PRESIDENTS of the Law Students Association of Nigeria, LAWSAN have disclaimed the suit which national president, Blessing Agbomhere instituted at the Federal High Court, demanding N10 billion as compensation.
The association said they never sent him.
The disclaimer which was contained in a memorandum and signed by the twelve local chapter presidents of the association on Saturday, 21st November 2020 revealed that the suit had been brought to their attention and they were not aware of the president’s action. The signatories are LAWSAN presidents of the University of Abuja, Kwara State University, University of Jos, Nasarawa State University, Benue State University, Gregory University, Abia State, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Ahmadu Bello University, Yobe State University, Bauchi State University, Lagos State University and Umaru Musa Yar’adua University, Katsina.
The disclaimer reads: “Our attention has been drawn to a suit instituted by one Blessing Agbomhere “for an on behalf of members of Law students association” yesterday 20th November 2020 at the Federal High court and a press briefing made by him shortly afterward where he claims to be representing all students in Nigeria.”
The association denied the claim, saying Agbomhere has no authority to institute the action he did and has been rejected by most of their members.
“The blessing Agbomhere is not the president of Law Students’ association as he claims but an illegitimate usurper who continues to parade himself as president despite being rejected by an overwhelming number of law students across the country and therefore lack the authority and standing to institute an action of such nature,” the disclaimer reads.
The association, in their disclaimer, faulted Blessing for not notifying the members of the association before making the suit against ASUU, stating that there are other better ways to approach the matter before the conduct of a lawsuit, therefore, renders the suit frivolous.
“The suit in question, being a representative suit, requires the consent of the person or group of persons being represented and neither we, our members nor ‘Lawsanites’ were contacted, informed, or aware of the suit in question.
“There are better and more effective ways to approach the matter before considering litigation. Mr. Agbomhere apparently prefers this approach, which, albeit ineffective, generates greater attention, controversy, and fanfare.
“It is trite that the right to education as well as rights that fall under Chapter II of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) are non-justiciable and therefore renders the suit frivolous. One needs not to have deep knowledge of Constitutional Law to know this,” the disclaimer contains.
The association, however, dissociates itself as well as all chapters and their members from the suit, noting that Mr. Agbomhere singlehandedly took the step without consulting anyone. The members of the association, then, call on the general public and all Nigerian students to disregard the suit as yet another ploy by Abgomhere to gain cheap popularity in the country.
The disclaimer concludes: “We dissociate ourselves as well as all our chapters and members thereof from this impulsive and ill-thought step which Blessing Agbomhere singlehandedly took without consulting the student leaders of the various faculties of law, his NEC, his senate or anyone with authority on the affairs of law students and students generally in Nigeria.
“Conclusively, we call on the public to disregard this as yet another ploy by Blessing Agbomhere to gain cheap popularity and political points as the typical politician he is.
LAWSAN President, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, UDUS chapter, Muhammad Abubakar Tsamiya confirmed the disclaimer as a genuine one which representatives of 12 universities have endorsed
“The said National president, Blessing Agbomhere is not our president at all. He is just president to those whom he governs because we didn’t elect him. He keeps parading himself as the president despite his rejection from lots of law students across the country.
I CANNOT now recall who invited me to the meeting, but I do remember that the convener mentioned that those of us in our late 70s and above should gather to discuss the modus operandi of our joining a massive protest demonstration planned by the youths taking place at the end of November.
‘’It is going to be mother and father of all protests and Septuagenarians, Octogenarians as well as nonagenarians must join in a solid show of solidarity with our disenchanted youths.”
It was scheduled to be a combination of physical and virtual meeting and the venue was Shehu Musa Yar’Adua international hall, Abuja. As early as 8 in the morning people had started arriving from every corner of the country. Again, I cannot recall the faces at the meeting even though I recognised virtually all the familiar faces that gathered there at as we exchanged banters. Two faces stuck. Curiously Sam Omatseye who didn’t qualify in the age category strolled in. My friend engineer Babs Okuyemi flew in from the US and was calmly seated in a corner at the back.
