Tuesday, 10 January 2017

Gambia: Jammeh's Election Petition Adjourned, MAY 2017

Nigerian Judges were absent.
Chief Justice sat alone today
announced an adjournment.
May 2017
Opinion: The Judges should
Just have sat expedited hearing
and possibly dismissed the petition.
They should have sacrificed all their
time to hear it 8am-8pm daily and
concluded the matter in a few days
with a view to making Jan 19 inaugural
date historic, first time. Judges could sit
calmly and write calmly to arrive @ justice.
Thank you! Attorney Carol Ajie



Monday, 9 January 2017

Carol Ajie: NBA Committee: Right to Life, Constitutionally Gua...

Carol Ajie: NBA Committee: Right to Life, Constitutionally Gua...: Chairman Tony Idigbe, SAN &Distinguished Members Greetings! NBA Committee statement published in Premium Times 9-1-2017 h...

NBA Committee: Right to Life, Constitutionally Guaranteed!




Chairman Tony Idigbe, SAN &Distinguished Members

Greetings!


The statement was caused to be published by the NBA because of the need for the public including lawyers to raise public consciousness on the state of law practice/review hence the Committee’s first role should be #BringBackLegalWork in the face of mountainous encroachments by other professions in particular Bankers and Estate Surveyors. The committee should be worried that mortgages for example and other financial transactions conducted by Banks and other financial institutions have been taken over by non-lawyers who rely on our templates at the expense of NBA members.

Please show some urgency in taking back lease agreements,  deeds of assignment etc bearing in  mind a lawyer is required to prepare and vet legal documents; to register land titles, to prepare legal agreements etc; others snap up these legal jobs with the resultant effect that lawyers gradually get more impoverished. Look on NBA website was a lawyer who required N5Million for surgery and we do not know if they made it. Surely a number Lawyers Fidelis and others didn’t make it for as little as N150, 000 (One hundred and fifty thousand naira). A law student in thecable online right now requires N12M only to save a life, renal disease – kidney fails; Lawyers are not helping him for obvious reasons.

Keep in mind the right to life and dignity are enshrined in the Constitution of the FRN; so the right to work& earn professional fees should concern the bar association and her committees with all due respect, those not disenfranchised voted in NBA election b’cos these rights take precedence over some of the terms of references in referenced publication for a Team described in one breath as “Committee to review law practice in Nigeria” and in another as “a task force”. Task Force on Legal Fees First:
 – Right to decent/legal Work
-     Right to earn a respectable income as a worker
-     Right to professional fees for legal work done
-     Right of NBA members to insist their sources of income and livelihood are preserved by bar leaders
-     As the Right to life and dignity remain sacrosanct!
-     And constitutionally enshrined and guaranteed!



Thereafter seek further or other methods of raising money either from bar practicing fees and perhaps paying more to NBA to now license law firms (NEW)even after the Corporate Affairs Commission the statutory body in charge of registration of businesses had plus N4,000 a packet of 120 NBA stamps reduced to 96 stamps@4k made mandatory.
Thank you!

Carol Ajie
Concerned Citizen

Sunday, 8 January 2017

GE Bill: Great Monarchs #Emp_Women



#Emp_Women,  the sitting Emir of Kano as CBN Gov SLS conceded 40% to female Bankers; though women in other sectors were not beneficiaries we promote women anywhere Bankers, Architects, Lawyers, Judges, Engineers, Artists, Artisans, Activists et al. 

#BringBackOurGirls’ Chiefs one a Christian  and former World Bank Vice President and the other,  Muhammadu Buhari  and Gov El-Rufai doubly elevated, after  PDP presidential candidate was defeated by 2.5million votes in a historic concession and smooth and peaceful handover.  Gambia: Jammeh still fighting to concede defeat. Yeah?

Wait a minute wondering why Hillary Clinton beat Donald Trump on popular votes by the same margin, ie 2.5million though lost the White house, in losing the electoral college vote, Trump won!.   It is common knowledge that Ms Clinton was Barrack Obama’s preferred successor and millions of the most populous country in Africa, Nigerians wanted the Lady to win. Our country’s  President Buhari  also preferred Hillary Clinton like many of us in and outside of the human rights community.
Muslims inclined to Empower Women from centuries back till present.
Muslims are NOT averse to empowering women. Queen Amina, Zaria. 
Gov El-Rufai: despite horrendous hostility Southern Kaduna; El-Rufai made yet another first, appointed female Head of Service. KD former Chief of Staff who is now NPA  Chief, first female to be so appointed.

