9JA VIBEZ HUB

It is a wonderful feeling pervading the length and breadth of
Imo State currently. It is as if the people of the state are
getting a double treat this Christmas season. The cheery
news is the announcement recently that Imo State is the
least corrupt state in the country.
The affirmation is coming from no less a quarter than the
National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) working in partnership
with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
and UK AID.
Imolites are much justified to feel a sense of pride and
esteem considering their recent past that was marked by
mockery and widespread odium.
That the state has leapfrogged from being among the most
corrupt and derided to being the beacon of good
governance and respectability in just about six months may
seem surprising to outsiders but close watchers of the
Governor Emeka Ihedioha administration will nod their head
in agreement that this can only be the logical conclusion to
Governor Ihedioha’s avowed resolve to run Imo as a model
state.
Governor Ihedioha was ab initio, clear-headed about his
vision and mission for Imo State. In his inaugural address,
he stated it most unambiguously that he would run the state
by global best practices and standards.
“The engine of good governance must always be lubricated
with the oils of due process, rule of law and fiscal
discipline. We will abide by that philosophy.”
Elucidating this point, Governor Ihedioha stated further: “We
will enthrone appropriate due process mechanism as a
cardinal administrative tool of our government in order to
achieve value for money and ensure fairness, transparency
and competitiveness in the running of government business.
To this end, we shall revive and revitalize the Bureau of
Public Procurement (BPP) in the state and strengthen
enabling laws on the subject.”
True to his word, one of his first policy decisions upon
assuming office was to resuscitate the moribund Bureau of
Public Procurement and Price Intelligence (BPPPRI). And
among the first appointments was Chief Pascal Egwim, a
former Shell procurement executive and one of the
patriarchs of Nigeria’s procurement family as director-
general of the Bureau.
Just as no major contract or procurement matter of the
state is done outside the state’s Executive Council, no such
fiscal document is approved without the express input of
Imo State BPPPRI.
In fact this bureau has become the nemesis of heads of
Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the state.
A council memo requiring substantial expenditure is not
ready and will not get approval unless BPPPRI raises a
‘certificate of no objection.’
In like manner, a copy of the state’s procurement law has
been circulate to all executive council members while
BPPPRI has been carrying out cabinet-wide training to
underscore the importance of this singular issue to the
Ihedioha administration.
Other factors that have earned Imo State the coveted prize
include expedited introduction and adoption of the Treasury
Single Account revenue collection platform. This was done
through the instrumentality of Executive Order 005.
Before May 29, Imo State government under Governor
Rochas Okorochas’ watch had no less than 250 bank
accounts. MDAs and in many cases, individuals ran revenue
accounts on behalf of the state government.
This of course turned the state’s treasury into a free-for- all
bazaar where everyone had unfettered access.
With TSA today, all state’s revenues are collected through
one source and the wanton pillage of Okorocha era has
been reduced to the barest minimum.
The immediate and palpable result of introducing the TSA is
the sharp rise in the internally generated revenue of Imo
State. While the state reported N253m collection in June
(Okorocha’s template), the inflow has continued to rise to
N342m in July, N535m in August, N785m in September,
N877m in October and N946 by end of November.
Imo State today is pushing for the two billion naira monthly
IGR mark; seeking to be among the top IGR earning states
in Nigeria.
Another remarkable move by Governor Ihedioha and his
team in such short period of time which must have
impacted on the state’s corruption index is the reform of
the pension scheme of Imo State.
By October 17, barely five months after the inception of this
administration, Imo’s rotten pension system had been
reformed and fully digitized.
Payment commenced again after over four years of no
payment of pension by the previous government. According
to the National Union of Pensioners, Imo State chapter was
among the leading debtor state in Nigeria with about 12
years of unpaid gratuities and six years of unpaid pension
amounting to about N80 billion unpaid backlog.
Imo pension was a system that was deliberately muddled by
corruption and in turn was corrupted via deliberate muddle
up.
The story is different today. The system has been vastly
cleaned through careful verification, biometric capture of
over 24000 pensioners.
The pension system has been fully digitized with all verified
pensioners receiving monthly payment alerts on their phones
through an e-payment system.
Ghost pensioners have been exorcised, fiddling officials
have been eliminated from the system and today, Imo State
has among the best pension schemes in Nigeria.
Consequently, Imo Pension Commission has been set up
with a mandate to migrate to the contributory pension
scheme in the near future.

