Chris Akor

Passionate about people, politics, society and the
economy

[Chris Akor @krissakor]

@angelsbondd I thought this tendency of atheist/agnostic men wanting their wives to be religious was an isolated thing. I didn't know it's a bit more widespread. Could it be that they like how religion tames women or the belief that religion helps raise good kids?

[Chris Akor @krissakor]

@theAyoolu Please can you provide a source for this bold claim?

[Chris Akor @krissakor]

For me, anytime I think about foreign aid to Africa, this is that graph that comes to mind. So, I don't care what the US is doing but if the unintended consequence is the drastic reduction in free money to Africa, why should I complain?

[Chris Akor @krissakor]

How I Aged Into the Bad Christmas Movie https://t.co/riDjNatcT3

[Chris Akor @krissakor]

@DavidHundeyin Then, their anayes was not just adding up. I just kept wondering what kind of evidence these fellows have against the man that they couldn't articulate?

[Chris Akor @krissakor]

Adios, prophet of the poor

https://t.co/2xMmIkdu2c

[Chris Akor @krissakor]

Goodbye @tito_mboweni. Although you technically did not die "in the line of duty", you performed your duty admirably even if your other comrades let you down badly by mismanaging the freedom won in 1994. Fare thee well comrade!

[Chris Akor @krissakor]

@StarBede @onyebebe @Endbadpolitics That is the best thing to ever happen to her. She'd have blindly walked into a doomed union with an extremely insecure and low self-esteemed guy who will make her life a living hell. Worse, all her dreams & potentials would have died had she married him.

[Chris Akor @krissakor]

I know Nigerians don't particularly like data-driven discussion. But as situations get desperate, we may have to confront the reality that our GDP has been more than halved in just 9 years. Yet the party that presided this record-breaking decline keeps winning elections...

[Chris Akor @krissakor]

Full article: The co-constitution of city-time, materials and youth life in urban Lagos https://t.co/nnDItZjnvZ

[Chris Akor @krissakor]

2015, the Nigerian middle class committed class suicide. Did the elite repeat the same mistake in 2023?

[Bloomberg Africa @BloombergAfrica]

Fitch Ratings downgrades its assessment of Dangote Industries's creditworthiness and places its ratings on a negative watch https://t.co/r9ZWLfGoX6

[Chris Akor @krissakor]

In 2015, the Nigerian middle class voted against its true interest and committed class suicide. Is 2023 the year of the elite/rich?

[Chris Akor @krissakor]

See this criminal also trying to join the conversation. His only contribution to Nigerian federalism is mindlessly looting state resources and instituting the seize of criminals in Nigeria.

[James Onanefe Ibori @JamesIbori6]

The Supreme Court has dealt a severe setback on the principle of federalism as defined by section 162(3) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended). The section expressly provides thus:
"Any amount standing to the credit of the Federation Account shall be distributed among the Federal and State Governments and
the Local Government Councils in each State on such terms and in such manner as may be prescribed by the National Assembly". Sections 6 provide further clarity on the subject matter.
(6) Each State shall maintain a special account to be called "State Joint Local Government Account" into which shall be paid all allocations to the Local Government Councils of the State from the Federation Account and from the Government of the State.

The courts ruling on the matter is an assault on true federalism. The federal government has no right to interfere with the administration of Local Governments in under any guise whatsoever. There are only two tiers of government in a federal system of government.

I’m opposed to fiddling with the allocations to the Joint LG Accounts at the state level but that in itself does not call for this death knell to the clear provisions of section 162 of the constitution. The implications of the ruling are far reaching and the issues that readily come to mind are:

1. Constitutional Interpretation: The Supreme Court's ruling appears to contradict the explicit provisions of Section 162 of the 1999 Constitution. This raises questions about judicial interpretation and whether the court has overstepped its bounds in reinterpreting clear constitutional language.

2. Balance of Power: The ruling potentially shifts the balance of power between the federal government and states. By allowing federal intervention in local government finances, it arguably centralizes more power at the federal level, contrary to the principles of federalism.

3. State Autonomy: This decision could be seen as an erosion of state autonomy. States are meant to have significant control over their internal affairs, including the administration of local governments, in a federal system.

4. Financial Independence: The ruling may impact the financial independence of states and local governments. If the federal government can directly intervene in local government finances, it could potentially use this as a tool for political leverage.

5. Precedent Setting: This decision could set a precedent for further federal interventions in areas traditionally reserved for state governance, potentially leading to a more centralized system of government over time.

That Local Governments must be “democratically elected “ goes without saying. Yes, I agree, that’s the position of the constitution but withholding their allocation is not the way to go. It’s wrong.

In the coming days, we will begin to fully understand the implications of the Supreme Court decision. An assault on the constitution is not the answer to fiddling with the Joint LG Acount. If the ruling is saying Governors cannot temper, touch, fiddle with the Joint Accounts, that’s fine because they shouldn’t be doing that in the first place. But asking the Federal Government to pay Local Governments allocations to the account of the Local Government directly will lead to utter chaos and avoidable friction in governance.

Like the Hon. Justice Oputa JSC of blessed memory once said in describing the Supreme Court " we are not final because we are infallible, but we are infallible only because we are final".

It is my sincere hope that the judgement delivered today will be reviewed at the earliest time possible because it clearly stands the concept of federalism on its head.

James Onanefe Ibori

[Chris Akor @krissakor]

@_EnerGee @aaakhigbe @asemota You can gather people on the streets for a token.

[Chris Akor @krissakor]

After fighting for decades to get anthropologists to drop the usage of the word 'tribe' in referring to African ethnic groups because of its pejorative connotation, we have turned round to fully embrace it in describing ourselves.

[Chris Akor @krissakor]

https://t.co/1cMGXlcmJj
This is maturity and exactly how Africa should approach the slave trade discuss instead of hypocritically trying to pitch itself only as a victim

[Chris Akor @krissakor]

@ChidiOdinkalu @NGRSenate Has he been buried yet?

[Chris Akor @krissakor]

@Officially_DAC @cchukudebelu 🙈🙈🙈🙈🙈🙈 Please get help fast!

[Chris Akor @krissakor]

@Officially_DAC @cchukudebelu I've been studying the bible and Catholic doctrines right from the time of the apostles and I haven't come across anything you're implying here. Please go cure yourself of your extremism. It's a disease.