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Opinion
Daily Times Nigeria Friday, October 13, 2017
Ambode and silent screams from LASPOTECH
I Dele Owolabi
n Nigeria, people are internally displaced for many reasons amongst which are: terrorism, militancy, natural disaster, territory conflicts, civil war, etc. Whatever reason that may be responsible for internal displacement, the situations at all settlement camps remain the same. Neglect, malnutrition, mental and physical abuse, vulnerability, diversion of funds/aids from donors, even intermittent external aggression. In some cases, the persons prefer the enemies’ camp to the IDP camp if given the opportunity to choose. This situation in any typical IDP camps is not different from the harrowing experience that has plagued the Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH) students. The 40-year-old institution has witnessed up to four strike actions in the last 40 weeks for numerous faulty reasons. Hence disrupting and prolonging the academic years of the innocent students. The industrial dispute that was said to have started in July 2016 had led to total shut down of the polytechnic on different occasions, starting from Thursday 20th -31st October, 2016; 20th April – 15th May, 2017; 5th -21st June, 2017 and 1st August – 15th. At different periods, the strike actions featured demonstrations, press conferences, media appearances, visits to the Lagos State House of Assembly, visits to the governor’s office, letters to the governor and even invasion of the campus by
armed military men which attracted public outrage. In all of these, the students languish in pains while the governor seems to enjoy the rhythm of their silent screams. Till today, nothing has been done to investigate the bestial treatment of the students by the soldiers who earn their living through the taxes paid by the students’ parents. No doubt, there is a structure put in place by the governor to mitigate in situation like this. The structure starts from the Rector, who believes that the staff unions cannot force him into the payment that is yet to be domesticated. In such situation, one would have expected the Governing Council which is to serve as the representative of the Governor to mediate between the warring parties, but got enmeshed in the dirty mud. Next is the Special Adviser on Education to the Governor whose intervention has fallen below average and yielded more confusion. The latest wrong move of the SAE was the court summon from an industrial court to the Unions, which is a clear reflection of his bad handling of the protracted industrial disharmony. As at today, all parties are at limbo and waiting endlessly for the final sound of the gavel. The Permanent Secretary in Lagos Ministry of Education and his counterpart in Ministry of Establishment could not salvage the situation as their interpretations of policy continue to somersault in their faces.
The House Committee on Education’s intervention looks promising but has only handed the students another row of strike action. One year after, if the structures put in place to see to the smooth running of the institution fail, the Governor needs to start questioning the competence of his men and complicity in the seemingly unending drama. The students and their parents did not vote for their Lecturers, Rector, Governing Council members, SAE or Permanent Secretaries. Guardians and parents don’t also pay their taxes to the same set of people, but to Lagos State Government under the leadership of Governor Akinwumi Ambode. Another electioneering starts in earnest, ‘Ambo lee kan si’ and we can not afford to close our eyes to the harvests of votes that could come from any angle. The students pay and they deserve quality service delivery. After all, when the strike actions were called off, the rector and the staff still received their pay packs. Who pays for the wasted years of the innocent students? Enough of this conspiracy of silence by the powers that be. The students should be treated as future of Nigeria not as IDPs that are mentally wounded and physically brutalised. It may interest his Excellency to know that, the Ikorodu medical centre of the polytechnic at the just concluded 2016/2017 second semester examination in the month
of September recorded highest number of casualties in the history of the Polytechnic – no thanks to the examinations that were cramped into eight days to forestall possible fresh industrial strike by the staff unions. Avoidance and denial do not work in a matter of this importance, the governor just needs to face it and rest the matter finally. From all indications, the Governor seems to trust his boys, but it won’t be out of place if he raises an independent panel of inquiry to look critically and holistically into the issues affecting the polytechnic. What if the issues go beyond arrears? What if there is an issue of integrity deficit on the part of the stakeholders? What if the Governor has been fed with wrong information? What if the only thing that staff, students and pensioners want is an assuring words from the amiable Governor? What if this is an opportunity for the staff unions to learn a better approach to conflict resolution without ‘placards’? What if the managers of the polytechnic need the ongoing crisis to learn modern business intelligence and better handling of men, machine, money? What if the staff and their unions meant good for the polytechnic? What if it is time for the Governor to reposition the polytechnic as the hub and bedrock of technological excellence in Africa? What if ? Owolabi, a public commentator, lives in Ikorodu, Lagos.