It is also noteworthy that in the first few weeks of his
administration, Governor Ihedioha appointed his
commissioner of Justice and Attorney General; long before
other cabinet members were considered.
His explanation was that it is obtuse to run a state without a
chief law officer. It is also important to note that the
governor appointed a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and one of
the best legal minds in the land.
Ihedioha’s mantra at every turn is rule of law and due
process. No critical council decision is taken without
recourse to the attorney-general; indeed, most times, he has
the last say.
This is how the governor encapsulated his vision of
institutionalized good governance during his inauguration. I
quote: “Without checks and balances and the dedication of
the legislative arm of government to its oversight functions,
the tendency of the executive arm or even the judiciary to
derail is high.
As an accomplished lawmaker, my abiding faith is in the
mutual respect and cooperation of the three arms of
government will define the relationship of my administration
with the state legislature.
“Likewise, we shall respect the financial autonomy of the
judiciary by implementing the provisions of the 1999
Constitution as it is at the heart of judicial independence.”
Indeed, numerous reasons abound why Imo has been
adjudged the least corrupt state in the land as surveyed by
the NBS between May 29th and November.
Eleven laws have been passed in Imo during this period,
probably the highest in Nigeria; the local government
authorities enjoy ample financial autonomy as they embark
on projects that engender healthy competition and peer
benchmarking.
Finally, just as the Imo Executive Council has not missed a
sitting since the inception of the Ihedioha administration, so
has the governor not missed a chance to reiterate at every
sitting, his commitment to run Imo State properly deploying
the best governance precepts.
It is no wonder that all the multilateral agencies in the UN
system (e.g. UNICEF, WHO, even World Bank and USAID)
that fled the state during the immediate past administration
have returned under an atmosphere of transparency and
openness.
Imo is keyed to the Open Government Forum, open
budgeting and prompt release of counterpart funds for
social intervention projects.
From the forgoing it must be said that the National Bureau
of Statistics is not in error in naming Imo the least corrupt
state in Nigeria today; the facts of the matter are indeed
self-evident.

The Concerned Leaders of Political Parties on
Monday clashed with two other political groups
— the Grand Coalition of Political Parties and
Forum of Governorship candidates — over the
victory of the Imo State Governor , Chief Emeka
Ihedioha .
The CLPP , during a press conference in Abuja ,
faulted the declaration of Ihedioha , who was
the governorship candidate of the Peoples
Democratic Party during the March 2019
governorship election , as the winner of the
election , by the Independent National Electoral
Commission .
The spokesman of the group, Mr Agbo Major ,
said it was wrong for the Imo State Election
Petition Tribunal and the Court of Appeal to
have also upheld Ihedioha ’ s victory.
Major , who is also the National Chairman of the
New Nigeria Peoples Party , alleged that
Ihedioha was not a product of genuine election .
He said , “ More worrisome are the
constitutional issues arising from the Imo State
governorship election being tossed around by
the judiciary .
“ For instance , the well - known thrust of the All
Progressives Grand Alliance and Senator Ifeanyi
Araraume ’ s election petition against the last
governorship election in Imo State , is the clear
breach of the constitution by INEC, through the
declaration and return of Ihedioha , as governor
of Imo State , despite his failure to meet the
constitutional minimum requirements of
scoring 25 per cent of the votes cast in at least
two- thirds of all the local government areas in
the state , in the last general election .
“ Imo State has 27 LGAs and two- thirds of 27 is
18 . Ihedioha only scored 25 per cent of the
votes cast in 11 LGAs out of 27 . The
requirement of Section 179 (2 ) of the 1999
Constitution as amended , in respect of spread ,
does not require any legal gymnastic for
interpretation. ”

