PDP Gov's Forum set for 2019 IGR Summit

... Dr Peter Obi to deliver keynote address on IGR options in a recessed economy
Nelson NseAbasi
The PDP Governors Forum is set to host the 2019 Edition of its annual IGR Summit in Abuja at the BON Hotel Stratton, (formerly Protea Hotel), Asokoro on Wednesday and Thursday, November 27-28, 2019.
The information is confirmed in a statement released on Tuesday by the Summit Organizing Committee and signed by Patrick Okon on behalf of the Forum.
The former Governor of Anambra State and 2019 Vice Presidential candidate of the PDP, Dr. Peter Obi, the Chairman of the Summit, will also deliver the keynote address on the theme “The Imperatives of Developing Internally-Generated Revenue Options for State Governments in a Recessed Economy”.
The statement in part reads: ‘’The current economic reality in the country has more than ever informed the need for the forum’s initiative to escalate same for public discourse at the upcoming summit.
It added that: “The challenge of declining internally-generated revenue and the need to boost alternative sources of income for the PDP-governed states outside reliance on the monthly federal government allocation will be receiving adequate attention at the converge.
“It will also strive to define the extant possibilities and proffer fresh initiatives to increase revenue for economic growth and development in the states.
Titled “The Imperatives of Developing Internally-Generated Revenue Options for State Governments in a Recessed Economy”, the summit which is facilitated by the PDP Governors Forum and managed by Messrs Red Sapphire Nigeria Limited, in conjunction with the Producers of high-profile Finance programme, “Money Line on AIT”, will parade the Finance expert, Nancy Iloh as Summit Anchor.
Key Resource persons and Finance Experts with tested knowledge and transfer experience drawn from the IGR/Finance Sector have been penciled down to deliver thought–provoking papers and case studies to address as well as proffer enduring and sustainable solutions; aside crafting fresh ideas for the development, generation and effective application of digital formats to improve internally-generated revenue (IGR) strategies and platforms in the states and local government areas (LGAs) in a recessed economy.
The expected participants are - State Commissioners of Finance, Trade/Investments, Budget/Economic Planning, Tourism and Local Governments/Chieftaincy Affairs; National/State Assembly Committee Chairmen on Local Governments whose input will generally provide statutory and parliamentary backing for the major determinants and considerations on IGR Resources; SSAs on Trade/Investments, Economy, Finance and Revenue Generation; LGA Chairmen/ Secretaries, as well as Heads of State Boards of Internally-Generated Revenue and Senior Executives engaged in the Development and Management of Rural Economy amongst others.
The high-profile summit will feature the Governor of Bayelsa State and Chairman of PDP Governors Forum, Hon. Henry Seriake Dickson as the Chief Host of the summit, and the National Chairman of the PDP, Prince Uche Secondus as the Special Guest of Honour.
Mr. Akinyele Oladeji, an IGR Expert and Managing Consultant/Country Representative of Canadian Software Development Corporation (CSDC Consulting Nigeria) will lead a coterie of frontline speakers, session chairmen, faculty members and renowned IGR/Finance Experts cum Consultants drawn from allied and related agencies.
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Cross River to partner Taiwan on African Agro Revolution

The government of Cross River in conjunction with the Taiwan-African Business Association is set to host a conference for business men and women on the 20th to 23rd of November, 2019 at the Channel View hotel,MCC road Calabar.




The conference is set to receive the Taiwan - Africa Business Association on a mission to enlighten the people of Cross River State on possible partnerships to forge valuable economic development and business ventures.




The conference promises to be an eye opener for many business owners and economy leaders across the state and nation.




The Cross River State government is urging the indigenes and residents to turn out in their numbers to contribute their quota to make the state a better place.

Court of Appeal Calabar yet to release election petition judgments weeks after ruling

The Court of Appeal, Calabar Division is yet to release copies of the Election Petition judgments it delivered on 2nd November 2019, several weeks after, investigation has revealed.

