Cloned Nigerian Anchor

Category: News

You can’t go on strike, FG warns resident doctors

The Federal Government has warned members of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) to shelve their planned five-day warning strike.

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, gave the warning on Tuesday in Abuja, shortly after receiving the letter of notification from the NARD executive on the planned strike.

Ngige said this in a statement signed by Mr Olajide Oshundun, Director, Press and Public Relations in the ministry while the planned strike as illegal.

The impending industrial action is billed to begin by midnight of May 16.

Ngige who was reacting to the letter, delivered to his office at about 5pm same day, said he contacted the Minister of Health, who informed him that a meeting has been scheduled with the resident doctors on Wednesday.

He therefore advised the doctors to avail themselves of the opportunity for social dialogue with their employer, rather than embark on a warning strike, which is unknown to the law.

According to him, “I will advise them to attend the meeting with the Minister of Health tomorrow. I will also advise them very strongly not to go on a five-day warning strike.

“There is nothing like a warning strike. A strike is a strike. If they want to take that risk, the options are there. It is their decision. They have the right to strike. You cannot deny them that right.

“But their employer has another right under Section 43 of the Trade Dispute Act, to withhold their pay for those five days. So, if the NARD has strike funds to pay their members for those five days, no problem.

“The Health Minister will instruct the teaching hospitals to employ ad-hoc people for those five days and they will use the money of the people who went on strike to pay the ad-hoc doctors.

“That is the ILO principles at decent work, especially for those rendering essential services. Lives should be protected. One of my sons is a resident doctor, I will advise him to go to work and sign the attendance register,” he said.

He added that, the people seen at work are the ones to receive their pay. If you don’t work, there will be no pay.

On the five demands of the doctors, Ngige said the Federal Government lacks the powers to compel the states to domesticate the Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF).

He added that since health is on the residual list, where both the federal and state governments have the powers to legislate.

The minister also stated that the job of the Federal government was to make policy and where the states disagree, they were at liberty to make their own policy.

He noted that the Federal Government cannot bully the states into domesticating the MRTF if they do not want to.

Regarding the issue of immediate payment of the MRTF to their members, he said it was appropriated in the 2023 budget but has not been released, as the 2022 budget was still running, adding that those in 2022 have all been paid.

Ngige denied the claim by NARD that the Federal Government did not pay minimum wage consequential adjustment arrears to their members.

He added that, all workers in the Education and Health Sectors, and even the defense agencies benefited from the adjustment.

He noted that the doctors cannot declare a nationwide strike because some states were owing their members, pointing out that the federal government cannot also dabble into the issue, being a state matter.

Ngige also said the Federal Government as the Executive arm of government cannot intervene in the bill at the National Assembly to bond doctors for five years, as it is a private member’s bill.

According to him, any intervention by the executive on the matter impinges on the autonomy and independence of the legislative arm of government.

Ngige noted that the bill has passed through first and second reading, he was sure it would be shot down at the public hearing, since the law prohibits forced labour.

He advised the doctors not to talk about 200 per cent pay rise, as it was not feasible.

“Besides all the government has done for doctors and other workers in the health sector, such as upward review of hazard allowances, the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) was already negotiating with the Federal Ministry of Health, National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission and the Presidential Committee on Salaries on pay rise for doctors.

“It is incongruous for student doctors to embark on strike when consultants training them were already negotiating with the Federal Government,” he said

05/17/2023
UN seeks $2.6bn for humanitarian needs in Sudan

25 million people, more than half the population of Sudan need humanitarian aid and protection

The United Nations humanitarian response plan is seeking nearly $2.56 billion to help people affected by the crisis in Sudan, a senior U.N. official said on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the U.N. refugee agency is also seeking more funding to assist those forced to flee.

“Today, 25 million people, more than half the population of Sudan, need humanitarian aid and protection.

This is the highest number we have ever seen in the country,” said Ramesh Rajasingham, head of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Geneva and director of the Coordination Division

“The funding requirements of nearly 2.6 billion dollars are also the highest for any humanitarian appeal for Sudan.’’

The plan, a revised version of the annual humanitarian plan for 2023, is designed to target 18 million people in need.

