2015: It’s Either A Northerner Or No More Nigeria - Farouk Adamu Aliyu

Again, the issue of Nigeria and her governance took a centre stage yesterday, with the threat by a former member of the House of Representatives and a chieftain of the Congress for Progressive Change, Hon. Farouk Adamu Aliyu that ‘it is either a Northerner as President in 2015 or there will be no more Nigeria.

Aliyu’s outburst in an exclusive interview with LEADERSHIP in Abuja was a direct response to the ex-Niger Delta militant and leader of Niger Delta Volunteer Force, Mujahid Asari Dokubo declaration on Sunday that ‘there will be no peace in the country, if Jonathan was denied a second term’.

Aliyu, who was the 2011 CPC governorship candidate in Jigawa State, said it is unfortunate and sad that Dokubo is still walking the streets a freeman after making such unguarded statement.

He warned that “if Jonathan, Dokubo and their people want to destroy this country, then we are willing accomplices”.

The ex-lawmaker who claimed to be speaking for the people of the North warned that nobody has the monopoly of violence adding that such arm-twisting tactics as was exhibited by the Presidential Adviser on Niger Delta Affairs, Kingsley Kuku in United States some days ago,will not work.

“Few weeks back, Kingsley Kuku, the presidential adviser on amnesty programme in faraway America also went and made similar statements, which means President Goodluck Jonathan has already won the PDP primary election and the secondary election - that’s exactly what they are saying.

“Let me also use this opportunity to say on behalf of us in the north that nobody has monopoly of violence and that on behalf of the people of northern extraction, there shall be no one Nigeria if a northerner is not elected president of this country, because politics is a game of numbers and the Ijaw people are not up to one million or two million or even five million.

“So if in a democracy, the President will allow somebody to say if he is not voted, there won’t be peace – this clearly shows that they don’t want peace and thepresident is not a democrat,” he said.

http://leadership.ng/news/070513/2015-it-s-either-northerner-or-no-more-nigeria-farouk-adamu-aliyu

2015 Presidency It’s either Jonathan or war–Asari-Dokubo

By IHEANACHO NWOSU, Abuja

Leader of the Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force (NDPVF), Alhaji Mujahid Asari-Dokubo, said at the weekend that the current insecurity and tension in the country would be a child’s play if President Goodluck Jonathan fails to win a second term in 2015. He said that Niger Delta will ensure the nation does not know peace if Jonathan is prevented from returning to office after the 2015 general elections.

Asari-Dokubo told reporters in Abuja that peace will take a flight in Rivers State if Governor Rotimi Amaechi continues his romance with the northern leaders who are plotting against the President, even as he lashed out at former Head of State, Maj-Gen. Muhammad Buhari, saying he is unfit to rule the country again. He said: “Recently, the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta, Mr. Kingsely Kuku, made a statement in the United States of America that the peace being enjoyed in the Niger Delta will not be guaranteed if President Goodluck Jonathan is not returned in 2015.

This statement has been supported by several groups from the region.” According to Dokubo-Asari,” the statement has been attacked from several quarters, expectedly from the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and others. I want to go on to say that, there will be no peace, not only in the Niger Delta, but everywhere if Goodluck Jonathan is not president again, by 2015, except God takes his life, which we don’t pray for. “Jonathan has uninterrupted eight years of two terms to be president, according to the Nigerian Constitution.

We must have our uninterrupted eight years of two tenures I am not in support of any amendment of the Constitution that will reduce the eight years of two tenures that Goodluck Jonathan is expected to be President of Nigeria. “For a very long time, our resources from the Niger Delta had been used to feed and fund Nigeria, and some people are still feeling that Nigeria is their personal property, and they can manage it the way they like, but those days are gone forever, it can never come back again.

The days when we will elect a president and some people will annul our mandate, and place the winner of that mandate in their dungeon and murder him, such days are over and they will never come back again.” Asked if he was aware of claims that the President has not lived up to expectations, he dismissed such views as the handiwork of those he called greedy politicians. He said: “A lot of people will say that Goodluck has not performed as President. We from the Niger Delta have been fair. We criticize our own, but that does not change what I have always said that “monkey no fine, but him mama like am”.

We will continue to support and stand by Goodluck. “Our colonial operators left functional railways system and roads that were motor able, education and energy sectors that worked. But from Yakubu Gowon, to Murtala Mohammed, Olusegun Obasanjo, Shehu Shagari, Muhammadu Buhari, Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida, Sani Abacha, Abdulsalami Abubakar, Olusegun Obasanjo again, these infrastructure built by the colonial operators were totally destroyed. We are all aware of it and nobody can deceive us.

“But today, the story has changed, I made five hours from Benin to Lagos by road. Electricity supply is relatively constant now than what it was before Jonathan came in as President. The Abuja-Lokoja Road that was neglected is almost completed and several other roads across the country. People have started using the rail system again. This shows that Jonathan is silently moving the country at the direction to satisfy these in-searchable people, while we from the Niger Delta are not being satisfied.

“Before now, we have had university lecturers going on strike for over six months, people go to universities to study courses of four or five years, but end up staying five and six years because the lecturers were always going on strike, but that is not the case as at today because the government is handling the issue. Even at that, this is the most maligned government because some people think, and they have been made to believe that they are born to rule, and so many people who are very timid to challenge them have accepted it.”

On Buhari , Asari-Dokubo said: “They talk about Buhari, and I asked them what has Buhari got to show in all the years he had been in government. He was a governor in the North, later he became Commissioner for Petroleum and Natural Resources, he was Head of State, and he also headed the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF), in all of these positions, he held, what are his achievements? “When we go to Dubai and other former Third World countries, we see the achievements of their leaders, if Buhari is so good, let him show us one thing that he achieved when he was in the positions he held before.

Let him show us one monument in the former North-Eastern that can be attributed to him when he was governor there. He has nothing to show. They’re saying he is not corrupt, and we were told how $2.8 billion got missing. “Group Captain Usman Jubril, a Muslim and former governor in the North, accused Buhari of corruption, that his cronies were given contracts in the Afri Project, Buhari’s cronies controlled PTF, we all saw it. But because some people love slavery, and they will say the master is coming with koboko, he will flog me if I don’t fall in line. President Jonathan is not using the hammer that IBB and Buhari used when they were in power. Jonathan is not using the retroactive laws that Buhari used to murder people that is why they see him as clueless.

They want him to start behaving like IBB, Buhari and Obasanjo, then he becomes a president that is strong”. On the rift between Amaechi and the Presidency, Asari-Dokubo lambasted the governor, accusing him of acting like a traitor. He accused the Rivers State governor of not respecting President Jonathan and creating an impression that Governors’ Forum was bigger than the Presidency. He said, “There is this war that is going on, instigated by Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi. The law does not know the Nigerian Constitution, and as a body, Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) as an association that is unknown, it has no legal power. Where the governors’ forum wants to usurp the constitutional powers of the president elected by the people, is something that will not be acceptable to anybody.

“They didn’t do it under Babangida, they also didn’t do it under Obasanjo, they didn’t do it under Yar’Adua, for Chibuike to arrogate this power to himself, he has been looking for trouble. Now he is saying that failure to provide security is an impeachable offence, that is what Chibuike is telling the President. Chibuike has been making statement, disparaging the person of President Goodluck Jonathan. “He went to Kano State and declared there that he will contest 2015 presidential election as a running mate to a northern aspirant, he is free to do so, but the South-South region will not allow traitors among us. And if Rotimi Amaechi has singled himself out as a traitor, he will be treated as a traitor.

There is nothing anybody can do about it. “Now that we have come out of slavery, nobody can take us back into slavery, it is not possible. Rotimi Amaechi with his background enjoys slavery. He knows his background and everybody knows him. If God has given him a lease of life to be with people who have freedom, he should appreciate what God has given him, but to think he will take us back to slavery, we will not let him do so. There is monumental corruption going in Rivers State under Amaechi. He budgets $3billion every year, and there is nothing to show for such budget in Rivers State, which is a one city state,” Asari-Dokubo alleged.

http://sunnewsonline.com/new/cover/2015-presidency-its-either-jonathan-or-war-asari-dokubo/

" What Nigerians Pay The Federal Government" -The Opinion Piece That Got El Rufai Into Trouble With Jonathan

