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Lagos State SWAN Rejects 2019 SWANECO Election Guidelines

Published

7 years ago

September 6, 2019

…Want NUJ Intervention

The Sports Writers Association of Nigeria, Lagos State Chapter has rejected the guidelines for the forthcoming 2019 SWAN National Election as published by the SWANECO.

The chapter in a communiqué issued at the end of the SWAN Congress held on Friday in Lagos wants urgently intervention from NUJ to check and abort the tendencies for tyranny and dictatorship in the institution of SWAN.

According to the statement: “That we reject the Guidelines for the 2019 SWAN National Election as published by the SWANECO especially in with regards to:

a. Stipulated fees for the collection of forms that are excessive.

b.The cumbersome process of screening which takes almost a week

c. The non-specification of date and venue of the election

d. The requirement in Paragraph 6 for state chapter delegates to be approved by the National Secretariat which goes against democratic principles in that the Constitution of the NUJ and SWAN Statutes have clearly spelled out the eligibility of delegates and voters

e. The provision in Paragraph 11 which requires that candidates for the positions of President and Secretary-General must have been or be members of the National Executive Council, in that the provision is at variance with Article 6(7)(c) of the NUJ Constitution and Article 13 (1) of the SWAN Statutes.

“That it commends the Chairman of SWANECO for resigning his position in disagreement with those provisions

“That it urges the National Executive Council to amend the Electoral Guidelines in conformity with the provision of the NUJ Constitution and the SWAN Statutes.

“That it condemns the action the National President in petitioning members to the Directorate of State Services and the Police without due recourse to the internal mechanism for dispute resolution in the NUJ and SWAN.

“That the SWAN NEC should urgently intervene on these issues with a view to repositioning the electoral process on the path of decency and normalcy.

“That the NUJ should urgently intervene to check and abort the tendencies for tyranny and dictatorship in the institution of SWAN.”

Communiqué was Signed by Communique Drafting Committee Femi Solaja Chairman, Bunmi Ogunyale Secretary Patrick Ibeh, Humphrey Njoku, Jacob Ajom, Abolore Abdulrahman and Sulaiman Adebayo (Pooja)

“That it commends the Chairman of SWANECO for resigning his position in disagreement with those provisions

“That it urges the National Executive Council to amend the Electoral Guidelines in conformity with the provision of the NUJ Constitution and the SWAN Statutes.

“That the SWAN NEC should urgently intervene on these issues with a view to repositioning the electoral process on the path of decency and normalcy.

“That the NUJ should urgently intervene to check and abort the tendencies for tyranny and dictatorship in the institution of SWAN.”

Communiqué was Signed by Communique Drafting Committee Femi Solaja Chairman, Bunmi Ogunyale Secretary Patrick Ibeh, Humphrey Njoku, Jacob Ajom, Abolore Abdulrahman and Sulaiman Adebayo (Pooja)

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Alake Inaugurates Nigeria-US Solid Minerals Committee, Dismisses $700bn Claim, Says No Assets Sold

Published

5 days ago

October 28, 2026

The Gleamer

Joel Ajayi

The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, on Tuesday inaugurated the Nigeria-United States Committee on Strategic Cooperation in the Solid Minerals Sector in Abuja, dismissing reports that Nigeria sold $700 billion worth of solid minerals to the US.

The inauguration followed the strategic cooperation framework established between Nigeria and the United States during the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.

In a statement issued on Wednesday by the Head PRESS and Public Relations Department Mrs. Kania Maliki Andeyaba stated that, Alake in the Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, signed with the US is a government-to-government platform to facilitate business-to-business engagements between American investors and Nigerian local operators, not a sale of assets.

Harping on the importance of the solid minerals sector to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic diversification agenda, he noted that the administration was committed to reducing dependence on a mono-product economy through the sustainable development of Nigeria’s vast mineral resources.

According to him, the Nigeria–US partnership as a strategic initiative to attract investment, promote technology transfer, strengthen local mineral processing and create employment opportunities.

“There is no sale of any Nigerian asset. There’s nothing exchanging hands,” Alake declared.

“We created a platform to facilitate mingling of US investment ventures with Nigeria’s local operators. It is in the public domain. We signed it in public and published it in four or five national newspapers.”

The Minister said reports claiming the US was coming to take over Nigeria’s minerals and security architecture were untrue at best and products of riotous imagination at worst.

Explaining the policy thrust, Alake said Africa has historically held the short end of the stick in global economic transactions, and Nigeria is determined to change that model.

“We have the resources, the critical elements the world needs to transit to clean energy. So we are creating a new paradigm — you bring your capital, expertise and technology, to match with our natural resources and create a win-win situation . The investor gains, Nigeria gains.’’he said.

Nigeria, he stressed, had operated a mono-cultural economy dependent on oil, while solid minerals were exploited informally — with ores taken “from pit to port” without value addition.

Alake said government has now made local processing mandatory, refusing to grant mineral titles to investors without a clear pathway to processing in Nigeria.

He said the policy led to the springing up of processing factories, including the largest lithium processing plant in West Africa commissioned recently in Nasarawa by the Vice President, and informed the formation of the African Minerals Strategy Group.

Alake noted that investor confidence has returned due to macro-economic reforms by President Bola Tinubu that guarantee security of tenure and repatriation of profits.

He charged the committee to discharge its assignment responsibly, saying its work is strategic to achieving the President’s $1 trillion economy target.

To this end, he told the Committee to ensure effective coordination, identify investment opportunities and translate the framework into measurable outcomes capable of positioning Nigeria as a competitive player in the global solid minerals industry.

In his welcome address, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Engr. Faruk Yusuf Yabo, said the inauguration translates growing bilateral engagements into a structured framework for practical cooperation and investment mobilization

Economic Officer at the US Embassy, Jonathan Baas, said President Donald Trump has prioritized three areas for US embassies — energy, artificial intelligence/super intelligence, and critical minerals.

Baas said Washington’s direction is to work with partners to secure critical supply chains while ensuring partners capture value.

“We just signed a contract today on looking into building AI data centres in Nigeria at the Nigerian Economic Summit. That’s the direction Washington wants us to go,” he said.

In his vote of thanks, CEO/Managing Director of Nigeria Solid Minerals Company, NSMC said that the committee

is expected to coordinate implementation, facilitate investment and monitor progress towards achieving the objectives of the Nigeria–US cooperation framework.

The inauguration reinforces the Federal Government’s commitment to repositioning the solid minerals sector as a key driver of economic diversification, industrial development and national prosperity under President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

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