The conflict between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has caused a humanitarian crisis that threatens to destabilise the region, displacing more than 700,000 people inside Sudan and forcing about 200,000 to flee into neighbouring countries.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR),is making a joint appeal with the aid agency on Wednesday, said it was seeking 472 million dollars to assist more than 1 million people over the next six months.

“Sadly, we once again need to call on countries and individuals with the means to step up for innocent people who have lost everything through no fault of their own,’’ said Raouf Mazou, Assistant High Commissioner for Operations at UNHCR.

05/17/2023
Presidential Election Tribunal: Labour Party factions clash in court

Labour Party Factions clash in Court on Wednesday morning over who is the authentic party

There seems to be more legal fireworks brewing as factions of the Labour Party (LP) were at each other’s jugular this morning at the Presidential Election Petition Court, engaging in war of words over which faction is the authentic one.

The Lamidi Apapa-led faction of the LP was questioning why members of the party loyal to the Julius Abure are in court for the suit against Tinubu

They insisted that the ruling of a High Court of the FCT, suspending the Abure-led faction remains in force as consequently, they have no business being in Court this Wednesday morning.

The court rose on the last adjourned date for continuation of pre-hearing of the Peter Obi’s petition, however, with this melo-drama, and the mood in court already, there seem to be more fireworks brewing.

05/17/2023
Resident doctors embark on 5-day warning strike on Wednesday

The National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has concluded plans to embark on a five-day warning strike action, from 8am on Wednesday May 17 to 23.

Nigerian Anchor reports that this would be the first time in 2023 that NARD would be embarking on strike, but the fourth time it would be happening since the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The President, NARD, Orji Emeka Innocent, disclosed this during a press briefing in Abuja that after the National Executive Council (NEC) of NARD meeting on May 15, 2023, another meeting was convened to review the progress made and action taken by the Federal Government to address the issues raised in the two-week ultimatum issued to the Government on April 29, which expired on Saturday, May 13, 2023.

The President informed that the Association observed rather unfortunately, that till the expiration of the two-week ultimatum, the Government has neither reached out to the Association nor made any significant moves at resolving the issues raised – a situation they considered as embarrassing for a nation touted as the ‘Giant of Africa’.

The Association frowned at this development, and wondered how the Government could claim to have the interest of the Nigerian citizens at heart and still neglect such a well-publicised ultimatum.

It would be recalled that the Association has earlier issued an ultimatum to the Federal Government to demand the immediate massive recruitment of clinical staff in the hospitals and the abolishment of the bureaucratic limitations to the immediate replacement of doctors and nurses who leave the system.

They also demanded immediate infrastructural development in the hospitals with subsequent allocation of at least 15 per cent of the budgetary provisions to health in line with the Abuja declaration of 2001, immediate payment of the 2023 Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF) in line with the agreements reached at the stakeholders’ meeting convened by the Federal Ministry of Health at the conference room of the Honourable Minister of State for Health on February 15, 2023, increment in the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) to the tune of 200 per cent of the gross salary of doctors, in addition to the allowances included in the letter written by NARD to the Honourable Minister of Health on July 7, 2022 for the review of CONMESS among other demands.

05/16/2023
FG has recorded great reforms in the judiciary- Malami

*AGF highlights eight years of achievements

The Attorney-General of the Federation and Ministry of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN) says the Federal Government has recorded tremendous achievements in the Justice sector.

According to Malami, the modest gain recorded was worth relishing, adding that it has expounded the legal jurisprudence.

Speaking at the day two conference of the body of Attorneys General, held in Abuja, Malami who praised the AGs from the 36 states of the Federation added: “With dedicated public servants and some of the best legal minds present here in this room. I can say with all sense of responsibility, that we have strived within humanly possible limits to discharged meritoriously the onus and duties of the position of leadership which providence bestowed on us as Attorneys-General.

“We have been able to guide our principals and shape public governance towards advancing the course of justice, rule of law and deepening our democratic practices.

He further noted that over time salient issues which includes payment of pension for judicial officers, sharing of Stamp Duties collections, Value Added Tax, NFIU Guidelines, regulation of the mining and gaming industry and other issues relating to policing and security have been addressed and will continue to get government attention.