The first female Chief Justice of Nigeria Mariam Aloma Mukhtar, GCON, North, recommended by NJC under the chairmanship of a Northerner and she was great CJN. Her successor Hon. Justice Mahmud GCON proudly said “I will retain her Lordship’s legacies”.  So North and Northern Muslims and their Southern counter parts are proud to empower women. Bless North Bless South for ratifying CEDAW! For signing OP-CEDAW years after in New York at the United Nations. The Gender Equality Legislation is essentially about domesticating CEDAW Pause UN Deputy S-G, Amina Mohammed Nigeria, North. Our Southern and Northern Presidents promoted her equally.

In supporting passage of Gender Equality Bill, our Northern Monarchs will help. His Majesty Emir SLS note, may have to draft a letter to the President of the Senate his co-Kings College Alum and post via email; Not about inheritances; to all Heros & Heroines of Gender Struggles. 

Thank you!

Carol Ajie, LL.B(Hons) Benin; B.L (Lagos); MCIArb(UK); LL.M Georgetown; LAWA Fellow 2009-2010; Vital Voices Lead Fellow 2013-2017; Empower Women @ UN Women Global Champion for Change.
                        

Saturday, 7 January 2017

GE Bill and the Islamic Laws of Inheritance

When a Muslim dies there are four duties which need to be performed, viz:
1.  payment of his funeral expenses
2.  payment of his/ her debts
3.  execution his/ her will
4.  distribution of remaining estate amongst the heirs according to Sharia
After 1, 2, 3 there might be no estate left to distribute or perhaps there is for the very very few wealthy Nigerians of Northern and Southern extraction. How many Christians and Muslims are leaving inheritances.  What  inheritance did our forebears leave. Yes Mariam Wali what did Daddy leave behind apart from LL.B (Hons)? So the emphasis is education to Sons and Daughters in equal proportion. I know a good Muslim his daughter got her LL.B and next he announced on his Facebook that she would proceed to LL.M immediately. He is the current President of the Nigerian Bar Association. Yes the best gift you bequeath to your child is school and school and school.

So His Majesty the Sultan we ask to help this Bill pass made controversial with a recent charge to NASS not to pass it.

My Muslim name  is Amina and I approve this message.
CA, Empower Women @ UN Women Champion for Change to deploy persuasive public interest advocacy campaigns to please pass GE Bill.



Wednesday, 4 January 2017

'No to War' - Senator Ekweremadu's Statement on Gambia



H.E Senator Ike Ekweremadu
Deputy Senate President
Sir,

In Feb 2016, your valedictory address  in Abuja at the inauguration of Moustapha Cisse Lo,  the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Senegal,  as the Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament was received; having served  resoundingly as Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament and you had caused to be adopted the Supplementary Act on the enhancement of powers of ECOWAS Parliament by the Community decision making body. Having handed over  the Mandate to Moustapha Cisse Lo  of Senegal who now serves a four-year tenure 2016-2020, significant.


In the face of threats posed by President Jammeh’s challenges in the sub-region, one would say  reading  statements in Nigeria, hereunder yours being reported. http://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/01/explore-dialogue-gambia-ekweremadu-warns-ecowas-heads-state/


In your call for dialogue, I urge you to use your ECOWAS platform to bring about a peaceful resolution ASAP. It was because Jammeh dismissed the ECOWAS mediation team as biased that ECOWAS troops started positioning to strike should YJ refuse to leave office on 18 Jan, 2017.


Acknowledging Dr Bukola Saraki is President of the Senate, perhaps the Nigerian senate could constitute a Mediation Committee or an Adhoc committee of sort to dialogue if you are unable to use the platform of ECOWAS Parliament or should ECOWAS Parliament not be in a position to steer it, considering Senegal’s position right now. I am of the view that in the next couple of days peaceful transition is achievable if vigorously pursued.


Yesterday 3rd Jan 2017 the US Senate had resumed and I was listening to Senator Chuck Schumer (Democrat) Minority Leader on CNN ref:  “US twitter presidency”.


Great men and Women don’t want war because the consequences for children and women are grave.  Nigeria is not at war, and Tuesday Punch newspaper reports of 4 cultists in Lagos publicly assaulting women. Imagine in a war situation what would happen to vulnerable members of any society, assault of unimaginable proportion.

NG Senate and or ECOWAS Parliament please act now! You want to ask why don’t Nigerians tell H.E President Buhari to lead ECOWAS mediation or dialogue, you know PMB is not a great name in mediation or dialogue, please.

Best,

Carol Ajie, LL.M Int’l Georgetown; LAWA Fellow 2009-2010; Vital Voices Lead Fellow 2013-2017
EmpowerWomen @ UN Women Global Champion for Change 2016-2017