Lekki shootings: Army makes a U-turn, appears before Lagos panel Saturday [PUNCH]
The Nigerian Army, contrary to its decision last week, will appear on Saturday before the Lagos State Panel of Inquiry probing the alleged shooting of #EndSARS peaceful protesters by soldiers on October 20 at the Lekki tollgate.
Sources close to the retired Justice Doris Okuwobi-led panel confirmed to The PUNCH on Thursday that the army had acknowledged the panel’s invitation and the panel had fixed Saturday (November 7) for its appearance at the hearing taking place at the Lagos Court of Arbitration, Lekki.
Recall that for two weeks last month, youths calling for the disbanding of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the Nigeria Police protested across the country.
In Lagos, the protests assumed a tragic dimension when soldiers shot protesters at the Lekki tollgate.
The shootings have attracted local and international condemnations with Amnesty International saying that no fewer than 12 people were killed.
Sunday PUNCH on November 1 reported that the Lagos State panel had invited the 81 Division of the Nigerian Army, whose soldiers were alleged to have carried out the shootings.
But the spokesman for the Nigerian Army, 81 Division, Lagos, Major Osoba Olaniyi, said the army would not honour a summons from the panel as the army believed that it was not the panel’s “duty” to invite the army.
Olaniyi had stressed that the military would only appear before the panel if it received an invitation directly from the Lagos State Government, rather than the panel.
“If we receive a letter from the state, we will go. Are we not under civil authorities? Are we not part of Nigerians? Have you forgotten that we did not go there (Lekki tollgate) on our own?.
“It is the state government that constituted that panel of inquiry. So, if anybody needs to get in touch with us to come, it is still the state, not the members,” Olaniyi had said.
But on Thursday, multiple sources confirmed to The PUNCH that the army had changed its position and would be presenting its case before the panel on Saturday.
One of the sources close to the panel, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “Contrary to its earlier posture of resistance, the Nigerian Army seems to have bowed to pressure in respect of the invitation to appear before the Lagos panel on SARS. The Army will appear before the panel on Saturday. That is the day the panel has fixed for the Army to appear.
“You know the panel was set up with the approval of the National Executive Council and President Muhammadu Buhari has always assured Nigerians and indeed the international community of full cooperation with the panel, so the Army cannot afford to ignore the invitation from the panel duly signed by its chairperson, who is a judicial officer.
“The whole world is watching us and all eyes are on the panel, especially in respect of the Lekki Tollgate. The Army is critical to the work of the panel and it will erode public confidence in the government if any of its institutions snubs the panel with impunity. After all, the President is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, so how can the army openly defy the Panel that its own Commander-in-Chief has endorsed?”
N1.3bn approved for Villa clinic too small – Perm sec [PUNCH]
The Permanent Secretary of the State House, Tijani Umar, has said the N1.3bn approved for Villa clinic was too small.
He spoke in an interview with journalists on Thursday after defending 2012 budget estimate before the Senate Committee on Federal Character and Intergovernmental Affairs State.
The Permanent Secretary who promised to put necessary arrangements in place to meet the medical needs of the President and other top officials once the budget was approved said, “The N1.3bn is absolutely inadequate when you juxtapose the amount proposed, the labour, and the status of the principals that the project is going to serve.
“When compared with worldwide standards, you’ll see that it is not anything near what we need.
“It (the clinic), is considered a legacy project for us because we want to leave something down.
“We have realigned some many things and one of the fundamental challenges we have dealt with is the sustainable supply of drugs and consumables.”
Earlier, the Senate told officials of the State House to discourage the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), from foreign trips for medical treatment by ensuring that the State House clinic becomes functional.
The State House official had presented a budget of N19.7bn for 2021, out of which N1.3bn was proposed for the State House Clinic. The Chairman of the Senate panel, Senator Danjuma La’ah, said the committee would approve the budget for the State House Clinic but the President and other top officials should no longer be flown abroad for medical treatment.
He said, “Our President is not a man to be taken out anytime or whenever anything happens to him on sickness matter.”
Six states results hold US presidential poll winner [PUNCH]
As the counting of the ballots entered the second day on Thursday, anxiety and tension have heightened in the United States as results from six states held up the emergence of the election winner.
As of Thursday night, results from Arizona (11 votes), Nevada (6 votes), Georgia (16 votes), Pennsylvania (20 votes) Wisconsin (10 votes) and Michigan (16 votes) were being awaited.
