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AFR Business

NBA Opposes UK-Nigeria Bilateral Lawyers Deal

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The president of the Nigeria Bar Association has said that the lbody, which regulates the practice of law in Nigeria, was not consulted by the Tinubu administration before the government announced a policy that would allow lawyers from the United Kingdom to practise in Nigeria and vice versa.

In a lengthy press release, the NBA’s president Yakubu Maikyau said the lawyers’ group remains opposed to the purported bilateral agreement between the United Kingdom and Nigeria.

Mr Maikyau’s statement is published below:

My attention was drawn to the news making round on a number of media platforms on the alleged signing of the Enhanced Trade Investment Partnership (ETIP) Agreement, between the governments of Nigeria and the United Kingdom. It was reported that this agreement seeks to enable cooperation between the two countries in areas such as financial and legal services. More bewildering is the stated provision that will allow lawyers from the United Kingdom to practice in Nigeria. Understandably, this news has generated tremendous disquiet within and outside the legal profession in Nigeria.

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment was reported to have expressed delight over what she described as a “ground-breaking agreement” that will translate to ‘more money’ for Nigeria. The NBA finds this statement credited to the Honourable Minister ridiculous, unpatriotic, and uninformed. It is indeed unfortunate that this tragic reminder of our colonial past, is being gleefully celebrated at the highest level of the Government of Nigeria. What is more disheartening is the fact that a decision of this magnitude that adversely affects the wellbeing and livelihood of millions of Nigerians, could be taken without any consultation, especially with the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).

For the avoidance of doubt, the NBA had no foreknowledge or inclination of the text of the said agreement. We could not therefore have contributed to it. I have since assuming office as President of the NBA clearly opposed any agreement that will compromise our legal space. At all the meetings I had with officials of the Law Society of England & Wales and the Bar Council of England & Wales, I never failed to note our opposition to a bilateral agreement between the Government of Nigeria and that of the United Kingdom on legal services. In the workshop I attended with Mr George Etomi on 5 October 2023, convened by the UK-Nigeria Working Group on Trade Policy, with officials of Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment in attendance, at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), King Charles Street, London, I made the point in unmistakable terms, that the NBA does not support any bilateral agreement with the UK on legal services. I emphasised that we are not yet at a place for such agreement, and that even if are to enjoy reciprocity with the UK (which is not an acceptable position), knowledge and skills gap is so wide that we cannot favourably compete with the lawyers from the UK. I made it clear that while there can be an agreement or discussion on other trade matters, legal services was not on the table.

We know for certain that the British Government will not undermine its own body of legal professionals in such spectacular fashion as this administration has done to the NBA in the matter of this agreement. It is truly tragic that while the government of the UK is seeking opportunities for its own lawyers beyond its constrained environment, the government of Nigeria is attempting to deprive Nigerian lawyers and their millions of dependants of means of livelihood. To embark on such a venture without recourse to the NBA is the height of insensitivity to the plight of the legal profession in Nigeria, and this is totally unacceptable.

We want to make it very clear that the ETIP agreement, in so far as it relates to legal services is unacceptable in its entirety. The NBA will take all necessary measures provided by our laws in support of our position on this matter. As a starting point, I have today convened a meeting of senior lawyers with a view to devising an appropriate litigation strategy. We intend to fully challenge the legality of this agreement all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary. This is without prejudice to other intervention measures that may be necessary to express our rejection of this agreement. I want to use this opportunity to call on all members of the NBA to brace up for the struggle ahead. The NBA under my leadership will not allow any incursion into our legal space.

Best Regards,

Yakubu Chonoko Maikyau, OON, SAN

NULGE asks Tinubu to halt destruction of illegal refineries

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The Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) has appealed to the federal government to stop the Navy from destroying refining sites tagged as “illegal” in the Niger-Delta.

Ambali Olatunji, NULGE president, said this at a news conference to mark the end of its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting on Wednesday in Abuja.

According to Mr Olatunji, NEC-in-Session resolved that the union should call President Bola Tinubu to prevail on the Nigerian Navy to stop destroying some refining sites in the Niger Delta region.

“Destroying those sites has no benefits whatsoever for the country’s oil and gas sector as well as for Nigerians at large.

“Instead of destroying those refining sites, they should be licensed properly and mandated to pay taxes.