By: Nasir El-Rufai

This year, every Nigerian - all 162 million of us - man, woman and child will 'pay' the sum of N27,685 each to help run the federal government. What we cannot afford, government will borrow on our behalf to pay for its activities.
That is why the federal government, on behalf of you and I will spend the sum of 4.485 trillion (over four thousand billion) naira in 2011. This is against the backdrop that our entire oil earnings for the year cannot pay the generous salaries and allowances of politicians on the one hand, and the meagre pay cheques of other public sector workers on the other, while infrastructure and unemployment are barely getting attention.
When you walk into a government office to request for a basic service, the staff you meet may not even bother to reply to your greeting and barely has time to listen to you; the policeman that should protect you on the roadblock, stops you and demands for bribes and has no qualms shooting dead any motorist that refuses to give him twenty naira; the customs officer at the border who is supposed to stop smuggling takes a bribe and actually connives with the smugglers to bring in banned products into the Nigerian market, while harassing the traveller entering Nigeria with two new pairs of shoes; the hospital staff that, contrary to every professional oath, refuses to attend to dying patients because they are on strike; the soldiers who get so bored that they occasionally go on a rampage, using policemen for target practice. With live ammunition, of course; the politician who rigs himself into office then proceeds to loot the treasury: these are all the people whose standard of living we are spending nearly 75 per cent of the 2011 budget to pay for - and borrowing some after spending all our collections from oil and taxes!
It will cost nearly 2.5 million naira this year on average to pay for the salary and upkeep of each of Nigeria’s nearly one million federal public sector workers – in the police, civil service, military and para-military services and teachers in government schools and institutions. Whether this amount justifies the service that is rendered is left for Nigerians to decide. In all, the 49 line Ministries, Departments and Agencies specifically mentioned in the 2011 Appropriations Act will each cost an average of N49.49 billion to run.
We elect a total of 360 members to the House of Representatives and 109 Senators to make laws and enhance good governance by checking and balancing the excesses of the executive arm of government. For this privilege, the 469 members of the federal legislature and their support staff at the National Assembly will spend N150 billion this year. It is worth noting that NASS only passed 8 bills as at the end of May 2011. So assuming that they manage to pass another 7 bills before the end of this year, it would cost the Nigerian citizen an average ten billion naira to pass a single bill! This implies that to pass the 2011 budget (which allocates N150 billion to NASS), Nigerians paid 10 billion naira. An even more interesting statistic is the cost of maintaining every legislator every year. It works out to princely N320 million per legislator per annum. At this rate, every four year stint at NASS works out at N1.28 billion per legislator. No wonder machetes, guns and thugs are used at will to "win" primaries and the elections. How many new businesses can achieve a turnover of N1.28 billion within four years with net tax-free profit in excess of 50 percent? Is this social justice?
For the NASS, even the amount of N150 billion above is just what we can see easily but is not broken down for further analysis or accountability. There is a bit more hidden all over the Appropriation Act - another N1.595 billion was tucked away for "In-lieu of accommodation for the Seventh Session of NASS" and another N200 million for "Funding of House Resolution Mandates." What these two provisions mean is best explained by those that legislated them and the executive that will release the sums! What is clear is that none of these will ever be accounted for, or audited!
Last week, I wrote about the cost of justice. I got a few things wrong because I did not appreciate fully the unique role of the National Judicial Council (NJC) in the administration of the nation's judicial system. My friend and former classmate Mrs. Maryam Wali Uwais clarified this and educated me, for which I am grateful. The NJC's budget of N95 billion covers the salaries and allowances of all judges of superior courts of record in Nigeria - that is State High Courts and their federal equivalents, Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. The NJC also funds the overheads of all the Federal Courts only - the Federal High Court and the appellate courts, as well as the salaries and allowances of all Federal Judicial support staff. The State Governments are responsible for the salaries of all other judicial staff (magistrates, support staff, etc.) and the overhead costs of all courts within their respective jurisdictions. It is therefore slightly more complicated to compute what it costs to keep our entire judicial system running without adding up all the budgetary allocations to the Judiciary in all 36 states. We will return to this sometime soon.
An interesting observation is the fact that the government says the problem of power shortage is a priority, yet the Ministry of Power only got 91 billion naira as total appropriation in 2011, while the National Security Adviser (NSA) controls and will spend 208 billion naira (Recurrent - N51 billion, Capital N59 billion, and another N98 billion for the Amnesty Programme!). This amount does not include the Defence budget. The Defence Ministry will get N348 billion, while the Police will get 309 billion naira. In other words, though Nigerians have never felt so insecure in recent history, the NSA, Police and Defence will spend a combined 865 billion naira - more than 2 billion naira a day, weekends included! This does not include the 36 states’ so-called security votes. Even state assembly members and local government councillors now have security votes. Clearly their security is more important than ours!
The point of these statistics is to show how expensive governance has become and how little Nigerians get in return. And the unproductive portions of our national budget have been rising rapidly in the last 4 years, to the detriment of capital investments in infrastructure and human development. Four years ago in 2007, the entire federal government budget was 2.3 trillion naira; today we are spending 4.485 trillion. In 2007, statutory transfers amounted to 102 billion naira or 5% of the total budget. Today, transfers amount to 418 billion or 9% of the total.
This year, the federal government will spend 495 billion naira or 11% of the budget on debt servicing compared to 326 billion naira or 14% it spent the year we finally exited from the London Club debt. More telling is the 1.05 trillion naira or 46% for recurrent expenditure in 2007 against the 2.425 trillion or 54% government will spend this year. Just four years ago, capital expenditure accounted for 36% (830 billion naira) of the budget. This year, the amount for capital expenditure has fallen to 25% (1.147 trillion naira - out of which N1.136 trillion is the budget deficit - that is to be borrowed!).
To the uninformed eye, the figures may seem to represent increases in all aspects, but to what cost, and to what effect? Apologists would want us to believe that the astronomical increase in the cost of government services can be explained by inflation, but even taking into consideration the high inflationary trend (thanks to Jonathan’s profligate campaign year spending), statutory transfers in the budget has gone up by a whopping 310%; debt servicing has a 52% increase; recurrent expenditure has gone up by 131% while capital expenditure has increased by 39% over four years. In real terms however, and accounting for inflation, the total budget has increased by 33% with recurrent expenditure going up by 58% while capital expenditure has actually reduced by 6%.
Facts and figures do not lie. Every figure used in this analysis came from official government records. What is the justification for allocating such huge amounts to running the government when a staggering 30 million Nigerians are unemployed? Only N50 billion has been budgeted to create employment, forgetting that money by itself does not create jobs without a well thought out plan to stimulate small and medium scale enterprises and the creation of appropriate regulatory environments. What are the strategies to ensure that these funds are not diverted? How many jobs will be created this year or in the next four years? Are our priorities right?
All these come down to the questions: Will government’s 4.485 trillion naira budget make life any better or even provide security for Nigerians? Can we feel the impact of this huge spending? Is the cost of governance justified? If we do not have the courage to ask these questions, we will be doing ourselves a disservice and endangering our people's future.

www.saharareporters.com

The Nigeria mass media on trial

It is dangerous to dismiss the current crisis at The Punch as a crisis at The Punch. It is a crisis in the national mass media, and therefore a national crisis. It began when Steve Ayorinde, the editor of The Punch, was asked to resign his appointment last month. Left with no choice, he penned a long, detailed petition against his former boss, the same man who had asked him to leave.

That man is Azubuike Ishiekwene, the company's Executive Director (Publications) . Mr. Ayorinde's comprehensive complaint to the company's Board of Directors, which was first published by i-reports-ng. com, seems to have resulted in Mr. Ishiekwene's suspension, but The Punch has announced no such measure. The complaints against Mr. Ishiekwene are many and extremely serious. They include allegations of collecting millions of Naira from corrupt politicians and governments in exchange for their protection and promotion, as well as millions and perks from businesses and organizations.

Mr. Ishiekwene is accused of being a consultant to the Lagos State Government, and of attending meetings of "media consultants" comprising Senior Editors and Chairmen of Editorial Boards, for which he is being paid. According to Mr. Ayorinde, newspaper houses that awarded the Man of the Year award to Governor Fashola were either paid N25million to do so, or as a reward for granting the honour. Some newspapers did not award the governor anything, but if they were considered important, they still received "a N15million largesse by way of contract (sic) to the Senior Editors, including, as I reliably learnt, Mr. Ishiekwene, who are consulting for the government," the former editor wrote.

In the private sector, according to the account, Mr. Ishiekwene seems to have had a presence as well, including a significant retainer by a bank. Mr. Ayorinde also cites the paper's August 2008 publication of the power sector probe report of the House of Representatives. Among those that took a hit in it was Rockson Engineering, whose chairman is Chief Arumeni Johnson. He also happened to be a friend of Mr. Ishiekwene's, who was away on vacation at the time The Punch was publishing the report. Mr. Ayorinde alleges that as soon as his boss returned, he called a meeting of newspaper editors with Chief Johnson at Sheraton Hotel in Lagos, and that Mr. Ishiekwene "personally distributed money to the guests, ostensibly to have them protect Rockson's interest in their papers."

Chief Johnson is also the Chairman of Arik Air, and "Mr. Ishiekwene and a friend of his who is also a senior editor in another newspaper, are both consultants to the business interests of Chief Johnson through their company, A&L," of which the 'A' stands for Azubuike.

Among other things, writes Mr. Ayorinde, when Arik bought a new aircraft in France in 2008, Mr. Ishiekwene, as a Board member designate of the airline and media consultant to Chairman Johnson, overruled the plan by the company's Head of Media Relations to take aviation correspondents to France for the show. Instead, Mr. Ishiekwene took a group of selected editors who flew Business Class and were each personally handed an allowance of $5,000 by the Punch Director.