While Biden has scored 253 points, President Donald Trump is trailing behind with 213 points. The winner has to score 270 points in the Electoral College system to emerge president.
If Biden gets Nevada, Arizona and Wisconsin in addition to Michigan, he gets his 270 votes.
Trump, however, will need Pennsylvania’s votes and win three states out of Georgia, North Carolina, Nevada or Arizona.
The Trumps campaign has attacked the integrity of the voting process with lawsuits in three key states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Georgia where the race has not been called and votes are still being counted.
Election officials had cautioned that the winner of the presidential election might be unknown days after the election is over.
Rules in some states don’t allow election workers to begin the labour-intensive work of processing mail-in ballots until Election Day. And with a record number of voters casting their ballots by mail, the influx could delay final tallies for days.
On the allegations by the Trump campaign team, election law experts and state election officials had overwhelmingly said there had been no sign of widespread or even sporadic voter fraud.
They said counting votes just took more time than in past years because the coronavirus pandemic had changed the way people go about it.
But the Trump campaign said the lawsuits were necessary.
Meanwhile, Biden’s campaign attorney, Bob Bauer, said the suits had no merit and were meant to spread a false narrative about the electoral process.
He said it’s more about “Trump’s own effort to discredit the election.”
N11bn padding uncovered in FERMA budget, MD disowns hike [PUNCH]
The Managing Director of the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency, Mr Nurudeen Rafindadi, on Thursday disowned the increment of the agency’s budget by N11bn, saying what was proposed for 2021 was different from what is presently before the National Assembly.
Rafindadi had appeared before the House of Representatives Committee on FERMA in Abuja to defend the proposal by the agency.
The drama started when a member of the committee, Yusuf Gagdi, asked the FERMA boss why the agency’s budget had suddenly increased by over N11bn after returning from the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning.
But Rafindadi denied the increment, saying, “Our proposal of budget as it is today is submitted to the Federal Ministry of Works, and the reason is that FERMA is an agency under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Works. We are represented at the cabinet by the Honourable Minister of Works (and Housing, Babatunde Fashola).
“Our budget is subsumed in the envelope of the Federal Ministry of Works, so the ministry is asked by the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning to submit its budget within a specified envelope and that envelope includes budgets of agencies under the supervision of the ministry, of which FERMA is one. So, we get instructions to submit our budget through the Ministry of Works; we submit it to the Ministry of Works.
“What happens after is between the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, and subsequently until reaches the House. We only know what was in our budget after submission of the budget to the National Assembly.”
X-raying efforts to reduce out-of-school kids population [THE NATION]
At seven years old, Muhammad Sani is the breadwinner of his family.
For him, life is all about sachets of water. Clad in a faded, torn shirt with a bowl of water sachets loosely balanced on his head, Sani has to eke out a means of livelihood for his parents.
Daily, he treks a long distance in the Suru Local Government Area of Kebbi State, as he struggles to keep pace with moving vehicles on the busy roads to sell his sachets of water – a strenuous life that has made him look sick and stunted.
His day starts around 10am but he has no fixed time of return – perhaps when he exhausts the load of sachets of water handed to him by his parents.
The little money from Sani’s sachet water sales ensured that his family had a source of livelihood. That was his contribution to the economic survival of a family of eight.
He did that for many years until a day came and his parents decided to tap into an opportunity a friend discussed with them – they decided to enroll Sani in one of the Integrated Qu’ranic Schools (IQS) in the local government.
Gradually, Sani dropped the bowl and picked the books. Sani has been enjoying the new journey with ease.
Speaking in Hausa, he told The Nation: “Before now, I used to hawk sachet water every morning. But now that I have stopped, I look forward to coming to school every day.”
Since Sani left hawking on the streets of Kebbi, he has become an ambassador of sort, helping to recruit his old fellow hawkers to attain western education.
Strengthening healthcare infrastructure in Oyo community [THE NATION]
With COVID-19 pandemic, the Nigerian healthcare system has been shown to be in need of strengthening.
A report conducted on Apete Primary Healthcare Centre has highlighted some of the things the government at all levels need to address to strengthen the health sector.
Apete Primary Healthcare Centre (PHC) situated in Apete community, a suburb in Ibadan city, Oyo State, Nigeria hosts a population of about 103,261 people according to the 2006 census, which has evolved from an agrarian community into a commercial hub.
