 2023 but for the sake of posterity and to further set the records straight hence this rejoinder and we state as follows;

  1. That if the said undersigned to the said petition of the Coalition of United Political Parties painstakingly read through our law firm’s petition to President Muhammadu Buhari, they would have seen that we were briefed by the families of the victims of the abductions, killings and intimidation of Navy Commander Charles Akalezi who is the personal hitman of the Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello to take out perceived political opponents of the Governor.
  2. That our petition to the President was evidently laced with proofs on the modus operandi of the said Navy Commander Uchendu Nicholas Akalezi in taking out political opponents of the Governor of Kogi State. Our petitions further stated the names of the victims of Commander Uchendu Nicholas Akalezi, the dates and time these persons were either kidnapped, killed and molested by Commander Uchendu Nicholas Akalezi.
  3. It is very shameful that the dimwits who signed the said petition by the Coalition of the United Political Parties to President Muhammadu Buhari do not know the meaning of a Petition and the difference between a petition and blackmail. For their Education and to illuminate their brains and mind we hereby define the meaning of Petition for their understanding; “ A Petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or a public entity” From the above definition of the word “PETITION” it is evident that the undersigned of the CUPP petition are meddlesome interlopers who have no business in the petition our law firm wrote to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and they have no right in berating our law firm in carrying out its constitutional duties as lawyers and solicitors of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
  4. We further state that an offence has been committed by the Commander of Navy Special Forces; Commander Uchendu Nicholas Akalezi and the families of the victims of Commander Akalezi brutality, killings, kidnappings and maiming in exercising their constitutional rights engaged the services of law firm which in turn petitioned the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to investigate the atrocities committed by Commander Uchendu Nicholas Akalezi and bring him to justice.
  5. That there was never a place in our petition to the President or the Chief of Naval Staff where the Nigeria Military was berated, rather we informed Mr. President that the actions of Navy Commander Uchendu Akalezi was denting the image of the disciplined members of the Nigeria Armed Forces. We refer members of the public to paragraph 12 of our open petition to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on the 29th day of January, 2023.

Flowing from the above indices, one begins to wonder when the Coalition of United Political Parties became the mouthpiece of Mr. President and the Chief of Naval Staff or that of the Governor of Kogi State.

It clearly shows that the Coalition of United Political Parties is now also a tool being used by the Government of Kogi State to further frustrate and truncate our petitions to the President and Chief of Naval of Staff to investigate Navy Commander Uchendu Nicholas Akalezi and bring him to justice.

Every right thinking person or organization who goes through our petitions to the President and that of the Chief of Naval Staff will support it and call for the investigation of Commander Uchendu Nicholas Akalezi and if found culpable be brought to justice.

We further wish to correct an impression CUPP is trying to create that if we are sure of our claims, the proper channel to bring Commander Akalezi to justice is through Fundamental Rights Application. It clearly shows that CUPP despite boasting of having Professionals and Intellectuals in their Midst are halfwits and clearly don’t understand our claims. Our claim and accusations against Commander Uchendu Nicholas Akalezi is criminal in nature to wit Kidnappings, killings and maiming of our Clients and it is in that regards we have petitioned the President, The Chief of Naval Staff and the Inspector General of Police whom are empowered by law to investigate Crimes committed against the Citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The question Nigerians need to ask the undersigned of the Coalition of United Political Parties is whose interest are they serving?

Why is CUPP crying more than the accused? All these questions are begging for answers. The ball is now in your court; Coalition of United Political Parties. We also wish to state if the Governor of kogi State and Commander Uchendu Nicholas Akalezi hands are clean and our accusations are frivolous, let them come out and defend the same instead of hiding under CUPP who have clearly shown their bias and are only interested in their selfish gains. Finally, we call on the President to use his good Office to call the Chief of Naval Staff to order the investigation, arrest of Commander Uchendu Nicholas Akalezi for him to be brought to justice for all his crimes and atrocities.

Yours Faithfully

For: DEMAKI & DEMAKI

SHEDRACK .M. DEMAKI ESQ

(PRINCIPAL PARTNER)

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Julius Berger: Gov Sanwo-Olu Inspects Ongoing Opebi-Mende-Ojota link bridges and roads Project

Julius Berger: Gov Sanwo-Olu Inspects Ongoing Opebi-Mende-Ojota link bridges and roads Project

 

  • Lagos Governor commends good pace of the works and high engineering standards of Julius Berger on site

 

Lagos State Governor, His Excellency Babajide Sanwo-olu has commended Julius Berger Nigeria Plc for the quality and progress of the ongoing works being executed on the Opebi-Mende-Ojota link bridges and roads project.  The project is conceived by the Lagos State Government to ease the flow of traffic on the critical axis from Ikeja as well as to mitigate the intense inbound traffic from Ibadan into Lagos.

 

Sanwo-Olu announced the commencement of the construction of the project January 26, 2022 revealing that it was conceived over 20 years ago. He thus described the project as a legacy of his administration to ease the burden of commuters.

 

Months into the project, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Works and Infrastructures, Engr. Mrs Aramide Adeyoye recalled that with a total length of 3.9 kilometres, the project was designed to provide direct link between Opebi, Mende, Maryland and Ojota to Ikorodu road. Adding that the bridge would reduce the perennial traffic on Mobolaji Bank-Anthony Way, and traffic on other roads around the environment, Aramide said the project, designed in conjunction with the Lagos State Ministry of Transportation, will not only provide infrastructure solution, but also a transport solution that ensures value and relief for the motoring public.

 

During his assessment visit to the site Monday, the Governor inspected the precast site and the site of the major bridge where tremendous progress has been accomplished in the laying of beams on the pillar frameworks of the bridges being constructed.

 

On completion of the inspection, the Governor told Julius Berger engineers on site: ‘‘I thank you very much. It is great to see this vision coming to such good reality. Keep it up. I thank the staff of the state ministry of works too.‘‘

 

Project Manager, Engr. Dennysenko later said: ‘‘…we are aware of the importance and relevance of this project to the economy and ease of life for the people of Lagos State. So we will not fail in doing what we are expected to do to put in place the much- needed relief to commuters and residents in the affected areas.‘‘ Engr. Dennysenko, with profound professional confidence, added that‚ ‘‘…Julius Berger is committed to join the government in its efforts to  provide infrastructure that would be complemented by decent inter-modal transportation system, befitting of a mega city like Lagos.‘‘

 

On the governor’s entourage were the State Commissioners for Budget, Sam Egube, the Commissioner for Transportation, Dr. Frederic Oladeinde and the Special Adviser on Works and Infrastructures Engr. Mrs Aramide Adeyoye, among others.

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Julius Berger is a company that strongly benchmarks engineering professionalism in Nigeria

Julius Berger is a company that strongly benchmarks engineering professionalism in Nigeria

Julius Berger- NSE news

–Nigerian Society of Engineers at Lagos Awards Ceremony

Julius Berger Nigeria Plc has been described as a company habitually, brilliantly benchmarking engineering professionalism in the country; always intentional and progressive in its policy to make life comfortable and easy for the Nigerian people through its project implementation plans, works and ancilary initiatives.

Speaking at its 2023 Annual Public Lecture, Awards Ceremony and General Meeting in Lagos Thursday, Chairman of the Lagos Chapter of the Nigerian Institution of Highways and Transportation Engineers, NIHTE, Engr. Adenuga Opanuga, Mnse said, Julius Berger among others is full of wisdom to make life comfortable for all by the way they professionally discharge their contractual responsibilities in their sector. We have been on with Julius Berger in the past three years and we have all along worked together for good.‘

Adding that the frontline engineering construction company has made so much positive impact on lives in Nigeria, Engr. Opanuga said, ‘that is why they are deserving of the unique Award The Company for Engineering Construction of Highways in Nigeria.‘

He praised the widening landscape for Nigerian professionals in engineering construction practice, saying that the pioneering, sustained and enduring efforts of Julius Berger largely accounted for the positive development.

Our awardees are well respected, experienced, professionals, individuals, agents, companies and organisations who have made vital and important contributions in various fields of engineering, most especially, on highway and transportation engineering in Nigeria, he concluded.

The Lagos Chapter Chairman of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, Engr. Adekunle Bello, Mnse, in his welcome address said that the Awards ceremony was ‘a recognition for professionals and corporate organisations who have contributed immensely to the growth and development of the engineering profession in different areas of the society.‘

In all, 15 individual and three corporate Awards were given at the event jointly organised by the Lagos Branch of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, NSE and the Nigerian Institution of Highways and Transportation Engineers, NIHTE.

Speaking after receiving the award on behalf of Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, leader of the company’s team to the event, Engr. Adegbenga Osunlana expressed gratitude to the Nigerian Society of Engineers, NSE, and the Nigerian Institution of Highways and Transportation Engineers, NIHTE, for deeming the company worthy of the award saying that, ‘…we are appreciative of this award and we thank you for it.‘ Emphasising that Julius Berger has produced and continues to produce good and productive engineers, he said, ‘…thankfully, they are making their marks in their endeavours.‘ He mentioned the current Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor on Works and Infrastructures, Engr. (Mrs) Aramide Adeyoye and the Managing Director of Prodeco Engineering Services, Engr. Simeon Olayemi Alabi, both former staff of Julius Berger Nigeria Plc making their marks in the larger society.

Besides Engr. Osunlana, other members of the Julius Berger team at the event were Engr. Rasheedat Anifowoshe and Emmanuel Isibor.

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including our brothers and sisters that participated in or supported the purported interim regime this is a victory for ALL Okpe

This is a victory for ALL Okpe, including our brothers and sisters that participated in or supported the purported interim regime

19th January, 2023.

 

OKPE UNION NEC PRESS RELEASE ON THE FEDERAL HIGH COURT JUDGEMENT ON THE OKPE UNION SUIT

 

Earlier today, the Lead Counsel in our substantive case at the Federal High Court, Lagos, Barr. Victor Ogude, SAN, informed the National Executive Council (NEC) of the Okpe Union that the judgement has been delivered in favour of the Okpe Union led by Prof Igho Natufe.

 

Recall that the elected National Executive Council of the Okpe Union had approached the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos to, among other reliefs:

 

  1. Determine if the purported dissolution of the elected National Executive Council and imposition of another by the Orodje of Okpe on the 3rd of October, 2020 was illegal and if so declare the action void and of no effect whatsoever.
  2. For AN ORDER of Perpetual Injunction restraining the 1st Defendant and other members of his interim management committee (Prof. Idolor group) from parading themselves as the Management Committee of the Plaintiff.
  3. For AN ORDER of perpetual injunction restraining the 2nd Defendant (the Corporate Affairs Commission), their servants, agents and/or privies from recognizing, processing, considering, assenting, conferring legitimacy  or giving effect to any  act, directive or process initiated by the 1st and 3rd Defendants (Prof. Idolor led group and the Orodje of Okpe) to manage or take over the affairs of the Okpe Union.