“This will create job opportunities and be sources of revenue earnings,” he said.

Mr Olatunji also called on the federal government to consider licensing more modular refineries that have the capacity to refine crude oil.

“If the multinationals are leaving the country, we should encourage individuals that are willing and capable to do it in Nigeria,” he said.

“If we can work on those areas, coupled with minimum wage, the effects of fuel subsidy removal will go down,” he said.

The NULGE president also said that NEC-in-Session took note of the hardship occasioned by fuel subsidy removal.

He, therefore, called on the President to mitigate the effects by creating Compress Natural Gas (CNG) Centres across the country

Mr Olatunji also called on the President and the Tripartite Committee on minimum wage to arrive at an acceptable minimum wage for workers.

On security, he urged the federal government to allow the local government to implement community policing in protecting the lives and property of the citizens within their jurisdiction.

Power Minister Adelabu says key plants are underperforming

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Adebayo Adelabu, minister of power, has expressed concern at the level of under utilisation of Olorunsogo and Omotosho power plants due to gas shortage.

Mr Adelabu expressed his worries during an official inspection of the plants in Abeokuta and Akure on Wednesday.

Olorunsogo Power Plant 2 has an installed capacity of 750 megawatts but generates 87 megawatts, while Omotosho’s 500 megawatts generate only 125 megawatts.

The minister said: “I am impressed with the size and the technology of the power plants here; their operational history is also impressive.

“And I am amazed at the level of underutilisation of these power installations.

“Each of them operates below 25 per cent capacity. When we are still complaining that power generation is low in this country,” he said.

According to him, the under-capacity utilisation was due to a variety of reasons.

“The major part of it is the shortage in gas supply to these installations, which was why I needed to see these plants myself.

“To look at what can we do to improve the operational capacity of these plants.

“What can we do to repair those turbines that are down?

“What can we do to support these power plants to operate at impressive capacity so that power supply will improve nationwide?” he queried.

He, however, noted that with what was seen at the plants, there would be further discussion with the management of the companies.

Mr Adelabu also said that he decided to visit Olorunsogo and Omotosho power plants, which are power generating companies under Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC), owned by the government of the federation.

He said the visit was part of his nationwide visit to power installations of the federal government to fiscally inspect and monitor the physical state and operational state of these power plants.

“We have been to Olorunsogo and we are now in the Omotosho power plants. These are big power plants with over 450 MW installed capacity.

“Our visit is to also see how we can collaborate to ensure that the federal government comes into their assistance and to support them to improve the operational capacity and consequently improve the level of power supply to the distribution companies.

“I believe that these companies are currently undervalued, and before they can be disposed of, I think a number of things need to be carried out by the federal government to ensure that they are brought to a higher capacity and their valuation improves,” he said.

The minister said that the country would be losing if the plants were sold at their current state.

“I believe the country will be losing.

“We have invested so much in these power installations. I mean, they are just about 12 years old.

“But if you look at the running hours of all the plants that we have in this conference, they are almost close to being new plants. Almost all of them are below 30,000 running hours since inception”, the minister explained.

To improve gas as a source of power generation, the minister said the top echelon of the ministry would need to dialogue on the formula to boost the power generating plants.

He explained that if the government was not willing to fund subsidies, it would be better to migrate to cost-effective tariffs.

He assured that frequent drops in power generation being experienced by Nigerians due to gas woulf be improved soon, adding that the ministry would upset part of the gas huge debts.

Chiedu Ugbo, chief executive officer, Niger Delta Power Holding Company Ltd., who described the company as a strategic national asset, also attested to its technical capacity.

Mr Ugbo said that the company had commenced a programme tagged “Light-Up-Nigeria”, which is aimed at attracting industrial clusters which are not on the grid by providing them with electricity at cost-effective tariffs through distribution companies.

“This will make us be assured of the liquidity and gas availability that can be paid for promptly to meet payment assurance.

“We have started this in Agbara in Ogun State, also going to South-East and South-South, among other geopolitical locations.

“Our emphasis, as a company, is to focus on resolving the electricity supply challenge through NDPHC’s Light-Up-Nigeria initiative,” he said.

Mr Ugbo added that the inadequacy of gas volumes poses a challenge in ensuring generation up to the TCN-allocated evacuation capacity, let alone reaching the full capacity of the power plants.