The Apete PHC caters for about a thousand people’s (1000) healthcare needs on a monthly basis.
Adeola Olutu, a civil servant, who was delivered of her five children in the centre, has this to say: “We don’t have toilet facilities at the Apete Primary Healthcare Centre and the centre is even small in capacity to accommodate the number of patients that visit the centre daily.
“Pregnant women alone number more than 60 patients at one-time visits.”
The advent of COVID-19 pandemic has heightened the clamour for repositioning of the health sector in Nigeria as the virus brought to the fore decadence in the healthcare system.
According to the Community Report: Impact of COVID/State of Primary Health Care survey conducted in September 2020 for more than 50 community members at Apete, a greater percentage of respondents wants to see more interventions from the government to build infrastructure and provide healthcare facilities.
The Community Report: Impact of COVID/State of Primary Health Care survey has more than 73.68 per cent female respondents and 26.32 percent males in Apete community on the state of their primary healthcare centre, government’s intervention to strengthen the sector in the face of COVID-19 and the impact of COVID-19 on them.
Although the Federal Government of Nigeria as at September 2020 said it has spent N30.5 billion in four months to fight COVID-19 pandemic out of the N36.3 billion public funds and donations in its response to the enquiry made by Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Projects (SERAP).
Out of this sum, N7 billion was given to the states in the country to support their COVID-19 initiatives.
Dr Babatunde Olatunji, the Executive Secretary, Oyo State Primary Healthcare Board, said that on COVID-19, the Federal Government supported COVID-19 response at the Local Government Areas level with more than N40 million.
Olatunji further said the fund was used for training of front line health care providers on Infection prevention control.
On the intervention at the state level, the Oyo State Government said it has spent N2.779 billion in the ongoing fight against COVID-19 according to the Commissioner for Finance, Mr Akinola Ojo.
The state government stated that it raised N378 million cash from willing donors, including individuals and corporate organisations to the tune of N1.177 billion, adding that the Coalition Against Covid-19 (CaCovid) alone donated items to the tune of N250 million.
Of which N900 million was spent on palliatives and seedlings for affected farmers and N370 million was spent on the Infectious Disease Centre, located in Olodo area of Ibadan, the state capital.
He said N453 million has been spent on security and securing the state borders on the right against COVID-19 pandemic, N156 million to be paid to health workers, including volunteers and medical and health workers as allowances.
A survey indicates that 77.19 per cent of respondents say the state of the health centre in Apete community is bad, while 54.39 per cent stated that governments’ intervention on COVID-19 pandemic is inadequate.
However, 19.3 per cent respondents claim they are not aware of any government’s intervention in the health sector.
Prof. Innocent Ujah, the President, Nigerian Medical Association and the Oyo State Chairman of the association, Dr Ayotunde Fasunla as well as some patients interviewed at Apete Primary Healthcare Centre also said that there were challenges in the Nigerian healthcare system.
Mrs Ayomide Alawuye, a housewife, who brought her child for care at the primary healthcare, said that if the government provides the necessary infrastructure the healthcare would deliver more than it is currently doing.
Mrs Khadijat Oriolowo, a fashion designer who also accesses care at the health centre with members of her family said “this primary health centre is okay and it is one of the centres residents love the most in this area.
“We want the government to recruit more healthcare workers. We are being delayed unnecessarily each time we come here because of a shortage of healthcare workers.’’
The Community Report: Impact of COVID/State of the Primary Health Care survey further shows that 92.98 per cent of respondents note that there is a need for more healthcare workers as they are presently inadequate to cater for the teeming patients.
While 77.19 per cent rated the service delivery of the healthcare workers as good, only 1.75 per cent see it as excellent and 7.02 per cent of respondents say the care service is poor.
According to the survey, Community Report: Impact of COVID/State of Primary Health Care findings, at Apete, a good number of grassroots people which represents 84.21 per cent of the respondents use the primary healthcare centre from time to time while 15.79 per cent don’t use the centre.
Others who constitute 3.51 percent out of the respondents said they don’t use the centre for lack of facility and 12.28 per cent respondents have other reasons for not using the primary healthcare centre.
A visit to the Primary Healthcare Centre in Apete revealed its true state and attested to the respondents’ various views.
Ayokunle Anthony, a healthcare provider at the centre, said the state government sprang into action when Nigeria reported its first COVID-19 case to put the healthcare sector in a good stead to combat the virus.