An independent journalist revealed a
video released by Boko Haram this
weekend in which one of its many
captives claims that Leah Sharibu, a
Nigerian Christian teen abducted in
early 2018 is alive, contradicting
earlier reports.
Sharibu is the last of 110 girls the group
abducted from the town of Dapchi, northeastern
Yobe state, in early 2018 to remain in captivity.
Boko Haram jihadists have refused to release her
because she has not accepted forced conversion
to Islam and “marriage” to one of the terrorists.
Boko Haram is a Nigeria-based jihadist group
affiliated with the Islamic State. Its leaders have
taken an oath of allegiance to the Islamic State
and officially renamed the group Islamic State
West Africa Province (ISWAP). Nigerian officials
have repeatedly claimed that a splinter group of
jihadists who rejected the Islamic State’s
authority currently operate separately and often
use this to claim that Boko Haram no longer
exists.
Journalist Ahmad Salkida published a snippet of
a video featuring captives he identified as being
under ISWAP control on Twitter Saturday and
explained on his website that the terrorist group
released the video less than a day after the
publication Friday of a gruesome film showing
the execution of four humanitarian aid workers
the group abducted in July. The exact date of
their murders remains unknown.
A man Salkida identifies as “Bitrus Zakka Bwala,
a principal lecturer with the College of
Education, Gashua in Yobe state,” speaks before
the camera, sitting alongside several men and
one woman. Salkida counts 13 captives and notes
that the terrorists graphically covered the
woman’s face, who appears to be wearing a
hijab. The captives do not make any indication
that the woman is Sharibu, though Sharibu is the
only woman mentioned by name. Instead, Boko
Haram terrorists allege the woman was abducted
near Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, where
Boko Haram was born.
“I appeal to the Federal Government, as you can
see here (there are various Christians among
those) abducted at various points,” the man
identified as Zakka says. “When we came, we
saw some workers here, particularly the ones
with the Action Against Hunger, before they
were executed. We saw that government has not
done enough and that is why Leah Sharibu is
still here.”
“We, therefore, appeal in particular to President
Muhammadu Buhari to do whatever is within his
reach to rescue us. We equally appeal to our
various governors to come to our aid and rescue
us,” the man says. “The leadership of Christian
organizations, we appeal to you to liaise with the
Federal government and push for the rescue of
all captives here.”
Action Against Hunger is a humanitarian aid
organization operating in the region. The group
lost four of its members to Boko Haram
execution in the video published before the most
recent tape. Nigerian President Buhari confirmed
that the executions had occurred and that they
were a product of what Nigerian media described
as “a breakdown of negotiations with the
government.”
“Evil will always be defeated by good at the end
of the day. Whatever seeming victory evil
records, eventually rebounds on the evildoer,”
Buhari said last week in response to the killings.
“We are resolved to beat evil in this land, and we
remain unrelenting till we achieve it.”
Salkida did not publish the entirety of the
extended video in which Zakka claims Sharibu is
alive, but he states that the captive men identify
themselves in front of the camera and the group
appears to be a mix of Muslims and Christians,
though mostly Christian.
Boko Haram roughly translates from the native
Hausa language to “Western education is sin.”
The group for years focused on killing, raping,
and abducting girls and women from schools to
prevent the nation’s women from having an
education. They rose to international prominence
in 2014 after abducting over 300 girls from
Chibok, Borno state, a village near Maiduguri.
Some of the Chibok girls remain unaccounted for
five years later.
The Dapchi mass abduction that took Leah
Sharibu in February 2018 was similar to that of
Chibok , albeit smaller in number. The terrorists
who captured her negotiated for the release of
the other 109 girls, but refused to hand over
Sharibu, claiming that they could not because
she had not yet renounced Christianity.
Sharibu appeared in a hostage audio clip in
August 2018, which her father confirmed
sounded like her voice.
“I am Leah Sharibu, the girl that was abducted in
GGSS Dapchi. I am calling on the government
and people of goodwill to intervene to get me out
of my current situation,” the voice said . “I also
plead to the members of the public to help my
mother, my father, my younger brother and
relatives. Kindly help me out of my predicament.
I am begging you to treat me with compassion, I
am calling on the government, particularly, the
President to pity me and get me out of this
serious situation.”
Little information surfaced on Sharibu until
nearly a year later, when an Action Against
Hunger aid worker claimed the terrorists had
killed her in July.
“Do something to see that we are released,” the
aid worker, Grace Taku, said in a Boko Haram
video. “I am begging on behalf of all of us here
that please Nigeria should not allow such [death]
to happen to us. And it also happen again with
Leah [Sharibu] and Alice – because Nigeria could
not do anything about them they were not
released; they were also killed.”