For Mr. Ishiekwene, it would be a shame even if only a few of the allegations, of which these are a sample, were true. While it is often rumoured that many journalists are on the payroll of powerful politicians and businessmen, what Mr. Ayorinde has achieved is to provide a face for the menace in his compelling narrative, which he has invited The Punch to investigate, and for which he offers names of people who would be prepared to testify. There is no doubt that Mr. Ishiekwene's credibility and career are on the thin edge of the knife.

But it would also be a fascinating report The Punch turns in when its investigation is done, because its own credibility is also in question. To begin with, it turns out that in December 2008, investigative reporter Mojid Musikilu, who is now of 234NEXT, had written a protest letter to the management about the disappearance of a story he had filed on the indictment of Ogun State's Governor Gbenga Daniel for corruption by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Mr. Musikilu compared that experience with an earlier one, in July 2008 in next-door Oyo State. At that time, he said, not only did his story on the indictment of Governor Bayo Alao-Akala by the same Commission enjoy "generous usage," including front page treatment, even the EFCC's interim report on the governor's activities was published in full some days later.

The reporter complained about other stories: Early in 2008, another story he wrote on the EFCC's investigation of Patience Jonathan, the wife of then Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan was killed. And he was "advised against doing a story on the curious withdrawal of N3.6 billion from (the) Rivers State Government account with Zenith Bank." What this means is that in one year alone, that single reporter had at least three significant stories curiously spiked. The public is left to wonder how many other reporters at the paper suffered similar denials and frustrations during that year, or routinely. Mr. Musikilu's complaint to the management of The Punch pre-dated that of Mr. Ayorinde by over one year. It clearly indicated the reign of negative practices in The Punch newsroom, but the company does not seem to have shown any interest.

In retrospect, the Ayorinde story is not about The Punch at all, but about journalism in Nigeria. One cannot read Mr. Ayorinde's protest without coming away with the frightening impression that many senior journalists have now adopted a loose lifestyle of selling their influence to government officials and businessmen in exchange for cash and gifts without the slightest concern for any conflict of interest. This is a terrible burden because the power of the press lies in its credibility. If stories are being paid for, or editors bought in order to ensure specific kinds of coverage, a newspaper is, in effect, a doctored and worthless document. The reader is left to wonder whether a particular story was paid for with the objective of making an individual look good, or to make someone else look bad.

Similarly, if an editorial portrays an organization or institution in poor light, how does the reader know that the opinion is genuine, and not because the asking price of the editorial writer or Chairman of the Editorial Board was met? When is a story a hoax, a reward, a love story, a campaign jingle? When is the absence of a story the story? When is a headline a "head-lie"?

This is an ethical crossroads that the media, and not just The Punch, must take seriously. Nobody and no media organization should hide behind the fig leaf that this concerns only one newspaper and one editor. I do not see how anyone can be comfortable with the image of the nation's editors as a prostitution ring with its members ready to lie down for everyone that can pay the gate fee. The way forward is for the media houses, the Nigeria Union of Journalists, the Nigeria Guild of Editors and the Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN) to conduct independent investigations if they wish to re-establish public credibility in their industry, knowing that further failures on their part would throw this trade open to intrepid citizen reporters.

Without doubt, the guilty editors must be identified and exposed in order to protect the good ones and give the profession a chance to survive. Those senior journalists who have nothing to fear should defend themselves by exposing the traitors or risk going down with them. There is no middle road and nowhere to hide.


* sonala.olumhense@ gmail.com

Two Journalists Arraigned in Niger

The publisher of Liberator Newspaper, Kelani Mohammed, and Editor, Usman Saidu, have been remanded in prison custody over allegations of conspiracy and inciting the public against the Secretary to the Niger state Government, Dr. Mohammed Kuta Yahaya.

Mohammed, who is the publisher of the weekly paper and his editor, Saidu, were yesterday charged to a chief Magistrate court in Minna by the Nigerian Police as a result of an article published in the paper on the January 9, 2010.

According to the prosecution officer, the offensive article published by the newspaper accused the SSG of aquiring wealth illegally and purchasing properties around the state.

The dou were charged for conspiracy, defamation of character, inciting public disturbance, giving false information to the public contrary to section 92 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC).

The police said the report in the paper had been investigated and found out to be false information aimed at inciting the public against the person of the SSG.

Prosecuting lawyer, Mark Igwe, requested that the journalists be remanded in prison custody to prevent them from tampering with ongoing investigation.

Counsel to the accused, Mohammed Ndayako, said the First Investigation Report (FIR) signed by the Niger state Commissioner of Police, Mike Zuokumor, shows that the investigations had been completed and they cannot tamper with investigation.

He therefore pleaded that the publisher and his editor be granted bail.

The presiding judge, Salihu Tanko, however opposed the plea, saying they should be remanded in prison custody while counsel of the accused was asked to apply formally for bail. The case was adjourned to 26th January, 2010.

courtesy Thisday Newspaper

Security Operatives Arrest Editor

The State Security Services (SSS), at 10 a.m. today picked up Ahmed Shekarau, the editor of Peoples Daily, a newspaper based in Abuja.

An email from Abdullzeez Abdullahi, a colleague of Mr. Shekarau, stated that the three officers of the SSS who came to pick up Mr. Shekarau “said that the SSS DG wanted to have a chat with him (Mr. Shekarau).” The men gave no further details.

Mr. Abdullahi wrote that; “our belief however is that the invitation may be over the story of the succession battle for the VP’s slot in the event that Goodluck Jonathan becomes president. The story was published last Friday.”

He said; “The Public Relations Officer of the SSS, Maryln Ogah said she would get back to us with some information but still hasn’t done so and is not picking calls to her phone.”


courtesy www.234next.com

Security service detains French journalist

The Social and Economic Rights Action Center, (SERAC), has reported the detention of a French television reporter, Frederic Tonolli, by the Nigerian State Security Service (SSS) in Lagos for taking footage in a private housing community in the Amuwo Odofin area of the city.

SERAC is a non-governmental organisation that works for the promotion of social and economic rights of which housing rights are a major aspect.

Victoria Ohaeri, the Programme Coordinator for the center in a telephone interview said that Mr. Tonolli, a reporter for the French television network, Channel Five, was arrested Wednesday, December 2 by the security service.

She said Mr. Tonolli was “vigorously interrogated and detained by the SSS for several hours at their Shangisha office in Lagos and eventually released later in the night with an order to report back the following day at noon.”

Mr. Tonolli was again detained when he reported Thursday December 3, 2009, according to Ms. Ohaeri, who said the French journalist is expected to leave the country on a scheduled flight tonight but have been told that he may not make that flight because operatives have yet to conclude their investigations.

Mr. Tonolli has requested consular assistance, but was denied the opportunity to make contact with the French Embassy in Lagos, according to Ms. Ohaeri who also claimed that the SSS has not furnished any legal basis for interfering with Mr. Tonolli’s liberty.

Ms. Ohaeri said her organisation is currently in dialogue with the SSS to seek the release of Mr. Tonolli.


courtesy; www.234next.com

What is Abike Up To?

The plot against the Freedom of Information Bill is crystallising at the House of Representatives. Notonly has its passage into law been frustrated, a new bill aimed at curtailing press freedom and suppressing the practice of journalism has been freshly manufactured.

Unfortunately for Nigeria , the same journalist-turned- lawmaker who sponsored the FOIB is also the initiator of "An Act to Provide for the Repeal of the Nigerian Press Council Act 1992 and Establish the Nigerian Press and Practice of Journalism Council" at the House of Reps: Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa.

The bill seeks to create two new bodies - the National Examination Accreditation Board and the Media Practitioners' Complaint Council - to prescribe fresh conditions for journalism practice in the country. Before one could work as a journalist, one must be certified fit by the Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ), not any degree-awarding institution in the world!

And, in case of an infraction, a media house has to pay a fine of N100, 000 while the journalist, a first-time offender, has to pay N50, 000 and risks being suspended for a maximum of six months. The fine could be upped to N500, 000 and N100, 000 respectively where the corporate body or individual refuses to comply with rulings.

Nothing illustrates the ignorance and idiocy of the bill's makers (including, unfortunately, Dabiri-Erewa) better than sections 35, 36 and 37 that provide for the salary and conditions of service of media people. Every media organisation must pay a minimum of 20 per cent more than the salaries paid by the federal and state governments as well as private companies "as the case may be".

In the case of any media house that covers up to two-thirds of the country, it shall pay not less than 120 per cent more. The bill adds, in section 37, that the salaries and conditions of service of journalists are to be negotiated collectively among the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN) and the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON). And, for the avoidance of doubt, the agreed salaries and conditions of service shall be published in the Federal Government Gazette and made available to every journalist (section 39)!What is Dabiri-Erewa up to?