 

Since the purported dissolution, the democratically elected leadership of the Okpe Union sought avenues for a peaceful resolution of the conflict with HRM Orhue l to no avail. Believing in the righteousness of our position, anchored on the imperative of democratic practice and the need to enthrone and sustain democracy in Okpe Nation, we sued the leadership of the illegal interim regime and prayed the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos to prohibit them from parading themselves as leaders of the Okpe Union. In his judgement today, January 19, 2023, Hon. Justice Ambrose Lewis Allagoa ruled in our favour as all our reliefs against the illegal interim regime were granted. In the view of a highly respected Okpe elder, this was “an avoidable” conflict if only reason had prevailed on October 3, 2020.

 

While the judgement is a huge victory for the Okpe Union, we strongly emphasize that it is primarily a victory for the entire Okpe Nation as it establishes a solid base for the building of democratic institutions in Okpe Kingdom. It is a victory for pluralism in Okpe Nation and respect for the Constitution and autonomy of the Okpe Union.

 

Thus, this is a victory for ALL Okpe, including our brothers and sisters that participated in or supported the purported interim regime. They are welcome to any of the branches of Okpe Union. The Okpe Union tent is big enough to accommodate all Okpe that are genuinely interested and committed to the articulation and recognition of Okpe as a distinct ethnic nationality, and not a sub-group of any ethnic nationality.  It remains our firm belief that the growth and development of Okpe Nation can only be achieved via a successful pursuit of the Okpe Identity agenda.

In conclusion, we thank members of the Okpe Union in Nigeria, and in the Diaspora as well as other Okpe nationals for their steadfast support of the Union. Let us continue this exceptional spirit of unity that has defined the trajectory of Okpe Union since its inception in 1930.

 

God Bless the Okpe Union!

God Bless the Orodje of Okpe Kingdom!

God Bless the Okpe Nation!

 

Signed:

 

*Prof. O. Igho Natufe,*

President General.

 

*Akpederin Kingsley Ehensiri Esq.,*

General Secretary.

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ASIWAJU FRAMEWORK FOR POWER AND ENERGY REFORM BEING THE SUBJECT OF THE 2ND EDITION SYMPOSIUM TAGGED DISSECTING THE ASIWAJU MANIFESTO CBD ABUJA ON THE 18TH JANUARY 2023 AT THE SHEHU MUSA YAR’ADUA CENTRE

ASIWAJU FRAMEWORK FOR POWER AND ENERGY REFORM, BEING THE SUBJECT OF THE 2ND EDITION SYMPOSIUM TAGGED DISSECTING THE ASIWAJU MANIFESTO, ON THE 18TH JANUARY 2023 AT THE SHEHU MUSA YAR’ADUA CENTRE, CBD ABUJA

 

I have challenged people to ask themselves if they can remember anything the main opposition committed to, when they were elected in 1999 and for the 16 years they allowed Nigeria to drift without any clear policy direction or articulation.

 

Other than slogans like “Transformation Agenda” whose details were undisclosed, during a period of prolific earnings from very elevated international crude oil prices, to a “Seven Point Agenda,” which later became a “Five Point Agenda” I am yet to receive a response.

 

Unless it remains hidden under their unreliable umbrella, it must be taken that we surrendered 16 years of our lives to a party from 1999 to 2015, that made no credible promises and no recognisable commitment.

 

To those who may wonder why I choose to start my intervention this way, it is my answer to those who erroneously assert that politics in Nigeria is not about issues. They are wrong.

 

APC came into office by identifying the major issues confronting Nigeria before the 2015 general elections and the National survey conducted showed that the issues at the top of mind of voters were security, corruption and the economy.

 

The APC made clear commitments about how to deal with those issues and got elected.

 

As far as the economy is concerned, one of its necessary drivers is infrastructure to which the APC has vigorously committed herself.

 

The results are manifesting with thousands of kilometres of roads and bridges, expanded airport runways and terminal buildings in 5 international airports, a new seaport in Lekki, the Ajaokuta, Kaduna, Kano Gas Pipeline, train seven of the NLNG, investment in the Dangote Refinery to support private sector initiative for local production of petroleum products as well as the upgrade of four (4) existing refineries.

 

Why are these important you might ask? Our opponents reluctantly acknowledge these giant strides but are unable to connect them to the economic opportunities they offer now to workers, construction companies and suppliers who operate in this economy; and they are unable to see what this means for Nigeria’s economy in the future.

 

On one hand they talk about stimulating the economy by “production, ” but their home economics model does not address how anyone can expect to produce without roads, ports and bridges or gas.

 

They are unable to relate cost push inflation to travel time, the cost of haulage or delays at the port or indeed to how continued importation of petroleum products that they could not reverse in 16 years impacts the cost of living.

 

I doubt whether they appreciate that the port that they privatised has not produced the desired results and it is APC government that has rebuilt the Apapa to Oworonshoki road that evacuates the largest and busiest port in Nigeria, and it is the same government that is building the Lagos – Ibadan Highway that facilitates distribution of goods and services. Yet, they want to privatize more.

 

The importance of this part of my intervention is to demonstrate without a shadow of doubt that infrastructure is the foundation for building any economy following which are policies that herald reforms.

 

The Buhari-led APC government has spent their time in office building this critical hardware of infrastructure and many parts of power sector infrastructure are already being put in place.

 

The agreement with Siemens, under the Presidential Power Initiative, seeks to remedy the shortcomings of the privatisation they undertook in 2013 especially the distribution sector where some of those who acquired the DisCos do not have the necessary financial means to finance the investment required to guarantee power to homes and businesses.

 

These are massive numbers of Distribution transformers and related assets.

 

The Buhari Power Initiative seeks to deliver in 3 phases:

 

  1. Critical and ‘quick win’ interventions to increase the system’s end-to-end operational capacity (currently 5GW) to 7GW;
  2. Distribution Network bottlenecks to enable full use of existing generation and distribution capacities, bringing the system’s operational capacity to 11GW;
  3. Total operational grid capacity of 25 GW in the long term, with commensurate upgrades and expansion of the national generation, transmission and distribution systems.
  4. The building and upgrading of 100 sub-stations critical to distribution.
  5. The purchase of 11 mobile substations to provide relief when local substations need repair or maintenance.
  6. The purchase and installation of 2,906 Distribution Transformers.

 

In the same vein, many of the power plants constructed under the NIPP do not have sufficient gas supply or transmission lines.

 

I visited 23 out of the 28 generation plants in existence at a time. From Geregu to Omotosho to Papalanto and the Enron Power Station, gas supply was being rationed amongst turbines, so that all the existing capacity could rarely be deployed. This is partly what the Ajaokuta, Kaduna, Kano Pipeline Project seeks to address.

 

In other places, it was the transmission capacity that was struggling. This is what the Presidential Power Initiative is responding to by seeking to provide:

 

  1. The installation of Distribution and Transmission lines covering 11,650 Kilometers.

 

The Buhari government has also put in place a policy for mini grids, supported by NERC Regulation No. MERC/-R-/110/17 of 2017 that allows individuals and corporations to generate and distribute off grid, embedded power of 100kw without approval and up to 1Mw with approval.

 

This again puts a lie to the argument the grid needs to be decentralized. It has been decentralized and people need to take full benefit of the policy. The government in office has led with initiatives of embedded power in markets like Ariaria, Sabon Gari and Sura in Aba, Kano and Lagos.

 

There have been initiatives in university campuses, 9 (NINE) in total, with 7 (SEVEN) completed, with Phase 2 for an additional 7 Universities in procurement.

 

These are only part of 67 off-Grid power projects already implemented by the APC Government under the supervision of the Rural Electrification Agency.

 

You might then ask, why are there still power outages? My response is that there is still work to be done. The deployment of mini grids has not yet taken widespread application and this is where the private sector needs to be made more aware of the policy and the regulator needs to be more proactive. I will come to this shortly.

 

The Siemens Presidential Power Plan to address distribution and transmission and the gas projects are works in progress that have started and are at various stages of implementation and completion.

 

This brings me therefore to why we are here. The Asiwaju Framework for Power and Energy Reform.

 

This is well articulated in the APC tradition of identifying issues and proposing solutions; on pages 30 to 32 of Asiwaju’s Action Plan for a Better Nigeria titled Renewed Hope 2023.

 

First, he recognises at page 30 of the plan that the problems cannot be solved overnight.

 

He offers to eliminate the losses between generation and distribution by addressing the transmission problems which the current Presidential Power Initiative has started.

 

He connects with the problem of end users relating to provision of meters and offers support for domestic manufacturing on page 31.

 

This is more than a paper policy. It speaks to many things including Asiwaju’s known commitment for standing with people in need. It tells those who are victims of estimated billing that they are not invisible. It is a message that Asiwaju sees them and offers a solution.

 

It also demonstrates APC’s progressive credentials as a party committed to the improvement of the human condition.

 

The contrasting position is the policy on metering left by the main opposition before 2015, called CAPMI, an acronym for Credit Advanced Payment Metering Implementation which required consumers to advance the cost of their meters to DisCos.

 

The Buhari government inherited this policy from the previous administration and also inherited complaints from the hundreds and thousands of advance payments for meters that were not supplied. In effect, instead of advance payment for meters, it was becoming like an advance fee fraud that fits the definition in the famous Section 419 of the criminal code with payments made for meters not supplied.

 

The anti-corruption stance of the Buhari government could not share the same place with such a scheme and promptly dissociated itself from it as a government policy, leaving it to the discretion of the consumer whether to trust their supplier with advance payment.

 

In its place, the government through the Regulator started a new policy – the MAP, an acronym for Meter Asset Provider, as a new business that focuses on meter provision and expands the value chain of the power sector beyond GenCos, TCN and DisCos.

 

Asiwaju’s plan will therefore support meter asset providers.

 

On page 31, there is a renewable energy plan in the Asiwaju Framework, and this is the driver for rapid deployment of mini grids that I spoke about earlier, especially solar energy which he formally addresses as a point of focus.

 

Apart from the employment and entrepreneurship benefits for suppliers, installers and manufacturers, this brings Nigeria into the centre of global energy discussion and opens up a new market for carbon credits which is estimated at $261 Billion global, $50 Billion for Africa and $ 2.64 annually for Nigeria.

 

The low hanging fruits are the number of generator power plants that we can replace with solar and the renewables.