This dilemma is thickened by the fear of the
unknown. Crude oil accounts for over 95 per
cent of Nigeria's export earnings and about 40
per cent of government revenues, according to
the International Monetary Fund. Despite
attempts at diversifying the economy to areas
such as agriculture and entertainment, the
country still depends on it's oil wells for
sustenance.
As the world seeks cleaner alternatives to fossil fuel with the
aim of halting climate change in its tracks, Nigeria's
contemplation flickers, torn between giving up the stupendous
fortunes of the liquid gold and charting a new path for a
sustainable future.
This dilemma is thickened by the fear of the unknown. Crude
oil accounts for over 95 per cent of Nigeria's export earnings
and about 40 per cent of government revenues, according to
the International Monetary Fund. Despite attempts at
diversifying the economy to areas such as agriculture and
entertainment, the country still depends on it's oil wells for
sustenance.
Will Nigeria lose it's coveted revenue source by phasing out
the production and use of fossil fuel?
Nigeria's oil according to BudgIt is set to run out in 45 years.
Based on proven oil reserves of 37 billion barrels and daily oil
production of 2 million barrels, Nigeria's oil will run out.
This coming apocalypse presents the country of 200 million
people with the opportunity to create what climate activist,
Peter Thorley, describes as "a model 360 turnaround" which
can serve as a template for transition from fossil fuel to
cleaner and climate friendly alternatives.
"Nigeria is a unique situation because it has a young
population in tune with the times, the geography is friendly for
creating sustainable alternatives and my projection is that
Nigeria can make N11trn from solar energy and wind farms
alone," says Thorley.
He adds that Nigeria, "Has a large population and economy
run on generators which pollutes the environment with carbon
monoxide and noise.
"Imagine what people will pay for a cleaner and more quite
alternative. And this does not even include mini grids which
locals can use to sell power to neighbouring countries like
Benin Republic or Cameroon."
For Ummi Dadi, who owns a solar business, expected revenue
from greener sources peaks at N14trn.
"I say Nigeria will make nothing less than N14trn yearly from
renewables.
"All we need is the political will to start exploring this fallow
Eldorado," he said.
The numbers are high, compared to the N9.4trn Nigeria made
in 2018 from crude oil sales.
Beyond the numbers, projected revenue and possibilities for
Nigeria, the country's fingers still drips in unsustainable use
and sale of oil. In order to tap into the possibilities, Nigeria
must show real commitment in planning a sustainable yet
profitable future for its 200 million citizens.
This article was written with the support of Climatetracker.org
as part of the 2019 Climate Tracker Data Journalism Fellowship.

Guardiola-Arteta
Manchester City will not stand in Mikel Arteta’s way if he
wants to become the new manager of Arsenal, several
British media outlets reported Monday.
Reports added that while Premier League champions City
were unhappy at a lack of a formal approach for Arteta,
currently an assistant to manager Pep Guardiola, they will
stop the Spanish midfielder joining Arsenal.
Arteta played for north London side Arsenal and he has
also been linked with the managerial vacancy at Premier
League rivals Everton, another of his former clubs.
But speculation that Arteta could be returning to north
London as the successor to sacked Gunners boss Unai
Emery intensified when pictures emerged of managing
director Vinai Venkatesham outside his house in the early
hours of Monday morning.
City won 3-0 at Arsenal on Sunday but reports said no
approach for Arteta was made when club officials met
during the game.
It is understood two meetings have taken place and City
are unhappy that the London club did not ask for
permission to speak to Arteta.
Defeat left Arsenal as close to the relegation zone as they
are the top four and meant interim manager Freddie
Ljungberg has won just one of his four league games since
the former Gunners midfielder was brought in following
Emery’s sacking last month.
Arsenal are on a run of just one win from 12 games and
Nicolas Pepe, their club-record signing, said the players had
to take the blame for a woeful run of results.
“Us players have to do better quickly,” he said. “We have
won only one game out of the last 12. It is not enough, we
are Arsenal.
“It is about us, not the coach or anything else. We have to
wake up quickly, starting against Everton.”

