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Ministers’ conduct needs to be properly policed, review says

The prime minister should no longer be the only person who can give permission for ethics investigations into his own conduct and that of ministers, according to a wide-ranging review by the independent committee on standards in public life.

The committee, chaired by former spy chief Jonathan Evans, found that the rules around the conduct of ministers need strengthening, arguing they currently fall “below the bar” for effective standards regulation.

In its “landscape review” of standards in public life, it made nine recommendations, including major changes to the ministerial code of conduct, which is overseen by the prime minister.

It follows widespread calls for reform of the system after Boris Johnson’s previous adviser on ministers’ interests, Sir Alex Allan, resigned after a report into the conduct of Priti Patel, the home secretary, was ignored.

Following an investigation into allegations that Patel engaged in bullying behaviour, Allan found she had “not consistently met the high standards expected of her”, but a government statement said the PM had full confidence in her and considered the matter “closed”.

Since then, Johnson has appointed a new adviser, Christopher Geidt, a former senior aide to the Queen, whose first task was investigating the controversial Downing Street refurbishment that involved Johnson borrowing money from a Tory donor via the Conservative party.

Lord Geidt concluded that Johnson had acted in an “unwise” manner without having breached the rules.

At the moment, the PM is the only person with the power to order investigations into the conduct of ministers, including himself, and is the one to appoint the independent adviser who carries out investigations.

However, the committee on standards in public life said the independent adviser on ministerial interests should instead be appointed by a panel made up predominantly of independent members.

It also recommended that the adviser should be able to initiate their own investigations, have the authority to determine breaches of the code and see their report published within eight weeks of submission to the PM.

On the ministerial code itself, the report said it needed to have a constitutional footing laid down in law, with any revisions subject to advice from the independent adviser, and possible sanctions for breaches should be set out including apologies, fines and asking for a minister’s resignation.

The committee also recommended a strengthening of the advisory committee on business appointments (Acoba), which governs the revolving door between government and the private sector by advising on lobbying and jobs taken on by former ministers and officials.

It said the current ban on officials and ministers lobbying for two years after leaving their post should be able to be extended to up to five years, and any work for a lobbying firm should be included in the ban, rather than just a prohibition on direct lobbying.

“The lack of any meaningful sanctions for a breach of the rules is no longer sustainable,” the report said, suggesting injunctions against lobbying work could be sought or means of recouping severance or pension payments.

Thirdly, it said there needed to be further reforms to the powers of the commissioner for public appointments, which oversees jobs for top civil servants and at public bodies, to make sure appointment panels are independent.

Evans, a former director general of MI5, said the committee had concluded that the “current system of standards regulation is overly dependent on convention”. The recommendations were necessary to “restore public confidence in the regulation of ethical standards in government”, he added.

In response, Dave Penman, the general secretary of the FDA union for senior civil servants, said the recommendation that the independent adviser should be able to initiate investigations was “essential if the code is to have a meaningful independent function”.

“There can be no hiding from the fact that the current prime minister has undermined confidence in the ministerial code as a meaningful regulator of ministerial conduct,” Penman said.

The recommendations were endorsed by Sir John Major, the former Tory prime minister who first set up the committee.

In a foreword, Major said the committee “makes many important recommendations that I hope will be approved by the government – and, where necessary, parliament – and then implemented”.

Angela Rayner, the deputy Labour leader, said her party welcomed the report, and many of its recommendations had previously been called for by Labour.

“Boris Johnson and his Conservative colleagues’ actions have repeatedly undermined standards in our public life,” she said.

“The system that is supposed to uphold the ministerial code, lobbying rules, business appointments, public appointments and transparency is clearly unfit for purpose.

“Ministers have disregarded the rules and it is about time for a radical overhaul of the system.”

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IGP orders arrest and investigation of officer caught on tape making unauthorized political comments about Edo guber election

The Nigeria Police Force says it is aware of a recent video evidencing political comment by an individual dressed in a Spy Police uniform regarding the upcoming Edo State gubernatorial elections, which has been circulating on social media platforms.

In a statement released, the spokesperson of the police force, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said the NPF strongly condemned this act and clarified that the individual is not a regular officer of the Nigeria Police Force, but a Supernumerary (Spy) Police Officer employed by a private company.

“Supernumerary Police Officers are private individuals trained by the Nigeria Police for specific security functions, primarily within their place of employment.

“They are not on the payroll of the NPF and do not swear to the oath of allegiance like sworn regular police officers, thus they have the right to belong to any political party of their choice and freedom of expression.

” In this extant case, the Police frowns at the wearing of his official SPY uniform and engaging in political activities.

The individual involved has been arrested for further investigations. We reiterate that his political comments do not reflect the views of the Nigeria Police, and the public is urged to disregard any such statements and trust in our continued commitment to professionalism, neutrality, and the rule of law.” Adejobi said

In the viral video, the officer could be heard saying ;

“They want to make the governance of our state a family affair, an affair between two friends and we Edo people will not allow that to happen and this is the time to bring Obaseki to justice.

” He has committed a lot of crimes against Edo people. We have spared him because of the immunity given to him by the Constitution. Very soon, he will not have immunity, he will be free and the Edo people will deal with him as we please”

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UAE deports 400 Nigerians

Four hundred Nigerians including 90 females and 310 males have been deported from the United Arab Emirates, UAE, the Nigerian Television Authority, NTA, reports.

They were received at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, by the office of the National Security Adviser alongside the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and other stakeholders.

It was gathered that a total of 103 Nigerians deported from the Republic of Turkiye, recently, were received by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and other stakeholders.

The deportees who arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on Friday at 7:00 pm through the pilgrims wing of the airport were received by Federal Government officials led by NEMA personnel.

News

#Endbadgovernance: Court grants N10m bail each on 10 protesters

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday slammed N10 million bail each on the
ten members of the #endbadgovernance# protesters who were charged with attempting to overthrow President Bola Ahmed Tinubu between July 1 and August 4 this year.

Justice Emeka Nwite admitted them to bail while delivering a ruling on their bail applications.

Among others, the protesters are to produce one surety each in the same amount while the sureties must be residents in Abuja.

Besides, the sureties must be property owners in Abuja and must deposit documents of the properties to the court in addition to swearing an affidavit of means.

Also, both the defendants and the sureties must deposit their international passports and three recent passport photographs with the court.

Justice Nwite, while rejecting the objections of the Inspector General of Police against the bail request, ordered the defendants not to participate in any public rally throughout their trial.

Pending the perfection of their respective bail conditions, the Judge ordered that they be remanded in prison custody.

Meanwhile, September 27 has been fixed for the commencement of their trial.

The accused persons were said to have committed the treasonable offence during their one-week nationwide protests when they allegedly levied war against Nigeria.

The offences were said to be contrary to sections 96, 410 and 413 of the Penal Code.

The Inspector General of Police, IGP, who brought the charges against them alleged that the accused persons broke into the Abacha Army Barracks and openly called on the military to take over the constitutional government of President Tinubu.

He also alleged that they attempted to force their way into the seat of power during which they allegedly burned down a police station and injured police officers.

They were also said to have incited the Nigerian public against the government and destroyed several public properties including a Police station, High Court complex and National Communication Commission, NCC facilities.

The accused persons are Michael Tobiloba Adaramoye, Adeyemi Abiodun Abayomi, Suleiman Yakubu, Opaluwa Eleojo Simon, Angel Love Innocent, Buhari Lawal, Mosiu Sadiq, Bashir Bello Nurudeen Khamis and Abduldalam Zubair.