He said the state government organised training for health workers which they all participated in for three days and a week respectively.
Anthony said a good number of the people seen at the peak of COVID-19 pandemic came with illnesses such as malaria.
Governors blame youth restiveness on inequality [THE NATION]
Governors on Thursday blamed youth restiveness on socio-economic inequality.
They will work with the Federal Government and other stakeholders to address the issues.
The governors resolved to “adapt, at both the state and regional levels, guidelines to be developed and issued by the National Economic Council (NEC) Sub-Committee on Engagement to reduce restiveness among young people”.
The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), at its 21st virtual meeting held on Wednesday, reviewed the fallout of the #EndSARS protests and the distribution of COVID-19 palliatives, among others.
“It is clear that these agitations are attributable to social and economic inequality in the country,” they said in a communique issued by the NGF secretariat.
The governors resolved to “engage with traditional, religious and civil society organisations to drive a common agenda and generate the required support for security personnel who play a vital role in ensuring the safety and the well-being of all Nigerians.”
According to the communique, the NGF members agreed to work with the guidelines to be developed NEC Sub-committee.
The forum’s Vice Chairman and Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, provided an update on the work of the NEC Sub-Committee mandated to engage with youths, civil society, religious, political and traditional leaders to frame a new security architecture.
The NEC sub-committee was set up following the NEC’s emergency meeting held on October 26.
The NGF members commended the Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID) “for presenting the true situation of what transpired in the light of the unfortunate misperception that attended the distribution of palliatives at the state level.”
They resolved that the NGF Chairman, Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, should work with the CACOVID Chairperson to address the media in addition to members speaking up in their local settings.
The governors also agreed to educate the citizenry about the various palliatives provided by the states, including cash transfers, food items, medical supplies, and tax incentives.
Buhari: govt will no longer tolerate threat to peace, unity [THE NATION]
President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday said threats to peace will not be tolerated.
He praised traditional rulers for their calming influence at the peak of the #EndSARS protests, saying the issues raised by the protesters were being addressed.
“I want to once again thank you for the role you all have played to calm down our youths with wisdom and authority.
“By instilling hope and keeping the peace, you have rendered the country great service.
“We cannot allow anybody or group to threaten the peace or sabotage these efforts,” the President said.
He spoke when he received a delegation of the National Council of Traditional Rulers, led by the Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III, at the State House in Abuja.
On the team include Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Etsu Nupe Alhaji Yahaya Abubakar; Emir of Kano Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero and Amanyanabo of Twon-Brass King Alfred Diete-Spiff.
President Buhari told the royal fathers: “We have heard the loud cries of our youth and children, and we are attending to their concerns.
“Strong, transparent efforts are underway to address those rogue elements of the Nigerian Police Force.
“Simultaneously, the Nigerian Police Force will also undergo the much-needed reform that covers welfare, working conditions and code of conduct that will usher in a more professional workforce.”
The President noted the challenges that come with “our growing youth population”.
He said: “There is no hiding place regarding how we should address insecurity concerns, youth unemployment, job creation, boosting industrialisation and preparing for a transition into a digital economy.”
He stressed that the government required the “support and voice” of the traditional institution “to help amplify the message”.
“Your proximity to the people places you in a unique position to communicate and ensure that our response is targeted and impactful in view of your role as guardians of our traditional values and culture,” President Buhari said.
He urged the monarchs not to compromise their neutrality “because this is what significantly confers on you, your moral authority and legitimacy.”
According to President Buhari, his Chief of Staff, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, would lead senior government officials to various parts of the country to “directly engage with you as part of this process.”
On COVID-19 pandemic, the President noted that economies have been crippled as the response to the pandemic has forced businesses to shut down or devise new means of transacting.
His administration, he said, has “designed various schemes and taken many measures to soften the impact, despite our own revenue struggles as government”.
“More needs to be done to cater to our fellow citizens, not just those in the urban areas but also those in rural areas,” the President added.
Biden maintains lead as Trump vows to sue states won by rival [SUN]
Winner of United States presidential election may likely emerge today as Democratic candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden maintains lead.
Ahead of the announcement of the winner, President Donald Trump early yesterday morning launched a furious tweet demanding that the count be stopped, then said his campaign would sue in any state where former Vice President Joe Biden had already been declared a winner.
As at press time, the election outcome hinged on four battleground states: Nevada, Georgia, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania. Trump expressed confidence he will win the election but said his campaign will sue in the battleground states Joe Biden won, a sign his team is not confident the vote tallies will come out in his favour.