The Coalition For Good Governance will be embarking on a
nationwide protest to demand for good governance in Nigeria.
The protest tagged “5 million March For Good Governance”,
would be holding at the National Assembly Complex, Abuja,
on Friday.
According to organisers of the protest, the march will be to
demand a fundamental overhaul of Nigeria's constitution and
restructuring of the country.
Other demands that will be pushed by the protest include
“Respect for the right to free speech and respect for the rule
of law and separation of powers in Nigeria.
“Cut down the cost of governance, bogus allowance and
luxurious car purchases for politicians.
“Absolute independence of the judiciary and absolute
independence of INEC whose Chairman should be appointed
by the National Assembly”.
The organisers urged all Nigerians to come out to join in the
demand for an improved and better Nigeria.

The Catholic priest kidnapped in Delta State, Samuel
Agwameseh, has regained his freedom barely 24 hours after
his abductors demanded for a N20m ransom.
Agwameseh was kidnapped over the weekend by some
unknown gunmen, who seized him while returning from a
function on Saturday.
Abductors of the priest had established contact with his
family and demanded N20m as ransom to free him.
Director of Social Communication, Catholic Diocese of Issele-
Uku, Delta State, Charles Uganwa, confirmed to our
correspondent this evening that the kidnapped priest had been
freed by his abductors.

Jamaica Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett says that
Jamaica will be extending invitations to Miss World
finalists Miss Nigeria, Nyekachi Douglas and Miss India,
Suman Rao, following Jamaica’s Toni-Ann Singh’s historic
win on Saturday.
Speaking at the second annual Golden Tourism Day
Awards, held at the Montego Bay Convention Centre
yesterday, the Tourism Minister said that, “This weekend
was a very powerful one for us in Jamaica… Our very own
Toni-Ann Singh was named the beauty of the world.”
He added that, in celebration of this, “ the Director of
Tourism, the Chairman of the Jamaica Tourist Board and I
will collaborate with Minister Grange to invite not just
Miss Nigeria who showed love and friendship but also
Miss India, because we think it will be wonderful to have
them in Jamaica.”
The Minister noted that the Government would make the
necessary arrangements to host the beauty contestants,
and will ensure that they “have the best vacation that they
could hope for, in the best destination that they could
ever think of, and to also make sure that Jamaica remains
top of mind.”
Miss Nigeria, Nyekachi Douglas rose to popularity,
because of her reaction to Singh’s win in London. The
reaction, which has since gone viral, had millions of social
media users sharing that the genuine show of joy for Miss
Jamaica’s win, is an example of how friends should
support each other.
In an Instagram video after the competition, she
described Singh as “amazing” and a big supporter of her
fellow contestants.
Singh is the 69th Miss World and 4th Jamaican to take
the title.  Miss World France, Ophely Mezino was the
runner up, and Miss World India, Suman Rao placed third
at the event that saw contestants from 111 countries
competing in London for the crown.
“We are changing our tagline to ‘Jamaica the heartbeat of
the world’, and in no other way was it expressed than in
London when Toni-Ann became Miss World, becoming the
4 th Jamaican to be so accorded,” he said.
The Minister made the announcement during second
Golden Tourism Day Awards, which was organized by the
Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) and the Ministry of Tourism.
The gala event recognizes Tourism workers who have
given 50 years or more of service to the industry.
Some 34 awardees who have served the industry as raft
captains, craft traders, ground transportation operators,
hoteliers, in-bond store operators, tour operators and Red
Cap Porters were lauded for their remarkable contribution.
“We love you, we respect you and we honor you tonight.
This process of sighting good work – identifying
[awardees] first of all, then positioning and celebrating you
is critical. Tonight says to you that a grateful nation of
people honour your work, respects your efforts and wish
you well,” said Bartlett to the awardees.