Other areas of mutual evaluation and collaboration mentioned are combating and prosecution of terrorism and other violent crimes.

Making a remark, the President Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Yakubu Maikyau, SAN, described the legal body as the bedrock of the nation’s existence, charging stakeholders to continue to extend their dexterity and sagacity for a better Judiciary sector.

In a short speech, Chairman, Legal Counsel, Mr. Emeka Ngige, SAN observed that the future of legal education has become a topical issue, saying all stakeholder including NBA must come together, raise the standard and salvage the situation.

05/16/2023
I’m not involved in any maritime contract mess- Transport Minister

The Minister of Transportation, Mu’azu Jaji Sambo

The Minister of Transportation, Mu’azu Jaji Sambo has debunked reports by some media organizations (not NIGERIAN ANCHOR), that he is involved in a purported maritime contract scandal at the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA).

According to a press statement issued Tuesday by the Minister, the allegations are nothing but a smear campaign to tarnish his reputation and downplay his hard work and successes in the Ministry.

“My attention has been drawn to false and baseless publications on some online media platforms regarding my alleged involvement in a purported hijack of a maritime contract at the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), a parastatal under my supervision.

“These allegations are nothing but a smear campaign orchestrated to tarnish my reputation and undermine my work as the Minister of Transportation,” Sambo said.

He went on to say that since he assumed office at the Ministry, he has concentrated on meeting the expectations of stakeholders in the industry, through honesty, transparency, integrity and in accordance with the country’s extant laws.

The Minister further berated the media outlets for peddling falsehoods based solely on anonymous sources, fabricated documents, and distorted facts, all of which he says violates the core ethics and principles of journalism.

“Let me be clear: Since I assumed Office as Minister in July 2022, my focus has been to meet the high expectations of stakeholders in the transportation sector. I have always acted with honesty, integrity, and transparency, in accordance with the law and public interest.

“Surprisingly, the news outlets that carried the false report relied on anonymous sources, fabricated documents, and distorted facts to create a narrative that suits their agenda or that of their sponsors. They not only violated the core ethics of journalism and the principles of fair hearing but have shown contempt for the truth, objective journalism and balanced reportage.

“It is even more laughable for anyone to think that just one man will sit back to award contracts of such a humungous amount. The contract awarding process in the Country is quite complex for manipulation. These purveyors of falsehood forget that contract awards under our extant laws and regulations involve rigorous due process, diligence and authorizations by different agencies and levels of government such as the Bureau for Public Procurement (BPP) and the Federal Executive Council (FEC) among others.

“I am certain some persons are intimidated by our achievements in the Ministry within a short time, thus their desperation to drag us in the mud. They are out to use me to chase clout. It is expected that with the transition to a new government, these persons and/or groups may want to target me as a basis to curry favour or seek relevance. Who is indeed afraid of Mu’azu Jaji Sambo?

“Consequently, the public is urged not to fall for this propaganda. Under my leadership, this Ministry has executed initiatives to improve the Country’s maritime domain as well as the mobility and safety of Nigerians. We have also promoted innovation, sustainability and social inclusion in the transport sector.

“Let me emphasize that I will continue to serve this nation with dedication and commitment till I exit Office. And even out of Office, I will remain a loyal and law-abiding Nigerian. I will not be intimidated or distracted by these false accusations, which only seek to divert attention. I am not involved in any (maritime) contract mess. The public should be guided,” he said.

He added that “I have requested appropriate security and law enforcement agencies to expeditiously investigate the content of the misleading publications so that the peddlers of fake and malicious news will be made to face the law.”

05/16/2023
400 perish in devastating Myanmar cyclone

Cyclone Mocha: Deadly storm hits Myanmar and Bangladesh coasts

Officials on Tuesday reported that cyclone Mocha, which hit Myanmar’s Rakhine State, claimed over 400 lives and caused severe damage.

Ramanathan Balakrishnan, the UN relief coordinator in Myanmar, said: “It really is a nightmare scenario.”

Mocha was the strongest cyclone to hit the region in more than a decade and its impact was especially felt in Rakhine, a state on the western coast which is home to Myanmar’s persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority.

According to Balakrishnan, the cyclone struck the poorest parts of the country, which were already affected by the coronavirus pandemic, domestic conflict and economic problems.