We are surprised that such a trained media person could permit her name to be appended to this bill that is only fit to remain in the trashcan. It is unworkable. It is distasteful. It seeks to reverse all the gains made from the practice of journalism in the country over the past 150 years. Needless to add, it is the product of some idle minds that have nothing meaningful to contribute to the media and to national development.

We are at one with the Nigerian Guild of Editors, which has advised the legislators not to waste its energy on shadow-chasing. It is not their duty to educate journalists on the ethics of journalism. And they are not competent to legislate on how the business of mass communication and indeed other businesses should be managed effectively. Already, the Nigerian media is on the road to better self-regulation - the birth of the ombudsman. "Veteran" journalists like Dabiri-Erewa ought to have sought clarifications from those who know.

Perhaps, no other profession absorbs as much insult from unlearned persons as does journalism in Nigeria . This bill offers a good example: It abhors the independence of the council to be created to regulate media practice, as its chairman shall work at the pleasure of the Nigerian president and the minister of information and communications (both of whom might know nothing about journalism). In fact, the council's members shall be required to swear to an oath of secrecy - an apparent contradiction to the Freedom of Information Bill that canvasses openness and accountability.

Yet, journalism is the only profession assigned responsibility by the Nigerian constitution: "The press, radio and television and other agencies of the mass media shall at all times be free to uphold the fundamental objectives contained in this chapter (Fundamental Objectives and Directive of State Policy) and uphold the responsibility and accountability of the Government to the people." (Section 22) Where the government - the legislature, in this case - chooses to make rules to be used in holding it accountable and responsible to the people, it violates the supreme document of the land, and its rules are therefore null and void.

Our lawmakers would do well to make laws for the good governance of Nigeria before attempting to design a training programme for would-be journalists. It is to their eternal shame that Nigeria has become one of the most corrupt, most ungoverned, most discomforting nations in the world. Today, the easiest route to wealth is having access to public funds, not hard work or intelligence. When future generations shall probe into Nigeria 's ugly past, our current lawmakers' names shall be listed among those who acquired enormous wealth without doing any work.

The new bill sponsored by Abike Dabiri-Erewa is dead on arrival. Any time the house spends debating it is a waste. Instead, it should resurrect the FOI Bill which former President Olusegun Obasanjo refused to sign into law in 2007, which the current lawmakers are apparently afraid of, but which journalists, anti-graft agencies and the overwhelming majority of the Nigerian public have been yearning for.

All through the ages, tyrants have made vain efforts to gag the press. The army of detractors led by Dabiri-Erewa shall surely fail. If history is any guide, they should be educated by the third amendment to the United States constitution: "Congress shall make no law abridging freedom of expression.. ."


Courtesy: Leadership Newspapers

The Nigerian Press and Practice of Journalism Council Bill

A Bill for an Act to Provide for the repeal of the Nigerian Press Council Act, 1992, and establish the Nigerian Press and Practice of Journalism Council, to provide high profession standards for the Nigerian Press and deal with complaints emanating from members of the public about the conduct of journalists and media houses in their professional capacity, or complaints emanating from the press about the conduct of persons, organisations or institutions of government towards the press and for other matters connected therein.

Sponsored by Hon. Abike Dabiri

Be it enacted by the National Assembly of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as follows:

Part 1 – Establishment of the Nigerian Press and Practice of Journalism Council (NPPJC)
1.There is hereby established a body to be known as the Nigerian Press and Practice of Journalism Council (in this Act referred to as “the council of Journalism”) which shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal and may sue and be sued in its corporate name.

2 (1) The Council of Journalism shall consist a chairman and the following other members, that is-
(a) four representatives of the Nigerian Union of Journalists;
(b) two representatives of the Nigerian Guild of Editors;

(c) two representatives of the Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria who shall be practising journalist;
(d) four representatives of the general public; one of whom shall be a legal practitioner and one woman;
(e) one representative of education institutions involved in the training of journalists

(f) one representative of the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation who shall be a practising journalists
(g) two representatives of the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria;

(h) one representative of the News Agency of Nigeria, who shall be a practising journalists; and

(i) Executive Secretary of the Council of Journalism
(2) The chairman of the Council of Journalism shall be appointed by the president, on the recommendation of the minister, after due consideration of the submission of the Nigerian Press Organisation and shall be a person -
(a) of high intellectual and moral qualities and knowledge about the press and public affairs; and

(b) With not less than twenty years experience as a journalist

(3) The members of the Council of Journalism appointed under the paragraphs (d) and (f) of subsection (l) of this section shall be appointed by the Minister and members of the Council appointed under paragraph (a), (b), (c), (e), (g) and (f) of the said subsection shall be appointed by the Minister after an election by or on the nomination of the union, association of other body concerned.

(4) The supplementary provisions set out in the First Schedule to this Act shall have effect with respect to the tenure of office and proceedings of the Council and the other matters contained therein.

(3) The Council shall be charged with the duty of -
(a) enquiring into complaints about the conduct of the press and the conduct of any person or organisation towards the press and exercising in respect of the complaints the powers conferred upon it under this Act;
(b) monitoring the activities of the press with a view to ensuring compliance with the code of Professional and ethical conduct as provided for in this Act;
(c) receiving application form, and documenting the print media and monitoring their performance to ensure that owners and publishers comply with the terms of their mission statements and objectives in liaison with the Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria;

(d) researching into contemporary press development and engaging in updating press documentation
(e) fostering the achievement and maintaining of high professional standards by the press;
(f) reviewing developments likely to restrict the supply through the press, of information of public interest and importance of which are liable to prevent free access of the press to information and advising on measures necessary to prevent or remedy such development;

(g) ensuring the protection of the rights and privileges of journalists in the lawful performance of their professional duties

4 (1) There shall be appointed for the Council of Journalism an Executive Secretary by the President; on the recommendation of the Minister

(2) The executive secretary shall -
(a) be a journalist with at least 15 years post qualification experience and shall have held high journalist positions;
(b) be the chief executive of the Council;
(c) be responsible for the execution of the policy of the Council and of its day-to-day administration;
(d) in addition to the functions expressly conferred on him by this Act; perform such other functions as the Council may, from time to time, direct;

(e) hold office on such terms as to emolument and otherwise, as may be specified in his letter of appointment and may, from time to time, be approved by the president;
(f) subject to this, the executive secretary shall hold office for a term of four years in the first instance and may be eligible for reappointment for a further term of four years;
(g) the executive secretary may be removed from office on the recommendation of the Minister for inability to discharge the functions of his office arising from infirmity of mind of body or from other cause.

5 (1) The Council may appoint other employees as it may consider necessary for the efficient performance of the Council’s duties under this Act
(2) The terms of service (include terms and conditions as to remuneration; allowances; retiring benefits and discipline) of the secretary and other employees of the Council shall be such as may be determined, from time to time, by the Council

(3) In carrying out the functions for which the Council is established under this Act, the Council shall be autonomous and shall not be subject to the direction or control of any other authority or person except as provided in this Act
6 (1) Service in the Council shall be approved service for purpose of the Pension Act
(2) Employees of the Council shall be entitled to pension, gratuities and any other retirement benefits as are enjoyed by persons holding equivalent grades in the civil service of the Federation

(3) Nothing in subsection (1) or (2) of this section shall prevent the appointment of a person to any office on terms which preclude the grant of pensions and gratuity in respect of that office -
(4) For the purpose of the application of the provisions of the Pension Act, any power exercisable thereunder by a Minister or authority of the Government of the Federation, other than the power to make regulations under section 29 thereof is hereby vested in and shall be exercisableby the Council other than any other person or authority

7 Without prejudice to the provisions of sections 6 of this Act, the terms and conditions of service including terms and conditions of remunerations, allowance, retirement and other benefits of the staff and other employees of the council shall be as may be determined by the Council with the approval of the Minister

Part II Power the Council of Journalism

8. In carrying out the functions for which the Council is established under this Act, the Council shall be autonomous and shall not be subject to the direction of control of any other authority or person except as provided in this Act.
9 (1) The Nigerian Union of Journalists shall provide a code of Professional and Ethnial Conduct to guide the press and journalists in the performance of their duties

(2) The Nigerian Union of Journalists shall cause a revision of such a code of Professional and Ethical Conduct as deemed appropriate from time to time to conform with media practices
(3) The Council shall, after due consideration, approve the code of professional and Ethical conduct by the Nigerian Union of Journalists and ensure compliance

(4) The Council shall cause to be published in the Nigeria Press and Practice of Journalism Council Journal, the code of Professional and Ethical Conduct as approved under subsection (3) of this subsection which shall be binding on every journalist in Nigeria

10 Every member of the council shall be required on assuming office, to subscribe to an oath that he shall faithfully and impartially and to the best of his ability, discharge his duties with respect to any inquiry conducted by the Council under this Act, and if the inquiry is not held in public, that he shall not divulge the proceedings, the vote or opinion of the members or any other matter relevant to the inquiry.