 

The plan on p.32 commits to a “Nigeria First Power Policy” which is very important. It simply means our power development will not subordinate our energy needs to global energy policies that do not take into consideration the energy inequality between developed and developing nations.

 

Rural dwellers are visible to Asiwaju as his plan clearly identifies them and their needs on p.32.

 

He offers incentives and change of policies that encumber investment for power in rural areas and seeks to mobilise local capacities in our universities and polytechnics to lead the research that unlocks delivery of power to rural areas (***).

 

Of course, I had earlier said that I will come back to speak about the Regulator. (The Role of NERC/Ministry/Manpower).

 

This is clearly identified in Asiwaju’s plan on p.32 under “Power Sector Governance and Reforms” where he offers “Reform of the Regulatory Structure…,” and “…improved efficiency, accountability for project management, design, procurement, construction and remittances.” (Cost of procurement and Tariff).

 

This clearly is the difference between us and the main or fringe opposition. We have the capacity to identify the problem, offer a solution and mobilize resources to confront them.

 

The heavy lifting and hardware has been done under the Buhari government. Asiwaju is bringing the reform and connections that drive the process to manifest results.

 

Thank you for listening.

 

Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN

Honourable Minister of Works and Housing

 

 

Wednesday 18th January 2023

 

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“Julius Berger: “A Most Responsible Company With A Highly Functional Jam’iyyar Matan Arewa (JMA) Productive And Commendable Corporate Social Responsibility Culture’’ Says Leading Women NGO

“Julius Berger: “A most responsible company with a highly functional, productive and commendable Corporate Social Responsibility Culture’’, says Leading Women NGO, Jam’iyyar Matan Arewa (JMA)

“Julius Berger: “A most responsible company with a highly functional, productive and commendable Corporate Social Responsibility Culture’’, says Leading Women NGO, Jam’iyyar Matan Arewa (JMA)

The pioneer and foremost women Non-Governmental Organization in northern Nigeria, Jam’iyyar Matan Arewa (JMA), has described and commended the country’s leading construction company, Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, as “… a most responsible company with a highly functional, productive and commendable Corporate Social Responsibility Culture…worthy of emulation by others.’’

The President of Jam’iyyar Matan Arewa (JMA), Hajiya Rabi Musa Saulawa, made the remarks in Kaduna  on thursday at the handing over of the renovated buildings at the Jam’iyyar Matan Arewa (JMA) Orphanage and Premier school. The renovation works were undertaken by Julius Berger as part of the company’s corporate social responsibility initiatives to partner with and assist the development of its host communities along the geo-strategic Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Road construction project.

Hajiya Rabi Musa Salauwa who traced the history of Jam’iyyar Matan Arewa to Nigeria’s First Republic, said it was founded in 1963.  By 1st December 1964 Jam’iyyar Matan Arewa opened the orphanage in Kaduna. The take-off property for the Orphanage was donated by the then Premier of Northern Nigeria, the legendary Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sadauna of Sokoto along with a cash donation of £500 as takeoff grant. Hajiya Rabi celebrated that since its founding till date, over 3,000 orphans have successfully passed through the the Jam’iyyar Matan Arewa Orphanage and ist schools.

According to Hajiya Rabi, many of the children who passed through the  institution are now graduates of universities and polytechnics. Two of such students are graduates of the Nigerian Defense Academy (NDA) and one attended Nigerian Aviation School Zaria and is now a pilot, while several others are now Police officers.

Hajiya Rabi, however, said the JMA Orphanage, office accommodation and schools overtime fell into a deplorable state of dilapidation due to paucity of funds, being an organization that depends solely on donations and the little income generated from the schools. She said the funds generated have been grossly inadequate to carry out any major renovations and for the smooth operations of the organization.

Thus, she heartily thanked Julius Berger for its very meaningful CSR intervention to assist with the renovation of the buildings of the institution.

Alhaji Zubairu Ibrahim Bayi, executive director administration of Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, who represented the Managing Director of the company Engr. Dr. Lars Richter and led the company’s delegation to the event, offered the  sincere regards and good wishes of the MD for a happy new year to all guests present at the ceremony.

Bayi, who grew up in Kaduna, also said that, “…on a very personal and nostalgic note, I equally feel a deep sense of happy homecoming to stand before you in this event in Kaduna. While I am here representing our MD, Dr. Richter, and officially on speaking for Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, please still kindly allow me to say it feels good to be home in your midst.’’ Bayi’s respectful remark was happily received with an appreciative applause by the well-acknowledged guests.

Alhaji Bayi then proceeded to say that with a healthy sense of modesty, Julius Berger is a household name and sector leader in the construction industry in Nigeria. He added that, currently, the company is entrusted with several important federal priority projects across the country, including the geo-strategic Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Road (AKR) project. According to Bayi, Since the inception of the AKR project, as part of the company’s standing culture of Corporate Social Responsibility and its derived initiatives, Julius Berger has proactively collaborated with and positively touched lives in its host communities along the project corridor. “We have achieved our Corporate Social Responsibility objectives by providing either new or making worthy improvement to existing utilities or amenities. Our CSR activities ranged from drilling of boreholes to supply water to our host communities, construction or renovation of classrooms, and donation of textbooks and other teaching, learning and sporting aids to schools, ’’ said Bayi. Other Julius Berger CSR contributions, said Bayi, include hospital donations and related needs such as ambulances, beds, mattresses, personal protective equipment to protect against the Covid-19 pandemic, emergency food supply through the Julius Berger ‘Food for our Communities’ Campaign; and insecticide treated mosquito nets to protect pregnant women and children from the deadly scourge of malaria.

The distribution of food palliatives was also extended to orphanages to mark the International Day of Charity and, most recently, to communities affected by the recent and sad flood inundation.

All along the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano road corridor, several communities, he said, have benefited from Julius Berger‘s Corporate Social Responsibility activities.

Bayi further informed the gathering that, significantly, as a deliberate policy  targeted at empowering its host communities, Julius Berger ensured that local contractors were used in executing all the projects and procurement of the items either in the form of construction materials or commodities. “Selection of beneficiaries of these projects was also tactically done on the basis of fair spread of community empowerment.”

According to Bayi, most distributed Julius Berger CSR items were also sourced locally from host communities. “This impacted positively on the economy of these communities through job creation and enhancement of local purchasing power….On the average, over 500 direct and indirect jobs were created from the execution of these Julius Berger Corporate Social Responsibility projects.’’  

Alhaji Bayi informed the gathering that it was in line with Julius Berger’s proactive CSR policy that the Jam’iyyar Matan Arewa (JMA) Orphanage, Kaduna, which forms part of the host communities of the Abuja-Kano Road Project, was identified as a suitable institution that should benefit from Julius Berger’s Corporate Social Responsibility contribution. This led to the decision to embark on some rehabilitation works at the orphanage that was in dire need of restoration.

While commending the respected President of  Jam’iyyar Matan Arewa (JMA) and her team for their commitment to selflessly revamp the Orphanage and its schools, Alhaji Bayi added that, the main driver of Julius Berger’s Corporate Social Responsibility intervention is to restore the historical monument to again reflect the vision of its founders and their lasting commitment to society’s well-being.

Julius Berger officially thereafter handed over the renovated Jam’iyyar Matan Arewa (JMA) Orphanage to its President, Hajiya Rabi Saulawa and its Board of Trustees.

Julius Berger was thereafter given an award as an “Outstanding and compassionate Organization with a self-recommending Corporate Social Responsibility Culture.”

At the end of  the ceremony, senior officials of Julius Berger Nigeria Plc who were present at the ceremony, including the executive director of administration, Alhaji Zubairu Ibrahim Bayi, the technical director of the ongoing Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano road construction works, Engr. Benjamin Booth, and the Project Commercial Manager, Mr. Ralf Brendicke were all decorated by the President of Jam’iyyar Matan Arewa (JMA) with colourful togas bearing the historical Arewa Star as “Representatives of a Company Robustly in Support of Women Empowerment.”

Other important dignitaries who attended the event in Kaduna included the Hakemi Kawu, Alhaji Jibrin Mohammed Magaji who represented His Royal Highness, the Emir of Zazzau, Alh. Suleiman (Turakin Zazzau), the ageless Kaduna Matriarch, Hajiya Hon. Saudatu Sani, former Chief of Staff to Governor Nasir El-Rufai and Senatorial aspirant, Kaduna Central, Alhaji Mohammed Sanni Datijo, Hon. Shehu Balarabe, Alhaji Sani Garba, HRH Hajiya Aishatu Amina Dantoro (nee Yahaya Guasau), Mrs Salomi Gwamna Kennedy, who represented the Hon. Commissioner for Education for Kaduna State; and Alhaji Balomi, the executive Chairman of Kaduna North Local Government Area, amongst many others.

Jam’iyyar Matan Arewa (JMA) is an umbrella social and non-political organization of women in Northern Nigeria from all backgrounds regardless of their religion, tribe and social status leadind and driving the process of women empowerment in the Nothern parts of the country.

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RE: PENDING SUIT FILED BY THE ITSEKIRI ETHNIC NATIONALITY; ORDER OF THE FEDERAL HIGH COURT ABUJA

RE: PENDING SUIT FILED BY THE ITSEKIRI ETHNIC NATIONALITY; ORDER OF THE FEDERAL HIGH COURT ABUJA, TOGETHER WITH AN APPLICATION TO SET ASIDE THE PURPORTED SCREENING AND CONFIRMATION OF MRS. LAURETTA ONOCHIE AND CHIEF SAMUEL OGBUKU AS CHAIRMAN AND MANAGING DIRECTOR RESPECTIVELY OF THE NDDC BY THE SENATE OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY CARRIED OUT ON DECEMBER 21, 2022, IN THE FACE OF THE PROCESSES AND ORDER OF COURT IN SUIT NO. FHC/ABJ/CS/2294/2022, IN WHICH YOU ARE A PARTY.

  • AMA ETUWEWE (SAN) & CO.

LEGAL PRACTITIONERS, ARBITRATORS & NOTARY PUBLIC

GOTTGUNST VILLA

27, Gbiaye Street

3rd Marine Gate, Warri, Nigeria

Tel: 08033136059

E-mails: info@amaetulegal.org

amaetulegal@yahoo.com

ama.etuwewe@amaetulegal.org

www.amaetulegal.org

 

 

JANUARY 2, 2023.

 

THE HONOURABLE ATTORNEY GENERAL AND MINISTER OF JUSTICE

ATTORNEY GENERAL’S CHAMBERS

MINISTRY OF JUSTICE MAITAMA,

ABUJA.