“Ladies and Gentlemen,” Pastor Gudugudumeje Yayamefa cleared his throat to speak to the hall, “this must be a very crucial and important meeting at this critical period in our country’s history. We are to deliberate on identifying with our long-suffering youths who have been recently traumatized, bedraggled, blackmailed, and even criminalized after the state had treated them to the worst form of deprivation, degradation, neglect and dehumanisation. It does not matter the heaps of naked lies, denials, counter-accusations, half-truths, what cannot be denied is that peaceful demonstrations were infiltrated, and several lives were lost. Lives of other people’s children, other people’s wives, other people’s husbands, other people’s breadwinners were needlessly and callously terminated in cold blood and in broad daylight”.
“Before we proceed further, I suggest we all do self-introduction so that at the end of the day we can agree on our leadership structure and what assignments to allocate to each and everyone.” Gudugudu handed over the microphone.
“My name is Gogori Kumoku, a retired Lt General.”
“I am Chief Dr Kurukuru Okemeje, a former Presidential Aspirant”.
“I am Johnson Ikutamiti” Amidst sobs, Ikutamiti added “ three of my graduate children were mowed down in the melee”
“I am Alhaja Aisha Buraimoh, I am a widow. I lost my husband along with four children in a midnight attack in our village last year”
Mr. Sulaiman Yusuff,95, exhibiting three teeth left in his mouth got up to speak. “ I share in the pains of every parent who may have lost a child or a wife who may have lost a Police Officer husband. Several police officers and even soldiers have also lost their lives in cold blood. The calamity that has befallen our country did not start today, yesterday, last year, or last decade. I am sure you will all agree with me that ours has been a long story. It is just that our situation gets worse every passing day. I really cannot pinpoint what has driven us to this level of bestiality. Animals in the jungle seem to behave better than most of us. And the blatant brutishness is virtually in all of us. We just need to return to a code of ethics and imbibe the culture of love and respect for one another. My two wives and eleven children were burnt to death when several houses in my town were set ablaze by people, we used to share cordial neighbourliness with. People with whom I had shared meals and drinks in the past”.
“Dear Elders, I think we have gone past the stage of lamentations. I know we are to take a stand on whether to join our youths in massive protest at the end of the month. I know at close to 80, I am still one of the youngest in this gathering. I have no doubt in my mind that if we all troop out half-clad like Benin High Chiefs in ceremonial attire it would make a powerful spectacle and spectacular impact, but what follows thereafter? Our politicians are the greatest problem of this country. They are more concerned about winning elections, securing political appointments, or sharing loots than bothering about our roads, our security, our health, or even our lives. I am sure we all know that. If our politicians declare today that we should have State Police, it will happen instantly. If all the politicians say the Army of Occupation in over 30 states should end today, it will end. It is the politicians that have collaboratively imposed totalitarianism and unprecedented tyrannical dictatorship on the country by their self-serving servitude. Who do you think is arming the rampaging terrorists scattered all over the country? It is the politicians. Who purchased all the motorcycles and dangerous weapons used for malicious crimes all over the country?” Please let me stop here.
“My name is Brandy Agbasa, If I start with my own personal tragedies inflicted on me by the state you will need buckets to collect your tears. But let me make it brief. We all know the simplest solution to all the aggravation we are going through. Let us go our separate ways. There is no personal problem with individual Nigerians against each other. Tension is created when things we did not create and have no control over…ethnicity and religion are smuggled into the equation by politicians canvassing for votes. Greed, struggle for power and supremacy or domination are the bane of this country. A previous speaker has warned us against lamentations. So, no more lamentations or blame game. The country has broken down. No doubt about that. The only logical consequence of a breakdown is a breakup. That is the indisputable law of Nature!”
“ I need to speak again. Even though we should not turn this meeting to a Talk shop, allow me to make an observation. We do not need to join the youths in physical demonstration. They are welcome to it. And we have to warn Governments not to infiltrate or hijack peaceful demonstrations. I think what we should do is send a powerful delegation to the head of state and interrogate him in a heart-to-heart engagement. Talk to him as Parent-to-parent. I have in mind the kind of intervention three of our greatest Men of Conscience..Achebe, Soyinka and Pepper Clark..made to President Ibrahim Babangida in 1986 regarding General Mamman Jiya Vatsa. Even though the intervention was late in coming, may be should have come two or three weeks earlier, it was still very impactful. That historic visit by the Trio of Distinguished Men of Letters will never be forgotten. What we need most at this point in time is the Voice of Men and Women of conscience. They don’t have to be Traditional Rulers or Clergymen or Men of Means. No. Certainly NOT politicians, whether serving or retired who speak with two sides of the mouth.”