11 (1) Subject to the provisions of this Act the Council shall, following complaints lodged before it by any person, have the power to -

(a) inquiry into and examine all such witness as the Council may deem it fi;
(b) without prejudice to provisions of the code of Professional and Ethical Conduct, summon any person in Nigeria to attend any meeting of the Council to give evidence and to examine him as a witness in the case of journalists;

(c) consider and deal with any matter referred to it in the absence of any party who has been duty summoned to appear before it;
(d) admit any evidence, whether written or oral and act on evidence, whether written or oral;
(e) appoint any person to act as a interpreter in any matter brought before it;

(f) generally give all such directions and do all such things as are necessary or expedient for dealing speedily and justly with any matter referred to it from time to time
(2) Summons issued under subection 1) (b) of this section shall be in the form set out in Second Schedule to this Act and shall be served by such persons as the Council may direct/

12 The Chairman shall have power to issue on behalf of the Council all summons and appoint such number of interpreters as may be required under this Act, either before or during the inquiry until the final determinations.
13 Any interpreter appointed under section 12 of this Act shall before assuming office, subscribe before the Council, to the oath specified in the Third Schedule to this Act.

14 The chairman shall have power to issue on behalf of the Council all summons and appoint such number of interpreters as may be required under this Act, either before or during the inquiry of witness and interpreters.

Witnesses and interpreters and any other persons attending the inquiry at the request of the Councillor upon summons, shall be paid such sums, allowances or expenses, as the case may be, as the Council may, from time to time, direct and such payments shall be defrayed from the funds of the Council.

15 No member shall be liable for any act done or omitted to be done in the performance of his duties under or pursuant to this Act. Provided such act or commission is not inimical to Justice, Equity and the interests of the general public.
16 – (1) Complaints shall come to the Council by way of Appeal arising from the decision of the Media Practitioner Complaint Commission.

(2) Any person aggrieved —
(a) by anything published in respect of him in any medium of information; or
(b) by anything done in respect of him by any journalist in his capacity as a journalist; or
(c) by anything done against the journalist that is capable of limiting the preservation of the freedom of the Press guaranteed by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, may make a complaint in respect thereof, in writing, addressed to the Council.

(3) If the Council is satisfied that the performance of the press is not consistent with the provisions of the Code of Professional and Ethical Conduct, the executive secretary shall, in accordance with such general directions as may be given by the Council, lay before the Council all appeals made under subsection (1) of this section.

17 – (1) where, after inquiring into a complaint under section 16 of this Act, the Council is satisfied that-
(a) the subject matter in respect of which the complaint was made, was not in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Professional and Ethical Conduct:

referred to in paragraph (a) of this subsection;
(c) the conduct of a journalist or person is, ill the circumstances of the case blameworthy.
(2) The Council may, where appropriate, direct the medium of information or cause the person concerned to publish, in such manner as the Council may direct, a suitable apology or correction, and may in addition reprimand the Journalist or person concerned in the matters or uphold the decision of the Media Practitioner Complaint Commission or as the case may be.

(3) Where the medium of information or the journalist so sanctioned in accordance with subsection (1) of this section does not comply with the Council’s decisions, the medium or journalist is guilty of an offence and is liable on conviction –

(a) in the case of a body corporate to a fine of N100,000; and
(B) in the case of a journalist of a fine of N50,000 and the Council shall order the suspension of the journalist or Media House from practice for a period not exceeding six months.

4) Where there is persistent refusal to comply with the directives of the Council, the medium or journalist so sanctioned in accordance with subsection (1) of this section, commits of an offence and is liable on conviction –
(a) in the case of a body corporate to a fine of N500,000; and

(b) in the case of a journalist to a fine of N100,000.

(5) The Council may cause to be published in the Press Journal and in such other manner as the Council may deem fit the name of any journalist reprimanded by the Council under subsection (1) of this section.

18.– (1) Subject to rules made under this Act, a person shall be entitled to be fully registered under this Act if–
(a) he has attended a course of training recognised by the Council so acquired, with the cognate experience recognised by the Council; or

(b) the course was conducted at an institution so approved, or partly at one such institution and partly at another or others; or
(c) he holds a qualification so approved; or
(d) he holds a certificate of experience issued in pursuance of section 24 of this Act.
(e) he has a general professional orientation which covers the basic requirements of information art, leading to a qualification not less than a diploma; and

(f) he has a good knowledge of the politics and socioeconomic affairs of his society acquired from an approved institution.
19-(1) It shall be the duty of the executive secretary to maintain a register of a accredited journalists and News Agents compiled by the Council in collaboration with the Nigeria Union of Journalists and the Nigerian Guild of Editors.

(2) The register referred to in subsection (1) of this section shall (without prejudice to any other mode of proof) be admissible in any proceedings as evidence that any person specified in the document or the documents read together is registered or was so registered and that any person not so specified was authorised.

(3) where in accordance with subsection (2) of this section a person is in any proceedings shown to have been or not to have been so registered at a particular date with the Council he shall, unless the contrary is proved, be taken for the purpose of those proceedings as having at all material times thereafter continued to be or not be so registered.

PART III — OWNERSHIP OF THE PRESS AND THE MEDIA

20. Ownership of media establishment shall be in accordance with section 39 (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999.

21. Every Nigerian citizen or corporate body authorised by the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, on the fulfillment of such conditions as had been laid down by the National Assembly, shall have the right to own, establish or operate a television or own, establish or operate a television or wireless broadcasting station for educating, entertaining and informing the citizenry.

22. The right of the Government of the Federation or of a State to own, establish or operate a television or wireless broadcasting station shall be exercised in the interest of the Generality of the peoples of the Federation or of the State, as the case may be, and such right shall not be exercise to the detriment of the privately owned media journalist.

PART IV — FREEDOM OF JOURNALISTS TO PRACTICE THEIR PROFESSION
23. The freedom of the press as established by section 39 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is hereby further guaranteed.

24. No journalist shall be arbitrarily arrested, detained, prosecuted or punished for his published views and opinions, and;

25. Notwithstanding the provisions in paragraph 8 (d) of the Third Schedule of the NBC Act No. 38 of 1992 (as amended), paragraph13.3.3.1 (c) of the NBC Code, no media establishment shall be arbitrarily closed down, scaled up or practice licence revoked for publishing an opinion or information, except in accordance with the provisions of this bill or in accordance with any other bill enacted by the National Assembly, or in the due process of application of the procedure relating to a breach of an existing law in Nigeria.

PART V — QUALIFICATION TO PRACTICE AS A JOURNALIST
26. A person shall not practice as a Journalist in Nigeria unless —

(a) he has passed the qualifying examinations as approved by the Nigerian Press and Practice of Journalism Council
(b) he is a registered member of the Nigerian Union of Journalists;
(c) he is employed as an editorial staff (that is, Reporter, Editor, Sub-Editor, Features Writer, Leader Writer, Proof Reader, Photo Journalist, TV Engineering, Cameraman, Cartoonist, Information Officer in State or Federal Ministries of Information, or Local Government Information Officer, or Newscaster attached to News and Current Affairs Department) in a media establishment recognised by law;

(d) possess either a Higher National Diploma (HND) or a Degree or their equivalent in Journalism or Mass Communication obtained from recognised institutions.

(c) he has qualifications in other disciplines from a recognised institution and has passed the prescribed professional examination of the Nigeria Union of Journalist; or

27. – (1) The Press and Practice of Journalism Council in conjunction with the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN), the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON), The Nigerian Institute of Journalism and the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) shall establish a National Examination and Accreditation Board to conduct examination for would-be journalists or graduates of Mass Communications in Nigeria in the Nigeria Institute of Journalism.

(2) The following body shall form the National Examination and Accreditation Board NEAB)—
(a) 3 representatives of the Nigerian Press and Practice of Journalism Council
(b) 2 representatives of the Nigeria Union of Journalists

(c) 2 representatives of the Newspapers Proprietors of Nigeria
(d) 2 representatives of the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria
(e) 2 representatives of the Nigerian Guilds of Editors.

(3) The National Examination and Accreditation Board shall make rules guiding the conduct of the students and the general academic activities of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism.

(4) the Nigerian Institute of Journalism shall organise a one-year professional programme for the training of graduate of journalism.

(5) The Nigeria Press and practice of Journalism Council shall establish Journalists Registration Board which shall among other activities, issue certificate of practice to every registered journalist in Nigeria.

28. Subject to subsection (2) of this section, the Council may approve for the purpose of Section 20 of this Act—
(a) a course of training which is intended for persons who are seeking to become or are journalists and which the Council considers is designed to confer on persons completing it, sufficient knowledge and skill for the practice as members of the profession;

(b) any institution either in Nigeria, or elsewhere, which the Council considers is properly the whole or any part of a course of training approved by the Council under this section; and

(c) any qualification which, as a result of an examination take in conjunction with the course of training approved by the Council under this section, is granted to candidates reaching a standard at the examination indicating, in the opinion of the Council that they have sufficient knowledge and skill to practice journalism as a profession.