 

Dear Sir,

 

RE: PENDING SUIT FILED BY THE ITSEKIRI ETHNIC NATIONALITY; ORDER OF THE FEDERAL HIGH COURT ABUJA, TOGETHER WITH AN APPLICATION TO SET ASIDE THE PURPORTED SCREENING AND CONFIRMATION OF MRS. LAURETTA ONOCHIE AND CHIEF SAMUEL OGBUKU AS CHAIRMAN AND MANAGING DIRECTOR RESPECTIVELY OF THE NDDC BY THE SENATE OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY CARRIED OUT ON DECEMBER 21, 2022, IN THE FACE OF THE PROCESSES AND ORDER OF COURT IN SUIT NO. FHC/ABJ/CS/2294/2022, IN WHICH YOU ARE A PARTY.

 

MATTERS ARISING THEREOF:

 

As you are aware, we act as Solicitors to the ITSEKIRI ETHNIC NATIONALITY ably represented by CHIEF EDWARD EKPOKO, MR. EDWARD OMAGBEMI & ENGINEER VICTOR WOOD, whom we shall hereinafter refer to as our Clients and we write to you on their precise, concise and unequivocal instructions.

 

  1. INTRODUCTION:

 

  1. Our Clients are members of the Itsekiri Leaders of Thoughts and Natives of the Itsekiri Ethnic Nationality of Delta State, Nigeria.

 

  1. It is our Clients’ grouse that since the inception of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in 2001, the Itsekiri Ethnic Nationality having over 21 oil-producing communities and producing about 58% of the crude oil in Delta State and 17% of the Country’s crude oil production, which is doubtless a major contributor to the Crude Oil and Gas Resources in Nigeria, which by virtue thereof, the Itsekiri communities suffered and continues to suffer the attendant environmental degradation, loss of livelihood as well as destruction of their farmlands and water resources, have their woes compounded by the marginalization suffered in the hands of the Federal Government of Nigeria that has repeatedly failed to consider any Itsekiri nationals competent to occupy the positions of Chairman and Managing Director respectively of the NDDC despite having previously afforded other ethnic nationalities in the Niger Delta States the opportunity to fill such positions.

 

  1. Upon the dissolution of the NDDC Board in 2019 by the Federal Government of Nigeria, the NDDC has been run by various interim administrators with acting Managing Directors who hail from other oil and gas producing communities and states to the exclusion and continued marginalization of the Itsekiri Ethnic Nationality of Delta State of Nigeria.

 

  1. Whilst the pains of marginalization of the Itsekiri Ethnic Nationality remained unaddressed, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on November 22, 2022, or thereabout, forwarded to the Senate of the National Assembly the names of Mrs. Lauretta Onochie and Chief Samuel Ogbuku as Chairman and Managing Director respectively, amongst other nominees of the Niger Delta Development Commission’s new board, for confirmation.

 

  1. This development did not meet the Itsekiri Ethnic Nationality well as Mrs. Lauretta Onochie whose name was forwarded by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, a Deltan no doubt, hails from Onicha-Olona Community in Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta State, a NON­OIL AND GAS PRODUCING area of Delta State, and whereas, Chief Samuel Ogbuku whose name was forwarded as the Managing Director of the NDDC Board hails from Bayelsa State, is contrary to an established rotation arrangement in accordance with the NDDC Act. By the said rotation, it is the turn of Delta State by extension the ltsekiri Ethnic Nationality, to produce the next Managing Director of the NDDC.

 

  1. THE SUIT

 

  1. Displeased by the unlawful actions of both the Executive and the Senate of the National Assembly to nominate, screen and confirm Mrs. Lauretta Onochie and Chief Samuel Ogbuku as the substantive Chairman and Managing Director respectively of the Niger Delta Development Commission, our Clients filed SUIT NO. FHC/ABJ/CS/2294/2022: CHIEF EDWARD EKPOKO & 2 ORS. v. THE PRESIDENT, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA & 5 ORS., at the Federal High Court, Abuja, on December 12, 2022.

 

  1. Our Clients in the said suit, in which the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and your humble self are the 1st and 2nd Defendants respectively, are seeking the following reliefs:
  2. A declaration that by virtue of Section 4 and other enabling sections of Niger Delta development Commission (Establishment, Etc.) (Amendment) Act, and the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), it is the turn of Delta State to produce the next Chairman of the Niger-Delta Development Commission.

 

  1. A declaration that by virtue of Section 12(1) and other sections of Niger Delta development Commission (Establishment, Etc.) (Amendment) Act, and the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), it is the turn of Delta State to produce the next Managing Director of the Niger-Delta Development Commission.

 

iii.        A Declaration that the nomination of the 5th Defendant who hails from a non-oil producing area in Delta State as the next Chairman of the Niger-Delta Development Commission is unlawful and contrary to the intent and purpose of the Niger-Delta Development Commission Act.

 

  1. A declaration that the nomination of the 6th Defendant as the next managing Director of the Niger-Delta Development Commission is unlawful for being contrary to the intent and purpose of the Niger Delta Development Commission Act.

 

  1. An order quashing the nomination of the 5th and 6th Defendants as the next Chairman and Managing Director respectively to the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission, by the 1st Defendant, as the said nomination is contrary to the spirit and intendment of the Niger Delta Development Commission Act 2000 as amended.

 

  1. AN ORDER restraining the 3rd and 4th Defendants from screening and confirming the 5th and 6th Defendants for the positions of the next Chairman and Managing Directors respectively of the Niger Delta Development Commission as their nomination by the 1st Defendant is contrary to the spirit and intendment of the Niger­ Delta Development Commission Act.

 

vii.        A declaration that by virtue of the provisions of the Niger-Delta Development Commission Act, 2000 as amended, the Plaintiffs as suitable members of the ltsekiri nationality of Delta State are qualified to be nominated as the next Chairman and Managing Director respectively of the Niger-Delta Development Commission.

 

viii.        Any further order(s) as this Honourable Court may deem fit to make in the circumstances.

 

10.0. Our Clients on December 12, 2022, filed an ex-parte application seeking the following reliefs from the Federal High Court, Abuja, to wit;

  1. a)An order of interim injunction restraining the 3rd and 4th Defendants from screening and confirming or taking any further steps to screen or confirm the nomination of the 5th and 6th Defendants as the next and substantive Chairman and Managing Director respectively of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), ,Pending the expiration of the statutory (three) Months Pre-action Notice already issued on the 3rd and 4th Defendants and or the hearing and determination of the motion on notice already filed.

 

AND/OR

 

  1. b)AN ORDER directing that the STATUS QUO ANTE BELLUM be maintained by the 3rd and 4th Defendants, their servants, agents, privies, employees and committees concerning the screening and confirmation of the 5th and 6th Defendants as the next and substantive Chairman and Managing Director respectively of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) pending the expiration of the statutory (three) Months Pre-action Notice already issued by the Applicants on the 3rd and 4th Defendants on November 30, 2022 and or the hearing and determination of the motion on notice already filed.

 

  1. c)An order granting leave to the Plaintiffs to serve the 5th and 6th Defendants with the originating processes in this suit by substituted means by advertising the processes in at least one National Newspaper circulating within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court and to deem same as proper service.

 

  1. d)Any order or further order as this Honourable Court may deem fit to grant in the circumstances.

 

11.0. As is customary, our Clients accompanied the ex-parte application with a motion on notice filed on December 12, 2022, seeking the following reliefs to wit;

  1. a)An order of interlocutory injunction restraining the 3rd and 4th Defendants from screening and confirming or taking any further steps to screen or confirm the nomination of the 5th and 6th Defendants as the next and substantive Chairman and Managing Director respectively of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.

 

AND/OR

  1. b)AN ORDER directing that the STATUS QUO ANTE BELLUM be maintained by the 3rd and 4th Defendants, their servants, agents, privies, employees and committees concerning the screening and confirmation of the 5th and 6th Defendants as the next and substantive Chairman and Managing Director respectively of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.

 

  1. c)Any order or further order as this Honourable Court may deem fit to grant in the circumstances.

 

12.0    The Federal High Court on December 15, 2022, in refusing reliefs 1 and 2 of our Clients’ ex-parte application filed on December 12, 2022, ordered the parties in the suit not to take any step that will render nugatory our Clients’ pending application for interlocutory injunction filed on December 12, 2022.

 

13.0    The Court also emphatically ordered that any act or step or action taken in order to render nugatory. the outcome of our Clients’ motion for interlocutory injunction filed on December 12, 2022, and scheduled for hearing on January 11, 2023, shall be a nullity. A copy of the said Order has been duly served on all the parties including your office.

 

14.0    Despite the fact that all the Defendants, your office inclusive, were served with the originating process, our Clients’ application for interlocutory injunction and the order of the Court restraining all parties from acting otherwise, the leadership of the Senate of the National Assembly proceeded to screen and confirm Mrs. Lauretta Onochie and Chief Samuel Ogbuku as the substantive Chairman and Managing Director respectively, of the Niger Delta Development Commission, on December 20, 2022.

 

15.0    Further displeased by the brazen act of the National Assembly in proceeding defiantly to screen and confirm Mrs. Lauretta Onochie and Chief Samuel Ogbuku as the substantive Chairman and Managing Director respectively of the Niger Delta Development Commission in gross and total disregard to the order of Court restraining all parties from taking any step capable of rendering nugatory our clients’ motion on notice for interlocutory injunction,, our Clients on December 22, 2022, filed an application at the Federal High Court seeking inter alia the following relief;

 

AN ORDER setting aside the purported screening and confirmation of the 5th and 6th Defendants on December 20, 2022, by the 3rd and 4th Defendants during the pendency of the order of this Honourable Court delivered on December 15, 2022, restraining the parties from taking any step that may render nugatory the outcome of the Applicants’ pending application for interlocutory injunction.

All the Defendants have been served with the said application.

 

16.0    Whilst our Clients’ suit and in fact their most recent application to set aside the screening and confirmation of Mrs. Lauretta Onochie and Chief Samuel Ogbuku as Chairman and Managing Director respectively of the NDDC by the Senate of the National assembly has not been determined, our Clients are aware and already in the public domain, that the Honourable Minister of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs is making plans and has circulated letters to that effect, to inaugurate Mrs. Lauretta Onochie and Chief Samuel Ogbuku on January 4, 2023, at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel Abuja, as ·the substantive Chairman and Managing Director respectively of the NDDC. The Minister has hinged his brazen disregard of the order of the court and the due process of law, on the purported approval of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria who is the 1st Defendant in the suit under reference.