“Now you have spoken. As the Convener of this meeting, I, Tanko Batagarawa, can easily see the direction of the pendulum. There is no point in those of us who have already collected our Boarding Pass to the journey of No Return to go half-naked on the streets. Don’t mind me, some of our shapes may prove offensive to sight, so we don’t need to exhibit that. Let us search for men and women of moral stature to urgently intervene. In fact, we don’t need to search, there are a great pool of nationally and internationally respected men and women of moral stature in this country. And again, as observed by one speaker, it is better for all of us to disengage from a marriage that has constantly, consistently and continuously given us pains, distrust, hatred, enmity, rancour and retardation over the years.”
If and when a marriage does not work, it stands dissolved.
THE coronavirus pandemic slowed the growth of the Nigerian economy marginally, yet the nation’s biggest banks remain profitable during the period.
Data released by StatiSense, a Nigerian based data consulting firm with expertise in data analytics in its quarterly banking industry report from July to September showed that the major commercial banks in the country made outstanding profits after taxes.
The top ten earners include Zenith Bank with profits after tax pegged at ₦55.5 billion, Guaranty Trust Bank made profits of ₦48 billion, Access Bank earned ₦41.3 billion, United Bank of Africa, UBA at ₦32.7 billion and First Bank of Nigeria made a profit after tax of ₦18.7 billion respectively.
Others are Fidelity Bank at ₦9.1 billion, Union Bank ₦4.31 billion, Sterling Bank at ₦1.96 billion, Wema Bank at ₦1.15 billion and Unity Bank at ₦543 million.
However, the collective profit after tax in the first quarter of 2020 declared by the 12 commercial banks listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, was stipulated at N260.9 billion.
For ten of the banks, they experienced a drop in profits after taxes to ₦213.3 billion when compared to the first quarter which can be blamed on the onslaught of the coronavirus in March, according to Nairametrics data.
As profits for the commercial banks tumbled, customer deposits according to data obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, increased to an all-time high of ₦36.8 trillion as of July which was up by ₦2 trillion from December 2019.
This indicates the influx of cash deposits by customers into the Nigerian banking chain during the coronavirus lockdown which triggered a new round of foreign exchange speculation.
The CBN had resumed sales of US dollars to licensed Bureau de Change operators in September after the Federal Government opened up international travel following the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions.
There has been limited supply of US dollars to importers and licensed Bureau de Change operators, indicating the perpetual existence of increased demand for the dollars.
Banks' Profit After Tax….Daily between Jan to Sept 2020
According to data obtained from StatiSense, several banks posted impressive daily profits after taxes.
Between January to September, GTB made N521.2 million Access Bank earned N374.7 million daily, Union Bank gained N55.2 million daily, Wema Bank secured N15 million daily, and Sterling Bank made N27 million daily.
Despite, the cash flow into the banks which is at all-time highs, the interest rates on 3 months treasury bills is a paltry 1.2 per cent compared to 11 per cent rate in 2019.
With the inflation rate at 12.8 per cent, investors in Nigeria’s treasury bills have a whopping -11 per cent in negative real return.
SOCIO-ECONOMIC Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has sent an open letter to President Muhammadu Buhari urging him to cut the cost of governance and implement bold transparency and accountability policy as way of responding to the economic recession.
SERAP in a letter signed by Kolawole Oluwadare, its deputy director, on Saturday said the economic crisis in the country provides an opportunity for the government to prioritise the welfare of the vulnerable people in the country.
“This economic crisis provides an opportunity to prioritise access of poor and vulnerable Nigerians to basic socio-economic rights, and to genuinely re-commit to the fight against corruption. The country cannot afford getting back to business as usual.”