(2) The Council shall from time to time, publish in the Federal Gazette a list of qualifications in the profession of journalism approved by it, and subject thereto, the Council shall not approved for the purposes of subsection (1) of this section a qualification granted by an institution Nigeria, unless the qualification has been so published by the Council.

(3) The Council may, if it thinks fit, withdraw any approval given under this section of this Act in respect of course, qualification or institution; but before withdrawing such an approval the Council shall —

(a) give notice that it proposes to do so to persons in Nigeria appearing to the Council to be persons by whom the course is conducted or the qualification is granted or the institution is controlled, as the case may be; and

(b) afford each such person an opportunity of making to the Council representation with regard to the proposals; and
(c) talk into consideration any representation made as respects the proposal to withdraw the approval.

(4) As respects any period during which the approval of the Council under this section for a course, institution or qualification is withdrawn, the course, or qualification or institution shall not be treated as approved under this section; but the withdrawal of such an approval shall not prejudice the registration or eligibility for registration of any person who by virtue of the approval was registered or was eligible for registration (either) unconditionally or subject to the obtaining a certificate or experience) immediately before the approval was withdrawn.

(5) The giving or withdrawal of an approval under this section of this Act, shall have effect from such date after execution of the instrument signifying the giving or withdrawal of the approval, as the Council may specify in that instrument and the Council shall—

(a) as soon as possible, publish a copy of every such instrument in the Federal Gazette and
(b) not later than seven days before its publication as aforesaid, send a copy of the instrument to the Minister.
29. — (1) it shall be the duty of the Council to keep itself informed of the nature of—

(a) the instruction given at approved institutions to persons attending approved courses of training;
(b) the examinations, as a result of which approved qualifications are granted, and for the purposes of performing that duty, the Council may appoint, either from among its own members of otherwise, person to visit approved institution or to attend such examinations.

(2) It shall be the duty of a person appointed under subsection (1) of this section, to report to the Council on —
(a) the adequacy of the instruction given to person attending such approved courses of training at institutions visited by him;

(b) the adequacy or otherwise of the examinations attended by him; and
(c) any other matter relating to the institutions or examination on which the Council may, either generally or in a particular case, request him to report:

Provided that the person shall not interfere with the giving of any instruction or the holding of any examinations.
(3) Our receiving a report made in pursuance of this section of this Act the Council shall, as soon as may be send a copy of the report to the person appearing to the Council to be in charge of this institution or responsible for the examinations to which the report relates requesting that person to make representations to the Council within such period as may be specified in the request, not being less than one month beginning with the date of the request.

30. — (1) A person who after obtaining an approved qualification, satisfies the conditions specified in subsection (2) of this section shall be entitled to receive free of charge a certificate of experience in the prescribed for from the person in charge of the institution.

(2)The conditions referred to in subsection (1) of this section are that—
(a) he shall have served his time for employment, the prescribed period in Nigeria with a view to obtaining a certificate of experience; or

(b) He shall have acquired during his employment practical experience under the personal supervision and guidance of one more registered journalists for such periods as may be prescribed.
(c) the manner in which he carried out the duties of is employment and —————————the period of his employment shall have been satisfactory.

(3( it shall be the duty of the employer, being a registered journalist supervising the training of the person employed with a view to obtaining a certificate of experience, to ensure that the person is afforded proper opportunities of acquiring the practical experience required for the purposes to paragraph (b)of subsection (2) of this section.

(4) Whereafter having served his time as referred to in paragraph (c) of subsection (2) of this section, a person is refused certificate of experience, he shall be entitled—

(a) to receive from his employer particulars in writing of the grounds of the refusal; and
(b) to appeal against the refusal to a committee of the Council in accordance with rules made by the Council in that behalf (including rules as to the time within which appeals are to be brought) and on any such appeal the committee of the Council shall have power to either discuss the appeal or itself issue the certificate of experience in question or give such other direction on the matter as it considers just.

(5) The Minister may made regulations for the issuance of certificates of experience in respect of employment and Institutions outsider Nigeria.

31. The council may cause to be published in the Press Journal and in such other manner as the Council may deem fit the name of any journalist or person reprimanded by the Council in the exercise of its power under this Act.
32. The Council may publish its journal and books, to publicise its activities and the result of its findings on adjudication and such other matters which relate to the development of mass media in Nigeria.

PART VI — APPOINTMENT AS EDITOR

33.— (1) A person shall be qualified for appointment as Editor in a newspaper or media establishment if –
(a) he had attained the age of 25 years;

(b) he is a registered member of the Nigerian Union of Journalists; and
(c) he has, for a period of not less than ten years served as a reporter or acquired working experience as a journalist in a reputable newspaper house, electronic news medium of news agency.

(2) Nothing in subsection (1) of this section shall be —————————–to include working experience, employment in a house journal, newsletter or any similar publications.

34. Any media establishment that appoints any journalist without the appropriate Qualifications as editor shall be guilty of an offence of professional misconduct, and the matter shall be referred to the Nigerian Press and Practice of Journalism Council who shall proceed on the matter in accordance with Part IX of this Act.

PART VII — CONDITIONS OF SERVICE
35. In order to ensure the independence, objectivity, impartiality and transparency of journalists, they shall be placed on salaries, allowances, pensions and general conditions of service at least not less than 20 per cent above those paid to staff in Federal and State Government parastatals and private companies as the case may be.

36. Any media establishment that covers at least two-thirds of the country shall pay their workers not less than 120 percent above the rates of salary, pensions, allowance, etc. which obtain at the Federal level, shall pay their workers not less than 20 per cent above the rates, pensions and allowances, etc. which operate at the State level. Allowances may however differ to accommodate peculiar needs.

37. The conditions of Service of Journalist including salaries, allowances, leave, general and retirement benefits, etc. shall be negotiated collectively and as necessary between the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), the Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN), and the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON).

38. Every registered journalist shall be given an insurance certificate taken out on his behalf by the employers with reputable Insurance Company.

39. The agreed Conditions of Service shall be published in the Federal Gazette, and made available to every journalist and media establishment.

40. The —————————————–applicable salaries, allowances and conditions of service, shall be an offence under this Bill and shall be reported by the Nigeria Union of Journalists to the Nigerian Press

Courtesy: Vanguard Newspapers

The Guardian reporter killed in Lagos

LAGOS – IT was another black Sunday for The Guardian Newspapers as a gang of suspected armed robbers shot dead one of its journalists identified as Bayo Ohu.

Police sources said the bandits stormed the journalist’s No 9, Oyeniyi Street, Odukoya estate residence at the about 7.00 a.m. and forced their way into his apartment. They were said to had demanded for cash and other valuables which the journalist readily obliged.

After collecting the cash he had, they picked his lap-top before releasing some bullets into his stomach. He was said to had slumped and died almost immediately.

However, reports said while the robbery was going on, a neighbour had put a call to the police, but the bandits had successfully made good their escape before the police arrived.

But a team of anti-robbery squad on routine patrol in the area were reported to have given the armed gang a hot chase, forcing them to abandon their get away vehicle and fled.

The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Frank Mba, confirmed the incident but said it might be a case of assassination. Mba said the police had recovered the vehicle, an unmarked Toyota Camry used for the attack, assuring that a manhunt for the perpetrators had since begun.

In a related development, a team of anti- robbery squad from the Area E Command, Festac town Lagos has arrested two armed robbers in the area.

The suspects identified as Andrew Ilouere and Chinedu Nwokolie were arrested along the Lagos-Badagry expressway moments after they had successfully robbed one Paschal Anyawu.

They were said to have collected an un specified amount of money and other valuables from the victim but ran into the waiting hands of the patrol team.

Reports said when they were searched, a locally madeGuardian Newspapers with some live cartridges were recovered from them.

The police image maker also confirmed the arrest, adding that the suspects would be transferred to the SCID Panti, Yaba, Lagos for further investigation.

Gambia frees jailed journalists

Six Gambian journalists who were jailed for criticising President Yahya Jammeh have been freed after he pardoned them.

A government statement confirmed the decree by Mr Jammeh but gave no reason for his decision.

The six were found guilty of defamation and sedition in August and sentenced to two years in jail.

They had questioned Mr Jammeh's declaration that the government was not responsible for the 2004 death of prominent journalist Deyda Hydara.

Mr Hydara, a vocal critic of strict media laws, was gunned down but nobody has been charged with his murder.

Since then the privately owned newspaper he edited, The Point, has incorporated into its masthead his photo, with the question: "Who killed Deyda Hydara?"

Another prominent journalist Chief Ebrima Manney went missing three years ago.

One of the journalists - Sarata Jabbi-Dibba, vice-president of the Gambia Press Union - confirmed to the AFP news agency that she had been released.

The agency reports that her five male colleagues left another prison on Thursday evening chanting "the truth will always prevail".

President Jammeh came to power through a coup in 1994 and has won three multi-party elections since then.