 

17.0    As the Chief Law Officer of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and a party in the suit, you are doubtless aware of the position of the law which is to the effect that once there is a pending litigation, all parties to the suit are expected to stay every action that will adversely affect the outcome of the adjudicatory process so as not to render the said process a nullity and foist upon the court a fait accompli. We most humbly refer you to the case of EZEGBU v. F.A.T.B. LTD. (1992) 1 NWLR PART 220 PAGE 699 PARTICULARLY AT PAGE 724, where NIKI TOBI J.C.A. (as he then was) stated thus:

“Where a matter is before a court of law, none of the parties can legally or lawfully take any unilateral decision that will prejudice or tend to prejudice the hearing or adjudication of the matter by the court. Parties who have submitted to the jurisdiction of the court are under a legal duty not to do anything to frustrate or make nonsense a possible court order. They must, whether they like it or not, wait for the court order. They must whether they like it or not wait for the court to take a decision one way or the order. The procedure at arriving at a decision may be slow. It may even be sluggish. But the parties cannot jump the gun and do their own thing their own way. That will be tantamount to undermining the integrity of the court. What I am saying in effect is that a party who has submitted to the jurisdiction of the court is not entitled to resort to self-help. That will be chaos and disability of the social equilibrium if the opposing party reacts.

 

None of the parties to a litigation process before a court of law is allowed to take the law into his own hands and foist upon the court a fait accompli thereby rendering it impossible for the court to arrive at a decision one way or the other on the merit of the issue before it render any decision it may take nugatory or futile”.

 

18.0    Furtherance to the reliefs being claimed by our Clients in the suit, there is a pending application filed by our clients seeking an injunction against the Defendants for an order of Court restraining the Defendants from taking steps capable of rendering nugatory the pending application for interlocutory injunction and an application seeking to set aside the confirmation made by the Senate of the National Assembly, which step more to undermining the Judiciary’s role and the Rule of Law, has pre­ determined the issues presented by our Clients for judicial determination in the substantive suit.

 

19.0    Having notified your humble self and the other Defendants of the pendency of an application for injunction, we wish to draw your attention to the following judicial authorities on the duty of a party or parties where there is a pending application for injunction. In the case of ELF MARKETING (NIG.) v. J.L. OYENEYIN 8: SONS (1995) 7 NWLR PART 407, PAGE 371 AT 380 PARAGRAPHS A-8, the Court held thus:

 

“Once the court is seized of a matter, no party has a right to take the matter into his own hands. Thus, after a defendant has been notified of the pendency of a suit seeking an injunction against him, even though a temporary injunction be not granted, that party acts at his peril and is subject to the power of the court to restore the status wholly irrespective of the merit as may be ultimately decided…”

 

20.0    Furthermore, in the case of OKEKE-OBA v. OKOYE (1994) 8 NWLR. PART 364, PAGE 605 AT 617-618 PARAGRAPHS H-A, the Court stated as follows:

“The general practice is that an application for an order of interlocutory injunction, all activities affecting the res, here the land in dispute, are automatically terminated as a mark of respect to the court before whom the application is pending. Such practice is encouraged by counsel in good chambers consistent with the ethics of the profession”.

 

21.0    THE LEGAL IMPLICATIONS OF SUIT NO. FHC/ABJ/CS/2294/2022: CHIEF EDWARD EKPOKO 8: 2 ORS. v. THE PRESIDENT, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA 8: 5 ORS.

 

22.0    We wish to state without any iota of doubt that in the light of the development set out herein, no step whatsoever should be taken by the Federal Government to inaugurate Mrs. Lauretta Onochie and Chief Samuel Ogbuku as same will not only jeopardize the outcome of the litigation process but concomitantly operate to completely erase the confidence reposed in the Judiciary by the common man and a clog in the wheel of the administration of justice.

 

23.0    We have cause to believe, as documentary evidence clearly suggests, that the Federal Government through the Minister of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, is making frantic and brazen efforts to inaugurate Mrs. Lauretta Onochie and Chief Samuel Ogbuku as the substantive Chairman and Managing Director respectively of the Niger Delta Development Commission despite the pendency of the suit as well as several applications, and order made by the Court, with the sole aim of stealing a match, stultifying the ·court process and bringing the Rule of Law to ridicule.

 

24.0    CONCLUSION:

Our Clients have done all that is required of them by submitting for judicial consideration and determination their grievances against the Executive and Legislative Arms of Government, it behooves these Arms of Government to resist the urge to defy the Judiciary and indeed the judicial process by refraining from conducts which will render nugatory issues presented by our Clients to the Court.

 

25.0    The attendant implications on the faith and belief of the common man are dire and would almost be dampened if the Executive and the Legislative Arms of Government continue to bond towards shattering the fabric and fibre of the judicial process upon which true democracy is enshrined; which the Judiciary seeks to mend and this certainly does not bode well for the Rule of Law if a precedent of Executive and Legislative disregard to court orders, is so easily displayed with impunity, just before the forthcoming general elections.

 

26.0    Having fought to ensure that there is peace and stability in the Country, it would be manifestly antithetical to the goals of this Administration of which you are a key player, if solely for a refusal to await and comply with the judicial process, all the Executive has worked for in the past seven (7) years, translates to naught.

 

27.0    We are of the firm belief, taking into cognizance the judicial authorities referred to above, that as the Chief Law Officer of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and a strong proponent of the Rule of Law, you will not in any way advise the President and indeed the Minister of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, to proceed with the inauguration of Mrs. Lauretta Onochie and Chief Samuel Ogbuku on January 4, 2023, as the Chairman and Managing Director respectively of the NDDC and or concretize their positions, pending the outcome of the adjudicatory process already initiated by our Clients.

 

28.0    Trusting you will advise the relevant parties on the need to allow the judicial process take its course and refrain from taking steps which will ridicule the Rule of Law and further weaken our nascent democratic structure.

 

We remain,

 

Very truly yours,

PP: AMA ETUWEWE (SAN) & CO.

 

 

 

AMA ETUWEWE, SAN.

 

CC:    THE HONOURABLE MINISTER

MINISTRY OF NIGER DELTA AFFAIRS

ABUJA.

 

 

 

AMA ETUWEWE (SAN) & CO.

LEGAL PRACTITIONERS, ARBITRATORS & NOTARY PUBLIC

GOTTGUNST VILLA

27, Gbiaye Street

3rd Marine Gate, Warri, Nigeria

Tel: 08033136059

E-mails: info@amaetulegal.org

amaetulegal@yahoo.com

ama.etuwewe@amaetulegal.org

www.amaetulegal.org

 

 

JANUARY 2, 2023.

 

THE HONOURABLE ATTORNEY GENERAL AND MINISTER OF JUSTICE

ATTORNEY GENERAL’S CHAMBERS

MINISTRY OF JUSTICE MAITAMA,

ABUJA.

 

Dear Sir,

 

RE: PENDING SUIT FILED BY THE ITSEKIRI ETHNIC NATIONALITY; ORDER OF THE FEDERAL HIGH COURT ABUJA, TOGETHER WITH AN APPLICATION TO SET ASIDE THE PURPORTED SCREENING AND CONFIRMATION OF MRS. LAURETTA ONOCHIE AND CHIEF SAMUEL OGBUKU AS CHAIRMAN AND MANAGING DIRECTOR RESPECTIVELY OF THE NDDC BY THE SENATE OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY CARRIED OUT ON DECEMBER 21, 2022, IN THE FACE OF THE PROCESSES AND ORDER OF COURT IN SUIT NO. FHC/ABJ/CS/2294/2022, IN WHICH YOU ARE A PARTY.

 

MATTERS ARISING THEREOF:

 

As you are aware, we act as Solicitors to the ITSEKIRI ETHNIC NATIONALITY ably represented by CHIEF EDWARD EKPOKO, MR. EDWARD OMAGBEMI & ENGINEER VICTOR WOOD, whom we shall hereinafter refer to as our Clients and we write to you on their precise, concise and unequivocal instructions.

 

  1. INTRODUCTION:

 

  1. Our Clients are members of the Itsekiri Leaders of Thoughts and Natives of the Itsekiri Ethnic Nationality of Delta State, Nigeria.

 

  1. It is our Clients’ grouse that since the inception of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in 2001, the Itsekiri Ethnic Nationality having over 21 oil-producing communities and producing about 58% of the crude oil in Delta State and 17% of the Country’s crude oil production, which is doubtless a major contributor to the Crude Oil and Gas Resources in Nigeria, which by virtue thereof, the Itsekiri communities suffered and continues to suffer the attendant environmental degradation, loss of livelihood as well as destruction of their farmlands and water resources, have their woes compounded by the marginalization suffered in the hands of the Federal Government of Nigeria that has repeatedly failed to consider any Itsekiri nationals competent to occupy the positions of Chairman and Managing Director respectively of the NDDC despite having previously afforded other ethnic nationalities in the Niger Delta States the opportunity to fill such positions.

 

  1. Upon the dissolution of the NDDC Board in 2019 by the Federal Government of Nigeria, the NDDC has been run by various interim administrators with acting Managing Directors who hail from other oil and gas producing communities and states to the exclusion and continued marginalization of the Itsekiri Ethnic Nationality of Delta State of Nigeria.

 

  1. Whilst the pains of marginalization of the Itsekiri Ethnic Nationality remained unaddressed, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on November 22, 2022, or thereabout, forwarded to the Senate of the National Assembly the names of Mrs. Lauretta Onochie and Chief Samuel Ogbuku as Chairman and Managing Director respectively, amongst other nominees of the Niger Delta Development Commission’s new board, for confirmation.

 

  1. This development did not meet the Itsekiri Ethnic Nationality well as Mrs. Lauretta Onochie whose name was forwarded by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, a Deltan no doubt, hails from Onicha-Olona Community in Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta State, a NON­OIL AND GAS PRODUCING area of Delta State, and whereas, Chief Samuel Ogbuku whose name was forwarded as the Managing Director of the NDDC Board hails from Bayelsa State, is contrary to an established rotation arrangement in accordance with the NDDC Act. By the said rotation, it is the turn of Delta State by extension the ltsekiri Ethnic Nationality, to produce the next Managing Director of the NDDC.

 

  1. THE SUIT

 

  1. Displeased by the unlawful actions of both the Executive and the Senate of the National Assembly to nominate, screen and confirm Mrs. Lauretta Onochie and Chief Samuel Ogbuku as the substantive Chairman and Managing Director respectively of the Niger Delta Development Commission, our Clients filed SUIT NO. FHC/ABJ/CS/2294/2022: CHIEF EDWARD EKPOKO & 2 ORS. v. THE PRESIDENT, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA & 5 ORS., at the Federal High Court, Abuja, on December 12, 2022.

 

  1. Our Clients in the said suit, in which the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and your humble self are the 1st and 2nd Defendants respectively, are seeking the following reliefs:
  2. A declaration that by virtue of Section 4 and other enabling sections of Niger Delta development Commission (Establishment, Etc.) (Amendment) Act, and the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), it is the turn of Delta State to produce the next Chairman of the Niger-Delta Development Commission.