The chairman of the panel, Justice Tijani Abubakar, had said before the counsels, their clients, their supporters and journalists that enrolled orders of the full judgments can be obtained immediately after the court session.

However, several weeks after the judgment, the report is nowhere to be found after efforts put up by the counsels.

This became imperative as a result of the Court reading only the concluding parts of the judgments and not the full text of the judgments due to time constraints.

The situation has left litigants in a state of confusion as getting the full judgments would have availed them the reasons why the learned justices arrived at their decisions.

A source close to the Appeal Court revealed that typically, applications for certified true copies of judgments are met within two days as it simply means a situation where the judgments are reproduced and certified for the applicants.

He, however, expressed regret on the development, even as he hoped that his superiors will address the situation without further delay.

When contacted, a lawyer to one of the litigants decried the development and lamented the negative implications. For instance, parties and counsel were denied reasons for the judgment and as such are unable to appropriately brief their clients about the underlying considerations that led the Court’s arrival at the judgments delivered, whether such judgments were favourable or not.

Furthermore, counsel who need copies of the judgment for records and submission to their clients or relevant institutions or even for applications requiring evidence of matters pursuant to the conclusion are also left in limbo, and still waiting for the judgments delivered about two weeks ago.

The lawyer confirmed that he applied for certified true copies (CTCs) of the judgments delivered by Court of Appeal on the 2nd & 5th November 2019 on 5/11/2019 and his application was acknowledged on the same date.

Parents hail Rotary for funding basic education/lIteracy project

Parents of 12 indigent students from eight public schools in Cross River State have commended Rotary Club of Calabar for paying N30, 000 each for their wards, WAEC and NECO fees.

The gesture, which was for deserving students from public schools in Akpabuyo and Calabar South Local Government Areas, also included the payment of their three terms school fees for 2018/2019 session.

One of the beneficiaries, who spoke on behalf of other parents, Mr. Edet Bassey expressed gratitude to Rotary at the official handing over of the cash to beneficiaries at Community Secondary School, Ikot Ewa in Akpabuyo.

He said the goodwill extended to their wards had reduced burden of payment.


He said: “We don’t know what to say than to say thank you to Rotary. Most of us would have had it tough, if not for your great assistance to our children. Thank you again and may God bless you.”

Speaking on behalf of the students from Government Secondary School, Uwanse in Calabar South, Effiom Eke, who thanked Rotary for the sponsorship, assured the club that she would work hard to ensure she graduates with good grades.

The President of Rotary Club of Calabar-UNICAL, Rotarian Carole Edem, said the gesture was one of the club’s Basic Education and Literally projects.

She explained that the N30, 000 was to help intelligent students whose parents could not afford to pay their exams fees.

While addressing the beneficiaries, Rotarian Edem said: “This is part of our area of interest. We are here for the purpose of assisting and serving humanity, reaching out to the society

Ayade is Champion Newspaper Governor of the Year

Cross River State governor, Sir Ben Ayade has emerged the Champion Newspaper Governor of the Year for 2019.

The choice of Ayade as Governor of the year was contained in a letter signed by the newspaper's Managing Director and Editor in chief, Mrs. Nwadiuto Iheakanwa.

While justifying the choice of the governor for the award, Iheakanwa said: "The award which is a product of painstaking selection of our Board of Editors, is our modest way of recognizing leaders who have paid a greater sacrifice in ensuring that the objectives and ideals of our nationhood are sustained."

She said Ayade's emergence has been corroborated by an independent team of assessors.

"On all scores, our findings, largely corroborated by that of independent assessors, confirmed that Cross River State under your watch has become a model state in terms of value creation in the art of governance, she stated.

Continuing, Iheakanwa said: “We note with delight, your uncommon zeal and pragmatism with which you have pursued the business of transforming Cross River into a resourceful state.

"Most importantly is the patriotic and noble steps in transforming the state into an industrial hub."