But amid claims of plots to oust him, dozens of people have been arrested and unlawfully detained, human rights groups say.

Courtesy; www.bbc.com/africa

Police Raid News Of The People Office

Two policemen in mufti early this morning stormed the office of the News of The People, a softsell magazine, based in Ojodu, Lagos, to arrest either the publisher or the editor.

Informed sources revealed that the policemen said they were from Police Headquarters, Abuja, and working on the orders of the Inspector-General of Police to arrest either the publisher, the editor or both, over a story on the Nigeria Aviation Handling Company (NACO), the magazine published recently.

The source added that the policemen claimed the IG said the story is capable of causing security threat in the country.

Meanwhile, Babatunde Oshinaya, the Admin Manager of the magazine, and a reporter, Lukmon Akintola have been arrested and taken to an unknown destination.

'No-music day' on Nigeria radio

Radio stations in Lagos have largely observed a call by Nigerian artists for a "No-Music Day" to protest at piracy and the non-payment of royalties.

The BBC's Fidelis Mbah in the city says some stations have instead played foreign music.

A musicians' spokesman said that many stations and nightclubs see obtaining music licences as an "alien idea".

Last week, a group of Lagos musicians organised an ongoing hunger strike to protest at rampant piracy.

Our correspondent says pirated CDs of popular albums are readily available on the city's streets, at a fraction of the official price.

Despite the occasional raid on the pirates' production outfits, security agents have failed to tame their activities, he says.

It is the first time Nigerian musicians have united to highlight their plight.

'Pain'

Nigerian Music Industry Coalition spokesman Efe Omorogbe said the failure to pay royalties was equivalent to making and distributing pirated CDs.

There are probably more radio stations in Lagos than in two other African countries put together. Lagos stations do not pay royalties," he told the BBC's Network Africa programme.

He said Nigeria had two royalty collection associations.

Radio stations often say they do not know which one collects for which catalogue.

"The system has failed to structure itself in such a way that people are compelled to pay," he said.

The musicians' indefinite hunger strike will be followed by a protest to the National Assembly, our correspondent says.

Lagos musician Funsho Olatunbosun, who goes by the stage name Xtreme, says piracy has really affected his income.

"All the artists are feeling the pain... we're not relying on the album [sales], we're only relying on shows," he said.



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Are you taking part in Nigeria's "No-Music Day"? Do you buy pirated CDs? Let us know what you think about it, by using the postform below to send us your comments.

I felt for Nigerian artists, 95% of albums sold in d streets are pirated, govt are not helping issues they always claim to fight corruption but reverse was d case they like corruption d way fish likes water, everything in Nigeria is pirated even d air we breath, nigeria is one of d richest in oil they've kept on importing oil, what a shame of a country.
Arinze Umeweni, Abuja, Nigeria

Oh please! No power supply, the pipes are dry, schools are on strike, people are getting kidnapped. We've got bigger issues to worry about.
Kunle Oduwobi, Ogun State, Nigeria

It's definitely a perfect idea. Bravo Lagos artists. In Uganda, many artists have gone into oblivion because of that. I am one of them.
Jane Apio, Lira, Uganda

I think the idea here is correct but the implementation remain the issue, no amount of law our national assemble will ever produce without enforcement from the heart of our law enforcement agencies that will ever produce positive change, this change will come from you and me who will join hand together to fight the good fight, all Nigerian artist should come together as a team, identify that one enemy, join hand the pull the trigger and have the enemy kingdom pulled down, this goal is achievable.
Ras Jeluna, PH, Nigeria

It is not only music that is pirated in Nigeria. Books are also pirated, even household goods, toiletries, soaps, etc are pirated - virtually everything in Nigeria is pirated. Do we all go on hunger strike? Though I sympathise with the musicians, but some of them are just happy to hear their music played on radio, thus giving them free publicity. They should learn to live with what Nigeria has turned out to be - THE JUNGLE - where the rule is survival of the fittest. The government is on indefinite leave.
Segiru Sule, Ibadan

A labourer deserves his wages. Why are people reaping where they did not sow? So stand firm and fight for your right.
Victor-Davis Eche, Awka

For decades, imported music has been bootlegged in the country with no protest from the industry .Now the chicken has finally come home to roost. Suck it up guys with your sorry music.
Charlie Igbonoba, Dallas, Tx USA

Corruption in Nigeria from presidency to common Nigerian so piracy continues...
Declan Egbusuo, Nkume Njaba Biafra

Hey, leave the musician they too are pirating foreign albums and is vice-versa, let them shout, piracy continues...James Badboy, Lagos, Nigeria

Yes, the musicians are really suffering as a result of our unregulated check economy. The govt. need to come in to salvage the music industry in one hand and the artist on the other hand.
Mr Esabu Monday, Agadaga Ewohimi, Edo State, Nigeria

its really disastrous because i was in Abuja early this year when the Nigerian major musicians attends comedy events, just to earn a living, while their Cds is everywhere in the market.
Jonas E. ThankGod, Madrid

What is this nonsense about no music day? Why can't the country not get serious in eradicating poverty. Despite the oil from the delta region, the cocoa from the west and midwestern region, the palm oil from the eastern region the groundnuts and the cattle from the northern region, the rubber from the midwestern and southeastern regions of the country plus precious solid minerals in all parts of the country there are no basic amenities for all the population. Even in the commercial city of Lagos 95% of the city do not have pipe borne water flowing through the taps to drink and even flush the toilets. What a shame. A big shame indeed. I learnt that the governor of Lagos state is beautifying the city, when there is no electricity in constant supply and pipe borne water. Get serious Nigeria. The country is being laughed at from serious nations around the world after so many years of self rule. Stop this no music day and get the country off poverty. Mind you observers don't go to the GRA, Victoria Island or Ikoyi. They go to areas that have been neglected.
Dr. Eng. William. Gillbeak, London Unitied Kingdom

I support you with all my life. we have been robbed for too long.
Oyet, Ukatejit, Calabar, Nigeria

This's just a nonsense. How's the music industry beneficial to the Nigerian Federation? After all the parliament and the executives have already failed to provide the dividend of the so-called democracy to their people, so what next do they expect from them?
Tijjani Bukar, Damaturu, Nigeria

It sad that our musicians are not getting compensated for their talents due to nefarious activities of some unscrupulous individuals. Piracy is an up hill battle for the music and movie industries in Nigeria. Due to the current economic downturn in the country, a lot of people find the pirated CDs cheaper than the original ones. For as long as people are buying pirated CDs, the industry will remain vibrant and lucrative. It is had time the national assembly join our artistes in the fight against pirated CDs and payment of royalties to the musicians. There is no doubt that the livelihood of our artistes is in jeopardy. My fellow Nigerians should boycott pirated CDs and help are artistes to grow.
Omorodion Osula, Boston, USA

I support Nigeria musicians. This idea it will help them 2 develop the activities of music in Nigeria.
Yakubu Peter, Kano, Nigeria

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8231227.stm

Sokoto Govt under pressure to recall suspended journalists

Concerned stakeholders in the media industry in Sokoto State are mounting pressures on Governor Aliyu Wamakko and the state Ministry of Information to recall two journalists of the state radio who were recently suspended by the ministry.

The two journalists, Abdulnasir Abubakar, a news editor and Abubakar Isa, a reporter, of Sokoto State owned Rima Radio were suspended for reporting that the state’s Ramadan feeding programme breached meal specifications given by the state government.

The state council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists in a reaction described as hasty, the decision to suspend the journalists. The state chairman of the NUJ Alhaji Sajo Sayyinna in press statement advised the ministry and management of Rima Radio to, in the interest of fair play and professionalism, reverse the decision. The state council of the NUJ also urged the ministry and management to investigate the various feeding centres in line with what is being provided by government. The NUJ disclosed that the case had already been referred to its ethics and disciplinary committee for necessary action.

Commenting on the suspension order, the chairman, correspondents chapel, Mallam Abdullahi Elkurebe, said in the interest of justice and fair play, the ministry and Rima Radio management should not have just suspended the two journalists but should have looked properly into their report with a view to determine its veracity.

It was further learnt that the two reporters, having visited various centres established for the Ramadan feeding programme, found out that people were not being fed in accordance with the government’s specification in view of the release of N100 million for the exercise designed purposely to assist the less privileged.

My Arrest and Release

I had another brush with Nigerian security agents on wednesday 26th August, 2009 and below are some of the reports about my arrest and release.
My record is gradually increasing...6 arrests by the Police and 3 arrests by the State Security Service...still counting

PM NEWS REPORT

BBC Reporter Arrested, Freed
August 27, 2009 15:37, 511 views

By Paul Dada

A British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reporter, Fidelis Mbah, has explained how he was arrested and later freed by officers of the State Security Service, SSS.

The Nigerian-born Mbah was arrested at the VIP Lounge Press Centre of the Murtala Mohammed Airport, Ikeja, while doing a live telephone interview with the BBC’s London office.

