Justice Emmanuel Obile of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has struck out a suit seeking to bar Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, from participating in the governorship primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) scheduled for Thursday, June 25.

The judge struck out the suit following a successful out of court settlement by all the parties.

One of the aspirants for the governorship ticket of the party, Omoregie Ogbeide Ihama, had approached the court to seek an order to stop Governor Obaseki from participating in the governorship primary. Ihama argued that only those who purchased the governorship forms within the stipulated time should be allowed to participate in the primary election. 

However, after he reportedly struck a deal with the party and Governor Obaseki, he instructed his lawyers to withdraw the case.

Obaseki resigned from APC on June 16 and joined the PDP on June 19. He was given a waiver and allowed to purchase the party’s governorship form and join the race for the party’s governorship ticket, a decision that threw the party into crisis.

We said we are going to experiment with some people and these are children from exit classes.

“In the document, we have provided, we have suggested how we can move our education sector forward in this pandemic period.

“We don’t want to make it known at this period so that some people will not take our proposal for guidelines for schools reopening.

“This is because people publish fake guidelines every day which I always come on air to debunk. What we have now is a proposal.

“Even if the Senate has not called us, we would have come to you to discuss with you because we have already discussed with the House of Representatives.

“The documents were presented to you so that you can criticise and make inputs as major stakeholders”.

He, however, expressed concern over the decision of Oyo State Government to reopen its primary and secondary schools in spite of the current rising cases of coronavirus infection in the country.

Nwajiuba wondered why the government of Oyo state which was currently battling with increasing cases of new infections, should be eager to throw open the gates of its schools when its neighbouring states, were employing caution.

He said, “Why is Oyo state talking of reopening schools when it has just started recording increase cases of Coronavirus infection.

“Just beside Oyo is Ogun which was part of the three states under the FG’s lockdown since April is not talking about schools reopening.”

Vice-Chairperson of the Committee, Sen. Akon Eyakenyi, who presided over the meeting, expressed the fears that the academic calendar could be distorted in public schools where no visible arrangement was being made to teach the children at home, unlike their private schools’ counterparts.

She said public schools students were made to rely on educational programmes on radio and television stations whereas they tune to stations showing cartoons whenever there was no adult to guide them.

Eyakenyi said that children in public schools had no access to online classes like their counterparts in private schools.

She noted that the arrangement regarding radio and television stations was not working.

“Even when the students in the cities have access to education programmes on radio and televisions, what of those in the villages? What do we do so that we don’t shut them out?

“If the government can give guidelines for the reopening of churches and mosques, stakeholders in the education sector could also hold a meeting with the government to agree on guidelines for schools reopening.

“All we need to do is to come up with measures that would ensure the safety of both the students and their teachers.

“We can design a plan that would make sure that not all the students resume at the same time. We could probably start with the exit classes.

“We could have the numbers of students that would go to school in both the morning and afternoon sessions.

The World Bank has approved $750 million International Development Association (IDA) credit for Nigeria’s Power Sector Recovery Operation (PSRO), to improve electricity supply.

The Bank, in a statement in Abuja on Wednesday, said that the would help Nigeria achieve financial and fiscal sustainability and enhance accountability in the power sector.

It explained that about 47 per cent of Nigerians do not have access to grid electricity and those who had access, faced regular power cuts.null

According to the bank, the economic cost of power shortages in Nigeria is estimated at around $28 billion, which is equivalent to two per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

It stated that getting access to electricity is one of the major constraints for the private sector according to the Ease of Doing Business report.

It added that improving power sector performance, particularly in the non-oil sectors of manufacturing and services, would be central to unlocking economic growth post COVID-19.

Shubham Chaudhuri, World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, said “lack of reliable power has stifled economic activity and private investment and job creation.

”This is ultimately what is needed to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty.

“The objective of this operation is to help turn around the power sector and set it on a fiscally sustainable path. This is particularly urgent at a time when the government needs all the fiscal resources it can marshal to help protect lives and livelihoods amid the COVID-19 pandemic”.

The bank said that PSRO would provide results-based financing to support the implementation of the Government’s Power Sector Recovery Programme (PSRP).

It further explained that the PSRP was a comprehensive programme to restore the power sector’s financial viability, improve service delivery and reduce its fiscal burden.

“The PSRO is expected to increase annual electricity supplied to the distribution grid, enhance power sector financial viability while reducing annual tariff shortfalls and protecting the poor from the impact of tariff adjustments.

“This will enable the turnaround of power sector while helping the Federal Government to redirect large fiscal resources from highly regressive tariff shortfall financing towards critical crisis-responsive and pro-poor expenditures. It will also increase public awareness about ongoing power sector reforms and performance.

“Specifically, the PSRO will ensure that 4,500 mwh/hour of electricity is supplied to the distribution grid by 2022 by strengthening the regulatory, policy and financing framework.

His Lordship, Hon. Justice Nelson Ogbuanya of the National Industrial Court sitting in Lagos Judicial division has quashed the wrongful dismissal of Mr. Rabiu Olakunle from the services of Lagos Airport Hotel Ltd, converted same to termination, and ordered firm to compute and pay him all outstanding salaries from August 2009 to August 2011, terminal benefits with the sum of Five Hundred Thousand Naira cost of action within two months.