 

  1. A declaration that by virtue of Section 12(1) and other sections of Niger Delta development Commission (Establishment, Etc.) (Amendment) Act, and the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), it is the turn of Delta State to produce the next Managing Director of the Niger-Delta Development Commission.

 

iii.        A Declaration that the nomination of the 5th Defendant who hails from a non-oil producing area in Delta State as the next Chairman of the Niger-Delta Development Commission is unlawful and contrary to the intent and purpose of the Niger-Delta Development Commission Act.

 

  1. A declaration that the nomination of the 6th Defendant as the next managing Director of the Niger-Delta Development Commission is unlawful for being contrary to the intent and purpose of the Niger Delta Development Commission Act.

 

  1. An order quashing the nomination of the 5th and 6th Defendants as the next Chairman and Managing Director respectively to the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission, by the 1st Defendant, as the said nomination is contrary to the spirit and intendment of the Niger Delta Development Commission Act 2000 as amended.

 

  1. AN ORDER restraining the 3rd and 4th Defendants from screening and confirming the 5th and 6th Defendants for the positions of the next Chairman and Managing Directors respectively of the Niger Delta Development Commission as their nomination by the 1st Defendant is contrary to the spirit and intendment of the Niger­ Delta Development Commission Act.

 

vii.        A declaration that by virtue of the provisions of the Niger-Delta Development Commission Act, 2000 as amended, the Plaintiffs as suitable members of the ltsekiri nationality of Delta State are qualified to be nominated as the next Chairman and Managing Director respectively of the Niger-Delta Development Commission.

 

viii.        Any further order(s) as this Honourable Court may deem fit to make in the circumstances.

 

10.0. Our Clients on December 12, 2022, filed an ex-parte application seeking the following reliefs from the Federal High Court, Abuja, to wit;

  1. a)An order of interim injunction restraining the 3rd and 4th Defendants from screening and confirming or taking any further steps to screen or confirm the nomination of the 5th and 6th Defendants as the next and substantive Chairman and Managing Director respectively of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), ,Pending the expiration of the statutory (three) Months Pre-action Notice already issued on the 3rd and 4th Defendants and or the hearing and determination of the motion on notice already filed.

 

AND/OR

 

  1. b)AN ORDER directing that the STATUS QUO ANTE BELLUM be maintained by the 3rd and 4th Defendants, their servants, agents, privies, employees and committees concerning the screening and confirmation of the 5th and 6th Defendants as the next and substantive Chairman and Managing Director respectively of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) pending the expiration of the statutory (three) Months Pre-action Notice already issued by the Applicants on the 3rd and 4th Defendants on November 30, 2022 and or the hearing and determination of the motion on notice already filed.

 

  1. c)An order granting leave to the Plaintiffs to serve the 5th and 6th Defendants with the originating processes in this suit by substituted means by advertising the processes in at least one National Newspaper circulating within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court and to deem same as proper service.

 

  1. d)Any order or further order as this Honourable Court may deem fit to grant in the circumstances.

 

11.0. As is customary, our Clients accompanied the ex-parte application with a motion on notice filed on December 12, 2022, seeking the following reliefs to wit;

  1. a)An order of interlocutory injunction restraining the 3rd and 4th Defendants from screening and confirming or taking any further steps to screen or confirm the nomination of the 5th and 6th Defendants as the next and substantive Chairman and Managing Director respectively of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.

 

AND/OR

  1. b)AN ORDER directing that the STATUS QUO ANTE BELLUM be maintained by the 3rd and 4th Defendants, their servants, agents, privies, employees and committees concerning the screening and confirmation of the 5th and 6th Defendants as the next and substantive Chairman and Managing Director respectively of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.

 

  1. c)Any order or further order as this Honourable Court may deem fit to grant in the circumstances.

 

12.0    The Federal High Court on December 15, 2022, in refusing reliefs 1 and 2 of our Clients’ ex-parte application filed on December 12, 2022, ordered the parties in the suit not to take any step that will render nugatory our Clients’ pending application for interlocutory injunction filed on December 12, 2022.

 

13.0    The Court also emphatically ordered that any act or step or action taken in order to render nugatory. the outcome of our Clients’ motion for interlocutory injunction filed on December 12, 2022, and scheduled for hearing on January 11, 2023, shall be a nullity. A copy of the said Order has been duly served on all the parties including your office.

 

14.0    Despite the fact that all the Defendants, your office inclusive, were served with the originating process, our Clients’ application for interlocutory injunction and the order of the Court restraining all parties from acting otherwise, the leadership of the Senate of the National Assembly proceeded to screen and confirm Mrs. Lauretta Onochie and Chief Samuel Ogbuku as the substantive Chairman and Managing Director respectively, of the Niger Delta Development Commission, on December 20, 2022.

 

15.0    Further displeased by the brazen act of the National Assembly in proceeding defiantly to screen and confirm Mrs. Lauretta Onochie and Chief Samuel Ogbuku as the substantive Chairman and Managing Director respectively of the Niger Delta Development Commission in gross and total disregard to the order of Court restraining all parties from taking any step capable of rendering nugatory our clients’ motion on notice for interlocutory injunction,, our Clients on December 22, 2022, filed an application at the Federal High Court seeking inter alia the following relief;

 

AN ORDER setting aside the purported screening and confirmation of the 5th and 6th Defendants on December 20, 2022, by the 3rd and 4th Defendants during the pendency of the order of this Honourable Court delivered on December 15, 2022, restraining the parties from taking any step that may render nugatory the outcome of the Applicants’ pending application for interlocutory injunction.

All the Defendants have been served with the said application.

 

16.0    Whilst our Clients’ suit and in fact their most recent application to set aside the screening and confirmation of Mrs. Lauretta Onochie and Chief Samuel Ogbuku as Chairman and Managing Director respectively of the NDDC by the Senate of the National assembly has not been determined, our Clients are aware and already in the public domain, that the Honourable Minister of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs is making plans and has circulated letters to that effect, to inaugurate Mrs. Lauretta Onochie and Chief Samuel Ogbuku on January 4, 2023, at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel Abuja, as ·the substantive Chairman and Managing Director respectively of the NDDC. The Minister has hinged his brazen disregard of the order of the court and the due process of law, on the purported approval of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria who is the 1st Defendant in the suit under reference.

 

17.0    As the Chief Law Officer of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and a party in the suit, you are doubtless aware of the position of the law which is to the effect that once there is a pending litigation, all parties to the suit are expected to stay every action that will adversely affect the outcome of the adjudicatory process so as not to render the said process a nullity and foist upon the court a fait accompli. We most humbly refer you to the case of EZEGBU v. F.A.T.B. LTD. (1992) 1 NWLR PART 220 PAGE 699 PARTICULARLY AT PAGE 724, where NIKI TOBI J.C.A. (as he then was) stated thus:

“Where a matter is before a court of law, none of the parties can legally or lawfully take any unilateral decision that will prejudice or tend to prejudice the hearing or adjudication of the matter by the court. Parties who have submitted to the jurisdiction of the court are under a legal duty not to do anything to frustrate or make nonsense a possible court order. They must, whether they like it or not, wait for the court order. They must whether they like it or not wait for the court to take a decision one way or the order. The procedure at arriving at a decision may be slow. It may even be sluggish. But the parties cannot jump the gun and do their own thing their own way. That will be tantamount to undermining the integrity of the court. What I am saying in effect is that a party who has submitted to the jurisdiction of the court is not entitled to resort to self-help. That will be chaos and disability of the social equilibrium if the opposing party reacts.

 

None of the parties to a litigation process before a court of law is allowed to take the law into his own hands and foist upon the court a fait accompli thereby rendering it impossible for the court to arrive at a decision one way or the other on the merit of the issue before it render any decision it may take nugatory or futile”.

 

18.0    Furtherance to the reliefs being claimed by our Clients in the suit, there is a pending application filed by our clients seeking an injunction against the Defendants for an order of Court restraining the Defendants from taking steps capable of rendering nugatory the pending application for interlocutory injunction and an application seeking to set aside the confirmation made by the Senate of the National Assembly, which step more to undermining the Judiciary’s role and the Rule of Law, has pre­ determined the issues presented by our Clients for judicial determination in the substantive suit.

 

19.0    Having notified your humble self and the other Defendants of the pendency of an application for injunction, we wish to draw your attention to the following judicial authorities on the duty of a party or parties where there is a pending application for injunction. In the case of ELF MARKETING (NIG.) v. J.L. OYENEYIN 8: SONS (1995) 7 NWLR PART 407, PAGE 371 AT 380 PARAGRAPHS A-8, the Court held thus:

 

“Once the court is seized of a matter, no party has a right to take the matter into his own hands. Thus, after a defendant has been notified of the pendency of a suit seeking an injunction against him, even though a temporary injunction be not granted, that party acts at his peril and is subject to the power of the court to restore the status wholly irrespective of the merit as may be ultimately decided…”

 

20.0    Furthermore, in the case of OKEKE-OBA v. OKOYE (1994) 8 NWLR. PART 364, PAGE 605 AT 617-618 PARAGRAPHS H-A, the Court stated as follows:

“The general practice is that an application for an order of interlocutory injunction, all activities affecting the res, here the land in dispute, are automatically terminated as a mark of respect to the court before whom the application is pending. Such practice is encouraged by counsel in good chambers consistent with the ethics of the profession”.

 

21.0    THE LEGAL IMPLICATIONS OF SUIT NO. FHC/ABJ/CS/2294/2022: CHIEF EDWARD EKPOKO 8: 2 ORS. v. THE PRESIDENT, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA 8: 5 ORS.

 

22.0    We wish to state without any iota of doubt that in the light of the development set out herein, no step whatsoever should be taken by the Federal Government to inaugurate Mrs. Lauretta Onochie and Chief Samuel Ogbuku as same will not only jeopardize the outcome of the litigation process but concomitantly operate to completely erase the confidence reposed in the Judiciary by the common man and a clog in the wheel of the administration of justice.

 

23.0    We have cause to believe, as documentary evidence clearly suggests, that the Federal Government through the Minister of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, is making frantic and brazen efforts to inaugurate Mrs. Lauretta Onochie and Chief Samuel Ogbuku as the substantive Chairman and Managing Director respectively of the Niger Delta Development Commission despite the pendency of the suit as well as several applications, and order made by the Court, with the sole aim of stealing a match, stultifying the ·court process and bringing the Rule of Law to ridicule.

