QuickRead: Tinubu assigns portfolios to ministers. Four other stories we tracked and why they matter

President Bola Tinubu last week assigned portfolios to the 45 minister-designates to kick-start the running of his administration.
The Federal High Court, Lagos, the same week dismissed the illegal possession of firearm charges against the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele.

These and three other stories we tracked were among the major events that elicited reactions in Nigeria throughout the last week.

1. Tinubu assigns portfolios to ministers

On August 16, President Tinubu assigned portfolios to the 45 ministers a few days after they were confirmed by the Senate.

In a statement issued later, the Permanent Secretary, General Services, Office of the Secretary to the Federation, Nnamdi Mbaeri, said the documentation of the ministers would take place this week.

It read: “Ministers-designate are to please note that their documentation will take place at the Conference Room, General Services Office, Second Floor, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 19, and Sunday, August 20.”

Why it matters

The composition of the new Federal Executive Council (FEC) is a mixed bag considering the fact that some of the ministers are assigned portfolios that match their competence and records of service over the years while a few others are considered round pegs in square holes or misfit based on where they found themselves in the new arrangement.

How many of the nominees will navigate their terrains in the coming months will largely determine the success or failure of Tinubu’s administration in its quest at returning Nigeria on the path of progress following his predecessor’s eight years misrule that brought the country to its knee.

2. Court dismisses firearms charge against Emefiele

Justice Nicholas Oweibo of the Federal High Court, Lagos, on August 17 dismissed the two-count charge of illegal possession of firearms brought against the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, by the Federal Government.

The judge dismissed the charge due to a lack of diligent prosecution following the application for the withdrawal of the case made by the Director of Public Prosecution in the Ministry of Justice, Mohammed Abubakar.

Abubakar later announced that the government had filed a fresh 20-count charge against Emefiele.

The judge said: “The prosecution has shown that they are not law-abiding and have no respect for the court. The court cannot force them. What good will it be for the defendant who is in custody? Of what benefit will it be to keep the file in the court’s docket?”

Why it matters

The ongoing drama on Emefiele’s case may have sent a worrying signal on the current administration’s determination to keep perceived enemies in jail on trumped-up charges.

The administration’s decision to file fresh charges against the CBN governor showed its desperation to punish him for the failed naira redesign experiment, a development that has been narrowed down to a personal fight between President Tinubu and Emefiele by government apologists.

3. Ex-Kaduna speaker’s dream of APC 60 years domination

The former Speaker of Kaduna State House of Assembly, Yusuf Ibrahim Zailani, boasted on August 17 that the All Progressives Congress (APC) would rule Nigeria for 60 years.

READ ALSO:QuickRead: Tinubu’s move to probe CBN. Four other stories we tracked and why they matter

Zailani stated this when he led a delegation of former members of the House of Representatives to visit the APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja.

He made the remark 15 years after the former national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the late Vincent Ogbulafor, made a similar remark.

The speaker said: “We have no doubt in our mind that you (Ganduje) will lead this party to continuously form government in the Federal Republic of Nigeria, for more than 60 years.
“We know you can do it and we have absolute confidence that you can do it. As you can see, we are representing the country because all the six geopolitical zones are adequately represented here.”

Why it matters

The remark clearly explains why has Nigeria repeatedly struggled to put in place a culture of credible elections 24 years after the country returned to democratic rule.

This complacency can also be said to be the reason the ruling party has regularly dashed the hopes of Nigerians who expected a change in fortune when they voted out the PDP in 2015, with flawed policy initiatives.

The resentments that trailed the conduct of the last general election will hopefully be the springboard for Nigerians to demand greater improvements in the nation’s electoral processes to achieve polls that are acceptable to all.

4. Appeal Court affirms Abure as LP chairman

The Court of Appeal, Benin City, on August 14 affirmed Julius Abure as the National Chairman of the Labour Party.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, who confirmed the development in a statement in Abuja, said the three-member panel of the appellate court dismissed the suit filed by Mr. Lucky Shaibu against Abure and three other members of the LP national executive committee.

Shaibu and other members of the LP executive committee in Ward 3, Esan North East local government area of Edo State suspended Abure as the party’s chairman in March.

Ifoh said: “The appeal court affirmed the decision of the Edo State High Court and held that one man cannot suspend the LP national chairman in line with Articles 13 and 17 of the Constitution of the Party and the extant Electoral Act of 2022.”

Why it matters

The ruling may have effectively ended the leadership crisis that had threatened to tear apart the party since the conclusion of the last general election.

While the ruling provides the party with the opportunity to focus on its activities ahead of future elections, it may not yet be a hurray as the dissenting group has the right of appeal up to the Supreme Court.
The development, therefore, affords the LP the opportunity to reunite the various groups and resolve their differences ahead of the November 11 elections in Bayelsa and two other states.

5. Abia govt begins Ikpeazu’s probe

The Judicial Panel of Enquiry set up by Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, to probe the administration of his predecessor, Okezie Ikpeazu, began sitting on August 16 in Umuahia.

Governor Otti had in June publicly accused his predecessor and officials of his administration of looting government properties in the state.

In her remark at the inaugural sitting, the chairman of the panel, Justice Florence Duruoha-Igwe (retd), said the team’s mandates were investigatory and advisory in nature.

“It is important to mention that this Panel of Enquiry, though quasi-judicial in nature, is not a court properly so-called. It was not set up to engage in inquisition nor witch-hunt of anybody,” Justice Duruoha-Igwe said.

Why it matters

The establishment of the panel brings to the fore the culture of corruption among public office holders who were entrusted with the task of managing the resources for their people.

Unfortunately, however, the exercise may turn out to be a jamboree with recent evidence suggesting that none of the indicted public officials involved in barefaced corruption are being sufficiently punished as a deterrent to others.

By Hamed Shobiye

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