Zamfara Guber Polls: Court Orders Shinkafi to Serve Petition on APC, Idris by Substituted Service

The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand
Alliance (APGA) in Zamfara State, Alhaji Sani Shinkafi, on
Thursday, got permission of the Zamfara State Governorship and
House of Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal to serve his petition
against the outcome of the March 9 governorship election on the All
Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidate Mukhta Idris through
substituted means.

Specifically, the tribunal ordered that the petitioners served
the petition on the respondents by pasting all the processes on the
wall of the APC National Headquarters in Abuja.

The Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Binta Amina, gave the
order at the inaugural sitting of the tribunal which was relocated
to Abuja due to the insecurity in Zamfara State.

The counsel to Shinkafi and APGA Ifeanyi Mbaeri had in his
motion ex-parte asked the tribunal for an order of substituted
service on APC and its candidate Idris by delivering the petition
and all processes on any adult staff at the APC National
Secretariat at Plot 40 Blantyre Street Wuse 2 or by pasting the
petition and all other processes at the entrance gate or any other
conspicuous place at the APC National Secretariat, Plot 40,
Blantyre Street, Wuse 2 Abuja.

In the petition, Shinkafi specifically asked the tribunal to
nullify the governorship election conducted in the state on March 9
and order for a fresh election without the participation of the APC
and its candidate Idris.

The petition filed on March 29, stated that by virtue of Section
177(c) of the 1999 Constitution as amended, “A person shall be
qualified for election to the office of governor of a state if
inter alia: he is a member of a political party and is sponsored by
that political party to contest the said election.

Shinkafi further averred that “pursuant to section 87(1) of the
Electoral Act 2010 as amended, a political party seeking to sponsor
or nominate candidates for elections under this section shall hold
primaries for aspirants to all elective positions. In other words,
by the combined provisions of the 1999 Constitution as amended and
Electoral Act 2010 as amended, sponsorship of candidates for
elective positions is only through the holding of primaries”.

Citing Section 140(2) of the Electoral Act 2010 as amended,
Shinkafi stated that: “Where an election tribunal or court
nullifies an election on the ground that the person who obtained
the highest votes at the election was not qualified to contest the
election or marred by substantial irregularities or noncompliance
with the provisions of this act, the election tribunal or court
shall not declare the person with the second highest number of
votes or any other person as elected, but shall order a fresh
election.”

He contended that Idris cited in the suit as the first
respondent was as at the time of the Zamfara State governorship
elections not qualified to contest the election on the grounds that
he was not a sponsored candidate of a political party and was
therefore not qualified for election to the office of the governor
of a state.

Shinkafi and APGA are therefore asking the tribunal for a
declaration that the first respondent at the time the Zamfara State
governorship election was conducted by INEC on March 9, 2019, Idris
was not qualified to contest the said election having not been
sponsored by the APC as stipulated in Section 177(c) of the 1999
Constitution (as amended).

They are also asking for an order setting aside the purported
return of the first and second respondents as winners of Zamfara
State governorship election held on March 9, 2019, and an order
directing INEC to conduct fresh governorship election in Zamfara
State within 90 days without the participation of the first and
second respondents, the APC having failed to sponsor a governorship
candidate within the time stipulated by law.

Magu Lists Challenges, Achievements as he Defends
Budget

The Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission, (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu on Thursday, April 4, 2019
defended the Commission’s 2019 budget proposal of N22,
070,514,431.00, (Twenty Two Billion, Seventy Million, Five Hundred
and Fourteen Thousand, Four Hundred and Thirty One Naira) before
the House Committee on Anti-corruption and Financial Crimes.

In his presentation, Magu lamented that incomplete releases of
both approved overhead and capital estimates, have in no small
measure, negatively impacted the ability of the Commission to meet
its pressing needs and obligations.

He noted that only 54.17% was released in 2018 while only 40.06%
of capital has been released so far with only two and half months
to go to the end of extended 2018 capital budget year.

This year’s figure represents a 16.38% decrease from the 2018
budget of N26, 392,396,279.00, (Twenty Six Billion, Three Hundred
and Ninety Two Million, Three Hundred and Ninety Six Thousand, Two
Hundred and Seventy Nine Naira) and a rise of 14% in the personnel
cost proposal from 12.717 billion in 2018 to 14.491billion this
year.

The increase in personnel cost according to Magu, accommodates
the salaries and allowances of 970 additional staff (currently
being trained at the Nigerian Defence Academy, NDA, Kaduna), who
are expected to be fully enrolled on the personnel cost platform in
2019.

The additional staff, he said comprised 332 Assistant Detective
Superintendents, 293 Assistant Detective Inspectors and 95 support
staff that recently joined the Commission.