 

24.0    CONCLUSION:

Our Clients have done all that is required of them by submitting for judicial consideration and determination their grievances against the Executive and Legislative Arms of Government, it behooves these Arms of Government to resist the urge to defy the Judiciary and indeed the judicial process by refraining from conducts which will render nugatory issues presented by our Clients to the Court.

 

25.0    The attendant implications on the faith and belief of the common man are dire and would almost be dampened if the Executive and the Legislative Arms of Government continue to bond towards shattering the fabric and fibre of the judicial process upon which true democracy is enshrined; which the Judiciary seeks to mend and this certainly does not bode well for the Rule of Law if a precedent of Executive and Legislative disregard to court orders, is so easily displayed with impunity, just before the forthcoming general elections.

 

26.0    Having fought to ensure that there is peace and stability in the Country, it would be manifestly antithetical to the goals of this Administration of which you are a key player, if solely for a refusal to await and comply with the judicial process, all the Executive has worked for in the past seven (7) years, translates to naught.

 

27.0    We are of the firm belief, taking into cognizance the judicial authorities referred to above, that as the Chief Law Officer of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and a strong proponent of the Rule of Law, you will not in any way advise the President and indeed the Minister of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, to proceed with the inauguration of Mrs. Lauretta Onochie and Chief Samuel Ogbuku on January 4, 2023, as the Chairman and Managing Director respectively of the NDDC and or concretize their positions, pending the outcome of the adjudicatory process already initiated by our Clients.

 

28.0    Trusting you will advise the relevant parties on the need to allow the judicial process take its course and refrain from taking steps which will ridicule the Rule of Law and further weaken our nascent democratic structure.

 

We remain,

 

Very truly yours,

PP: AMA ETUWEWE (SAN) & CO.

 

 

 

AMA ETUWEWE, SAN.

 

CC:    THE HONOURABLE MINISTER

MINISTRY OF NIGER DELTA AFFAIRS

ABUJA.

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others praise Akeredolu South-South leaders caution Orji Kalu

South-South leaders caution Orji Kalu, praise Akeredolu, others

  • Urge Buhari to foil criticism by replacing Onochie and Chief Ogbuku

Notable South-South leaders on Wednesday scolded the Representative of Abia North Senatorial District, Chief Orji Uzor Kalu.

They also described his comment on the appointment of Chairman and Managing Director for the Niger Delta Commission (NDDC) as ‘’an attack on oil producing areas, classic example of conceit and proposal of anarchy’’.

‘’The NDDC Act is sound on the establishment of a governing body. To abandon it is unthinkable’’

In a statement read aloud to journalists in Abuja by the Chairman of the South-South Front (SSF), Chief John Harry, the leaders said it would be a disaster to the oil producing areas if President Muhammadu Buhari is diverted by Kalu and his co-travellers from the provisions of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Act 2000.

‘’The chairman must be an indigene of oil producing area and the office rotated amongst the member states of the Commission in the following alphabetical order. (a) Abia State; (b) Akwa-Ibom State; (c) Bayelsa State; (d) Cross-River State; (e) Delta State; (f) Edo State; (g) Imo State; (h) Ondo State; and (i) Rivers State. Also, the Managing Director, and two Executive Directors must also be indigenes of oil producing areas starting with the member states of the Commission with the highest production quantum of oil and rotated amongst member states in the order of production’’ the leaders stated.

At a conference to set the matter straight with the press, the leaders denounced Kalu as the greatest enemy of the oil producing areas and the most pronounced foe of President Buhari.

The zonal leaders praised Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, Ajayi Boroffice, Ayo Akinuelure and Nicholas Tofowomo  for rejecting the Ondo State nominee, Charles Ogunmola .

 

‘’We consider the decision of the governor and the good people of Ondo State splendid. It is the only way to bring political cabals to their senses’’

Principally, the leaders urged President Muhammadu Buhari not to tread the disastrous path charted by Kalu but to explore paths to better and perhaps to cure fundamental problems in the oil rich region.

They urged Buhari to take steps to foil criticism by replacing Lauretta Onochie and Chief Samuel Ogbuku with Itsekiri indigenes.

Itsekiri Leaders of Thought and Omadino Unity Forum representatives, Chief Edward Ekpoko, Engineer Victor Wood and Mr. Edward Omagbemi are seeking an order quashing the nomination of Onochie and Ogbuku as NDDC Chairman and Managing Director.

They are also seeking a declaration that the nomination of Onochie, who hails from a non-oil producing area in Delta State as Chairman of NDDC and Chief Samuel Ogbuku, who hails from Bayelsa State as Managing Director of NDDC by President Buhari is unlawful for being contrary to the intent and purpose of NDDC Act.

‘’It is the turn of the Itsekiri Ethnic Nationality of Delta State to produce the Chairman and Managing Director of the Commission’’ the leaders said.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

 

 

IN THE FEDERAL HIGH COURT OF NIGERIA

IN ABUJA JUDICIAL DIVISION

HOLDEN AT ABUJA

Suit No: PHC/ABJ/2294/2022

BETWEEN:

  1. CHIEF EDWARD EKPORO
  2. ENGR. VICTOR WOOD

(Both representing Itsekiri Leaders

Of Thought)                                                                                        PLAINTIFFS/APPLICANTS

  1. MR. EDWARD OMAGBEMI

(Representing Omadino Unity Forum)

(All acting for themselves and on behalf of the

Itsekiri Ethnic Nationality of Delta state

AND

  1. THE PRESIDENT, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA
  2. THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE FEDERATION

& MINISTER OF JUSTICE

  1. THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
  2. THE SENATE OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY                                                DEFENDANTS/
  3. MRS LAURETTA ONOCHIE                                                                               RESPONDENTS
  4. CHIEF SAMUEL OGBUKU

 

MOTION OF NOTICE

BROUGHT PURSUANT TO SECTION 6 & 35(1) OF THE 1999 CONSTITUTION OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA (AS AMENDED); ORDER 26 & 56 OF THE FEDERAL HIGH COURT (CIVIL PROCEDURE) RULES, 2019 AND UNDER THE INHERENT JURISDICTION OF THIS HONORABLE COURT

 

TAKE NOTICE that this Honourable Court shall be moved on …………., the ……….. day of …………….2022, at the hour of 9’ 0’ clock in the forenoon or so soon thereafter as counsel may be heard on behalf of the Applicants herein praying this Honourable Court for the following orders (s):

 

AN ORDER setting aside the purported screening and confirmation of the 5th and 6th Defendants on December 20, 2022, by the 3rd and 4th Defendants during the pendency of the order of this Honourable Court delivered on render nugatory the outcome of the applicants’ pending application for interlocutory injunction.

And for such further order and or other orders as this Honourable Court may deem fit to make in the circumstances.

 

GROUNDS UPON WHICH THE APPLICATION IS MADE:

  1. This Honourable Court on December 15, 2022 ordered the parties not take steps or act in order to render the outcome of the Plaintiffs/Applicants’ pending motion for interlocutory injunction filled on December 12, 2022, nugatory.
  2. The Defendants were served with the originating summons and the motion on notice on December 15, 2022, as well as the order of December 15, 2022.
  3. The Defendants despite being in receipt of the order dated December 15, 2022, and the pending application for interlocutory injunction to restrain the 3rdand 4th Defendants from screening and confirming the 5th and 6th Defendants as the substantive Chairman and Managing Director respectively of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), proceeded in contempt of the order of this Honourable Court as well as the pending processes before this Honourable Court to screen and confirm the 5th and 6th Defendants as the substantive Chairman and Managing Director respectively of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) on December 20, 2022.
  4. The screening and confirmation of the 5thand 6th Defendants as the substantive Chairman and Managing Director respectively of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) by the 3rd and 4th Defendants is a nullity,
  5. This Honourable Court has the power to grant the reliefs which the Plaintiffs/Applicants herein seek.

 

DATED THIS 22ND DAY OF DECEMBER 2022.

 

_______________________

AMA ETUWEWE, SAN. (Signed)

SANCHEZ AGUMOR, ESQ.

IKAYE MABIAKU, ESQ.

AMA ETUWEWE (SAN) & CO.

APPELLANT / APPLICANT’S COUNSEL

T4025, BRAINS & HAMMER ESTATE,

GWARIMPA,

ABUJA.

TEL: 08033136059

E-mail: info@amaetulegal.org

Ama.etuwewe@amatulegal.org

amatulegal@yahoo.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

FOR SERVICES ON:

 

  1. THE 1ST2N DEFENDANTS/RESPONDENTS:

THROUGH THE OFFICE OF THE HONOURABLE ATTORNEY OF THE FEDERATION.

FEDERAL MINISTRY OF JUSTICE, HEADQUARTERS,

ABUJA.

 

  1. THE 3RDAND 4TH DEFENDANTS/RESPONDENTS:

THROUGH THE CLERK,

SENATE OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

SENATE WING,

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY COMPLEX,

THREE – ARMS ZONE, ABUJA.

 

  1. 5THDEFENDANT/RESPONDENT

ABUJA.

 

  1. 6THDEFENDANT/ RESPONDENT

YENAGOA, BAYELSA STATE.

 

IN THE FEDERAL HIGH COURT OF NIGERIA

IN ABUJA JUDICIAL DIVISION

HOLDEN AT ABUJA

Suit No: PHC/ABJ/2294/2022

BETWEEN:

  1. CHIEF EDWARD EKPORO
  2. ENGR. VICTOR WOOD

(Both representing Itsekiri Leaders                                            PLAINTIFFS/

Of Thought)                                                                                 APPLICANTS

  1. MR. EDWARD OMAGBEMI

(Representing Omadino Unity Forum)

(All acting for themselves and on behalf of the

Itsekiri Ethnic Nationality of Delta State, Nigeria

AND

  1. THE PRESIDENT, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA
  2. THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE FEDERATION

& MINISTER OF JUSTICE

  1. THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY          DEFENDANTS
  2. THE SENATE OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY                                               RESPONDENTS
  3. MRS LAURETTA ONOCHIE
  4. CHIEF SAMUEL OGBUKU

 

AFFADAVIT IN SUPPORT OF THE MOTION ON NOTICE

  1. CHIRF EDWARD EKPOKO, Male, Christian, Legal Practitioner, Nigerian Citizen of No. 40, Cemetery Road, Warri, Delta State of Nigeria do make oath and state as follows:

 

  1. That I am the 1stPlaintiff/Applicant in this suit and by virtue of my position I am conversant with facts deposed thereunder.
  2. That I have the consent of the Itsekiri Leaders of Thought, my community, and indeed all the good people of the Itsekiri Ethnic Nationality and the other Plaintiffs herein to depose to this affidavit.
  3. That on December 12, 2022, the Plaintiffs filed an ex-parte application seeking the following reliefs from this Honourable court to wit;

(a)  An order of interim injunction restraining the 3rd and 4th Defendants from screening or taking any further steps to screen or confirm the nomination of the 6th and 5th defendants as the next and substantive chairman and managing director respectively of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), pending the expiration of the statutory (three) Months Pre-Action Notice already issued on the 3rd and 4th Defendants and or the hearing and determination of the motion on notice already filed.

