TOP 150921 NEWS SNIPPETS

'When it comes to poverty, an already tragic situation has been worsened by the battering Africa’s fragile economies took from the coronavirus pandemic. One in three people are now unemployed in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy. The same goes for South Africa, the most industrialised African nation. It is now estimated that the number of extremely poor people in sub-Saharan Africa has crossed the 500 million mark, half the population.

'One of the key reasons for coups in Africa is “sit-tightism” of political leaders. Many of the leaders have had to tinker with constitutional provisions in order to extend their stay in office. According to a May 17, 2021 African Centre for Strategic Studies report titled, “Circumvention of Term Limits Weakens Governance in Africa”, the think-tank posited that Africa has seen a reversal in term limit norms since 2015 as leaders of 13 countries had evaded or overseen the further weakening of term limit restrictions that had been in place. The countries are: Algeria, Burundi, Chad, Comoros, Côte d’Ivoire and Democratic Republic of the Congo. Others include, Egypt, Guinea, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan, Togo and Uganda.

'The report stated further that, “The lack of effective term limits has resulted in Africa having 10 leaders who have ruled for over 20 years and two family dynasties that have been in power for more than 50 years”. In Gabon, there is Bongo dynasty which has been on for 53 years; in Togo, the Eyadema dynasty has been on for 53 years; Equatorial Guinea’s president, Teodoro Obiang, has been in power for 41 years, while Cameroon’s Paul Biya has been in power for 38 years. King Mswati III of Eswatini and President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda have been in power for 34 years each. Before Idris Déby, 68, was assassinated by rebels on April 20, 2021, he was president of Chad for 30 years. Eriteria’s Isaias Afwerk has been in power for 27 years while Denis Sassou Nguesso of Republic of the Congo has been president for 23 years. Djibouti’s Ismail Omar Gwelleh has been leading his country for 21 years likewise King Mohammed VI of Morocco.  Paul Kagame on his part has led Rwanda for 20 years and still counting.

'In order to avert another military adventurism into Nigerian politics, it is imperative for the political class to behave themselves and double down on the variables highlighted above as the push factors for military forceful takeover of government. The forthcoming 2023 elections must be significantly better and more credible than all the previous ones. There must be substantial improvement in the citizens’ standard of living and not the cost of living. Corruption must also be significantly reduced in politics and governance'.

… JIDE OJO

“The National Secretariat of JOHESU has been inundated with a recent memo of the NMA to the office of the Minister of Labour and Employment with regards to some welfare challenges of our members.

“As usual, the childish tirades of the NMA were laden with evil chicanery and antagonism in a scenario that epitomises unwholesome meddlesomeness of the idle, ignorant and very inexperienced crop of representatives who lead the NMA.

“After a careful analysis of the submissions of the NMA, we wish to submit that in a most sympathetic display of emotive theatricalisation, the NMA decided to stand the truth on the head by claiming that JOHESU attempted to seek pay parity at the NICN, but failed in 2018.

“In reality, however, the representatives of NMA failed because they are too consumed in vengeance to appreciate that JOHESU was simply minding her business albeit lawfully by requesting the FG to respect the spirit of its CBA with JOHESU in 2014, which compels the FG to adjust its wages anytime government adjusts the wages of the beneficiaries of the CONMESS scale.

“This was sequel to understandings at the heart of the rules of engagement the Federal Government and JOHESU had in 2009, which the 2014 CBA simply amplified.

“The NMA often suggests that the golden rule in health care in Nigeria remains that anything it does not endorse does not exist.

“If the NMA suddenly says it is not aware of Residency Training which it has tried to frustrate in the FHIs exist, then JOHESU wishes to educate them that as far back as July 2015, the health ministry issued a residency training circular for pharmacists undergoing post-graduate training at the West Africa Post-Graduate College of Pharmacists.

“We at JOHESU openly challenge the clueless NMA hierarchy to show the world evidence based data that we do not have Consultants in Pharmacy, Nursing, Radiography, Physiotherapy, Medical Laboratory Science and other callings from those climes where international best practices evolved from.

“For the umpteenth time we say this is the norm from the UK, USA, Australia, France and even Ghana.”

… JOHESU Chairman, Bio Josiah

“The Learned Justices of the Court of Appeal In relying on the inherent jurisdiction of the court to make the order on the subject matter of this Appeal, failed to appreciate that the inherent jurisdiction of the court cannot be applied in contravention of statutory provisions.

“The Learned Justices of the Court of Appeal failed to appreciate the nature of inherent jurisdiction and that it cannot be invoked to circumvent the clear provisions of the statute as it was done with regards to Order 6 Rule 1 of the Court of Appeal Rules 2016 in this case.

“that no court has an inherent jurisdiction (except in extreme circumstances) to set aside the exercise of discretion of another court with regards to order made in respect of an application for stay of execution”.

… Rivers State, through its Attorney-General