“Now they are also on the front line of the climate crisis,” he said, referring to the increasingly frequent weather extremes observed in the wake of climate change.

Most of those killed were Rohingya, a spokesman for Myanmar’s opposition National Unity Government told dpa.

The National Unity government was formed after Myanmar’s 2021 military coup as an alternative to the ruling junta.

It warned people about the cyclone in advance and has worked to organise international aid for the victims.

The tropical cyclone made landfall in Myanmar and neighbouring Bangladesh on Sunday with wind speeds of more than 250 kilometres per hour in some places.

The full extent of the damage, however, is only slowly becoming clear due to widespread cuts to communication lines.

The Irrawaddy news website reported hundreds of deaths in Rohingya camps around the city of Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine State. Many were said to have drowned or were hit by falling trees.

Since the coup, displaced people have been living in makeshift shelters in the region due to ongoing violence associated with the junta.

Many people had barely been able to shelter from the huge gusts of wind and heavy rain.

In both countries, hundreds of thousands of people were taken to temporary shelters as a precaution which saved many lives, the charity Oxfam said.

According to authorities in Bangladesh, no deaths have yet been reported there.

Nevertheless, the damage around the city of Cox’s Bazar in south-eastern Bangladesh is substantial.

In Cox’s Bazar, around one million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar live in the world’s largest collection of refugee camps, mostly in dwellings made of bamboo and plastic sheets.

Even before the cyclone, the United Nations estimated six million people were in humanitarian need in the regions affected.

05/16/2023
Court bars lawyers, journalists from covering Abba Kyari’s trial

Justuce Nwite had, on March 22, dismissed an application filed by Kyari and others seeking an order dismissing the NDLEA’s charge against them.

Journalists covering the ongoing trial of the suspended DCP Abba Kyari and others were, on Tuesday, restrained from coming into Court 10 of the Federal High Court, Abuja, venue of the proceeding.

Justice Emeka Nwite gave the order following an application to the effect by Mr. Sunday Joseph, counsel for the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

Joseph, a director of the Legal and Prosecution Department of the NDLEA, had applied for the protection of the next witness listed to give evidence in the trial.

The lawyer prayed the court that other lawyers, litigants, and visitors, including journalists, who were in the court should not be allowed to be in the courtroom while the hearing lasted.

Justice Nwite then stood down the matter to allow non-parties in the anti-narcotic suit against the suspended police officers to move out.

However, when the judge came in for the matter, a lawyer, Emmanuel Oluwabiyi, whose case was number 11 on the cause list, told Nwite that he was in the court for another matter.

Oluwabiyi said he observed that before the judge rose, counsel for the NDLEA made an application.

“I understand that it was directed that everybody in the courtroom should step out because of the instant matter. The bar is also meant to be vacated.

“ The feedback I am getting is that when this matter is going to be made, no lawyer should be in court. I am embarrassed by the application my lord,” he said.

Justice Nwite then pleaded with lawyers who were not in Kyari’s matter to bear with the court in the interim.

He said their matters too would be heard as soon as the hearing was over.

“In the meantime sir, I want to know when to come back my lord,” Oluwabiyi asked.

“You can hang around. We are not going to take the matter throughout the whole day. Please bear with,” the judge responded.

Another lawyer, Mr Ramiah Imhanaede, also aligned with Oluwabiyi’s submission.

However, when the newsmen asked the NDLEA’s lawyer on reason for the application, he said it was to give protection to the witnesses, who are intelligent officers, in the matter.

When asked about his reaction to the opinions of other lawyers in court, Joseph said “there is a doctrine of state privilege in the interest of national security.”

He said it had been observed that members of the Inspector-General (I-G) of Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT) who were loyal to Mr Kyari, were still coming to court

“And you don’t know who is who; so, it is for the witness’ protection

“We are now going into the nitty-gritty of the matter and there have been allegations that we are just witch-hunting them,” he alleged.

Joseph said though the agency had been calling witnesses, he said the present witnesses cannot be exposed to the public.

The hearing is still ongoing as at the time of filing the report

Justuce Nwite had, on March 22, dismissed an application filed by Kyari and others seeking an order dismissing the NDLEA’s charge against them.