UK director Myriam Raja’s The Third Sorrow, the story of a
Nigerian immigrant and single mother who is preparing for
her daughter’s “cutting” ceremony, has won the 16 Days 16
Films short film initative run by UK producer and distributor
Modern Films and the France-based Kering Foundation.
16 Days 16 Films is aimed at filmmakers identifying as
women, addressing issues around gender, inequality and
discriminatin with a particular focus on the subject of gender-
based abuse.
Nearly 150 submissions were received from France, Italy and
the UK, all 25 minutes or under.
Raja wins a cash prize of £1,000 and will now have the
opportunity to create a new public service announcement for
the national awareness campaign UK Says No More, which
works to raise the level of debate around issues of sexual
violence and domestic abuse.
The runners-up were Kedamono, directed by Antonella
Fabiano and Chiara Speziale, and Waves directed by Jessie
Ayles, who win £500 each.
Bafta-winning actress Thandie Newton, Proxima co-writer-
director Alice Winocour and Doctor Who star Jodie Whittaker
were among the jury members.
The 16 fi lms by the finalists each streamed for one day from
November 25 to December 10 through the social channels of
Modern Films and the Kering Foundation, the corporate
foundation of the Kering group, chaired by François-Henri
Pinault that combats violence against women. The films were
also shared by NGOs Chayn Italia and En avant toute(s) in
France as well as UK Says No More.
The initiative was launched last year by Eve Gabereau’s UK
distribution and production banner Modern Films in
partnership with the national campaign UK Says No More. It is
run in-house by communications director Ginta Gelvan and
producer Johanna von Fischer, founding member and former
director of the BIFAs.
It was inspired by 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based
Violence, which has run annually since 1991 between the
International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against
Women and International Human Rights Day.
The other jury members included Kering Foundation executive
director Celine Bonnaire, Modern Films creative director Betty
Aldous, broadcaster Edith Bowman, Obscured Pictures head
of special projects Julie La’Bassiere, Elle France editor -in-
chief Katell Pouliquen, UKSNM partnerships manager Sarah
D’Angelis, and advocate and activist Marai Larasi.
The winners were announced at an awards ceremony in
London this evening (December 16).

Eight members of a local music group in Kebbi State have
been physically assaulted on the orders of an aide to the state
governor, Atiku Bagudu.
Governor Bagudu's Personal Assistant, Faruku Musa Yaro
widely known as Enabo, is alleged to have ordered and
supervised the assault of the musicians at his residence.
The victims are Kabiru Arzila (KB show), Ayuba Ibrahim, Musa
Alle, Bello Aljannare, Shamsu Attahiru Otono and three others.
The musicians were said to have incurred the wrath of the
governor's aide after using satirical songs to criticise the
administration of Bagudu.
Recounting the experience, Arzila said four of them were
picked up at Abacha Hotel around 3:30am on Monday by
persons numbering 10.
He said, "It is true that we have criticised the government; as
musicians of Kebbi State origin, we owe our people a duty to
criticise bad governance and that's exactly what we did in one
of our songs.
"We couldn't keep quiet while Governor Bagudu continues to
ruin our state through bad governance.
"But we never believed they could resort to violence.
"We were at Abacha Hotel when some hoodlums came and
broke the door and took us to the residence of Faruku Musa.
"In his living room, he ordered some hefty men to beat us until
we disclosed who sponsored us to criticise the governor with
our songs.
"In fact, he pulled out an AK47 rifle threatening to kill Bello
Aljanare.
"Thereafter, he warned us never to malign either the governor
or any official of the Kebbi State Government before we were
released."
Director-General of Kebbi Concern Citizens, a civil society
organisation, Ibrahim Mohammed, confirmed visiting the
victims in hospital.
Yaro however, declined to respond to the allegation when
contacted by SaharaReporters.