SERAP said, “Implementing human rights, transparency and accountability measures would save money, address projected adverse human rights impacts of the recession, and fast-track the economic recovery process. It is not too late to take urgent measures that would put the country’s wealth and resources to work for the common good of all Nigerians.”
According to SERAP, decades of mismanagement and corruption, and deep-seated deficiencies in public financial management have directly contributed to higher levels of borrowing and public debts, and consequently, the economic recession, adding that successive governments have squandered the promise afforded by the country’s natural wealth and resources.
SERAP noted that the country’s resources appear to have been used almost exclusively for the benefit of the political elites rather than on projects that would ensure the right to an adequate standard of living of the citizens.
It noted that it would be grateful if the government would swing to action upon receipt of the letter
“We would be grateful if your government begins to implement the recommended action and measures within 14 days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then as to the steps being taken in this direction, SERAP shall take all appropriate legal actions to compel your government to implement these recommendations for the sake of human rights, transparency and accountability.”
SERAP blamed the recent economic crisis in the country on systemic corruption at all levels of government.
“Nigeria has been poorly governed for many years, with systemic and widespread corruption at all levels of government, contributing to failures by successive governments to deliver essential public goods and services to Nigerians, contrary to the country’s constitution and human rights and anti-corruption obligations.”
It, however, urged the president to increase investment in public health, improve transparency and quality of information in government budgets, adding that there is need for the government to immediately instruct the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to jointly investigate allegations of systemic and widespread corruption in MDAs.
THE Ekiti state police command has arrested the police officer who allegedly opened fire and shot a man to death in Ado-Ekiti.
The police officer reportedly opened fire at people watching a football match on Saturday night, killing one Olaoye Abayomi.
The ICIR learnt the officer arrived at the hotel in the company of his other colleagues in a vehicle with “PF 600 – WSH” as the number plate.
An eye-witness said the officer jumped from the van and shot the bullets that killed Olaoye and hit his friend, one Adebayo and who is currently at Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital
Sunday Abutu, spokesperson of Ekiti state police, who confirmed the incident said the command has commencd investigation to unravel the reason behind the shooting.
While appealing for calm with the people of the state, he promised justice will be served in the case.
“The policeman who was involved in the fatal shooting at Queens Court Hotel for the reason which is still under investigation has been arrested by Ekiti State police command, disarmed and detained for investigation and disciplinary action.”
“Ekiti State Police Commissioner implores all the good people of Ekiti State to be calm as he will ensure justice prevails, ” he said.
This is coming following weeks of protest in October by youths in the state in solidarity with other youths in the country to demand an end to police brutality in the country.
ATIKU Abubakar, former vice president of Nigeria, has proposed ways the Nigeria government could explore to pull the country out of its newest recession
Atiku, who made this known in a statement titled, “We Must Exit This Recession With Precision”, noted that Nigeria could have avoided a second recession in five years if it had abided by a disciplined and prudent management of its economy.
“Yes, the COVID19 pandemic has exacerbated an already bad situation, however, we could have avoided this fate by a disciplined and prudent management of our economy,” he said.
“Be that as it may, it serves no one’s purposes to quarrel after the fact. We must focus on solutions. Nigeria needs critical leadership to guide her back to the path of economic sustainability.
“We cannot afford hand wringing and navel-gazing. We must act now, by taking necessary, and perhaps painful actions.”
Atiku said that the proposed appropriation bill for the year 2020 can no longer be realizable, saying the country is too broke to finance such a budget.
“Firstly, the proposed 2021 budget presented to the National Assembly on Tuesday, October 8, 2020, is no longer tenable. Nigeria neither has the resources, or the need to implement such a luxury heavy budget. The nation is broke, but not broken. However, if we continue to spend lavishly, even when we do not earn commensurately, we would go from being a broke nation, to being a broken nation.”
He asked that the non essential items which includes “estacodes, non emergency travel, feeding, welfare packages, overseas training, new vehicle purchases, office upgrades, non salary allowances” in the budget be cut.
He added that until Nigeria’s economic prospects improve, it ought to exclusively focus on making budgetary proposals for essential items, which include reasonable wages and salaries, infrastructural projects, and social services (citizenry’s health, and other human development investments).