The Court held that the evidential burden of proof in respect of the allegation of the criminal misconduct levelled against Rabiu lies on the firm who made the allegation and interdicted him, that there is a constitutional right of presumption of innocence until proved guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction.

The Claimant- Rabiu Olakunle, who served as Senior Plant Operator had submitted that he was summarily dismissed on allegation of complicity in misconduct, interdicted and charged to court, but the charge was later struck out and was discharged.

Further that while the charge was pending in court, and without inviting him to any disciplinary hearing, the firm dismissed him via a letter of summary dismissal for alleged gross misconduct, and further that when he was discharged and vindicated, he approached the firm to re-absorb him and to pay his outstanding salaries, allowances and emolument but all to no avail.

The Defendant- Lagos Airport Hotel Ltd denied the claims, insisted that Rabiu’ s dismissal was valid as it was for gross misconduct and he  has forfeited all entitlements having been dismissed from the company, and urged the Court to dismiss the claims for being frivolous.

The Defendant’s counsel O.E Oku, Esq with C.Onyemaobi, had contended that there was no breach of fair hearing against the Claimant, as he was given an opportunity to defend himself of the allegation brought against him before the panel, and insisted that since the Claimant was dismissed for gross misconduct, it is a maximum punishment that would deny him entitlement to terminal benefits, no matter how long he has served.

In reply, Caimant’s counsel A.A Kembi Esq maintained   that the Defendant could not validly base his dismissal on the same criminal allegation that has not been proved.

Delivering Judgment in the suit marked NICN/LA/429/2015, the Presiding Judge, Justice Ogbuanya held that criminal allegation can be dealt with in civil trial, provided the person alleging the crime satisfies the evidential burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

“There is no evidence of any police report of the investigation or an extract of the ‘cautionary statement’ by the Claimant at the police station. There was no evidence of any investigation even from the management’s said panel that was said to have indicted the Claimant.

“In my considered view, the Defendant’s own casual basis for indicting the Claimant, to say the least, is arbitrary, whimsical, and falls far short of requisite expectation in establishing criminal allegation against an employee, which would be endorsed by a court of law, to ground a supreme punishment of summary dismissal and consequent loss of earned terminal benefits; a longing reward at glorious exist after long years of toiling in an organization.

“I hasten to add that such conduct constitutes specie of the emerging jurisprudence of unfair labour practice, of which this court frowns at and curtails whenever confronted with the rearing incident. I so hold.

“It was not the Claimant’s fault that he was discharged and therefore vindicated, and no effort was later made by the Defendant to have him re-arrested and diligently prosecuted, and perhaps, convicted. Without such effort, it is preposterous for learned counsel to insist on trial on merit before the Claimant can be vindicated.  I so hold.

“Accordingly, having not justified the purported summary dismissal of the Claimant by the Defendant, the same is hereby so declared wrongful.”

India is expelling half the staff at Pakistan’s high commission (embassy) in its capital Delhi, accusing diplomats of spying and dealing with terrorists.

India will also reduce staff by the same number at its high commission in the Pakistani capital Islamabad, the external affairs ministry said. 

There was no immediate response from the Pakistani authorities. 

Relations between the nuclear powers were already tense after India expelled two Pakistani staffers three weeks ago.

They were accused of trying to obtain information about Indian troop movements.

Indian media suggest the latest move was prompted by the alleged mistreatment of two Indian staff members in Islamabad.

• Pakistan holds Indian employees over ‘hit-and-run’
• Pakistan ‘broke international law’ in spy case

Last week, the Indian government accused Pakistan of abducting the two men but Pakistan said they had been detained by police after hitting a pedestrian while driving. 

What are the details of India’s move?

According to the Hindustan Times newspaper, each of the two countries has an agreed strength of 110 staff at their respective high commissions, although the current number is actually about 90.

India’s decision means the two commissions will both have to send back 35 staff members within a week. 

They [the Pakistani staff] have been engaged in acts of espionage and maintained dealings with terrorist organisations,” India’s external affairs ministry said in a statement.

It summoned Pakistan’s Charge d’Affaires, Syed Haider Shah, to make the accusations.

He was also told, the Hindustan Times reports, that Pakistan had “engaged in a sustained campaign to intimidate the officials of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad from carrying on their legitimate diplomatic functions”.

What are the allegations about the Indian staffers?

The Indian government’s position, according to the Hindustan Times, is that Pakistani security agencies picked up the two men in Islamabad, tortured them and framed them over a road accident and fake currency.

When the two men, Dwimu Brahms and Selvadhas Paul, returned to India on Monday, they are said to have provided “graphic details of the barbaric treatment that they experienced at the hands of Pakistani agencies”.

Pakistan police say the two men were detained after running a man over and trying to flee the scene but were later released from custody because of their diplomatic status.

There was no immediate comment on the allegations that the two men had been tortured