 

AND/OR

(b) AN ORDER directing that the status QUO ANTE BELLUM be maintained by the 3rd and 4th Defendants, their servants, agents, privies, employees and committees concerning the screening and confirmation of the 5th and 6th Defendants as the next and substantive chairman and managing director respectively of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) pending the expiration of the statutory (three) Months Pre-Action Notice already issued by the applicants on the 3rd and 4th Defendants on November 30, 2022 and or the hearing and determination of the motion on  notice already filed.

(c) An order granting leave to the plaintiffs to serve the 5th  and  6th Defendants with the originating processes in this suit by substituted means by advertising the processes in at least one national newspaper circulating within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court and to deem same as proper service.

(d) Any order or further order as this Honorable Court may deem fit to grant in the circumstances.

  1. That the plaintiffs/applicants also on December 12, 2022, filed a motion on notice

seeking the following reliefs to wit:

(a) AN ORDER of interlocutory injunction restraining the 3rd and 4th from screening or confirming or taking any further step to screen or confirm the nomination of the 5th and 6th Defendants as the next and substantive Chairman and Managing Director respectively of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.

AND/OR

(b) An order directing that the status QUO ANTE BELLUM be maintained by the 3rd and 4th Defendants, their servants, agents, privies, employees and committees concerning the screening and confirmation of the 5th and 6th Defendants as the next and substantive chairman and managing Director Representative of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.

(c)  Any order or further orders as This Honourable Court may deem fit to grant in the circumstances.

  1. That I know as a fact that this Honourable Court on December 15, 2022, refused reliefs 1 and 2 of our ex-parte application filed on December 12, 2022.
  2. That I know as a fact that this Honourable Court on December 15, 2022, also ordered the parties in this suit not to take any step that will render nugatory our pending application for interlocutory injunction filled on December 12, 2022.
  3. That I know as a fact that this Honourable Court also ordered that any act or step or action taken in the order to make the outcome of our motion for interlocutory injunction filled on December 12, 2022. Nugatory, shall be a nullity.
  4. That I know as a fact that the 1stand 2nd Defendants were served with the originating processes, our application for interlocutory injunction on December 15, 2022. Attached herewith and marked Exhibit IT1 and IT1A are copies of the proofs of service of the processes herein referred to.
  5. That I know as a fact that the 3rdand 4th Defendants were served with the originating processes and our application for interlocutory on December 13, 2022. Attached herewith and marked Exhibit IT2 and IT2A are copies of the proofs of service of the processes herein referred to.
  6. That I know as a fact that the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Defendants were on December 15, 2022, served with the order made by this Honourable Court on December 15, 2022. Attached herewith and marked Exhibit IT3 is a copy of the proof of service of the processes herein referred to.
  7. That I know as a fact that pursuant to the order of this Honourable Court made on December 15, 2022, granting leave to the Plaintiffs to serve the 5thand 6th Defendants the originating processes and our application for interlocutory injunction by advertising the processes in at least one National, Newspaper circulating within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, the 5th and 6th Defendants were served with the originating processes, our application for interlocutory injunction and the order of this Honourable Court made on 15th, 2022, by advertising the said  processes on Monday’s edition of Vanguard Newspaper of December 19, 2022. Attached herewith and marked Exhibit IT4 is a copy of the proof of service of the processes vide Newspaper publication of December 19, 2022 at page 30, herein referred to.
  8. That I know as a fact that the 3rdand 4th Defendants despite being in receipt of the order of this Honourable Court made on December 15, 2022, proceeded in contempt of the order of this Honourable Court and Applicants motion for interlocutory injunction, when they screened and confirmed the 5th and 6th Defendants as the substantive Chairman and Managing Director respectively, of the Niger Delta Development Commission, on December 20, 2022. Attached herewith and marked Exhibit IT5 and IT6 are the Vanguard (PAGE () and Guardian Newspaper (PAGE 3) publications showing the 5th and 6th Defendant’s confirmation of the 5th and 6th Defendants as the substantive Chairman and Managing Director of the NDDC on December 20, 2022.
  9. That the 5thand 6th Defendants’ screening and confirmation of December 20, 2022, was broadcast televised on major Television Stations in Nigeria.
  10. That the witful act of the 3rdand 4th Defendants in screening and confirming the 5th and 6th Defendants as the substantive Chairman and Managing Director respectively, of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), despite receipt of the order of this Honourable Court, the pending motion for interlocutory injunction, is deliberate to steal a match and preempt the outcome and final decision in this suit and to present this Honourable Court with a fait accompli.
  11. That the acts of the defendants particularly the 3rdand 4th Defendants in hurriedly screening and confirming the 5th and 6th Defendants as the substantive Chairman and Managing Director respectively of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), in the face of the order of this Honourable Court delivered on December 15, 2022, while our application for interlocutory injunction is pending, is against sacrosanct adherence to the principle of rule of law.
  12. That given the fact that issues have been submitted by the Plaintiffs for adjudication by this Honourable Court, the decision of the Court on the matter one way or the other would be overreached by the allowed continuation of the actions of the 3rdand 4th Defendants, and in particular, the screening and confirmation of the 5th and 6th Defendants.
  13. That there is an urgent need for an order of this Honorable Court setting aside the purported acts of the 3rd and 4th Defendants particularly the screening and confirmation of the 5th and 6th Defendants before the determination of the plaintiffs’ pending application for interlocutory injunction, so as to put all the parties herein on a fair and level playing ground.
  14. That I know as a fact that the action of the 3rdand 4th Defendants are prejudicial to the res for which the plaintiffs pending application for interlocutory injunction seeks to protect before this Honorable Court.
  15. That I know as a fact that this Honorable Court has the power to set aside the 5th and 6th Defendants’ screening and confirmation has the substantive Chairman and Managing Director respectively of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), which is the subject matter of this suit and which screening and confirmation were done in total disregard to our pending application for interlocutory injunction filed on December 12, 2022, fixed for hearing on January 13, 2022, and the order made by this Honorable Court on December 15, 2022.
  16. That I know as a fact that unless this application is granted, the plaintiffs will be placed in a precarious position as the 5thand 6th Defendants who has been unlawfully screened and confirmed as the substantive Chairman and Managing Director respectively of The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) will be sworn in and inaugurated and will seriously interfere with the subject matter in the suit and in gross violation of our rights even before the hearing and determination of our motion for interlocutory injunction, contrary to the sacrosanct position of the rule of law.
  17. The Defendants will not be prejudiced if this application is granted.
  18. That it is in the interest of justice and the protection of the dignity of this Honorable Court for this application to be granted.
  19. That this Honourable Court has the power to grant the reliefs which we herein seek.
  20. That it will serve the interest of fair hearing and justice to grant this application.

IN THE FEDERAL HIGH COURT OF NIGERIA

IN ABUJA JUDICIAL DIVISION

HOLDEN AT ABUJA

Suit no: PHC/ABJ/2294/2022

BETWEEN:

  1. CHIEF EDWARD EKPORO
  2. ENGR. VICTOR WOOD

(Both representing Itsekiri Leaders

Of Thought)

  1. MR. EDWARD OMAGBEMI

(Representing Omadino Unity Forum)

(All acting for themselves and on behalf of the

Itsekiri Ethnic Nationality of Delta state

 

AND

 

  1. THE PRESIDENT, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA
  2. THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE FEDERATION

& MINISTER OF JUSTICE

  1. THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
  2. THE SENATE OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
  3. MRS LAURETTA ONOCHIE
  4. CHIEF SAMUEL OGBUKU

 

FORM 48

NOTICE OF CONSEQUENCES OF DISOBEDIENCE TO OEDER OF COURT

TO MRS LAURETTA ONOCHIE of F. C. T Abuja.

TAKE NOTICE that unless you obey the directions contained in this order, you will be guilty of contempt of Court and will be liable to be committed to prison.

DATED THIS ………….. DAY OF ……………. 2022

_______________

REGISTRAR

IN THE FEDERAL HIGH COURT OF NIGERIA

IN ABUJA JUDICIAL DIVISION

HOLDEN AT ABUJA

Suit no: PHC/ABJ/2294/2022

BETWEEN:

  1. CHIEF EDWARD EKPORO
  2. ENGR. VICTOR WOOD

(Both representing Itsekiri Leaders

Of Thought)

  1. MR. EDWARD OMAGBEMI

(Representing Omadino Unity Forum)

(All acting for themselves and on behalf of the

Itsekiri Ethnic Nationality of Delta state

 

AND

 

  1. THE PRESIDENT, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA
  2. THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE FEDERATION

& MINISTER OF JUSTICE

  1. THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
  2. THE SENATE OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
  3. MRS LAURETTA ONOCHIE
  4. CHIEF SAMUEL OGBUKU

 

FORM 48

NOTICE OF CONSEQUENCES OF DISOBEDIENCE TO OEDER OF COURT

TO CHIEF SAMUEL OGBUKU of Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

TAKE NOTICE that unless you obey the directions contained in this order, you will be guilty of contempt of Court and will be liable to be committed to prison.

DATED THIS ………….. DAY OF ……………. 2022

_______________

REGISTRAR

IN THE FEDERAL HIGH COURT OF NIGERIA

IN ABUJA JUDICIAL DIVISION

HOLDEN AT ABUJA

Suit no: PHC/ABJ/2294/2022

BETWEEN:

  1. CHIEF EDWARD EKPORO
  2. ENGR. VICTOR WOOD

(Both representing Itsekiri Leaders

Of Thought)

  1. MR. EDWARD OMAGBEMI

(Representing Omadino Unity Forum)

(All acting for themselves and on behalf of the

Itsekiri Ethnic Nationality of Delta state

 

AND

 

  1. THE PRESIDENT, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA
  2. THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE FEDERATION

& MINISTER OF JUSTICE

  1. THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
  2. THE SENATE OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
  3. MRS LAURETTA ONOCHIE
  4. CHIEF SAMUEL OGBUKU

 

FORM 48

NOTICE OF CONSEQUENCES OF DISOBEDIENCE TO OEDER OF COURT

TO MRS LAURETTA ONOCHIE of F. C. T Abuja.

TAKE NOTICE that unless you obey the directions contained in this order, you will be guilty of contempt of Court and will be liable to be committed to prison.

DATED THIS ………….. DAY OF ……………. 2022

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