Accordingly, Atiku said the government should stimulate the economy through investment on human development and by increasing the purchasing power of the most vulnerable of “our population.”
“Only a well developed populace can generate enough economic activity for the nation to exit this recession.
“We must invest in those most likely to be impacted by the effects of the recession, the poorest of the poor. As well as stimulating the economy, this also ensures that they do not slip further into extreme poverty.”
This includes a stimulus package in the form of monthly cash transfers of ₦5000 to be made to every bank account holder, verified by a Bank Verification Number, whose combined total deposit in the year 2019 was lower than the annual minimum wage.
To actualize this, Atiku proposed “a luxury tax on goods and services that are exclusively accessible only to the super-wealthy. A tax on the ultra wealthy to protect the extremely poor.
“A practical approach to this is to place a 15% tax on all Business and First Class tickets sold to and from Nigeria, on all luxury car imports and sales, on all private jets imports and service charges, on all jewellery imports and sales, on all designer products imported, produced or sold in Nigeria, and on all other luxury goods either manufactured, or imported into Nigeria, with the exception of goods made for export.
“The proceeds of this tax should be exclusively dedicated to a Poverty Eradication Fund, which must be managed in the same manner as the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, or the Ecological Fund.
“I further propose that a 1% poverty alleviation tax should be legislated by the National Assembly on the profits of every International Oil Company operating in Nigeria, and international airlines doing business in Nigeria, which should also go towards the proposed Poverty Eradication Fund.
“It is inhumane for us as a nation to increase the cost of goods and services that affect the poor, while keeping the cost of luxuries fairly stable. We must flip this, and flip it immediately.”
Subsequently, he warned against any further form of borrowing for another purpose other than essential needs.
“Again, for the avoidance of doubt, borrowing to pay salaries, or to engage in White Elephant projects, is not an essential need. This is particularly important as we need cash at hand, because the world and our economic and development partners are also focused on helping their home economies overcome the effects of COVID19. We must be our own saviours.
“The more we borrow, the more we will need cash to make interest and principal payments, and the less cash we will have to make necessary investments in our economy and our people. If we keep borrowing, we stand the risk of defaulting, and that will make recession a child’s play, because we will lose some of our sovereignty,” he said.
On Saturday, The ICIR had reported that Nigeria officially entered into its worst economic recession in over three decades, posting its worst growth rate since 1983.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS records released on Saturday, Nigeria’s economic growth contracted by -3.62 percent in the third quarter of 2020.
BRIGADIER General Ahmed Taiwo Commander of 81 Military Intelligence Brigade, Victoria Island, Lagos, on Saturday confirmed that soldiers who left Bonny Camp military base to #EndSARS Lekki Toll gate protest scene on October 20 had both blank and live bullets with them.
General Taiwo during a cross-examination based on his earlier testimony said although the soldiers were with live bullets but were not used by the soldiers who engaged protesters at the scene of the protest.
He had earlier made a presentation before the panel in defence of the Nigerian Army on November 14, but returned on Saturday for cross-examination by two counsel for #EndSARS protesters, Messrs Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika (SAN) and Mr Adesina Ogunlana.
Asked if soldiers who went to the toll gate carried guns, Taiwo said, “When you are talking of guns, you are talking about high-calibre guns. They were carrying rifles, not guns.”
When further probed if the soldiers’ rifles had only rubber bullets as he had earlier testified, the General said they had live bullets, but that it was meant for back up measures.
Earlier at the panel, the CCTV footage submitted by the Lekki Concession Company, operators of the tollgate was reviewed.
The footage showed that the scene was calm until about 6.43pm when people could be seen running towards the tollgate from the Oriental Hotel end.
Two minutes later, at 6.45pm, military trucks no fewer than seven were seeing with flashing headlights arrived the scene.
Later at 6.53pm, about 10 minutes after the arrival of the military vehicles, the tollgate went into a blackout.
OVER 100 women die annually during childbirth in Garun Sheme District, Kunchi Local Government Area, LGA, of Kano State due to lack of a functional healthcare facility, an investigation by our correspondent has shown.
The situation is not different in Lamba District, where scores of pregnant women also die because they cannot access prompt medical services during labour and delivery.