According to the Editor in Chief, "As a watch dog of the society, it is our duty not only to track and document your sterling performance but also to acknowledge your commitment and love for your state in particular and the country in general."

The letter of notification, however, fix the award ceremony for February 2020.

Journalists, others allegedly barred as ‘secret trial’ of Jalingo begins in Calabar

The “secret trial” of a journalist and human rights activist, Agba Jalingo, began yesterday in Calabar with journalists, lawyers and others allegedly locked out.

The publisher, who is believed to be incarcerated by Governor Ben Ayade, is facing charges bordering on conspiracy, terrorism, treasonable felony and attempt to topple the Cross River State Government.

Court officials and policemen reportedly chased out journalists filming and photographing what was believed to be like a circus at the Federal High Court, Calabar.

Strangely, the three lawyers in the defence team were reportedly asked out of the courtroom alongside prison officials.

Earlier yesterday, the court, presided over by Justice Simon Amobeda, dismissed an application by Jalingo’s counsel to modify his order of October 23, 2019, which granted leave for the prosecution to “mask its witnesses.”

In that ruling, the judge had also ordered that the public and the press would not be allowed during the cross-examination of the prosecution witnesses.

The case was supposedly stood down until noon when Justice Amobeda resumed sitting at about 1:34 p.m. with the prosecution counsel, Dennis Tarhemba; Jalingo, two court clerks and the judge’s police orderlies.

Before the court resumed sitting, security agents allegedly restrained all, including correctional officers, to outside the courtroom.




After the ruling, Jalingo’s counsel, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), had said his submissions were “mis-characterised,” adding that he was not confident that a “secret trial will bring justice especially as there will be no independent recording of court proceedings.”

Jalingo had in July this year published an article where he demanded the Cross River State Government to clarify the N500 million approved and released for the floating of the Cross River Microfinance Bank.

Cross River governor, ASUU at loggerheads over appointment of state university vice chancellor

Members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Cross River University of Technology (CRUTECH) chapter are at loggerheads with the authorities of the state over the appointment of a new Vice Chancellor for the state-owned institution.

They vowed to cripple academic activities if due process was not followed in appointing a new Vice Chancellor for the institution.

Briefing newsmen in Calabar, Chairman of ASUU, CRUTECH chapter, Com. Emmanuel Ettah, said the term of the current acting Vice Chancellor, Prof. Akon Monday Joshua, would come to an end on November 7, 2019.

He added that five names had been submitted by the institution’s Governing Council to Governor Ben Ayade, who is visitor to the institution.

He revealed that there was a plot to appoint an acting Vice Chancellor outside the five names submitted to Ayade, stressing that all students’ examination scripts had been returned to the VC’s office until a new acting VC took over the students’ examination scripts,.

However, when contacted, the Special Adviser Media & Publicity to Ayade, Mr Christian Ita, said,”It was a mere speculation and rumor on the part of ASUU.”

Added Ettah: “On Thursday 7 November 2019 will be six months when the acting VC, Prof. Akon Monday Joshua, was appointed to pilot the affairs of the university. Before then, the council was not constituted. But a month ago, the council was newly constituted led by Dr. Emil Inyang.

“The government appointees, Senate elected members, admission elected members and convocation elected members are the people that constituted the Governing Council. But the time was too short for the council to advertise for the position of Vice Chancellor since it requires at least 6 weeks to advertise.

The tenure of the Acting VC will be expiring on Thursday, 7th of November 2019. By law, she cannot continue and neither be reappointed.

“There’ is a procedure to appoint an acting VC and the procedure is that the university Senate through management and council will recommend a few professors to the Governing Council for onward forwarding to His Excellency, the visitor.

“Five names have been forwarded and we are in the know from a reliable information that the visitor wants to appoint an Acting VC outside that list. And that would be a breach to the University Miscellaneous Act 2003.”

“Our action as a union is not to oppose government, but to inform the government that due process is involved and should be followed through in appointing a Vice Chancellor.