A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Jibril
Tafida has said that Nigerians should allow the committee set
up by the Attorney General of the Federation to investigate
the alleged invasion of the court in Abuja to arrest Omoyole
Sowore to do its job and not allow the “sentiment of a few”
guide their reactions.
In an interview with Vanguard, Alhaji Tafida said politicians
should not latch on to the incidence to pursue their personal
agenda against the Director-General of the Department of
State Services, Alhaji Yusuf Magaji Bichi BB it is guided by the
over the interest of the nation.
According to him, any case that “borders on threat to national
security should not be politicized” saying that no Nigerian
should be seen to be above the law.
“It is rather unfortunate that emotions are running high on this
matter. What happened at the court was unexpected and
needs to be investigated. But I read so much of what has been
happening between the DSS and Sowore but what I find
interesting in the attack against the agency in the media is the
way it has been politicized. I wonder if those attacking the DSS
have conveniently forgotten that national security is a serious
matter. I expected them to reason that the DSS as secret
police could be in possession of intelligence reports about the
activities of the suspect which may be difficult to allow him to
go.
“Unless we have access to the kind of intelligence that the
DSS has, it would be unfair to continue attacking. I’m in
support of Judicial independence in any way but the issue of
national security should be handled with care” he said.
He said the Director-General of the DSS is widely seen by
those who know him as a professional security operative and
should not be dragged to the turf of politics.
“It is an open secret that the DG is honest to a fault and
incorruptible as widely described by those who know him very
well. This is a person who rose through the ranks to become
the DG. He headed various departments there. He is widely
believed to be a gentleman and humble officer. His major
strength in relating to people is that he has a record of
professionalism.
“Anyway, the Attorney-General of the Federation has set up a
committee to investigate the circumstances surrounding the
incident. Let us wait for their report before we conclude.
Sowore is a citizen like every other a Nigerian” he said.

Indonesia has filed a lawsuit at the World Trade
Organization (WTO) against the European Union, claiming
the bloc’s restrictions on palm oil-based biofuel are unfair,
the latest in a series of disputes between the two sides.
The EU launched a complaint at the WTO in late November
over Indonesian curbs on nickel ore exports and hit
Indonesian biodiesel with tariffs last week.
The two are meanwhile seeking to forge a free trade
agreement.
The European Commission concluded this year that palm
oil cultivation results in excessive deforestation and should
not count toward renewable energy targets.
The result is that palm oil-based diesel would not be
considered a biofuel and its use in transport fuel would
effectively be phased out between 2023 and 2030.
Indonesia, the world’s biggest producer of palm oil, has
repeatedly said it will challenge the EU’s renewable energy
directive at the WTO’s dispute settlement body.
The Commission said the directive was part of the EU’s
green policies and was confident the measures were in line
with WTO obligations, adding it had explained this to
Jakarta on a number of occasions.
It added it expected Indonesia to maintain a strong interest
in trade talks. Issues that were subject to WTO disputes, it
added, were not part of the negotiations.
Indonesia sent a request for consultations with the EU on
December 9, 2019, the trade ministry said in statement
said.
The consultation phase lasts 60 days. If no solution is
found, the EU can then request that the WTO set up a panel
to adjudicate.
“The Commission seems to be well-prepared for this,” said
Hosuk Lee-Makiyama, director of Brussels-based think tank
ECIPE.
“It’s a political case and how these fare is not solely to do
with the law.”
EU consumption of palm oil in food has been in steady
decline, but its use as a biofuel has increased. Last year,
the bloc consumed more than 7 million tonnes of palm oil,
with some 65% of it used for energy.
Indonesia trade minister Agus Suparmanto said the decision
to go to the WTO was made after assessing scientific
studies and after meetings with associations and
businesses involved in the palm oil sector.
Indonesia’s Director General of Foreign Trade Indrasari
Wisnu Wardhana said the EU’s policy would not just impact
Indonesia’s palm oil exports to Europe, but would also
tarnish the image of palm oil products globally.
Source: Reuters