Magu expressed grief that the EFCC’s overhead cost which the
Budget Office reduced from N7.3billion to N3.6billion was grossly
inadequate for the Commission in view of the increased running
cost, occasioned by developments such as the opening of three
additional zonal offices, planned introduction of group staff life
insurance of N650million, huge outlays on generator fuel cost,
increase in airfares, proposed 60% increase in the rates of duty
tour allowance (DTA) payable to staff on official assignment.

The EFCC boss equally expressed worry over the Budget Office’s
drastic reduction of the Commission’s capital expenditure proposal
from N15.196billion to N3.978billion, representing a 74.82%
reduction from the approved estimate of N10.07billion in 2018.

He sees the approved capital budget expenditure as inadequate in
the face of the Commission’s N2.02billion outstanding liabilities
to Julius Berger; N1.5billion cost runs on its new head office
complex; N0.299billion liabilities for consultancy on new head
office; N0.47billion for purchase of security equipment
(ammunition); N1.1billion on furnishing of new head office
building; development of the permanent site of the EFCC Academy,
Lafia; renovation of the old EFCC head office building, Wuse 2,
Abuja, and the renovation of the Lagos Zonal Offices (10 Okotie
Eboh and 15 Awolowo Road.

The anti-corruption czar disclosed that the 2018 budget
witnessed an increase in the personnel cost of the Commission from
N7.6billion in 2017 to N8.5 billion, which were the consequences of
the full enrolment of 314 Assistant Detective Superintendents and
same for 183 Assistant Detective Inspectors following the
completion of their training programme in May and January 2018,
respectively.

Others are: the completion of the Commission’s Jabi District,
new head office complex and relocation, the establishment of three
new zonal offices in Makurdi, Sokoto and Ilorin, the hosting of
Heads of Anti-corruption Agencies in Commonwealth Africa (HACA) in
Abuja in May, last year.

Also featuring was the anti-corruption concerts hosted in Abuja,
Kano, Lagos and Enugu as well as the first ever anti-corruption
marathon that drew out hundreds of marathoners from across the
country, civil society organizations, and sports celebrities;
acquisition of hectares of land in Nasarawa State for the
construction of the permanent site of the EFCC Academy, of which
its development is expected to commence this year.

Magu disclosed that in the course of the 2018 financial year,
the EFCC obtained 315 convictions, and has within the first three
months of this year, obtained 192 convictions. In the area of
recoveries, he said N11.5billion was recorded in final forfeiture,
N133.8billion in non-forfeiture recoveries, N8.92billion in direct
deposits, N38.12billion in tax recoveries, N1.82billion in subsidy
recoveries, and N42billion from banks (Third Party), totalling
N236billion.

These, according to Magu, “are in addition to recoveries of
various sums in other currencies, other assets, jewelleries (gold)
and recoveries for major government agencies including NNPC and
AMCON.”

Within the first quarter of the current year, 2019, the
Commission, he said, has made recoveries which included:
N140.7million in cash, N2.021billion in direct deposits,
N7.20billion in tax recoveries, N3.06billion in subsidy recoveries
and $0.292billion.

He disclosed that the Commission was challenged in the areas of
huge maintenance cost of the new head office building; inadequate
resources to manage a huge and growing fixed asset forfeiture base
and inadequate ICT infrastructure.

Magu noted that “there is presently the complete absence of
internet services at the New Head Office and zonal offices,
including other related ICT service deliveries”.

The Commission, he disclosed, requires a minimum of N800million
to upgrade its present state of ICT infrastructure. This is in
addition to a proposal to Salaries, Income and Wages Commission for
an upward review of salaries and allowances of the staff of the
Commission. “This has been forwarded to the Presidency and, if
approved, will be covered by Supplementary Appropriation,” Magu
said.

Other challenges according to him are: poor detention
facilities, particularly in the zones, inadequate office equipment,
absence of health and fitness facilities in the head office and
zones, lack of equipment in the clinics and inadequate office
accommodation in the zones.

The Commission’s zonal offices in Ilorin, Makurdi, Uyo and
Benin, he said are rented. There is also the pressing challenge of
inadequate operational vehicles in the head office and across the
zonal offices.

In his response, the Chairman, House Committee on
Anti-corruption and Financial Crimes, Hon. Kayode Oladele who led
other committee members, described the 2018 budget performance of
the Commission as a huge success.

Kayode and other committee members promised that, the committee
will support the anti-graft agency in any area it needs
parliamentary intervention in its drive to achieve a better
performance and outcomes.

Tony Orilade
Ag. Head, Media & Publicity