FCT Minister Wike to launch Abuja Light Rail in May

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The FCT minister, Nyesom Wike, has expressed satisfaction with the progress made so far on the Abuja light rail project, reassuring that its delivery on May 29 is sacrosanct.

The minister gave the assurance on Wednesday after inspecting the ongoing construction of access roads to the train stations from Metro Train Station in Central Area to Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

The minister reassured journalists who accompanied him on the inspection tour that the rail project would be commissioned on May 29 by President Bola Tinubu to mark his one year in office.

The stations visited are, Wupa station close to Idu and Bassanjiwa station close to the airport.

“This is part of our routine inspection of ongoing projects to see what the contractors have been doing.

“We are working day and night to see that we fulfil the promise we made to President Tinubu and residents of the FCT that by May, Mr President will ride on the Metro line.

“We want to have access roads to the various train stations because if you do not create access roads to the communities who will be using the train, then the aim is defeated,’’ he said.

The minister acknowledged the seriousness of the contractors to deliver the project.

“You have heard what the representative of the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation Ltd. said that they will be working day and night to see that the project is completed.

“For me, it is a major project, so that it can reduce the influx of vehicles into the city. It is going to help us,’’ he said.

On the availability of funds, the minister said that the FCT Administration was fully prepared and had secured some funding sources to deliver the projects.

Speaking on insecurity that might affect the workers on site, Mr Wike assured that security had improved significantly in the territory.

According to him, if people are working at night in Abuja, it means the city is secure.

Earlier, the minister inspected the ongoing construction of a single-lane expressway from Idu Industrial Layout to Zuba, being constructed by Salini Nigeria Ltd.

Mr Wike explained that the project was delayed because it crossed a rail line and required permission from the federal ministry of transport to proceed.

According to him, if approval is given, then the contractor will be able to do some work and facilitate the speed.

Lagos Earmarks 550 billion naira for infrastructure

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The Lagos government says it will spend N550.689 billion to develop and maintain infrastructure across the state in 2024.

The Commissioner of Economic Planning and Budget, Ope George, said this on Wednesday during the state’s ‘2024 Budget Analysis’ held at Ikeja.

Mr George said the N550.689 billion on infrastructure, which represented 24.28 per cent of the entire budget, was part of the N1.315 trillion capital budget for the year.

Highlighting some of the infrastructure targeted with the budget, he said that ongoing transportation projects would continue.

Mr George said these projects include expanding the rail network, constructing roads, and completing the blue-red line and other metro projects.

According to him, the budget will also address the development of affordable housing schemes and urban renewal projects in addressing the housing deficit in the state by injecting a total of N55.924 billion, representing 2.5 per cent of the entire budget.

The commissioner said the 2024 budget intended to complete the front-loaded and ongoing infrastructure like the Massey, Omu Creek, Opebi-Mende Link Bridge, Stadia, SCRPS, Lekki-Epe, Lagos Badagry Express, among others.

He said the 2024 budget would ensure the commencement of the awaiting 4th Mainland Bridge connecting Ikorodu to the Island.

Mr George said the state’s commitment and continuous support to agriculture would include increased funding for projects and programmes, comprehensive training programmes, and incentives tailored for farmers.

He added that simultaneously, ongoing aid for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) remained a priority to stimulate economic growth and foster job creation.

He also mentioned that Lagos would boost human capital development through education and healthcare, which was of deep interest to the state, as a population that remained healthy, skilled, and safe could only convert the opportunities in the state to value.

The commissioner said Lagos had allocated 13.35 per cent of the total budget to personnel costs in 2024, an increase of 33 per cent compared to 2023.

He explained that the N180.693 billion in the education sector would allow continuous investment in educational infrastructure, digital skills initiatives, and vocational education, thus enhancing learning opportunities for every child in the state.

Mr George said the total budget size of N2.267 trillion would be funded from a total revenue estimate of N1.880 trillion, comprising internally generated revenue: N1.189 trillion, capital receipts of N94.605 billion and federal transfer of N596.629 billion.

According to him, LIRS is expected to contribute 63 per cent (N750 billion) of the projected TIGR, while about 23 per cent (N283.567 billion) is expected to be generated by other MDAs of the government.

The commissioner said the deficit of N387.125 billion was projected to be funded by internal and external loans and bond issuance.