Additionally, Trump has demanded the nation stop counting votes in the presidential election as his campaign launched a lawsuit in Nevada, which could hand Biden the presidency should he win its six electoral votes.
The Nevada lawsuit matches legal action the Trump campaign has launched in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Georgia as Biden approaches the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency. In Wisconsin, a state called for Biden, the campaign has requested a recount.
‘All of the recent Biden claimed States will be legally challenged by us for Voter Fraud and State Election Fraud. Plenty of proof – just check out the Media. WE WILL WIN! America First!,’ Trump wrote on Twitter on Thursday morning.
The Trump campaign had a brief legal victory in Pennsylvania on Thursday when a judge ruled ballot observers can watch officials count ballots within six feet. Representatives of both campaigns were in the room to watch the counts but at a further distance because of the coronavirus. A county judge agreed with the Trump campaign, but the state Supreme Court rejected it.
Meanwhile, American legal experts have said though Trump wants the United States Supreme Court to weigh in on a presidential race, it may not be the final arbiter in this election,.
Legal experts said that while there could be objections to particular ballots or voting and counting procedures, it was unclear if such disputes would determine the final outcome.
Ned Foley, an election law expert at Ohio State University, said the current election does not have the ingredients that would create a situation like in the 2000 presidential race, when the Supreme Court ended a recount in George W. Bush’s favor against Democrat Al Gore.
“It’s extremely early on but at the moment it doesn’t seem apparent how this would end up where the U.S. Supreme Court would be decisive,” Foley said.
If Biden secures 270 electoral votes without needing Pennsylvania, the likelihood of a legal fight in that state diminishes in any case, legal experts said. And any challenge would also need to make its way through the usual court hierarchy.
“I think the Court would summarily turn away any effort by the President or his campaign to short-circuit the ordinary legal process,” said Steve Vladeck, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin School of Law. “Even Bush v. Gore went through the Florida state courts first.”
Both Republicans and Democrats have amassed armies of lawyers ready to go to the mat in a close race. Biden’s team includes Marc Elias, a top election attorney at the firm Perkins Coie, and former Solicitors General Donald Verrilli and Walter Dellinger. Trump’s lawyers include Matt Morgan, the president’s campaign general counsel, Supreme Court litigator William Consovoy, and Justin Clark, senior counsel to the campaign.
Trump attorney Jenna Ellis has defended Trump’s bid to challenge the vote count and evaluate his legal options. “If we have to go through these legal challenges, that’s not unprecedented,” Ellis told Fox Business Network in an interview. “He wants to make sure that the election is not stolen.”
Meanwhile, some of Trump’s aides yesterday privately acknowledged the chances of the President winning are now slim and were contemplating their next career steps. In public, the team remains insistent his path to victory is possible and even likely. “Donald Trump is alive and well,” campaign manager Bill Stepien told reporters on a morning conference call.
But that reality hasn’t appeared to have set in for the candidate himself. Trump made a series of phone calls overnight, stung that his lead in some states had vanished and convinced Biden is stealing the presidency. As at press time, Trump does retain a chance of winning, though has fewer roads to 270 electoral votes than his rival Biden.
EndSARS: Govs’ll mobilise funds for Sanwo-Olu to rebuild Lagos – El-Rufai [SUN]
Kaduna Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai has commended the leadership of Lagos Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, in managing the affair of the state and also his efforts to rebuild it following massive destruction of property by hoodlums who hijacked the protest.
El-Rufai, who was the keynote speaker at the 22 Annual Tax Conference, held in Lagos, pledged the support of all 35 states governors.
“I assure you all other 35 governors in Nigeria will support you in rebuilding Lagos. Lagos is the economy heart of Nigeria while Kaduna is the political heart. We are all very concern about the situation in the state. My brother, Sanwo-Olu, is junior governor because we call the first time governor junior but you have shown credible leadership and I commend you for that.”
Governor El-Rufai had earlier shared his thoughts on the level of destruction when he visited Sanwo-Olu at the State House in Marina to commiserate with him and the people of the state.
El-Rufai described the gravity of the destruction as “pure evil” saying he nearly shed tears as he flipped through the images of the torched Lagos’ assets.
The Kaduna governor said Lagos, which accounts for one-third of national GDP did not deserve to suffer such pain. He said the young people who carried out the violence intentionally engaged in an act of “self-destruction” stressing that the repercussion of the action would be felt by them.