allocation funding contracts with the NOCs – valued over $3 billion; and Various NPDC production service contracts – valued at over $3 billion – $4 billion. But some experts have argued that the law and the rules do not require a review or discussion with the minister of state or the NNPC board on such contractual matters. The board has no role in contracts approval process as advised by BPP. These transactions were not required to be presented as contracts to the Board of NNPC and, of course, the monetary value of any crude oil eventually lifted by any of the companies goes straight into the federation account and not to the company,” the experts said. Meanwhile, the NNPC said all the contracts listed in Kachikwu’s letter were validly conducted within the expenditure limits of the agency. The corporation also countered the argument that due process was not followed. The transactions were not required to be presented as contracts to the board of the NNPC. A seven-step procedure for awarding contracts within the NNPC was outlined in the statement. From the initial approval of project proposal and contracting strategy by NTB, to the presentation of same contract to the federal executive council (FEC) for approval, it was reiterated that all contracts that passed through the national oil company followed due procedure. Mentioning the direct sale direct purchase (DSDP) contract valued at over five billion dollars as an instance, it was said that the sevenstep procedure was duly followed in shortlisting the DSDP partners for the 2017/2018 cycle under review. According to the NNPC, a “detailed evaluation was carried out and the shortlist of the successful off-takers was presented to the approving authority (Mr. President) for consideration and approval.” The Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo on Thursday dispelled Kachik-
wu’s claims when he admitted to approving contracts for the NNPC. The Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, to the VP, Laolu Akande, in a series of tweets on his twitter handle @akandeoj, on Thursday, confirmed that the contracts were approved after due diligence by the Vice President when he acted as President, recently. Kachikwu and his cohorts should know that the structure and roles of the NNPC tenders board (NTB) and the NNPC board appointed by government were quite distinct. While the NNPC board is a governing board that has oversight over the approval of work programmes, corporate plans and budgets, the NTB is responsible for approval of day-to-day procurement implementation. If the minister, who has occupied the office of the NNPC GMD pretends he didn’t know that the NTB comprises of the Accounting Officer (GMD NNPC) as the chairman, with heads of department (GEDs) as members with the head of procurement (GGM SCM) serving as the secretary of the NTB, then he has an ulterior motive. Perhaps, going by the VP’s declaration, Baru should be commended for taken prompt and decisive steps that have restored investors’ confidence and stabilised the nation’s oil sector. Such wild guess is indeed alarming and had created room for critics to discredit the Buhari government. How else can an enemy within be. We from the Niger Delta have made it clear to the Vice President and indeed the President our demands. We want investments in the region. We are hoping that very soon the President will fulfill is side of the bargain. It is true we are aggrieved and want equity and fair share; we are strait to the point on what we want. We do not revel in cheap blackmail. Priye John, wrote from Bayelsa.
Kachikwu’s unsavoury memo
I
Priye John
t is no longer news that the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, wrote a ‘memo’ or letter to President Muhammadu Buhari alleging contract awards to the tune of about $25 billion in one year. Kachikwu had, in a leaked memo recently, accused the Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Maikanti Baru, of insubordination and reversal of some of the gains he (Kachikwu) made while in-charge of the corporation before Baru succeeded him in July 2016. The minister also alleged that the NNPC GMD made some appointments without consulting the board and also awarded contracts without due process. These allegations in the purported memo, has become a subject of national discourse and has aroused deep resentment among many citizens. The NNPC responded in a statement signed by its spokesman, Ndu Ughamadu, describing Kachikwu’s claims as baseless. Ughamadu made it clear that the response to the allegation was as a result of the directive of the president which indeed was given credence by the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Thursday when he disclosed that he (Osinbajo) actually gave Baru the approval when President Buhari was on medical vacation in London. The letter which was leaked by Kachikwu’s cohorts is perceived by many industry players as a mischievous and attempt to undermine the good works of his successor, Dr. Maikanti Baru, as the Group Managing Director (GMD) of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC. It is an unfavourable circumstance for the nation’s oil sector, for someone well-endowed with
knowledge of operations in not just the industry not just in Nigeria but at the international level to condescend to the level of misleading the country. Whatever the intention, it was indeed a calculated attempt to embarrass the government of President Muhammadu Buhari. Buhari met with Kachikwu after the letter became public while Vice President Yemi Osinbajo also had a meeting with the NNPC GMD, though the issues discussed were not disclosed by the presidency. However, it is good to put it on record that the minister while incharge of affairs as the GMD, did the same thing he accused Baru of doing. It would be recalled that when the NNPC sought to clarify transaction limits, referring to a circular dated March 11, 2009 by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), the procurement methods and financial authority thresholds of application for NNPC transactions were listed as: Approving Authority/No Objection to Award Special Works (NNPC) BPP issues “No objection to award”/FEC approves N2.70 billion (USD 20M) and above NNPC Tenders Board Up to N2.7 billion (USD20M). The NNPC maintained that these clarifications were “obtained prior to August 2015 and were implemented by Dr. Kachikwu as the GMD of NNPC who constituted the first NTB on September 8, 2015, and continued to chair it until his exit in July 2016.” Also worth noting is the fact that the minister’s allegation of $25 billion contract awarded is a feign imagination that Baru awarded contracts amounting to $25 billion without consulting him or the board of the NNPC. In his so-called memo, Kachikwu gave a breakdown of the contracts as: The Crude Term Contracts – valued at over $10 billion; The DSDP contracts – valued over $5 billion; The AKK pipeline contract – value approximately $3 billion; Various financing