“So the union feels that if that is done, the autonomy of the university as entrenched in the constitution and as entrenched in the 2009 agreement between ASUU and the Federal Government of Nigeria will be eroded and that might lead to litigation,” he said.

500 teachers barricade Cross River governor’s office over unpaid salaries

In less than two weeks, over 500 science teachers in Cross River State again barricaded the Governor’s Office with mats and wrappers, protesting the alleged removal of their names from the government’s payroll.

They also raised the alarm over non-payment of their September and October 2019 salaries, adding that “We have turned to beggars and doing odd jobs in a bid to survive on daily basis.”

It would be recalled that the teachers had earlier on November 5 protested, blocked gate to the Governor’s Office and denied everyone entry and exit.

Narrating their ordeal, Spokesperson for the science teachers, Kenneth Bisong, said that they (teachers) did not understand the rationale behind the Governor Ben Ayade-led administration in its decision to stop paying them and remove their names from the payroll.

“We are among the best brains as far as Science teaching is concerned in Cross River State. Our recruitment in 2015 was done by Educom, an Indian firm with a proven track record for standard and excellence.


“Initially we did not know that anything happened until our colleagues started getting paid and our people were not. We went to the relevant offices to find out what happened; we discovered that our names have been removed from the payroll by government.

“Our names were removed from the payroll in September; we started since 2015. We are about 500 teachers affected and it could be more.

“Government did not follow the service rules, we do not know what the government wants to achieve by removing our names from the payroll and treating it with injustice.

“We are the livewire of secondary schools. Does the government intend to engage quacks? All we want is the payment of our September and October salary arrears”.

When contacted, Special Adviser, Media and Publicity to the Governor, Christian Ita, said it was just an audit by government and no one was sacked.

“Nobody has been sacked. It is just an audit, a lot of people who joined the civil service in 2015 did so through the back door. There is no cause for alarm, no one has been sacked.

AYADE BREATHES LIFE INTO OBUDU RANCH RESORT

Ayade woos investors to Cross River at Africa Investment Forum

Emmanuel Ulay




Cross River State Governor, Sir Ben Ayade Wednesday turned on the charm offensive in South Africa , wooing investors at the Africa Investment Forum (AIF), to invest in the state.

A statement issued by Ayade's Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Christian Ita, said Governor Ayade is at the Summit on the invitation of the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr. Akinwumni Adesina along side the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum, Dr Kayode Fayemi, his kwara and Abia states counterparts, Dr Abdulrasaq Abdulraman and Dr Okezie Ikpeazu respectfully.

While speaking at the cluster session on the opportunities Investors can find in Cross River State, Governor Ayade said there can never be a better time to invest in the state than now when his administration has established an industrial city with all round infrastructure and tax free regime.

"There are lots of opportunities in my state , Cross River, a state that flows with milk and honey, inhabited by very warm people. It is home to the remaining largest Tropical rainforest in West Africa where natural wildlife still exist.

"It is blessed with huge arable land mass that is good for Agriculture, my state has large deposit of gas as the end-point of the oil rich Niger Delta region with international boundaries with Cameroon, Equitorial Guinea and Sào Tome and Principe on both lands and waterways Corridors.

"What's is more, Cross River is unarguably the toursim destination of Nigeria with Carnival Calabar as the apex annual event in Nigeria every December.

"As a government, we have invested in the Rice Value Chain, seeds and seedlings, Millings as well as Ultra Modern Cocoa factory just to mention but a few of our Agricultural projects of action.

"Come and Invest in Cross River because our land, though in the Niger Delta Region, is very safe and secured

Governor Ayade would on the second day of the three days event lead participants at an investment cluster meeting to a wider panel discussion with global investors to discuss opportunities in an effort to secure the nod of the Africa Development Bank (AFDB) and International Finance Corporation (IFC) to partner Cross River in its agro-industrial sector.