“I have spent time to see some of the pictures of the destruction done on public properties in Lagos and I nearly shed tears. Anyone who cares about development and progress will cry after seeing what has been done to public facilities and people’s investment that provided jobs to youths.
“While expressing anger on police brutality may be right, destroying public properties, which will have to be rebuilt using money that is needed to invest in other public infrastructure, under the guise of protest, is nothing but self-destruction. The government of Lagos and the Federal Government will have to re-invest scarce resources that could have been used for other things to rebuild the vandalised facilities.”
On his comment on the protest, El-Rufai said the youth protest against the police was not out of order but it was wrong for protesters to call for disbandment of the entire police force because of the action of a few bad eggs.
He sympathised with the police and those who lost loved ones in Lagos in the wake of the violence, saying the Federal Government must allow wanton destruction of public assets to happen again.
Sanwo-Olu said though Lagos had started to look forward and engage in new partnerships towards restoring the lost assets, he vowed to make the state uncomfortable for those with the intention to destroy the state’s economy and heritage.
Despite the ugly incident that trailed the protest, Sanwo-Olu said he remained committed to getting justice for those who were brutalised by the disbanded SARS.
Meanwhile, the Inspector General of Police, Muhammed Adamu, has blamed the escalation of the protest across the federation on the activities of social media.
Adamu disclosed this when he visited Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State to ascertain the level of damage on both public and private facilities during the protest, yesterday.
The IGP said the protest was initially not targeted at the Police or SARS, but regretted that it was later hijacked by hoodlums to loot and cause civil unrest in the society.
“I can tell you that our men acted professionally during the protest, they have their guns, they were being killed, yet they respected human dignity.”
65 countries storm Abuja for arts expo [SUN]
Sixty five countries are billed to converge in Abuja for the 13th International Arts and Crafts (INAC) expo.
Director-General, National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC), Otunba Olusegun Runsewe, told Daily Sun ahead of the event holding from November 5- 6 that 27 countries had already confirmed attendance.
Runsewe who doubles as President of the World Crafts Council, said the NCAC was making a statement with the programme by telling the world that COVID-19 cannot prevent Nigeria from hosting the event.
“What I try to do is to say COVID-19 will not stop us from being innovative. And this will be the first country in Africa organising an exhibition with drive-in,” he said.
He said 27 countries have sent in their documentaries which would be aired during the two-day event as a form of exhibition.
He said 15 states of the federation would have their days during the programme.
Participating countries include Libya, Syria Arab Republic, Bangladesh, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Mexico, China, Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, India, Cameroon, Russia, Burkina Faso, Kenyan and Argentine Republic.
Others include Sweden, Cote d’Ivoire, Scotland, Republic of Cuba, Pakistan, Brazil, Sudan, Republic of Namibia, Korea, Malaysia, Hungary, Chad, Niger, Mali, jibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Guinea and Tunisia.
There are also Madagascar, Malawi, Botswana, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Burundi, Liberia, Uganda, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Swaziland, Algeria, Angola, Benin Republic, Comoros, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cape Verde, Togo and Zambia.
Osinbajo charges corporate leaders on ethical leadership [SUN]
Vice president of Nigeria, Professor Yemi Osinbanjo, has charged corporate leaders to sustainably uphold high ethical standards in their business leadership. He made this call at the 2020 annual Directors’ conference of Institute of Directors (IOD).
Osinbanjo who spoke through online platform observed that ethical practice leadership in most organisations are no longer sustainable in the long run, adding that ethical behavior remains indispensable for organisational success. He maintained that organisations which show empathy for every stakeholders have little or nothing to fear hence the unflinching support of such stakeholders makes the organisations to grow.
Osinbajo stressed the need for corporate organisations to be socially responsible and environmental friendly. “We must pay close attention to good corporate responsibility to impact the society. We must conquer ethical pitfalls and this is the role of corporate leaders because everything rises and falls on leadership” he added.
Meanwhile the Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission, (NCC), Professor Umar Garba Danbatta, who spoke through online platform, stressed the need for transformational leadership and new social contract to extricate Nigeria from the shackles of economic retrogression.
Danbatta said, “We need transformational leadership across board and change our strategies as well as attitude and behavior in all our dealings, meanwhile we need enabling policies and institutions to support private sector to grow the economy.”