But residents and community leaders insist that the lives of many pregnant women could have been saved if there were functional healthcare facilities in the affected communities.
District Head Garun Sheme, Kunchi LGA, Kano State, Mal. Haruna Abubakar, said, being a suburb, the area is neglected in terms of development, adding that it has always been a nightmare for people of the community any time a pregnant woman is in labour, as she has to be moved to Bichi, Kazaure or Kano metropolis in order to have access to quality health care services, thus exposing them to prolonged labour.
Abandoned Primary Health Centre at Garun Sheme
“We have lost women in this community because whenever a woman is in labour we have to start thinking of how to get a vehicle to move her out of our remote village, and many don’t make it before they see a doctor due to complications,” he observed.
Abubakar stated further that various village heads under his jurisdiction report at least 6 to 7 deaths every month resulting from childbirth complications, and at least 100 every year.
“As you can see, we live in the remote part of the town, there are no any signs of developments here, no good roads which makes movements in and out of this area difficult, so in case of any emergency health situation we have to move to Bichi, Kazaure or Kano Town,” he said.
Although there are two outpatient hospitals 10 kilomiters away at Rigana and Gidan Misau, deplorable nature of roads washed away by erosion makes it difficult to get there on time and the best option is to head to Kano or the other nearby towns.
The district head said the PHC project located at the center of the community in Kesawa was a sign of relief to them with the hope that when completed, there would be no more travelling to have access to good medical facilities but their hope was dashed as the project suddenly came to a halt about eleven years ago.
“We woke up one faithful morning to see the contractor’s boys handling the contract removing the doors, windows and roofing of the building which was almost completed and when accosted, they explained that the contractor has not been paid for a while that was why they had to remove their materials,” he said.
Abandoned Doctor’s Quarters at Garun Sheme
“We were all happy when the contract started. After the building materials were dismantled, we were told that the contractor stopped getting funds to complete the contract and ever since that incidence, the contractor is yet to return to site”
Abubakar lamented that all their efforts to hear from relevant authorities both at the state and federal levels proved abortive as letters and series of visitations yielded no result.
Halima Sani, a mother of four who resides at Garun Sheme, explained that their plight in terms of access to quality health care is better imagined than explained.
She said lack of a health care facility that can easily be reached by the people of the village has lingered for too long with no hope in sight.
She called on relevant authorities to come to their help and alleviate their sufferings especially the women who loses their lives at childbirth or their infants due to lack of proper medical care and attention.
Another housewife in the village, Hafsat Sale Muhammad, said many of them resort to the use of traditional medicine because of the stress they go through to get medical attention from the hospital.
District head, Garun Sheme
The development, she said, has led to complications in some cases, fatal results due to the side effects of consuming such unregulated traditional medicines.
Hajiya Hafsat further said that the absence of conventional hospitals in the village has contributed to high patronage of the traditional medicine which experts warns of its side effects as most of them are unregulated and not certified by any regulating agency.
Contractor says he is not to blame
When contacted, the contractor, Samuel Ejiofor, explained that he was forced to abandon the project due to lack of payment.
According to him, his company, Trustcon Nigeria Limited, was awarded the contract by the Association of Local governments of Nigeria (ALGON) sometime in 2007 through a private consultant, MATHAN Nig Limited, at the sum of N28 million.
However, Ejiofor explained that the contract for the construction of a 27 – room hospital and a doctor’s residential quarter came to a halt in 2009 as a result of lack of release of funds, which left him with outstanding payment and despite promises for variation, nothing has been done till date.
The contractor, who declined further comments, said any other information needed should be sourced from the ALGON.
In the same vein, the village head of Lamba, Haruna Isa, Kunchi LGA of Kano State revealed that the 15 – room Primary Health Care facility was expected to be completed in four months. However, the work was abandoned at the last stage.
“The hospital work was expected to be completed in four months, that is from sometime around December 15, 2019 to March 15, 2010.
The building got to the roofing stage and all the doors and glass windows have been properly fix but since then nothing else has been done.
It’s been ten years since the contractor left the site and we are yet to see anyone come to complete the finishing touches”.