According to him, “SSS detained me today at the airport for about an hour. They claimed I was not authorised to gain access to the VIP lounge press centre at the airport. I was doing a live phone interview with my London studio when they ordered me to stop and locked me inside their office. They seize my phone and ID card and threatened to take me to Shangisha.”

Mbah said it was after the intervention of some journalists, who pleaded with the SSS men, that he was released.

http://thepmnews.com/2009/08/27/bbc-reporter-arrested-freed

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IT WAS ALSO PUBLISHED BY www.pointblanknews.com

Date Published: 08/26/09

BBC Reporter detained in Lagos


Fidelis Mba, a reporter with the British Broadcasting Service was today arrested and detained for several hours by the State Security Operatives, SSS, in Lagos.

Mba who was conducting an interview at the VIP wing of the Lagos Airport was almost wisked away to Shangisha, the dreaded detention camp used to torture journalists and pro democracy activists by the late General Sanni Abacha.

He was later released after scores of journalist pleaded on his behalf. His identification card and other valuables were seized.

http://pointblanknews.com/os2078.html

Journalist Alleges Threat to Life

The South-South Bureau Chief of Champion Newspapers, Mr. Tony Ita Etim, has written a protest letter to the Commissioner of Police, Rivers State Command, Mr. Bala Hassan, alleging threat to his life by some suspected Islamic extremists.

In the letter dated August 12, 2009 to the police chief, the journalist said, ''i write to intimate you that I have been receiving several telephone calls from a section of the society who claimed to be Moslems threatening to beat me or kill me''.

According to him, ''these calls came in Friday July 31, 2009. The callers are claiming that they are reacting to an article titled DRUMS OF WAR which was published in my column called AKPANIKO. Though most of the callers have hidden their numbers, some callers’ numbers were opened and these numbers are 08039266105, 08036388469 and 07030803077' '.

''On Tuesday, August 11, 2009''; he went on, ''a new dimension was added when a caller with number 084764210 threatened to send assassins after me. He alleged that in 2003 at the New Covenant Anglican Church, Amadi Flat during the child dedication of a staff of AGIP, one Engineer Nwabueze I took his pictures and publish same without his permission; which is a lie''.

''I know Nwabueze and was invited for the said ceremony. I did not attend his child dedication because I was out of Port Harcourt. The first time I went to that Church was when then Rivers State Information Commissioner now Secretary to the Rivers State Government, Mr. Magnus Abe, dedicated his son, Peter. I did not take any picture. My second visit to the church was in 2008 when the Chairman of the Federated Correspondents Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Mr. Lawson Heyford held a thanksgiving service for his wife, Bright, who survived a cancer operation. Also I did not take pictures because I didn’t own a camera as at that time'', he said in the letter.

Continuing, he added, ''i would appeal to you to use your good office to investigate these callers, their motives as well as arrest and prosecute them. I am a law abiding citizen of this country and if in the course of my duty as a reporter anybody is aggrieved with my opinion, such persons have the right to go to court and seek legal redress than resort to threat of violence and assassinations.

''Sir, I would also ask for police protection as I have been observing strange faces trailing me and coming to my office under the guise of doing one business or the other and at the end they end up not doing anything rather than waiting and asking for names of my colleagues in a bid to identify who among them is Tony Ita Etim.

''Sir, I count on your assistance as my life is in danger.''

In the mean time, Journalists for Niger Delta (JODEL), a media group concerned with the affairs of Nigeria's oil and gas region has warned that any harm to the journalist could trigger a religious conflict that will further worsen the situation in the Niger Delta.

An official of the media group, Mr. Daniel Abia, told our correspondent on telephone on Saturday that they are confident that Mr. Hassan, the police boss, will not allow the threat to the life of the journalist, to degerate.

''While we are watching the situation, JODEL will like to say at this point that we have confidence in the competence of the commissioner of police to handle the matter'', Mr. Abia said.

Ekiti Radio Shut

Police have taken over the premises of the Broadcasting Service of Ekiti State (BSES) after a protest by its workers, which led to the sudden closure of the organisation.

The workers of the broadcasting house have beenengaged in an industrial disharmony with the management headed by Dr. Segun Aderiye.

The radio station went off air at about 4 p.m. on Friday followingthe redeployment of three leaders of the aggrieved workers. They have been having a running battle with the management for months, demanding Aderiye's removal as the director general, adding that it is the way peace can be guaranteed in the organisation.

Aderiye, while confirming the incident, said the station was shut down following the emergency congress called by the affected union leaders. He explained that letters of redeployment were served in the Ministry of Establishment and Trainingto the union leaders, but the letter did not state any reason.

Aderiye, who said he was not at the office when the incident occurred, added that efforts were already being made the management to get the station back on air.

Ekiti State Police Public Relations Officer, Oladipupo Awe, who also confirmedthe incident, said his men have already taken over the premises to forestall any breakdown of law and order, adding that the situation has been put under control. Efforts to get comment from the affected union leaders proved were to no avail.

Courtesy-Independent Newspaper

SOLUDO'S THERAPY

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo yesterday in Awka, Anambra State, ordered journalists out of a conference where he was scheduled to deliver a paper.

Soludo was invited to deliver a lecture entitled “Financial sustainability in the Catholic Church’’ at the conference, organised by the Awka Diocese of the Catholic Church.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Soludo had hardly begun to speak when he noticed the presence of a horde of photographers and other journalists in the venue of the forum.

“Who are these?” he asked and when told that they were newsmen invited by organisers to cover the event, he threatened to discontinue the lecture until the “intruding” reporters were sent out of the hall. “I have the right to talk to my church, and my visit here is private,” Soludo said.

The request was immediately carried out by the organisers who asked the newsmen not only to leave the hall, but the entire premises of the Pastoral Retreat Centre, venue of the conference.

Partisan Journalism

I am getting quite disturbed with the conduct of some professional colleagues. I am disturbed cos am a member of the family and as such cannot run away from making observations to restore dignity to my cherished profession.

I find it hard to explain why some colleagues have lately thrown caution to the winds and embraced partisanship in the discharge of their duties. Am worried that professionalism has been thrown to the dust bin and what some colleagues are now wearing is 'coat of interest'.

I have been in Ekiti State , southwest Nigeria where a disputed election re-run has pitched the ruling PDP and the opposition AC. My experiences in the hands of my professional colleagues is not what i want to share with my wife during dinner so she does not lose her appetite.

Before i embarked on the trip to Ekiti State, I read and heard stories about how some journalists were harassed, beaten and assaulted by natives. I had this concern at the back of my mind and planned to thread with caution in terms of visibility.

But my findings on getting to Ekiti State were shocking. My colleagues were actually beaten up cos they were confirmed to have pitched their tents with the political parties. Almost all journalists belonged to a political camp even though they were not card carrying members.

Some were given special accomodation at 3-star hotels and they never hid it that they were on the payroll of the parties.

Some colleagues were willing tools of propaganda and concerned themselves more with spreading rumuors than carrying out their duties. I don't want to mention names but to say i was disappointed with the conduct of some colleagues i had respect for prior to the Ekiti disgrace is an understatement.

So why wont we get beaten up by our readers/listeners/ viewers?

There has to be a change in attitude and am appealing to individuals cos the Nigeria Union of Journalists now seems to be a toothless bulldog.

Change in attitude is definitely inevitable.

Regulator Slaps Private Radio Fine over Sharp Practices

Nigeria's broadcast regulator, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), fined private radio station Adaba FM 500,000 Naira (approx. US$3,350) for allegedly transmitting on 25 April "materials that were capable of inciting members of the public to violence and consequently leading to breakdown of law and order", while covering the re-run of the governorship elections in Ekiti State in the southwest.


Mr. Awwalu Salihu, NBC's head of public affairs, said in a statement that Adaba FM's broadcast of 9:30 a.m. (local time) of 25 April violated sections 3.1.2 and 1.4.4 of the Nigerian Broadcasting Code, adding that the commission gave the station until 8 May to pay up or "face higher sanction".

The letter of sanction was reportedly handed over to the acting general manager of the station, Mr. Joseph Alake, in the afternoon of 27 April.

The commission stressed its "determination to ensure that broadcasting stations play their indispensable role according to the rules of the game to ensure fairness and peace in the nation's political process."

The NBC was not specific on what aspects of the station's programme breached the Broadcasting Code. As was the case on previous occasions when it sanctioned privately owned broadcasting stations, the NBC again did not follow the procedure specified in the Broadcasting Code which requires the commission to give a station an opportunity to defend itself before applying sanctions.

The NBC is viewed by many as lacking in independence as it is directly under the control of the minister of information and communications as well as the president.

It has been repeatedly accused of being quick to muzzle privately owned broadcast stations with little or no justification while turning a blind eye when government-owned stations violate the provisions of the Broadcasting Code, particularly during election periods.

Adaba FM is a private station running on the frequency modulated wave band and is based in Akure, the Ondo State capital, in south-west Nigeria.