Kyari and three other co-defendants in the suit bordering on drug offence had filed the application.

The applicants are Kyari, ACP Sunday Ubia, Insp Simon Agirigba and Insp John Nuhu.

They had prayed the court to quash the criminal charge against them, in fresh motions on notice filed by their lawyers on the grounds that the suit was incompetent.

They urged the court to stop their trial because they had not been subjected to the internal disciplinary action of the Nigeria Police Council (NPC) and the Police Service Commission (PSC), as provided by the constitution.

They said that the failure of the complainant (NDLEA) to await the disciplinary action against them rendered the charge incompetent and deprived the court of jurisdiction to entertain the charge.

05/16/2023
Sudan: Air strikes, artillery fire escalate crisis

Air strikes and artillery fire intensified sharply across Sudan’s capital early on Tuesday, residents said, as the army sought to defend key bases from paramilitary rivals it has been fighting for more than a month.

The air strikes, explosions, and clashes could be heard in the south of Khartoum, and there was heavy shelling across the River Nile in parts of the adjoining cities of Bahri and Omdurman, witnesses said.

The fighting between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has triggered unrest in other areas of Sudan, especially in the western region of Darfur, but is concentrated in Khartoum.

It has caused a humanitarian crisis that threatens to destabilise the region, displacing more than 700,000 people inside Sudan and forcing about 200,000 to flee into neighbouring countries.

“The situation is unbearable. We left our house to go to a neighbour’s house in Khartoum, escaping from the war, but the bombardment follows us wherever we go,” said Ayman Hassan, a 32-year-old resident.

“We don’t know what the citizens did to deserve a war in the middle of the houses.”

Fighting has surged both in Khartoum and in Geneina, capital of West Darfur since the two warring parties began talks in Jeddah brokered by Saudi Arabia and the United States more than a week ago.

The talks have produced a statement of principles around providing access to aid supplies and protecting civilians, but mechanisms for setting up humanitarian corridors and agreeing to a ceasefire are still being discussed.

The army has relied mainly on air strikes and shelling, only occasionally engaging in ground fighting, as it tries to push back RSF forces that took up positions in neighbourhoods across Khartoum soon after the fighting erupted on April 15.

The RSF attacked major military bases in northern Omdurman and southern Khartoum on Tuesday in an apparent attempt to prevent the army from deploying heavy weaponry and fighter jets, residents and witnesses said.

The army has been trying to cut off RSF supply lines from outside the capital and to secure strategic sites including the airport in central Khartoum and the major Al-Jaili oil refinery in Bahri.

The war began after disputes over plans for the RSF to join the army and the future chain of command under an internationally backed deal for a political transition towards civilian rule and elections.

Army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, took the top positions on Sudan’s ruling council following the 2019 overthrow of former leader Omar al-Bashir during a popular uprising.

They staged a coup two years later as a deadline to hand power to civilians approached, but both sides began to mobilise their forces as mediators tried to finalise the new transition plan.

05/16/2023
Number of global executions hits 53%– Amnesty Int’l

The total number of known executions carried out around the world in 2022 rose by 53 percent on the figure recorded for 2021, Amnesty International said on Tuesday.

The human rights organisation, in a report on the worldwide use of the death penalty, documented at least 883 executions in 20 countries for 2022, the highest figure in five years.

The number was likely higher, it noted, as thousands of executions in China “are being kept under wraps.”

State secrecy in North Korea and Vietnam, along with limited access to information in several other countries, continued to hinder a fuller assessment of the use of the death penalty, the report said.

Amnesty said 90 per cent of the world’s known executions in 2022 were carried out by just three countries, namely: Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt.

The number of recorded executions in Iran rose from 314 in 2021 to 576 in 2022, it said.

In Saudi Arabia, the number tripled from 65 in 2021 to 196 last year – the highest figure recorded by Amnesty for the country in 30 years.

Six countries abolished the death penalty completely or partially last year, according to the report.

However, executions resumed in five countries during 2022 – Afghanistan, Kuwait, Myanmar, the State of Palestine, and Singapore, the report said.

More than a third of the world’s recorded executions in 2022 were for drugs offences, a clear breach of international law, Amnesty said.

05/16/2023