Like the case of Garun Sheme, Isa said in case of any health emergency, the sick has to be transported to Bichi town, 15 Kilometres from Lamba or Kano Metropolis, which is about 116 kilometres away.
“The building like you saw has gotten almost to the last stage as it has been roofed with doors and windows all fixed but since then, nothing else has happened.
Any time we have any emergency that cannot be handled in the only small outpatient health facility we have, we have to run to the next Local government close to us which is Bichi otherwise, we go to Kano town”.
The village head pleads with relevant authorities concerned to come to their aid and complete the project so that the people of the community can begin to enjoy services to be rendered by the facility.
Village head, Lamba
Isyaku Isa, chairman of the Ward Development Committee in Lamba, stated that the project was facilitated by their House of Representative Member, late Ibrahim Muazam Bichi but the work stopped while he was still in office.
He said many women have given birth in the car on their way to the next town and some time to get a vehicle to convey a sick person is a serious challenge.
According to him, from the beginning, all equipment and other inventories for the hospitals such as mattresses, drugs, test kits and every other thing needed to run the hospital were provided and are presently in a store under his custody but due to the long period of time taken, the drugs have all expired.
Speaking further, isyaku stated that the whole community was confused as to how a project for which every material needed for its operation was provided from the unset would be abandoned and despite all efforts to get to the root of the problem, no success has been recorded up till date.
Asabe Mukhtar, who also shared her experiences, revealed that her sister Zainab had once given birth in a vehicle while on their way to Bichi Hospital.
“My sister Zainab once gave birth in the car while moving her to Bichi.
Although we have one hospital in our village, but it is not enough to handle all cases that’s why we have to move to neighbouring towns in case of complicated cases,” she added.
Contractor says government refused to pay her
The owner of Setbat Nigeria Limited, contractor that handled the job, Hajiya Halima Omidele when contacted said she stopped work when the government stopped funding the project.
“I bided for the contract with the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency and what stopped the work was payment delay and accessibility to the place was something else.
“I stopped where payment stopped, and when I went to make subsequent enquiries about when the remaining money would be released, I was told that the contract had been reassigned to someone else”.
Omidele who promised to provide further information from the beginning of this investigation, however, became evasive, giving excuses up till the time of filing this report.
However, when this reporter visited the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency headquarters, Abuja, on the Oct 5, 2020, he was directed to submit an Freedom of Information Act, FOIA, request for information on the project to enable the agency to reply.
As demanded, the FOI request was sent but no reply was received which prompted for a second letter as a reminder, all to no avail six weeks after.
In the same vein, during a visit to the Associations of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) head quarters at 6th floor WAEC Building, 10 Zambezi Crescent, Off Aguiyi Ironsi St, wuse Abuja, this reporter was informed by one Leonard Onachukwu Papee, the protocol officer, that the National President who doubles as the Chief Accountant and resides in Lagos is in custody of the file containing the needed information as such, no information was available at the head office in Abuja.
A FOIA request was subsequently sent requesting information on the Garun Sheme contract but no reply was also given three weeks after. In the request letter dated October 14, the agency was asked to provide information, including the name of the contractor, contract amout, amounts released so far as well as the contractor’s address. The agency declined providing the requested information.
When contacted, Hon Sani Bala, Present Member representing Kunchi/Tsanyawa Federal Constituency at the National Assembly said it is unfortunate that such an important project would be abandoned.
According to him, one of the projects was a special intervention project through ALGON, which was poorly handled leading to wastage of public funds with no one in particular to hold responsible due to what he described as irregular procedures of executing a project.
Bala further stated that he could not have done much on the issue of the project because members of the House of Representatives from the state only get N40 million as constituency project funds due to their large number, unlike other states with few local governments and House members.
However, Sani promised that as a result of these investigations he would collaborate with the incoming local government chairman from the district to ensure that he includes the completion of the abandoned projects as part of his priorities.
He stressed that the only way out is for the state government to take over the project from the local government.
Sani expressed delight over the investigations which he said has drawn his attention to the abandoned projects and would now ensure the state government come to the aid of the people from the affected villages instead of waiting on the Federal Government that might never answer them.
* This investigation is supported by the John D. And Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the International Centre for Investigative Reporting.
